THERE were three incidents of concerted indiscipline in Channings Wood Prison, Denbury, during last year.

It follows no recordings in 2012, and one in both 2013 and 2014.

In Dartmoor Prison one such incident was recorded in both 2014 and 2015, and in Exeter Prison there was one in 2014 and two last year. Exeter was also the fifth most overcrowded prison in the country.

The figures are revealed by the Howard League for Penal Reform which says prisons in the south west have been forced to deal with 41 incidents of concerted indiscipline in the past three years.

An incident is recorded as concerted indiscipline if it involves two or more prisoners acting together to defy a lawful instruction or against the requirements of the establishment. This includes major disturbances, such as riots.

It also states that Ministry of Justice statistics show that trouble in prisons has reached epidemic levels, with incidents rising by more than 200 per cent across England and Wales.

Prisons nationwide recorded 282 incidents during 2015 – more than five a week – as they struggled to cope with growing numbers of prisoners, chronic overcrowding and deep staff cuts.

The National Offender Management Service introduced a ‘new enhanced incident reporting standard’ last summer to gain a better understanding of the scale of the problem.

The figures revealed that incidents had more than doubled before the new recording arrangements came in – rising from 92 in 2012, to 148 in 2013 and up to 191 in 2014.

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the Prime Minister had recognised that prisons were failing and that wholesale reform was needed.

‘But simply trying to build a way out of the problem will not work and would mean years of disorder, violence and people dying while we wait for new prisons to be built.

‘Evidence shows that building additional prisons only compounds overcrowding and its consequent problems as the courts send more people to prison every day.

‘We cannot go on cramming more people into jails without any thought for the safety of staff and the public,’ she said.

The figures were given by the prisons and probation minister, Andrew Selous,

in response to a question asked by shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter.