July 2nd 2023.
A catalogue of 150 assaults, including some involving weapons, has been released for HMP Frankland. The report, compiled by the Ministry of Justice, details a chilling incident that took place at the top security jail on December 31 of last year.
At 9.10am, prison officers were alerted to raised voices coming from a cell. Upon entering, they saw two men assaulting a third inmate with a craft knife and a ligature. The assailants complied with orders from staff to stop the attack and leave the cell.
The victim, whose name is redacted, was given medical treatment for cuts to his neck, head, face, hands and back, as well as a facial injury caused by a punch. He was later taken to an outside hospital.
The report states that the victim was asked to enter the cell without knowledge that there was a second man present. As soon as he entered, a garrote was placed around his neck and he was punched, beginning the assault.
The list of assaults revealed by the Ministry of Justice also includes an incident where an inmate used two steel bars to attack staff, as well as another prisoner who used an improvised weapon made of a pan handle and craft knife to slash a victim's face.
Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, commented on the figures saying, "While violent incidents may be expected in a high security prison like Frankland, which holds prisoners who have committed very serious offences, these figures are nonetheless shocking. The prison system more generally is under-resourced and under-staffed, and is increasingly unable to provide even basic levels of safety for staff and people in prison. It would be of real concern if the high security estate started to fall under these same pressures."
Recent data from the government reveals that assaults across the prison estate in England and Wales have decreased by 30% since 2019. This is attributed to a £100 million investment in security, which included equipping officers with PAVA incapacitant spray, police-style restraints, body-worn cameras and X-ray body scanners to detect contraband.
Furthermore, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, which came into force in June 2022, has increased the maximum penalty for assaulting prison officers to up to two years’ imprisonment. A spokesperson for the Prison Service commented, “We do not tolerate assaults in prisons and our £100m security investment is clamping down on the weapons, drugs, and mobile phones that fuel violence behind bars.”
Two men, Brian Townsend and Peter Brown, have been charged by Durham Constabulary with Section 18 wounding with intent over the incident in December. The pair are due to appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on July 5.
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