Damning report reveals prison safety 'deteriorating significantly'
UK News
Damning report reveals prison safety 'deteriorating significantly'
Safety in jails in England and Wales continues to deteriorate "significantly" despite a host of reforms designed to rein back control in prisons, a parliamentary report has said. The House of Commons Justice Committee said rising levels of violence, self-harm and suicides behind bars are "a matter of great concern" and threaten to undermine the Government's penal reform agenda. Unveiled by David Cameron earlier this year, the shake-up includes the creation of new "reform" jails, the introduction of league tables to assess prisons and moves to give governors greater control.
The ministry hoped that prison safety would stabilise. In reality it has deteriorated further and continues to do so. This is a matter of great concern and improvement is urgently needed.
Tory MP Bob Neil, chairman of the committee
Justice Secretary Michael Gove has also set out plans to transform the education system in prisons and to increase the number of inmates let out on temporary licence. Committee chair Bob Neil MP said: "This cannot wait. It is imperative that further attention is paid to bringing prisons back under firmer control, reversing recent trends of escalating violence, self-harm and disorder." Shadow justice secretary Lord Falconer said: "This devastating report exposes the full extent of the Tory prison crisis." Last month, statistics published by the Ministry of Justice showed there were 100 apparent self-inflicted deaths in the year to March - the highest level for more than a decade.
There's no point trying to minimise, excuse or divert attention away from the increasing problems we face.
Justice Secretary Michael Gove