With prison population levels as well as prisoner-on-staff assault rates continuing to rise, prisons across the UK have had to pay out thousands for claims made by staff.
Accident Claims obtained figures showing that prison staff claims against HMYOI Wetherby have cost over £500k since 2019.
Prison staff work in a harsh environment and are exposed to stressful situations almost every day.
Despite prisons having processes designed to minimise the risk of injury to prison officers whilst they are at work, there are times when these processes fail, and an accident or even an assault takes place.
Personal injury claims lodged by prison staff are often submitted for accidents such as slips and trips, muscle strains, or assaults by inmates while performing their duties.
Wetherby Young Offender Institution is a male juvenile prison located in Wetherby, West Yorkshire. It currently houses around 150 inmates.
The UK government launched Operation Early Dawn in August 2024, an ‘early release scheme’ for prisons across England and Wales, as the total prison population reached an all-time high.
On 10 September 204, around 1,700 convicts walked out of prison in England and Wales after serving 40% of their sentence.
The increased prison population levels were often not matched by an increase in the number of prison staff, which has led to more pressure being piled on officers, such as the threat of more prisoner-on-guard assaults.
Accident Claims obtained figures on how much prison staff claims against Wetherby Prison have cost since 2019.
Over the past five years, claim costs totalled £531,805.94, with the highest amount in 2020/21 standing at £326,368.92.
This data and research was gathered by FOI requests to the HM Prison and Probation Service.
