Violence against prison officers rising in UK: Report

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Violence against prison staff in Britain has risen since the coronavirus pandemic, with 23 attacks per day recorded last year in England and Wales, according to a study released Friday.

The report by the Community trade union warned that without "major, generational reform,” the “epidemic of violence will only get worse.”

Martin Geddes, a prison officer who suffered catastrophic injuries during an attack, told Sky News he was ambushed by an inmate who stole his baton and beat him around his head. He said he thought he was going to die.

"He sucker punched me, grabbed me, pulled me into the cell and got hold of my baton. And that's the last thing I remember until I came round with the cell full of officers and my friend thought my throat had been cut, because there was that much blood."

"I was having flashbacks – for at least 12 months, before I had therapy,” he said. “It was a job I loved doing but I would never go back. I've had to resign. I just don't feel safe on the landing anymore.”

The report said the number of officers facing attacks at work is sharply rising as the current rate is expected to overtake the record numbers from just before the pandemic in 2018 - 2019.

The latest figures published in January revealed that there were more than 8,500 assaults on prison officers in England and Wales during the 12 months to September 2023, up 16% from the previous year.

Of those attacks, 765 were categorized as serious while attacks in women's prisons are at their "highest ever level," with 785 during that same period.

"The overall rate of assaults on our hardworking prison staff is 10% lower than prior to the pandemic but violence is never tolerated which is why we increased the maximum penalty for assaulting prison officers," said a Justice Ministry spokesperson.