Prisoners line cells with cardboard to stay warm
SOME SEX OFFENDER INMATES BELIEVE THEY ARE HARSHLY TREATED
A NEW report has provided a glimpse into life at a Nottinghamshire prison housing hundreds of dangerous sex offenders.
Whatton Prison, in the village near Bingham, holds around 850 male prisoners who have all been convicted of sex offences.
More than 80 percent of the prison’s population have been assessed as presenting a high or very high risk of harm to others, with many serving long or indeterminate sentences for appalling crimes.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons has now published details on what life is like inside the specialist facility, after its chief inspector made an unannounced visit in January this year.
The prison has a strict “punitive approach” to bad behaviour and too often confined prisoners to their cells, the inspector explained. Those housed in the B wing of the complex live in poor conditions, with very cramped cells and toilets next to beds.
Black mould grows on the poorly ventilated cell walls in this part of the prison and its inhabitants have been forced to line walls with cardboard to keep warm. A lacking medication supply has also led to bullying and illicit trading, which the inspector said posed safety risks.
Relationships between prisoners and staff are generally good inside the prison, the inspectorate found, but some inmates felt they were being harshly punished because of
the sexual offence they had committed. Self-harm was more common in HMP Whatton than at comparative prisons, with levels rising in the last two years. While those who frequently self-harmed received some good support, others who hurt themselves less often did not get enough care. Whatton was assessed as a safe prison as levels of violence were below the average at similar jails. There were 43 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and 14 assaults on staff in the year leading up to the inspection, although few of these were classified as serious.
Whatton was described by the inspector as a “national resource to support prisoners in progressing with their sentences, reducing their risk and preparing them for eventual release” – but staff were not trained to understand different types of offences committed by prisoners and how to reduce risk. Many prisoners had low levels of literacy and numeracy and were in need of support, but provision was limited.
The inspector said it was “disappointing” that, due to a shortage of trained staff, not enough accredited programmes to support offenders were being delivered. In the recently published inspection report, Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said: “There are many positives to build on at Whatton and it has the potential to be a thriving prison, but leaders need to address some of the punitive treatment of prisoners that has entered the culture and focus more on promoting the many incentives that the jail can offer.”