Wednesday 11 October 2017

Prison Is No Holiday Camp

Just in case anyone is in any doubt regarding the crisis we have in our prison system, some graphic evidence was provided yesterday by HM Chief Inspector Peter Clarke:-

Introduction

Some people may feel a sense of déjà vu or world-weariness when they hear repeated accounts of poor conditions in our prisons. Many reports from HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMI Prisons) have pointed out that, all too often, prisoners are held in conditions that fall short of what most members of the public would consider as reasonable or decent. I would urge readers not to assume this paper is simply another account of some dilapidated prisons, but to look at the details of what we describe, and then ask themselves whether it is acceptable for prisoners to be held in these conditions in the United Kingdom in 2017. 

It is, of course, right to point out that not every prison holds its prisoners in poor conditions. On the whole, high security prisons, women’s prisons and open prisons provide decent conditions and some good facilities. However, in many of the local prisons and training prisons, the picture is bleak. 

The details of what we have found are set out in this paper, but some of the headlines make for grim reading. Prisoners cannot benefit from education or training if they are confined in their cells for long periods, and they inevitably become frustrated, angry or turn to drugs to ease the tedium. We have found that in local prisons 31% of prisoners report being locked in their cells for at least 22 hours a day, rising to 37% at young adult prisons (holding prisoners aged 18–21). We found large numbers of prisoners at some jails who were locked up for more than 22 hours a day, or throughout the working day. 

The cells in which prisoners are confined for these excessive periods of time vary greatly in their condition, but poor conditions are exacerbated by overcrowding. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) themselves report that in 2016/17 nearly 21,000 prisoners out of some 85,000 in total were held, by their own definition, in overcrowded conditions. This proportion rises in local prisons to over 15,000 of the 31,800 held in such establishments – or 48%. 

Overcrowding often occurs when two or more prisoners are held in a cell designed to hold one. These often have an unscreened or inadequately screened lavatory, frequently without a lid, or sometimes with a makeshift lid made of cardboard, pillowcases or food trays. In these same cells, prisoners are frequently required to eat all their meals – in what are obviously insanitary, unhygienic and degrading conditions. The risks to health inherent in flushing open lavatories in confined spaces which have to serve as a bedroom and dining room (and sometimes as a kitchen) are described in this report and deserve close attention. The accounts from prisoners of what it feels like to eat and sleep in what is, in effect, a shared lavatory make for compelling reading. To compound all of this, our surveys suggest that in only around half of our prisons are prisoners able to get cleaning materials for their cells every week, and ventilation of too many cells is poor. 

In terms of personal hygiene, most prisoners say they are able to have a shower every day, but this falls to 51% in those prisons holding young adults. There is a mixed picture for other issues that have an impact of the everyday lives of prisoners, with about two-thirds of prisoners saying they can get clean sheets each week, and access to telephones is obviously dependent upon prisoners having enough time out of their cells to be able to queue and make a call. 

The concerns and recommendations set out in this paper need to be taken seriously. The aspirations of the prison reform programme will not be met if prisoners are confined in conditions that embitter and demoralise, leaving them unable to access rehabilitative activities and, all too often, turning to illicit drugs to break the boredom born of long periods locked in their cells.

Peter Clarke CVO OBE QPM 
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons August 2017

--oo00oo--

This is what the Guardian had to say:-

Prisons so degrading inmates driven to drugs, says chief inspector

Prisoners across England and Wales are being locked up for long periods in cells that are so insanitary, unhygienic and degrading that it is driving them to drugs, the chief inspector of prisons has said.

The warning from Peter Clarke, a former head of the Metropolitan police’s counter-terrorism command, comes as prison governors renew their call for a programme of executive release to ease the “full to bursting” situation in prisons across England and Wales.

Andrea Albutt, president of the Prison Governors Association, in her annual conference address on Tuesday will say that incidents of violence, suicide and self-harm are “the worst we have ever seen”.

“Currently our prisons are full to bursting. The government must be brave and reduce the prison population and don’t worry about votes. Don’t dabble, just do it because morally it is the right thing to do,” she will say.

