Call-out for expert gel squad grows 44% in two years

There has been a sharp increase in the number of an expert team, which is related to serious incidents in jails, deployed in England and Wales, BBC can reveal.

As per the information request, the National Strategic Response Group (NTRG) was called out 823 times in 2024 compared with 570 deployment in 2022.

The Jail Officers Association (POA) stated that there were problems with solid indiscipline – an event in which two or more prisoners work together in the violence of valid instructions – and violence.

The government said it was investing more in expert teams to deal with serious events.

NTRG, which is also sent to young criminal institutions and immigration removal centers, is a highly trained unit used to deal with serious events such as prisoner barricades, hostage and violent disturbances.

In April The team was posted in Lovam Granz After the jail, a prisoner of the jail threatened to take another hostage.

Jyoff Wilts of the POA National Executive Committee said: “This group has a growing requirement [NTRG] To address the growing gel violence and ever increasing the population of the growing prison is to be deployed due to frequent callouts. ,

Concerns about prison safety were exposed by the latest Justice Ministry (MoJ) data, showing that the number of employees attacking adults across England and Wales is a new summit last year.

The government said that the use of tasar will be tested in this summer for special officials dealing with serious incidents in jails.

recently Historical review Former Lord Chancellor David Gauk recommended that some prisoners could be released after serving just one -third of their sentence for ease in the jail.

A former jail officer in Kent, who wanted to be anonymous, told the BBC South East about instability in some jails.

He said, “I have attacked myself and I have seen the colleagues whose life was replaced by an attack, which was not directed to them,” he said.

David, not his real name, said that the service was affected by the loss of many experienced employees in the last decade.

He said, “I think the prison service had the biggest tool experience. And unfortunately, you can’t just buy experiences,” he said.

“You cannot get people who come out of college through gates and hope that they have the same experience as someone who has been in a job for 20 years and knows how to deal with someone.”

POA General Secretary Steve Gilon said: “Our members need better training and return to the basics of first and most important security and discipline.

“We need proper protective equipment and better staffing levels to deal with congested jails.

“There is no doubt that there is a major increase in events at height.

“Jail officials cannot deal with them without correct equipment and training, which is why NTRG employees are brought to deal with such situations.”

The Moj said that recently a large ratio of NTRG callouts is for events at height, which are recorded for any event that occurs above the ground level, but not necessarily a violent or conflict.

Former prison governor John Podmore said that protests at height and incidents at height are due to prisoners who are angry or disappointed.

“At this time it is highly likely and logical that such events will increase because there are lots of prisoners who are not getting out of their cells or gaining access to education, employment and training,” he said.

“These scenarios will increase disappointments, prison staff are very few, as they are new in the job, to deal with such incidents, and hence they can reveal themselves in protests at the height.

“One of the reasons can be prisoners who are in debt because they are taking drugs and they want to get out of jail, so if they go against the roof, they are very likely that they will be taken out of jail and will go away from their debt for some time.”

Jail Governors Association President Tom Wheatley said that NTRG deployment showed pressure on the jail system.

He said, “They are very full, not all prisoners are not in the places they are going to be, they are disappointed and they oppose,” they said.

“NTRG leaves for events at height, prisoners climb on the railing on the wings, so they threaten to fall or jump.

“As the disappointment increases, those specially trained employees are deployed.

“They have to be able to do the same as a specialized education and specialization of the covers, and to be in the form of a lot in the form.[Ntrg)haveparticulartrainingandskillstheycansafelyrescuePrisonersonersonersonersonersonersonersonerie’Salargescauldisturabanesturbancetheycetheycheyceticheyometheyometoftoftoftofthtemesentomesintodealwithtodealwithtodealwithtodhel[एनटीआरजी)केपासविशेषप्रशिक्षणऔरकौशलहैंवेसुरक्षितरूपसेकैदियोंकोऊंचाईपरबचातेहैंऔरयदिबड़ेपैमानेपरगड़बड़ीहैतोवेटीमकेहिस्सेकेरूपमेंआतेहैंजोइससेनिपटनेकेलिएआताहै।”[NTRG)haveparticulartrainingandskillstheycansafelyrescueprisonersatheightandifthere’salargescaledisturbancetheycomeinaspartoftheteamthatcomesintodealwiththat”

The government recently said More than 1,000 prisoners will be released early To free the spaces, as the minister struggles with a congested crisis.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said that £ 4.7BN investment will fund more jails.

A MoJ spokesperson said: “The government has inherited jail in crisis and Lord Chancellor has taken immediate action to ensure that we can close dangerous criminals, protect the public and make jails safe for our hard -working employees.

“We have a zero-sensitivity approach to violence, which is why we are responding to serious events in our expert teams and providing employees with devices that need to protect them.”