HMP Haverigg had a troubled past but was making improvements, and
providing good work, training and education for prisoners, said
Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published the
report of an unannounced inspection of the training prison
in Cumbria.
HMP Haverigg, when last inspected in 2014, was holding around 650
men. At this more recent inspection, that number had more than
halved. A police operation had been launched in 2016 to
investigate two deaths in custody and a serious assault alleged
to have taken place in the old billet accommodation. Inspectors
had criticised the safety of these facilities in the past. As a
consequence of these events, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation
Service (HMPPS) closed these units because the safety of
prisoners living there could not be assured. The police
investigation had not concluded. Managers and staff were
therefore operating against the backdrop of a significant police
investigation. The governor had retained most of the resources
allocated for the larger population and was managing the
remaining four units. He had made some notable
improvements.
Inspectors were pleased to find that:
- every new prisoner was now seen on reception by a member of
the mental health team, and prisoners at risk of suicide or
self-harm were well cared for;
- levels of violence had reduced since the decommissioning of
the billet accommodation and were lower than at other similar
prisons, but still too high;
- very few prisoners were isolating themselves and almost all
of those spoken to during the inspection said that Haverigg was
now a safer and more decent prison;
- security was proportionate and rather than curtailing the
regime and locking men up to keep them apart, the prison was
managing risk;
- Ofsted endorsed the governor for prioritising education and
work as routes to rehabilitation, and the prison offered a range
of quality full-time activity places for every prisoner;
- there was a clear focus on getting people out of their cells
and into work, education and training; and
- there was a more strategic approach to managing
resettlement.
Inspectors were, however, concerned to find that:
- more needed to be done to manage the perpetrators of violence
and support victims;
- the long, rural and therefore vulnerable perimeter added to
the problems of drugs at the jail;
- little had been done to address the living conditions on the
units which, apart from one, were shabby and dirty; and
- although health services were good, a rigid application of a
zero tolerance policy in dealing with challenging prisoners
increased the risk of prisoners being deprived of the health care
they needed.
Peter Clarke said:
“Haverigg has had a troubled past and there was still much to do
at the establishment. That said, we recognise the efforts made by
the governor and his team not to let that troubled past define
the prison’s future. Haverigg’s real strength lies in its
relationships, from the governor’s positive relationships with
partners and staff associations to those between staff of all
disciplines and the prisoners in their care. We left the
establishment feeling confident that, with continued support from
HMPPS, the team at Haverigg will embrace the recommendations made
in this report and improvements will continue.”
Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of HM Prison & Probation
Service, said:
“As a result of concerns about safety at Haverigg we took the
decision to close some of the old accommodation and reduce the
population.
“This has allowed the governor to improve conditions for
prisoners at Haverigg and I’m pleased that these improvements
have been acknowledged by the inspectorate.
“The police investigation has now been concluded and the Governor
will use the recommendations in the report to achieve further
improvements at Haverigg.”
- ENDS -
Notes to editors:
- A copy of the full report, published on 16 August 2017, 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 Haverigg is a category C male training prison.
- This unannounced inspection was carried out from 27-28 March
and 3-6 April 2017.
