Assaults in prisons in England and Wales rise to average of 74 a day
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Research for Lib Dems shows nearly 27,000 assaults were recorded last year, with about 3,200 deemed serious. Assaults in prisons have been rising with an average of 74 a day recorded in England and Wales last year, including 25 assaults a day inflicted on staff, House of Commons library research has shown.
![[Prisoners congregate in a gangway outside a cell area at HMP Berwyn; they are silhouetted against the light coming in from the windows at the end of the corridor and stand on an upper level by metal steps leading down to the ground floor]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/8326fc6bef28d84a68fe99f21f892b84b710721e/0_251_4500_2700/master/4500.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The figures, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, show that of the 26,912 assaults that took place over the course of the year, about 3,200 were deemed to be serious – an average of eight a day. The research also revealed the most violent prisons in England and Wales. HMP Wandsworth in south-west London saw by far the most assaults, recording 1,044, with more than half of these (571) being on staff. HMP Berwyn in Wrexham, north Wales, had the next highest number with 783 assaults, and then Thameside, in Thamesmead, south-east London, recording 667.
The figures showed a 28% increase in assaults on 2022, at a time when prisons have been struggling with overcrowding and poor conditions in their buildings. The Labour government inherited such a crisis in prisons when it came to power in July that it had to take a decision to authorise the early release of many prisoners 40% of the way through their sentences.
Josh Babarinde, the Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, urged the government to come forward with an “urgent plan to make our prisons safer”. “[Labour] must recruit and retain more prison officers, tackle the criminal courts backlog, and invest properly in rehabilitation to reduce reoffending,” he said. “The Conservatives have left our prisons in utter chaos. With this staggering number of assaults and rates of reoffending through the roof, the Conservatives have left a system that is failing prison staff, failing victims, and failing our communities.
