Press Releases

Responding to the Report on "Ending the Cycle of Re-offending" by the House of Commons Justice Select Committee the General Secretary of the Prison Officers' Association, Steve Gillan said:

The UK’s Prison Officers feel undervalued, stressed, have low morale and are frequently exposed to abuse, violence and aggression in an understaffed and overcrowded system that is failing prisoners and the staff who care for them, according to the results of a survey of the Officers who work on the frontline of the country’s Prisons crisis. 

The results of a survey of the UKs Prison Officers has called for immediate action to address the unjust retirement age of staff working in dangerous, overcrowded and understaffed jails across the UK. 

Commenting on the statement made by David Lammy MP, Secretary of State for Justice, Steve Gillan General Secretary of the Prison Officers' Association said:

“The issues highlighted at HMP Leeds are a prime example of the crisis our members are having to cope with across the Prison Estate.

Steve Gillan has been chosen to lead the TUC for the next year. The first General Secretary of the POA to be chosen for this prestigious position, testament to the standing that the POA has within the Trade Union movement.

Violence and exposure to traumatic incidents is a daily experience for Prison Officers in England and Wales and the situation is getting worse according to the latest statistics published by the Ministry of Justice. 

The union representing the UK's 35,000 prison officers has welcomed the trial introduction of tasers in prisons.

Detention Custody Officers at the Gatwick Immigration Removal Centres are celebrating a major victory following the outcome of an employment tribunal case.

The appalling state of HMP Pentonville is one of the clearest examples of the crisis facing the country’s prisons a union leader has said.