Custodial the
Review
The Custodial Review informing the Prison, Border Agency and Police Services Edition 79
Best practice with Foreign Nationals see p16
Recycling at Heathrow IRC see p8 The new Custodial Facilities Forum 22nd & 23rd September see p12
This unprecedented opportunity for custodial reform would be a crime to ignore see p14
A Review of The Polygraph: History, Current Status and Emerging Research see p22
www.custodialreview.co.uk For thousands of products, services and links
Don’t know where to start? Start with us Our Infoline is here to help people with experience of mental health problems and those who support them.
0300 123 3393 info@mind.org.uk or text 86463 Open Monday to Friday 9am-6pm
www.mind.org.uk
Contents Issue 79
the Custodial Review Editorial Sales: Tracy Johnson, Martin Petty, Paul Barrett Tel: 01234 348878 sales@custodialreview.co.uk
Annual Subscription £30 Free to qualifying individuals
Administration: Lyn Mitchell Design/Production: Amanda Wesley Production Editor: Richard Shrubb Publisher: Steve Mitchell The Publisher holds all copyright and any items within may not be reproduced in any way, for any purpose, without the written permission of the Publisher. This publication contains Crown Copyright material reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.
4
News
8
Recycling at Heathrow IRC
12
The new Custodial Facilities Forum
14 This unprecedented opportunity for custodial reform would be a crime to ignore By Chris Liddle 16
Best practice with Foreign Nationals By Lucy Slade
22 A Review of The Polygraph: History, Current Status and Emerging Research By Dr John Synnott, Senior Lecturer in Investigative Psychology 24
Latest news from the Howard League
26 News The publisher will consider financial reimbursement for relevant articles. If you have an article, or wish to compose one, on a relevant topic then please contact the publisher on stevem@pirnet.co.uk. It’s subject to acceptance so please contact prior to starting and it will appear on the Custodial website. Custodial Review is now accepting articles from serving officers and staff within the whole custodial industry. All articles will appear on the Custodial website and will appear in the magazine subject to the Publishers discretion. Approx length 1500 to 2000 words. We are also pleased to accept news and information. Please contact the Publisher, Steve Mitchell, stevem@custodialreview.co.uk or on 01234 348878 for more details.
Copyright: the Custodial Review Published by Review Magazines Ltd, 53 Asgard Drive, Bedford MK41 0UR. Tel: 01234 348878 E-mail: info@custodialreview.co.uk Website: www.custodialreview.co.uk HM Prisons Executive and the Home Office do not sponsor or in any way support this Publication in any substance, commodity, process, equipment, editorial or service advertised or mentioned in this book, nor are they responsible for any inaccuracy or statement in this publication. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure accuracy, the information contained within, this publication is based on submissions to the Publishers who cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The Publishers cannot be held responsible for any article, advertisement, picture or photograph supplied by Advertisers and Associations which may contravene the Official Secrets Act or that have not first been cleared by the Home Office of Prisons Executive, should that have been necessary.
Are you getting your copy? Qualifying individuals within the Custodial sector can receive a FREE copy of the Custodial Review. If you are not receiving your copy, or you have a colleague who would like one, let us know! We will need your name, title, position & FULL address. Custodial Review is THE magazine for the Immigration, Customs, Prison and Police services. It’s growing all the time and more popular than ever. To obtain your copy, or to subscribe please forward your up-to-date information to: The Custodial, Review Magazines Ltd, 53 Asgard Drive, Bedford MK41 0UR. Tel: 01234 348878 Email: sales@pirnet.co.uk or go onto www.custodialreview.co.uk and click ‘Subscribe’.
Custodial the
review
the Custodial Review
NEWS
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
Cardiff visit for Lammy race review A ground-breaking investigation into racial bias in the criminal justice system has visited a prison, court and probation services in Cardiff. A ground-breaking investigation into race and ethnic bias in the criminal justice system headed to Wales to visit a prison, court and probation services. David Lammy MP visited HMP Cardiff on 7th July 2016 to meet with governor Darren Hughes and speak with offenders during education classes and workshops. The Tottenham MP, who is investigating the over-representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) individuals in the criminal justice system, also visited Cardiff Crown Court and the probation services later that day. David Lammy MP will also discussed the review with senior members of the Prison Service in Wales as well as HMP Cardiff’s Independent Monitoring Board. The review - which has cross-party support will make recommendations to tackle potential bias or prejudice in the criminal justice system when it reports in spring 2017. The Rt Hon David Lammy MP said: “I’m pleased to be visiting HMP Cardiff today as part of my review. It is vital that I investigate all parts of the justice system across the country to make sure I see the full picture of race in our courts and prisons. “The call for evidence for this review has generated more than 300 responses and my team are now carefully considering the findings. I will make recommendations to make sure all suspects and offenders are treated equally, regardless of ethnicity.”
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
legal advice given to BAME offenders. The review has also featured roundtable events and interviews with key individuals from across England, Wales and the USA, which David Lammy visited to investigate the high number of BAME individuals in their justice system. Issues raised in the UK include the effect of public perception of gang culture on young men in the justice system, while in the United States David Lammy investigated alternative approaches to custody, such as problemsolving courts. BAME individuals make up over a quarter of prisoners in England and Wales in 2016 compared with 13% of the wider population. Latest figures show that BAME individuals make up a disproportionate number of Crown Court defendants (23%), and those found guilty are more likely to receive custodial sentences than white offenders (61% compared with 55%).
Hundreds of responses inform Lammy race review The first stage of a ground-breaking investigation into race and ethnic bias in the criminal justice system is now complete. Over 300 responses have been submitted to David Lammy MP in his investigation into the over-representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) individuals in the criminal justice system. The review - which has cross-party support will make recommendations to tackle potential bias or prejudice in the criminal justice system when it reports in spring 2017. The Rt Hon David Lammy MP said: “My team has been working to determine the facts, visiting our prisons and courts to understand why over a quarter of the prison population comes from a BAME background.
The review has allowed the Tottenham MP to look at all parts of the system, including the Crown Prosecution Service, the youth justice system, sentencing decisions, and custody and rehabilitation services.
The call for evidence has generated a huge response from a wide range of voices. We are now carefully considering the findings to make sure all suspects and offenders are treated equally, regardless of ethnicity.
HMP Cardiff governor Darren Hughes said:
The independent review has allowed the Tottenham MP to scrutinise all parts of the system in detail. This includes the role of the Crown Prosecution Service, the youth justice system, sentencing decisions, custody and rehabilitation services.”
“I welcome David Lammy’s visit to HMP Cardiff and the opportunity to contribute to this important review. Our recent assessment of the quality of life of prisoners at HMP Cardiff highlighted the many improvements we have made in the last few years, with BAME men reporting a positive experience at our prison.” David Lammy and his team have also visited HMP Grendon, HMP Feltham, HMP Brixton and HMP Pentonville to discuss a wide range of topics, including the impact of a prisoner’s cultural background on rehabilitation and the the Custodial Review
Since the review began, David Lammy and his team have visited HMP Grendon, HMP Feltham, HMP Brixton and HMP Pentonville. At HMP Brixton, prisoners discussed the legal advice they received and how their cultural background can affect their rehabilitation. At HMP Feltham, David Lammy met with the Page 4
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
chaplaincy and discussed issues around gang association in prison and youth services. The review has also featured roundtable events and interviews with key individuals from across England, Wales and the USA, which David Lammy visited to investigate the high number of BAME individuals in their justice system. Issues raised in the UK include the effect of public perception of gang culture on young men in the justice system, while in the United States David Lammy investigated alternative approaches to custody, such as problemsolving courts. The MP also visited a number of courts, including Wood Green and Sheffield Crown Courts and Highbury Magistrates’ Court, where he discussed how the diversity of the judiciary and legal profession affects trust in the justice system. The Rt Hon David Lammy MP said: “We’ve had hundreds of responses from across the criminal justice system, from prisoners to judges, as well as from important groups fighting for equality in our courts and prisons. My team will use this evidence to help focus the review on the areas which matter most.” BAME individuals make up over a quarter of prisoners in England and Wales - compared with 14% of the wider population. Latest figures show that BAME individuals make up a disproportionate number of Crown Court defendants (24%), and those found guilty are more likely to receive custodial sentences than white offenders (61% compared to 56%).
Local employers network in North Yorkshire to help offenders find employment on release. On 21 April 2016, members of business community as well as training, educational and recruitment agencies gathered at HMP/YOI Kirklevington Grange to celebrate the positive impact that training, education and work, is having on offenders. The event demonstrated how offenders – in prison and in the community - are being equipped with skills to lead a purposeful and productive lifestyle upon release, with testimonies from both employers and prisoners endorsing the benefits of the working relationship. Many offenders confirm a link between their offending history and ability to secure continues overleaf u
Page 5
the Custodial Review
NEWS
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
meaningful paid employment. In response, HMP/ YOI Kirklevington Grange has generated links with employers, training providers, and learning skills agencies to offer meaningful work based activity, education, and apprenticeship schemes which can serve to accommodate both skills shortages and the long term vocational aspirations of interested participants. This includes making contact with a number of industries and business providers, generating paid work in sectors such as hospitality, construction and manufacturing. Continuing to source and network its business contacts as part of the resettlement and rehabilitation ethos, the prison is working to overcome stereotypical perceptions in terms of prisoner employment which forms both a challenge and a sense of achievement when an employer reports a successful outcome. Prisons Minister Andrew Selous, spoke at the event and thanked those employers who have already seen how hard-working and dedicated offenders can be. He then urged potential new employers to join the Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending (EFFRR), whose members include Marks and Spencer, Timpson’s and Greggs. Andrew Selous said: “As the Prime Minister has said, we need a prison system that doesn’t see prisoners as simply liabilities to be managed, but instead as potential assets. HMP/YOI Kirklevington Grange runs a robust approach to prepare offenders for resettlement into their local community, which is vital to provide the skills and training necessary for employment. I am pleased to see so many employers today who are giving prisoners the opportunities to turn use these skills in sustained work upon release and to turn lives around for good. This will lead to less crime, fewer victims and safer streets. The prison also provides a wide ranging curriculum of formal learning, consisting of functional skills such as Maths and English, as well as industry based training such as Woodwork, Welding.” Governor Angie Petit said: “I am delighted that we have been able to support this event and grateful to everyone who has been able to attend. We are really passionate about reducing reoffending at HMP & YOI Kirklevington Grange and we know that one of the key ways we can achieve this is to help prisoners into employment on release. This returns people into the community as better citizens with increased self-esteem and more able to contribute to society in a positive way.” the Custodial Review
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
The Ministry of Justice is urging businesses across the country to see offenders as potential assets. The department is encouraging employers to work with prisons to employ offenders in custody and on release. Many offenders are dedicated, motivated and skilled potential employees, who genuinely want to close the door on their criminal past, rebuild their lives and contribute to society. They can go on to become businesses’ most dependable, reliable employees who are incredibly loyal to the business that has given them a chance to turn their lives around.
