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Prisons to get 'biggest overhaul in a generation' Prisons to get 'biggest overhaul in a generation'
(about 2 hours later)
Prisons in England and Wales are to undergo an overhaul that will be "the biggest in a generation", Justice Secretary Liz Truss has said. Prisons in England and Wales are to see their biggest overhaul in a generation, Justice Secretary Liz Truss has said.
She unveiled a White Paper detailing £1.3bn of investment in a "modern" prison estate over the next five years. A White Paper details £1.3bn investment in a "modern" prison estate over the next five years, including plans for 2,100 extra officers, new drug tests and more autonomy for governors.
The plans include recruiting an extra 2,100 prison officers, new drug tests and more autonomy for governors. Labour said the announcement was "too little, too late", saying earlier staff cuts had created a "crisis in safety".
Labour said the announcement would be a "blatant PR stunt" unless comprehensive plans to address staff cuts were made. Unions have raised concerns about a rise in violence and suicide in jails.
Ms Truss said the prison system was under "serious and sustained pressure", with rising rates of violence and self-harm, constant threats to prison staff and missed opportunities to reform. The Prison Officers Association (POA) warned on Wednesday that jails were facing bloodbaths unless more staff were recruited and retained.
She said the cost of reoffending by former prisoners to society was estimated to be £15bn a year, adding: "We owe it to our hard-working prison staff to reverse these trends. We owe it to prisoners and their families. And we owe it to our communities and victims of crime." 'Refocus the system'
Addressing MPs in the Commons, Ms Truss said the prison system was under "serious and sustained pressure", with missed opportunities in the past to introduce reforms.
She is promising a zero-tolerance approach toward attacks on prison staff and says body-worn cameras will be rolled out across the prison estate to increase officers' confidence.
The cost to society of reoffending by former prisoners was estimated to be £15bn a year, Ms Truss said, adding: "We owe it to our hard-working prison staff to reverse these trends. We owe it to prisoners and their families. And we owe it to our communities and victims of crime."
She said: "My starting point is to refocus the system so everyone is clear that safety and rehabilitation is the purpose of the prison system...
"Governors and staff cannot lead and manage change in an environment where they fear violence. Likewise, offenders cannot be expected to turn their life around while they are dependent on drugs or in fear of being assaulted."
The debate about a growing crisis in the prison service has increasingly focused on staff shortages, with officer numbers having fallen from about 25,000 to 18,000 since 2010.The debate about a growing crisis in the prison service has increasingly focused on staff shortages, with officer numbers having fallen from about 25,000 to 18,000 since 2010.
The 2,100 extra officers are in addition to 400 new staff announced by Ms Truss last month, which means a total of 2,500 new recruits joining the service. The 2,100 extra officers announced in the White Paper are in addition to 400 new staff announced by Ms Truss last month, which means a total of 2,500 new recruits joining the service.
They are due to be in place by the end of 2018 at a cost of £100m a year, but will still leave staffing short of the levels seen before 2010.They are due to be in place by the end of 2018 at a cost of £100m a year, but will still leave staffing short of the levels seen before 2010.
The number of prisoners has risen slightly over the same period.The number of prisoners has risen slightly over the same period.
How dangerous are our prisons?How dangerous are our prisons?
The prison officers helping ex-prisonersThe prison officers helping ex-prisoners
Drugs and tension: Inside WandsworthDrugs and tension: Inside Wandsworth
'Worst state for a decade''Worst state for a decade'
Ms Truss told BBC Breakfast the extra staff "will enable us to have a dedicated officer for each six prisoners".
"That's the ratio that we can operate at to make sure that each prisoner gets that individual support that helps them reform, get off drugs, get into work, but also keeps the prison safe."
But staff levels were not the only issue, she said, adding: "It's also about tackling the drones, the drugs, the phones."
Latest figures show a new high of 65 assaults in jails every day.Latest figures show a new high of 65 assaults in jails every day.
In the year to June, assaults on staff jumped by 43% to 5,954, with 697 of these recorded as serious.In the year to June, assaults on staff jumped by 43% to 5,954, with 697 of these recorded as serious.
Union leaders warned on Wednesday that prisons were facing bloodbaths unless more staff were recruited and retained. Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Steve Gillan, from the POA, said: "The reality is this government has caused the problem - they've cut the staffing levels, they've taken so much money out of the system that the system is broken."
Steve Gillan, of the Prison Officers Association (POA), said proper staffing levels were needed if officers - not inmates - were to be in charge of jails. He said the union would consider industrial action beyond the 11 November deadline it has set for the government to take action over prison violence.
He told BBC Breakfast: "The reality is this government has caused the problem - they've cut the staffing levels, they've taken so much money out of the system that the system is broken.
"And my union will not stand by and watch our members become punchbags on a daily basis."
He said the POA would consider industrial action beyond the 11 November deadline it has set for the government to take action over prison violence.
Key points from the White PaperKey points from the White Paper
Warnings have also come from prisoners on the inside, with one inmate at London's Pentonville telling the BBC that knives are flown in by drones and razors are melted into toothbrushes to make weapons.Warnings have also come from prisoners on the inside, with one inmate at London's Pentonville telling the BBC that knives are flown in by drones and razors are melted into toothbrushes to make weapons.
Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said Ms Truss needed to "regain the trust of prison governors and prison officers" with her speech. Shadow justice secretary Richard Burgon said Ms Truss needed to regain the trust of prison governors and officers.
"Without a comprehensive plan to deal with these issues then her speech will be nothing more than empty words and a blatant PR stunt." "The story in our prison system since 2010 is a story of spiralling violence and drug use," he said.
"The root cause of this prison crisis is the political decision to cut our prison service back to the bone."
Dame Sally Coates, a former head teacher who carried out a review of education in prisons for the government earlier this year, said the extra officers pledge was "probably not going to be enough, but it's a start".Dame Sally Coates, a former head teacher who carried out a review of education in prisons for the government earlier this year, said the extra officers pledge was "probably not going to be enough, but it's a start".
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme officers should be trained to be more than just "turnkeys" whose only job was to lock people up.She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme officers should be trained to be more than just "turnkeys" whose only job was to lock people up.
Dame Sally said: "If we are really really going to change prisons… they have to be able to do more than that. Ms Truss said the reform plans would address reoffending rates.
"They are working with some of the most vulnerable, disaffected, violent members of society and yet they're often unskilled, untrained, have very little personal or professional development." "We will give governors the tools they need to drive forward improvements," she told the Commons. "We will push decision-making authority and budgets - for the things that make a difference to offenders - down to governors, whether that is education, family services or how they run their regime."
Ms Truss said her reform plans addressed not just violence in prison, but reoffending rates.
She said: "Within a year almost 50% of those who've just left prison are likely to commit another crime. And that costs £15bn to society and of course huge human misery.
"So as well as getting the violence down, my reform plans are designed to get prisoners into work, off drugs, get the education they need - so that when they leave prison they contribute to society rather than committing crime".
In echoes of her predecessor Michael Gove's reform plans, Ms Truss also plans to give governors more say over how their prisons are run and make sure they are held to account for levels of reoffending and drug misuse.