Ministers urged to widen work initiative pioneered at city jail

THE GOVERNMENT has been urged to introduce tactics employed in a Yorkshire prison which has seen inmates recruited to carry out maintenance work to instil personal pride and stem the flow of illegal drugs into the jail.

The number of prisoners developing a drug problem in custody has more than doubled in the last five years, according to research by the think tank, Reform.

The study found 14.8 per cent of inmates developed a drug problem while in prison in 2018/19 – up from 6.4 per cent in 2013/14.

The think-tank said much of the prison estate is not equipped to disrupt drug supply and security standards vary from prison to prison.

Its report, The Prison System: Priorities for Spending, warns that while a one-off pledge of £100m made by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last summer could significantly improve security, long-term spending on staffing as well as new equipment will be required.

Among its six recommendations are devolving a portion of the facilities management budget to prison governors, allowing minor maintenance problems to be addressed more quickly.

Report author Aidan ShilsonThomas points to the example of HMP Leeds, where staff and prisoners work in collaboration to complete minor facilities tasks.

Following his latest inspection of the Category B prison, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Peter Clarke, highlighted the approach as an example of good practice.

He wrote: “They clearly took great pride in their work, and their impact was very impressive when the small size of the unit was taken into account.”

Despite the jail dating from the Victorian era and being one of the most overcrowded in the country, he found the prison – known locally as Armley – was generally clean and most cells were in a reasonable condition.

But levels of violence were deemed to be “far too high” and about a third of prisoners tested positive for drugs during random testing.

In August 2018, Leeds was named as one of 10 troubled prisons that would benefit from a £10m blitz on drugs and violence.

Measures which were funded included drug-detection dogs, body scanners and improved perimeter defences.

Reform’s report said the Government should now focus on four priorities if it is to address issues such as rising numbers of assaults on staff and prisoners, increasing rates of self-harm and drug use in prisons.

Those priorities are more effective sentencing policies, creating a fit-for-purpose prison estate, improving prison safety, and developing the workforce.

The think-tank argues that current sentencing policy is counter-intuitive, with the continued use of short-term jail sentences contributing to a de-stabilising churn and overcrowding in the prison population.

Mr Shilson-Thomas said: “There must always be a place in prison for those who commit serious crimes. However, prison must also be an opportunity for inmates to change their behaviour.”

He added: “Failing to act will mean poorer social outcomes, more re-offending and ultimately huge costs to the taxpayer.”

The Ministry of Justice admitted that illegal drugs “pose huge challenges in our prisons”, but a spokesman said £2.75bn is being invested to make jails “safer for offenders and staff ”.

They clearly took great pride in their work. Chief Inspector of Prisons, Peter Clarke.