Violence among inmates blamed on drug debts and gang rivalry

THERE were 1,014 incidents of violence among prisoners in Irish jails during 2010, and more than 800 prisoners may be on protection at any one time.

According to the Prison Service’s annual report, given that 1.5 million bed nights were provided to predominantly young males, the number of assaults on prisoners, particularly those using a weapon, was comparatively low.

The report goes on to say that attacks by prisoners on prisoners are not usually random acts of violence — they are related to matters on the outside such as drug debts and gang rivalry.