Prison
Cat C Training Prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Dartmoor
IMB Annual Report 2023 · Published 21 December 2023
HMP Dartmoor, a Category C training prison, experienced significant overcrowding during the reporting year, with 682 prisoners held against a capacity of 640. This led to serious concerns about humane treatment, purposeful activity, and stretched resources. Critical staffing shortages across healthcare, education, and general duties, exacerbated by recruitment freezes and lack of investment, impacted regime delivery and prisoner welfare. The Board also highlighted ongoing issues with infrastructure, support for vulnerable prisoners, and a lack of confidence in the complaints system, many of which are repeated from previous reports.
Positive Findings
The Board commends prison staff for ensuring suitable provision for the 95 prisoners released directly into the community. Progress has been made in using CSIPs and Safer Custody Reps are engaging more with self-isolators. The Peaceful Solutions scheme and Listeners continue to play a valuable role. Shower refurbishments are welcomed, along with the commitment to diversity and inclusion from the Governor and Leadership Team, including the formation of prisoner-led forums. The Chaplaincy team delivers a first-class service, and the E wing enhanced facility works well. Dental and physiotherapy backlogs have been significantly reduced, and the Mental Health team offers a wide range of initiatives. The gym provides a consistent level of satisfaction, and the substance misuse service meets most targets. Education courses and teachers are highly rated by prisoners, with success stories like certificate award ceremonies. Areas like braille, desktop publishing, concrete workshop, and Storybook Dads are functioning very well.
Key Concerns
Overcrowding
Repeated
The decision by HMPPS to order cell doubling up to accommodate an additional 49 prisoners in already cramped pre-Victorian aged cells has resulted in HMP Dartmoor scoring poorly against the guidelines in the appendix of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ‘Living Space per Prisoner in Prison Establishment’ standards. The IMB considers, under the guise of ‘sustainable overcrowding’, it is neither sustainable, humane, fair or safe and has, arguably, made HMP Dartmoor not fit for purpose.
Staffing
The lack of provision of a matching increase in support services – healthcare, education, training, industries staff – means that all prisoners are negatively impacted by the increase in population.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Given the relatively older age of the Dartmoor prisoner population, the long sentences many are serving and the already inadequate number of work, training and education places, the situation has been made worse because of the overcrowding with a greater proportion of the population having little purposeful activity.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The lack of any catch-up investment to put things back where they need to be for an adequate prisoner experience. Budgets are impacting on Dartmoor’s ability to move towards adequate employment and rehabilitation activities, and plans for essential investments including in-cell telephony, updates to body worn cameras and for a working television system are all severely degrading the prisoner experience. Also includes damp and leaking cells and corridors, and an infestation of rodents.
Healthcare
During the monitoring year the delay in the transfer of contracts for healthcare in the prison, and the consequent delay in consultation and agreement to the new staffing model, created a nine-month freeze on recruitment for a number of key posts in an already challenged service. As a result, there have not been enough staff to provide a full service, and the departments have had to reduce their functions, prioritising essential activities and reducing or discontinuing others.
Healthcare
Repeated
The continued delay in the publication of a national Ageing Population Strategy is a major concern to the Board. Specific concerns at HMP Dartmoor include: The difficulties and delay in putting in place care for prisoners requiring non-working day support for non-emergency situations e.g., falls off beds and problems with patient support equipment. Access to cells not wide enough for wheelchairs. The support offered for prisoners with catheters overnight and at weekends; prisoners with increasing issues relating to dementia. The number of complex needs patients and hospital admissions that result in long-term bed-watches. The practical difficulty of supporting prisoners when near end-of-life, or with chronic or social conditions requiring 24 hours care. The physical environment at Dartmoor is not appropriate to care for patients who require enhanced 24-hour care/social care and it does not meet their needs.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
There is still no confidence in the discrimination incident reporting form (DIRF) system. Prisoners feared personal come back if they raise issues. The complaint responses continue to be inconsistent in detail and quality, with some discrimination complaints not being treated as DIRFs.
Equality/Diversity
It is the view of the Board that there is poor support provision for Foreign National Prisoners in Dartmoor.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The increase in prisoner numbers has not been matched by an increase in staff and support services, negatively impacting all prisoners. Staffing shortages lead to prisoners being confined for unacceptable periods, especially at weekends, and restrict officers' time for key working and other essential activities. The healthcare department faced a nine-month recruitment freeze, resulting in critical staffing levels and the Head of Healthcare undertaking clinical duties. Pharmacy relies on temporary staff, causing dispensing delays. Staff availability is the biggest factor impacting regime provision, with officers on detached duties reducing local availability. The substance misuse unit and education department operate with significant staffing shortages, exacerbated by recruitment challenges and lengthy vetting processes for new staff.
Healthcare
Healthcare services at Dartmoor experienced major change and pressure, with a nine-month delay in contract transfer leading to a freeze on recruitment for key roles. This has resulted in critical staffing levels, reduced services, and the Head of Healthcare frequently having to undertake clinical duties in addition to managerial tasks. Staffing posts remain unfilled, leading to slower medicine dispensing, longer response times, cancelled clinics, and limited health promotion. A major concern is the inadequate support for older, infirm, and complex needs prisoners, with the physical environment deemed unsuitable for 24-hour enhanced care. Issues include medication discrepancies, delays in patient requests, and patients being discharged without warning or sufficient medication. Social care provision for nine prisoners by the Oxleas nursing team is restricted after 6pm and due to regime pressures, and Buddies' ability to assist vulnerable prisoners is sometimes curtailed by staff changes.
