Latest editorial
BRITAIN’S prisons are struggling to find enough workers, the austerity-hit sector’s chief operating officer admitted today during a grilling by MPs.
In a justice committee hearing, Michelle Jarman-Howe acknowledged a staff leaving rate of 15 per cent but claimed she is “very confident” that the situation is improving.
The group — made up of MPs from various parties and legal experts — is conducting an inquiry into the sector’s workforce amid reports that shortages are leading to prisoners being locked in their cells for up to 23 hours a day.
PCS members face dangerous working conditions in crumbling buildings while the Common Platform IT system obstructs rather than streamlines operations — and Labour’s promised wave of insourcing has not materialised, writes SHARON McLEAN
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