Incidents Of 'Concerted Indiscipline' in London prisons are on the increase
Prisons in London have dealt with 57 incidents of “concerted indiscipline” in the last three years, according to figures seen by the Howard League for Penal Reform this week.
Ministry of Justice statistics show that trouble in prisons is on the increase, with incidents rising by more than 200 per cent across England and Wales.
Prisons nationwide recorded a total of 282 incidents during 2015 – more than five a week. Wandsworth Prison topped the London table with 11 incidents in 2015 compared to 2 in 2014 and none in 2013.
The National Offender Management Service - the government body which manages prison sentences - introduced a “new enhanced incident reporting standard” last summer. The figures reveal that incidents had more than doubled, rising from 92 in 2012, to 148 in 2013, to 191 in 2014.
Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, the oldest penal reform charity in the world, said: “The Prime Minister has recognised that prisons are failing and that wholesale reform is needed. But simply trying to build a way out of the problem will not work and would mean years of disorder, violence and people dying while we wait for new prisons to be built.
“Evidence shows that building additional prisons only compounds overcrowding and its consequent problems as the courts send more people to prison every day.
“We cannot go on cramming more people into jails without any thought for the safety of staff, prisoners and the public.”
An incident is recorded as “concerted indiscipline” if it involves two or more prisoners acting together to defy a lawful instruction or against the requirements of the regime of the establishment. This includes major disturbances such as riots.
The figures were given by the Prisons and Probation Minister, Andrew Selous, in response to a question asked by shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter.
The number of incidents of “concerted indiscipline” recorded in London prisons were as follows:
Prison |
Incidents of concerted indiscipline |
|||
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
|
Belmarsh |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
Brixton |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
Feltham |
0 |
9 |
6 |
1 |
Holloway |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
Isis |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
Pentonville |
0 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
Thameside (Serco)* |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
Wandsworth |
0 |
0 |
2 |
11 |
Wormwood Scrubs |
0 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
TOTAL |
0 |
13 |
14 |
30 |
*Thameside opened in March 2012.
March 30, 2016