HMP Wymott remained reasonably safe and was doing good work to
rehabilitate prisoners and to reduce the risk of reoffending,
said Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published
the report of an unannounced inspection of the training prison in
Lancashire.
HMP Wymott holds over 1,100 prisoners, approximately half of whom
have been convicted of sex offences. Nearly all prisoners are now
serving sentences of more than four years and up to life.
Previous inspections have been positive. This more recent
inspection concluded that Wymott remained a reasonably safe
prison, although the summer months prior to this inspection saw a
significant spike in violent incidents. The likely explanation
for this concerned gang-related issues linked to the supply of
new psychoactive substances. The prison had identified the key
prisoners involved in the supply and use of these substances and
had taken prompt and robust action to address it. Levels of
violence had started to reduce towards the previous relatively
low levels, but continued vigilance was needed.
Inspectors were pleased to find that:
· arrangements to keep vulnerable prisoners safe remained
good;
· staff-prisoner relationships were generally respectful;
· prison managers focused on ensuring the prison was decent and
on improving the environment;
· learning and skills provision had improved further and outcomes
were either good or outstanding in all the areas Ofsted
inspected;
· some excellent work was carried out to challenge offending
behaviour and the psychologically informed planned environment
unit for those with complex offending behaviour was a positive
addition;
· the substance misuse therapeutic community remained an
excellent facility; and
· despite some weaknesses in reintegration work for men being
released from Wymott, the overall picture in resettlement was
good.
However, inspectors were concerned to find that:
as a result of the spike in violence, some prisoners were
isolating themselves on wings and managers needed to do more to
improve their access to the daily routine;
the number of men with disabilities had increased and the ageing
population included some with very limited mobility, but living
accommodation for these men needed to be improved;
health care provision was weak and in some areas, potentially
unsafe; and
staffing shortages had resulted in a restricted core day, and too
many men were locked in their cells during the working day (15%),
rather than participating in the good range of work, training and
education offered.
Peter Clarke said:
“HMP Wymott was weathering similar pressures and challenges to
other prisons, but was doing so with a proactive ‘can do’
approach, with an emphasis on finding solutions to problems and
maintaining reasonably good outcomes for prisoners. This was
underpinned by strong leadership that prioritised decency and
provided men with opportunities to address their risks and work
towards a successful rehabilitation. We commend the work being
done and support the leadership team’s efforts to improve
further.”
Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of the National Offender
Management Service, said:
“This is a positive report which recognises some really good work
being undertaken at Wymott with a complex and challenging
prisoner population.
“By providing a constructive regime which improves education
levels and employment prospects, Wymott is helping prisoners turn
their lives around, preventing victims and reducing crime.
“The Governor will use the recommendations in this report to
achieve further improvements over the coming months.’
