HMYOI Aylesbury: Violence 'direct result of low staffing levels'

The young offenders institution houses males with some of the longest detention sentences in England

Serious assaults on staff has more than doubled at an institution housing "some of the most disruptive and challenging young men in the prison system", a report has found.

HMYOI Aylesbury has become a "more violent place" as a "direct result" of the poor staffing situation, its Independent Monitoring Board said.

But, the number of self-harm cases and fights has decreased from 2016 to 2018.

A Prison Service spokeswoman said it was determined to bring violence down.

The report said the institution housed males serving some of the longest detention sentences in the English prison system, with about 8% serving life sentences.

Poor state of building

It also noted HMYOI Aylesbury had been operating near its 440 capacity for the past 12 months.

The number of serious assaults on staff has more than doubled in a year - from 14 recorded cases in 2016-2017 to 33 cases in 2017-2018.

Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults are also up from 222 to 241 and prisoner-on-staff assaults have increased from 71 to 92.

The report said the average prisoner spends a third of their working day locked in their cell and a third of basic grade prison officers have less than one year's experience in the role.

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It added that it had concerns over the "increasingly poor state" of the prison - noting mould and an odour in the shower blocks and that so-called temporary boilers had been in place for so long they had to be replaced from time to time.

Inmates filmed during a disturbance that left officers hurt in April 2018

But positively, the number of fights has reduced from 174 to 119 and the number of cases of self-harm have almost halved - from 451 to 255 in the same time period.

Drug-fuelled violence crackdown

In July 2017, seven prison officers and one inmate were injured in a "brawl" at Aylesbury.

In November 2017, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) blamed serious understaffing for an increase in violence at the site.

The Prison Service said the temporary boilers would be replaced by permanent ones commissioned over the next 12 months and that refurbishments were under way.

A spokeswoman added: "We are determined to bring down the unacceptable levels of violence in our prisons.

"We are rolling out PAVA incapacitant spray, body-worn cameras and 'police style' handcuffs and restraints and are spending an extra £70 million to improve safety and tackle the drugs which we know are fuelling much of the violence."