Prison
Cat C
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Dartmoor
IMB Annual Report 2022 · Published 6 January 2023
HMP Dartmoor continues to suffer from underinvestment, management instability, and a slow recovery from Covid restrictions, leading to extensive lockups and a sub-optimal rehabilitative regime. While some aspects of healthcare are commendable, the prison struggles to meet the complex needs of its older and chronically ill population due to environmental and contractual limitations. Staffing shortages and issues with key working persist, alongside concerns about safety, bullying, and the effectiveness of equality and diversity mechanisms.
Positive Findings
The Board commends the management and officers for their commitment in limiting Covid-19 infections, and the current focus on improving regimes and key worker sessions. Healthcare provision is generally of a good standard, and successful resettlement initiatives, including resettlement boards and a new employment hub, are welcomed. The Care and Separation Unit (CSU) team is praised for their kindness and empathy. Regular meetings for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic prisoners are now established, and the chaplaincy provides appreciated faith and pastoral support, including enabling live streaming of funerals.
Key Concerns
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The lack of recovery from the protracted threat of closure and consequential uncertainties and lack of investment, impacting prisoner experience and staff morale, and hindering essential upgrades to infrastructure and facilities.
Staffing
A lack of management stability and a fully functioning senior leadership team (SLT) throughout most of the reporting year, making it almost impossible to maintain consistent focus and direction on prisoner wellbeing and rehabilitation.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The continuing impact of the very slow recovery towards a normal regime since Covid restrictions were removed, leading to extensive lockup times and significant restrictions on activities, education, and association.
Safety
The prison is significantly less safe than last year, with reported increases in prisoner-on-prisoner bullying, older prisoners being threatened, and prisoners with sexual offences feeling unsafe.
Safety
Repeated
Ineffective and obsolescent body-worn video cameras (BWVCs) leading to incidents going unrecorded and removing important safeguards for both prisoners and staff, hindering incident monitoring and staff training.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Prisoners have been treated neither fairly nor humanely due to excessively long lockup times and reduced access to activities, education, family communications, showers, and association across the year.
Healthcare
Inadequate healthcare provision for a significant proportion of older, chronically sick prisoners with acute and special needs, compounded by an unsuitable physical environment (e.g., no wheelchair access) and a healthcare contract that does not cover 24-hour care.
Resettlement/Release
HMP Dartmoor is not adequately funded to provide the full range of courses and support necessary for successful resettlement, disadvantaging prisoners compared to designated resettlement prisons.
Staffing
Repeated
Persistent staffing shortages across all grades, including operational, non-operational, kitchens, industries, and healthcare, impacting prisoner-staff contact and the delivery of activities.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Lack of investment in buildings and equipment, such as a non-functioning central laundry and broken carpentry machines, resulting in a shortage of work placements for prisoners and increased time in cells.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
Very few key work sessions have been carried out during the reporting year, despite lockdown restrictions being relaxed, removing an important lifeline for prisoner support and rehabilitation.
Equality/Diversity
Repeated
Inadequate support for diversity and inclusion, with prisoner-led forums not fully re-established and the discrimination incident reporting form (DIRF) process lacking prisoner confidence and consistency in its application and follow-up.
Equality/Diversity
A lack of systemic understanding or planning for the needs of disabled and older prisoners, leading to reactive support and negative impacts on the welfare of all prisoners due to unplanned bed watches.
Healthcare
Dental provision and waiting times remain a significant challenge, with waits extending up to three years, which the Board notes as a concern despite reflecting the situation in the broader community.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The prison faces significant staffing issues, including persistent gaps at many levels, particularly in non-operational grades, kitchens, industries, and healthcare. High numbers of bed watches, due to the prisoner age profile, frequently draw officers away from wings, impacting the overall regime. There is a lack of management stability, with frequent changes in senior leadership and wing management, contributing to low morale among junior staff and reducing vital prisoner-staff contact. Experienced staff are also being detached to other establishments, further exacerbating shortages.
Healthcare
Healthcare provision is largely professional and timely, deemed equivalent to community standards for many prisoners. However, there are significant concerns regarding the care for a high proportion of older, chronically sick prisoners with complex needs, including those with mobility issues or requiring end-of-life care. The physical environment is unsuitable for wheelchair access and specialist equipment, and the healthcare contract does not cover 24-hour care. Staffing shortages in primary care persist due to national recruitment difficulties and contract uncertainties, impacting service continuity. Dental waiting times remain a major challenge, with waits extending up to three years.
