Safety had deteriorated markedly over three years at HMP/YOI
Portland, with very high levels of violence in 2017, according to
a report on the Dorset prison by HM Inspectorate of
Prisons. Ready supplies of illicit drugs were linked to bullying
and violence.
Half the prisoners had felt unsafe at some point and levels of
self-harm, often serious, were also very high. Peter Clarke, HM
Chief Inspector of Prisons, said his inspectors had reached the
“serious and disappointing judgement” that Portland had declined
from being a ‘fundamentally safe’ jail in a 2014 inspection to
one where safety was poor in 2017.
HMP/YOI Portland is an historic, category C prison located on
Portland Bill, Dorset. It was originally built in 1848 and, in
May 2017, housed around 500 adult and young adult male
prisoners. “In our survey,” Mr Clarke said, “half of
prisoners said they had felt unsafe at some time, and one in four
felt unsafe at the time of the inspection. The latter figure is
double what it was in 2014.” There did not appear to be a
coordinated strategy to deal with the violence and prisoners felt
staff were not intervening sufficiently to stop bullying and
violence.
Inspectors found the use of force by staff was higher than at
comparable prisons. Baton use had increased to very high levels.
Body-worn cameras, though available, were not routinely used and
nor was their footage reviewed.
Portland also urgently needed to tackle illicit drugs. 64%
of prisoners told inspectors
it was easy to get drugs. Only one prison had returned a higher
figure for this measure in the last year. One in five prisoners
said they had developed a drug problem in the prison. It was
clear that the ready availability of drugs was contributing to
the levels of debt, bullying and violence. Inspectors were told
that, following a smoking ban in February 2017, synthetic ‘spice’
was cheaper than tobacco – though the smoking ban appeared to be
widely ignored.
Inspectors also found:
- For a category C prison, the prisoners were locked up for too
much of the time. More than 30% of them were locked in their
cells during the working day. Many cells were in poor condition.
A senior staff member described a cell with sheets used as
makeshift window and shower curtains as a “good cell.”
- Few prisoners had coats or waterproof jackets for wet
weather. Inspectors watched prisoners walking between buildings
dripping wet, some were using bin bags to keep dry, yet found
hundreds of coats in the main stores.
- The health centre waiting area – which had a swastika still
clearly visible under recently applied paint - was the worst such
waiting area inspectors had seen in a category C prison.
- In terms of protecting the public, the prison had stopped
notifying external probation services of forthcoming releases of
higher-risk prisoners needing Multi-Agency Public Protection
Arrangements (MAPPA). Inspectors “could not, therefore, be
assured that prisoners were released in the safest possible way.”
Despite these problems, however, inspectors did find that:
- Relationships between staff and prisoners seemed generally
good, with many positive interactions.
- Prison workshops, in particular, were a good example of
cooperative and collaborative relationships. Prisoners felt “as
if they had left the confines of the prison” while they were
involved in such activities.
Peter Clarke said:
“There were many good things happening at Portland, but we
were left with the clear view that there was a need for effective
leadership to take Portland into the future and to
shake off many of the vestiges of the past. A new governor was
appointed a few weeks before the inspection... The governor and
his senior team now have an opportunity to seize the initiative
and drive forward the improvements that are badly needed
at Portland.
Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of HM Prison and Probation
Service, said:
“As the Chief Inspector points out there is much positive work
being done by staff at Portland, but this is undermined by
the decline in safety. With a new Governor in place, the prison
is already working to combat levels of violence and has reviewed
its Violence Reduction Policy as well as putting in place a new
strategy to tackle the behavioural issues created by the use of
psychoactive substances. More prison officers are being
recruited, and with these additional resources the Governor
will be able to achieve the improvements required.”
