Latest editorial
BUDGET cuts and chronic staff shortages in British prisons will lead to deaths unless urgent action is taken, the Prison Officers Association said yesterday.
The stark warning came as reports emerged of a second serious incident in the space of a week at HMP Swaleside in Kent.
Three inmates are said to have been involved in a disturbance on Wednesday night that left one individual requiring hospital treatment.
Our members face serious violence, crumbling workplaces and exposure to dangerous drugs — it is outrageous we still cannot legally use our industrial muscle to fight back and defend ourselves, writes STEVE GILLAN
MARK FAIRHURST highlights the main issues facing officers in a long neglected service, and raised by front-line delegates at POA conference last week, including understaffing, violence, bullying and the ongoing denial of workers’ right to strike