Suicide and murder rate in prisons in England and Wales have reached their highest levels in years according to figures released by the Ministry of Justice. In 2013, there were four alleged homicides – the highest number since 1998 – and 70 apparently self-inflicted deaths, more than at any time since 2008.
There were 199 deaths in prisons in England and Wales in total. Male prisoners' suicide and self-harm is rising year on year. In 2013, five male prisons each recorded three self-inflicted deaths. The suicide rate among female prisoners has fallen, thanks to safety measures recommended by former Labour MP Lady Corston in a report published in 2007. Her report followed a sharp rise in female prisoners' suicides, including six deaths in Styal prison in 2003. Statistics gathered by the Prison Reform Trust indicate mental health problems may be behind the increase in suicide and self-harm rates: 26% of women and 16% of men were treated for a mental health problem in the year before custody. And 62% of male and 52% female prisoners are classed as having a personality disorder.
Commenting on the rise in apparent prison homicides, Professor David Wilson, head of criminology at Birmingham City University and a former prison governor, said: "This is the highest number of alleged murders since 1998 and it reflects deep structural problems about control and order inside our jails – not our most high-security jails, but every prison in which we currently lock people up."
In February last year, Subhan Anwar, 25, serving a life sentence for the murder of his partner's baby, was killed at Long Lartin prison, Worcestershire. Two prisoners are awaiting trial for the killing. In the same month, four prisoners were charged with the murder of 25-year-old Adnan Rafiq, an inmate at Hewell prison, Redditch, Worcestershire. Last October a prisoner at Lincoln jail was charged with the murder of Alan Goode. Goode, 73, was serving nine months for serial voyeurism after spying on women in toilets in Leicester. And in December a 22-year-old prisoner, Michael Hennesy died from stab wounds at Lindholme prison, South Yorkshire. Two prisoners will stand trial for the killing.
An inspection report of Lindholme in the summer was highly critical of safety measures at the jail. More than a third of prisoners said they felt unsafe and inspectors said drugs and alcohol were freely available at the category C prison. Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said almost all the deaths in custody were preventable. "The responsibility for an increase in the number of people who take their own lives in prison lies squarely with those who advocate putting behind bars more and more people who do not need to be there."
This is the press release release from the Howard League:-
The Howard League for Penal Reform today called for urgent action after figures for 2013 showed a sharp rise in the number of suspected murders and self-inflicted deaths behind bars. Data compiled by the charity reveals that there were four alleged homicides in prisons in England and Wales – the most in a calendar year since 1998. In total, 199 deaths were reported during 2013, of which 70 were self-inflicted – the highest rate in six years.
More than 100 prisoners died of natural causes, and a further 22 deaths are yet to be classified by prison authorities. The statistics are based on notifications from the Ministry of Justice, which records deaths in custody.
Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Each death in custody is a tragedy and almost all of them are preventable. The responsibility for an increase in the number of people who take their own lives in prison lies squarely with those who advocate putting behind bars more and more people who do not need to be there. This is the consequence of a policy that squanders a scarce resource, meaning that these institutions cannot keep people safe.”
The four prisons where homicides were allegedly committed in 2013 are Hewell, near Redditch, Worcestershire; Long Lartin, near Evesham, Worcestershire; Lincoln, Lincolnshire; and Lindholme, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Five self-inflicted deaths were recorded at Wormwood Scrubs in London, and there were four at Woodhill, near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
A further five prisons each recorded three self-inflicted deaths during the year. They were Hewell; Birmingham; Dovegate, near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire; Norwich, Norfolk; and Chelmsford, Essex.
Professor David Wilson, Vice Chair of the Howard League for Penal Reform, Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University and a former prison governor, said: “This is the highest number of alleged murders since 1998 and it reflects deep structural problems about control and order inside our jails – not our most high-security jails, but every prison in which we currently lock people up. The prison service has a duty of care to prisoners that this murder rate suggests it cannot deliver.”
In probation we all know mental health has been the Cinderella service for years and as far as we know Nick Clegg has never shown the slightest interest in the subject. By an amazing piece of serendipity though, here he is making a big speech today on mental health issues when launching 'Closing the Gap' as reported in the Guardian:-Mental health patients are to have the same right to choose where they are treated and the same waiting time targets as those with physical health problems, says the government, in a bid to shift attitudes that deputy prime minister Nick Clegg says are "stuck in the dark ages".
Launching a new mental health action plan, Clegg on Monday blamed stigma and stereotypes for the low standing of mental healthcare, and unacceptable practices such as the use of face-down restraint and children being cared for on adult wards.
"It's time for us to bring mental health out of the shadows and to give people with mental health conditions the support they need and deserve," he said at the launch of the strategy document Closing the Gap: priorities for essential change in mental health.
One in four people suffer from mental health problems, including anxiety and depression, at some point in their lives. Mental illness has been calculated by the Centre for Mental Health to cost the economy £105bn a year.
