Staff cuts fuel rise in attacks at ‘dire’ jails

SPIRALLING levels of violence and drugs have left jails in crisis with too few staff to keep order, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has warned.

In a damning report, Peter Clarke said he was ‘appalled’ by the conditions in which inmates were held.

He added the situation was so ‘dire’ that not one young offender institution was safe to hold juveniles.

Facilities were ‘filthy and dilapidated’, self-harm and suicide had increased and inmates were locked in cells for up to 23 hours a day, said Mr Clarke.

His warning came in the most damning verdict ever made of jails in England and Wales in his annual report to Parliament.

Violence and assaults – which rose by 27 per cent last year and included three killings — had reached record levels. But staff numbers in many prisons were too low to maintain order.

Mr Clarke, a former head of counter-terrorism at Scotland Yard, outlined the ‘startling’ rise in violence across all prisons and asked: ‘Why have so many of our jails become unsafe?’

The problems were hampering efforts to rehabilitate inmates, he warned, leading to re-offending after their release.

The chief inspector also called for ‘old people’s homes with walls’ to be built for the rising numbers of elderly inmates.

Victorian- era jails were ‘not appropriate’ for OAPs and disabled prisoners who are too dangerous to go to open conditions, he said.

The number of inmates aged over-50 is expected to hit 14,000 within a decade because of historic sexual abuse convictions.

However, the biggest concern in the report, which will make horrifying reading for Justice Secretary David Lidington, was the treatment of young inmates. ‘The current state of affairs is dangerous, counterproductive and will inevitably end in tragedy unless urgent action is taken,’ said Mr Clarke.

‘There seems to be a vicious circle. Violence leads to a restrictive regime and security measures which in turn frustrate those being held there.

‘We have seen regimes where boys take every meal alone in their cell, they are locked up for excessive amounts of time, they do not get enough exercise, education or training, and where there do not appear to be any credible plans to break the cycle of violence.’ Following rev- elations about the mistreatment of young people at Medway Secure Training Centre in Kent, Mr Clarke inspected other facilities holding 764 children in February.

He was so shocked by the findings that he wrote to Youth Justice Minister Philip Lee.

Mr Clarke pointed to the prevalence of drugs inside prisons as a major factor in violence.

‘Debt, bullying and self-segregation by prisoners looking to escape the violence generated by the drugs trade are commonplace,’ he said.

‘This has all been compounded by staffing levels in many jails that are 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.

‘When a person is sent to prison, the state accepts responsibility for their wellbeing, including their physical and mental health, safety and education. There is clear evidence that for too many, the state is failing in its duty.’

Mr Clarke detailed a ‘dramatic and rapid decline’ in standards with vermin infestations, filthy and sometimes unscreened toilets, and many inmates clearly under the influence of drugs.

There were five major disturbances in jails last November and December. Budget cuts have pushed the number of frontline prison officers down from 25,000 in 2010 to 18,000 last September. The prison population stands at around 84,000.

‘It will inevitably end in tragedy’