New figures have revealed that staff at Perth Prison have been attacked by prisoners more than 80 times in the last four years.
The Freedom of Information request revealed that there have been a recorded 84 assaults by prisoners on members of staff between January 2015 and April 25 this year.
In that time, there have been 318 assaults by prisoners directed towards other inmates, and prison officers have had to break up 188 fights.
This year, there have been 33 assaults by prisoners on other prisoners, nine assaults on staff and 22 fights which have broken out.
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The prison is no stranger to violence with a riot taking place in the prison during the 2016/17 financial year costing taxpayers nearly £40,000. Rioting inmates set fire to a pool table in Perth Prison’s C-Hall, prompting an evacuation.
A Scottish Prison Spokesperson said: “Given the nature of their work, prison staff can work with dangerous and difficult individuals and on rare occasions assaults on staff unfortunately do occur.
“We recognise the importance of providing a safe environment for our staff and those in our care and it is our policy that all assaults are reported to the appropriate authorities.”
Perthshire-based MSP Murdo Fraser has called for better protection for staff and inmates at the prison.
He said: “These figures show a pretty steady picture over recent years, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that the level of incidents is far too high.
“We know Perth can be quite a violent prison and these figures confirm that. This is despite all the good work done by the staff.
“Our first concern must be for them and we need to consider how we can better protect both them and the inmates.”
