Jail vape fires spark call for tougher punishment

Prisoners who start fires in their cells should face harsher punishment, fire chiefs have said following a steep rise in the number of incidents in jails.

The number of arsons in West Yorkshire's prisons rose from 27 in 2022/23 to 127 in 2024/25, a West Yorkshire Fire Authority meeting was told.

Many of the fires were started using vapes and were often used as a way to intimidate fellow prisoners or by inmates wanting to move to different cells, a report to members said.

It said offenders could face criminal prosecution but only if the damage exceeded £2,000 and due to "inaccurate costings this threshold was rarely met". The Ministry of Justice has been approached for a comment.

The report to the authority's community safety committee on Friday said the fire service wanted more culprits to be prosecuted.

It said: "We have seen a steady rise in cell fires, the vast majority of which have been started using vape pens - either by manipulating the heating element or the charging cables.

"We found that offenders face adjudication by the governor, which could result in up to 30 additional days added to their sentence.

"In severe cases, they could face criminal charges if the fire endangered staff or other prisoners.

"For a case to be considered by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the damage must exceed a threshold of £2,000.

"However, due to inaccurate costings, this threshold was rarely met."

The fire service's Leeds District Commander Lee Miller told the meeting: "Prisoners being prisoners, they are inventive. They'll find new ways to set fires."

Councillors were told prison liaison officers had introduced an incident reporting form that "captures accurate damage assessments, assigns costs and includes questions that police would typically ask the perpetrator".

It said: "With the new incident reporting form, we hope to see more cases referred to and approved by the CPS.

"There have been instances in the UK where up to two years were added to a sentence.

"If such a case occurred in one of our Leeds District sites, it could serve as a powerful deterrent."

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