Latest news with #HMPS
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Violent inmates now face being tasered by prison officers as Justice Secretary vows to 'keep staff safe'
Violent inmates now face being tasered by prison officers as part of Government efforts to clamp down on record levels of assaults on staff. Specialist officers based in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, and Doncaster, South Yorkshire will be the first to be equipped with Tasers during a trial looking into their use in jails. Rates of assaults on prison staff reached record levels last year, rising by 13 per cent in the 12 months up to December 2024, according to Government data. There were also 10,496 assaults on staff in the 12 months to September 2024 – a 23 per cent increase from the previous 12 months and a new peak. In April this year, Manchester Arena plotter Hashem Abedi targeted prison staff at HMP Frankland with boiling oil and homemade weapons in a planned ambush. Four prison officers were injured at the jail in Brasside, County Durham, with three taken to hospital. Southport killer Axel Rudakubana also allegedly attacked a prison officer at HMP Belmarsh, south-east London, in May by pouring boiling water over them. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said she is 'determined to keep prison staff safe' amid the 'completely unacceptable levels of violence'. Ms Mahmood last week attended the base in Kidlington to meet specialist officers from the Operational Response and Resilience Unit of HM Prison and Probation Service. They showed Ms Mahmood how they would use Tasers on violent inmates in scenarios where there is a significant threat to safety, such as hostage situations or riots. The trial will run until enough data has been collected to determine if Tasers should be more widely used, according the Ministry of Justice. But the Justice Secretary said she hoped to have updates in the autumn. 'I inherited a situation with completely unacceptable levels of violence,' she told reporters at the Kidlington base last week. 'I'm not willing to tolerate that. I'm determined to do everything I can to keep prison staff safe. 'They have been asking for Tasers to be allowed to be used in our prison estate for years and years and years, and I'm very pleased to have been able to greenlight this trial.' Ms Mahmood admitted the incident at HMP Frankland had 'really forced the pace on further roll–out of these measures'. She said a roll–out of Tasers for local prison staff teams across the UK will be examined as part of the trial, adding: 'I think it's right that we start looking at the trial through the prism of our national capabilities. 'Of course I will consider what the trial shows, but from my perspective this is very much the beginning.' Officers already have access to batons and Pava spray, a synthetic form of pepper spray, in men's prisons in the public sector. The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said it welcomed the move to further equip officers, but added the Government needed to address the roots of violence in jail. 'The POA will always support any initiative that will help protect our members,' a spokesperson for the trade union said. 'However, as welcome as this initiative is we need to address the reasons why prison officers need Tasers in the first place. 'Violence in our prisons is out of control and apathetic prison managers would rather put the prison regime before the safety of their staff. 'We urgently need action to address overcrowding, understaffing, drugs and the other root causes of prison violence.'
BBC News
7 days ago
- BBC News
Prison guards laughed and joked before inmate died
Prison officers were caught on body cam footage laughing and joking while restraining an inmate who later died, an inquest has Dawes-Clarke, 28, was serving time at HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent when he suffered multiple cardiac arrests, both during and after the incident on 10 November 2021. The father-of-four had tied a ligature around his neck before officers intervened and began an "inappropriate and disproportionate" restraint which "escalated unnecessarily", the court was at Kent and Medway Coroners Court in Maidstone concluded that officers had showed a "deeply concerning lack of care and compassion" throughout. Staff were captured on video joking about the size of the handcuffs they needed for Dawes-Clarke as he writhed and screamed on the floor."Animalistic" language was also used, with the inmate being described by officers as being "like a bucking bronco". The inquest also revealed handcuffs were wrongly applied, with jurors finding it "inappropriate for paramedics to have approved the handcuffing" given their lack of training to administer such added there were "significant shortcomings" from all present in response to Dawes-Clarke's medical emergency and him subsequently going limp. He went on to suffer two more cardiac arrests in the ambulance to the hospital, followed by a fourth and final one upon arrival. The inquest found that "throughout the restraint, the proximity of one prison officer's knee to Dawes-Clarke's chest was bad practice". "On top of this, leadership was lacking and control of (the prisoner's) head was not prioritised".Along with the initial self-ligature, this "combination of factors" was cited as having led to Dawes-Clarke's death - the medical cause of which was a lack of oxygen and/or blood flow to the the inquest, his sister Shay Inico said he had died "in the most shocking circumstances - restrained, neglected, and dehumanised while prison staff and paramedics who were trained to save lives stood by and did nothing". Assistant coroner for Kent Ian Brownhill has commissioned three separate prevention of future deaths reports as a result of this case.A HM Prison Service spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Azroy Dawes-Clarke."Since this incident we have taken action to improve staff training around use of force, and we will now carefully consider the inquest's findings in full."
