HM Inspectorate of Prisons reports on HMP Garth - an unsafe prison

HMP Garth had made real progress in work to rehabilitate prisoners, but it was very unsafe and violence had increased substantially, said Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the Lancashire training prison. 

HMP Garth holds over 800 adult male prisoners. Nearly every prisoner was serving in excess of four years, with half serving over 10 years and 200 serving life. Nearly everyone had been convicted of serious violent offences and just under a quarter of the population were housed in separated accommodation because they had been convicted of sex offences. Garth was managing considerable risk. At its last inspection in 2014, inspectors found a prison experiencing staff shortages and transitioning to a new role and function. Since then, inspectors were told the prison had gone into a steep decline in performance. That decline had, to an extent, been arrested over the past 18 months, and at this more recent inspection it was clear that progress had been made, notably with work to support the rehabilitation, progression and resettlement of prisoners. The prison, however, was very unsafe. 

Inspectors were concerned to find that: 

• levels of violence had increased substantially with many incidents linked to drugs, gangs and debt;
• assaults on staff had increased and much of the violence was serious; 
• around 85 prisoners (in addition to the sex offenders) were held separately because of fears for their safety, the segregation unit was full of prisoners seeking sanctuary and a number of prisoners on the wings were self-isolating and refusing to leave their cells; 
• the prison had a drug problem, even though security was generally effective and the strategic approach to combating drug supply was improving, leading to some very significant drug finds; 
• although some staff engaged well with prisoners, some staff lacked confidence, or were dismissive or disengaged, meaning some poor prisoner behaviour went unchallenged; 
• living conditions were very poor in the segregation unit and the staff in the unit were overwhelmed; 
• access to many internal and external health services was inadequate; and
• the promotion of equality and diversity remained weak. 

However, inspectors were pleased to find that: 

• mental health provision had increased and was good; 
• prisoners prepared to engage positively could make progress, as time out of cell for most prisoners was reasonable and learning and skills provision was good overall; 
• there was enough work, training and education for the population and prisoners achieved well; and
• the high-risk population was served well by some very good offender management work which focused on progression and public protection work was similarly good. 

Peter Clarke said:

“This was an unusual inspection of contrasting and conflicting outcomes. The progress in rehabilitative work was real and speaks to the potential this establishment has. The prison was, however, one of the most unsafe we have been to in recent times. Violence and drugs dominated the prisoner experience. The prison faces some further uncertainty as a new governor and deputy governor are to be appointed. The management team, in our view, were getting to grips with the challenges they faced, but staff supervision and confidence needed to get better and there needed to be some new thinking on how to reduce violence and maintain better control on the wings.”

Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of HM Prison & Probation Service, said:

“As the Chief Inspector points out, there is much good work being done at HMP Garth but the deterioration in safety is a serious concern and reversing this is the top priority. 

“An experienced senior management team has been appointed to work alongside a new Governor to help drive progress over the coming months.

“This will be supported by additional staffing and resources and an improvement plan, which is already in place to address the issues raised in the report.”

 - ENDS -

Notes to editors:    

1. A copy of the full report, published on 19 April, 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 Garth is a category B training prison. 
4. This unannounced inspection was carried out from 9-20 January 2017.