PRT: Overcrowded jails to blame

The biggest problem facing Britain's prisons is their overcrowded nature, the Prison Reform Trust says.

Its director Juliet Lyon said staff numbers are rising below prison numbers and warns staff training is being "whittled down" to around eight weeks as a result.

"As our overcrowded jails turn into warehouses staff are being pushed into
acting as turnkeys," she commented.

Ms Lyon said "appalling levels of suicide and self-harm" seriously undermined claims from the Prison Officers' Association that life in prison is "cushy".

"It would make a less compelling headline but the POA could be demanding that its members stop acting as untrained nurses having to cope with people who are mentally ill or addicted to drugs and drink," she added.