§ Bob SpinkTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to reduce violence by prisoners against prisoners. [74928]
§ Mr. Hilary BennThe Prison Service is committed to reducing all forms of violence in prison whether affecting prisoners or staff.
Existing steps include; a policy for addressing bullying with anti-bullying co-ordinator roles in establishments; an offender assessment system developed jointly by the National Probation and Prison Services; the recently introduced cell sharing risk assessment tool which we hope will minimise the risk of violence when allocating prisoners to cell accommodation; and a number of accredited offending behaviour programmes, including cognitive skills programmes, which have been shown to affect institutional behaviour.
Future steps will include a violence reduction policy in the very early stages of development, which will bring together existing approaches and seek to develop a safer environment for prisoners and staff.