Case Studies

Prison report

by Mark Rowe

Drugs were a key security threat at HMP Lewes, with drugs thrown over the walls contributing to the problem, according to an independent review of the prison by HM Inspectorate of Prisons.

The inspectors reported that the category B prison had taken measures, such as installing overhead netting on exercise yards, ‘but the two x-ray machines used to detect drugs did not work and had been out of service for a considerable time’.

When official inspectors viewed the prison in January 2019, it had been in ‘special measures’ for two years, the latest report, arising from a December 2019 visit, said; ‘but outcomes for prisoners were declining rather than improving’. The report went on: “A great deal of
urgent work was needed to improve safety. The number of assaults against staff was high, a fifth of all assaults were serious and a quarter of prisoners said they felt unsafe. Despite this, the prison lacked an effective strategy for reducing violence. Force was used frequently, but its oversight was poor, and far too much paperwork justifying its use was missing.

“Illicit drugs were a big security problem, yet the prison had not done enough to identify or control their supply. Self-harm was common and five prisoners had taken their own lives between our 2016 and 2019 inspections. Again, the prison lacked an adequate strategic response …”

When surveyed by the inspectors, almost half of prisoners said it was easy to get illegal drugs in HMP Lewes. Since June 2019, the prison had used an itemiser to detect mail containing drugs. The itemiser was only operating at about 80 per cent capacity due to staffing shortages and a lack of trained staff, inspectors found.

As for the site’s education and skills work, a ‘security operation had found that significant illicit items were being smuggled through the workshop. This resulted in its temporary closure and had limited the range of work and vocational training.’

As for violence against staff and among inmates, the inspectors said that the prison had consulted staff and prisoners about what was causing violence: “This consultation had informed a revised safety strategy and action plan. The safer custody team was now better resourced. However, these positive developments had yet to translate into reduced levels of violence.”

More generally, inspectors said that they found ‘a prison with a renewed sense of purpose and direction. The prison had been taken out of special measures and had discarded the associated bureaucracy and ineffective action plan’.

For the online report visit the HMIP website.

In November the Ministry of Justice reported that Berwyn, Bristol, Hewell, Lancaster Farms, Leeds, Liverpool and Norwich jails were the first to have some of the Government’s recently announced £100m spend on prison security – with the measures such as X-ray baggage and metal detection set to follow in other prisons across the estate.

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