Two maximum security prisons are effectively discharging their
duties to keep dangerous criminals behind bars, but are missing
important opportunities to support prisoners in reducing their
future risk of harm.
HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire and HMP Whitemoor in
Cambridgeshire both hold men serving long or indeterminate
sentences and considered to pose a significant risk of harm to
the public. The populations of high security prisons tend to be
more stable than those where prisoners are serving shorter
sentences, and there should therefore be ample opportunity for
prison staff to build effective relationships with prisoners,
supporting their longer-term reduction of risk. This was not
evident in either jail.
At Long Lartin, assaults on staff were also higher than other
prisons while, at Whitemoor, far fewer prisoners said staff
treated them with respect than in other comparable prisons, and
two-thirds said they had experienced some form of victimisation
from staff.
Key working, where a named member of staff meets regularly with a
prisoner to support them through their time in custody, was not
well used in either prison, and both had very poor regimes with
too few prisoners taking part in interventions to reduce their
risk, or education or employment to occupy their time
meaningfully. At Long Lartin, severe staffing issues restricted
activity. At Whitemoor, an overcomplicated regime often led to
activities or attendance at education being cancelled.
Men spent most of their time locked alone in their cells and
described a sense of hopelessness. At Long Lartin, the rate of
self-harm had doubled since the last inspection and was the
highest among comparable prisons. Leaders believed that the lack
of key working, which they were unable to deliver due to severe
staff shortages, underpinned rising self-harm.
Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons commented:
“High security prisons hold some of the most dangerous prisoners
in England and Wales, and their first priority must of course be
protecting the public by keeping them securely within
prison walls. But reducing the risk posed by these men is also a
vital part of the work of high security prisons: they should be
supported in understanding their offending behaviour so that the
risk that they pose to prison staff and other prisoners while
detained, and to the public on release, is reduced. Both Long
Lartin and Whitemoor had fundamentally lost their way. Neither
prison was fulfilling this function effectively and they were not
even discharging their duty to maintain clean and decent
facilities. Both prisons need to take urgent action to improve.”
The physical conditions of both prisons also needed urgent
attention. Whitemoor was described as being the dirtiest prison
the Chief Inspector has seen, with what appeared to be a blood
stain uncleaned for several days of the inspection, serveries
left uncleaned overnight and overflowing rubbish. At Long Lartin,
the ageing facilities were failing: heating and often water
didn’t work, roofs leaked, there were no in-cell toilets in older
wings and men relied on buckets which they emptied out of their
cell windows as they waited so long for them to be removed and
cleaned and the smell became unbearable. Given how long men were
held in their cells, this was appalling. Both prisons,
unsurprisingly, were battling with rodent infestations.
Charlie Taylor said:
“Nobody should be held in the squalid conditions that we saw in
these two prisons. The way a prison is maintained sends a strong
signal about its general healthiness. I hope that each
institution will use our inspection findings as the opportunity
to reflect and hit reset.”
Notes to editors
- A copy of the full reports, published on 12 April 2023, can
be found attached to this email.
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate,
inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and
treatment and promote positive outcomes for those detained and
the public.
- HMP Long Lartin and Whitemoor are both high-security prisons
for category A and B male prisoners. They hold mostly those with
a determinate sentence of over 10 years, as well as lifers and
prisoners with an indeterminate sentence for public protection
- At the time of this inspection, HMP Long Lartin held 478
prisoners and HMP Whitemoor 315.
- Inspectors identified two examples of notable positive
practice during this inspection.
- The inspection of HMP Long Lartin took place between 5-16
December 2022.
- The inspection of HMP Whitemoor took place between 5-15
December 2022.