Increased mental health services for those arrested An extra £12 million will be spent over the next two years to expand services that make mental health assessments available to those arrested. The funding will see a roll out of liaison and diversion services in police custody suites and criminal courts across England. Currently, 50,000 people a year are assessed by liaison and diversion services following arrest, and almost 70% require mental health support. This new funding will extend NHS England liaison and diversion services from 50% population coverage to 75% by 2018. This money will help people with mental ill health, learning disabilities or autism get the right care in the right place, supporting work between the police and the NHS. Liaison and diversion services can help ensure fair access to justice, limit the number of court hearings, and avoid costly adjournments and periods on remand.Where appropriate, vulnerable people can be diverted away from the criminal justice system into treatment and care. Mental health minister Alistair Burt said:
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
Trade in so-called ‘legal highs’ now illegal Unscrupulous dealers in psychoactive substances face up to 7 years in prison as the trade became illegal on Thursday 26 May 2016. The blanket ban on the sale, supply, importation and exportation of the dangerous drugs will apply across the UK whenever they are intended for human consumption. Police will have new powers to shut down ‘headshops’ and UK-based online dealers, helping to protect potential users from harm and communities from anti-social behaviour. Minister for Preventing Abuse, Exploitation and Crime Karen Bradley said: “Too many lives have been lost or ruined by the dangerous drugs formerly referred to as ‘legal highs’. That is why we have taken action to stamp out this brazen trade. The Psychoactive Substances Act sends a clear message – these drugs are not legal, they are not safe and we will not allow them to be sold in this country. Those involved in the supply, production, possession with intent to supply and importation or exportation of a psychoactive substance now face a prison sentence of up to seven years. Police will also be able to deploy new civil sanctions including prohibition and premise notices to allow them to shut down ‘headshops’ and UK-based online dealers, with up to two years in prison for those who fail to comply. Our jails will also be safer with penalties of up to two years in prison for possessing a psychoactive substance in a custodial institution. A world-leading testing programme to determine whether a substance is capable of having a psychoactive effect will help provide evidence to support enforcement action.
“We have made monumental strides in the way we think about and treat mental illness in this country in the last few decades – but people with a mental illness, learning disabilities or autism still need support when they come into contact with the criminal justice system.”
•
“Expanding the successful liaison and diversion scheme will help make sure these factors are taken into account so more vulnerable people have their needs considered.”
Providing tools and information for those in the education sector to engage with young people to tackle the use of psychoactive substances
•
Working with local areas to help them prevent and respond to the use of psychoactive substances
•
Highlighting the risk of these substances to around 50 music festivals
•
Publishing clinical guidelines to aid in the detection, assessment and management of users”
The next 2 years will see the service expanded to cover all major urban areas, securing services in the areas of most need. This will build on the successful roll-out of services over the last 2 years that have identified and assessed over 71,000 vulnerable adults, children and young people. Subject to evaluation, full roll out should be achieved by 2020.
Page 6
Legislation alone is not the silver bullet, and alongside the Psychoactive Substances Act we continue to take action across education, prevention, treatment and recovery in order to reduce harmful drug use. This includes:
Page 7
the Custodial Review
Recycling at Heathrow IRC Finding work for prisoners is an ongoing task, and not an easy one. Recycling work is popular in many establishments and to this end Heathrow IRC have started working with CleanConscience, an organisation that recycles hotel toiletries. To find out more we spoke with Gwen Powell, founder and Director of CleanConscience.
The part used liquid soap.
Custodial Review How did CleanConscience start and what do you do? Gwen Powell We started operations in July 2015, but had begun the research and development in November 2013 when we were asked by Henley Business School, Greenlands Campus to assist with improving their recycling rates. They were already recycling their paper, glass, food waste and other recyclables, the The unused and kits made up from unopened bottles.
only thing left to recycle was their half used soap and other toiletries from their small onsite hotel. I already had a relationship with Greenlands through a SME called Kompost, a food waste recycling business that was contracted in 2009 to meet their ISO 14001 continuous improvement criteria. A couple of years later they wanted to extend their ISO 14001 credentials so the Director of Hotel & Estate Services, Alan Brand, contacted me to look into the recycling of their soap and other hotel toiletries. He pointed me to an organisation in the USA who were already well established in this field, however they were not ready to expand into the UK. As a result I had to start from scratch, which I did by contacting the Environment Agency and a number of other organisations, to make sure that we do everything according to UK regulations and meeting certain standards. CR Is recycling hotel amenities a really big issue and what do you do with them? GP Nationally there is around 4,500 tonnes of this type of waste produced per annum. Our statistics are based on the 4 and 5 star hotels, which equates to 35% of the UK serviced accommodation stock and just from
their use of these travel sized soaps and toiletries we calculate that they produce in the region of 70 million half used bars of soap and 200 million half used toiletries per year. This excludes those amenities that have been used up or taken home and those hotels that use toiletry dispensers. Each year 1.7 million children under the age of 5 die due to a lack of hygiene; hand washing with soap can reduce these deaths by up to 60%. Providing safe water and sanitation to developing nations would, over time, stabilise the global population, as families would not have to have seven children because five of them would be likely to die during childhood. In the UK there are around half a million people relying on food banks to eat, toiletries take a back seat, yet hotels are throwing all these toiletries out. CR How does the system work from collection to the end user? GP For collection we have designed a TurnKey™ solution, to make it as easy as possible for the busy housekeeping departments to take part. We supply the hotels with recycling crates and provide them with a Housekeeping Guidance Poster and Awareness Posters, so they know what they need to do in-house, and understand the impact of their participation. They collect shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion in one container and soaps in another; the bigger hotels fill up to 20 crates per month. At present we collect the crates in London and within a 30-mile radius of Maidenhead. CR So once you have this material, what do you do with it? GP We have to ensure that the product that we hand over to charities is safe for human
the Custodial Review
Page 8
Buckets of processed soap
Processed liquid soap awaiting shipment.
use, so we sterilise each and every unit arriving at the CleanC unit. All the little bottles and tubes get dunked into a water bath, to which a mild sterilisation liquid has been added. They get dried off and the sorting process starts; during this process we keep the brands separate as the contents vary.
are working with the toiletries that are in tubes, rather than the bottled products; the contents of the tubes need to be manually squeezed out into five litre containers. There’s a hope that the products processed by the IRC will eventually go back into use in the IRC - once the volume is high enough.
We have found that up to 50% of the toiletry units that come from some hotels are unused, because hotel staff do not have the time to assess whether they have been opened or not. The unused and semi used ones are separated and become part of our CareKit™ Project. The units that are more than half used are decanted into large five litre containers and a biocide approved for cosmetic products is added; these become part of our ReFresh™ range of toiletry products.
CR How did your organisation start working with the IRC?
The soap is manually sorted and the really grimy ones, those covered with hair or makeup, are chucked; all the others are dunked in a water bath to which a mild sterilisation liquid is added and left to dry off slightly. We then chop the soaps up with a potato chipper and feed them through a small soap-making machine that is basically a sausage mincer; this turns the soap into a soap noodle and the noodles are bagged up and sent off to countries that need them. An example of the end user is in Mumbai and is a social enterprise called Sundara. They employ ladies who have been pushed out of their communities and are therefore on the margins of society. They pay them to take our soap noodles and soap received from hotels in Mumbai which they grate with a cheese grater before making new bars of soap by compressing them with a manual press. Those bars of soap are then gifted to children in the slums, free of charge. CR What is the tie up with Heathrow IRC? GP We deliver some of the toiletries we have collected to Heathrow IRC, where a CleanC satellite hub has been setup; this consists of a sterilising and drying area, a sorting area and a decanting area. At the moment the detainees
GP We were contacted by the Volunteer Centre Slough to ask whether we could provide any activities for volunteers. Care & Custody, a subsidiary of Mitie, who run Heathrow IRC had already asked them about their staff doing some volunteering work. A meeting took place with Paul Morrison, Centre Manager, and Paul thought that this was a great volunteering opportunity for the staff but also saw potential in this as a paid employment activity for the detainees. In November ’15 a small team of recent recruits came out to the CleanC unit, just outside Maidenhead near Holyport, to volunteer with us and they then went back to the IRC where they confirmed to the management that they thought the detainees would find this type of work worthwhile. CR How successful has this been?
and flexiteers, who come in for a couple of hours a day, twice a week;.by comparison the detainees produce more in a week than we do in a month. CR Could this scheme be rolled out to other detention establishments? GP Yes, and to this end we are working on a social franchise model, enabling us to roll this out across the UK and Europe – wherever people want to do this. Now we have done the work on the standard operating procedures, it is easy to franchise the system out. CR Say a prison wanted to do this. What would they need? GP They would need to contact me. I would set up a meeting, and I would need to see their setup to see whether it would be suitable. They would then need to invest somewhere in the region of £3500; this would cover an industrial double sink with a large drying area. Some prisons have recycling units already so may have this available. CR What about the health and safety aspects of working with these toiletries? continues overleaf u
GP After some negotiations with Paul, to get a Memorandum of Understanding established, we launched the CleanC satellite hub at Heathrow IRC in May ’16 and it has been just amazing; working with the IRC has taken us absolutely by storm! What we provide here at the CleanC unit are activities for disabled people and people who want to do a bit of socialising and learn new skills but it is not hugely productive. We collect from the Ritz, Cavendish, Dorchester, and these high-end hotels expect a very professional service from us so we need to be able to process to a reliable schedule. With the IRC onboard it is much easier to achieve because they are much more productive and get through so much more. At the CleanC unit, we have volunteers The processed soap is shipped in polyethylene bags.
