The Howard League for Penal Reform has responded to Her Majesty’s
Inspectorate of Prisons’ report on Birmingham prison, published
today (Wednesday 28 June).
Inspectors visited the G4S-run prison in February and found that
it was unsafe, with an extremely high number of incidents of
violence and self-injury. Three men had died by suicide since the
previous inspection.
The report states that the high volume of drugs available was
affecting the prison’s safety and stability. Half of the men
surveyed by inspectors said that it was easy to get drugs in the
prison, and one in seven said that they had acquired a drug habit
while in the jail.
Many cells were dirty, overcrowded and poorly maintained, and too
few men were able to take advantage of the education and training
on offer. Inspectors found that almost half of prisoners were
locked in their cells during the day.
Two months before the inspection, there was a riot in Birmingham
that led to about 500 men being moved to other prisons. The
circumstances behind the disturbance are the subject of a
separate investigation, and are therefore not the focus of
today’s inspection report.
Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for
Penal Reform, said: “Birmingham prison was in the
headlines for all the wrong reasons last year. Today’s report
reveals that, like so many other jails across the country, it
remains a hotbed of violence, where prisoners find it easy to get
drugs but much harder to get education or training.
“In the last fortnight we have seen worrying inspection reports
on four different jails – Medway secure training centre,
Pentonville, Brixton, and now Birmingham. How many more will the
government tolerate before it takes meaningful steps to fix this
mess?
“Ministers must take bold but sensible action to ease pressure on
a failing system. Reducing the prison population would save lives
and help to prevent more people being swept into deeper currents
of crime, violence and despair.”
Notes to editors
- 1. The Howard League for Penal Reform
is the oldest penal reform charity in the world. It is a national
charity working for less crime, safer communities and fewer
people in prison.
- 2. A copy of the Birmingham prison
inspection report will be available from Wednesday 28 June on the
HM Inspectorate of Prisons website: http://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons
