A prison warden was violently attacked by an inmate this week heightening fears staff safety at High Down is being jeopardised by £1m budget cuts.
The warden was knocked unconscious and had to be resuscitated by staff on Monday night as she attempted to restrain a prisoner – believed to have psychiatric problems.
The assault follows repeated warnings from watchdogs about the dangers of overcrowding and staff shortages at the category-B jail in Sutton.
The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) has also expressed worries about the “inappropriate placement” of mentally ill offenders.
A prison source told the Sutton Guardian: “High Down has had £1m cut from its budget this year and this has been shown by the lack of staff at the prison.
“On Tuesday, for example, there were two prison officers looking after 90 inmates, which is totally and utterly inadequate, especially in light of the very serious incident, where the female officer could have lost her life.”
The Prison Service declined to comment on the security fears but confirmed that a warden was taken by ambulance to Epsom General Hospital.
A spokesman said: “On Monday a prison officer at HMP High Down sustained a minor head injury while attempting to restrain a prisoner.
"She was taken to hospital for treatment and has since been discharged.”
John Metcalf, chairman of the IMB, said cutbacks inevitably reduced the number of staff available to deal with inmates from all backgrounds.
But he said the shortfall might not have been directly responsible for the latest assault.
Concerns about increasing levels of violence have been growing since the jail expanded to hold 1,200 inmates.
Last July there were 24 attacks on the overstretched prison staff, a figure described by the IMB as “worryingly large”.
Its annual report concluded: “The board considers the Government’s cutback in funding of the prison system to be short-sighted.
“And, in particular it is difficult to escape the conclusion that the £1m cut at High Down could have possibly adverse consequences in relation to morale, the quality of care of prisoners and their rehabilitation, and the provision of adequate support services.
“Against this backcloth, it is understandable that prison officers occasionally tell board members that the best they can do, in the circumstances, is to ‘contain the situation’.”
Colin Moses, national chairman of the Prison Officers Association, is now demanding that the Government recruits an extra 3,000 staff to ensure prisons can perform adequately.
He said: “The day-to-day staff shortfalls are a real concern to the safety and security of every prison and we call on the Government to address this issue as a matter of urgency.”
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