Government blamed for ‘shocking’ prison crisis
THE prisons watchdog has accused the Ministry of Justice of failing to stop one of the country’s largest prisons slipping into crisis.
Peter Clarke suggested “somebody must have been asleep at the wheel” for conditions at HMP Birmingham to deteriorate so drastically.
Mr Clarke, the chief inspector of prisons, lamented “institutional inertia” as he published a devastating assessment of the jail.
His report said staff were found asleep or locked in offices during an inspection that uncovered “appalling” squalor and violence.
Some inmates were so frightened they reported feeling unsafe behind locked cell doors – while violent prisoners could act with “near impunity”.
Many staff felt fearful and unsafe after a number of incidents, including an arson attack that destroyed nine vehicles in a car park.
Mr Clarke’s inspection team found blatant use of illegal substances went largely unchallenged amid a “looming lack of control”.
As Mr Clarke’s findings were revealed, the MoJ confirmed it has taken control of the privately-run jail after ministers concluded “drastic action” was required.
The chief inspector said: “There are Ministry of Justice officials on-site permanently, and yet somehow there seems to have been some sort of institutional inertia that has allowed this prison to deteriorate to this completely unacceptable state.”
Asked whether the MoJ had failed, Mr Clarke told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think that’s the only reasonable conclusion you can come to.”
He added: “It cannot be the case that the only time urgent action is taken to restore decency in a prison is when an inspection report is published, surely somebody must have been asleep at the wheel?”
From yesterday HM Prison and Probation Service took over the running of the jail from G4S for an initial six-month period.
Following the highly unusual intervention, an HMPPS governor has taken charge, an initial 30 extra officers are to be deployed to bolster staffing levels, and the jail’s capacity is being reduced by 300 places.
Acknowledging that it was a “shocking” situation, Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said: “This is partly the responsibility of me as the Prisons Minister, of the Government and also of G4S, which is why we’ve taken the step of moving in, bringing in our own management team and reducing the prisoners.”
He told the Today programme that the takeover announced yesterday followed negotiations with G4S through last week.
Mr Stewart added: “That comes on the end of an enormous amount of work that we’ve done over the last few months.”
G4S, which has run the jail since October 2011, welcomed the sixmonth “step-in”, saying the wellbeing and safety of prisoners and staff is its key priority.
The firm said the prison faces “exceptional challenges” including “increasingly high levels of prisoner violence towards staff and fellow prisoners”.
Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said the announcement is “no reflection” on its members at Birmingham and across England and Wales.
He said: “They have been placed in an unacceptable position by failed Government policies and now once again it will be brave prison officers and related grades picking up the pieces.”
Built in 1849, HMP Birmingham is a Category B facility for adult male inmates and had a population of 1,269 at the end of last month.