Thameside

The Board has concerns regarding assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) documentation and prisoners’ lack of access to confidential face-to-face support, such as that provided by the Samaritans.

The increase in violence over the reporting year is a concern, although the Board is aware that steps are being taken to address this.

Concerns regarding the frequent breakdown of lifts and CMS equipment, both of which impact negatively on the daily lives of prisoners.

Inadequate management of some areas results in unfairness, such as property and the administration of the incentives policy, causing much frustration for prisoners.

The Board remains very concerned regarding the provision of healthcare in the prison. It is disappointing that, one year on from the new healthcare provider taking up the contract, there are still significant issues with staffing, medication management and the administrative systems that deal with prisoners’ complaints and the management of meetings. The Board would also like to see more structured interventions and therapeutic activities for patients in the inpatient unit (IPU).

The Board remains concerned about the lengthy delays in transferring mentally ill prisoners to a secure hospital setting. This reporting year’s delays are much longer than last year.

It is disappointing that recruitment issues have continued to impact negatively on education provision.

The departments covering resettlement areas, such as probation, housing and employment, are understaffed and can only offer a limited service. There is little support for remand prisoners.

We continue to be concerned regarding the number of prisoners released with no stable accommodation.

The period of time that remand prisoners spend in custody pending their court appearances remains lengthy.

Data showed a disproportionate number of UoF incidents involving black prisoners. The IMB has monitored the ethnicities of prisoners subject to adjudications and found a disproportionately higher number of black/mixed race prisoners, compared with white prisoners - a situation that has remained stubbornly unchanged for a number of years.

Recommendation 1 Repeated Prev. unaddressed

The Board would like the new Minister to look at the continued lengthy delays in transferring mentally ill patients from a custodial setting to a secure hospital setting, an issue highlighted by this Board and the majority of other IMBs across the country for several years. In the Board’s view, these delays are not only inhumane for the patients involved (and possibly contravene the UK’s commitment to OPCAT) but also cause a number of problems, such as bed blocking for inpatient units in the prison setting. This reporting year’s delays are much longer than last year, despite the (previous) Minister’s assurance that the continued delays were being tackled.

Ministry of Justice Mental Health

Recommendation 2 Repeated Prev. unaddressed

The lack of adequate probation support, both for prisoners about to be released and in the community once they are released, is one highlighted by this Board and other Boards for a number of years. It is widely accepted that such support reduces recidivism. Will the new Minister consider: o an increase in the probation support available for prisoners; and o an increase in community sentences as an alternative to some custodial sentences? Both the above would help tackle the ‘revolving door’ syndrome so often seen across the prison estate, as well as relieving the increasing population pressures on prisons.

Ministry of Justice Resettlement

Recommendation 3 Repeated Prev. unaddressed

The Board remains concerned about the high number of prisoners being released homeless. Will the Minister liaise with other government departments responsible for housing and local authorities to develop a coordinated plan to tackle this problem, which currently contributes to the ‘revolving door’ syndrome mentioned above?

Ministry of Justice Resettlement

Recommendation 4

The period of time that remand prisoners spend in custody pending their court appearances remains lengthy. The Board urges HMPPS to develop a strategy for dealing with remand prisoners, including providing support and advice for them on entry to prison, as well as tackling the increasing backlog of court cases waiting to be heard.

HMPPS Regime

Recommendation 5

In addition to the above, there needs to be better coordination between organisations within the criminal justice system (such as courts, probation, etc) to minimise delays in releases.

HMPPS Resettlement

Recommendation 6 Repeated Prev. unaddressed

In conjunction with the Minister, will HMPPS address the acute understaffing of probation teams, which currently negatively impacts prisoners about to be released and those newly released in the community. The lack of adequate probation support contributes significantly to the difficulties prisoners face on release and increases the chances of them returning to prison.

HMPPS Staffing

Recommendation 7 Repeated

The Board has concerns about how some ACCT documents are being completed, especially the lack of healthcare attendance at first case reviews (FCRs) in over half of the audited documents seen.

Governor / Director Safety

Recommendation 8 Repeated Prev. unaddressed

Internal property issues have bedevilled HMP Thameside for a considerable number of years and are the cause of much frustration for prisoners, as well as making unnecessary demands on staff time when agreed processes are not followed through. The Board urges the Director to make this a priority over the next year.

Governor / Director Complaints

Recommendation 9 Repeated

The Board would welcome more robust accountability of processes that continue to affect prisoners’ lives on a day-to-day basis, such as property and the incentives scheme process, as this plays a significant part in reducing prisoner perception of unfairness, causing frustration and sometimes leading to acts of violence or self-harm.

Governor / Director Regime

Recommendation 10 Repeated Prev. unaddressed

While we acknowledge the current plans to ensure the houseblock lifts are repaired promptly, the lifts in the education block and chaplaincy building have not been prioritised during the reporting year. This has resulted in no access to these areas for some prisoners with mobility issues. How will the Director ensure that these prisoners are not excluded from using these buildings while repairs/refurbishment are being carried out?

Governor / Director Estate

Recommendation 11 Repeated Prev. unaddressed

The Board also appreciates the work being carried out on the decency project, but would like to see a robust plan to ensure that future repairs or replacements to in-cell CMS can be carried out in a more timely fashion.

Governor / Director Estate

Recommendation 12

Can the Director review the procedure for adding PIN numbers to prisoner accounts? There is often quite a delay due to the administrative process of only verifying these numbers during office hours, therefore causing much frustration to newly arrived prisoners.

Governor / Director Regime

Recommendation 13 Repeated Prev. unaddressed

The Board welcomes the ability of its members to have access to the Serco IT system, which is essential in enabling us to carry out our duties effectively. However, it continues to be frustrated by the delays and hiccups it experiences when arranging for new members to have access, an issue common to the other third-party organisations in the prison. While some of these problems can be tackled through the remote IT service, there have been occasions where this advice has been incorrect or contradictory, thus causing further delay in resolving the issue. There have also been occasions where on-site support would have been more helpful and quicker, but this has not been forthcoming. Last year, the Board was told that a new starters guide was being produced by Serco to help third-party organisations with this process. To the Board’s knowledge, this has not happened (see 3.3 below).

Governor / Director Other