Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 July 2014
636. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will provide in tabular form per annum and per prison the total number of violent criminal incidents in prisons here in 2011, 2012, 2013 and to date in 2014. [29318/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy on the number of assaults by prisoners per annum and per prison for 2011, 2012 and 2013 is set out in the following table.
|
Prison/Place of Detention |
Number of assaults by prisoners 2013 |
Number of assaults by prisoners 2012 |
Number of assaults by prisoners 2011 |
|
Arbour Hill |
7 |
4 |
1 |
|
Castlerea |
115 |
80 |
78 |
|
Cloverhill |
88 |
106 |
144 |
|
Cork |
38 |
50 |
90 |
|
Dóchas Centre |
28 |
28 |
22 |
|
Limerick |
36 |
55 |
78 |
|
Loughan House |
0 |
1 |
4 |
|
Midlands |
95 |
78 |
113 |
|
Mountjoy (Male) |
141 |
111 |
177 |
|
St.Patrick's Institution |
106 |
192 |
415 |
|
Portlaoise |
8 |
12 |
19 |
|
Shelton Abbey |
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
Training Unit |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Wheatfield |
87 |
104 |
129 |
|
PSEC |
9 |
0 |
4 |
|
Total |
758 |
822 |
1274 |
I can advise the Deputy that the number of assaults by prisoners in each prison for January to June 2014 is not yet available. The Information is being collated by the Irish Prison Service and I will forward a reply to the Deputy as soon possible. No level of inter prisoner violence or assaults on staff is acceptable.
Every effort is made by prison staff and management to limit the scope of acts of violence. However, no regime can completely eliminate the possibility of violent incidents happening in a prison setting where a large number of dangerous and violent offenders are being held. As the Deputy can see from the figures there were 758 incidents of violence recorded in prisons during 2013 and this includes very minor incidents. This amounts to an average of 2.1 incidents per day among a population of approximately 4,000. The Irish Prison Service has successfully introduced a number of measures across the prison estate such as, hand-held metal detectors, netting over prison yards, boss chairs and security screening machines to detect and prevent weapons from entering the prison to limit the scope of acts of violence.
In addition, new prisoner programmes have been introduced such as the Incentivised Regimes policy which provides for a differentiation of privileges between prisoners according to their level of engagement with services and quality of behaviour. The objective is to provide tangible incentives to prisoners to participate in structured activities and to reinforce good behaviour, leading to a safer and more secure environment. As a result, I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the figures for 2013 represent an 8% decrease on the 2012 total of 822 and a 40% decrease on the 2011 total of 1274.
