Violence and self-harm in prison have risen to unacceptable
levels as capacity pressures pushed prisons to the point of
collapse, new statistics
published today (Thursday 25 July) reveal.
Despite the best efforts of hard-working staff, the number of
prison assaults has increased by nearly 30 per cent in the last
year – reaching a post pandemic high of 28,292 violent assaults
in just 12 months.
Figures also show:
- Self-harm rates have hit their
highest level since records began, with 73,804 incidents of
self-harm taking place in the last year – a rate of one prisoner
hurting themselves every seven minutes;
- Violence and self-harm have been
made worse by the availability of drugs across the estate, with a
44 per cent increase in annual drug finds;
- New prison performance ratings have
revealed over 40 per cent of prisons being rated as either of
‘concern' or ‘serious concern';
- The number of prisoners in
over-crowded conditions has increased for the third consecutive
year, reaching a high of 23.6 per cent.
As a result, prisons, which have been operating at 99 per cent
capacity since the beginning of 2023, have struggled to deliver
the time out of cells and purposeful activity needed to drive
down violence, self-harm and drugs – as well as protect the
public and cut crime.
Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice,
KC, said:
“Our prisons are in crisis, leading to endemic violence and harm
behind bars.
“These statistics reveal what is really happening inside jails
today, and why we had no choice but to act. This Government will
always protect the public, lock up dangerous offenders, and make
prisons safe for prisoners and the brave staff who work there.”
The Lord Chancellor, , took immediate action in
her first week to bring prisons back from the point of collapse
as the Government begins to rescue and rebuild the prison system.
This includes being able to stop the End of Custody Supervised
Licence Scheme and giving probation staff more time to plan for
an offender's release by temporarily reducing the release point
of some standard determinate sentences from 50 to 40 per cent
with important safeguards and exemptions to keep the public
safe.
Sentences for serious violent offences of four years or more, as
well as sex offences will be automatically excluded, and, in an
important distinction from End of Custody Supervised Licence
scheme, the early release of offenders in prison for domestic
abuse connected crimes will also be excluded.
The management of offenders in the community will also be
improved through recruitment of 1,000 new probation officers to
help manage offenders on licence. In addition, a new ten-year
capacity strategy will set out how Ministers will ensure there
are enough prison places to protect the public long-term.
An internal assessment has also found that 10 of the 12 probation
regions in England and Wales are underperforming – having been
rated either “inadequate” or “requires improvements” in key areas
such as helping offenders into work.
During the period in which the End of Custody Supervised License
Scheme operated, the number of prison leavers finding a steady
job, crucial to preventing reoffending, also substantially
dropped. This scheme provided far less time for release planning,
such as support to find work, than the temporary changes to
release offenders on some standard determinate sentences at the
40% stage provided.
