Prison officer support to be reviewed by minister

The justice minister has commissioned a review of the support mechanisms within the Prison Service to advise her department what additional assistance can be provided to front-line staff.

In May, it was revealed more than 200 prison officers have received warnings about work absence in recent years.

The UUP Justice spokesperson, Doug Beattie, who obtained the figures, said this was unfair.

Naomi Long said the review will be a short, focussed exercise.

Of a total of 349 warnings given to civil servants in the past three years, 203 related to prison officers.

Mr Beattie said prison officers perform "an incredibly stressful and dangerous role".

He argued that prison staff suffering from diagnosed mental health conditions should be treated with compassion rather than subjected to disciplinary procedures.

The matter was the subject of an Assembly debate last week and the review was welcomed by members of the Stormont Justice Committee on Thursday.

Mr Beattie said he hopes the review is not a knee-jerk response to him raising the issue in a debate, but will lead to positive developments.