HMP Wayland, near Thetford in rural Norfolk and housing
many prisoners on long sentences, was a “very well-led”
prison making some progress toward becoming safer after
a sharp rise in violence over the last four years,
according to a report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons.
The jail, with almost 1,000 men, was confronting problems of
violence and illicit drugs with some apparent success, inspectors
found in an unannounced visit in June 2017. They also noted that
work to support learning and vocational opportunities was good
and nearly two-thirds of prisoners felt Wayland had helped them
become less likely to reoffend.
Peter Clarke, HM Inspector of Prisons, said the category C prison
– with over two-thirds of prisoners serving more than four years
and just over 100 serving life sentences - was moving in a
positive direction.
Though assaults had risen sharply since the last inspection in
2013, and violence remained “very high”, it had begun to fall in
the months leading up to the inspection. Mr Clarke said safety
was a key priority and meaningful work was being done to confront
violence and reduce it, and this seemed to be having an effect,
though it was yet to be reflected in
improved prisoner confidence.
Illicit drugs were also a problem and nearly half of prisoners
surveyed thought it was easy to obtain drugs and alcohol.
However, “as with the prison’s approach to violence reduction,
useful strategies were in place to cut off supply and there was
some evidence of successes.”
Ofsted inspectors who accompanied HMIP inspectors found the
overall effectiveness of learning and vocational opportunities to
be good. Similarly, Mr Clarke noted: “Wayland took its
responsibilities as a resettlement prison seriously…Nearly two
thirds of prisoners thought that the prison had assisted them in
making them less likely to reoffend. Reintegration and release
planning was generally good.”
Offending behaviour work was also effective, and in particular
the personality disorder (PDU) and psychologically informed
planned environment (PIPE) units were excellent. The presence of
these units was found to be helpful to the overall culture of the
prison. Prisoners were assessed for around five months on the PDU
to determine if they had a personality disorder; those who did
then remained on the unit for around 18 months and then moved
onto the PIPE unit as part of their progression.
Wayland remained a generally respectful prison, inspectors
concluded. The environment was reasonable, although some cells
needed to be cleaner. Access to in-cell telephones and secure
laptops that eased access to administrative systems was an
example of good practice. Consultation with minority groups was
very good, although this had still to realise measurable
improvement in outcomes for, and the perceptions of, minority
groups. Many black and minority ethnic men came from London,
felt far from home and regarded the lack of black or Asian staff
as a problem.
Mr Clarke said:
“Overall, Wayland was, in our view, making progress and this is
an encouraging report. Our assessment has had to balance a number
of objective measures, many of which still need to improve
further, with more dynamic measures such as the clear energy and
determination within the prison to improve matters. The prison
was very well led, while plans for improvement were active and
substantive, taking the prison forward in a positive direction.”
Michael Spurr, CEO of HM Prison and Probation Service, said:
“The Chief Inspector has commended the positive work being done
at Wayland to tackle violence and drug use and to support
effective rehabilitation. The progress being made in challenging
circumstances is a credit to the Governor and the staff. We will
use the recommendations in the report to achieve further
improvements over the coming months.”
- ENDS -
Notes to editors
- A copy of the full report, published on 24 October 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 Wayland is a category C training establishment located in
rural Norfolk near Thetford. Built over 30 years ago,
the prison held just under 1,000 convicted adult male prisoners,
the vast majority of whom were serving lengthy sentences. Over
two thirds of prisoners were serving in excess of four years,
with just over 100 serving life sentences.
- This unannounced inspection took place between 19-30 June
2017.
