PAVA, a synthetic pepper spray which temporarily incapacitates those it is sprayed upon, will now be available to specialist staff in young offender institutions, says the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).
Minister for Youth Justice Sir Nic Dakin said: “This Government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis. The unacceptable levels of violence faced by our brave frontline officers in young offender institutions is yet another symptom of that. This is not a decision we have made lightly, but our overarching duty is to keep staff and young people in custody safe. This spray is a vital tool to prevent serious violence, helping staff to focus on rehabilitation as part of our Plan for Change.”
The MoJ says that those held in young offender institutions are mostly older teenage boys, aged 16 to 18, and over two-thirds of all young people are there for violent offences such as murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm.
Trial for tasers
Meanwhile in the House of Commons on April 22, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, speaking after a knife attack in HMP Frankland on April 12 said that the prison service will conduct a ‘snap review’ of the use of protective body armour by prison officers. She announced that His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service will trial the use of tasers in prisons. “Wherever we can strengthen our defences to better protect our staff and the public, we will do so,” she said.
HMP Parc visit
In a report on an unannounced inspection of privately-run HMP Parc in south Wales in January, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said that ‘having won the contract, G4S failed to maintain the high standards for which Parc was renowned, but it has now put plans in place to rectify the situation’. He added that ‘if G4S and the prison service are able to expedite the replacement of windows which are vulnerable to drone deliveries and to provide enhanced gate security, that will help to reduce supply of drugs’. Replacement of cell windows to restrict the ingress of drones had recently started, but was taking too long to complete, the inspectors found. As background, in 2022 after a procurement G4S was awarded a ten-year contract to operate and maintain the Bridgend prison which holds 1700.
The inspectors, who were last there in 2022, found that around half of the prison officers had been in post for less than two years, and almost 30pc had less than one year’s experience. The pre-G4S director had retired and other senior staff had left. Illicit drugs were ‘widely available’. A majority of prisoners said it was easy to get illicit drugs.
According to the inspectors’ report, besides low staff morale, and higher levels of sickness and more staff leaving than could be recruited, ‘the effects of poor supervision and a thriving drug market contributed to high levels of violence. Prisoners told us that frustration with a lack of consistency in the daily regime, boredom, long periods locked up and not having enough to eat were also contributory factors’.
The inspectors said the ‘prison had become far too violent’: “Despite the impressive commitment of the security team, which had made nearly 900 drugs finds in the last year, there were far too many drugs getting into the jail.” Security threats included ‘organised criminal activity, violence, drug misuse and staff corruption’. The inspectors did praise hand-held substance detectors, developed and evaluated by Bath University: “They were kept updated with the latest drug ingredients found in the prison. Additionally, a mobile device was used on prisoners, staff and visitors to detect concealed items on the person.”
Meanwhile in a ‘review of progress’ visit to HMP Brixton in south London, inspectors found ‘violence remained high’. Likewise in such a visit to HMP Nottingham, inspectors found ‘self-harm and violence had increased’; drivers of violence, the inspectors reported, were ‘linked to substance misuse, mental health issues and gang-related community issues’.