“Twelve-month sentences don’t work and are pointless. This cohort must be dealt with in a different way in the community. Executive release is possible. We have prisoners on IPP [imprisonment for public protection] sentences years past their tariff but still in prison. We have old and infirm prisoners who are no longer a danger to society and we have far too many mentally ill people where prison is absolutely the worst place for them.”

Her call comes as the prison population stands at 85,375 – just 1,124 places below the official “usable operational capacity”. The PGA says there are 40 prisons “of concern”, 10 of which are “very concerning”, while the promise of 10,000 new prison places appears to be a distant dream.

The verdict of the chief inspector of prisons is contained in Life in Prison: Living Conditions, one of a series of “findings reports” which concludes that the situation in many local and training prisons is bleak while conditions in high-security, women’s and open jails are generally acceptable.

“All too often, prisoners are held in conditions that fall short of what most members of the public would consider as reasonable or decent,” said Clarke.

He reports that overcrowded cells, with two or more prisoners, often have an unscreened or inadequately screened lavatory, and ventilation is poor. The report quotes inmates on what it feels like to eat and sleep in what is, in effect, a shared lavatory. In local prisons 31% of prisoners are locked in their cells for at least 22 hours a day.

Clarke said: “The aspirations of the prison reform programme will not be met if prisoners are confined to conditions that embitter and demoralise, leaving them unable to access rehabilitative activities and, all too often, turning to illicit drugs to break the boredom born of long periods locked in their cells.”

The Ministry of Justice responded to the chief inspector’s report saying: “We are investing £1.3bn to modernise the prison estate, closing older prisons that are not fit for purpose and creating in their place high-quality, modern establishments.

“This will help deliver prisons that are more safe and secure, so our staff can work more closely with offenders to change their lives and turn their back on crime for good.”

13 comments:

  1. Is this the beginning of a whole new approach?
    Imposing fines as an alternative to breach?

    http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/offender-must-pay-100-after-failing-to-attend-probation-meetings-1-8794721

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    1. But if people don't have any money to pay the fines, which is often the case, they will simply be sent to prison

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    2. I'm struggling to see what's new about this. He was fined because he breached his PSS, not instead of it. Fines have always been a way of dealing with a breach. It's not like he said "I won't go to appointments, I'll pay a fine instead" - which would be an interesting test case if someone wanted to say they weren't getting any rehabilitation and felt a financial penalty would be more worthwhile.

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  2. So often drugs are cited as a cause of problems in prisons, but here we see drug use cited as a symptom of poor regimes for a change.

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  3. My first experience of prison was around the mid 70s.
    It was one shower a week only. You got one clean sheet a week, one clean set of underwear a week, one shirt and a towel.
    Jeans or grey trousers could be exchanged once every three month by way of application. The blankets come with the bed and exchanged once in winter, and once in summer.
    There was 3 to a cell designed for one. There was no toilets or running water. Plastic buckets were provided for toilets, you washed in basins, and drinking water was kept in a large white plastic jug.
    You ate in your cell, and slipped out after every meal when your metal tray was collected.
    You got one trip to the library each week, one 30 minute visit every 28 days, and could only spend money that you earned in the workshops. 75p a week I seem to recall.
    You served two thirds of your sentence not half, and an AM/FM radio provided all your in cell entertainment. One state paid letter (2nd class) and two canteen letters at your own expense was allowed. There was no telephones.
    There were rats, coackroaches and plenty of drugs.
    Everything was covered by Crown immunity.
    But sentences were much much shorter. It was about punishment and not rehabilitation. Rehabilitation was someone else's remit, and those agencies could be found in plenty upon release. There was no automatic supervision, no problem finding accommodation of some kind or other, and your criminal record wasn't such a barrier to employment, not just because there was more industry, but there was no computers to check your history.
    You had to do your punishment, and then the rehabilitation aspect was broached, trying to get your needs met, get you back on the strait an narrow and keep you from going back to prison.
    There was under 40 thousand in prison then, and even with buckets for toilets, coackroaches and one shower a week, I'd favour those days to the system we now have.
    It was fairer, had more direction, and it wasn't a political tool used to win votes.
    Contdions in prison are obviously an important issue. But the conditions I've experienced in my life time have been significantly worse, yet the system was by far a better one.
    You can clean the prisons up, put carpets down and install gold plated toilet seats, but the real issues won't be addressed.
    Solving the prison crisis requires a whole new and fundamental change in thinking about what we want to achieve from imprisoning people.
    Like our drug laws, the netle needs grasping, and be bold and brave in the direction you take it.

