Arson in prisons is a significant problem in West Yorkshire, with firefighters called out to dozens of blazes in the county’s various prisons in the past 12 months.
Fire bosses have said that “inventive” prisoners have started using vapes to start fires, often in a bid to get moved to a different cell.
At a meeting on Friday, members of West Yorkshire Fire Authority’s Community Safety Committee were told that work was being done by the prison service to tackle this issue.
The meeting was told there had been 119 deliberately-set fires in secure accommodation in the past year, and around two third of these were in West Yorkshire’s prisons.
Scott Donegan, Area Manager with responsibility for prevention and response, said: “We’ve done a lot of work with the prison service. There was a decline in fires in prisons from August to January, then an increase in February.
“The prison service is making a lot of changes. It is often vapes that are used to set fires. The prison service is now rolling out tamper proof vapes that can’t be used to start fires.
“They’re also changing the type of kettles they provide prisoners with.”
He explained that kettles are also used by prisoners to start fires, adding: “Some people in prisons are an inventive bunch.”
Members heard that the prison service was also now looking to bring prosecutions against people starting fires in their cells. Previously up to 14 days could be added to a prisoner’s sentence for starting a fire, something Mr Donegan said would not necessarily act as much of a deterrent.
He said prosecuting prisoners came with its own issues, adding: “With the court backlog, a prisoner might get released and then appear in court for setting fire to his prison cell 18 months later.”
Wakefield Councillor Charlie Keith (Lab), said: “After the riots last year there were a lot of people in prison who feel they shouldn’t be there. I wonder if some of these figures are because people in for the riots are lighting fires as a kind of protest?”
Councillor Ursula Sutcliffe (Green, Tong) asked if prison bosses liaised with the fire service over the cause of these fires.
Mr Donegan said: “Sometimes people want to move prison or cell for their own security, they might have a drug debt. There might also be mental health issues.”
Cllr Sutcliffe asked if there was much follow up on the fire setting prisoners once they are released. She added: “Are people doing community payback work clearing up woods when they have been setting fires in prison?”
Mr Donegan said the service were not made aware where people go after being released from prison.
This article was originally published by a www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .