Advertisement

  1. National

Inspectors raise fears over violence in prisons

Inspectors have raised fears over high levels of violence at a prison with a high population of gang members, inspectors have warned.

In 2013, there were 254 fights and assaults at Isis prison, which holds young men aged 18 to 30, with 120 in the previous six months, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) said.

View all 4 updates ›

'Crisis' prison 'under-staffed, overcrowded warehouse'

The director of the Prison Reform Trust has called a south east London Young Offenders institution "grossly under-staffed, cash-strapped, overcrowded warehouse", after inspectors warned that there were signs of increasing violence at Isis due to its high population of gang members. Juliet Lyon said:

Time and again the Justice Secretary claims he is transforming rehabilitation, yet here is another example of a violent institution where far too many young prisoners spend the working day locked down with little or nothing to do save for half an hour of exercise.

– Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust

More top news