Sixteen prisons in England and Wales are ranked of “serious concern”, the most critical level of performance. That is the highest proportion since ratings began.
The latest assessment by the Ministry of Justice found that 14 per cent of 118 prisons were given the lowest score in the rankings overall, underlining the crisis facing the penal system.
A narrower measure looking at incidents of self-harm and violence found the performance at 86 per cent of jails was ranked either of “concern”, the second lowest measure, or “serious concern”.
Self-harm and violence have reached a record high in prisons. Incidents of self-harm rose 24 per cent to 57,968, in the year to March, while the number of assaults rose 11 per cent to a record high of 34,425 compared with the previous year, according to quarterly Ministry of Justice statistics.
Assaults on staff rose 15 per cent to a record of 10,311, while the number of deaths in prison fell slightly to 309 fatalities, including 86 suicides, over the same period.
The Ministry of Justice said the levels of violence, suicide and self-harm were “unacceptably high,” adding: “We are spending an extra £70m to improve safety and decency, have recruited more than 4,700 more prison officers since 2016 and introduced the key-worker scheme — giving officers time to build the vital relationships that change lives and increase stability.”
Earlier this year a highly critical report by the parliamentary justice committee warned that prisons were in the grip of an “enduring crisis” caused by budget cuts and short-term policymaking.
Campaign groups have called for an urgent response, including reducing the number of offenders sentenced to prison and a focus on rehabilitation.
“The most effective way to cut crime is to reduce reoffending. That means investing in prison safety and rehabilitation to help offenders turn their lives round,” Charlotte Pickles, the director of Reform, a think-tank focused on the public sector, said. “It also means keeping prison as a last resort.”
The latest data were published on the first day in office for Robert Buckland, the former prisons minister, who was appointed justice secretary in Wednesday’s cabinet reshuffle. He replaces David Gauke, who resigned on Boris Johnson’s appointment as prime minister and used his final speech to call for an end to prison sentences of less than six months.
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said Mr Buckland’s appointment would “provide continuity”.
The latest data also showed that just over a fifth of prisoners are being held in overcrowded conditions, while just under 18 per cent of mandatory drugs tests return a positive result.
Drug finds rose 44 per cent compared with last year, while protests that included prisoners erecting barricades rose 24 per cent.
