Scottish Lib Dumb luck my friend as their London pals reveal prison assaults were pro rata more than TWICE as common in England & Wales than in Scotland

From the Scottish Lib Dumbs, our 5th biggest and thus tiniest political party at Holyrood:

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Liam McArthur MSP has today called for support for prison staff as he revealed that more than 1,500 prisoner on prisoner assaults and 265 assaults on staff took place last year.  

https://www.scotlibdems.org.uk/news/article/lib-dems-reveal-scale-of-assaults-on-prisoners-and-staff-in-scotlands-prisons

From the Guardian yesterday:

There were nearly 8,000 assaults on prison staff in the year to June 2023, almost one an hour on average, the Liberal Democrats have said, arguing that the statistic shows the consequences of prisoner overcrowding and low staffing levels.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/01/assaults-on-prison-staff-nearly-hourly-in-england-and-wales-data-shows

With 11 times the population, England & Wales, all things being equal, might be expected to have had around 2 915 assaults on prison officers but had 8 000, more than TWICE as many.

Given they are one UK-based party, they should be better able to coordinate things with a view to avoid embarrassment.

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6 thoughts on “Scottish Lib Dumb luck my friend as their London pals reveal prison assaults were pro rata more than TWICE as common in England & Wales than in Scotland”

  1. And, of course, no historic data so that we can see if there is a trend. No standardised data such as ‘assaults per 1000 prisoners’.

    Undoubtedly, as the Guardian report indicates, overcrowding is a factor, but, so are other things like lack of rehabilitation training, teaching reading and writing, dealing with addiction issues.

    The majority of incarcerated prisoners present no physical danger to the public and could serve different kinds of sentences, which enable them to maintain family contact and employment. Because a substantial amount of the ‘prison estate’ is privatised there is a profit motive to have more prisoners, more recidivism and longer sentences. After all, maximising shareholder dividend is the principal aim. So, the media dehumanise prisoners to forestall any serious discussion of alternatives.

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    1. The Lib Dums are so quick off the mark with SNP bad that they either don’t take time to properly cross check information or simply assume that if the statistic is lower in Scotland it must be worse than in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

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  2. What a great spot: the difference in the statistics on assaults on prison staff in England & Wales compared to Scotland is remarkable!

    And just to reinforce the point about the population ratio, the House of Commons Library recently published figures on the size of the prison population in England + Wales, Scotland and NI.

    See https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN04334/SN04334.pdf

    It reports that as of June 2023, the UK had a total prison population of approximately 95,526 people, comprising:
    • 85,851 in England and Wales
    • 7,775 in Scotland
    • 1,900 in Northern Ireland.

    So the PRISON population in England and Wales is c.11 times higher than that in Scotland (at the time referenced).

    The research briefing by the House of Commons Library simply helps reinforce the point made in the main blog post that with 11 times the PRISON population, IF the situation in Scotland’s prisons and those in England & Wales was similar, ‘England & Wales, all things being equal, might be expected to have had around 2 915 assaults on prison officers but had 8 000, more than TWICE as many’ – actually, nearer three times as many!

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  3. Scotland had 265 assaults on prison officers,

    pro rata England would have had at 11 times more, 2915.

    but they had 8000 assaults on prison officers, 30 times more than Scotland.

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  5. 7500 male prisoners in Scotland. Average one assault a year. 200 female

    Half are on the spectrum. With additional needs. Not getting diagnoised or proper support. No diversity and poor conditions. Too noisy, bright and light for people on the spectrum. Without proper support. Many of the rest have addiction problems. They should be in proper, total abstinence, rehab facilities. Not put on methadone for years. More harmful than heroin.

    The UK has the highest prison population in Europe.

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