Safety at HMP The Mount 'improved' (From Watford Observer)

Safety at HMP The Mount 'improved'

1:43pm Wednesday 22nd February 2012 in News By Amie Mulderrig

Safety has improved and staff should be commended at The Mount Prison in Bovingdon, according to a report released by an independent inspectorate.

In October last year, HM Inspectorate of Prisons paid a surprise visit to the category C prison.

According to a report released on inspectors’ findings, it was revealed that safety had progressed to a “good” level, an improvement on a prior visit where inspectors highlighted that it was difficult to ensure safety at the jail.

This time around, inspectors said they were pleased to find that the installation of high level netting at strategic points around the perimeter had impeded the flow of drugs in to the prison; considerable efforts had been made to confront violence and bullying; a prisoner’s reception into custody was reasonably well managed; arrangements to address the risk of self-harm were effective and staff-prisoner relationships appeared reasonably good.

It was further highlighted that the prison had worked hard to address the needs of a diverse population in the jail; most prisoners had acceptable amounts of time out of cell; and there was a good range of vocational training, with good standards and meaningful opportunity for progression.

Despite these positive findings, the report has criticised some of the prison’s methods.

Inspectors were concerned to find that a number of additional cells for single use were being doubled, apparently as a consequence of the need for space after public disorder in August 2011; staff attitudes were indifferent and poor standards need addressing on Howard wings.

There were also too many prisoners recorded as unemployed and a quarter were locked in their cells during the working part of the day. Co-ordination and strategic management of resettlement were lacking, there remained no meaningful assessment of need, and the quality of offender supervision required improvement.

According to the representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the reason why some prisoners were lacking employment, while others were confined to their cells, was due to “unwell” or “unavailable” staff being unable to hold workshops for inmates.

This problem will be addressed, Ministry of Justice spokesman Yasser Mehmood said, with prison staff being used more effectively in the future.

Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said of the report: “The Mount is a much improved establishment and despite our previous criticisms, managers had clearly held their nerve and staff were more confident.

“The prison is now a much safer place, which has been achieved while maintaining reasonable levels of respect.

“Further work needs to be done to maximise the use of activity and regime resources, and the prison needs to energise its approach to resettlement.

“It should approach these ongoing challenges with confidence.”