Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults at Full Sutton Prison, near Stamford Bridge, increased from 31 in 2022 to 52 in 2023, with six incidents classified as serious.
The Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) report for last year also found that assaults on staff increased from 39 in 2022 to 67 in 2023, with five incidents classified as serious.
Thirty-five assaults on staff happened in the segregation unit.
“This reflects the high numbers of prisoners held in the unit and a spate of unrest at the end of the year,” the report says. “Overall, 11 incidents were classified as serious, compared with three in 2022.
“Despite these figures, the atmosphere within the body of the prison generally remained calm.”
Three-quarters of those who responded to the IMB’s survey reported that they had not experienced bullying or victimisation by other prisoners.
The number of potential weapons found at the prison had also increased, according to the report.
Sixty-eight potential weapons were found across all areas in 2023 – up from 24 the previous year.
“This includes all items that had the potential to be used as a weapon,” the report says. “Target searching continued where there was intelligence.”
Meanwhile, inspectors found that more than 150 days of drug testing were lost at the prison last year due to staff shortages.
They added that the capacity to test for drugs “remained limited where staff raised suspicion of substance misuse”.
Unemployment levels were also high, with 21 per cent of prisoners left without work due to “inadequate workplace provisions”, inspectors found.
Access to education at prison increased over year
Inspectors said they were “pleased to note” that the prison had a “much-improved” focus on equality and diversity issues with regular, well attended meetings taking place between prisoners and senior managers.
They also found prisoners engaging with the education programmes on offer.
“A total of 416 courses were started in 2023 (with some prisoners undertaking more than one course), with 360 completed and only six failures,” the report says. “On average, 108 prisoners per day were allocated an education place, 21 per cent of the relevant prisoner population. Average attendance was 57 per cent.”
Inspectors praised the support received by neurodiverse prisoners at the facility.
Richard Terry, chair of IMB Full Sutton, said 2023 was “a year of transition from regular prisoner lockdowns to a more normal regime as staffing levels improved”.
“Access to education also increased through the year and the board found initiatives focusing on prisoner literacy and those with neurodiverse needs encouraging.
“National prison population pressures continue to impact the ability to progressively transfer prisoners, particularly in the segregation unit, where numbers remained high throughout the year.”
