Assaults double as W.Va. inmate population swells - WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and Sports

Assaults double as W.Va. inmate population swells

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MOUNT OLIVE, W.Va. (AP) -- West Virginia's jails and prisons are increasingly dangerous, for inmates and employees.

Figures obtained by The Associated Press show the number of inmate-on-inmate prison assaults more than doubled between 2007 and 2011, even though half the population was in for a nonviolent offense.

Division of Corrections figures show the same trend in assaults on prison employees

And both administrators and guards expect the numbers to rise as the state's chronically overcrowded prisons and jails continue to swell with new inmates.

In the 10 regional jails, inmate-on-inmate assaults jumped nearly 25 percent.

Figures provided by the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority showed only one positive trend: Assaults on staff fell slightly but steadily, from 261 to 221.

But that's still an average of more than four assaults a week.

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