There is no doubt that the new government (and in particular the prisons minister, James Timpson) is faced with a serious prison population crisis. Original thinking and a willingness to challenge the system will be the only way out.
As HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, I know this all too well. Last month I inspected Durham, a Georgian reception jail which regularly vies for the dubious honour of being the most overcrowded prison along with Leeds, Bedford and Wandsworth.
Half of all prisoners are functionally illiterate and yet few are taught to read
With remand populations (those who have yet to be convicted) at historic highs, reception prisons across the country are busier than ever. There is constant pressure to accept new arrivals and ship those who are sentenced off to their next jail. The most immediate problem is the backlog of remanded prisoners. The longer-term issue is with the high volume of prisoners serving increasingly lengthy sentences – despite public perceptions that judges are too willing to let criminals off lightly.
The lack of any meaningful activities for prisoners is one of the starkest signs of the strain on our jails. The quality of education and training is almost universally poor. When visiting prisons, I continue to find empty classrooms and workshops. Gardens are overgrown. Men are spending up to 22 hours a day locked in tiny cells with nothing to do.
Half of all prisoners are functionally illiterate and yet few are taught to read. This already miserable situation is often compounded by totally unacceptable living conditions. I will forever remember the revulsion I had when I opened a cell at Bedford, which held three men. I was nearly knocked over by the overpowering smell of the black mould that covered its walls. Much of the prison estate is dilapidated, and in some cases is falling apart. This should be a source of shame for any civilised country.
Some prisons are chronically short-staffed. Swaleside, a high-security jail on the Isle of Sheppey, for instance, was entirely dependent on staff being bussed in from other parts of the country at enormous cost. In the north of England, where there are fewer shortages, levels of lock-up – with prisoners kept in their cells for long hours – have hardly changed since the pandemic.
It is not only the number of staff available that poses a challenge, but also the level of experience. In 2013, 62 per cent of staff had ten or more years of service against just 29 per cent last year. This means that new recruits are effectively having to work things out for themselves rather than being mentored by senior officers.
At Wandsworth, we found inexperience across every grade in the prison, and a lack of management grip that was frightening. Despite the high-profile escape last year, staff still could not count their prisoners properly. Governors continue to play no part in the process of recruiting officers. The first time they meet new staff is when they arrive at the jail; they can usually tell immediately that some are entirely unsuitable for the job.
Prisoners with nothing to do are left doubled up in cells designed for one man. Boredom creates demand for illicit drugs. Unsurprisingly, the market for these drugs is booming. Even those with no history of drug use risk acquiring a habit while inside. At Lindholme, a large category C resettlement prison, a shocking 21 per cent of men told us they had developed a problem with drugs since arriving at the jail. At Hindley, a resettlement prison between Manchester and Liverpool, more than half of prisoners tested positive for illicit drug use, while at Lowdham Grange, random positive drug tests were at 40 per cent. At Woodhill, it was 42 per cent. At Wandsworth, more than half of prisoners said it was easy to get drugs, and the smell of cannabis was ubiquitous. Where there are drugs there is violence. If prisoners or their families at home do not pay drug debts, they will be beaten up or worse.
Prisons focus most of their efforts on trying to prevent the supply of drugs. They use airport-style body scanners and sniffer dogs. But, as important as it is to disrupt the supply, this will never work in the absence of a sustained effort to reduce the demand. Drugs cost more in prison than on the street, so it will always be a challenge to stop organised crime pushing them into prisons by using drones, letters or staff corruption. The large proportion of the prison population, caught in a cycle of homelessness, drug abuse and offending, will never be able to join effective drug addiction programmes.
Prison population pressures mean that ministers will need to make decisions quickly. However, measures aimed simply at reducing prisoner numbers will not, on their own, make our jails fit for purpose. There are reasons for hope. Our recent thematic review at the Ministry of Justice found eight prisons bucking the bad trends. These jails were safer, and better relationships existed between prisoners and staff. Genuinely purposeful activities were laid on.
It was hardly a surprise that the best prisons had the best leaders, but governors often tell me that innovation is constrained by the suffocating prison service bureaucracy. At G4S Oakwood, the best prison in the country, the director gives a level of trust and opportunities to well-behaved prisoners that are unimaginable in most jails. As a result, men are motivated, hard-working and positive about the future.
Any plans announced by the new government and Timpson must contain an ambitious commitment to supporting frontline staff, including governors. They will also need to take on some of the problems the inspectorate has been complaining about for many years. Giving prisoners enough to do, keeping drugs out of prisons and treating those who are addicted would be a start.
Comments