Hm Prison Haverigg
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REPORT ON AN UNANNOUNCED FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION OF HM PRISON HAVERIGG 13 – 15 FEBRUARY 2001 BY HM CHIEF INSPECTOR OF PRISONS 2 CONTENTS Paragraph Page FACT PAGE 5 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.01-1.03 7 CHAPTER TWO PROGRESS SINCE THE LAST REPORT 2.01-2.169 8 CHAPTER THREE TESTS OF A HEALTHY PRISON & 3.01-3.20 47 CONCLUSION CHAPTER FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS & EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE Director General 4.01-4.02 52 Governor 4.03-4.51 52 Examples of Good Practice 4.52-4.60 58 APPENDICES I) Inspection Team II) Core Day III) Prisoner Population Profile 3 4 FACT PAGE Task of the establishment Category C training prison Brief history A former RAF camp built in the 1940’s and converted to a prison in 1967. The prison opened in 1967 on the site of a former RAF airfield, and many of the wartime buildings remain in use as workshops and office accommodation. It has had two major disturbances. The one in 1987 resulted in the zoning off of each unit. The one in 1999 resulted in a complete rebuild of the last of the former RAF type billets giving more secure accommodation. The last of the old billets was demolished in 1999 and new accommodation was being built to replace them. Between 1997 and 1999 a major renovation of the water mains and sewage system was completed and new gates installed. When all new accommodation is complete the operational capacity will rise to 556. Haverigg prison is the largest employer in the area and contributes heavily to the local economy. Although Haverigg is the only prison in Cumbria, it draws most of its prisoners from Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cheshire. Area organisation North West Number held 452 Cost per place per annum £21,735 Certified Normal Accommodation 554 5 Operational Capacity 554 Last full inspection 16-20 June 1997 Description of residential units 1 x cell block, secure billets x 9 1 x billet (7), 2 x chalet type (en-suite) CRTU 6 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION History 1.01 Haverigg prison is situated on the coast, approximately two miles north of Millom in West Cumbria. The prison is very exposed to the prevailing weather and is surrounded by open countryside and hills, except to the southwest where it is bounded by sand dunes and the sea. Originally the site was a Ministry of Defence aerodrome until 1966 when ownership was passed to the Prison Department which made repairs and converted the site for use as a Category C prison. The first prisoners were received in 1967. At the time of this inspection there was Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) for 554 prisoners and this was also the Operational Capacity. Prisoner population 1.02 The majority (71%) of prisoners were aged between 21 and 29 years and were serving sentences of between one and four years (63%). There were 16 life sentence prisoners. The most common offence was burglary/theft (30%). 16% of prisoners had been convicted of drugs offences. Ethnic minority groups comprised 4.8 % of the population. In terms of home area, most were from Lancashire, Mersey, Manchester and Cumbria (76%), although some individuals were from as far afield as Kent, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. 1.03 Details of the population breakdown by age, sentence length, main offence, ethnic origin, home area, and religion, can be found in Appendix II (statistics were only available for 453 of the prisoners in custody). 7 CHAPTER TWO PROGRESS SINCE THE LAST REPORT 2.01 In order to examine the progress that had been achieved following our last full inspection in 1997, we have used the recommendations from that report as a framework for our examination of the establishment. 2.02 We have commented where we have found significant improvements where we believe little or no progress has been made and work remains to be done. We have also highlighted additional information relating to work being undertaken and reported on new good practice examples. During this short inspection we concentrated on aspects that directly affected the treatment of and conditions for prisoners and therefore not all the recommendations from the last inspection were examined. The detailed references to particular recommendations are in brackets. Recommendation to the Secretary of State 2.03 Governors should be accountable for commercial risks which they decide, based upon properly conducted analyses, to take, but the profits from financially successful commercial ventures should be retained within the prison contributing to the business. (3.29) This had been partially achieved by the more flexible use of appropriations in aid to the benefit of establishments. The full benefits of this flexibility had not however, been promulgated across the Prison Service to the extent that establishments are usually disadvantaged by partnerships with outside companies. Haverigg, as with many other establishments, did not appear to benefit in any way from innovation with public private partnerships; rather it was unnecessarily penalized. It was also clear that prisoners gained no advantage from such ventures where something approaching real wages can be realistically obtained. 