The number of assaults on prison staff in Northern Ireland are at their highest in the last four years – while the prison population increases to highs that haven’t been seen for nine years.
Earlier this month, Upper Bann MLA, Jonathan Buckley asked the Minister of Justice, Naomi Long, to detail the number of violent attacks against prison officers on prison estates, in each of the last five years.
In reply, Minister Long provided a table outlining the number of reports from 2020 to 2024 which showed a total of 32 assaults in 2020, rising to 71 in 2021, a slight decrease to 66 in 2022, a decrease again to 59 in 2023 before rising once more to 96 in 2024… the highest number of assaults in the four year period.
In addition, the Minister explained: “Experience across prison environments is that high prison populations coupled with overcrowding are the most significant factors contributing to prison instability, incidents and violence.
“The current population challenges being faced by the Northern Ireland Prison Service are therefore clearly a factor in the increasing number of assaults.
“Any assault on a prison officer is unacceptable and the Northern Ireland Prison Service continues to maintain a clear focus on the safety of all staff.”
Statistics provided by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) relating to the Northern Ireland Prison Population dated October 2024, certainly reinforce the Minister’s claims.
According to the latest report by NISRA the overall average daily prison population increased by 11.4% during 2023/24 to 1,877.
The male population increased from 1,607 to 1,787 while the female population increased from 78 to 90 .
During 2023/2024, the average daily immediate custody population increased by 10.1% to 1,176. This is the highest the immediate custody population has been since 2015/2016.
The remand population increased by 13.0% to 686 during 2023/24 from 607 the previous year and is at the highest level it has been over the last nine years.
At 4,163, the number of receptions during 2023/24 was higher than 4,096 the previous year, an increase of 1.6%. This is also the highest the number of receptions has been over the nine year reporting period.
For the average daily immediate custody population, 34.6% (407) of principal offences during 2023/2024 were categorised as Violence Against the Person, 16.8% (197) as Public Order and 14.6% (172) as Sexual.
These categories have consistently represented the three largest proportions since offence classification was revised in 2015/2016, with the overall breakdown remaining similar each year.
Mr Buckley also asked the Minister to confirm when the Sentencing Bill will be introduced to the Assembly.
According to Minister Long, the Sentencing Bill will deliver on a number of recommendations arising from my Department’s public consultation on sentencing policy.
Speaking in September 2024, the Minister explained: “That will include a statement of the principles and purposes of sentencing; provision to allow further use of community sentences; statutory starting points for life sentence tariff calculation; expansion and simplification of the current unduly lenient sentence referral provisions…”
The Minister added that the Bill will also see the “creation of a new offence of assaulting those providing a service to the public or performing a public duty; creation of a statutory aggravator for vulnerable victims; and increasing maximum penalties for offences causing death by dangerous driving.
“The Bill will also include measures to encourage the disclosure of the location of victims’ remains, to be known as “Charlotte’s law”, and, as indicated in my written ministerial statement this morning, it will include provision for a statutory aggravator for hate crime.”
In reply to the MLA’s question, Minister Long expressed her intention to introduce the Sentencing Bill to the Assembly before the end of this year, subject to Executive approval.
