This document discusses safety issues in UK prisons and reforms needed to address them. Prison staffing levels have declined significantly since 2010, contributing to increases in assaults on staff and prisoners. The use of new psychoactive substances (NPS) like Spice has also dramatically undermined safety, with seizures increasing 30-fold. To improve safety, the government has committed to hiring more officers and building new prisons, but focusing on staffing levels, drugs, mobile phones, and purposeful activity through education and work programs will be key to enabling rehabilitation and reducing crime.

1. Rory Geoghegan
Head of Criminal Justice
rory.geoghegan@centreforsocialjustice.org.uk
@RoryGeo #prisonsafety
Safety First:
Prison reform and cutting crime

2. A Perfect Storm
Prisons Under Pressure
NPS and DrugsPurposeful Activity
Staffing Levels Population & Estate

3. TheWhite Paper
Prison Safety and Reform (Nov 2016)
• “Our analysis shows a statistical
correlation between the numbers of
staff and the level of violent incidents.
We now need more frontline staff”
• “Making our reform strategy a reality
relies upon the continuing dedicated
efforts of individual prison staff and
officers on the ground.”
Government Commitments
• Hire 2,500 prison officers
• 10,000 new-for-old prison spaces
• Training, intel, drones, searching…
• “a vital role of the justice system is to
reduce the level of crime in our
society by cutting reoffending.That is
not possible in prisons where
violence is too often the norm.”

4. Prison Staffing
Operational Prison Officers (Band 3-4)
-72 -1157
-915
-2750
-110 +13 +135
-4,869
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Change
Source: NOMS Workforce Statistics

5. Assaults andViolence
Assaults on Prison Staff
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
0
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Assaults on staff (LHS) Serious assaults on staff (RHS)
Source: Ministry of Justice
-5.0k
Cumulative change in Op PO 3-4 since 2010
-4.9k-2.1k-1.2k -5.0k-0.1k

6. Assaults andViolence
Prisoner-on-Prisoner Assaults
0
750
1,500
2,250
3,000
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
14,000
16,000
18,000
20,000
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
PonP Assaults (LHS) PonP Serious assaults (RHS)
Source: Ministry of Justice
-5.0k
Cumulative change in Op PO 3-4 since 2010
-4.9k-2.1k-1.2k -5.0k-0.1k

7. Tackling Drugs and NPS
NPS Seizures in Prison
• “New psychoactive substances
such as ‘Spice’ and ‘Mamba’ are
now the most serious threat to
the safety and security of jails”
– Nick Hardwick, ex HMIP
• “[NPS] are having a dramatic
and destabilising effect in many
of our prisons”
– Peter Clarke, HMIP
136
4,261
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
2011 2016
30x
Source: FOI Requests broadcast on BBC Breakfast 21 November 2016

8. Tackling Drugs and NPS
Example of Peer Education
Source: Peer mentor leaflet produced by prisoners

9. Tackling Drugs and NPS
Drug Seizures in Prison
• “…the prison was awash
with drugs, undermining
everything…”
– Peter Clarke, HMIP
• 225kg seized in 2016
Source: HC Deb, 2 March 2017, cW
10,474
0
2,000
4,000
6,000
8,000
10,000
12,000
2016

10. Mobile Phones
Undermining Safety Inside and Out
Source: Twitter

11. Source: Snapchat / Twitter

12. Prison Population & Estate
Sustained Pressure and Changing Mix
• Prison population 85,636 on 23 June 2017
• Changing mix over longer term (1993 vs 2016)
• Mental health remains a serious issue
• Self harm
• Suicide
• The prison estate remains problematic
• Other challenges:
• Rehabilitation
• Through the Gate
• Community sentences
Source: Ministry of Justice

13. Purposeful Activity
A Safety-Activity Spiral
• The absence of safety:
• Curtailed regimes
• Disrupted programmes
• Longer time locked up
• Begets:
• Boredom and frustration
• “Bird killer”
• Mental health deterioration
• Undermining safety0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Safety Purposeful Activity
'Good' or 'reasonably good' outcomes in
published HMI reports
Source: HMIP

14. Safety First
Key Areas to Focus
• Key Areas:
• Staffing levels
• Staff retention
• Staff training
• Staff roles (dedicated officers)
• Drugs / NPS
• Phones
• Trauma-informed
• Safety vital to enable
rehabilitation and to help
reduce crime.

15. Rory Geoghegan
Head of Criminal Justice
rory.geoghegan@centreforsocialjustice.org.uk
@RoryGeo #prisonsafety
Safety First:
Prison reform and cutting crime