The prison crisis that led to mistaken release of migrant sex offender
The mistaken release of a sex offender scheduled for deportation reveals the staffing pressures at the heart of Britain’s prison crisis. A senior prison worker told the BBC that the accidental release of Hadush Kebatu “was due to a series of errors, probably due to staff overwork and understaffing”.
Prison overcrowding has become a serious political and social problem. However, while prison quotas increase with the construction of new prisons, the number of personnel cannot keep up with this. There were approximately 3.7 inmates per officer in 2019; In 2022 there were 3.8 inmates per officer and in 2025 there were 3.9 inmates per officer.
Between August 2022 and August 2025, the prison population increased by more than 6,000 inmates, but the number of prison officers increased by only around 1,000.
The battle to recruit and retain isn’t just about numbers, it’s about experience. By June 2025, 2,823 prison officers have left duty in England and Wales. Of those who left, 56% had less than three years of service and 24% had less than one year of service. If expanded prison capacity is met by inadequate staffing, it is crucial to understand why.
Fewer people attend than before. In the same year, only 2,453 prison officers were appointed or promoted to prison officer positions; this number was almost half the figure recorded the previous year. The prison and probation service says there are “ongoing recruitment and retention challenges” in some parts of the country.
And even for those who remain, the demanding nature of the job is evident in the fact that mental health issues are the leading reason for the absence of prison officers until June 2025. The pressures prison officers face are often intensified by the danger that working in prison can pose.
a violent role
In September 2025, armed robber Elias Morgan was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of former prison officer Lenny Scott. The judge said it was a revenge killing four years after Scott seized a mobile phone from Morgan’s cell. This is a stark reminder that prison officers can be killed just for doing their job.
The Prison Officers Association, the union representing prison officers, described the environment in which they work as “one of the most hostile and violent environments in the world”.
Earlier this year, four prison officers at HMP Frankland in County Durham were attacked by a prisoner with a knife and hot oil, sending three of them to hospital. The inmate is charged with three counts of attempted murder.
About the author
Kaigan Carrie is a PhD candidate in Criminology at the University of Westminster.
This article was first published by. Speech and is republished under a Creative Commons license. Read original article.
These incidents fit into a wider pattern of violence against prison staff. In the 12 months to March 2025, 10,568 attacks on staff were recorded; This means a 7% increase compared to the previous year. This equates to 28 attacks a day on staff across the service.
Protecting prison officers is not only a matter of justice for them as individuals, but is also vital to a safe and well-functioning prison system. High levels of violence can make recruitment and retention more difficult, leaving prisons struggling to find enough staff to safely manage a growing prison area. Better support for officers is vital in these challenging circumstances.
In response to the serious attack faced by staff at HMP Frankland, the government has distributed 500 stun guns and 10,000 stab vests for prison staff. Although these measures may improve security in some cases, they are not a solution to prison violence.
One police officer I interviewed described being stabbed in an attack that led to their medical retirement. Because of where they were stabbed, neither a vest nor a stun gun could have prevented this incident. This highlights that while protective equipment may be helpful in certain situations of violence, the root causes of violence, such as understaffing and overcrowding, are not being addressed.
Charlie Taylor, chief inspector of prisons, recently reported that more than 60% of prisoners at HMP Pentonville in London were in overcrowded cells and that the prison’s physical infrastructure was “collapsing”. Building new prisons to meet growing demand will not address the fact that some of our Victorian prisons are not fit for purpose.
Staff shortages also have detrimental effects on prisoners. Taylor’s review of Pentonville found that most prisoners spent 22 hours a day in their cells doing nothing. This reflects a lack of personnel to effectively manage the regime; a problem that new prisons alone cannot solve.
Working in prison is known to expose people to high levels of PTSD, depression, stress and anxiety. When existing prisons do not have enough officers to safely staff them, building more prisons will only increase the pressure on staff. Protecting prison staff and supporting their welfare is vital if the government is to expand its prison estate and ensure that prisons are safe and effectively staffed. Without addressing these pressures, building more prisons risks creating a system that is larger but not safer or more effective.
