Natalie Parrett, Head of Custodial Psychological Services at the contractor Serco, pictured, discusses her research into pilot workshops for prison staff focused on responding to violence in prisons.
With a rising prison population and an increased strain on capacity, prisons face a related challenge – the rise of violent incidents. Just last month, a report published by the Public Accounts Committee found that attacks on prison staff had increased by 19 per cent between September 2023 and 2024. Addressing this problem is critical not only for the protection of staff and prisoners, but also because violent incidents derail the rehabilitation process – a crucial part of addressing the root causes of reoffending and ultimately reducing demand for prison space.
There’s a real need to further our understanding of how these incidents occur and how prison staff can be best equipped to handle them. As part of a Serco initiative, and in collaboration with fellow psychologist Elinor Bull, I worked on developing psychologically underpinned, trauma-informed workshops for prison staff, which explore the factors that contribute to decision-making during violent incidents. These workshops, named RE-ACT, encourage staff to reflect on potentially traumatic events experienced while on duty, helping them to process, understand and learn from them. In turn, helping prison staff identify certain triggers or behavioural factors which may influence their responses to violence ultimately supports them in de-escalating violent scenarios faster.
Reactive research
Previous external research carried out by psychologists Netto et al, revealed higher levels of trauma exposure are linked to an increase in impulsive reactions. When developing our RE-ACT workshops, we considered this in the context of a prison wing, where staff who are regularly facing violent incidents would be less likely to stop and create a space to think about their decisions before taking action. Prisons being fast-paced work environments means officers are more likely to take a task-focused approach rather than reflective and holistic approach towards dealing with incidents – it is our ambition to change that.
Alongside the development of the workshops, a preliminary survey was undertaken, of a small sample size, which revealed less than half of the prison officers involved felt that their reactions were influenced by past experiences. These findings were essential to how we approached and developed RE-ACT.
Delivering RE-ACT as a workshop allowed for the exchange of ideas and encourage reflections among participants. Small groups of 12 ensured that everyone had the opportunity to share and participate, while keeping the workshops to an hour minimised impact on the prison’s day-to-day regime. We recognised that recalling traumatic events can be challenging, which is why we used brainstorm techniques to encourage collective work and inspire memory recall between participants. We also made sure that the groups consisted of staff from a range of grades across the prison, nurturing a variety of perspectives, ideas and thought processes.
After a 12-month pilot, the prison where the workshops ran saw a 43% drop in staff injuries from violent incidents. While it’s not possible to fully isolate the effect of the workshops on violence and injury reduction, this significant drop in attacks on staff demonstrate that this research could contribute to a wider systemic focus on addressing the root causes of prison-based violence. It’s now our ambition to continue gathering insights from larger groups of workshop participants to identify more trends that will help inform the development of future training.
Mindful response
It is crucial to understand the way in which individuals come to make decisions, in order to mindfully work on their instinctive reactions. Feedback from those who took part highlighted how they began a process of thinking about their personal responses, as well as establishing a better understanding of how others will respond and feel differently to them. It’s these outcomes that demonstrate how workshops such as RE-ACT have the potential to build a foundation for long-term and meaningful change that can help prison staff work towards more positive, lower-risk outcomes when responding to prison-based violence.
While prisons will inevitably always be fast-paced and intense workplaces, there is much that can be done to make them as safe and as supportive an environment as possible. Our research shows that staff numbers are an important situational factor when responding to violence, and that prison staff may feel powerless and vulnerable if they don’t have a sufficient team around them. With prisons facing increasing pressures on resource, it is becoming progressively more difficult for staff and prisoners to develop positive relationships that command respect, not violence. Damaging these connections hinders a key purpose of our justice system – to rehabilitate prisoners.
Our work with RE-ACT also identified that prison staff are likely to see their role concerning prisoners’ rehabilitation differently depending on the culture of the prison they work in. If the culture within a prison is based on the use of force, it can also reduce a prison officer’s feelings of responsibility towards supporting rehabilitation and increase their focus on security and maintaining control. This can lead to damaging trust and respect between prisoners and prison staff. Barriers to prisoner engagement with productive rehabilitation opportunities will inevitably lead to worse mental health conditions, increased anti-social behaviour and ultimately increase reoffending rates. The root of this issue must be addressed through research, training and support for prison officers to create safer and more positive environments benefitting everyone involved.
Wider approach
Our RE-ACT workshops are part of a wider approach to leave behind the ‘us vs. them’ attitude when it comes to prisoner and prison staff relationships, while fostering a rehabilitative culture. With the inevitable demands of a rising prison population, officers need to be given the space to stop, reflect and make mindful decisions. This work marks the start of a much longer journey to truly understanding the impact of trauma on both prisoners and staff alike, ultimately reducing the frequency of violence in prisons and improving rehabilitation outcomes. With the potential for further research to be carried out within this area, we hope to inspire a wider response to supporting prison officer welfare and their capacity to respond effectively and reflectively to prison-based violence.
Background
Serco operates five adult prisons in the UK; visit https://www.serco.com/uk/sector-expertise/justice. About its in-house psychologists, visit https://www.serco.com/uk/sector-expertise/justice/psychological-services.
