Shropshire Star comment: Burden on jail staff is too great
The story of a prison officer attacked on his first day, who may not now be able to return, is horrific.
After seeking gainful employment in a tough profession, his life has been turned upside down.
He will bear the mental scars for the rest of his life, even when the physical ones have healed. It highlights once more the frightening state of British prison life.
In recent times many jails have been dogged by problems. There have been riots, a number of assaults on staff and other prisoners and more.
Some have been reported to be places where drugs are rife, violence is a daily occurrence and there is little chance of education or rehabilitation.
As investigations have shown, they are not places for the faint-hearted.
Guards face chronic levels of stress and abuse if they are to get from one end of a shift to the other.
It is high time the Government acted. Such incidents are simply unacceptable.
More resources are required to help our prisons, to protect the lives of inmates and safeguard the security of staff.
Above all else, our prisons must be safe for the men and women who work in them.
They must be able to go to work without fear of being beaten up. And they must be able to carry out their duties without being assaulted by prisoners.
Inmates themselves also ought not to live in fear of attacks. Yes, they are in jail to be punished and because society needs to be protected from their ways.
But they also have the right to remain safe. Reviews of our prisons have been requested and higher standards called for. And yet the Home Office seems not to do enough and problems arise sporadically.
It is a question of money and improved organisation.
There seems little doubt that prisons are underfunded and that in the age of austerity cuts have gone too far.
While the Government has sought to save money, it has created conditions in some prisons that are unsustainable and downright dangerous.
The prison service has lost its way and greater organisation is required.
The burdens placed on staff are too great and security and safety standards must be kept high.
The Government must intervene before other innocent victims are hurt in our jails.