Patients are to have a choice of where to be treated, a right to minimum waiting times and the friends and family test will be rolled out to mental health, so that patients and relatives can give feedback on care. Talking therapies, which help people with anxiety and depression, now available to about 600,000 people, will be expanded to reach 300,000 more. Children will get more support and £43m will be invested in pilot projects for better housing for people with mental health problems and learning disabilities.
Talking of Nick Clegg, he was mightily annoyed to have Cathy Newman pour rain on his parade by raising the thorny question of Lord Rennard at today's press conference. I know it's impolite to gloat, but seeing as the Liberal Democrats failed to do the decent thing and support recent moves to try and save the Probation Service, I must say I'm getting a great deal of satisfaction watching Nick squirm over his little difficulty with Lord Rennard and allegations of him being a sex pest.
We are told that, despite the evidence from the numerous women complainants being 'credible', it would not stand the test of a legal process and the good Peer refuses to admit he's done anything wrong and therefore has nothing to apologise for. I really know I shouldn't, but I just can't stop thinking how good it looks with smugness removed from the Deputy Prime Minister's face.
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10950168.Crisis_in_prisons_a__powder_keg_waiting_to_go_off__as_prison_deaths_and_assaults_increase/
ReplyDeletePRISON organisations have warned a crisis in UK jails is a “powder keg” waiting to go off, as staff from the region’s prisons are sent hundreds of miles away to meet shortages.
DeleteThe Northern Echo has learnt staff from HMP Durham and Holme House in Stockton, Deerbolt Young Offenders Institution near Barnard Castle and staff from the now closed HMP Northallerton have been sent to work in prisons including Manchester, Onley, Moorland and Lindholme near Doncaster, to make up shortages.
One person, who has a family member who has been transferred to work in another prison outside the region, and did not wish to be identified, said although many staff had gone on detached duty voluntarily, others were “unhappy about going”
She said many were concerned the situation inside some prisons was becoming critical.
She told The Northern Echo: “Staff that have already done their detached duty are concerned that the prisons are very unsettled and they feel things will go up at any time with rioting. Inmates are not getting to things like the gym or other activities because the prisons are so short staffed and over-crowded,” she said.
“Prisoners are becoming agitated and lashing out, smashing up cells, causing serious damage.”
She added: “People are expressing concern for the staff being sent away. Staff assaults have gone up. There were four in a ten day period at one prison recently. Make-shift weapons are being found on prisoners as many are becoming fearful of other prisoners.
“It will not be long before either an officer is killed or we have another incident like at Strangeways in 1990.”
The news has come as the Howard League for Penal Reform released statistics that showed prison suicide and homicide rates last year experienced a sharp rise to the highest level in 15 years.
The organisation claimed the statistics suggested the prison service was no longer able to deliver its duty of care to prisoners.
HMP Holme House in Stockton had the second highest number in the country with eight deaths; five of which were categorised as “natural”, two as suicides and one “not classified”. Durham Prison had four deaths and Frankland three.
The Howard League’s Professor David Wilson, a Professor of Criminology at Birmingham City University and former prison governor, said: “This is the highest number of alleged murders since 1998 and it reflects deep structural problems about control and order inside our jails – not our most high-security jails, but every prison in which we currently lock people up.
“The prison service has a duty of care to prisoners that this murder rate suggests it cannot deliver.”
Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) says the current system in UK jails was in “complete meltdown” with not enough prison officers to deal with the number of inmates currently held.
Mr Travis said after a seasonal drop in prisoner numbers in UK jails over Christmas, levels were now rising week on week. He said he believed a planned recruitment drive by the Ministry of Justice would take a “considerable time” to get enough fully operational officers back in the system.
He said: “The government had a recruitment freeze for over two years, then a voluntary redundancy package to try and save money without any thought to actual staffing requirements. So now we have a system in complete meltdown.”
Mr Travis added: “The pressure on the system is intense and we have got real concerns that staff will suffer burnout because you cannot keep asking people to work and work and work.
“It’s a powder keg just waiting to go off and it needs to be managed.”
A Prison Service spokesperson said it was “not true” staff were being put at risk.
She said: "A small number of staff, including those from prisons in the North-East, are working at other establishments for short periods on a temporary basis while we re-assess staffing at prisons across England and Wales to increase efficiency.
I reiterate my previous comment: May God help us! What a truly awful situation......I have reached the stage of 'get out asap'
DeleteI really despair for my truly needy caseload of mainly women with horrendous safeguarding issues. I look above for guidance!
A quick off topic message. I've been assigned to the NPS and will now become a Civil Servant in the full course on time. I'm aware that I will have to sign some sort of agreement about codes, secrets etc; my question is this.
ReplyDeleteWill my (fairly extensive) criminal history prevent me from passing the new vetting etc and how will this impact on my transfer?
Bet Grayling never thought about that one did he!
HMP Oakwood again. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25809660
ReplyDeleteAmbulances were called to England's largest prison, the privately run Oakwood, more than twice as often as any similar jail last year.
