The Ulster Unionist Party’s Justice Spokesperson, Doug Beattie MC MLA, has expressed his concern that staffing levels in our prisons are contributing to safety problems.

Doug Beattie MC MLA said:

“A death in custody is far from rare but it is not a very common occurrence either; therefore I would have expected that two deaths in custody in the space of 10 days should be of sufficient concern for our Justice Minister to at least put out a statement. Prisoners, regardless of the crime they are in prison for, deserve to be safe and cared for, and at times that means safe even from themselves.

“No doubt the microscope will be on the Prison Officers and staff and their actions will quite properly be analysed by the Prisoner Ombudsman. However, I believe that there also needs to be a close inspection of the resourcing of the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) and in particular the failure to address staff issues, which I have been raising for a number of years.

“Today I have written to the Prisoner Ombudsman about these deaths in custody at HMP Maghaberry based on complaints made to me by members of the prison staff, and in particular, Night Custody Officers (NCO).  They have alleged that staff levels of Night Custody Officers are far below what they should be and that in being understaffed, both prisoners and staff are put at risk.

“Indeed, I asked a written question of the Justice Minister on that very subject on 17 September 2020 the day before the first of the two recent deaths (see below). The response from the Justice Minister did absolutely nothing to inspire confidence and has left me concerned that under staffing of Night Custody Officers may have contributed to these recent deaths in custody.

“I am also concerned that the Justice Minister did not write or inform the Justice Committee about the recent deaths as I believe this level of transparency and accountability goes to the core of our scrutiny committee system.”