Jails knife surge
Attacks rise 29% to highest number ever
KNIFE use in prison violence has rocketed, with a record 635 attacks in a year.
The surge in the use of a bladed weapon by lags is up from 491 in 2015 – a huge increase of 29 per cent.
The blades – including lock-knives smuggled inside – are used in battles over gang issues and drugs. Officers are also increasingly becoming targets.
Inmates assaulted 6,844 prison staff in 2016. These included 789 of the highest category “serious” assaults on staff, which include stabbing. The People can reveal a guard had a lucky escape after being stabbed with a lock-knife. He suffered a 7mm cut to the abdomen after being assaulted at The Mount prison, near Bovingdon, Herts. A large hunting knife was used in the murder of inmate Jamal Mahmoud, 21, in Pentonville prison, North London. Glyn Travis of the Prison Officers Association said: “We need more officers to tackle this problem.”