HMP Lincoln was struggling to hold prisoners safely and in decent
conditions, but staff were working to address these challenges,
said Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published
the report of an unannounced inspection of the local jail.
HMP Lincoln is a Victorian prison holding over 600 remand and
sentenced adult and young adult men. It remained overcrowded, but
while some progress had been maintained, deterioration was also
evident. Like other local prisons, Lincoln faced
increased levels of violence, often related to the prevalence of
drugs and the difficulty of managing the problem with reduced
staff numbers. In recent months it had received men from other
prisons following concerted disorder at those establishments,
adding to the already considerable number held there from
outside Lincolnshire. The population was now more
complex.
Inspectors were pleased to find that:
- men arriving from other prisons following disturbances had
been sensibly managed;
- violence reduction work, while rudimentary, was appropriate
and developing;
- the way the prison tackled new psychoactive substances was
effective, particularly the good partnership working with local
police;
- relationships between prisoners and staff was a real strength
and underpinned much that was good at the jail; and
- good progress had been made after the new governor instituted
a ‘back to basics’ approach, which aimed to ensure the prison was
cleaner and more decent.
However, inspectors were concerned to find that:
- although good care was provided for the most vulnerable men
in the population, in some cases the prison’s response to death
in custody investigations, as well as its case management of
prisoners at risk of suicide or self-harm, was
disappointing;
- although support for newly arrived prisoners had improved
overall, there remained significant delays in reception, which
potentially created risks for prisoners on their first night, a
concern identified in death in custody reports;
- oversight of the use of force was seriously deficient;
- equalities work had been neglected and was weak;
- prisoners did not get enough time out of their cells;
- the lack of a senior learning and skills manager for several
months had led to the prison losing focus;
- the prison did not do enough to improve prisoners’ basic
skills; and
- some innovative work to manage men through their sentences
and prepare them for release was evident but it was poorly
coordinated, which undermined its effectiveness.
Peter Clarke said:
“Lincoln demonstrated many of the problems associated with
old and overcrowded Victorian prisons, struggling to cope with
keeping people in a safe and decent environment, while delivering
a regime and interventions that support their rehabilitation. It
had, however, achieved some success in addressing these
challenges, and the new governor and his management team had
redoubled efforts to build on the institution’s strengths. The
priority it was giving to trying to get the basics right while
treating prisoners as individuals was to be commended.”
- ENDS -
Notes to editors:
- A copy of the full report, published on 20 June, can be found
on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website at: www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons
- 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 Lincoln is a Category B local prison serving the courts
of Lincolnshire.
- This unannounced inspection was carried out from 30 January –
10 February 2017.
