A London prison has suffered months of “dysfunctional and chaotic” conditions because of staff cuts which have led to “serious concerns” about safety and discipline, a watchdog warned today.
A report by the independent monitoring board for Wormwood Scrubs says that the prison has had “a dismal and highly regrettable year” marred by increased levels of tension and violence and the death of five inmates.
It also warns that rehabilitation has become “no more than an aspiration” and of a rising drug problem because of a failure to do enough to stop illicit substances being smuggled into the prison.
The report blames “sweeping cuts and changes” imposed for the declining standards and says that the resulting loss of experienced staff had a “major knock on effect” across most of the prison.
Today’s findings follow similar critical assessments of other London by the chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, and will raise renewed concern about the apparent failure of the government to deliver its promised “rehabilitation revolution” for inmates.
Unveiling the report, Chris Hammond, the chairman of Wormwood Scrubs’ monitoring board, said that he and his colleagues were “very seriously concerned” that “an emergency regime” would be needed at the prison “in the very near future” because of the lack of staff.
He added: “Wormwood Scrubs prison has had a dismal and highly regrettable year. For several months it was operating in a dysfunctional and chaotic state.
“The staff continue to have very low morale. They have very serious concerns about safety, control and discipline.”
Among the other problems cited in today’s report is the admission into Wormwood Scrubs of young offenders aged 18 to 21. It says this has had “a major impact” with “over 20 per cent” of cases in which prison officers use force involving these younger prisoners.
Other problems include the absence of “curtain screening” in some shared lavatories in cells and a lack of “diversity and inclusion” work in a prison in which 40 per cent of inmates are foreigners.
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The report, which covers the 12 months to June this year, also calls for “more cooperation between government agencies”, including the Met, to “combat crime on the outside geographical perimeter of the prison.”
It says this would help staff tackle “illegal drugs, legal highs, other illicit material and mobile phones” present in the prison.
