Prison praised for being ‘very safe’
THE Prison Service have praised the management of a Rochdale prison for creating a ‘safe and respectful’ institution.
A recent report into HMP Buckley Hall found that violence is falling and prisoners are being encouraged to make positive changes in their lives.
It found outcomes for inmates to be ‘good’ - the highest level of assessment - in three of the four tests of a healthy prison, but noted a few things that need to be improved.
Last month, the Observer reported how violent incidents had nosedived in the past year at the prison, thanks in part to the relatively simple introduction of earplugs.
The full report by Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prison, has now been published - with assistance from the General Pharmaceutical Council and in partnership with CQC and Ofsted.
Phil Copple, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Director General for Prisons, said: “This is an extremely pleasing report that rightly recognises the hard work of staff at HMP Buckley Hall, and reflects the excellent progress that they have achieved.
“The management team deserve praise for creating a safe and respectful prison, where violence is falling and prisoners are encouraged to make positive changes. The prison has recently appointed a new education provider and manager to give prisoners even better support in turning their lives around.”
Built in 1995, the 450-capacity site is comprised of four house blocks and was full at the time of the inspection in July. Inspectors said nearly a third of men were serving indeterminate sentences and 45 men were serving life.
The report, which was conducted in July, described Buckley Hall as a “very safe prison”, where just 7 per cent of respondents reported feeling unsafe, which was much lower than in comparable establishments.
It said: “Recorded violence and use of force had reduced since our previous inspection and work to reduce it further was robust and multi-disciplinary, with initiatives informed by good data and leading to good practice. The rehabilitative ethos that pervaded the prison was, in our view, key to the quality of engagement seen among prisoners, which in turn was reflected in the calm and settled atmosphere in the prison and the sense of wellbeing expressed by many of those we spoke to.”
Relationships between staff and prisoners was also seen as a strength, with 88 per cent of inmates saying they felt respected and inspectors seeing “lots of evidence of a confident, caring and supportive staff group”.
They added: “Living conditions were generally very good, the prisoners were very positive about the food and work to deal with complaints or ensure meaningful consultation with prisoners was effective. The promotion of equality and diversity was similarly much improved and based on a good understanding of need and useful consultation.”
Prisoners were granted “very good” opportunities out of their cells, and had good access to the library and gym facilities.
Inspectors also praised the work of staff to support family ties and help reduce the risk of reoffending upon release.
They did note a few things that could be improved upon, however, including suggesting that more work was still needed to improve the quality and outcomes of education and work.
Ofsted found the overall effectiveness of education provision as ‘requires improvement’.
They added that more needed to be done to reduce the availability of illicit substances. Selfharm had also increased since the last inspection, but figures for this “remained comparatively low”.
The report said: “Tragically there had also been one self-inflicted death. Work to reduce self-harm and support those in crisis was very good. The prison’s approach was multidisciplinary, based on evidence and good supervision but, most importantly, afforded men in need of support good quality of care.”
In conclusion, they found that Buckley Hall had got the basics right and showed meaningful attention to detail to support good outcomes for those detained.
They said: “A culture of respect and rehabilitation, led from the top, permeated all aspects of the prison’s work and culture, and was a quality that seemed to be embraced by all departments. Good leadership and a confident and respectful staff had achieved much through hard work, underpinned by an ethos and culture they had created. They should be congratulated.”