Call for action to protect prison officers ‘before there is a fatality'
One officer at HMP Woodhill near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, was slashed in the neck and ear with an improvised weapon on Tuesday, and needed hospital treatment, the Prison Officers' Association said.
In a second incident another inmate assaulted a member of staff, the POA said.
Four officers in total needed hospital treatment but were discharged on Tuesday.
At Gartree prison in Leicestershire, a female officer was left with a broken bone after an inmate faked a seizure and threw a TV at her colleague.
Geoff Willetts, from the POA, said that at HMP Woodhill: 'A prisoner was told to return to his cell, this resulted in a specialist officer being slashed with an improvised weapon, sustaining injuries to the neck and ear.
'The officer attended hospital where they required stitches and surgical glue applied to their injuries.'
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— POA (@POAUnion) May 14, 2025
He added: 'Meanwhile at Gartree Prison, Market Harborough, staff attended a medical emergency where a prisoner faked an epileptic fit.
'A prison officer who attended to assist was assaulted then had a TV thrown at him and a female officer sustained a broken arm.'
The POA repeated calls for boosted protection for prison officers.
POA general secretary Steve Gillan said: 'Escalating levels of violence are out of control in the prison service in England and Wales.
'It is clear prison regimes must be reviewed as a matter of urgency. We need action to protect prison officers before there is a fatality.'
Thames Valley Police said they were investigating an attack on a member of staff at HMP Woodhill.
Leicestershire Police has been approached for comment.
A prison service spokesperson said: 'Officers at HMP Woodhill attended hospital yesterday following two separate incidents. All were discharged on the same day.
'We will do whatever is necessary to keep our staff safe.
'The Lord Chancellor has announced a review into protective body armour and a trial of Tasers in jails to better respond to serious incidents and will update shortly.'
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BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Call-outs for specialist prison squad increase 44% in two years
There has been a sharp increase in the number of times a specialist team that deals with serious incidents in prisons has been deployed in England and Wales, the BBC can National Tactical Response Group (NTRG), was called out 823 times in 2024 compared with 570 deployments in 2022, according to a Freedom of Information Prison Officers' Association (POA) said there had been problems with concerted indiscipline - an incident in which two or more prisoners act together in defiance of lawful instruction - and government said it was investing more in specialist teams to deal with serious incidents. 'More violent incidents' The NTRG, which is also sent into young offender institutions and immigration removal centres, is a highly trained unit used to dealing with serious incidents such as prisoner barricades, hostage taking and violent April the team was deployed to Lowdham Grange prison after reports that one inmate threatened to take another Willetts, from the POA national executive committee, said: "There seems to be an increasing need for this group [NTRG] to be deployed due to frequent callouts to address rising prison violence and an ever increasing prison population."Concerns about prison safety were highlighted by the latest Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures, which show the number of staff assaulted in adult prisons across England and Wales hit a new peak last year. The government said a trial into the use of tasers would be launched this summer for specialised officers dealing with serious incidents in prisons.A recent landmark review by Former Lord Chancellor David Gauke recommended some prisoners could be released after serving just a third of their sentence in a bid to ease prison overcrowding. One former prison officer in Kent, who wanted to remain anonymous, told BBC South East about the volatility in some jails."I've been assaulted myself and I've witnessed colleagues having their life changed because of an assault that wasn't even directed at them," he not his real name, said the service had been impacted by the loss of a lot of experienced staff over the last decade."I think the biggest tool the prison service got rid of was experience. And unfortunately, you just can't buy experience," he said."You can't get people that come through the gates fresh out of college and expect them to have the same experience as someone that's been in the job for 20 years and knows how to deal with someone." Steve Gillan, the POA's general secretary, said: "Our members need better training and a return to basics of putting security and discipline first and foremost."We need proper protective equipment and better staffing levels to deal with overcrowded prisons."There is no doubt that there's been a major increase in incidents at height. "Prison officers cannot deal with these without the correct equipment and training, that's why NTRG staff are brought in to deal with such situations." The MoJ said a large proportion of recent NTRG callouts are for incidents at height, which are recorded for any incident taking place above ground level, but are not necessarily violent or prison governor John Podmore said protests at height and incidents at height tend to be caused by prisoners who are angry or frustrated."At the moment it's highly likely and logical that such incidents would be on the increase because there are a lot of prisoners who aren't getting out of their cell or getting access to education, employment and training," he said."In these scenarios frustrations will be on the increase, prison staff are very often less able, because they're new in the job, to deal with such incidents, and that's why they can manifest themselves in protests at height."One of the reasons can be prisoners who're in debt because they've been taking drugs and they want to get out of the prison, so if they go on a rooftop protest, there's a very high likelihood they'd be moved out of the prison and for the time being moved away from their debt." President of the Prison Governors' Association Tom Wheatley said the NTRG deployments showed the pressure on the prison system. "They're very full, not all prisoners are in the places they are supposed to be, they've become frustrated and they protest," he said."NTRG come out to incidents at height, prisoners climbing over the railings on the wings, so they're at threat of falling or jumping."As frustration rises so does the amount of time those specially trained staff are deployed."They [NTRG) have particular training and skills, they can safely rescue prisoners at height and if there's a large scale disturbance they come in as part of the team that comes in to deal with that."The government recently said more than 1,000 inmates would be released early to free up spaces, as ministers grapple with an overcrowding Secretary Shabana Mahmood said a £4.7bn investment would fund more prisons. A MoJ spokesperson said: "This government inherited prisons in crisis and the Lord Chancellor has taken immediate action to ensure we can lock up dangerous offenders, protect the public and make prisons safer for our hard-working staff."We have a zero-tolerance approach to violence which is why we are investing more into our specialist teams responding to serious incidents and providing staff with the tools they need to keep themselves safe."
