Prison Officers Warn of Morale Crisis in UK Jails

24 August 2007

London-Prison officers Friday called for an urgent meeting with the government to address a "crisis of morale" in UK jails.

Prison Officers Association (POA) chairman Colin Moses warned that staff face an increased risk of violence as well as being overstretched and underpaid.

The call comes after two members of the gang, who murdered a police officer, were charged with stabbing an inmate at Frankland Prison in Durham, north-east England.

According to the BBC, the high-security jail, which houses some of the UK's most dangerous terrorist inmates, has seen several high-profile attacks in recent months.

"What's happening at Frankland is what we're seeing at establishments across the UK where staff are fully stretched due to lack of investment," Moses said..

He said that the jail is one of the UK's top facilities and if this is what happens in a successful prison, "imagine what happens in those that are more overcrowded and under-resourced."

The overcrowded problems come as Britain's jailed population has surpassed its capacity with a record of over 80,000 prisoners causing the government to use police cells and announce plans to reduce the number of convicted people being sent to jail.