Assaults on prison staff 'unacceptable' - minister

The prisons minister has said all assaults on prison officers are "unacceptable" after a report revealed that action was not always taken against inmates.

The Independent Monitoring Board's (IMB) annual report into HMP Norwich said: "Assaults on prison staff are frequent.

"The board has observed that although such incidents are referred to the police, not all result in further action, the Norfolk Police/Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) having decided not to pursue the matter."

Lord Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, said: "Steps have been taken to improve justice outcomes for these brave staff."

The report continued: "The board has also observed that the police prosecute a large proportion of assaults on police officers, no matter how minor.

"The board considers that such inequality hampers the prison's efforts to control violence within HMP/YOI Norwich, preventing the creation of a safer environment for the prisoners and staff."

Timpson said: "The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 doubled the maximum penalty for assaulting emergency workers, including prison officers, to two years."

This sent a clear signal that assaults on emergency workers would not be tolerated, said the minister.

"While charging decisions rest with the CPS, recent changes mean that for offences referred after 1 May 2025, a broader range of charges will be considered, including actual bodily harm (ABH) and grievous bodily harm (GBH)," he added.

Statistics from the Ministry of Justice showed that in the 12 months to March 2025 the rate of assaults on staff was 122 per 1,000 prisoners (a total of 10,568 assaults). This was up 7% from the 12 months to March 2024, to a new peak.

But in the latest quarter the number of assaults on staff was down 2.5% to 2,565 incidents.

The IMB's report also raised concerns that foreign national prisoners were being held at HMP/YOI Norwich beyond their sentence.

On 13 February, six people had been detained. Some of them were "deemed not suitable for the immigration detention estate," said the report.

The board said it accepted the reasoning but noted that it "causes frustration and manifests itself in bad behaviour, resulting in these individuals being housed in segregation for long periods of time".

Timpson said: "We work closely with the Home Office to ensure that a foreign national offender's removal by deportation coincides, as far as possible, with their release from prison on completion of sentence."

However, he said that due to reasons of security and control a foreign national offender could be assessed as not being suitable for transfer to an immigration estate.

Then they would remain in prison accommodation on completion of their sentence, until they could be removed or released on bail.

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