The shadow Justice Secretary has suggested that prison staff should be armed with tasers, stun grenades, and lethal weapons. As reported in The Guardian Robert Jenrick said weapons should be used amid an ‘out of control’ prison environment.

Last May, a group of high-profile inmates, including Manchester Arena bomber Hashem Abedi, attacked prison staff with boiling oil and homemade weapons. Jenrick warned dangerous conditions in prisons are rapidly increasing, stating ‘We have to stop pussy-footing around Islamist extremists and violent offenders in jail’.

The escalating instability of the prison is leaving inmates and staff worried over the future of prisons. General secretary Steve Gillan of the Prison Officers’ Association has called for stab vests to be made available across all prisons, warning that without them, staff could die. One anonymous prison officer commented that ‘stab vests would help us feel safer’.

The Independent has recently reported concerns that prison staff are involved in illegal activity with contraband, including drugs and phones, is being supplied by prison staff. There are also concerns that due to recent national staffing storage, inexperienced personnel have been recruited into prisons in Wales and England.

Leaked social media messages from 2024 revealed that prison staff were ridiculing inmate violence and self-harm incidents. Two guards were poking fun at an incident where one inmate was smashed into a shower, stating ‘Good! I hope they hurt him too’. Families of prisoners have expressed their concern over the safety of their loved ones, with one parent stating, ‘Is my son going to be another statistic?’