Page 9
the Custodial Review
Recycling at Heathrow IRC continued
The cleaned soap bars are put through an industrial mincer.
In the foreground is a manual soap crusher.
GP If they had a skin condition we would not advise working with the products, though they are cosmetics and approved for human use. If they have a cold or chest infection they also need to stay away. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is provided and all the cosmetics are sterilised when they come into the unit.
and this new recycling process could be incorporated into it with minimum cost.
CR What quantity of the soap and toiletries have you processed so far? GP We dealt with about 18 tonnes between July ‘15 to June ‘16 and it has become apparent that we need to roll this out across the country to meet the demand. Hotels are lining up, and we have demand in Scotland as well as Ireland and cities such as Bristol and Manchester. We have the hotels, the raw product, the process and the outlets. We only need the workforce! CR You’ve said that much of this goes to the developing world. Does it go anywhere else and how is this all financed?
CR Thanks for talking to Custodial Review.
Jackie Smart, Regimes, is the Quality and Diversity Manager for Colnbrook, Heathrow. Her role is to manage this process inside the IRC. CR What’s the history of the soap recycling project here? JS This came from the Centre Manager when our new recruits went on a staffing volunteer project at Maidenhead. Before I got involved the Centre Manager and the Head of Learning Skills and Regimes, Hannah Shires organised it. When it was agreed that we would take on the project, I became involved from there. Squeezing out the half used liquid soaps.
GP Both the CareKit™ toiletry bags and the 5 litre containers of ReFresh™ toiletry products are gifted to local, national and international humanitarian aid organisations, for them to distribute to those they serve. The soap noodles are shipped out to charitable organisations in other countries for them to turn into soap and then distribute to those on the margins of society. The hotels pay a Programme Fee per recycling crate we collect; somewhere between £11.50 to £5.50 per crate, depending on the size of the hotel group, and how many rooms we service. This has the beneficial effect of bringing down the hotel’s waste disposal costs. CleanC relies on volunteers, and in January ’16 we took part in a crowdfunding exercise hosted by The Funding Network, which raised just over £10,000 towards our CleanC units’ rent. In a custody environment we expect that most will have recycling departments in place already the Custodial Review
Page 10
Awaiting shipment.
CR You’re recycling used toiletries, which means additional items through the gate and the possible creation of a ‘tradeable item’. Given that this is a secure setting much like a prison, how does this operate? JS The charity, CleanConscience, bring the crates containing the used toiletries into the IRC. On average they bring about 50 crates at The liquid soap is emptied into larger 4ltr containers.
All shapes and sizes of container are processed, the different types of soap are kept separate.
a time. They deliver these to the sterile area and we pick them up using trollies. They are then scanned to make sure that there’s nothing in there that shouldn’t be. They are then put in secure storage cupboards and our men will go up to the recycling area to process them at their own pace. CR How long do the people spend in the processing area each day? JS It is completely up to them as they have other things going on in their lives such as their immigration cases. They can be there between 9-12 and 2-5 each day. Sometimes they’ll do an hour and a half or so, but other times they’ll do the two full three hour sessions. CR How do you recruit for this? JS At the moment we haven’t had to advertise for it as the centre manager has put names forward. They will continue there until they leave the centre or lose the job for whatever reason. We’ve had five people through this in the last two weeks. CR What’s this like for the people who do it? JS They actually really enjoy it. I was quite sceptical thinking there would be a lot of interference from other residents trying to take the product. It has been completely the opposite. They’re happy, there’s never been an issue, and they really like the quiet, being able to focus on this and not their other issues. The other detainees haven’t got involved by asking for or taking things. The door is only locked when they’ve all come out, so when there they can come and go as they please. We don’t
have staff supervising it, and so they supervise it themselves. If they need anything out of the ordinary they will go to the librarian at the end of the same corridor who will either deal with it or ring me. CR What is the motivation for them doing it? JS It keeps them busy. Some of them say they like the quiet and focus on something else, and some of them have said they like the fact that they are doing something good while they’re here. CleanConscience send a lot of their product out to the countries where our detainees are from (though none of the stuff that comes through here does) and the detainees like this idea. They really enjoy it and want to do more. Sometimes I can’t get enough crates up there! They sort the whole process and the cleaning themselves, I have never once have had to ask them to do anything after they have finished. CR What did the IRC need to do to set it up? JS The room used to be a store cupboard. We only needed to fit the sinks, and provide the fold out tables and buckets for them to work on. CR Does the detention centre make money from this? JS No, but it is a win-win situation. We have people who benefit from the end product and
Page 11
it is recycling so it is good for the environment. We have four more people into paid work that we couldn’t have provided originally. I can’t see anything negative in this. CR How would you extend this project? JS We have trialled a lot of things at this centre that have gone well (and not so well) but you’re going to give them a try. A lot of things will expand people’s minds as to what they might do, not only here but potentially in another country where they may start a new business doing this themselves. They are producing a lot of product but they have distractions such as dealing with their cases, and so aren’t in there all day every day. This process is a good thing. I would say that this has the scope to go into a lot of prisons. CR If someone at another unit liked this idea what would your advice be? JS Do it! You just need sinks, buckets, towels, and a very big trolley for the crates! CR Are there any security issues? JS There are security issues with everything. You need to check what’s coming in, and you need to have as trustworthy people as possible doing it. If they enjoy it they don’t want to lose their trust in doing it. CR Thanks for talking to Custodial Review
the Custodial Review
A brand New Event - the Custodial Facilities Forum - Preparing for Major Change in Secure Estates. Stable Events, specialists in forums across the built environment, has announced a brand new event for 2016; the Custodial Facilities Forum. This is the first event of its kind developed specifically to meet the needs of this challenging, high-profile sector undergoing major change as part of the Government’s pledge to carry out the “biggest shake-up of prisons since the Victorian era”. The forum is a must attend event for anyone involved in the design, build and management of custodial facilities the operators of prisons, youth detention centres, police custodial units, and customs and immigration facilities. Those actively delivering projects attend as complimentary delegates including accommodation, meals, networking drinks receptions and a superb gala dinner. The theme of the CPD-certified event is ‘Designing for rehabilitation’ and the seminar programme will explore how improvements to custodial environments can help with rehabilitation and wellbeing. Confirmed speakers include Chris Liddle, Head of Prison rehabilitation and design at HLM Architects. Chris leads the HLM Architects’ foresight and innovation group, with particular reference to the justice sector. The formation of the Prisoner Reference Group has been a pivotal element in establishing the Personal Custody Plan, which pursues the right education facilities and programmes within custodial environments.
opportunity to meet with the most innovative suppliers as well as the opportunity to network with fellow professionals through an enjoyable social programme. Toby Filby managing director of Stable Events said, ‘ We have had an extremely positive response to the launch of the forum already and are delighted that Custodial Review with its in-depth understanding of the sector is our media partner.” The forum will bring together the operators, architects, contractors, project managers, M&E consultants and the manufacturers and suppliers delivering projects in this specialist sector. It’s a refreshing way to do business and is a highly effective use of time with its mix of meetings, networking and seminars; Stable forums facilitated over 4,000 business meetings last year. The custodial facilities forum will run alongside the highly successful mental health and dementia facilities forum on 22 & 23 September at Whittlebury Hall, Northamptonshire.
To find out more and to register please visit www.cf-forum.co.uk or call Sue Ramcharan on 020 8288 1080 or email sue@stable-events.co.uk
Over one and a half days there’s a packed schedule of seminars covering the latest best practice in design and build, tailored 1-2-1 business meetings providing the
the Custodial Review
Page 12
This unprecedented opportunity for custodial reform would be a crime to ignore It’s an incredibly exciting time for all those who work within the Department of Justice and who manage custodial and probation services. We have the opportunity to deliver a level of custodial reform not seen for the past 100 years - one that can seriously and positively address re-offending rates and drive down the number of men, women and young offenders in custody.
