The number of frontline officers working in public-sector prisons has fallen over the last year, despite Ministry of Justice plans to recruit additional staff to help respond to the highest levels of violence, suicide and self-injury since recording practices began. Statistics show that there were 14,689 frontline officers in England and Wales in June 2016, down from 15,110 a year earlier. This leaves prisons with barely more frontline staff than the lowpoint of 2014 which prompted the ministry’s current recruitment exercise. Almost every region has seen frontline officer numbers fall. Figures at 31 August 2016 indicate that, in spite of the recruitment drive, people remain unwilling to work in prisons under present conditions. Reducing resources while allowing the prison population to grow unchecked has created a toxic cocktail of violence, death and human misery. See