Prisoners: Safety

Making prisons safe remains a key priority. We are working hard to reduce violence and self-harm and have a range of measures in place to address these safety issues.

We have completed our landmark £100 million Security Investment Programme to clamp down on illicit items such as drugs, mobile phones and weapons – that drive prison violence and undermine safety.

To ensure our staff are equipped with the right tools to protect themselves and prisoners from serious assaults, we have completed the roll out of PAVA – a synthetic pepper spray – for use by prison officers in the adult male estate alongside SPEAR, a personal safety training package.

We recognise that rates of self-harm across the estate are high, and we are taking action to address this. We provide individualised support through our case management process for people identified as at risk of suicide and self-harm.

We fund Samaritans through a £2 million grant (provided up until March 2025). This is primarily for the delivery of the Listener scheme in over 100 prisons; In 2023 there were over 1,300 prisoners volunteering as Listeners who provided over 14,000 hours of emotional support to other prisoners.