With Britain’s overcrowded prisons hitting record levels last year, concerns over the safety of both staff and inmates have grown.
The latest published prison population statistics show there are only just over 1,000 spaces left in men’s prisons, prompting former justice secretary David Gauke to release his Independent Sentencing Review (ISR) earlier than expected.
In the interim report, Mr Gauke says he is confronting ‘the consequences of decades of haphazard policy-making and underinvestment in the criminal justice system – bringing it to the brink of collapse.’
Mr Gauke says he is confronting ‘the consequence of decades of haphazard policy-making and underinvestment in the criminal justice system – bringing it to the brink of collapse.’
In September, the government’s SDS40 (standard determinate sentencing) scheme saw prisoners released just 40 per cent of the way through their sentence.
In the time frame, for every 100 people released from prison, 67 were recalled. Although Mr Gauke’s report does acknowledge that ‘factors including the introduction of a mandatory supervision period for shorter sentences, and heightened probation officer risk aversion… have contributed to this increase.’
But while the prison system undergoes review and reform, costs continue to be incurred – including compensation payouts to prisoners for injury claims.
To gain a full understanding of the scope of the issue, Legal Expert set out to uncover the true cost of prisoner injury claims
How Legal Expert Can Help
Here at Legal Expert, we can help anyone who has suffered a personal injury through no fault of their own. If you have suffered harm as a prisoner conducting work tasks, if you’ve been injured by staff, or suffered harm caused by another inmate, get in touch today for free advice.
How We Conducted Our Research
We sent out Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) asking for the number of prisoner injury claims lodged in the last three years, broken down by UK prison and by year.
We also asked how many of those claims were settled and the total amount of damages awarded each year as well as the number of refused claims and the top injuries cited.
Results: Statistics On Prisoner Injuries and Claims
Prisoner injury claims in the UK have cost the MoJ an eye-watering £9.8m in the last five years.
The most common injuries were from prison bunk beds – resulting in £4.5m being paid to inmate claimants since 2022.
Some £2.8m was paid in damages settling claims related to slips, trips and falls and a further £446K was paid for asbestos-related injuries.
HMP Aylesbury
HMP Bedford
HMP Belmarsh
HMP Birmingham
HMP Brinsford
HMP Bristol
HMP Brixton
HMP Buckley Hall
HMP Bullingdon
HMP Cardiff
HMP Channings Wood
HMP Chelmsford
HMP Coldingley
HMP Durham
HMP Elmley
HMP Mallet
HMP Humber
HMP Exeter