8 To the Director General The Estate 2.04 The estate needs should be planned and permanent construction provided so that it is ready for use when needed. (2.16) Partially achieved. Progress had been made and more permanent buildings have been provided, albeit slowly. Farm 2.05 A clear directive should be given from Headquarters on how to measure and assess performance of the farming enterprise. (4.76) Achieved. A major review of farming enterprise was underway across the Prison Service and the economic viability, as well as the ability to provide worthwhile training for prisoners, was being examined. Health Care 2.06 The Directorate of Health Care should enter discussion with the Royal College of General Practitioners with a view to ensuring that there is a system that allows trained GPs who have transferred to the Prison Service to maintain their certification. (7.12) Subsumed as part of the NHS partnership project. 2.07 The demand for Health Care accommodation in the North of England should be re-assessed, and in the light of that assessment, sufficient suitable accommodation should be provided to avoid inappropriate use of Segregation Units. (5.09) Subsumed as part of the NHS partnership project. Life sentence prisoners 2.08 When a decision to refuse a prisoner progress to Category D status is made, full reasons for the decision should normally be made available to the prisoner and appropriate staff. (4.22) 9 Achieved. Decisions to refuse Life sentence prisoners progress to category D status had been made available to prisoners and to appropriate staff so that any subsequent needs could then be addressed. One Life sentence prisoner had been waiting a very long time to transfer as a Category C prisoner to Wymott Prison to attend a specific course. Lifer Management Unit should ensure that Life sentence prisoners are promptly transferred to attend appropriate offending behaviour courses. Health and Safety 2.09 The standard Home Office form would be much improved by the addition of a column for the prisoner to sign against each item of training recorded as being achieved. (3.40) Not Inspected. Religious Activities 2.10 The feasibility of introducing a short “Introduction to the Prison Service” course for part-time chaplains should be investigated. (4.109) Not Inspected. Sentence calculations 2.11 Establishments transferring prisoners to Haverigg should ensure that all warrants are dispatched with each prisoner transferred. (4.131) Achieved. The situation was much improved with the use of private escort companies. Accommodation and facilities Residential 1 2.12 The buildings in Residential 2 should be demolished and replaced by purpose built units. (2.11, 3.22, and 4.14) Achieved. Residential 2 buildings had been replaced in two stages; first the office, D1 and D2 and then the remainder following an incident on 14th February 1999 when the remaining Residential 2 buildings had been all but demolished during a disturbance. 10 Residential 2 was cellular and therefore very much safer for prisoners to occupy, especially overnight. This left Residential 3 the most unsafe residential area in the prison where 16 – 18 prisoners per billet had access to each other overnight. We saw two cells for disabled prisoners in Residential 2, D3 – 17 and 18, which included en-suite showers, but there were no handrails around the shower cubicle nor was a plastic seat available if required. Handrails and plastic seats should be fitted in the cells for disabled prisoners on D3. Residential 4 2.13 Drying rooms should be provided for prisoners’ clothing. (4.16) Not achieved. Funding has not been made available. Most prisoners still dried their clothing in their own rooms but hooks had been installed outside the cell doors on Residential 2 so that prisoners could hang up their outer coats to dry. We repeat the recommendation that drying rooms should be provided for prisoners’ clothing. The Estate 2.14 The pump house system should be replaced as soon as possible. (2.04) Partially achieved. The pump house system had not been replaced but it had been repaired and overhauled to the required British Standard. 2.15 Lightning protection should be applied to the site in accordance with current British Standards. (2.06) Not achieved. We repeat our recommendation that lightning protection should be applied to the site in accordance with current British Standards. 2.16 An additional Governor V (Residential) should be appointed. (3.05) Achieved. 11 Segregation Unit 2.17 A new Segregation Unit, located nearer to the accommodation units and the main Gate, should be built. (5.07) Not achieved.