Watchdog accuses the Ministry of Justice over HMP Birmingham crisis
Violence commonplace, prisoners say
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”.
At one point, staff were said to have shrugged when inspectors pointed out that drugs were being smoked.
As Mr Clarke’s findings were revealed, the MoJ confirmed it has taken control of the privatelyrun jail after ministers concluded “drastic action” was required.
VIOLENCE IS rife, staff are even more fearful than prisoners and drug use is routine inside one of the country’s largest prisons, according to an inmate who was released yesterday.
Other prisoners being freed after completing their sentences at HMP Birmingham claimed mobile phones were changing hands inside the jail for around £150.
The Government has taken over the running of the category B facility from private security firm G4S, after the prisons watchdog accused the Ministry of Justice of failing to stop it from slipping into crisis.
The inmate, waiting for a relative to pick him up after being released from a six-week sentence, said: “It’s fair to say most of the prisoners are terrified in there but the screws are even more terrified than the prisoners.
“I’m surprised it has taken so long for the inspectors to do something - there are drugs everywhere. The place is a joke.”
Another man, in his 20s, told reporters: “From what I have seen there are a lot of drugs.
“Drugs have taken over the prison and G4S have just let it happen. The prisoners were in control and it doesn’t feel safe.
“There were a lot of people on my wing that just stayed behind the door because they were scared to come out.”
A third inmate being freed from the jail’s main gate said he believed prisoners had gained more influence since a 15-hour riot in 2016 during which a bunch of keys were taken from a warder and used to unlock cells.
Following the highly unusual Government intervention, a Prison Service 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.
G4S, which has run the jail since October 2011, welcomed the six month “step-in”, saying the well-being and safety of prisoners and staff was 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 the work of 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.”
The Government, which has stressed there will be no additional cost to the taxpayer, says the action was taken following an “extended period” of working with G4S in an attempt to drive up standards at the jail.
Multiple “improvement notices” have been issued this year, according to the MoJ.
It said steps had already been taken to reduce the capacity, rebalance the population and provide additional funding for bodyworn cameras, drug detection equipment and netting.
As the fallout continued, it also emerged that an official investigation concluded that a riot at the prison in 2016 “could and should have been prevented”.
The report on the disturbance, released by the Ministry of Justice under freedom of information rules, said staff had become “worn down” by chronic staffing shortages and had “gradually relinquished authority” to the prisoners who were “in effect policing themselves for much of the time”.
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.”
Downing Street backed G4S to run prisons despite the problems the company had faced in Birmingham, citing its work at other facilities including HMP Oakwood in Staffordshire.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the crisis “shows just how shortsighted the policy is of privatising services”.
However, the Prison Governors Association said it had been “one of the most challenging” in the system for years, irrespective of whether it was run by the private or public sector.
It will be brave prison officers ... picking up the pieces. Steve Gillan, General Secretary of the Prison Officers Association