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Yahoo
Footage shows prison officers laughing moments before restrained inmate's death
Bodyworn footage shows prison officers laughing and singing as an 'inappropriate and disproportionate' restraint was carried out on an inmate moments before his death. Azroy Dawes-Clarke, 28, from Romford, east London, was an inmate at HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, when he died after suffering multiple cardiac arrests on November 10 2021. He had tied a ligature around his neck before officers intervened and began a restraint which 'escalated unnecessarily', jurors concluded by majority at Kent and Medway Coroners Court in Maidstone. In the record of inquest, jurors also found that officers showed a 'deeply concerning lack of care and compassion' during the incident. The bodyworn footage, released to the PA news agency, shows officers joking about the size of the handcuffs they needed for Mr Dawes-Clarke while he groaned on the floor. The inquest revealed the handcuffs were wrongly applied to Mr Dawes-Clarke during the restraint, and may have also played a part in his death. In the footage the officer wearing the camera is heard singing as he fetches the cuffs before choosing a different set and saying 'no not that one, that might give him a little too much freedom'. Jurors found: 'It was inappropriate for the paramedics to approve the handcuffing of Mr Dawes-Clarke having had no training in mechanical restraint to give such advice. 'Following on from this, it was inappropriate for Mr Dawes-Clarke to be handcuffed at all, especially with regard to his positioning and positional asphyxia.' They added that there were 'significant shortcomings from both the paramedics and prison officers' in response to Mr Dawes-Clarke going limp and that 'leadership was lacking' throughout the restraint. The medical cause of death was given as hypoxic ischaemic brain injury but jurors had to determine when and by whom that injury was caused. 'Throughout the restraint, the proximity of a prison officer's knee to Mr Dawes-Clarke's chest was bad practice. On top of this, leadership throughout the restraint was lacking and control of Mr Dawes-Clarke's head was not prioritised,' The inquest found. In their record of inquest, jurors noted the initial self-ligature, the subsequent restraint, the 'poor practice' handcuffing, failing to consider Mr Dawes-Clarke's head position and 'insufficient' action taken upon realising the cardiac arrest as part of a combination of factors which led to his death. At one point, the bodycam wearer asks 'who's actually doing the head position on this restrain here then' to a non-plussed response from the restraining officers. When the footage cuts off, medical staff began CPR on Mr Dawes-Clarke before he was taken to hospital, he suffered two more cardiac arrests in the ambulance and a fourth on his arrival at hospital, where he died soon after. The officer who initiated that restraint, Alexander Shaxted, denied using 'animalistic' language to describe Mr Dawes-Clarke in order to justify his choices while giving evidence. Jurors heard that Mr Shaxted had said in his police statement that Mr Dawes-Clarke was making 'loud animal noises' and again referenced it during the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) investigation. 'Four times you described him like an animal, animalistic, like a bucking bronco,' said Allison Munroe KC, on behalf of the family. The officer said that he did not know why he had used those words at the time. Jurors found: 'There is a lack of justification to suggest de-escalation of the restraint of Mr Dawes-Clarke was attempted. 'Alongside this, the inappropriate comments made by prison staff about Mr Dawes-Clarke portray a deeply concerning lack of care and compassion towards Mr Dawes-Clarke. Father-of-four Mr Dawes-Clarke liked fantasy films and played semi-professional football. He was in the Arsenal FC academy while he was growing up. He was recalled to HMP Elmley on April 23 2020 after breaching his licence. After the inquest concluded, his sister, Shay Inico, said: 'My brother, Azroy Dawes-Clarke, died in the most shocking circumstances, restrained, neglected, and dehumanised while prison staff and paramedics who were trained to save lives stood by and did nothing. 'Female staff felt too intimidated to challenge male officers. Paramedics themselves were afraid to act because of the power dynamics with prison officers. She added that this case was not just about her brother, but 'a system that allows people to die avoidably behind closed doors' and accused the prison of covering up its failures. Assistant coroner for Kent Ian Brownhill has commissioned three separate prevention of future deaths reports as a result of this case. After the inquest, a Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Azroy Dawes-Clarke. 'Since this incident, we have taken action to improve staff training around use of force, and we will now carefully consider the inquest's findings in full.'