Chris Liddle, Chairman and head of prison and rehabilitation design at HLM
The government’s pledge to open nine new prisons in England and Wales - five by 2020 – under plans to close ‘Victorian’ jails and sell them for much needed housing and redevelopment, offers an unprecedented opportunity to completely reform the UK’s custodial system, through a reforming approach and design to support that approach. Never before has there been such focussed expenditure, with the parallel benefit of creating new housing and communities, to transform so many of the of the UK’s major prisons at one time, including Wormwood Scrubs, Holloway, Pentonville and Wandsworth. But the government’s Prison Reform pledge has far greater implications than simply
demolishing outdated and badly functioning buildings from the Victorian era and reclaiming land for new housing. It is a “centennial” opportunity to truly examine our custodial approach and deliver a system that is decent and humane; safe, purposeful and health promoting; has operational efficiency and embedded future proofing, and avoids a rigid, utilitarian approach. It’s an opportunity to embrace a more collegiate attitude founded on learning and training for those serving a custodial sentence. This would be a system that delivered a positive impact on the people it served and a long-term contribution to wider society. However, the big question is whether we are up to the challenge of re-defining our penal system or whether we will continue to produce the same solutions we currently employ and that result in reoffending rates of 59% of those who have served less than 12 months in prison; 36% of those who have served between one and four years; 27% of those who have served between four and 10 years and 18% of those serving over 10 years. We can no longer ignore the reality. In the Prime Minister’s speech in May, David Cameron announced a series of facts; that under the current system in a typical week in the UK there were on average 600 self-harm incidents, at least one attempted suicide, and 350 assaults - 90 of those on staff members. The UK is not alone; we share a global set of challenges when it comes to custodial systems: suicide levels have risen; 75% of offenders don’t have a job to go to upon release; 20% have no home to go to upon release; 53% of prisons inspected have been judged as inadequate for learning and skills; 26% of women and 16% of men have mental health issues; 35% of remand prisoners have a drug problem, and 27% an
the Custodial Review
Page 14
alcohol problem, and purposeful activity is at the lowest ever recorded. As a progressive, liberal, forward-thinking society, do we not want to position the UK as the country that overturns these statistics and becomes a blueprint model for how a custodial system should be designed and administered? When speaking at the Policy Exchange on prison reform this year, Cameron stated that, “…new prisons can be far more effective at rehabilitating offenders, with modern facilities and a smart use of technology.” This can be easily achieved; today’s schools are designed and built with state-of-the-art facilities and appealing, modern spaces that promote every-day learning, supported as a standard by the Department of Education they are becoming more of the status quo across our education system. We need the same support from the very top and a commitment to the collegiate approach that the new prisons are environments that promote learning, training and development as well as punishment. Her Majesty’s Prison Service delivers under difficult circumstances, much of this caused by overcrowding and the constraints of the standard template of Victorian prison design. The Victorian era was without doubt an architectural triumph in the delivery of public buildings; town halls, schools and libraries still stand as proud centrepieces within our cities. However, in the case of prisons the driving forces surrounding their design couldn’t have been more different. As places of punishment with environments where rehabilitation was secondary – if present at all – the buildings were designed to incarcerate and demotivate. Demolishing Wormwood Scrubs, Holloway, Pentonville and Wandsworth is not only an opportunity to deliver a series of new models – because no one size fits all – but through
design and partnerships, eradicate the legacy of a Victorian approach to incarceration. Why can’t we replace these vast symbols of 19th century justice with a menu of flexible custodial accommodation, one that addresses the different requirements for the differing prison population who need them, offenders, staff, educators, healthcare workers and visitors? Incarceration can be traumatic for a new offender and the initial introductory process exacerbates negativity, aggression and an unwillingness to cooperate, setting the tone for the future. While ‘society’ may regard this as part of the punishment, the punishment should be incarceration, not the removal of respect, self-worth and dignity. However, if an offender’s immediate environment is also a foundation of education and self-respect, then positive relationships can be formed. A university campus approach that avoids a crude, industrial or institutional character with open and light spaces and a sense of safe circulation creates a positive platform on which rehabilitation can begin. The journey to rehabilitation would be far more attainable if the process was based on a
concept of ‘preparation for liberation’ from day one of incarceration. More personal treatment with support at reception through to induction assessment is a critical factor. An immediate focus on a regime based on upskilling the offender and custody action planning with the support for social care and addiction must be two of the cornerstones to pave the way for improved learning, personal skills and future employability. Throughout all of this, consistent community integration and maintaining family links will support efforts ‘on the inside’ as will the involvement of key industry leaders who can work with the prison service to create employment opportunities that are visible and real from day one. Returning to the Prime Minister’s speech, Cameron expressed the desired outcome for Prison Reform: a focus on finding employment for offenders; the application of the Academies model; turning YOIs (Young Offenders Institutions) into quality schools, and dealing differently with women and children; a serious and committed addressing of the issues, of mental health, addiction and illiteracy and ultimately breaking the cycle of reoffending. To do this needs the engagement of the wider community, of government and of the business leaders that make Britain great. Their involvement in regards to providing future opportunities for offenders would not only offer huge pay back to society it would also heavily reduce the future burden on the tax payer in every sense.
Page 15
We’ve learnt many lessons over the past 30 years and know the positive effects of space that is therapeutic and healing, of acoustically moderated, daylight-filled environments, which is why these elements of design are applied across health and education sector projects. The custodial environment yearns for this level of input to create simple spaces that are conducive to personal reassessment and training for future employability. The problem is whether the society believes there should be a step change – and whether the creative and construction marketplace can deliver the innovation to support it. It is the responsibility of the government to engender within providers a sense of obligation to create a new wave of custodial facilities that are not simply regarded as another opportunity for an employment-related building boom – creating concrete blocks in which to lock people up and throw away the key. A fully holistic reform of the custodial system and its environments will support future generations with buildings made to last the next 100 years. We need to be seen to have the most progressive and effective custodial spaces in the world where the parallel objectives of punishment and hope for the future are addressed with equal vigour. Chris Liddle, Chairman and head of prison and rehabilitation design at HLM.
the Custodial Review
Best practice with Foreign Nationals Lucy Slade has worked and volunteered in prisons in London where a large proportion of prisoners are foreign nationals. Because of language differences and deportation, these prisoners are often isolated and less likely to be able to access rehabilitation activities. Keen to discover whether other countries could offer an alternative approach, Lucy was awarded a five-week Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship in 2015, in partnership with the Prison Reform Trust. She travelled to the Netherlands, Spain, Norway and Sweden, visiting countries that have a high or growing proportion of foreign prisoners in their jails. Freedom of movement across borders is changing our prison population. In England and Wales there are about 10,500 foreign prisoners, 12% of our prison population. They are a diverse group of people, coming from many different countries, having committed a range of offences and each having their own individual ties to the UK. For eight years I was a regular visitor to HMP Wandsworth, where about half of the 1600 prisoners are foreign. Through meeting these men I became aware of the difficulties they face. They have language difficulties. Culture, customs, laws and procedures are unfamiliar; they may not receive visits from family. The government aims to return as many of these prisoners as quickly as possible to their home countries. This is done through transfer agreements and deportation. This may be the right thing to do - it reduces costs and frees up prison places - but the reality is that the removal process is often painfully slow. And while these prisoners are held they have hardly any access to rehabilitation and receive practically no help planning for their return to society. They are excluded from almost everything they need in order to have any chance of a crime-free future.
Foreign national pavillion, Marifred prison, Sweden
Fellowship. Fellowships provide a unique opportunity for individuals to travel overseas and bring back fresh ideas and solutions to today’s issues. Each year about a hundred Fellowships are awarded across ten categories, this Fellowship being in the Penal Reform category. The focus of the report is male, foreign national prisoners facing expulsion. A central purpose of this Fellowship was to identify best practice in prisons abroad so that we can better manage this population here. I wanted to improve awareness and understanding of this group and why they end up in prison, some far from home. As prisons experience severe budget cuts I wanted to explore how the support of volunteers might benefit foreign prisoners. So who are the foreign prisoners in Europe? Apart from statistical information I was given very little factual information about foreign prisoners during my Fellowship. An average of 22% of prisoners in Europe are foreign. They were often described as a group of diverse nationalities. These nationalities are influenced
Almost as soon as I began visiting prisons the phrase ‘best practice’ seemed naive. Even in Sweden it sounded idealistic, as though I had set the bar too high for the Fellowship and for those working in prisons. A colleague in Stockholm suggested that I look for ‘promising practice’ instead. This phrase felt more realistic and people working in prisons related to it, too. More of this later. Language difference was an obstacle in every prison I visited; this was acknowledged by staff and prisoners. There was a dearth of translated information. In Norway and Sweden information about prison regime is available only in the national language and, in some prisons, in English. Prisoners are locked up in a world with rules, regulations and rights that they do not understand. I was told of one young Iraqi man, held on remand in Norway. He did not speak Norwegian. Pre-trial conditions in Norway are severe - prisoners are held in near solitary conditions while charges are investigated. After three days this young man could not cope. He collapsed in extreme distress and fear. When an interpreter was found he asked ‘When does the torture start?’ Isolation can allow fear to take over and cause immense trauma. I did find some practices that would work here. From the Netherlands there is a new pointing dictionary with simple pictures relevant to the prison setting. Available as a free download it provides a practical and inexpensive way of getting over language barriers. In Spain every prisoner is provided with a reception booklet that was produced centrally by the Ministry of the Interior, in a range of languages including Arabic. The English version communicates information about admission, visits, and regime and complaints procedures in simple terms. A similar booklet with high-quality information like this would of real value to foreign prisoners in British prisons.
I wanted to find out how these prisoners were treated in other countries. In 2015 I was awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling the Custodial Review
by a country’s colonial heritage and patterns of economic and social migration.
Small kitchen, Mariefred prison, Sweden
Page 16
Wandsworth Prison
I was interested to find out about offender behaviour courses available to foreigners, such as sex offender treatment. In the four countries visited I found just one in a ‘foreign’ language, Arabic (offered in Sweden). Otherwise courses are in the national language only. Foreign prisoners appear to be excluded from offender courses that might help them to live a crime-free future. Little happens to help them prepare for a life that is crime-free. ‘They won’t give me the chance to change….’ one man said.
Norway’s foreign prison population has grown and its prisons are full. Last October the Norwegian government rented a prison in the Netherlands, Norgerhaven. It’s a sort of short term let, a three year rental designed to ease crowding. When I visited the majority of the prisoners were foreign, the governor Norwegian and the staff Dutch. They’re expected to communicate in English. Its early days but it is hard to imagine rehabilitation taking place here.
