Reserve prison force for Midlands' struggling jails

The team of back-up officers will work across Brinsford, Featherstone, Stafford, Drake Hall and Swinfen Hall, the Ministry of Justice has now revealed.

Job advertisements were launched last week carry salaries of between £19,049 and £24,981.

It comes after it was revealed that there are 700 fewer officers staffing the West Midlands' jails with the Howard League for Penal Reform warning that the prison system is in crisis.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: "Frontline staffing levels in prisons are being boosted by the ongoing recruitment campaign, and the establishment of a reserve force of staff who can be called on when needed.

"We do not underestimate the hard work prison staff carry out each day in their duties to rehabilitate offenders and protect the public".

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson said: "In some ways it is disappointing that these officers are not going to be in prison on a full-time basis but I welcome the fact that they are taking measures to ensure that when shortages occur they are properly dealt with and people are put in place straight away.

"That is what we want to see.

"It is absolutely essential that the prisons operate with a full complement of staff to ensure their security and safety and that of the prisoners."

Earlier this year former prison staff have received a letter, explaining that Her Majesty's Prison Service Reserve has been set up to 'respond to particular short-term pressures in prisons', which may be due to unforeseen increases in prisoner numbers or as a response to the 'operational pressures which surface from time to time'.

Brinsford Young Offenders' Institution,near Wolverhampton, was rated as Britain's worst prison when it was found to have dirty cells which contained graffiti and were poorly furnished.

While HMP Stafford, which is now exclusively holds sex offenders, was criticised for its low staffing levels. and said prisoners did not get the right rehabilitation work.

South Staffordshire MP Gavin Williamson said he has also received complaints from staff at HMP Featherstone about how whistleblowers are dealt with.

Research by the Howard League has found that officer numbers have been cut from 1,917 to 1,180 – a drop of 38 per cent – since 2010. According to the charity there are 107 fewer officers working at Brinsford while neighbouring HMP Featherstone is having to make do with 50 fewer officers than in 2010. This represents a drop of 45 per cent and 33 per cent respectively, with Brinsford seeing the third-highest drop in the region.