Assaults on Prison Staff Hit Record Highs in 2025

Violence against prison staff in England and Wales has significantly increased, with assaults rising to record levels in recent years due to factors such as overcrowding, contraband, and staff shortages. These assaults can range from minor assaults to major incidents involving improvised weapons such as homemade shanks, blades or edged weapons and hot liquids.

In response, the Ministry of Justice is implementing security enhancements, conducting Taser trials, and taking other measures to combat contraband and enhance safety in High-Security prisons. However, even with these proposed safety measures, prison unions argue that current actions are still insufficient.

This new trial has only come into effect since the BBC recently revealed that over the last five years, more than £20 million has been paid out in damages to staff and prisoners who have been assaulted due to the rise in prison violence.

The latest data paints a troubling picture: in the year to March 2025, prisons in England and Wales recorded 10,568 assaults on staff, a 7 % increase over the previous year, while total assaults rose to 30,846, up 9 %.

In such a climate of escalating violence, prison officers face unprecedented risk, both physically and mentally, and urgent action is required. Several high-profile, disturbing attacks in recent months illustrate just how dangerous the current situation has become:

• In April 2025, Hashem Abedi, the Manchester Arena bomber’s brother, attacked three officers at HMP Frankland using boiling oil and homemade weapons, inflicting severe burns and stab wounds.
• In May, at HMP Belmarsh, the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, scalded a prison officer with boiling water through a cell hatch, an assault that required hospital treatment.
• At HMP Long Lartin on 30 May 2025, a prison officer was brutally stabbed, prompting emergency surgery.
• Moreover, a drone-delivered knife attack at HMP Long Lartin reignited calls to equip staff with stab vests; Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood initiated a “rapid review” expected to approve their use.

All of these incidents point to a system under strain, overcrowding, inexperienced staffing, gang activity, and prison violence rising to record levels, which are converging to create a serious threat to officer and staff safety. According to Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), officers at HMP Frankland were “absolutely traumatised” after the attack, and the victims face a long road to recovery. Fairhurst described the attack as occurring in a separation centre, a facility housing the most high-risk terrorist offenders in the UK and criticised the current allowances that enable prisoners to access cooking facilities and resources to fashion weapons. He emphasised:

“Separation centres are there for one reason and one reason alone: to control and contain the most prolific and serious terrorist offenders. Basic entitlements are all they require. Everything else must be strictly controlled.”

Fairhurst also highlighted the longstanding issue of protective equipment:

“We’ve been calling for several years for staff to be issued with professional stab-proof vests. This has been consistently denied because of concerns it might look militaristic or intimidate prisoners. Staff safety should always be the priority.”

His comments underscore the urgent need for frontline protection against increasingly violent incidents. However, this isn’t the first incident that has prompted the request for urgent action to increase protection measures inside prisons. The POA has highlighted that a significant number of assaults over the past several years have not been fully investigated or addressed, leading to staff feeling unprotected and at risk.

The Pros and Cons of Not Protecting Prison Officers

Since 2010, budgets for prisons have been cut, the number of inmates has increased, sentences have become longer, and staffing levels have plummeted. The mounting pressure on the UK Prison Service to do more with less has inevitably led to the situation where physical violence is at an all-time high, and fast action needs to be taken to prevent further escalation. The need for a solution to the problem is not a simple fix, yet there are practical steps that can be taken to reduce the risks involved and that are easily implemented. One of those steps is by introducing protective body armour to frontline staff who need it most.

Mike Bird, a former National Instructor with the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG), recently shared his thoughts on the current situation within the UK Prison Service and the real cost of not protecting prison officers:

“We get it, budgets are tight. The justice sector has been under pressure for years. But if financial pressure is the reason staff aren’t being issued proper protective equipment, then the logic doesn’t hold up. Because let’s be honest, how much longer can the system afford these constant payouts, sick leave, recruitment costs, and legal claims? More importantly, how long can we ask frontline officers to put themselves in danger with little more than training, a radio and their instinct?”

Having spent over 20 years working in the UK Prison Service, Mike has been an advisor to the Prison Service and Police Forces both in the UK and worldwide, supporting front-line staff in some of the most challenging work settings. He understands the pressure the UK Prison Service is under and knows first-hand the difficulties facing staff in the modern-day correctional system.

As of September this year, the UK government has recently announced a major safety boost in protective body armour for frontline prison staff in high-security prisons. An investment of £15 million will increase the number of prison officers with stab vests from 750 to nearly 10,000 officers with essential protective equipment. The initiative will also see up to 500 prison officers trained to use Tasers, significantly scaling up the initial trial announced this summer for 20 specialist staff. These new safety measures appear to be ticking the right boxes; however, we should still question whether this recent announcement is genuinely for the benefit of the Prison Service or simply political posturing aimed at presenting a tough stance on law and order.

Preventing Escalation and Protecting Lives

While surveillance technology, staffing increases, AI-driven risk assessment, and trialling taser guns are steps in the right direction, they cannot prevent every violent incident that happens behind prison walls, especially those occurring in close quarters or executed with improvised weapons.

• Close encounters during cell checks, conflict resolution, or door control remain particularly hazardous, even under surveillance cameras.
• Improvised weapons and scalding liquids can bypass rigid protocols and readily available tools, leaving officers exposed.

Thus, there is a clear and pressing need for effective personal protection, not just deterrence strategies or technological fixes.

Why Body Armour Offers a Simple Solution to the Problem

Currently, in the UK, the level of protection that Prison Officers have been provided has been minimal to none. This is where the PPSS Group steps in. Our stab-resistant body armour is purpose-designed for custodial environments and offers frontline officers a critical layer of protection. Here’s how it works:

• Rapid deployment: Lightweight and easy to wear during daily duties, no cumbersome suits required.
• Targeted protection: Constructed to absorb puncture energy from sharp objects, blades, improvised weapons, and other threats common in prison assaults.
• Proven performance: Engineered and tested for real-world prison risks; robust enough to stand up to the kinds of violent acts we’ve seen this year.

Why this matters now more than ever:

• The UK Prison Officers who were attacked earlier this year had little warning before each attack, and even less protection to prevent serious injury.
• Stab-resistant body armour can make the difference between being hospitalised with life-threatening injuries and walking away from a survivable encounter.
• Rapid, unplanned incidents, especially involving scalding liquids, leave staff vulnerable in seconds. That’s why PPE that protects the torso is essential.
• Body armour is an essential piece of equipment designed to give officers the confidence to do their job without fear of injury, knowing they are protected.

Conclusion

2025 has brought record highs in assaults and self-harm incidents across the UK, with frontline staff bearing the brunt of the violence. High-security prisons are seeing knives, boiling oils, and drones weaponised against those sworn to maintain order. While we understand that body armour is not the solution to all the problems facing the prison system, we believe it is a practical and urgently needed safeguard for staff in these dangerous working conditions. Combined with broader reforms, enhanced training, and increased government funding, essential PPE such as our stab-resistant body armour is proven to protect against life-threatening attacks. This benefits everyone from management to staff and even prisoners. Creating a safer environment for both officers and inmates effectively reduces workplace injuries, helps increase staff retention, and lowers compensation claims, all while ultimately saving lives.

About the Author:

Mike Bird, Director of Corporate Relations at PPSS Group

With over 35 years’ experience in custodial, security, and care settings, Mike brings extensive expertise in handling highly hostile, challenging, and complex individuals. After 20 years in the Prison Service, specialising in the Use of Force and serving as a National Instructor at the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG), Mike has since provided training and consultancy services to Police and Prison Services in the UK, Africa, Asia and Europe.