Page 17
In every country the process of prisoner transfer and deportation is slow. Compulsory transfer agreements designed to streamline the process are in place but have not yet delivered the results hoped for. Last year just 63 prisoners were transferred from Norwegian prisons to prisons in their home countries; only 3 prisoners were transferred from the Netherlands. Given the pressures on prisons - crowding and diminishing budgets – it is continues overleaf u
the Custodial Review
Best practice with Foreign Nationals continued
Small table laid for meal, Mariefred, Sweden
Reception hall, foreign national unit, Mariefred prison, Sweden
Metal workshop, Mariefred prison, Sweden
for some prisoners. But those those who had served long sentences felt their options had narrowed. I met Joe, awaiting deportation to Jamaica after nine years in prison. “I’ve done all the courses I can’ Joe told me ‘I’ve learned Dutch and Spanish, sewing, woodwork, how to fit pipes. But here there is nobody to speak for us here, no parole, no low security estate. The old system was better when we were on the same wing with Dutch prisoners. When you are alone you don’t know nothing, you have no one to speak for you, that’s what gets me.”
Mohamed Gulied, prison director in Sweden.
vital that transfer agreements work better in Europe. Prisoners who transfer to a prison to serve the remaining part of their sentence in their home country will have better access to rehabilitation, work and accommodation upon release. Of course many prisoners do not want to return and deliberately frustrate efforts to deport them. Others do not have passports or their country does not want them back. It is proving almost impossible to deport people to countries affected by war or oppressive regimes for example to Syria, Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. I visited two prisons that have been recently designated as foreign national-only, Kongsvinger in Norway and Ter Apel in the Netherlands. Prisoners in these jails have less than two years to serve and will be deported. There is a narrow focus on educational subjects, English and Computer Sciences. Basic training courses are available in industrial cleaning, woodwork and brick skills. These courses may improve employment prospects the Custodial Review
To me these prisons felt like places of exclusion and immigration control rather than reform. They function as a sort of departure lounge where men wait to begin an uncertain future. At these prisons there was an extraordinarily casual attitude to resettlement and reintegration of foreign prisoners. They received little or no help in planning their return to society. Many are returned to their country with nothing but the stigma of imprisonment, a handful of euros or krona and a change of clothes. It was telling that almost all of the prisons I visited on my Fellowship were in remote locations. One journey was particularly complicated; a tube, train and bus and a walk along a deserted road through a forest. It is hard not to conclude that foreign national prisoners are pushed out to the boondocks. And journeys like these are a reminder of the hardships faced by families visiting prisons in places not well served by public transport. In this bleak landscape there were examples of promising practice, usually through the efforts of outstanding individuals like Mohamed Gulied, the Somali-born prison director of prison in Sweden. Now a Swedish citizen, Mohamed was detained by immigration authorities as a young man. ‘I’ve gone through Page 18
it myself,’ he says, ‘Coming to the country when I was on my own. It gives me a sense of knowing what these people are going through. In the prison, 26 languages are spoken (five by Mohamed himself); prisoners live on small units and eat meals at a shared table rather than alone in their cells; and all take part in welding workshops, giving them a skill which enables them to access employment in the outside world. I also met Yury Zelentsov, a prison chaplain with the Salvation Army in Norway. He has set up ‘Safe Way Home’, the only resettlement programme for prisoners facing deportation in Europe. Prisoners are helped to make detailed, practical plans for their release and reintegration. Its success hinges on an agreement with the Norwegian immigration police. Former prisoners are then supported by the Salvation Army’s network which exists in over 120 countries. There are other practices that have the potential to work in UK prisons: Skype and video conferencing to help detainees stay in contact with their families; and new research from the Netherlands reinforcing the importance of visits from prisoners’ consuls and the support of volunteers. Foreign prisoners are treated as a toxic byproduct of open borders. No country wants to take responsibility for them, not even a prisoner’s own country. Our prison population is likely to remain diverse and we need to get better at managing foreign national prisoners. It is a task that needs the co-operation of all countries in Europe and elsewhere, and is one we should not ignore. Lucy’s report is available to download at http://www.wcmt.org.uk/users/ lucyslade2015
NEWS
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
“Prison Governors must take an holistic approach”
l
NEWS
Many of our prisons are overcrowded, barren blocks of concrete that still resemble the Victorian era, unfit for purpose and at odds to the way we live in the 21st century, impacting and influencing the behaviour and well-being of those who reside and work there and on all activities that take place inside. We create sound learning environments for education outside, but refuse to offer the same environment for penal education and training allowing many offenders to live, and try to develop, in conditions that are substandard. If the government is to truly succeed in its aim to rehabilitate offenders, its Prison Governors must take an holistic approach to our penal system, seize the initiative and create environments that don’t eat away at well-being but create a positive setting by providing facilities that foster personal improvement, self-esteem and preparation for release from day one.” Chris Liddle has been delivering custodial and justice design and architecture for more than 14 years and as HLM has designed the following prisons:
• • •
HM Prison Forest Bank – PFI prison in Salford
• • • • • •
HM Prison Magilligan – County Londonderry
Mons and Charleroi prisons – Belgium Halden Prison (with Erik Møller Architects) – Norway HMP Addiewell – West Lothian HMP Peterborough – Peterborough Warwickshire Justice Centre HMP and YOI Inverclyde – Greenock, Scotland HM Prison Bronzefield – Ashford – the first purpose designed women’s prison since Holloway,
Chris Liddle, Chairman and head of prison and rehabilitation design at HLM Architects.
the Custodial Review
NEWS
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
Reforming the UK’s prisons In response to the Prisons and Courts Reform Bill, which formed part of the Queen’s Speech, Dr Michael Teague — a senior criminology lecturer at the International Policing and Justice Institute — argues that reform in the UK’s prison system is long overdue.
“The government has made repeated noises about better facilitating and educating our offenders and turning the punitive process into one of rehabilitation to reduce the revolving door of crime and punishment. Unfortunately, cuts in budget and lack of a systematic commitment means that time and again, sticking plasters are administered to the problems of the penal system instead of training, education, rehabilitation and preparing for release.
l
“We should never forget that people in prison are citizens who can contribute to society. The way in which we have warehoused prisoners, whilst paying lip service to effective rehabilitation has long been a national disgrace. The planned prison reforms are long overdue. No-one should be in any doubt that prisons are our country’s most neglected public service. We have the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe — locking up 148 people per 100,000 of the population. We know that crime has been falling sharply for over two decades, yet the length of the average prison sentence has increased by one third. Over a quarter of prisoners in England and Wales survive in prisons that are overcrowded. Prison assaults are at the highest level they have ever been and self-harm is a serious problem. We need to urgently address the inexorable rise in prison suicide and the disastrous upsurge in prison violence. Politicians understand that there is no electoral advantage to be gained from advocating prison reform. The government is to be applauded for their courageous and innovative efforts, and we now have an extraordinary opportunity to rethink our approach to incarceration. Criminological evidence consistently demonstrates that there is no consistent correlation between prison numbers and levels of crime. Prison is ineffective in reducing re-offending — 45% of adults are re-convicted within a year of release. Under the proposed new legislation, prison governors will be able to determine how their budgets are spent and opt-out of national contracts. The possibility of unprecedented freedom for some prison governors represents a huge opportunity. Funding – and people – can be located where they can do the greatest good. Innovation and creativity, which have long been difficult to sustain in the prison environment, can be supported. If the government’s aspirations come to fruition, prisons will become centres of rehabilitation and reintegration into society, rather than huge warehouses of the socially excluded. The main concern is that unless we lock fewer people up, radically overhaul our system of sentencing, deal with overcrowding, and address the key issue of understaffing in prisons, then the laudable aspirations of today’s prison reforms are doomed to failure. There is little point tinkering at the edges, when only radical intervention will reap the much-needed results.”
The International Policing & Justice Institute The International Policing & Justice Institute (the Institute) offers world-class police education solutions, research and innovation. The Institute is based within the University of Derby’s College of Law, Humanities and Social Sciences, and draws on an interdisciplinary network of academic and applied expertise across the university, including forensics, computing, leadership, engineering, architecture and business. It is the only institute in the world to offer a whole-country police education solution and is one of the only a number of institutes in the world to run multilingual academic programmes that are sensitive to Islam. The Institute has Europe’s largest concentration of expertise in criminal investigation within a university snd is the only institution in the world to have been commissioned to provide independent inspection of custody units. For more information: www.derby.ac.uk/theinstitute
Page 20
Page 21
the Custodial Review
A Review of the Polygraph: History, Deception is a tool we possess to help us to achieve a certain goal, such as convincing someone of something that is not true, to avoid blame. Due to the impact that deception has in our day to day lives research into detection continues unabated, and the ability to detect deception remains one of the great challenges in modern psychology. Studies have shown, when individuals actively attempt to detect deception, accuracy levels are barely above chance, ranging from 45% to 60%. Other research has shown that regardless of investigative experience, the accuracy of investigators do not differ significantly to that of a layperson. Considering how vital, but difficult, the detection of deception is for law-enforcement, there has been ample efforts to develop tools to aid investigators in this task. One tool that claims to assist in this regard is the Polygraph. The first polygraph was created in 1921, by John A. Larson who devised an apparatus to simultaneously measure continuous changes in blood pressure, heart rate and respiration rate. The 1938 Leonarde Keeler included a measure of Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) which is the recording of electrodermal activity in the base of the finger, essentially this measures the generation of minute perspiration partials. The physiological channels that the polygraph measures today, now fully computerised with specialist software programs, have remained largely unchanged. They are cardiovascular activity, respiratory activity and GSR.
John Synnott
on the treatment and supervision of sex offenders, for instance, where it has had some practical success, specifically here in the UK. The polygraph is used in investigative contexts in a number of countries around the world, such as Israel, Japan, Turkey, Singapore, South Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand, to name but a few. However, its use within an investigative context within the UK has not been developed or supported to the same extent.
The polygraph was initially heralded by its supporters as a triumph of science and something that was capable of transforming criminal investigations, however, it has struggled to live up to these expectations. In 2003, the most extensive review of the scientific evidence on the polygraph to date was published by the US National Research Council. The review criticised the poor quality and heavily biased nature of most polygraph research. It summarised that Polygraph research has proceeded in relative isolation from related fields of basic science, and has not made use of many conceptual, theoretical, and technological advances in basic science that are relevant to the physiological detection of deception.
