HALF of the prison officers in England and Wales do not feel safe at the prisons they work in, a large-scale survey of prison staff by a parliamentary committee revealed yesterday.

The survey, which was the first of its kind, by the cross-party justice committee, exposed bullying, harassment, abuse, stress and distrust of management.

Staff felt undervalued and underpaid, and half said they did not feel safe at work, the survey revealed.

Over 80 per cent of the prison officers surveyed say that staff morale is not good, and a large majority do not feel their salaries accurately reflect the responsibilities of their job. 

Around a third of staff surveyed said they planned to leave the service within five years, exacerbating an already desperate staffing shortage.

Committee chairman and Conservative MP for Bromley and Chislehurst Sir Bob Neill called the results “shocking.”

He said: “We’ve known as a committee for some time that there are severe staff shortages in prisons and that many prison officers are unhappy with their lot.

“But when I learn from this survey that fully half of our prison staff do not feel safe at work, that is still deeply concerning.

“This position is not acceptable. The government risks failing in its duty of care to prison staff and prisoners alike.

“We are sitting on a potential time bomb. It must be defused.”

The Prison Officers Association (POA), which represents more than 30,000 prison officers, said the committee’s report confirmed what the union had been saying for years about deteriorating conditions and staff unhappiness.

POA national chair Mark Fairhurst said: “Our retirement age of 68 needs to be lowered, our pay is insufficient, staff have zero faith in senior leaders and we do not have any investment to provide real rehabilitation opportunities for those in our care.

“This survey asked the questions our employer really did not ever wish to ask.

“The government must now act to stop the exodus of staff who have realised the glossy recruitment material is nothing more than fantasy whilst experienced staff continue to feel unvalued and demoralised.

“Maybe now the people who can stop the rot will listen to the POA.”

The POA is calling for a royal commission investigation into the prison service.