Assaults in Risley prison have more than doubled in a year

Violence in prisons across England and Wales has reached a post-Covid pandemic high, with the number of assaults behind bars rising by more than a quarter.

The situation is even worse in HM Prison Risley, with Ministry of Justice figures showing there were 307 assaults recorded at the Warrington R9oad jail in the year to March – up from at least 141 the year before.

This included 83 assaults on staff, while 225 were prisoner-on-prisoner.

These may not equal the total number of assaults recorded as officers can be assaulted in a prisoner-on-prisoner assault, while some attacks may involve visitors.

Actual figures for 2022-23 may be slightly higher due to how the data was collected.

Nationally, violence surged to a post-pandemic peak of 28,292 incidents over the past year – an increase of 27 per cent from the year before.

Andrea Coomber, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "Much of the focus of policy has been on the crisis of prison capacity, with the number of available cells at the foremost of people's minds.

"These figures remind us that there is a crisis of human misery behind bars too.

"Exposing people to environments of rising violence and mental distress will do nothing to turn their lives around and away from crime".

Meanwhile, out of the 119 adult prisons in England and Wales, 35 were rated of ‘concern’ – including Risley – and 15 of ‘serious concern’, rising by six since last year.

Self-harm rates have also hit their highest level since records began, with 73,804 incidents taking place in the 12-month period.

This is a rate of one prisoner hurting themselves every seven minutes, the MoJ said.

In Risley, there was a significant increase in the number of self-harm incidents, from 631 in 2022-23 to 1,067 in the year to March.

Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "In the last year alone, we have seen more self-harming, by more people, more often, and further rises in assaults between prisoners, and on staff.

"When prisons are this overcrowded, and staff this overstretched, they become completely ill-equipped to deal with the scale of trauma and despair amongst the people in their care."

However, she acknowledged the Government has ‘recognised the importance of reducing overcrowding’, which will ‘buy some breathing space’.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "Our prisons are in crisis, leading to endemic violence and harm behind bars.

"These statistics reveal what is really happening inside jails today, and why we had no choice but to act.

"This Government will always protect the public, lock up dangerous offenders, and make prisons safe for prisoners and the brave staff who work there."