Prison
Cat C training prison
Key Concerns Identified
Positive Findings
Dartmoor
IMB Annual Report 2020 · Published 2 December 2020
HMP Dartmoor, a Category C training prison, faces significant challenges due to uncertainty about its 2023 closure, leading to under-investment in infrastructure and impacting staff morale. The COVID-19 pandemic severely restricted the regime, reducing time out of cell and exacerbating mental health issues, despite staff efforts to maintain safety and welfare. Key concerns include inadequate mental health provision, substance misuse, and deficiencies in resettlement support, as Dartmoor is not funded as a dedicated resettlement prison.
Positive Findings
The Board finds that the prison is generally a safe place and works hard to ensure prisoners are treated fairly and humanely. The varied kitchen menu is commended despite staff reductions. CSU staff show professionalism and care, and staff-prisoner relationships are generally good. The Board notes a positive rise in prisoners supporting less physically able peers and commends initiatives for equality and diversity, including plans to resume discrimination incident form quality assurance. The introduction of Purple (video) Visits is welcomed, and the Board congratulates staff on establishing them. Managers are commended for their good work in managing releases. The Board is pleased that the backlog of transfers was beginning to be addressed. The business hub staff are thanked for helping establish a confidential system for prisoner applications. Governors are open and frank in addressing Board concerns, and segregation reviews are conducted well.
Key Concerns
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Continued uncertainty regarding the prison's future closure in 2023, impacting capital investment in infrastructure and staff morale.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Lack of investment in living conditions and basic infrastructure improvements.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Unreliable on-wing telephones and poor privacy shielding, with no in-cell telephony.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
Inadequate resettlement budget and support, as Dartmoor is not funded as a resettlement prison.
Substance Misuse
Repeated
Serious level of substance misuse requiring additional measures and capital investment.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
Delays in repairs to essential laundry equipment, with potential reliance on other prisons and risk of losses.
Mental Health
Prisoners with severe mental health issues spending extensive periods (over 100-140 days) in the Care and Separation Unit (CSU) due to delays in transfers to specialist facilities.
Mental Health
The mental health unit is not adequately resourced or commissioned to provide the full range of services required, especially for the increasing number of younger, violent prisoners with complex needs.
Resettlement/Release
Too many Category D prisoners face a long wait to be transferred to a facility designated as appropriate in their sentence plans.
Board Commentary
Staffing
The continued uncertainty regarding the prison's future closure is negatively impacting staff morale and resilience, exacerbated by increased pressures from regime restrictions. Efforts were made to increase key worker sessions pre-lockdown, but these stopped and are now slowly restarting, with only about 25% of meetings happening again by mid-September. While there has been some progress on staff shortages, occasional impacts on other areas such as observation and the post room are still evident.
Healthcare
Healthcare staff face a challenging environment, particularly with increasing mental health issues and a perceived lack of adequate support structures. The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted service delivery, reducing non-critical care to urgent and emergency only, though the shielding and cohorting strategy was successfully implemented. Dental provision remains a challenge, with routine waiting times extending to 20 weeks. The mental health unit is considered inadequately resourced to meet the needs of the changing prison population, especially given the increase in younger, more violent prisoners with complex behavioral and serious mental health conditions.
Regime & Daily Life
The prison was subject to a severe lockdown due to COVID-19, significantly restricting time out of cell to less than 60 minutes, often reduced to 30 minutes daily, which raised concerns for prisoner mental health. While this time has been extended, previous lack of investment in infrastructure and staff had already led to a shortage of work placements and increased time in cells. All vocational training and most work ceased during lockdown, with only critical services operating. The prison is working to maximize time out of cell by introducing open-air gym sessions and rotating out-of-cell jobs.
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 laundry, clothing, ablutions | 9 | 10 | |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 2 | 2 | — |
| Discipline, including adjudications, IEP, sanctions | 4 | 27 | |
| Equality | 0 | 9 | |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 1 | 24 | |
| Food and kitchens | 2 | 5 | |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 19 | 20 | |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 18 | 60 | |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 0 | 0 | |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 13 | 40 | |
| Property within this establishment | 4 | 22 | |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 14 | 23 | |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 11 | 24 | |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 28 | 50 | |
| Transfers | 9 | 23 |
Recommendations (11)
Ministry of Justice: 2
HMPPS: 3
Governor / Director: 6
6 repeated
Recommendation 1
The planned closure of HMP Dartmoor in 2023 is having a significant impact on prisoners’ experience and staff morale. When will the minister provide clarity on the closure plans for the prison, so that detailed plans can be made for the future of all stakeholders?
Ministry of Justice
Estate
Recommendation 1
Repeated
How will the Prison Service ensure that prisoners are not disadvantaged by the lack of investment in Dartmoor in the lead-up to the proposed closure in 2023?
HMPPS
Estate
Recommendation 1
Repeated
The Board has been told that an equalities officer will be back in post and the equalities action team (EAT) functioning again monthly by November. What practical steps are planned to ramp up support to older and disabled prisoners, and reinstate the prisoner support groups, including the over-50s, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME), and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller groups?
Governor / Director
Equality
Recommendation 2
Will the Minister ask the Prison Service to work with other Government Departments to put in place processes to ensure that prisoners with severe mental health issues do not spend extensive periods in the CSU and are transferred rapidly to facilities better able to care for them?
Ministry of Justice
Mental Health
Recommendation 2
Repeated
There continues to be a serious level of substance misuse at HMP Dartmoor. What additional measures are planned to address this, particularly in the absence of capital investments such as portals and itemisers?
HMPPS
Substance Misuse
Recommendation 2
What planning is under way to support prisoners in the shielding unit through the trauma of eventual unshielding?
Governor / Director
Mental Health
Recommendation 3
The Board understands that it is now planned to bring facilitators to every wing under the Dialogue Road Mapping (DRM) scheme. However, the nature of DRM means that not much is heard about it, except by word of mouth. Can ways be found of raising its profile in the prison?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 4
Repeated
Will the service take steps to ensure that, in the future, prisoners at HMP Dartmoor who are due for release are transferred to a prison with facilities and resources to prepare them properly for their future?
HMPPS
Resettlement
Recommendation 4
Repeated
What further measures can be taken to ensure that body-worn cameras (BWCs) record all use of force incidents within the prison, and that any lessons are taken from the recordings?
Governor / Director
Safety
Recommendation 5
Repeated
What measures can be taken to improve the library service under the current contract, and particularly to reinstate interlibrary loans and a more regular stock refresh?
Governor / Director
Education
Recommendation 6
What more can be done to ensure that in-cell education packs are credited towards prisoner qualifications in the post-Covid-19 world?
Governor / Director
Education
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.