ReplyDeleteStaff at the category C establishment, run by G4S, requested an ambulance 358 times in 2013, the BBC has discovered.
A G4S spokesperson said the figures did not accurately present the full picture.
And the Ministry of Justice said there were "national processes" to ensure prisoners' safety was not compromised.
But some staff at the jail, near Wolverhampton - which experienced a major disturbance earlier this month - say officers tend to be over-cautious following a hard-hitting report in the wake of a death at Oakwood last year.
'Unused' facilities
BBC Radio 4's The Report asked all ambulance trusts in England how many times they had been called to Category C male prisons in 2013.
All but the North East region replied.
Information from West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust revealed that staff at Oakwood called ambulances at a rate of almost one a day - more than double that of HMP Wymott in Leyland, Lancashire, from where the second-most calls were made.
North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust was called 148 times to Wymott, which houses 1,178 prisoners - more than 400 fewer than Oakwood.
"The ambulance here is so regular," one Oakwood inmate told the BBC.
"I've never seen it before in any prison I know. It's partly because they haven't got 24-hour healthcare [at Oakwood], which they need. But they've got the facilities for 24-hour healthcare. They're not used, not once."
A G4S spokesperson said: "Because healthcare facilities differ at prisons, the figures do not give an accurate representation of the position. We follow national processes which are in place for staff so that they can respond to emergency situations in a timely and appropriate fashion."
There are facilities on site to enable the £241m prison to provide 24-hour healthcare to prisoners, but they have not been used since Oakwood opened in April 2012.
A 2013 report by the prison's Independent Monitoring Board explained: "The whole top floor of the healthcare unit remains mothballed due to [Oakwood's] change in status from Cat B to Cat C when commissioned."
According to the Ministry of Justice, category C prisoners cannot be trusted in open conditions, but are not considered to have the resources and will to make a determined escape attempt.
Category B prisoners are deemed to be more "difficult", requiring a higher level of security, though not the maximum.
Although Oakwood's capacity of 1,605 inmates would help to explain a large number of callouts, it also had the second-highest ratio of callouts to prisoners.
Blantyre House, in Kent, had the highest, but houses only 122.
Prison custody officers working at Oakwood have suggested that the circumstances surrounding the death of an inmate at the jail in February 2013 may help to explain the high number.
A report by the Prison and Probation Ombudsman on the death, caused by a heart attack, has not been released to the public, but the BBC has seen a copy of its findings.
In it the ombudsman states: "I am particularly concerned about the poor standard of the emergency response. It took too long to begin resuscitation and staff did not have access to, nor had they been trained to use, automated defibrillators."
The report also outlines how there had been "unacceptable confusion and delay" in calling an ambulance.
It was more than an hour after finding the prisoner unresponsive that an emergency ambulance was called.
The ombudsman's findings also reveal the lack of experience of many of the staff at Oakwood, something confirmed to The Report by serving prison custody officers at Oakwood.
In relation to anon at 7:50...I doubt Mr Grayling can spell diversity, never mind embrace it..a colleague in my team was randomly selected, as I was, to undergo the checking process to enable us/me to access visor...well someone will have to do it, when there are much fewer managers, and for a second time, I declined the generous offer. However, on this occasion I received a rather suspicious, almost threatening response form a senior management member suggesting, whilst it is a voluntary scheme at the moment, I will probably undertake it as a requirement, if I am sifted into NPS...playing hardball!!! Is there any employment law that would prevent this, not that I have anything to hide, but I resent the idea that I am required to disclose, to the very bone, my personal and financial circumstances to any employer? On that same subject, the colleague who went along with this invitation, indicated that he had a 25 page document to read and complete and a follow up meeting with senior managers, which I think took a whole morning.. if everyone in NPS has to go through this, people won't get any work done. More of this nonsense I cannot take!!!! Just to lighten the load, I am providing a Rabbie Burns lunch on Friday for everyone in my team and sister team - with a vegetarian option obviously...we will even recite the Selkirk poem...a bit of fluff in a tense and anxious world - always goes down well and for once we can all record a lunch break on our team sheets, which reflects the truth...
ReplyDeleteFor those destined for NPS there will no doubt be the Official Secrets Act and vetting to deal with as well....
DeleteWhat a great idea for a Friday lunch!
Cheers,
Jim
So what is likely to occur if you decline to complete the form or, as above, are unlikely to pass the vetting procedures?
DeleteCould this be another spanner in the works as, guven the fact that we have now 'split' and the checks are going to take some minths to complete, you could end up being sacked from a job that you did not ask for or indeed wanted!
I'm going for a lie down, this is just too much :(
Wow this is a very touchy subject and I thank god that I am not in the position. But I also pray for those who have to suffer through this trauma, it must be really heartbreaking for all the families and their loved ones. Thank you for sharing this information with us, I will be passing it on, thank you.
ReplyDeleteEliseo Weinstein @ Jr's Bail Bond