The number of guards at Kent prisons has dropped by as much as 55% since 2010.

Just last week an inspector’s report following an unannounced visit to Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institute blamed staff shortages for rising violence and deteriorating standards of care at the prison.

And last month HMP Swaleside saw injuries to inmates and a prison officer in two separate attacks.

HMP East Sutton Park, a women's open prison and Young Offenders Institution, has seen the largest drop in officers from 22 to 10, a reduction of 55% since August 2010.

“Having made prison officers redundant, the Ministry of Justice is now apparently struggling to recruit. These are desperate times, and ministers are resorting to desperate measures” - Howard League for Penal Reform

HM Prison Rochester, a male Young Offenders Institution, has seen a 48% drop over the same period from 233 in to 120.

Those 120 guards now manage 733 inmates.

The Sheppey Cluster, which includes local jail Elmley, category B prison Swaleside and Standford Hill open prison has seen a 41% reduction in officers.

From 740 guards in August 2010, numbers have dropped to just 440 for a population of 2,796 prisoners.

Category C HMP Maidstone has lost 38% of its officers, from 144 to 90 for a population of 588.

Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institute, which received a damning report from prison inspectors last week, has seen a 36% reduction in prison officers from 125 to 80 over the last four years.

The Howard League for Penal Reform, which carried out the research, said the drop in officer numbers has coincided with a deepening prison overcrowding crisis and an alarming rise in the number of suicides.

Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The prison system is in crisis, and these figures reveal why. While the prison population has grown, officer numbers have been cut without any thought for the consequences.

“A shortage of governors makes matters even worse, because officers are being taken off the wings and asked to ‘act up’ to fill vacancies.

“Having made prison officers redundant, the Ministry of Justice is now apparently struggling to recruit. These are desperate times, and ministers are resorting to desperate measures.”

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