Britain's most dangerous prisoners guarded by rookie officers because of exodus
The country’s most dangerous prisoners are being guarded by fewer experienced officers because of an exodus of staff.
Since the Conservatives took power in 2010, the number of guards in high security jails with more than three years’ experience has dropped from 4,148 to 2,993.
Back then they made up 91% of the workforce, but this has dropped to 69% as ministers are forced to bring in new recruits to try and fill the gaps. That means almost a third of staff guarding the worst criminals have been in the job less than three years.
At HMP Belmarsh, where Grindr killer Stephen Port is an inmate, the percentage of rookie officers has risen from 5% to 27%. There has been a similar increase from 5% to 30% at HMP Frankland, where Sarah Everard's murderer Wayne Couzens is locked up.
HMP Woodhill, which houses Charles Bronson, has seen the number of inexperienced officers jump from 10% to 38%. The Chief Inspector of Prisons last month warned the jail is “fundamentally unsafe”. An inspection found "bullying and intimidation by prisoners to be commonplace", which meant staff had "voted with their feet", with more officers leaving than joining.
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The statistics on prison officers were published by Justice Minister Damian Hinds in response to a written parliamentary question submitted by Labour.
Shadow Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: “These figures paint a stark picture of the reality of a mass exodus of staff. The high staff turnover means a lack of experience on prison wings and new recruits struggle to find people to learn from.
"The Prison Officers’ Association estimates that almost 100,000 years of cumulative experience has been lost since 2010. The Government needs to urgently address the challenges that prison staff are facing to ensure we see an improvement in engagement and retention. Labour will get a grip of the prison system and ensure public safety.”
Mr Hinds said the resignation rate for prison officers had fallen slightly to 9% in the year to June. He added: “We recognise the importance of retaining experienced staff. We launched a retention toolkit into prisons in 2021 which provides Governors with the support and tools to tackle the main drivers of attrition in their prison.
"Since April 2022, we have invested in a number of new initiatives, including new colleague mentors and a new peer to peer learning scheme, as well as focused leadership training in sites where staff attrition is highest. We have also made significant investments in pay to recognise the hard work of our staff.”
A Prison Service spokesman said: “We are doing more than ever to attract and retain the best staff, including starting salaries for officers which have risen from £22,000 to £30,000 since 2019. Our hardworking officers are also being equipped with the tools they need such as PAVA spray and body-worn cameras, and X-ray body scanners prevent the smuggling of illicit contraband that fuels disorder. These measures are working and in addition to increasing the number of officers by 4,000 since 2017, retention rates for prison staff are now improving.”
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