Surge in violence adds
CONVICTS have had more than one million extra days added to their sentences for attacks on prison officers in the last five years.
The punishments are equivalent to an extra 2,700 years being served by violent inmates in overcrowded jails in England and Wales.
Keeping a prisoner inside costs around £110 a day so in the last five years the taxpayer has been forced to pay an extra £110million to keep violent offenders behind bars.
Figures obtained by the Daily Star Sunday show that last year lags carried out attacks on staff and other inmates more than 13,000 times.
The assaults led to prisoners receiving an extra 215,000 days added to their sentences – the highest number for four years.
Any prisoner who assaults a member of staff or another prisoner can receive up to 20 days extra in jail for each offence.
Sources have told us the most violent prisoners can end up with several years being added to their sentences.
Among those doing extra time is Charles Bronson, pictured, who has been dubbed Britain’s most violent con.
Prison officers blame the growing problem of violent attacks on staff cuts, poor morale and overcrowded jails.
One prison officer said: “The whole JOHN WARD system in jails in England and Wales is close to collapse. Prisons are overcrowded and under-staffed.
“Adding days and weeks to prisoners’ sentences is only making the situation worse.
“A lot of the violence is a result of overcrowding, so keeping people banged up for longer just adds to the problem.
“We need more staff to sort out the problems before they turn violent.
“It’s just a matter of time before a member of staff is seriously injured or killed.”
There has been a major surge in the number of violent offences and selfharming in jails.
Between 2010 and 2015 the number of deaths in prisons rose from 198 to 257 per year.
Notorious Charles Bronson, 63, had an extra two years added to his sentence in 2014 after he attacked a prison governor.
During the incident at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes, Bucks, Bronson got the official in a headlock and hit him several times over the head.
In the same year an inmate at Feltham Young Offenders’ Institute in London had his sentence increased after he attacked prison officer Nicola Williams.
She was eventually saved from the assault by another prisoner.
She said: “There are never enough officers on duty to protect us.”