PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Prisons: Restraint Techniques (9 March 2015)

The number of violent criminals in our prisons has increased by 40% in the past 10 years. A specialised system of restraint known as control and restraint (C&R) has been developed over many years to ensure that prisoners can be controlled with minimum risk of injury to staff or prisoners. C&R is a system of techniques used by a team of three officers as a last resort to bring a violent or refractory prisoner under control. Wherever possible staff should avoid the use of force and de-escalate the situation by persuasion or negotiation; if the techniques are applied then they are used for as short a time as possible. Healthcare staff examine all prisoners on whom force has been used.

Violence in prisons is not tolerated; and assaults on our hardworking staff are unacceptable. That is why we have introduced a new protocol establishing that when there are serious assaults on prison staff, the perpetrators must be prosecuted unless there is a good reason why not. This will ensure that prisoners who attack staff are prosecuted and fully brought to justice. It will mean that more of the prisoners who assault staff will spend longer behind bars.

All prisons submit a central monthly return providing the number of times force has been used in the prison with details of any injuries sustained. Central data identifies the number of individuals injured rather than the number of incidents where an injury occurred . Use of force incidents may involve multiple prisoners, for example, force used to separate a fight. To identify the number of incidents would require manual interrogation of use of force documentation held at establishments and could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

Central data only records whether an injury resulted in hospitalisation or not. To identify if the injuries sustained were minor or serious would also require manual interrogation of use of force documentation held at establishments and could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

The table below provides details of the number of prisoners hospitalised following an incident where force was used in contracted prisons.

Prisoners requiring hospitalisation following use of force, by year and establishment

Note to tables:

1. “-“ denotes note applicable

2. HMP Ashfield re-rolled from a Young Offender Institution to adult male category C prison in May 2013.

3. G4S took responsibility for HMP Birmingham October 2011. Figures provided are for the part of the year when it was operated in the private sector.

4. Sodexo took responsibility for HMP Northumberland in December 2013. Figures provided are for the full calendar year.

5. HMP Oakwood opened in April 2012

6. HMP Thameside opened in March 2012

7. These figures are derived from monthly aggregated Use of Force returns from each prison.

8. A new system for collecting this data was introduced in late 2013 and data recording is likely to have improved. Care should therefore be taken when comparing changes over time.

9. The Wolds ceased to be operated as a private prison, returning to the public sector in July 2013. Figures provided are for the part of the year when it was operated in the private sector.