While there is limited use within an investigative context at home, there is a large industry that exists within private practice in the UK, where the commercial success of the polygraph has been substantial. This is a big issue, as the commercial side of the industry operates off the promotion of the polygraph as being 99% accurate in its ability to detect deception, which is just not true and in which there is no solid empirical evidence to support this claim. The impact these practitioners can have on families, where for instance cases of infidelity are concerned, is something that is very difficult to audit. The promotion of the polygraph through popular television shows creates an acceptance of their validity for an audience who most likely won’t have access to research to understand how in fact it really works, in a practical sense.
Despite these criticisms, the polygraph is still in use today for different purposes, such as preemployment screening in law enforcement and pre-employment or preclearance screening in agencies involved in national security. It is also used in clinical or forensic settings, focused
The important point to note with the polygraph, is that it must not be considered as a lie detector, but as a measure of physiology responses. In this sense the polygraph works 100% of the time, assuming that there is no issue with the equipment being used, as all
the Custodial Review
Page 22
it does it record and measure physiological changes in the body. What these changes represent and how we go about eliciting them is where the debate arises. The central issue lies in the way in which questions are asked of the examinee. For the purpose of this article we will focus on the two dominant polygraph tests, the Comparison Question Test (CQT) and the Concealed Information Test (CIT). Both tests use the same polygraph equipment, and share one fundamental premise, which is that certain psychological processes (deception) result in physiological cues (increased physiological activity), that can be measured and interpreted through the use of the polygraph, for the purpose of aiding in the detection of deception. The CQT basically compares potential deceptive responses to known deceptive responses to determine guilt. For instance, ‘did you kill this man with this weapon’ being compared to the responses to ‘did you ever take anything that wasn’t yours’. The CQT has received much less academic support in the research literature, than the CIT. The CIT looks for increased physiological responses to information that you should not possess, for instance, the type of murder weapon used in a homicide offence. If, for instance, this information has been kept secure, one obvious criticism of the use of the CIT, then there is no reason why a suspect should be responding with heightened levels of activity to information that they should not have knowledge of. The CIT can be used, for example, as a recognition of suspects, for
Current Status and Emerging Research revealing concealed knowledge about the location of the crime, the type of the crime, the time the crime occurred and in general any type of information regarding the crime that is not known to the public. The CIT works in the following way, for example, in a situation where a victim has been stabbed to death with a knife, the examiner would ask the suspect, who should have no knowledge of this information, how was Mr. X killed with a) bare hands, b) a gun, c) strangled, d) a knife, e) a bat. When the irrelevant stimuli is presented, it is expected that the suspect will not show increased physiological responses; but when he is presented with the relevant item, in this case the knife, then if the suspect has some involvement in this offence his responses should show increased arousal for this item. This process is repeated a number of times with the position of the knife question, for instance, being altered to increase levels of probability. At The University of Huddersfield, where the current authors are based, there is an emerging agenda of research which aims to investigate the potential role of the polygraph in a forensic context and to build on the previous research in this area. The results of the early studies showed that the CIT test was able to detect the presence of concealed
information in a standard verbal CIT polygraph test, with an accuracy of 75%. This study was then built on through the use of visual stimuli, items being presented on a large screen in parallel to the questions being asked. The results of this study showed a larger increase in the detection of detection then using verbal stimuli alone. The next stage of the research at Huddersfield is to explore the role of the polygraph in a group setting. This has been done by assigning participants to a group that has been asked to plan a terrorist attack. With each individual being given a role in the attack, such as sourcing vehicles, weapons or the location of the attack. The aim is to see if a person’s role can be identified from their responses in a polygraph examination. The results from the initial group studies, albeit with a small sample, have shown early promise in that participant roles have been distinguished from the various group members. The impact of these types of studies on investigating potential terrorist suspects is one obvious practical benefit moving forward. In its current state, the polygraph can serve as a viable investigative tool, and its value is likely to increase, as research continues to improve and address its shortcomings. The CIT holds the greatest potential in this regard. While it
Page 23
may not be possible to improve the polygraph to the level where it can truly be thought of as ‘The Lie Detector’, it does appear to hold the potential of becoming an effective tool within an investigative setting through, for instance, identifying persons of interest. For anyone interested in finding out more about the history of the polygraph and its current status, a paper by Dr John Synnott, David Dietzel and Dr Maria Ioannou has been recently published in The Crime Psychology Review Journal, titled ‘A review of the polygraph: history, methodology and current status’. About the Authors: Dr John Synnott, is a Chartered Psychologist, Senior Lecturer in Investigative Psychology and Assistant Course Director of the MSc in Investigative Psychology at the University of Huddersfield. Dr Maria Ioannou, is a Chartered Forensic Psychologist, Principal Lecturer in Investigative Psychology and Course Director for the MSc Investigative Psychology at the University of Huddersfield. Anita Fumagalli, is a PhD Candidate at the University of Huddersfield, she holds a Masters in Investigative Psychology and is currently a Part Time Lecturer in Criminology.
the Custodial Review
Over a million additional days of imprisonment are locking in a vicious cycle of punishment Over a million days – or 2,890 years – of additional imprisonment have been imposed on prisoners found to have broken prison rules in the past six years, Ministry of Justice figures have confirmed. Analysis by the Howard League for Penal Reform also shows today (Tuesday 31 May) that the number of additional days handed out increased by almost 38 per cent between 2014 and 2015. The Howard League previously published a report in 2015, Punishment in Prison: The world of prison discipline, which looks at how jails in England and Wales operate disciplinary hearings called adjudications, where allegations of rule-breaking are tried. The hearings, which cost between £400,000 and £500,000 a year in total, mainly concern disobedience, disrespect or property offences, which increase as prisons lose control under pressure of overcrowding and staff cuts. A prisoner found guilty at an adjudication can face punishments ranging from loss of canteen to solitary confinement and extra days of imprisonment. The latest figures were provided in answer to a Parliamentary Question. In 2015 there were 13,000 adjudications where additional days were given. A total of 215,348 additional days were handed to prisoners – compared to 156,070 the previous year. The rise in additional days of imprisonment has come at a time when prisons across England and Wales are struggling to overcome problems caused by a growing prisoner population, chronic overcrowding and cuts of almost 40 per cent to frontline staffing. Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Punishing misbehaviour by prisoners languishing in slum conditions is creating a vicious cycle of troubled prisons and troubling prisoners and these figures reveal that this cycle is now spinning faster than ever.
young adults. Since we published our report last year, we have held meetings with the prisons minister and the Chief Magistrate sent copies of the briefing to every visiting district judge who presides over prison adjudications. Given the level of interest in our work, it is disappointing to see no action has been taken to curb this growing problem. “In Scotland the system of imposing additional days of imprisonment has been abolished and this has not resulted in a deterioration of behaviour. If the Ministry of Justice is serious about reforming prisons, then this is one area that must be tackled.” Most adjudications are tried by a prison governor who has no power to impose additional days but before whom there is no right to legal representation. Cases that are sufficiently serious to attract the risk of additional days may be referred to a visiting district judge. Additional days will extend a prisoner’s date of release, but they cannot be imposed beyond the final end date of the sentence. This means that the most challenging prisoners could be released without any period on licence in the community. The new figures include prison-by-prison data and reveal private prisons in particular feature among the highest users of additional days of imprisonment. This raises concerns as the companies involved will benefit commercially from prisoners serving more time in their jails. Prisons with the highest numbers of adjudications awarding additional days of imprisonment in 2015* Prison Adjudications Aylesbury 562 Oakwood (G4S) 514 Northumberland (Sodexo) 433 Stoke Heath 424 Parc (G4S) 423 Brinsford 396 Rochester 375 Lancaster Farms 313 Deerbolt 299 Birmingham (G4S) 289 Prisons with the highest numbers of additional days awarded to prisoners*
Prison
Additional days imposed Average population
“Our prison system is overcrowded and yet the system of adjudications simply feeds further pressure on the prisons. It is also a capricious system as the punishment of additional days can only be handed down to some prisoners and not others – for example those on remand or serving short sentences.
Aylesbury 8,413 428 Northumberland (Sodexo) 7,661 1,334 Rochester 7,317 752 Lancaster Farms 6,461 542 Parc (G4S) 5,891 1,662 Highpoint – North and South 5,790 1,302 Pentonville 5,536 1,276 Oakwood (G4S) 5,404 1,590 Forest Bank (Sodexo) 5,276 1,407 Stoke Heath 5,216 756
“The Howard League’s concerns on this issue arose from our legal work with children and
*where the prison is privately run, the company operating it is indicated in parentheses
the Custodial Review
Page 24
Prisons are becoming more dangerous more quickly Deaths, assaults and self-injury are rising in prisons, with safety deteriorating at a faster rate year after year, figures seen by the Howard League for Penal Reform revealed on Thursday 28 July. Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) show that, across England and Wales, 321 people died in prison custody during the 12 months to the end of June 2016 – an increase of 30 per cent. They included 105 people who are thought to have taken their own lives. The total number of deaths classed as “self-inflicted” rose by 28 per cent compared with the 12 months to the end of June 2015. The suicide rate among women in prison has risen alarmingly. Eleven women took their own lives during the 12-month period to the end of June 2016, compared with only one during the preceding 12 months. Women make up less than 5 per cent of the population, yet 10 per cent of those who died by suicide in the last 12 months were women. Reported incidents of self-harm in prisons have risen by 27 per cent in a year. There were 34,586 reported incidents in the 12 months to the end of March 2016 – one every 15 minutes. The number of assaults on prison staff has increased by 40 per cent. There were 5,423 incidents during the 12 months to the end of March 2016 – at a rate of almost 15 per day. Between April and June 2016, there were 9,505 reported incidents of self-harm, of which 665 led to attendances at hospital, and 6,086 assaults, including 1,540 assaults on staff. These are the highest figures for a single quarter on record. The MoJ has named six prisons in England and Wales whose overall performance is deemed to be of “serious concern”. They are Bristol, Doncaster, Hewell, Isis, Liverpool and Wormwood Scrubs. The number of prisons awarded the worst possible rating has doubled since last year. Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “Once again, official figures spell out the urgent need for prison reform. Prisons are not only becoming more dangerous; they are becoming more dangerous more quickly. “That more prisons have been awarded the worst-possible performance rating provides further indication of how the system is failing after years of rising numbers, chronic overcrowding and deep staff cuts. continues overleaf u
Page 25
the Custodial Review
“It is particularly shocking to see a dramatic increase in the number of women taking their own lives. In the past, a sharp rise in the number of women dying in prison has prompted a government review and promises of action. The high levels of violence and deaths should shame us all, and the new Secretary of State for Justice and her ministers must set out concrete plans to reduce them.”
examples where painful restraint has been used to secure compliance in young offender institutions.
