Prison Officers: Body Armour and Stun Guns
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were issued with (a) tasers and (b) body armour in 2025.
Answered by Jake Richards
Following a serious incident at HMP Frankland in April 2025, the Department acted quickly to review the use of protective body armour across the estate.
As a result, we have introduced a significant expansion in provision, with protective body armour now mandated for staff working in the highest-risk areas of the long-term high security estate, including Close Supervision Centres, Separation Centres and Segregation Units. This builds on existing use in high-risk operational contexts such as planned use of force and national tactical deployments.
We issued protective body armour to 514 named staff members in 2025, with a further 264 spare sets available for cross‑deployment.
Tasers are not issued to individual officers. However, 18 officers within the Operational Response and Resilience Unit were trained in the use of the Conducted Energy Device (taser) in 2025.
Our approach is risk-based and evidence-led, ensuring that protective equipment is prioritised for those staff facing the greatest threat, while remaining practical and effective in operational environments.
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