Charity says statistics are result of austerity and government must invest in community alternatives in England and Wales

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A spike in the number of assaults and incidents of self-harm in prisons, as well as an increased number of phones and drugs seized, has prompted fresh warnings of a crisis in jails in England and Wales.

Attacks in prisons hit a record 31,025 assaults in the year to March, almost twice the 15,644 assaults recorded in the year to March 2008 and up 16% from the previous year, according to the Ministry of Justice.

Within the total figure, there were a record 9,003 attacks on prison staff – up 26% from 2017 – with 892 classed as serious.

There were 46,859 incidents of self-harm among inmates last year, up by 16% compared with 2017, while the number of self-harming individuals increased by 8% to a new record high of 11,854. In the year to March, there were 310 deaths in prison custody, a year-on-year fall of 2%.

The MoJ report noted that there has been a change in how assaults on staff are recorded, which may have contributed to the increase.

Quick guide British jails in jeopardy Show Hide Overcrowding The current male and female prison population is 84,255, having almost doubled in 25 years. Analysis suggests jails in England and Wales are holding more than 10,000 prisoners than they were built for, with two-thirds of prisons classified as overcrowded. Self-harm Currently at record levels, with 42,837 incidents – an average of 117 a day – documented during the year to September, an increase of 12%. Already it looks like it will be higher this year with 11,904 incidents recorded during the last quarter, equal to 130 a day. Eight inmates a day will be admitted to hospital. There is a suicide in prison every five days. Assaults Again, at record levels with 28,165 incidents documented during the 12 months to September 2017, a 12% increase. Of these, 7,828 were assaults on staff . Already at unprecedented levels, the rate continues to escalate. During the last quarter of 2017, another record high was set with assaults rising to 86 a day. Staffing numbers The Ministry of Justice is now increasing prison officer numbers following dramatic cuts. Latest figures reveal a rise from 17,955 in October 2016 to 19,925 in December 2017. In 2010 there were 27,650. Reoffending rates The number of adults reconvicted within a year of release stands at 44%. For those serving sentences of less than 12 months, this increases to 59%.

The justice secretary, David Gauke, said: “I have been clear that assaults on our hardworking staff will never be tolerated. We will always push for the strongest punishment and are changing the law so that offenders who attack prison officers face even longer behind bars.

“The cycle of violence is fuelled by illicit substances, which is why we are employing new tactics and new technology to combat organised crime in our prisons – in turn removing one of the major factors driving assaults and disorder.”

The MoJ recently announced £30m for prison security. It had previously announced increased use of body scanners, improved searching techniques and phone-blocking technology.

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The prison population, as of last Friday, stood at 82,956, with a capacity of 86,524.



Deborah Coles, director of the charity Inquest, said: “These statistics point to the disturbing reality of prison life with escalating levels of distress, self-harm, homicide and violence. The only way to improve safety and reduce prison deaths is to dramatically cut the prison population and invest in community alternatives.”

There were increases of 23%, 15% and 13% in discovery incidents of drugs, mobile phones and SIM cards, respectively, between the year ending March 2017 and the year ending March 2018, according to a separate publication.



Drug use has spiked too, with positive results from random drug tests hitting 20.4% in the 12 months ending in March 2018, including tests for new psychoactive substances.

Gauke added: “New psychoactive substances have been a game-changer for prison safety, and these statistics reinforce the scale of the challenge.”

The MoJ announced a “drug recovery prison” pilot at HMP Holme House on Thursday to trial new methods for tackling the supply of drugs. Another document on prison performance, also released on Thursday, revealed “serious concerns” in more than 13% of prisons in 2017-18, the highest proportion since 2011-12.

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Richard Burgon, the shadow justice secretary, said: “What we are seeing here are the dire consequences that austerity has created. Today’s figures mark a new low point in this government’s mismanagement of our prisons system.

“Despite all the rhetoric from the government that it is finally getting a grip of the prisons emergency, we now have an assault every 20 minutes in our prisons and the number of prisons labelled as being of ‘serious concern’ is at its highest in years.

“The blame for this prisons emergency lies squarely with the Conservatives’ decision to axe thousands of prison officers and slash the prisons budget. If the government is serious about tackling this crisis then it needs to outline an emergency plan and new funds to make our prisons safe.”