27-07-2024, 09:53 AM
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Violence, self-harm & drugs: Shocking figures lay bare crisis facing UK’s prisons
27-07-2024, 09:55 AM
Violence and self-harm in Britain’s prisons is soaring while drugs are readily available with almost a quarter of jails overcrowded, grim new data has revealed.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures on Thursday laid bare the scale of the chaos in UK prisons, days after the justice secretary announced emergency measures to ease the crisis.
The figures showed self-harm rates in UK prisons are at their highest on record, with 73,804 incidents of self-harm in the past year, the equivalent of one prisoner hurting themselves every seven minutes. Assaults hit a post-pandemic high in the last year, with 28,292 violent assaults across the estate.
The number of prisons deemed overcrowded shot up for the third year in a row, with 23.6 per cent of jails now housing too many prisoners. And prison performance ratings showed four in 10 prisons are now deemed of concern or serious concern.
The MoJ said violence and self-harm are becoming more prevalent because of widespread drug use within prisons, with drug finds having risen 44 per cent compared with the previous 12 months and discoveries of drugs-related equipment soaring 107 per cent.
With The Independent recently revealing figures showing just one in five jails had enough riot officers, the new data showed incidents of violent concerted indiscipline rose 70 per cent to hit 179 in the past year, with a further 58 hostage situations and 7,783 incidents at height, involving inmates climbing onto roofs or netting.
Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures on Thursday laid bare the scale of the chaos in UK prisons, days after the justice secretary announced emergency measures to ease the crisis.
The figures showed self-harm rates in UK prisons are at their highest on record, with 73,804 incidents of self-harm in the past year, the equivalent of one prisoner hurting themselves every seven minutes. Assaults hit a post-pandemic high in the last year, with 28,292 violent assaults across the estate.
The number of prisons deemed overcrowded shot up for the third year in a row, with 23.6 per cent of jails now housing too many prisoners. And prison performance ratings showed four in 10 prisons are now deemed of concern or serious concern.
The MoJ said violence and self-harm are becoming more prevalent because of widespread drug use within prisons, with drug finds having risen 44 per cent compared with the previous 12 months and discoveries of drugs-related equipment soaring 107 per cent.
With The Independent recently revealing figures showing just one in five jails had enough riot officers, the new data showed incidents of violent concerted indiscipline rose 70 per cent to hit 179 in the past year, with a further 58 hostage situations and 7,783 incidents at height, involving inmates climbing onto roofs or netting.
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