Latest news with #staffprotection
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Prison officers should be armed, say Conservatives
Prison officers dealing with violent inmates should be armed, the shadow justice secretary has said. Specialist guards should have Taser stun guns and baton rounds - a less lethal alternative to traditional bullets - to give them "confidence" in handling threats, Robert Jenrick told the BBC. The Conservatives said secure armouries should be introduced at maximum security jails and used as a last resort. Prison officers in adult male prisons currently only carry an extendable baton and Pava, a synthetic pepper spray. Officers need protection from jail attacks - union Prison staff to demand electric stun guns in jails The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said some prison officers will use Tasers this summer on a trial basis, but argued that giving them lethal weapons would put them at greater risk. The Prison Officers' Association (POA), a union, called for stronger protection for staff after a string of attacks. It said stun guns should be made available to officers working in the UK's most dangerous jails. Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, Jenrick said that without intervention it was "only a matter of time" before a prison officer was "held hostage and potentially killed". He added that under his proposals, officers would not be "walking the wings" with lethal weapons, but would "have access to them if they need them". The Conservative's call for officers to be armed follows a review conducted for the party by former prison governor Ian Acheson. Among other policies, the party also wants to see high-collar stab vests immediately rolled out to frontline officers. In response to the proposals, Labour said it was "cleaning up the mess" after the Conservatives' "dire record" in office. "In 14 years they added fewer than 500 prison places in total and closed 1,600 cells in the high-security estate as assaults on prison officers soared and experienced officers quit," a party spokesperson added. In his BBC interview, Jenrick, who held various ministerial roles in the last government, conceded that his party "should have done more" in office. "But we're in opposition now, it is my job to bring forward good, sensible solutions," he added. The MoJ said protective body armour is used in segregation units and specialist areas for situations that are deemed as high risk. It added that a "snap review" into whether it should be used more routinely will report in the coming days.
The Sun
09-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
It's time to arm prison guards with taser guns after Southport monster's attack on guard
Time for tasers PRISONS have become danger zones for the brave men and women who guard Britain's most violent offenders. Serious questions must be asked about how Southport killer Axel Rudakubana was able to throw boiling water over a warder at London's Belmarsh jail. It is less than a month since two prison officers suffered life-threatening injuries — and a third was badly hurt — when terrorist Hashem Abedi attacked staff with a makeshift knife and hot melted butter at HMP Frankland, Co Durham. Staff at high-security jails put their lives on the line every day to keep the public safe by ensuring the most evil and sadistic offenders stay behind bars. We owe it to them to ensure they return home safely to their families each night. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood must order an urgent review to protect staff in the light of these failures. Remain out of it BEFORE the ink was dry on our export deal with America, up pops the bungling Bank of England boss to demand we forge one with the EU. Andrew Bailey knows full well that if we get too close to Brussels — by rejoining the customs union, for example — we'd have to tear up the newly-signed deal with Donald Trump, not to mention agreements with 39 other countries and trade blocks. He insists he does not take a view on Brexit but this is the second time in six months he's dipped his oar in to influence our new course outside the EU. Struggling families are already paying the price for Mr Bailey being slow off the mark to raise interest rates when inflation surged. He should stop meddling in Britain's global future and stick to the day job of keeping the nation's finances stable. Sinflation bites BRITAIN'S favourite bakery chain is in the grip of a costly crime wave and our police are nowhere to be seen. Every day, brazen shoplifters stroll into branches of Greggs and help themselves to a free lunch. But it's not free for the rest of us, as the chain has now had to jack up prices. Theft costs high street traders £2billion a year, while woke police chiefs seem to spend time investigating 'non-crime hate incidents' and offensive social media posts. Earlier this year, six uniformed officers were sent to arrest a couple who criticised their daughter's school on WhatsApp and a newspaper columnist was grilled about a Twitter comment made and deleted a year earlier.
