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HMYOI Portland - damaged by population crisis

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE News Release (HMPS 29/07) issued by The Government News Network on 29 June 2007

Portland is a clear example of the damage caused by the prison population crisis, said Anne Owers, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of an unannounced full follow up inspection into the young offender institution in Dorset.

The inspection showed that, in spite of some improvement, Portland continued to suffer from unfit buildings, insufficient activity, negative staff culture and inadequate arrangements for young people's safety. Moreover, young people, mainly from London, were held too far away from their homes.

Inspectors found that good and innovative work was being done by supportive staff in some areas of the prison: extremely good work was being carried out on resettlement, and on the induction wing and the wing for young prisoners who found it difficult to cope. Managers were also trying to tackle the prison's underlying problems.

But they also found that:

* Though some wings had been refurbished, two remained wholly unfit for purpose. They lacked integral sanitation, and young prisoners were not always able to get out to the toilets. As a result, some used buckets and some threw excrement and urine out of the windows. The toilet recesses themselves were squalid, with waste leaking into staff offices and other accommodation below.

* Despite excellent work in identifying prisoners' employment needs, there were still only 70 vocational training places for more than 500 young prisoners. One in five were locked in their cells and those without employment could spend 23 hours a day there. There was no regular outdoor exercise and extremely limited access to inadequate PE facilities.

* Bullying was a major issue, but arrangements for identifying and dealing with it were weak, as were aspects of suicide and self-harm prevention. Some procedures, such as locking young people on spurs for association without direct staff supervision, were unsafe. However, the use of force and adjudications had dropped.

* Staff on the residential wings did not engage fully and positively with young people, and were not integrated into some of the good and innovative work that was taking place in resettlement and the dedicated support units.

Anne Owers said:

"In spite of its continuing difficulties, Portland had improved and managers were well aware of the scale of the task ahead. But that task was greatly compromised by the effects of population pressure. As we inspected, the prison was preparing to increase its population with a new quick build unit. As a result, even more young men will be held far away from their homes. Instead of replacing the unfit wings, the new buildings will operate alongside them. And the expansion of the prison will compound the existing difficulty of finding enough appropriate work, training and activity to try to break the cycle of reoffending. There could not be a clearer example of the damage caused by the prison population crisis."

Phil Wheatley, Director General of the Prison Service, said:

"Portland's management team have been working hard to provide an appropriate environment for the young people in their care and I am pleased the Chief Inspector recognises the continued improvement.

"I recognise the challenge of working successfully in outdated and inadequate buildings and the challenge of opening more accommodation. The range of activities is being expanded with a new training initiative with Rail Track and other new courses including horticulture.

"The prison has robustly addressed the bullying issues raised by HMCIP with additional staff resources and a new violence reduction policy."

NOTES TO EDITORS

HMYOI PORTLAND has an operational capacity of 556 and was last inspected in June 2004.