A report made following an unannounced inspection of Lewes Prison has found several areas that need improvement, saying prisoners were "struggling to access basic needs".
In his introduction, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, highlighted several areas that needed immediate improvement, saying the inspection was disappointing considering the progress the prison had made when last inspected in 2019.
Citing pandemic restrictions as one of the reasons progress had been hampered, Mr Taylor said recovery had been too slow and that allocation of work and education was not functioning properly.
This meant prisoners were often locked up for 22 hours a day while workshops and classrooms were left empty. Other areas of priority included:
- Low levels of cleanliness with rigorous cleaning not taking place
- Vulnerable prisoners not sufficiently well cared for
- Inadequate healthcare
The only improvement mentioned was that in offender management and resettlement services.
Other key concerns included:
- An oversight of those at risk from suicide or self-harm with paperwork incomplete or inadequate
- New arrivals only given one set of clothes with nothing else to wear while clothes were being washed
- Violence still too high with a limited understanding of causes and how to respond
- Prisoners with serious mental health issues waiting too long to get hospital transfers
- Difficulty for new prisoners getting phone numbers added to their contact list
- Slow recruitment of new staff
The inspector gave an example of one young man who was in prison for the first time, who had not been able to let anyone know where he was due to it taking so long to get his family-member's phone number added to the approved list.
The report later made reference to increased instances of self-harm and four self-inflicted deaths since the last inspection four years ago.
Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at charity the Howard League for Penal Reform, said:
“Some of the issues highlighted in this report are found in ageing local prisons around the country. Even when these prisons are not overcrowded, as is the case with Lewes, they face a wide range of problems in maintaining and running buildings that are no longer fit for purpose.
“People in prison are suffering due to a lack of adequate staffing, work and education provision, and adequately equipped or hygienic environments. Rather than continuing with plans to expand prison capacity in coming years, the government must focus resources on managing demand for prison places and in improving outcomes in the existing prison estate, which is in dire need of intervention.”
You can view the latest report here:
https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/inspections/
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