Razor attacks in prisons

That this House condemns the horrific and cowardly unprovoked razor attack on a prison officer at HMP Humber on 9 February 2024, which resulted in 53 stitches for a facial wound; notes with alarm the rising tide of prison violence since the end of pandemic lockdowns, with assaults against staff up 16% and the total number of assaults up 21% over the past 12 months; further notes with alarm the rise in weapon attacks, with knife and blade assault incidents up 16% in the most recent year reported compared with a 2% rise in assaults involving all types of weapons, which made up 25% of all prison assaults in 2022 compared with 10% in 2010; agrees with the Government’s 2021 Prison Strategy White Paper’s assessment that traditional wet-shave razors can be used by prisoners both as a weapon for assaults and to self-harm; expresses concern that, despite seven pilot projects on alternatives to wet-shave razors since the White Paper, no decision has yet been made about future shaving provision in prisons; agrees with the POA union that it is reckless and irrational to give prisoners access to wet-shave razors, especially in the current prison-violence crisis; further agrees with the POA that no more trials are needed to conclude that wet-shave razors are far more dangerous than electric razors; and calls on the Government to remove wet-shave razors from prisons immediately and to introduce electric-razor provision as a matter of urgency.