Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, if the Crown Prosecution Service will take steps to ensure that all assaults against prison officers are prosecuted.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is committed to ensuring that assaults against prison officers are dealt with robustly. The CPS considers each case on its own facts and in accordance with the two stage test set out in the Code for Crown Prosecutors.The Code outlines that a prosecution is more likely to be in the public interest if the offence was committed against a person serving the public. Furthermore, the specific CPS Legal Guidance on Prison Offences outlines that, if the victim is a prison officer performing his/her duty, the public interest is heavily in favour of prosecution.

In addition to this, the new joint protocol produced by the Prison Service, CPS and Association of Chief Police Officers will set out that when there are serious assaults on prison staff, the perpetrators will be prosecuted unless there is a good reason why not.