Birmingham crisis leads to questions of state of prisons

THE HMP Birmingham crisis has prompted fresh questions about the state of jails in England and Wales.

Standards across the prison estate have come under intense scrutiny in recent years amid a slew of highly critical reports and a deterioration in safety measures.

Official figures published last month revealed that assault and self-harm incidents were continuing to rise, both reaching new record highs.

Authorities are also faced with a major task to stem the flow of contraband. In the 12 months to March, there were 13,119 incidents of finding drugs in prisons – a rise of nearly a quarter compared to the previous year.

In particular, new psychoactive substances such as Spice have been described as a “gamechanger” for safety behind bars.

Discoveries of mobile phones and SIM cards are also on the rise, going up by 15 per cent and 13 per cent respectively in 2017/18.

Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke’s intervention on HMP Birmingham is the latest in a line of highly critical assessments.

In his annual report for 2017/18, Mr Clarke warned that staff and inmates have become “inured” to conditions that are unacceptable in 21st century Britain.

He highlighted how thousands of inmates are living in squalid and overcrowded cells, locked up for nearly 24 hours a day.

Over the 12 months, the inspectorate documented some of its most disturbing ever findings.

Inspectors at the rat-infested HMP Liverpool could not recall encountering worse conditions, HMP Nottingham was found to be “fundamentally unsafe” and the iconic Wormwood Scrubs had seemingly “intractable” problems. HMP Birmingham has come under scrutiny after Mr Clarke decided to invoke the “urgent notification” process to demand Government action.

It is the third time he has used the scheme since it was introduced in November last year.

While the chief inspector’s latest call for action relates to a privately-run establishment, his previous urgent notifications followed inspections at two stateoperated jails, HMP Nottingham and HMP Exeter.

Ministers have announced a host of measures aimed at bolstering security, improving conditions and reducing the chances of prisoners re-offending after they are released.

In the latest scheme, £10 million has been earmarked to tackle drugs, mobile phones and poor conditions at 10 struggling jails.