因暴力及自残事件增多，英国狱警辞职人数飙升 [美国媒体]

Number of UK prison officers resigning soars amid increasing levels of violence and self-harm

因暴力及自残事件增多，英国狱警辞职人数飙升

Exclusive: Ministers accused of driving 'crisis' in prisons as figures reveal one in 16 officers left post last year compared with just one in 100 in eight years ago

【日期】2018年7月2日



One in 16 officers resigned last year, compared with one in 33 officers two years before and just one in 100 in 2009/10 ( PA )

The number of prison officers resigning from their jobs has more than doubled in the last two years amid soaring levels of violence and self-harm in UK jails, The Independent can reveal.

独立报透露，过去的两年中，由于英国监狱暴力和自残事件激增，导致狱警辞职人数翻番。

Ministers have been accused of driving a crisis in prisons after an analysis of official figures revealed the number of officers leaving the role surged from 596 in 2015/16 to 1,244 in the 12 months to March 2018 – an increase of 109 per cent.

官方数据分析揭露，从2015/16年到2018年3月份，辞职的狱警人数从596增长到1244——增幅达109%。监狱长被指控为导致这场危机的元凶。

One in 16 officers resigned last year, compared with one in 33 officers two years before and just one in 100 in 2009/10.

相比于两年前33人中有一人和2009年10月100人中有一人辞职的比例，去年16名狱警里就有一人要辞职。

It comes after self-harm and violent attacks hit record levels in prisons across England and Wales this year, prompting campaigners to warn of a “system in crisis”. More than 11,600 prisoners harmed themselves in 2017 – a record high – and the number of separate incidents rose by 11 per cent to 44,600.

今年，英格兰和威尔士的监狱中，自残和暴力袭击事件数量创历史记录新高，这让社会活动家们提出“系统性危机”的警告。2017年，超过11600名囚犯自残—创历史最高纪录—而独立事件的数量上升11%，达到44600.

Despite a major drive by the government to recruit more officers, which has seen an overall increase of 14 per cent in staffing numbers in the past year, the surge in resignations has prompted concern around the lack of experience in the sector.

尽管通过政府大力招募更多狱警，在过去的一年里人数增长14%，但是辞职潮还是引发人们对该行业缺乏经验的关注。

Politicians accused the government of creating a “dangerous cocktail of inexperienced officers and experienced prisoners” by previously cutting overall numbers by 7,000 since 2010.

政客指责政府在2010年前裁员7000人，从而造成“无经验危险狱警和有经验罪犯”这一现象。

An analysis by Labour in April showed that despite the government’s so-called prison officer recruitment drive, the service lost over 6,000 years of prison officer experience in the last year alone. While one in eight prison officers had less than three years’ experience in 2010, it has soared to one in three in 2018.

工党4月的一份分析显示，尽管政府有所谓的狱警招募活动，但是仅仅去年，就有6000名有多年经验的狱警辞职。2010年1/8的狱警用有不到三年经验，但到了2018年，这一数目猛增到1/3。

Former prison officers blamed the rise in resignations on increasingly dangerous conditions in jails and rising exposure to self-harm coupled with a lack of support from management, which had led many officers into a “downward spiral” of ill mental health.

前监狱长把辞职现象归咎于监狱中越来越危险的环境以及爆炸性增长的自残事件，加上管理层缺乏支持，导致许多官员心理状况“螺旋式下降”。

Joe Simpson, deputy general secretary for the Prison Officers Association (POA), told The Independent it was “no surprise” more officers were resigning.

狱警协会副秘书长乔·辛普森向“独立报”透露，对越来越多的狱警辞职现象“毫不意外”。

“There is more and more violence and more psychoactive substances. There are murders. It’s an absolute disgrace. Officers are having to cut people down who have decided to take their own lives; they’re having to deal with prisoners who are often extremely violent and extremely strong,” he said.

