Closed petition Greater protection for prison officers

Closed on 6 November 2019

Being a prison officer is a dangerous job to be in, both verbal & physical assault occur daily, yet the only protection they have is a baton. The law should be changed so that prison officers have the same amount of protection as the police, and are supplied with tasers, pepper spray and stab vests.

A family member is a serving prison officer and has been assaulted numerous times. The more "minor" of these assaults include being spat at, hit & kicked. The more "major" include being bitten, his eye gouged & being cut with an unknown weapon. This does not include the times he has been threatened and had weapons including hand made knives & kettles full of boiling water pulled on him. Prison officers deal with the same criminals that the police deal with yet they are not protected in the same way.