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.

Figures obtained by Accident Claims found that since 2023, claims made by prison staff against Coldingley Prison have cost more than £200,000.

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 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.

The 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 September 10, around 1,700 convicts walked out of prison in England and Wales after serving 40 per cent 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 Coldingley Prison have cost in the past year. During 2023/2024, claim costs totalled £215,111.80.

Speaking to the Byline Times, Peter Dawson from Prison Reform Trust said: “Our prison system is failing on every front, as these numbers show. Unusually, this is a public service which could be fixed by reducing demand rather than increasing supply.

“The political love affair with imprisonment as a symbol of toughness lies at the root of the problem, and both main parties are to blame.”