Regime & Daily Life
The decision to double up 49 cells has resulted in cramped, inhumane conditions, which the IMB believes makes Dartmoor not fit for purpose. This overcrowding, coupled with an already inadequate number of work, training, and education places, means a greater proportion of the population has little purposeful activity. Staffing shortages frequently lead to prisoners being confined for unacceptable periods, particularly at weekends, and limit officers' time for key working. The Board remains concerned about the amount of time prisoners are locked up, noting inconsistencies across wings and late unlockings. In-cell telephony is delayed, and the existing television service is poor. These factors collectively degrade the prisoner experience, undermining efforts towards rehabilitation and purposeful activity.
Applications to the IMB
Prisoners can apply to their IMB about any aspect of their treatment. This table shows application counts by category.
| Category | Current | Previous | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (including transfers) | 40 | 5 | |
| Adjudications | 1 | 0 | |
| Dental | 5 | 3 | |
| Discrimination, Race Relations, Diversity | 23 | 11 | |
| Education and training | 6 | 4 | |
| Family ties | 1 | 1 | — |
| Food | 10 | 2 | |
| Healthcare | 27 | 9 | |
| Mental Health | 3 | 1 | |
| Money, Release, Benefits | 16 | 17 | |
| Other (including legal) | 19 | 18 | |
| Pay | 0 | 0 | |
| Property | 19 | 11 | |
| Purposeful activity | 14 | 8 | |
| Respect | 14 | 27 | |
| Security (including Incentives and Earned Privileges) | 1 | 2 | |
| Segregation | 1 | 1 | — |
| Substance Misuse | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 207 | 135 | |
| Visits | 4 | 3 | |
| Work | 2 | 2 | — |
Recommendations (13)
Ministry of Justice: 3
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 6
NHS / Healthcare Provider: 1
6 repeated
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Currently 98 prisoners at HMP Dartmoor are being held in shared, cramped cells lacking furniture, originally designed to accommodate one person. The Independent Monitoring Board regards this as inhumane, unjust and unsustainable. For how long will the prison be asked to accommodate prisoners in these single cells, and can the Minister provide any assurance that there will be no further call on the Prison Service to accommodate more prisoners in doubling up?
Ministry of Justice
Overcrowding
Recommendation 1
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The increase in the population at HMP Dartmoor has not led to a matching increase in staff and support services. This has led to key weaknesses in purposeful activity, as identified in the recent HMIP report. While 65% of in-scope prisoners are in work/education, not all roles are full-time, many being half-time or part-time. As a result, only 41% of the residents are off the wings attending education or work. What steps will the Prison Service take to enable Dartmoor to improve capacity and capability to offer meaningful purposeful activity?
HMPPS
Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 1
Can the implementation of the Action Plan, and the monthly progress reports issued as a result of the recent report into the prison by HMIP Inspectors be shared regularly with the IMB?
Governor / Director
Transparency
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Will any extra funding be provided to the Prison Service in the next financial year to enable prisons to hire additional staff and provide adequate services so that all prisoners can be offered meaningful and purposeful activity which it is not possible to provide with increased prisoner numbers under the current budgets.
Ministry of Justice
Staffing/Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 2
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
Because of the increase in prisoner numbers and despite some progress in the last reporting year, there remain areas in HMP Dartmoor which are below acceptable standards. This includes the infrastructure to ensure a proper TV service, damp and leaking cells and corridors, and an infestation of rodents. When will a reprofiling and a new budget to tackle these issues across all areas be announced?
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 2
What representations have the Senior Management Team made about the effects that having to provide an additional 49 places in the prison are having on staff and prisoners, as well as facilities, and the ability to provide an adequate level of service and care?
Governor / Director
Overcrowding/Advocacy
Recommendation 3
At the end of the reporting year HMP Dartmoor had 19 prisoners over tariff and serving indeterminate imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentences and 18 prisoners have been subject to IPP recall. When will the actions promised in Action Plan responding to the JSC report into IPP to provide a broad range of work streams aimed at progression towards a safe and sustainable release, be implemented?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement/IPP
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
The HMPPS’s Ageing Population Strategy was due to be published this year. Given the high proportion of older prisoners in HMP Dartmoor, when will this Strategy be published and when will initiatives to help older prisoners be announced?
HMPPS
Equality/Healthcare
Recommendation 3
Repeated
Prev. unaddressed
What progress has been made in relation to prisoner confidence in the discrimination incident reporting form (DIRF) and complaints processes (1, 1A and 2). When will the Quality Assurance of responses be in place and the online training course be rolled out to all staff?
Governor / Director
Complaints/Equality
Recommendation 4
The commitment by the new healthcare provider, Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust, to provide overnight care at a category C prison in Devon - which will be a pathway available to prisoners at HMP Dartmoor - has not yet materialised. What is the progress on this initiative and when will it be introduced?
NHS / Healthcare Provider
Healthcare
Recommendation 4
The Two Bridges facility is now available from time to time but is usually closed due to staffing issues and the lack of a staff member from Weston College. Is there any progress on filling that vacancy on a permanent basis and providing this valuable facility on a regular and reliable basis, or at least providing another similar facility in the prison?
Governor / Director
Education/Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 5
What more can be done to ensure that Foreign National Prisoners, some of whom have little or no English, have access to notices and information provided in their own language(s)?
Governor / Director
Equality
Recommendation 6
What measures will be put in place to ensure that all incidents of prisoners being found under the influence of either drugs or alcohol are recorded effectively and the relevant departments are informed as soon as an incident is discovered?
Governor / Director
Substance Misuse/Safety
Other IMB Reports for Dartmoor
HMIP Inspections
Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for this establishment.
19 Jun 2023
Unannounced
Safety: 3
Respect: 2
Activity: 1
Release: 3
PPO Fatal Incidents
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman fatal incident investigations for this establishment.
Prevention of Future Deaths Reports
Coroner PFD reports issued to this establishment.