Why Deadly Violence Behind Bars Is Becoming Harder to Contain
The message arrived out of the blue – but the weight of its words hung in the air.
“If you want to whack someone in prison, it’s not exactly rocket science.”
That’s the chilling message we got from a bloke doing time for serious violence. The thing is, his words didn’t have that air of drama that usually comes with talk like this. There was just a matter of fact-ness to it that makes things even more unsettling.
All over the prisons in England and Wales there’s this worrying trend emerging. Violence isn’t just happening now and then, it’s actually becoming an integral part of the way things work in some of these places.
A Chilling Glimpse Into Life Behind Bars
The prisoner, chatting to someone outside through a mobile he shouldn’t have had in his cell, painted a picture of a world where time and tension breed this mad creativity.
“These lot inside are pretty inventive – they’ve got all the time in the world to think up new ways to maim and kill,” he said. “You’d be amazed at what they can do with a bit of a blade and a toothbrush. Just looking at the thing [the makeshift weapon] is enough to get your heart racing.”
These types of phones are meant to be off-limits – but it seems, in reality, are used on the down low – giving inmates a way to talk to the outside world.
His messages came at a time when news of Ian Huntley’s death at HMP Frankland had just broken. You’ll remember him as the former school caretaker who, back in 2002, was convicted of murdering two young girls.
That wasn’t an isolated incident either.
Months before that, Ian Watkins, the former rock star jailed for child abuse, also died after being attacked in HMP Wakefield. The shock of these two cases has reignited a big debate – is it true that prisons are getting safer or are things actually worse than we’re being told?
Violence Is Rising—and So Are the Stakes
The official figures paint a very grim picture.
In the year up to September 2025, there were over 3,500 serious assaults on record in the prisons across England and Wales. That’s an increase of 8% over the previous year.
Seven lads lost their lives in 2025 – the year before that there were six.
Behind all those numbers are the real complexities. Another bloke communication with someone on the outside from inside, described a place that’s run on power, fear, and who’s got what reputation.
“There are some prisoners you don’t mess with – the ones who have had kids harmed are the worst in people’s eyes.”
But it don’t stop there
“It can turn you into a different person in here – you get meaner and angrier and you might want to lash out at someone. Then you get told to do it. It’s hard to shake the thought that things might never change, will the fear ever go away?
“Huntley’s gone now – but now what?”
Power, Pressure, and Prison Hierarchies
Violence inside a prison isn’t just random chaos. More often than not, it’s been carefully orchestrated.
Inmates tell us that prison life has a strict pecking order where the vulnerable are strong-armed into attacking others in exchange for protection, a bit of status, or a way to get their hands on contraband.
This is a culture that’s been around for ages but some people are now saying it’s getting worse.
In a previous visit to HMP Pentonville, prisoners were open with us about how they’d whip up makeshift weapons just to impress the big shots on the inside. And it’s loyalty enforced through violence – that’s just the way it is.
Which gets us to a pretty tough question: has this kind of behaviour become so normalised that its just another part of prison life?
When There’s Nothing Left to Lose
When you’re serving a life sentence, the usual threats of violence and punishment just don’t carry any weight.
Criminal barrister Kama Melly KC puts it bluntly:
“Prisoners with life sentences know they’re unlikely to get out anytime soon – in many cases, they’ve actually got nothing at all to come back to.”
“And even if they do manage to get another life sentence & put on some pretty strict conditions, that won’t stop the violence inside prisons from happening”
There were 7,570 people still on life sentences by the end of 2025 – the highest count in decades.
Even putting the really troublesome individuals in isolation & putting them in close supervision centres doesn’t always sort them out.
Tom Wheatley, Head of the Prison Governors’ Association, remembers a chilling encounter with one prisoner.
A prisoner told him, if he were to be knocked off, “there was nothing we could do to him”.
The reason? He was already serving a whole-life sentence, & was already locked up in total isolation on his own.
Officers Under Pressure
It’s not just the inmates who’re in danger.
Prison officers are getting increasingly attacked as well. It’s gotten so bad that assaults on staff have reached a 10-year high.
Steve Gillan, Head of the Prison Officers’ Association says the system is at breaking point.
“We’ve had prison officer numbers & security levels eviscerated over the years through cutbacks, & as a direct result violence is now out of control,” he says
The problem of understaffing is still a concern, even though the government claims to have improved pay & got the resignation rates down a bit.
Overcrowding Adds Fuel to the Fire
Space is another huge problem – and seriously making the situation worse.
2024 saw English prisons getting perilously close to full capacity – a mere 100 spaces left across the whole country.
A government report reckons that overcrowding ups the likelihood of violence by a staggering 19%.
The maths is simple but scary – more people. Less space. Rising tensions.
It’s a combo that’s proving awfully hard to tame.
Justice Delayed, Impact Reduced
When violent crimes do take place inside a prison, the consequences don’t always follow straight away.
There are an eye-watering 80,000 cases just stuck in the crown courts, which can delay trials into months for attacks committed behind bars.
This delay just makes it feel like accountability has gone out of the window.
A Different Kind of Justice
Prison violence is raising some pretty tough questions for some victim’s families.
Should those who’ve committed serious crimes be put through even more suffering – or should they just serve out their sentence in peace?
Nour Norris who’s sister and niece were murdered back in 2018 is pretty clear in her mind.
“Somebody who gets killed in prison has escaped their sentence – they should be suffering from their own guilt about what they’ve done.”
“The prison has a duty of care to make sure they serve that sentence and get punished properly – or it sends all the wrong signals that the justice system is out of control.”
Where Does This Leave the System?
There’s no easy answer here.
Prisons were always meant to be a means to an end – to punish – to rehabilitate – to keep people safe.
But right now the balance looks fragile at best.
And from the voices coming from inside, there’s a real fear that violence is no longer just happening – it’s just become a part of the day-to-day environment in some of these places.
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Why Deadly Violence Behind Bars Is Becoming Harder to Contain
