HM Inspectorate of Prisons

Saturday 21st is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. Many prisoners already have little access to daylight, locked in cells that can be damp and cold in winter. This makes time outside for fresh air and exercise even more important for physical and mental health. Find out more about the positive impact of purposeful activity in our key findings paper: https://lnkd.in/egb7vF8u

📄 Today we have published a report on HMP Kirkham, read the media release below and the report here: https://lnkd.in/eZ2pmzkj

Kirkham has had a difficult two years, with interventions to reduce the national prison population crisis having disrupted the normal running of this Lancashire open jail. The temporary presumptive recategorisation scheme (TPRS), which saw a large influx of category C prisoners with only a few months to go on their sentence (a proportion of whom were not suitable for open prison) had, in particular, contributed to the challenges we identified on this inspection. Healthy establishment scores: 🔒 Safety: Reasonably good ⚖ Respect: Not sufficiently good 📚 Purposeful activity: Not sufficiently good 📅 Preparation for release: Not sufficiently good Points to note: 📄 25% of random drug tests positive 📄 Lack of ROTL, new £10m gym rarely full and outdoor football pitch almost unused 📄 Some billets had black mould 📄 A large influx of cat C prisoners had destabilised the prison. Notable positive practice (NPP): ✅ The prison’s discrimination complaint quality assurance panels provided excellent feedback on investigations to both staff and prisoners, and identified learning for future responses. ✅ The substance misuse team provided flexible clinical treatment, including the use of long-acting intramuscular injections of buprenorphine, an opiate substitution treatment, which was enabling some patients to have sustained temporary release to maintain family ties and access work opportunities. 🔍 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eZ2pmzkj

Wetherby is the largest young offender institution (YOI) in the country, located in Yorkshire, holding children aged between 15 and 18. At the time of our visit the establishment housed 149 children, catering to a diverse range of needs. This included provision for children convicted and on remand; serving as a national resource for the most vulnerable children in prison; providing the highest levels of security due to some children’s risks; and remaining an option for girls in custody. At this independent review of progress (IRP) visit, we followed up six concerns from our most recent inspection in December 2023. We judged that there was reasonable progress in four concerns, insufficient progress in one concern and no meaningful progress in one concern. Points to note: 📄 Much-needed refurbishment of residential units was underway 📄 Oversight of strip-searching had improved 📄 Children needed better quality education and more meaningful interactions 📄 The regime for children separated from their peers needed to be improved. 🔍 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eiszqZa2

HMP Five Wells is a new prison built on the site of the former HMP Wellingborough and is operated by the private company G4S. It opened in February 2022 as an adult male category C resettlement prison and currently holds around 1,700 prisoners. The role of the prison recently changed to include a training function, and the number of prisoners held who are convicted of sexual offences (PCoSOs) had increased to more than 900. This population was being integrated across the seven residential units. At this independent review of progress (IRP) visit, we followed up six concerns from our most recent inspection in January 2024. We judged that there was good progress in two concerns, reasonable progress in two concerns and insufficient progress in two concerns. Points to note: 📄 Staff confidence and key work had improved 📄 Positive behaviour was now better rewarded 📄 Work was needed to address violence and bullying 📄 Some prisoners were anxious about the integration of prisoners convicted of sexual offences. Notable positive practice (NPP): ✅ The peace and community engagement (PACE) support workers developed peer-led care plans with achievable targets for prisoners involved in antisocial behaviour. ✅ To encourage good behaviour, the incentives scheme included additional rewards for prisoners who had received positive comments from staff. 🔍 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/efisJsu9

🌎 Today is #InternationalDayOfPersonswithDisabilities We often find that prisoners with disabilities have more challenging experiences in detention, making daily life more difficult. Read more about our inspection findings in our 2023-24 Annual Report: https://lnkd.in/efYXyCW3

📰 It's been another busy month at HMI Prisons. Find out about some of the key headlines in our November roundup. Read our reports here: https://lnkd.in/d2gn37Ns And our blogs here: https://lnkd.in/eEZM3PY6

Kirklevington Grange was a thriving and innovative open prison that held a little over 200 prisoners at the time of inspection. The focus was on getting prisoners, some of whom were coming to the end of long sentences, into good working habits and preparing them for their eventual release back into the community. Healthy establishment scores: 🔒 Safety: Good ⚖ Respect: Good 📚 Purposeful activity: Good 📅 Preparation for release: Good Points to note: 📄 There were good non-work ROTL opportunities, but shortcomings in risk management 📄 6 months after release, 60% of men had jobs 📄 Men were strip searched before entering segregation cells, which seemed excessive and was done without proper safeguards in place. Notable positive practice (NPP): ✅ Prisoners benefited from the support of experienced reading specialists who used phonics effectively to develop their reading skills from a low level. ✅ Despite some shortcomings in management of the process, leaders used release on temporary licence (ROTL) well to encourage both employment and enrichment activity, including voluntary work with a strong social purpose and driving lessons. ✅ Prisoners ate their evening meals together in the large dining hall, reinforcing a friendly community atmosphere in the prison. The dining hall had been improved with new furniture, recipe books for prisoners, current newspapers, and a wash-up area where each person was expected to wash their own crockery and cutlery 🔍 Read the full report and further examples of NPP here: https://lnkd.in/ep5shw_q

Today we have published our report on HMP Rye Hill, a prison achieving impressive results. Find out what Angus Jones, Team Leader, thought about the inspection below or on our website here: https://lnkd.in/enxRNR25

HMP Rye Hill is a category B training prison in the East Midlands that held 662 prisoners convicted of sexual offences at the time of inspection. The director, who had been in post for just a few months, was building on the excellent work of his predecessor in making this one of the best closed prisons in the country. What was particularly impressive was the lack of any complacency at the prison. Leaders had worked hard to address the few criticisms we made in our positive 2019 inspection, with a continuous focus on improving standards. Healthy establishment scores: 🔒 Safety: Good ⚖ Respect: Good 📚 Purposeful activity: Reasonably good 📅 Preparation for release: Good Points to note: 📄 Rate of violence now among the lowest of adult men's jails and segregation used sparingly 📄 Great prisoner-led initiatives and an active reading strategy 📄 Under-resourcing of staff to escort prisoners to hospital an issue and the mental health team still had no consultation rooms. Notable positive practice (NPP): ✅ Training and support for new staff was better than we usually see. Many frontline staff had less than a year in post, but they were confident in their role and the wings were well ordered. ✅ Each prisoner in a double cell was provided with their own television and headphones to reduce a potential source of friction. ✅ The media hub employed prisoners with IT skills to produce high quality products, such as video blogs and the prison newspaper to keep prisoners informed about matters that affected them. 🔍 Read the full report and further examples of NPP here: https://lnkd.in/e6xJaCqw