他说：“暴力事件和精神问题越来越多。有谋杀事件发生，这是耻辱。工作人员不得不控制想自杀的人；他们必须同嫉妒暴力和强壮的罪犯周旋。”

“They leave because they get no support from senior management. There’s no assistance for them when they do get mentally ill. Line managers aren’t trained to notice the signs of mental ill health in their staff. Officers end up falling into a downward spiral.”

“因为没有得到上级的支持，他们决定辞职。当他们有精神上的问题时，没有得到应有的帮助。管理层没有主要到员工需要精神帮助。最终导致恶性循环。”

Mr Simpson said the increase was also the result of low pay and a poor remuneration package for prison officers, saying they were not considered as “professionals”.

辛普森表示，薪酬低和待遇差也是导致辞职人数增多的原因，他们没有被当成专业人士。

“The government haven’t kept up with the comparable wage outside because they don’t treat us as professionals. Our members are professional people doing a professional job on behalf of the public, but that’s not recognised by the government,” he said.

他说：“因为他们不没有认定为专业人员，所以政府没有批准相应的工资等级。我们的狱警是代表公众从事专业工作的专业人员，但是没有被政府认可。”

“The remuneration package for our members is nothing short of a disgrace, so people look at it and say this job is just not worth my mental health and leave. Some people leave the job and go into other jobs on less money in order to get out.”

“工作待遇太低了，简直是耻辱，所以大家觉得回报还弥补不了精神损失。有些人宁可去做薪水更低的工作也要辞职。”

Shadow justice minister Richard Burgon said Conservative cuts to prison budgets and officer numbers had driven a “crisis” in prisons.

司法部长理查德·伯根说，保守党政府削减监狱预算和官员数量的做法已经引起一场监狱“危机”。

“The government needs to take urgent action to end the exodus of experienced officers which is creating a dangerous cocktail of inexperienced officers and experienced prisoners,” he added.

他补充说到“政府需要采取紧急行动，以防止大批经验丰富的狱警辞职，这导致留下缺乏经验的狱警和经验丰富的囚犯的危险现象。”

“It should start by addressing prison officer pay. The government’s real term pay cut will only make prison officer retention more difficult.”

“应该从薪酬着手。政府减薪会使留人变得更加困难。”

Liz Saville Roberts, Plaid Cymru's justice spokesperson, echoed his concerns, saying: “It is highly unsurprising that we have seen prison officers resigning at such a high rate since 2010 – the same period by which successive Conservative Governments have been destroying the prison system piece by piece.

威尔士党的司法发言人利兹·塞维尔·罗伯特回应了他的担忧：“自2010年开始，狱警的辞职数量就在不断增加，这个现象我们并不惊讶。在此期间，历届保守党政府一直在一步步的瓦解监狱系统。”

"Violence in prisons has skyrocketed, with over 8,000 assaults on staff last year alone, and now prison officers are forced to work for eight years longer than police officers, despite having to keep under control the most violence and dangerous people every day.

“监狱暴力事件猛增，仅去年就发生了8000多起袭警事件，尽管狱警每天都要控制最暴力危险的人，还被迫比警察多工作8年。”

"Cripplingly low wages, cruelly high retirement age and the Ministry of Justice’s complete indifference to safety are all to blame for the prison service losing valuable, experienced staff.”

“工资低、退休年龄大、司法部对安全漠不关心，这些让狱警失去信心。”

A Prisons Service spokesperson told The Independent: “Over the last 18 months we have recruited more than 3,000 additional prison officers to help turn offenders’ lives around.

一名监狱发言人向独立报透露：“在过去的18个月里，我们已经招募了3000多名狱警来帮助犯人改过自新。”

“We are giving prison officers tools like body worn cameras to help improve safety, and are working closely with governors to improve staff retention based on the needs of each individual prison.”

“我们为狱警配备了随身便携式摄像头来提高安全保障，并于州长密切合作，根据每个监狱的特点改善员工待遇。”