    'Getafix

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  4. Unfortunately the reporting of third world inhumane conditions in UK prisons will not change because there is no government will to change whilst the Tories are in thrall to the Daily Mail

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  5. U-turn on prison closures as Michael Spurr is puzzled over the rise in prison numbers this summer.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41586895

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    1. Photographs published by the inspector supporting his report can be seen in part in this article.

      https://inews.co.uk/opinion/next-time-someone-says-prison-holiday-camp-criminals-show-pictures/

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  6. I don't quite know how this works or where its taking me but I'll give it a go...
    An Open Letter

    Dear Mr Spurr

    You have presided over possibly the most shameful period in the history of Prisons & Probation in England & Wales.
    Prison populations have escalated to record highs.
    Your collaboration with ex-Justice Minister Grayling & others has seen the Probation Service dismantled.
    You have overseen the squandering of vast sums of public money in failed "projects".
    You have turned a blind eye to the means by which private sector bullies ended hundreds of careers in the Probation Service.
    You are responsible for the decimation of effective, professional community supervision.
    Is it coincidental that the numbers of Serious Further Offences have risen to previously unknown levels, leading to the deaths of or life-changing events for innocent parties.
    You have nevertheless been paid a very handsome salary out of public funds - £140,000 a year, give or take, plus bonuses & a gilt-edged pension of epic proportions.
    Today you say that promises made to modernise the prison system are to be put on hold for five years because of an unexpected surge in the numbers of prisoners and a "difficult summer".
    I wonder why...?

    Mr Spurr, you are without shame. As are those who support you.

    I understand you present yourself as a devout Christian. Well I hope your god sees through your falsehood & deals with you accordingly when your time comes.

    If your theology proves to be real I'll probably see you down there.

    Yours in pure frustration & dismay
    A Very Angry CQSWProbation Officer
    (with numerous other professional qualifications I can't be bothered to list)

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    1. From BBC news.

      A prisoner released after serving 23 years for murder killed himself after struggling to adjust to life on the outside, an inquest has heard.
      Anthony Coughtrey, 42, died at Bedford Prison in September 2015, having been released on licence earlier that year.
      Ampthill Coroner's Court heard he was asked to leave two rehab centres and was sent back to jail for an assault.
      The inquest jury heard the probation service did not have resources to provide him with accommodation.
      The jury has been asked to decide if support was adequate and appropriate for Mr Coughtrey once he left prison, if his death could have been avoided, and if the authorities should have known he was at risk of harm.
      His probation officer, Nick Moss, said recalling him to prison was "the last resort".
      'No alternatives'
      Prior to his return to prison, Mr Coughtrey had been staying with his sister which was in breach of the conditions of his licence, the inquest was told.
      Mr Moss said no alternatives were available.
      "I don't have any accommodation to offer him," he said.
      "For housing you go the local authority but there are no places for single men. Private rented is his only option - a bedsit - but it's too expensive."
      Family concern
      The court heard while Mr Coughtrey had been living with his sister, he had been drinking heavily. His licence was revoked after he got into a fight on 23 September 2015.
      His sister told a police officer she thought he was going to end his life but seemingly the message was not communicated to prison officers, coroner Tom Osborne said.
      Mr Coughtrey was transferred to Bedford Prison's healthcare centre where he was observed by a nurse, but was later found hanged.
      The inquest continues.

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    2. "The jury has been asked to decide if support was adequate and appropriate for Mr Coughtrey once he left prison"

      That's a good question to put to a jury and what they decide could be very interesting.

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    3. What Brilliant letter . Are u going to send it ?

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  7. Breaking news.

    Up to 10 tornado teams despatched at HMP Long Lartin because of ongoing out break of serious violence.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-41588544

    'Getafix

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