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Dumfries Prison report
24/09/2008
Some of the most serious problems of Dumfries prison are problems about which the prison can do very little, according to the Chief Inspector of Prisons.
Dumfries Prison is overcrowded; and the overcrowding is more difficult to deal with because the buildings are old and awkward and limited.
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, Dr Andrew McLellan today published his latest report which follows a full inspection of HMP Dumfries in April/May.
The main findings of the report are:
- The design of the building is extremely complex and causes problems; some living areas do not have natural light; some cells have unscreened toilets; and the timing of meals is poor
- The area housing prisoners on protection is particularly cramped, dark, isolated and oppressive
- A great deal of management time is directed towards keeping long term convicted sex offenders and short term local convicted and remand prisoners separate. Remand prisoners are the least well provided for
- The prison is safe; relationships are good; and there have been no suicides since the last inspection
- Prisoners are treated with respect by prison staff
- Arrangements for maintaining family contact are reasonably good. However, the visits booking system was not working properly
- All prisoners have access to learning opportunities, including those on remand and those serving short-term sentences
- Arrangements for Integrated Case Management are good; some programme to address offending behaviour are in place; a wide range of community based partner organisations operate within the prison; and there is a well structured pre-release programme in place for long-term prisoners. However, because the sex offenders being held deny their crimes they do not participate in the 'SOTP' programme which is designed specifically to address sex offending behaviour
Dr McLellan said:
"Dumfries is really two prisons within one wall: one part is a local prison for (mostly) short-term male offenders and young males on remand, and the other part is a prison for long-term male adults convicted of sex offences who do not admit their guilt. For reasons of safety, these two groups must be kept completely separate. So a very great deal of prison management is directed towards the complications of making this happen.
"The design of the buildings is also extremely complex and raises concerns: it is not easy for staff to reach all parts of the prison quickly in cases of emergency. The area housing protection prisoners is particularly cramped and oppressive.
"There are two groups of prisoners whose presence in the prison raises important questions. Regularly the prison holds persons who are detained under immigration legislation after they have completed a sentence; but they are not released on its completion because they are subject to further procedure by the immigration authorities. The prison also holds some old prisoners. Some of these men show the signs of advancing age. They have been convicted of crimes; but it is almost impossible for any prison to meet their specialised needs.
"A pattern has emerged in Dumfries which is repeated in prisons all across the country. Each year there is less provision for prisoners to go to work and more time spent by prisoners locked in their cells. Every prison has had to make significant savings, and more savings are required this year: but these savings are not without a cost. If the cost is that an increasingly overcrowded prison does not have enough members of staff to deliver a full day's programme of useful work for each prisoner then the cost of savings may be high. Day after day spent locked in a cell with a stranger is not a good way to prepare prisoners to live useful and crime-free lives.
"The problem of preparation for release is particularly acute with regard to those sex offenders who are held in Dumfries. It has been stated in previous HMCIP reports on Peterhead that sex offenders receive the worst preparation for release, despite being those prisoners of whom the public are most likely to be afraid. In Dumfries the situation is particularly alarming. Since those prisoners, unlike most in Peterhead, do not admit their guilt, they do not prepare for their release in programmes designed to address their offending behaviour. So, when their sentence is ended, it is quite possible that nothing will have been done in prison to encourage them to change anything.
"There are issues at Dumfries which do come within the power of the prison itself. The catering at weekends is inadequate, particularly the brunch arrangements. A new system of booking visits is proving very frustrating. There is very poor access to dental treatment: during the inspection there was none at all. Some cells have unenclosed toilets.
"On the other hand the prison is safe. This is a considerable achievement in terms of the limitations of the buildings and the mix of prisoner population. It is also a very clean place. Relationships between prisoners and staff are good; although the increasing time which prisoners spend in cell and the reduction of staff numbers makes these good relationships more difficult to maintain."
Today's report relates to a full inspection of Dumfries prison, with a focus on the conditions in which prisoners live and on the way prisoners are treated.