The Independent
22-07-2025
- The Independent
Footage shows prison officers laughing moments before restrained inmate's death
Bodyworn footage shows prison officers laughing and singing as an 'inappropriate and disproportionate' restraint was carried out on an inmate moments before his death. Azroy Dawes-Clarke, 28, from Romford, east London, was an inmate at HMP Elmley on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, when he died after suffering multiple cardiac arrests on November 10 2021. He had tied a ligature around his neck before officers intervened and began a restraint which 'escalated unnecessarily', jurors concluded by majority at Kent and Medway Coroners Court in Maidstone. In the record of inquest, jurors also found that officers showed a 'deeply concerning lack of care and compassion' during the incident. The bodyworn footage, released to the PA news agency, shows officers joking about the size of the handcuffs they needed for Mr Dawes-Clarke while he groaned on the floor. The inquest revealed the handcuffs were wrongly applied to Mr Dawes-Clarke during the restraint, and may have also played a part in his death. In the footage the officer wearing the camera is heard singing as he fetches the cuffs before choosing a different set and saying 'no not that one, that might give him a little too much freedom'. Jurors found: 'It was inappropriate for the paramedics to approve the handcuffing of Mr Dawes-Clarke having had no training in mechanical restraint to give such advice. 'Following on from this, it was inappropriate for Mr Dawes-Clarke to be handcuffed at all, especially with regard to his positioning and positional asphyxia.' They added that there were 'significant shortcomings from both the paramedics and prison officers' in response to Mr Dawes-Clarke going limp and that 'leadership was lacking' throughout the restraint. The medical cause of death was given as hypoxic ischaemic brain injury but jurors had to determine when and by whom that injury was caused. 'Throughout the restraint, the proximity of a prison officer's knee to Mr Dawes-Clarke's chest was bad practice. On top of this, leadership throughout the restraint was lacking and control of Mr Dawes-Clarke's head was not prioritised,' The inquest found. In their record of inquest, jurors noted the initial self-ligature, the subsequent restraint, the 'poor practice' handcuffing, failing to consider Mr Dawes-Clarke's head position and 'insufficient' action taken upon realising the cardiac arrest as part of a combination of factors which led to his death. At one point, the bodycam wearer asks 'who's actually doing the head position on this restrain here then' to a non-plussed response from the restraining officers. When the footage cuts off, medical staff began CPR on Mr Dawes-Clarke before he was taken to hospital, he suffered two more cardiac arrests in the ambulance and a fourth on his arrival at hospital, where he died soon after. The officer who initiated that restraint, Alexander Shaxted, denied using 'animalistic' language to describe Mr Dawes-Clarke in order to justify his choices while giving evidence. Jurors heard that Mr Shaxted had said in his police statement that Mr Dawes-Clarke was making 'loud animal noises' and again referenced it during the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) investigation. 'Four times you described him like an animal, animalistic, like a bucking bronco,' said Allison Munroe KC, on behalf of the family. The officer said that he did not know why he had used those words at the time. Jurors found: 'There is a lack of justification to suggest de-escalation of the restraint of Mr Dawes-Clarke was attempted. 'Alongside this, the inappropriate comments made by prison staff about Mr Dawes-Clarke portray a deeply concerning lack of care and compassion towards Mr Dawes-Clarke. Father-of-four Mr Dawes-Clarke liked fantasy films and played semi-professional football. He was in the Arsenal FC academy while he was growing up. He was recalled to HMP Elmley on April 23 2020 after breaching his licence. After the inquest concluded, his sister, Shay Inico, said: 'My brother, Azroy Dawes-Clarke, died in the most shocking circumstances, restrained, neglected, and dehumanised while prison staff and paramedics who were trained to save lives stood by and did nothing. 'Female staff felt too intimidated to challenge male officers. Paramedics themselves were afraid to act because of the power dynamics with prison officers. She added that this case was not just about her brother, but 'a system that allows people to die avoidably behind closed doors' and accused the prison of covering up its failures. Assistant coroner for Kent Ian Brownhill has commissioned three separate prevention of future deaths reports as a result of this case. After the inquest, a Prison Service spokesperson said: 'Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Azroy Dawes-Clarke. 'Since this incident, we have taken action to improve staff training around use of force, and we will now carefully consider the inquest's findings in full.'
