Irish Prison Officers to Receive Batons, Body Cameras Amid Rising Violence

Irish prison officers will receive batons and body cameras later this year, as violence in the prison service has increased due to overcrowding. Irish Prison Service director general Caron McCaffrey announced at the annual Prison Officers Association (POA) conference in Co Kilkenny that a trial of batons will begin in July at Cork Prison. Batons have been available since 2018 in the National Violence Reduction Unit at Midlands Prison, where they have been drawn twice but never used.

Body cameras, successfully trialed in Portlaoise Prison, will be rolled out in Mountjoy Prison around September, with a full estate-wide deployment planned for next year. These cameras are expected to improve inmate behavior and provide evidence for prosecutions. Incapacitating spray is also planned, pending legislative amendment by the Oireachtas this summer.

Acute overcrowding persists, with 5,909 people imprisoned as of March 24th against a capacity of 4,736, a shortfall of 1,173 bed spaces. Acting POA president Peter Redmond called this a «national scandal» contributing to increased gang presence, intimidation, violence, and contraband. POA general secretary Karl Dalton reported a 23% increase in direct physical assaults on officers in 2025 (132 incidents) and a 161% increase in aggressive behavior (60 incidents). Physical interventions to protect inmates rose 28% to 114 incidents. McCaffrey acknowledged overcrowding as a byproduct of this violence. Drone drops of contraband, with 384 documented incidents, are a further factor.