Prison assaults and self-harm rise to record levels

Assaults and incidents of inmates self-harming are at a record high in prisons in England and Wales, according to Ministry of Justice figures.

There were 34,223 assaults in 2018, up 16% from 2017. The proportion of assaults that were against staff increased to 30%.

Self-harm incidents also rose, by 25% to 55,598, although the figure for October to December was down slightly from the previous three months. The number of cases that required hospital attendance reached a record high of 3,214 in 2018.

The prisons minister, Rory Stewart, said: “Violence and self-harm in prisons remains unacceptably high, but I’m pleased at these early signs that we are making progress. It’s particularly encouraging to see a quarterly drop in violence, the first in two years. Our dedicated prison staff deserve enormous credit and I want to thank them all for their tireless work.

“There is still much to do, however, and no one should underestimate the effort required to return long-term stability to the prison estate.”

There were 317 deaths in prison custody between March 2018 and 2019, up 18 from the previous year. Of those deaths, 87 were self-inflicted, an increase of 14.

The government figures were met with criticism from campaigners. Deborah Coles, the director of Inquest, a charity providing expertise on state-related deaths, said: “Every four days a person in prison takes their own life. Levels of distress have never been higher, with more than 152 recorded incidents of self-harm in prison every day.

“The government have long been on notice about the perilous state of our prisons. Yet life-saving recommendations from inquests and oversight bodies are systematically ignored. That the historically high numbers of deaths are allowed to continue is a national scandal.”

The proportion of assaults that were against staff was higher in female prisons (38%) than male ones ( 29%). Assaults on staff that were deemed “serious” increased by 15% to 995 in the year.

Last September prison staff staged a mass walkout in protest at conditions in jails. The Prison Officers’ Association later called off the action after talks with Stewart.

This month a prison officer at HMP Nottingham was taken to hospital after an inmate cut his throat with a razor.

Frances Crook, the chief executive of the Howard League, which campaigns to reform the prison system, said: “Today’s figures reveal the sheer scale of the challenge to transform a prison system that has been overburdened and under-resourced for years. Change is happening, but it is like trying to turn around an oil tanker.

“I welcome the government’s efforts to reduce violence, including recruiting more staff to increase numbers and refresh the workforce, but fundamental reform is being stymied by the lack of parliamentary time available for legislation.”