Regime & Daily Life
The regime has been severely impacted by a slow recovery from Covid restrictions, with prisoners experiencing extensive lockup times, often up to 23 hours, for much of the reporting year. This has led to reduced access to activities, education, family communications, showers, and association, which the Board deems inhumane. Key working has only minimally restarted, and important on-wing association activities at weekends are still not fully available across all wings, preventing the prison from fulfilling its core role as a Category C training prison.
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 | 5 | 10 | |
| Property lost in transit to prison | 19 | — | |
| Property lost within prison | 11 | 6 | |
| Staff-prisoner relationships (including bullying) | 40 | — |
Recommendations (15)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 9
Governor / Director: 4
Recommendation 1
What reassurance can the Minister offer that prisoners currently in Dartmoor will not be further harmed or discriminated against, compared with other prisoners elsewhere in the national prison estate, due to a lack of staff and a failure to invest in the infrastructure, security, kitchens, laundry, in-cell telephony, TV systems, new showers and other equipment?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 2
HMP Dartmoor still had nine prisoners over tariff and serving indeterminate sentences for public protection (IPP) at the end of the reporting year and a further 22 have been subject to IPP recall. What changes are in the pipeline for these individuals? How will their release be achieved and how will they be supported on release, so that they do not endlessly return to prison under recall?
Ministry of Justice
Resettlement
Recommendation 3
What specific actions are planned to enable Dartmoor to achieve the same basic standards achieved in most other prisons so that prisoners are not disadvantaged compared to the rest of the estate? Will this include funding next year for in-cell telephony, BWVC, replacement showers on all wings, new TV infrastructure, central laundry facilities, and fixes to damp/leaking buildings?
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 4
When is the prison going to receive the funding necessary to help return towards fuller prisoner employment and what new activities/industries are planned?
HMPPS
Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 5
If staff reprofiling is scheduled, when is it due to be completed and will the reprofiling recognise the increased bed watches and hospital visits that Dartmoor has due to its prisoner age profile?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 6
Will Dartmoor continue both as a category C training prison and one that releases a significant number of prisoners each year? If so, what additional funding will be made available to support the full range of resettlement activities not currently available to stop prisoners being disadvantaged?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 7
What steps will the Prison Service take to support the new senior leadership team at Dartmoor by suggesting best practice from other prisons in areas such as resettlement, diversity and inclusion, and the care of prisoners with special needs?
HMPPS
Staffing
Recommendation 8
Does the Prison Service consider long-term, part-time work as an acceptable long-term solution to prisoner underemployment within Dartmoor, and what guidance is available based on experiences learned elsewhere in implementing this at other prisons?
HMPPS
Purposeful Activity
Recommendation 9
When will the older prisoners strategy be published and what practical assistance and pathways will be provided for Dartmoor prisoners in 2023 because of this?
HMPPS
Healthcare
Recommendation 10
What is the path for Dartmoor prisoners who require 24-hour health or social care support, or other special equipment or support that Dartmoor is unable to provide?
HMPPS
Healthcare
Recommendation 11
Can the Prison Service advise on what HMPPS considers as reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act, in the light of previous experience across the prison estate? What help is available, including funding, to enable Dartmoor to make these adjustments in 2023?
HMPPS
Equality
Recommendation 12
With the appointment of the new head of business assurance, will the Governor continue to track and report on the implementation of the recommendations from the IMB, HMIP and other report recommendations?
Governor / Director
Oversight
Recommendation 13
Given the perceived lack of prisoner confidence in discrimination incident reporting form (DIRF) and complaints processes (1, 1A and 2), what steps will be taken to strengthen and quality assure them to rebuild confidence?
Governor / Director
Complaints
Recommendation 14
Can the prison explain clearly to staff and prisoners what the purpose is of a challenge, support and intervention plan (CSIP), how to refer on to it, what the prisoner can expect to get from it and what completion looks like?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 15
What can be done to hasten the reopening of the Two Bridges facility to provide for older prisoners and/or prisoners with special needs?
Governor / Director
Estate
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.