Young Offender Institutions: Injuries Justine Greening To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many incidents of (a) self-harm, (b) injury caused by restraint and (c) assault there were in each young offender institution in each of the last five years. Maria Eagle The annual numbers of recorded self-harm incidents for each of current, single-function young offender institution for each of the last five years is given in table 1. The National Offender Management Service has a broad, integrated and evidence-based prisoner suicide prevention and self-harm management strategy that seeks to reduce the distress of all those in prison. This encompasses a wide spectrum of prison and Department of Health work around such issues as mental health, substance misuse and resettlement. Any prisoner identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm is cared for using the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) procedures. ACCT is the prisoner-centred flexible care-planning system introduced across the prisons estate in partnership with the Department of Health during 2005-07 Most self-harm is not directly life threatening, but nevertheless can be extremely distressing for all those concerned. A prisoner-focused care planning system for those at risk, (ACCT), has helped prisons manage self-harm. There are no easy answers to preventing self harming behaviour but we remain committed to finding ways to manage it. ----------------- |Incidents | ----------------- |Prison |2004|2005|2006|2007|2008| ----------------- |Ashfield |239|172|224|142|106| ----------------- |Aylesbury |83|116|346|265|265| ----------------- |Brinsford |23|73|102|86|87| ----------------- |Castington |89|92|106|68|64| ----------------- |Cookham Wood |163|197|144|216|55| ----------------- |Deerbolt |59|104|131|99|138| ----------------- |Feltham |161|144|126|221|210| ----------------- |Glen Parva |217|232|149|249|231| ----------------- |Hindley |46|156|71|41|81| ----------------- |Huntercombe |73|69|67|86|95| ----------------- |Lancaster Farms|15|92|153|21|5| ----------------- |Northallerton |60|16|35|30|37| ----------------- |Portland |119|110|161|174|80| ----------------- |Reading |39|60|45|38|24| ----------------- |Rochester |58|18|50|47|99| ----------------- |Stoke Heath |250|192|217|227|325| ----------------- |Thorn Cross |3|1|3|4|3| ----------------- |Warren Hill |21|14|18|13|80| ----------------- |Werrington |13|30|24|12|52| ----------------- |Wetherby |60|.67|34|12|34| ----------------- The information requested on the number of injuries caused by use of restraints is not held centrally in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. A Use of Force Report Form is completed by each member of staff involved in its use, to explain the circumstances in which force was used. Establishments are required to examine this information on a regular basis to determine if there any particular problems in relation to use of force or any resulting injuries. To obtain information on the number of injuries sustained during use of restraint would require contacting each young offender establishment and asking them to analyse their forms for every single use of force for the past five years. The number of assault incidents for each current, single-function young offender institution for each of the last five years is given in table 2. The information is subject to important qualifications. The NOMS Incident Reporting System processes high volumes of data which are constantly being updated. The numbers provide a good indication of overall numbers but should not be interpreted as absolute. Rises or falls in reported numbers from one year to the next are not a good indicator of an underlying trend for a particular prison. Additionally there have been improvements in reporting over the years, and this is reflected in the tables. Assault data are complex and the numbers need to be interpreted with caution. Information recorded as assault incidents may involve one or many prisoners as some assault incidents may involve more than one assailant or more than one victim. Additionally in a proportion of incidents only the victim is known. Reducing violence in prisons is a priority for Ministers, NOMS and the Prison Officers Association and they are collectively committed to working towards a zero tolerance approach to prison violence. Since 2004, a national strategy has directed every public sector prison to have in place a local violence reduction strategy and since mid 2007 this has been applied to the public and contracted out estate. A whole prison approach is encouraged, engaging all staff, all disciplines and prisoners in challenging unacceptable behaviour, problem-solving and personal safety. ------------------- |Assault incidents| ------------------- |Prison |2004|2005|2006|2007|2008| ------------------- |Ashfield |395|680|761|753|748| ------------------- |Aylesbury |28|96|100|93|120| ------------------- |Brinsford |360|364|197|204|352| ------------------- |Castington |443|412|406|431|462| ------------------- |Cookham Wood |13|5|5|7|20| ------------------- |Deerbolt |234|199|174|194|222| ------------------- |Feltham |751|698|596|544|648| ------------------- |Glen Parva |273|300|387|422|510| ------------------- |Hindley |78|149|407|548|550| ------------------- |Huntercombe |96|110|217|306|426| ------------------- |Lancaster Farms |213|484|428|397|347| ------------------- |Northallerton |110|118|91|108|106| ------------------- |Portland |166|194|170|234|193| ------------------- |Reading |41|93|72|54|37| ------------------- |Rochester |120|102|113|80|173| ------------------- |Stoke Heath |280|498|578|606|561| ------------------- |Thorn Cross |8|21|148|85|45| ------------------- |Warren Hill |183|291|314|371|383| ------------------- |Werrington |123|160|168|154|228| ------------------- |Wetherby |492|568|465|393|432| -------------------