§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy on the recruitment to the prison officers service; and to what factors he attributes the inadequate numbers now coming forward.
§ Miss BaconThe recruitment policy is to attract to the Prison Service a sufficient number of prison officers of both sexes of the required standard to provide not only for the replacement of normal wastage from retirements and other causes, and for the staffing of new establishments arising from the building programme, but also in order to increase the number of officers to enable desirable improvements in working conditions to be introduced.
Although the recruitment figures for 1964 are lower than in 1962 and 1963 they are substantially higher than those for earlier years. There has been an encouraging increase in applications since the beginning of this year and every effort will be made to maintain this. Because of the high standards which are 217W rightly insisted upon only a relatively small proportion of the applicants can of course be accepted.
§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make available to the House the full figures of recruitment to the prison service for the last five years.
§ Miss BaconThe number of prison officers appointed in a permanent capacity during each of the last five years was as follows:
Men Women Total 1960 301 25 326 1961 337 25 362 1962 787 22 809 1963 851 31 882 1964 582 38 620
218W
Year of murder Number of persons convicted of murdering police officers on duty Sentences imposed ENGLAND AND WALES 1948 1 (murdered one officer) … … … Death (commuted to imprisonment for life). 1951 1 (murdered two officers) … … … Death (executed). 1952 2 (murdered one officer) … … … One offender was sentenced to death and executed: the other, being under 18 years of age, was ordered to be detained during H.M.Pleasure. 1958 1 (murdered one officer) … … … Death (executed). 1959 1 (murdered one officer) … … … Death (executed). 1960 1 (murdered one officer) … … … Death (commuted to imprisonment for life). SCOTLAND 1951 1 (murdered one officer) … … … Death (executed). During the five-year period there was an increase in the number of temporary prison officers—116 men and 62 women.