How likely is it the justice system will be reformed?

Assaults on prison staff are more numerous than ever and - not unrelated - overcrowding of inmates is also showing a marked deterioration.

- SEAN O'GRADY

The latest figures on conditions in jails from the Ministry of Justice, covering England and Wales, come after a particularly violent assault by Hashem Abedi, the accomplice and brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, on three officers, using a homemade weapon and hot cooking oil to inflict serious injuries.

The scale of the overcrowding crisis, meanwhile, first became very clear to the public last summer when the incoming government had to implement an emergency programme of prisoner releases to avoid the collapse of the criminal justice system. Britain’s prisons seem doomed to permanent crisis.

How bad is it?

The figures speak for themselves: 10,605 assaults on staff recorded last year, up 15 per cent on 2023; seven murders of inmates by inmates; and HM Inspector of Prisons earlier this year reporting thriving illicit economies of drugs, mobile phones and weapons. And basic security measures such as protective netting and CCTV have been allowed to fall into disrepair.

Does prison work?

Arguable. It’s what Michael Howard, home secretary in the 1990s, famously claimed, unashamedly placing retribution ahead of rehabilitation. It certainly doesn’t feel like inflicting inhumane treatment and dangerous conditions on miscreants has helped society.

Why are we here?