‘Appalling’ prison conditions blamed on drugs and staffing levels

Inmates in many jails are being kept in "appalling" conditions with not enough staff to maintain order, the prisons watchdog has warned.

Peter Clarke, the chief inspector of prisons in England and Wales, said the "seeming inability" to keep drugs out of jails has been a major factor in declining safety standards.

Mr Clarke said too many prisons still do not have an adequate strategy to tackle the supply of drugs to inmates, while inspectors had seen many prisoners who were "obviously" under the influence of drugs during visits.

And he was scathing about young offender institutions, revealing not a single one was deemed safe enough to hold children.

The chief inspector also addressed the issue of the rapidly ageing prison population, suggesting secure "old people’s homes with walls" could be built to house elderly criminals.

The watchdog’s annual report for 2016/17 said debt, bullying and self-segregation by prisoners are commonplace.

"This has all been compounded by staffing levels in many jails that are simply too low to keep order and run a decent regime that allows prisoners to be let out of their cells to get to training and education and have access to basic facilities," Mr Clarke said.

"When a person is sent to prison, the state accepts responsibility for their well-being, including their physical and mental health, safety and education.

"There is clear evidence that for too many prisoners, the state is failing in its duty."

Staffing levels have consistently been raised as an issue as violence and self-harm have surged to record levels. Assaults on staff increased by 38% last year, with a total of 6,844 incidents.

Twenty-one out of 29 local and training prisons inspected were judged to be poor or "not sufficiently good" on safety.

Mr Clarke, who described the response to previous recommendations as "unforgivably poor", said the conditions in some jails were "squalid, dirty and disgraceful".

He said: "These figures suggest a serious deterioration in standards in our prisons, but they do not describe it.

"What is it like for prisoners on a day-to-day basis? During the course of the year I have often been appalled by the conditions in which we hold many prisoners."

According to the report there were numerous instances of men sharing a cell in which they are locked up for 23 hours a day, with prisoners pointing out insect and vermin infestations on several occasions.

Expressing his dissatisfaction with efforts to improve standards, Mr Clarke said there was a "huge gap" between the watchdog’s recommendations and achievements in prisons, leading to fears that "lip service" was being paid to them.

Ministers launched a recruitment drive last year to add 2,500 frontline officers as part of an ambitious prison reform drive.

At the end of March, there were 18,403 "full-time equivalent" staff in frontline categories, an increase of 75 on last year and 515 in the previous quarter.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "We know that our prisons have faced a number of long-standing challenges, with annual increases in violence and self-inflicted deaths.

"That is why we have taken immediate action to boost prison officer numbers and put in place new measures to tackle drugs and mobile phones.

"The Justice Secretary has been clear that we need to create calm and ordered prison environments to help ensure effective rehabilitation, and that achieving this is his priority."

(c) Sky News 2017: ‘Appalling’ prison conditions blamed on drugs and staffing levels