The justice sector

The POA prison officers’ union has pointed to Ministry of Justice figures showing that levels of prison violence have rocketed. Safer Custody Statistics, government analysis of custody data, showed a 35% increase in violent assaults in the 12 months to June 2016, with the overall number of assaults rising by a third to 23,775. Attacks on staff rose by 43%, while inmates are now a third more likely to be attacked than a year ago. Deaths also increased by a fifth, with a third self-inflicted and five homicides. The POA has firmly linked the increase to the governments’ austerity policies which have seen 10,000 uniformed staff lost since 2010, while prisoner numbers have been rising.

In a statement the union said that chronic staff shortages and impoverished regimes have resulted in staff no longer being safe, a lack of discipline and prisoners taking control of areas. “The continued surge in violence and unprecedented levels of suicide and acts of self-harm, coupled with the recent murder and escapes demonstrate that the service is in meltdown,” it added. (See page 21 for information about POA action in response to the prison crisis.)