The Carlile Inquiry ten years on
The report states that more than a third of all approved restraint ‘techniques’ that can be used on children involve force that causes the deliberate infliction of pain.
The “illegal, systemic, physical abuse of children, sanctioned by the state” is laid bare in a landmark report on the use of restraint, solitary confinement and strip-searching in child prisons in England and Wales. - Monday 20 June 2016 The report, published by the Howard League for Penal Reform, reveals that the majority of children in custody are detained in institutions where restraint is routinely – and unlawfully – used to get them to obey orders. Children have suffered 4,350 injuries in the last five years while being restrained. Although the number of boys and girls in custody has fallen, the rate of restraint has more than doubled. The report, The Carlile Inquiry 10 years on, looks at what progress has been made since the Howard League published the findings of an independent inquiry, chaired by Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, into the use of restraint, solitary confinement and strip-searching in penal institutions for children. The inquiry followed the deaths of two boys in secure training centres. Gareth Myatt, 15, died while being restrained by officers in G4S-run Rainsbrook secure training centre, Northamptonshire. Adam Rickwood, 14, was found hanging in his cell after being unlawfully restrained in Serco-run Hassockfield secure training centre, County Durham. An inquest concluded that the restraint had contributed to Adam’s decision to take his own life. Lord Carlile’s team recommended that restraint should never be used as a punishment or to secure compliance. The courts have since held that using physical force on a child to get them to do as they are told is unlawful. It has been supposedly banned in secure training centres and it is not used in secure children’s homes. Today’s report shows that this unlawful practice is widespread in young offender institutions, however, and accounts for 22 to 34 per cent of all times force is used on children. In one incident, a boy was restrained for refusing to leave a room after a review into whether he was at risk of harming himself. The deliberate infliction of pain on children to secure compliance is banned in all forms of child custody. The report, however, highlights the Custodial Review
In one incident in Cookham Wood prison, Kent, a boy was restrained for refusing to leave a room after a review into whether he was at risk of harming himself. Inspectors found that force was instigated quickly and escalated to an officer causing the boy pain by kicking him.
It comes as police continue to investigate allegations of child abuse at Medway secure training centre, in Kent, which was the subject of a BBC Panorama documentary broadcast in January. Footage from the programme appeared to show the use of unlawful restraints on children. The Carlile Inquiry also recommended that the routine strip-searching of children should end and be replaced by a risk-led approach. After continued campaigning by the Howard League, this new approach has been adopted. In practice, however, there remain concerns that too many children are being stripsearched. The Howard League legal team continues to come across cases where children have been strip-searched inappropriately. Lord Carlile of Berriew QC said: “I am very pleased that, as a result of my report and thanks to tireless campaigning by the Howard League, children in custody are no longer routinely strip-searched. It shows that change for the better can happen. We now need the Ministry of Justice to go further. “It is time that the government recognises that the use of force on children, simply to make them do what they are told, is both unacceptable and unlawful. A healthy response to children in trouble with the law, which has their welfare at its heart, would recognise this use of violence by adults as an admission of failure.” Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “There is much to celebrate in the story of children in conflict with the law because the numbers are significantly reduced, but still children in custody are mistreated, abused, and suffer a punishing regime. “I fear that the government will attempt to invent new forms of child custody that might simply replicate the abusive regimes of the past 20 years.” Another central recommendation of the Carlile Inquiry was that prison segregation units should not be used for children. In 2006 the inquiry described these units as “little more than bare, dark and dank cells that exacerbate underlying risks and Page 26
vulnerabilities”. Today’s report states that little has changed in the intervening years. There is no centrallyheld data on the number of children placed in segregation units, nor any information on why and for how long children are confined. The most recent survey of children in prison found that more than a quarter of boys had been held in segregation units at some point. Earlier this year, inspectors who visited Werrington prison, Staffordshire, raised concerns about the increasing number of children who were segregated for excessive periods. They included a boy who had spent 89 days in the segregation unit. An inspection report revealed that a boy had been held in a segregation unit for almost four months. An inspection report published last year revealed that a boy had been held in Cookham Wood’s segregation unit for almost four months. The long-term effects of solitary confinement on children are not well studied. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, studying its impact on adults in 2011, concluded that “some of the harmful psychological effects of isolation can become irreversible” after 15 days. Today’s report states that the use of solitary confinement is more widespread in children’s prisons than when the Carlile Inquiry examined the problem 10 years ago. Prisons, faced with problems such as staff shortages and rising violence, have increasingly imposed restricted regimes. This means that children have been held in conditions of solitary confinement on main prison wings, locked in their cells for 23 hours a day. An inspection of Feltham prison in London found that boys on the most restricted regime had to choose between a shower, telephone call or exercise within a 30-minute period.
Howard League responds to Swaleside prison inspection Swaleside is not a safe prison, an inspection report reveals in July. The report, published by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, reveals that Swaleside, a prison on the Isle of Sheppey, has high levels of violence. Over two-thirds of the prisoners reported feeling unsafe. As well as the high levels of violence, inspectors found that the use of force by staff on prisoners was extremely high and not always proportionate or justifiable, while the prison segregation unit was found to be “filthy
and poor in all respects”. 52 per cent of prisoners said it was easy or very easy to get drugs at the prison. Medical practices were also found to be unsafe – with no supervision of dispensing medicine to reduce trade of prescription drugs and related bullying, and hospital escorts being cancelled against medical advice. Despite Swaleside being a training prison, there was a shortfall of at least 200 available work, training or education places and inspectors found 40 per cent of prisoners were locked up during the working day. The impact on staff was also negative. The Inspectorate’s report states: “Many staff had become demotivated and overwhelmed and too many of them were temporary or inexperienced. There was the all too familiar story of a lack of consistency in the leadership of the prison. There had been four governors in the past five years, which we were told had contributed to what we perceived as a sense of drift and decline.” Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “This is yet another dreadful report into a failing prison and one which reiterates the systemic problems faced in prisons across the country. When we send people to dangerous prisons with such high levels of violence and nothing productive to do, it should be no surprise that they are swept into ever deeper currents of crime. “The urgent need for change has not gone away. We are writing to the new Justice Secretary to request a meeting so that we can discuss how she will meet the challenges to be met behind bars.”
A unique solution for reducing ligature risk in healthcare and custodial environments Product Development: Tough Furniture pioneered the development of cabinets specifically to protect televisions, computers and other vulnerable items from challenging behaviours, using lockable screens made of polycarbonate, an immensely strong material. This development made the use of screens in more challenging areas to help improve therapeutic options possible and helped realise dramatic cost savings in replacing expensive damages in addition to much improved safety considerations in all locations. Search ‘Tough Furniture’ on Youtube to see a cabinet being tested with a sledgehammer! The Genesis of the Anti-ligature Television Cabinet (ALTV): As televisions evolved and became flatscreens mounted on the wall, so protection cabinet design had to follow them up there. Then two other important factors came into play for the next design developments: rectangular boxes on the wall being deemed a potential ligature risk, and the increasing emphasis being given to visual appeal. To help address these issues we worked with our supplier to create moulded components specifically for the cabinet. While feedback indicates that the look of the ALTV is definitely part of its success, its fitness for purpose has also been trialled and deployed in some of the most demanding of high-security accommodation with great results. The ALTV is available in a range of sizes, with hundreds sold to a diverse range of mental health care providers as well as medium and high secure accommodation and with increasing levels of export sales as well.
Page 27
the Custodial Review
NEWS
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
HM Inspectorate of Prisons Annual Report 2015-16: prisons unacceptably violent and dangerous, warns Chief Inspector Prisons have not improved and in some key areas, have become even worse, said Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published his first annual report. National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and Ministry of Justice (MoJ) data showed that:
• • • • •
During 2015 there were over 20,000 assaults in prisons, an increase of 27% over the previous year; Serious assaults have risen by 31%, up to nearly 3,000; The number of apparent homicides between April 2015 and March 2016 rose from four to six; There were over 32,000 incidents of selfharm in 2015, an increase of 25% on the previous calendar year; and The tragic total of 100 self-inflicted deaths between April 2015 and March 2016 marks a 27% increase.
