Calls for more Tasers: 'Prison attack ruined me'

A former prison officer who was assaulted by an inmate who had grabbed his baton says: "I remember getting hit and falling into the cell and then waking up with my colleagues restraining him."

Martin Geddes says it has damaged his confidence and left him feeling unsafe at work. "Long term it ruined me as a person."

He is calling for a wider roll out of Tasers, which use electricity to incapacitate an attacker, to protect prison staff, after a limited trial involving the weapon in men's jails started last year.

The Ministry of Justice says it will be expanding the rollout of tasers to 500 additional prison officers to reduce violence.

Tasers have been deployed in jails for the first time with specialist officers using them in five incidents across four prisons - HMP Lewes, HMP High Down, HMP Bullingdon and HMP Featherstone - between July 2025 and April this year, BBC South East has discovered.

The stun guns were not fired at prisoners, but on a number of occasions were drawn from officers' holsters, and at two jails they were used to aim the red dot at an inmate as a warning sign.

In 2025, there were 31,345 assault incidents recorded in prisons across England and Wales, Of those, 3,484 were classed as "serious", meaning the victim was sexually assaulted, required treatment, or suffered a notable physical injury.

The number of serious assaults has risen over the last four years, although has not reached a pre-pandemic peak of 3,861 in 2017.

Prison officers say they have also had their mental health impacted at work.

In 2024, England's prisons lost almost 150,000 working days because of mental ill-health, an increase of 44% since 2019.

So far only 20 specialist staff from the Operational Response and Resilience Unit (ORRU) - a national team which handles high-risk incidents - have had access to Tasers for complex incidents, such as hostage situations and barricades.

The government says it is now preparing to review and draw conclusions on the key benefits and learning points from the Taser trial which began in July 2025.

It is part of a £15m investment in protective equipment, which also includes increasing the provision of protective body armour.

"In the future, it is likely that we'll see staff routinely deployed in some prisons with access to Tasers," said Tom Wheatley, the president of the Prison Governors' Association.

"That would enable them to react to the most serious incidents very quickly, and hopefully bring them to a safe and successful conclusion without anybody getting hurt," he added.

Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers' Association (POA), said: "The world is changing and we are dealing with a very different violent cohort of offenders with vicious assaults and attacks on each other.

"Prison officers being on the receiving end of life changing injuries so any additional measure to reduce violence is welcomed."

He said: "We are pleased that they will be made available on a controlled basis in exceptional circumstances."

Geddes says: "They should have [Tasers] in the system in place in every single estate."

He says he believes the devices would provide additional protection from violence in prisons.

John Podmore, former prison governor at Belmarsh, Brixton and Swaleside in Kent has welcomed the introduction of Tasers, but says he is cautious about more widespread use.

"The nature of the threat in prisons has changed, staff are dealing with more violent prisoners.

"I think a Taser can provide a less lethal option to bring serious violence under control more quickly, but it should never become routine.

"We need more evidence about their use from specialist officers, before deciding whether they should become part of everyday prison operations."

The Howard League for Penal Reform says it is concerned the move could risk escalating tensions, according to director of campaigns, Andrew Neilson.

"The answer is not more weapons. It is ensuring that prisons offer stable and productive regimes that get people out of their cells and into purposeful activities," he said.

"This requires doing more to address the overcrowding that has put jails under intolerable pressure."

The government says the Taser expansion will allow small teams of prison-based staff to provide intervention, rather than being restricted to a specialist national unit.

No details have yet been revealed on the timings of a wider roll out.

A spokesperson for HM Prison and Probation Service said: "Prisons must be places of order and it's vital that our brave frontline staff can do their job without the fear of violence.

"That's why we're investing around £15 million in protective equipment, including expanding tasers to 500 additional prison officers, to help diffuse violent situations and ensure staff and prisoners are kept safe."