Articles & News

April 28, 2008

‘Progress’ being made at prison

A MAXIMUM security jail near York which houses some of the UK's most dangerous criminals still needs to address safety fears, according to a new report.

An inspection of Full Sutton Prison says it has made "considerable progress" and has praised initiatives to provide prisoners with activities and educational opportunities.

But the report also says the relationship between inmates and staff, who it claimed were often "distant" and not trusted by many prisoners, must be improved.

It comes a month after the prison was praised by its own Independent Monitoring Board for the way staff looked after prisoners and dealt with major incidents, including a man being held hostage in his cell and a bomb scare.

In her report, Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers picked out:
* The quantity and quality of activities increasing "considerably", good education provision and the chance for prisoners to gain vocational qualifications

* Well-managed suicide prevention, but deficiencies included the lack of a dedicated first-night unit to ease transition into the prison

* The design of the prison's older units compromising safety and staff not having a visible presence when prisoners were unlocked * Negative perceptions of the prison among

prisoners from black and minority ethnic groups, particularly Muslims, and the need for more cultural awareness training for staff.

The report said there had been 94 incidents involving use of force against prisoners in the first ten months of 2007, 70 less than the previous year.

"This inspection charts considerable progress at Full Sutton since the last inspection, particularly in the areas of activity and resettlement," said Mrs Owers.

"Given its population, the prison had remained a commendably stable and largely safe environment. There is still work to be done to ensure more positive and proactive staff-prisoner relationships as an essential part of dynamic security.

"In addition, the forthcoming cuts to prisoners' regime, as part of the Prison Service's overall efficiency cuts, will be a significant challenge to managers and staff."

At the time of the report, Full Sutton, which lies in countryside near Pocklington, housed 586 category A and B prisoners - inmates classed as being highly dangerous to the public if they were to escape or for whom escape needs to be made very difficult - with 329 of them serving life.

Criminals held there are believed to have included serial killer Dennis Nilsen, kidnapper and murderer Michael Sams, Muslim terrorist Abu Qatada and many of those involved in IRA atrocities.

Phil Wheatley, director general of the National Offender Management Service, said: "The chief inspector rightly recognises the positive work taking place at Full Sutton to ensure prisoners have access to appropriate activities and resettlement opportunities, while the necessary security is maintained to effectively manage serious offenders."

1:21pm Friday 25th April 2008