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A leading criminologist has warned that years of cuts and underfunding have left prisons at risk of riots as an already decimated workforce is hit by the coronavirus crisis.

Around 6,000 prison officers - amounting to 12% of staff - are currently self-isolating, leaving an already overstretched workforce at breaking point.

Six prisoners were left dead after riots swept prisons in Italy when emergency laws to cope with the pandemic came into effect in early March.

In the UK, two prisoners have so far died after contracting the deadly infection, sparking fears the virus could spread among officers and inmates.

David Wilson, emeritus professor of criminology at Birmingham City University has called for urgent action to avoid conflict in UK prisons - including extending home detention curfew.

(Image: Daily Record)

Home detention curfew is where prisoners spend a portion of the end of their sentence at home, freeing up prison beds.

“There were very few Italian prisons with covid-19,” he warned. “There might’ve been anxiety that they were going to get it and that visits were going to be stopped, but actually at the time that those riots and the images of them breaking into pharmacies arose, no more than a handful had tested positive.

“It is quite clear that we have to consider extending home detention curfew.”

He added: “If you extend home detention curfew you’ll release prisoners to free up space, with those spaces you can do some contingency planning around those prisoners who are going to test positive.”

(Image: MASSIMO PERCOSSI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock) (Image: MASSIMO PERCOSSI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

This contingency planning would include being able to properly isolate those displaying symptoms of Covid-19, which would not only help stem the spread of the virus but would also alleviate pressure on a workforce.

On a recent visit to a prison, Professor Wilson found the staff lacking any personal protective equipment and faced no checks about whether he was displaying any symptoms.

Chris Atkins, author of ‘A Bit of a Stretch: The Diaries of a Prisoner’, and a former BAFTA winning documentary producer, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 after being found guilty of tax fraud and has also called for home detention curfew to be extended.

(Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) (Image: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

“There are fifty pregnant women who they’re currently talking about letting out,” Atkins told Mirror Online.

Pregnant women have been identified by the government as being among the most vulnerable to the virus.

Last night the Ministry of Justice announced that pregnant inmates could be granted temporary release from prison “within days” to protect them and their unborn children from coronavirus.

Prisoners in mother and baby units who meet the same risk assessment will also be released with their children.

Prison governors will be able to grant their release on temporary licence once they pass a risk assessment and suitable accommodation for the women has been identified, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said.

Mr Atkins continued: “They’ve known this virus was coming for weeks and weeks, and they know where these pregnant women are - they’re mostly in one place called Bronzefield, where they have a mother and baby unit.

“But conditions in Bronzefield are so bad, a baby died on the floor of the prison last year.

(Image: MASSIMO PERCOSSI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

“A woman was forced to give birth alone because the healthcare there was so medieval and the baby died on the floor of a prison. I’ve got friends inside who are calling me up and they’ve been saying look, things are on a knife edge, things really are about to blow.

“You’ve got to picture these absolute subhuman, barbaric, inhuman, dysfunctional violent places anyway, and then add the virus and that’s a powder keg.”

The Prison Officers’ Association were optimistic that riots could be avoided, but understood the dangers and reality of the situation their officers are facing during the pandemic.

They said: “We’re trying to avoid riots, that’s why certain precautions have been taken, the Prison Officer’s Association are working with employers and the government in a partnership approach.

“I wouldn’t like to predict what the future holds but so far we’ve managed to contain the situation in prisons as best we can from any concerted disturbances or unrest and that’s down to the bravery and resilience of prison officers."

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice defended the prison service’s approach to the coronavirus crisis.

They said: “We have strong and flexible plans in place to keep all staff and prisoners as safe as possible, and are issuing secure phone handsets to help offenders keep in contact with their families.”