Officers plea for batons as attacks on staff up 137%
If we could get incapacitant spray and batons we could add to our safety Warders’ conference hears plea for defensive weapons inside
PRISON officers are pleading to be allowed to use defensive weapons to counter the vicious attacks which are on the rise behind bars.
The Prison Officers Association said the number of violent incidents from 2020 to last year increased by 137%, with 891 incidents in 2023, including 110 assaults against warders by inmates.
Speaking at its annual conference in Sligo, deputy general secretary Gabriel Keaveney gave an example of how a colleague suffered a horrific wound.
He told delegates: “Earlier this year one of our members had his face slashed after he intervened as a prisoner was trying to escape. The prisoner is reported to have said, ‘I’ll stab the face off you, I’ll stab you to death,’ as he carried out the assault.
“Last year a female prison officer was left with life-changing injuries, sustained in an attack by a prisoner.” Mr Keaveney’s comments come as the POA are advocating for prison officers to be able to carry batons as a means of defence behind bars.
He added: “If we could secure access to such items as incapacitant spray, concealed batons and conflict resolution dogs, we could take more decisive action and add to overall safety.
“We have raised this with the Irish Prison Service this week and have stressed again our view that prison officers should be allowed to carry concealed batons within the prison, as a way of protecting themselves and others.”
Currently prison officers are not allowed to carry a baton unless they are on an escort or in the National Violence Reduction Unit.
Speaking about the rise in violent incidents in prisons, Mr Keaveney added the overcrowding crisis is adding to the problem.
He said: “We must face the fact that violent incidents are much more likely occur in our present overcrowded prison environment, where prisoners are not getting sufficient access to non-cell facilities, such as workshops and recreation. In 2023 we have had over 100 direct physical assaults on prison officers while carrying out their duties in our prisons.”
Meanwhile, the IPS Director General Caron Mccaffrey claimed assaults are down but added the 110 incidents are still too many.
She added: “There has been a 66% rise in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults which is really regrettable. “There has, however, been a reduction on the number of assaults on staff in 2023, but that’s not to say that any level of assaults against our staff is acceptable.
“There were 110 assaults too many and we take this issue very seriously, as
do gardai.”