Staff and inmates attacks in prisons are at five-year high

Levels of violence inside UK prisons have reached unprecedented highs, with new figures showing that prisons in Lancashire have recorded their highest number of inmate and staff assaults in the past five years.

- by Post Reporter

Data obtained by Legal Expert reveals a rise in both prisoner-on-prisoner violence and attacks on staff at HMP Garth, Lancaster Farms, Preston and Wymott, which combined, held around 3,200 inmates in 2024.

In the 2024/25 financial year, Lancashire prisons reported 730 assaults between prisoners - a dramatic increase from 314 incidents five years earlier.

Over the same period, assaults on prison staff rose by 108 per cent, climbing from 137 in 2020/21 to 284 in 2024/25.