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Fred West documentaries and Fifty Shades of Grey? Scots prison chiefs REFUSE to ban X-rated films from cells despite plea from staff
Prison chiefs have shot down calls by frontline staff to ban some of Scotland's most hardened criminals from watching X-rated films and TV shows in their cells. The Prison Officers Association (POA) implored top brass to pull 18+ DVDs featuring extreme criminal activity, sex and drug use in the wake of an investigation by MailOnline. We revealed that amid an epidemic of violence behind bars, inmates at one of the country's toughest jails, HMP Barlinnie, are free to rent films about serial killers and sexual deviants – despite such X-rated films and videos being outlawed in English jails since 2013. The POA, which represents rank and file prison staff, said that with 'overcrowding, drug use, bullying and organised crime gang activities inside our prisons, the last thing we need is anything else adding to the tension or temperatures'. Yet the Scottish Prison Service last week said it would stand by its policy and refuse to review what films criminals can watch. Last night, Scottish Conservative justice spokesman Liam Kerr MSP said the failure to listen to concerns from staff was emblematic of the SNP 's soft-touch approach to justice. He said: 'This blatant refusal to review a policy that allows prisoners to watch inappropriate content will alarm law-abiding Scots. 'It sums up how the SNP's soft-touch attitude is embedded across all areas of Scotland's justice system and repeatedly panders to the needs of criminals. 'The POA want this to be reviewed and recognise many of these prisoners are behind bars for violent offences and should not have access to this content. 'Rather than passing the buck, SNP ministers should intervene and ensure the Scottish Prison Service rethinks this decision.' Earlier this month, MailOnline revealed a list of movies available to prisoners, obtained via freedom of information, include titles such as Saw, The Silence of the Lambs and American TV show Dexter, about a police forensic officer who kills criminals in his free time. Inmates can also watch TV shows about real-life child killers Fred and Rose West, Myra Hindley and Beverley Allitt, as well as highly sexualised content including Fifty Shades of Grey. Shockingly, US TV series Prison Break – about two brothers hatching a complex plan to break free from jail – is also available to watch. The revelations came after it was disclosed there have been more than 250 assaults on prison staff on average annually in the last decade. This year, the High Court in Edinburgh heard convicted murderer Robert Paterson plotted to have a guard at HMP Saughton 'seriously assaulted' with a handgun. In 2013, former UK Conservative Justice Minister Chris Grayling cracked down on the availability of such films and TV shows in prisons in England and Wales. Last week, the SPS was asked by Mr Kerr what action it was going to take in light of the approved Scottish list of films including titles seen to be inappropriate for a rehabilitative environment.
Edinburgh Reporter
3 days ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Taser call after hourly assaults on police
A POLICE officer was assaulted almost every hour last year as attacks soared to an all-time high with over 7000 cops subjected to violence on duty. Police Scotland say there were 7159 assaults against officers in 2024/25 with 425 more frontline cops attacked compared to the previous year — an increase of 6.3%. It means that on an average 20 cops were attacked each day, with around a quarter suffering varying levels of injuries as a result and hundreds needing hospital treatment. The three most common types of assault against officers by members of the public are being kicked, punched and spat on. David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation (SPA), which represents rank and file officers, maintains all frontline officers should be armed with Tasers — non-lethal weapons used to temporarily stun people via a controlled electrical discharge. Police Scotland currently have around 2000 Specially Trained Officers (STOs) who can discharge the guns and are used to de-escalate potentially violent situations, protect officers and ensure the safety of the public. Mr Kennedy said: 'The rise in assaults is unacceptable and underscores the need for better protection for officers. 'Each assault is an officer simply doing their job and being attacked for it – often with lasting physical and mental impact. 'We need greater investment in officer safety, including wider roll-out of protective equipment like Tasers, to ensure colleagues can return safely to their families at the end of each shift.' He added: 'While it's impossible to eliminate all threats, the Scottish Police Federation advocates for comprehensive safety training for officers and we'd want every officer to be given a Taser.' Mr Kennedy said in one weekend officers in Glasgow and Edinburgh suffered injuries including broken finger, lacerated knee, head and facial injuries as well as being bitten. In another incident, a 33-year-old officer in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, was seriously injured after being hit by a vehicle during a routine patrol, while an officer was injured on Halloween after a brick was thrown through the window of her police vehicle in Edinburgh. Police Scotland say they are working to try to reduce assaults and injuries among officers, with additional training being trialed to see if safety can be improved. A force report says: 'Police Scotland continue to try and reduce assaults and injuries of officers/staff and the Operational Safety Training department have delivered a pilot to test if additional training dosage would make officers/staff safer.' The results of the pilot are currently being evaluated. While Police Scotland currently have no plans to issue Tasers to all frontline officers, Chief Constable Jo Farrell has hailed the belated deployment of body worn video cameras as a 'game changer' in terms of helping to improve officer safety. The cameras are regarded as a vital evidence-gathering tool and safeguard against assaults on officers and vexatious complaints. Police Scotland is the second largest force in the UK after the Met and was the only one not to have equipped officers with the vital equipment after a decade of successive delays. Around 750 officers in Tayside were among the first to be equipped with the 'essential' kit in March and within weeks had been used by frontline cops to make 12,796 recordings. Ms Farrell said ensuring officers have the best equipment for the job is 'essential'. She said: 'We are already hearing the cameras are helping to de-escalate incidents, provide an early resolution to police complaints and to record admissions made by an accused, that may have earlier been missed during an incident. 'As the roll out continues over coming months, every frontline uniformed police officer, including Special Constables, will be expected to wear a video camera on their uniform while on duty and to activate it when using police powers, whether conducting a stop and search, arresting a suspect, or executing a search warrant.' Like this: Like Related
