HMI Prisons report on HMP Channings Wood - A prison in decline

HMP Channings Wood was struggling to cope and safety had deteriorated, said Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the training prison in Devon. 

HMP Channings Wood held just over 700 prisoners at the time of its inspection. The full range of sentences and ages were represented in the population, but well over half of prisoners were serving four years or more and a significant minority were serving indeterminate sentences. At its last inspection in 2012, the prison was performing reasonably well but needed to improve work, training and education for prisoners. This more recent inspection found that the prison had regressed markedly. Safety was a significant concern.

Inspectors were concerned to find that: 

• arrangements to receive new prisoners were not thorough and fewer prisoners now felt safe when they first arrived; 
• levels of violence had increased noticeably and were now comparable to similar prisons, but action to address violence was poorly coordinated; 
• use of force had increased but oversight was not good enough;
• two prisoners had taken their own lives since 2012 and there had been a number of serious incidents of self-harm, yet attention to this was limited;
• there had been a number of acts of indiscipline, some serious and concerted;
• over half the population said that it was easy to get illicit substances, and there was compelling evidence that substance abuse, including the abuse of new psychoactive substances, was widespread; 
• despite Channings Wood being a training and resettlement prison, a restricted regime had been in place for two years;
• too little attention was given to ensuring prisoners attended work, training or education and many of the places available were not used;
• the management of prisoners’ sentences and risks had deteriorated; and
• half of all prisoners arriving at the prison did not have a risk assessment (OASys), plans that were completed were often inconsistent and offender supervision was reactive, largely because staff were deployed elsewhere.
   

However, inspectors were pleased to find that:

• the general environment and most accommodation in the prison were good;
• most prisoners said they felt respected by staff, though inspectors observed some staff being unhelpful or unwilling to challenge poor behaviour;
• time out of cell was reasonable for those who worked but around a fifth of prisoners were locked in cell during the working day; 
• teaching and learning were, for those who attended, generally good in education and vocational training; and
• the work of the community rehabilitation company (CRC) was becoming increasingly effective and work to help prisoners resettle back into the community was reasonable.

Peter Clarke said:

“Channings Wood is a prison in decline. Four years ago we found a prison coping reasonably well with its challenges. This time we found a prison struggling to cope and the impact on prisoners was evident. The senior management team had a number of vacancies, including that of deputy governor, all of which left substantial strategic and operational gaps. As a result, our major concern is that the prison just doesn’t have the necessary strategies, plans or resources at a senior level to halt the deterioration.”

Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service, said: 

“We recognise that immediate action must be taken to improve safety and reduce violence. That’s why we have appointed experienced senior leaders who will be working in the prison and supporting the governor to tackle the issues raised in the report. More prison officers have been recruited to help tackle violence and the prison has increased the use of metal detectors to help find weapons and mobile phones.

“I'm confident that together with these extra resources the Governor will be able to fully address the recommendations in this report and significantly improve the performance of the prison.”

 - ENDS -

Notes to editors:    

1. A copy of the full report, published on 7 February, can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website at: www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons
2.  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.
3. HMP Channings Wood is a category C adult male resettlement prison. 
4. This unannounced inspection was carried out from 3-14 October 2016.