The sister of Isle of Wight prison officer Nick Medlin, who died in the early hours of Christmas Day 2016 after being assaulted outside a pub on the Isle of Wight, is calling for assaults on HM Prison Officers to be made a specific criminal offence.
After her brother died, Andrea Gray wrote to the Home Office demanding an explanation of how they intend to keep prison officers and their families safe.
The petition
Andrea has now created this petition which reads:
Make it a specific criminal offence to assault an HM Prison Officer.
A report has revealed that, over a two month period last year, prisoners assaulted more than 1,000 prison officers. This includes 95 of the highest category ‘serious’ assaults on staff, such as being slashed with homemade weapons.
The two monthly total equates to more than 16 attacks a day.
At time of publishing The petition had 2,673 signatures.
At 10,000 signatures, government will respond to the petition. At 100,000 signatures, the petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.
It runs until 23rd July 2017.
Source for reports: Prison violence in England and Wales up yet again // Assaults on prison staff at record high, figures show
