The prison population in England and Wales has doubled over the last 30 years. It now stands at over 86,000: Britain has the highest incarceration rate of any Western European country.
While the prison population has expanded, the number of prison staff has not kept up. In 1990 across England and Wales there were around 45,000 prisoners and 20,000 staff and now in 2024 with a prison population of over 86,000 the number of prison staff is only about 23,000
In addition to a lower ratio of prison officers for each inmate, the proportion of experienced staff has fallen dramatically. Channel 4 FactCheck reports that in 2010, 80 per cent of prison officers had five years’ experience but today only half of them do so.
Overcrowding and staff shortages have made prisons unsafe places for prisoners and staff. In the 12 months to June 2024, the number of assaults (prisoner on prisoner) was 29,254, up 18 per cent from the previous year. Assaults on staff increased too. In the 12 months to June 2024, there were 10,281 assaults on staff, up 23 per cent to a new peak.
Last November the Guardian reported that these figures are almost triple the equivalent for 2005 and the number of sexual assaults against staff has increased over four-fold.
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