Prisons have a duty to keep all the people in their care safe, and Governors and prison staff work hard to make sure that they provide an environment in which everyone feels safe and supported. There are a number of different things in place to make sure this happens:

• All prison staff are trained to create a safe environment by engaging with the people in their care.  As well as providing supervision, they offer support when it is needed.. Each prisoner has a particular prison officer – known as their key worker – with whom they have a regular conversation in which they can raise any issues of concern to them..
• Prisons also have a dedicated team of staff whose job it is to keep the prison safe for everyone, called the Safer Custody Team. They have specific responsibility for managing the risks of people harming themselves or other people, or of being harmed by others. All prisons have a direct telephone number for their Safer Custody Team that friends and families can call if they are worried about a prisoner. The Safer Custody Team will work with the relevant departments in the prison, such as healthcare or key workers, to make sure the prisoner is safe.
• As well as prison officers, people in prison have access to a range of other staff, including healthcare workers, chaplains and psychologists, who can help and support them.  Some trusted prisoners work as peer supporters, so that prisoners can get assistance from people who understand their situation from the inside, for instance the Samaritans train prisoners as Listeners to offer emotional support to their fellow prisoners who are in emotional crisis.
• Prison staff supervise the prison environment and use their interpersonal skills to manage any conflict or incident that arises: they always attempt to resolve a situation by talking with the person who is presenting a risk first, and only intervene physically or use protective equipment as a last option to maintain the safety of everyone involved.
• Some members of prison staff wear body video cameras. This is to help make sure that incidents are responded to safely and with the minimum amount of intervention.  Some staff may be carrying PAVA (a spray used to incapacitate individuals for a short period of time). This is only used in the most extreme situations and can allow prison staff to bring incidents to a close safely for everyone. Prisons must record when PAVA has been used and why, to make sure it is used appropriately.

If you have any worries or concerns about the safety of a loved one in custody, click here where you can find emergency contact details for all prisons in England and Wales. If you have a general concern, you can ring the Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003.

Page last reviewed: 26 February 2021 

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