Peter Clarke said: “Despite the sterling efforts of many who work in the Prison Service at all levels, there is a simple and unpalatable truth about far too many of our prisons. They have become unacceptably violent and dangerous places. A large part of this violence is linked to the harm caused by new psychoactive substances (NPS) which are having a dramatic and destabilising effect in many of our prisons. The effects of these drugs can be unpredictable and extreme. Their use can be linked to attacks on other prisoners and staff, self-inflicted deaths, serious illness and lifechanging self-harm.” On a national level, while various aspects of the problem are being addressed through criminalising possession of NPS and the better use of testing and detention technologies, there is as yet no overall national strategy for dealing with the problem. NPS-fuelled instability has restricted the ability of staff to get prisoners safely to and from education, training and other activities. The implications of this for a reform programme based on enhancing the role of education in rehabilitation and resettlement are obvious. A high number of people in various forms of detention are contending with mental health issues which require professional assessment, diagnosis and treatment. Often those who cannot be accommodated on a wing, either for their own safety or that of others, find themselves housed in the segregation unit. the Custodial Review
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
Peter Clarke said: “No-one could sensibly argue that a segregation unit is a therapeutic environment or a suitable place to hold people with mental health issues. These three issues of violence, drugs and mental health will, on many occasions, find themselves intertwined. They are, in turn, compounded by the perennial problems of overcrowding, poor physical environments in ageing prisons and inadequate staffing.” Other findings include: Outcomes for prisoners in the two women’s prisons inspected in 2015-16 were impressive, although HMP Holloway continued to struggle in delivering work, training and education and has now closed; Four of the five young offender institutions were not sufficiently safe, which had a knockon effect and meant training and education opportunities suffered; There has been a slight upturn in the inspectorate’s assessments of adult prisons and young offender institutions from a low level, but it is too soon to say whether these improvements will be maintained; Early in 2016, allegations emerged in a BBC Panorama programme of mistreatment and abuse of children at Medway secure training centre and a team from HMI Prisons and Ofsted were immediately deployed to ensure that children there were being properly safeguarded; While inspecting immigration detention facilities in Dover during summer 2015, inspectors found another detention facility, Longport Freight Shed, was being used for the short-term detention of migrants. The conditions were totally unacceptable, even for fairly short periods of detention, and the facility has since been closed. A further immigration inspection that gave cause for great concern was at Yarl’s Wood immigration removal centre. From April 2015 to March 2016, the Inspectorate published 75 individual inspection reports on prisons, police custody suites, immigration removal centres and other custodial establishments. Thematic reports were published on substance misuse in adult prisons, the restraint of children in custody, court custody, the Close Supervision Centre system, failures of Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL), and prison communications. Joint thematic reports were published on children in custody and the needs of victims in the criminal justice system. The inspectorate continued to develop its role in coordinating the National Preventive Mechanism, the UK response to its international obligations arising from the United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. The inspectorate has been encouraged by Parliamentary committees and others to increase its impact, and to highlight good practice. Page 28
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
Peter Clarke said: “Despite the troubles that afflict prisons at the moment, there are large numbers of dedicated, courageous, skilful and experienced staff who care deeply about the safety of those in custody, who want to improve the conditions of detention, and are focused on the rehabilitation of prisoners. Thanks to their efforts there are countless examples of good practice to be found in all places of detention. All too often this good practice fails to gain the recognition it deserves. I have asked inspectors to pay particular attention to good practice and to make specific mention of it in reports.”
HMYOI Wetherby and Keppel Unit - some deterioration Wetherby held 272 boys at the time of its inspection and was not overcrowded. The inspection also included the Keppel unit, located within the overall perimeter of the YOI but physically separated from it. The Keppel Unit, a national facility, is intended to provide a safe and supportive environment for some of the most challenging and vulnerable young people in the country. Previous inspections have reported very positively on the Keppel unit, describing it as a “model of how a specialist unit should be run”. This more recent inspection found that, while there is much that is positive about Wetherby and Keppel, there are also some serious concerns about the deterioration in outcomes for the boys in some areas, such as training and education. The lack of proper recording practices means inspectors cannot be assured that there are not serious failings in other areas. Inspectors were concerned to find that:
• • • •
•
Documents relating to the use of force were missing, making it impossible to determine with accuracy the level and extent of the use of force; Planned interventions were rarely filmed, body-worn cameras were underused and the review processes after the use of force were patchy; Pain-inducing techniques and strip search while under restraint had been used; There had clearly been difficulties in the relationship between the establishment and the Youth Justice Board and disagreements about how the new core day should be implemented; This resulted in an unpredictable regime, leading to many boys having insufficient time out of their cells, not being able to attend education, not always being able to have 30 minutes’ exercise each day and having to eat breakfast locked in their cells; and continues overleaf u
0%
* F F
Prison Reform and Offender Management Conference 2016
O
The Prison Reform and Offender Management Conference boasts a variety of outstanding speakers from across public, private and charity sectors. Each one has been handpicked based on their expertise and achievements, ensuring that delegates enjoy only the highest quality presentations. A wide number of topics will be covered on the day, and you will get key insights from key criminal justice decision makers on the following topics:
3
Decentralisation – How can prison governors maximise the benefits of new decision making powers, and how will the new “regime of transparency” help create change? Education – What effect can improved education in prison have on prisoner numbers, recidivism rates, and society as a whole? Remaining Issues – Will the transparency provided by league tables be enough to counteract remaining issues such as overcrowding, underfunding, violence and suicide
Join the Conversation Attend the Conference on the 30th of September Adelphi House - Salford *use code REFORM30 Booking Line 0800 298 2460 or online at www.salford.ac.uk/onecpd
Page 29
the Custodial Review
NEWS •
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
In the Keppel unit, 31% of boys were locked in their cells during key work periods, when at the last inspection it had been 0%.
However, inspectors were pleased to find that:
•
• • •
The education on offer at both Wetherby and the Keppel Unit was good, and outcomes were excellent for the minority of boys who were able to complete their learning but progress was limited for many because lessons were cancelled; Most communal areas and cells were clean and well maintained, and health services were good; Social workers were now working with the casework team, which enabled caseworkers to obtain advice and guidance on the boys’ care; and The resettlement strategy was comprehensive and the high number of looked-after children were supported well.
Peter Clarke said: “As it stood at the time of our inspection, there was a clear linkage between the failure to deliver a new core day, the lack of priority afforded to education and training, and the consequent declines in outcomes for the young people. In particular, it is sad to see that the Keppel unit, once famed for its ground breaking approach to supporting the most challenging boys held in the custodial estate, was at the time of the inspection failing to deliver the educational outcomes that had previously been its hallmark.” Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service, said: “As the inspectorate noted, there are some very good examples of positive work being done by committed staff at Wetherby YOI. “Since this inspection, a new safeguarding team has been put in place and a new governance structure set up to make sure all recording processes are monitored. Changes have also been made to the Keppel Unit’s core day to introduce a more flexible regime better suited to the needs of the young people. “I am confident that the Governor and her team will continue to take forward further improvements.”
HMP Swaleside - not a safe prison HMP Swaleside was a dangerous prison, but there were signs it was starting to stabilise, said Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. In July he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the training prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent. HMP Swaleside held just over 1,100 adult men, all serving long or indeterminate sentences. the Custodial Review
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
At its last inspection in Spring 2014, significant staffing shortages were having a negative impact and safety, education, work, training, and resettlement were not sufficiently good. At this more recent inspection, outcomes had further deteriorated, with safety being of particular concern. Swaleside had been struggling for some time and the population had become more challenging, with a much higher proportion of category B prisoners, often relatively young men early in their sentence. Many staff had become demotivated and overwhelmed and many were temporary or inexperienced. There had been four governors in the past five years. Inspectors were concerned to find that:
• • • • • •
Levels of violence were too high and many incidents were serious – 69% of prisoners surveyed said they had felt unsafe at some time; The use of force was high and the documentation associated with its use and justification was totally inadequate; 52% of prisoners surveyed said it was easy to get drugs at the prison, 45% said the same about alcohol, and the diversion of prescribed medication was worrying; The segregation unit was filthy and poor in all respects; There was a shortfall of some 200 available work, training or education places to enable prisoners to be fully occupied; and Much offender management work was inadequate in supporting men to reduce the risk they posed.
However, inspectors were pleased to find that:
• •
• • •
Men valued being in single cells, and they had the opportunity to cook their own food in wing kitchens; There were credible and funded plans in place to improve the range and quality of work available at the prison and an innovative approach to supporting men involved in distance learning; Some good work had been done to develop support in maintaining contact with families and friends; The prison continued to offer an appropriate range of offending behaviour programmes; and The psychologically informed planned environment (PIPE) offered an excellent approach to treating prisoners with very challenging behaviour and personality disorders.
Peter Clarke said: “Despite the fact that by any standards this is a poor report about a dangerous prison, we left Swaleside with some optimism that the prison had started to stabilise. The new governor appeared to have a very clear understanding of the challenges he and his team faced. He had re-energised his senior management team, and his approach was one of visible and energetic Page 30
l
NEWS
l
NEWS
leadership. The very early signs, at the time of the inspection, were that his determination to grip difficult issues had been welcomed by many prisoners and staff alike, who told us they wanted to see the prison improve. The challenge will be to build and maintain this early momentum and embed the changes needed.”
Full report on Maghaberry Prison Inspection published The report repeats the initial findings of the multi-disciplinary Inspection team made public in February, when Inspectors indicated Maghaberry prison had ‘stabilised’ after serious concerns around safety and leadership were raised following an unannounced inspection of the high-security facility carried out in May 2015.”This full report reiterates the earlier findings of the Inspection Team where Inspectors from CJI, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP), the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) and the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) assessed each of the nine recommendations made last year to be ‘partially achieved’ at the time the Inspection was carried out in January 2016,” said Brendan McGuigan, Chief Inspector of Criminal Justice in Northern Ireland. “Four areas have been identified where additional action is recommended after Inspectors identified new concerns. “These include ensuring robust investigations are carried out into allegations of assault on prisoners by staff and that the use of special accommodation within the prison is properly managed and only used as a last resort for the minimum amount of time,” he said. Mr McGuigan indicated two additional actions in relation to meeting the health care needs of prisoners have also been made. “We have suggested a review of the closure of the in-patient health facility at Maghaberry should be carried out, given the difficulties experienced in providing care to an increasing number of men with significant physical and mental health issues,” he said. “We have also reiterated our concern that the increasing mental health needs of vulnerable men within the prison population at Maghaberry need to be met – an issue we raised in February 2016 and were reassured was a priority for the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. “The senior management team within the Northern Ireland Prison Service are aware of the findings of the full Inspection report and as stated previously, we remain committed to working to support the prison governors at Maghaberry to oversee the delivery of the nine inspection recommendations and additional actions,” concluded Mr McGuigan.