The insanity of Tory ‘projectile weapons for prison guards’ plan
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The Conservative Party wants projectile weapons — including Tasers and baton rounds — made available in British prisons.
et that sink in.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick says these weapons would give specialist prison officers the “confidence” they need to deal with dangerous inmates.
He claims it’s “only a matter of time” before a prison officer is killed unless urgent action is taken.
What he fails to mention is that the system now teetering on the edge is the direct result of 14 years of Conservative mismanagement.
Jenrick insists guards wouldn’t be “walking the wings” with Tasers at their hips, but that secure armouries should be set up in high-security prisons so weapons are on hand “if needed.”
One imagines that’s meant to sound reassuring.
It isn’t.
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A crisis of their own making
Let’s start with the obvious: prison violence didn’t erupt in a vacuum.
It escalated during the Conservatives’ time in government — a time when overcrowded jails, chronic staff shortages, and crumbling infrastructure all played a part.
According to Labour, the Tories added fewer than 500 prison places in 14 years while cutting 1,600 high-security cells.
Experienced officers walked away in droves.
Assaults on staff soared.
And now, astonishingly, the party that presided over this collapse wants to deal with the consequences by arming the guards.
This is not a solution.
It’s a threat disguised as policy.
The risk is real — and obvious
Any prison officer will tell you: the moment weapons are introduced into a correctional setting, the calculus changes.
No matter how “secure” the armoury, the risk of inmate access is not theoretical — it’s guaranteed over time.
Desperate people do desperate things, and prisons are full of them.
If a baton round or stun gun is ever turned against an officer — or worse, another inmate — the result could be catastrophic.
And it will raise the inevitable question: why were projectile weapons ever allowed in a prison in the first place?
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Posturing in Opposition
Jenrick’s proposal is not about practical reform.
It’s about optics.
It allows the Conservatives to look “tough on crime” without admitting the role they played in creating the problem.
It’s the political equivalent of setting your house on fire and demanding a flamethrower to put it out.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this playbook being opened.
When in trouble, the modern Conservative Party retreats into a posture of punitive bravado — harsher sentences, more police powers, and now, weapons in prisons.
It’s the politics of fear, not function.
There are better answers
Labour, currently running the government, would do well to ignore this dangerous bait and focus on genuine solutions:
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Rebuild the prison estate.
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Recruit and retain skilled officers.
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Invest in de-escalation training and mental health support.
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Create independent oversight for the use of force.
These measures would do more to make prisons safer than any weapon ever could.
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The bottom line
The Conservatives are out of power and out of ideas.
Their answer to the violence they incubated is not reform, but escalation.
Their vision of prison safety looks a lot like a war zone.
We don’t need weapons in our prisons.
We need policies that treat root causes rather than fan the flames.
That’s something the Tory front bench still doesn’t seem to understand — or perhaps simply refuses to.
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Just curious… why is it worse if a weapon is turned against another inmate than it is against a prison officer?
The point isn’t that it’s worse if a weapon is turned on an inmate rather than an officer, but that it reveals a different kind of systemic failure.
A prison officer being attacked with a weapon would be a devastating example of a breakdown in staff safety and control.
An inmate using that weapon on another prisoner introduces an additional layer: the state failing in its duty of care over those it has lawfully detained.
In both cases, it exposes how quickly arming staff can escalate risk — not reduce it.
It’s also worth saying: in a setting where many inmates are already vulnerable — including those with mental health issues — the potential for misuse or disproportionate force becomes even more concerning.
Absolutely fair for you to flag that – and thanks, because it gave me the opportunity to clarify.