Revealed: New fears at dire state of Welsh jails
AFRIGHTENING picture of overcrowding, squalid conditions and a daily diet of violence and self-harm inside Wales’ jails has been laid bare in a new study of reports issued by the prison system.
Analysis of a year’s worth of reports and data undertaken as part of a WalesOnline investigation lays bare serious failures in a system described as “fetid” by critics.
Among the details to emerge include a multitude of prison staff being physically abused by inmates, a record number of assaults being suffered by inmates, thousands of cases of self-harm, and incidents of kidnapping and hostage-taking inside jails.
The 3,106 incidents of self-harm that took place inside Welsh prisons over the 12 months prior to March this year equates to 250 a month – or eight every day
Research by academics at Cardiff University revealed that despite HMP Parc, in Bridgend, holding just 2% of the prison population, it accounted for 9.3% of all prison disturbances in 2018.
Carwyn Jones AM, whose constituency includes Parc, said: “I remember when Parc Prison first opened and it had a very difficult birth, with many in the local community sceptical.
“Over the years it won the confidence of the local population. However, figures like these are very concerning. The prison has many dedicated staff and it is essential that the management at the prison deal with these issues.”
Prisoners in Wales added an extra 39 years to their sentences and spent 28 years in solitary confinement due to bad behaviour last year.
Possession of drugs and unauthorised items, such as mobile phones, were one of the key reasons for the rise. This resulted in prisoners having 14,311 days added to their sentence in 2018 – a huge cost to the taxpayer.
THE dire circumstances inside Welsh prisons has been laid bare in damning new figures. Decades added to sentences, thousands of self-harming incidents and conditions too crowded for all the inmates to shower are just some of the findings.
An examination of 12 months of reports and data reveals the utter failure of a system which critics have described as “fetid”.
In July the Ministry of Justice released figures which showed there were at least 113 serious assaults resulting in injuries against staff in 2018.
That is up from 106 in 2017 and 93 in 2016, when comparable records began.
At Parc Prison there were 21 instances where staff were bitten, 26 black eyes and 24 injuries that were so bad they needed stitches.
Eight fractured bones were recorded at Berwyn Prison, seven cuts needed stitches and there were nine instances of bad bruising against staff.
At Cardiff Prison staff were given 10 black eyes and eight bad bruises.
These figures look small when compared to violence inmates inflict on each other.
There were a total of 1,640 assaults recorded across prisons in Wales in 2018, yet again the highest
number since modern records began.
Disturbances are becoming increasingly common. A recent Cardiff University study found that despite holding just 2% of the total prison population in England and Wales, 9.3% of all prison disturbances were recorded at HMP Parc in 2018.
Carwyn Jones AM, whose constituency includes Parc, said: “I remember when Parc Prison first opened and it had a very difficult birth, with many in the local community sceptical.
“Over the years it won the confidence of the local population. However, figures like these are very concerning. The prison has many dedicated staff and it is essential that the management at the prison deal with these issues.”
At Cardiff Prison, there were seven incidents in 2017 where barricades were used by prisoners and one where a someone was taken hostage.
Another shocking statistic reveals the degree to which prisoners are prepared to harm themselves.
There were 3,016 occasions when inmates harmed themselves in Welsh jails in the 12 months to March this year. That equates to 250 incidents a day.
Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Every nine minutes, someone in prison hurts themselves.
“This is a truly shocking statistic. That’s compared to at least 2,576 in the previous 12 months.”
The issue of self-harm can be a complicated one to measure, as some of these issues could have been in place long before the people were behind bars.
Madeleine Moon is the MP for Bridgend where Parc Prison is located.
She said: “I work very closely with Parc Prison and follow up inspection reports with management there.
“Together we have arranged for Swansea University to conduct research into self-harm issues within the prison estate to identify improved ways of addressing a problem that had been identified.
“I’m have always been impressed with the unique work staff do at Parc with families, ex-military and opening educational opportunities. I will meet with the director of the prison to discuss the Cardiff University study.”
In December last year it was revealed that nearly a quarter of inmates at Cardiff Prison aren’t allowed a daily shower.
The Howard League report revealed that just 77% of prisoners in Cardiff Prison were allowed to shower every day in 2016.
Apart from the physical and mental toll the conditions in our prisons are taking on inmates, they are also taking extra time out of their lives.
Prisoners in Wales added an extra 39 years to their sentences and spent 28 years in solitary confinement due to bad behaviour last year.
Possession of drugs and unauthorised items, such as mobile phones, were one of the key reasons for the rise.
This resulted in prisoners having 14,311 days added to their sentence in 2018 – a huge cost to the taxpayer.
When approached for comment, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “Too many people self-harm and take their own lives in prisons across England and Wales and we are taking action to stop it.
“We have invested £70m in improving security and conditions, and recruited more than 4,700 new prison officers so every inmate can have a dedicated officer for support.
“We’ve also given the Samaritans £1.5m over three years, trained more than 24,000 staff in mental health awareness, and improved support for anyone at risk of suicide or self-harm.”