An unannounced inspection of HMP Isle of Wight has highlighted a number of issues behind the bars, including a lack of staff, an increased level of self-harm and significant gaps in release planning for prisoners who pose a high risk of serious harm to the public.
His Majesty’s Prison Inspectorate visited the Category B prison – made up of Parkhurst and Albany prisons – back in September and October of last year. During this inspection, inspectors identified 15 key concerns of which 6 were deemed to be a priority to resolve.
New data reveals that the prison holds a total of 971 prisoners, of which 11.6% are foreign nationals and 22% are from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Of the prison population, 18.3% are serving life and 65.7% are serving more than 10 years.
According to a report released this week, the therapeutic and rehabilitative purpose of the prison is not sufficiently prioritised and leaders have not developed the environment or regime in a way that seeks to ensure the needs and risks of the sex offender population are addressed. This is said to be compounded by a failure to respond to the new reality of a much larger population of category C prisoners.
It has also been found that over a third of prison officers are not available for work, which limits the delivery of the day-to-day regime and leads to prisoners spending too long locked in cells.
Alarmingly, inspectors say that there are significant gaps in release planning for prisoners, many of whom pose a high risk of serious harm to the public. 1 in 5 prisoners are said to be leaving without a sustainable place to live.
Another priority concern is the level of recorded self-harm amongst the prison population, which is said to be very high, with 7 self-inflicted deaths since the last inspection was carried out.
Prisoners at HMP Isle of Wight are said to have very limited access to work or study. Planned access is severely undermined by poor attendance, poor punctuality and prisoners returning to their cells early.
Other concerns surround the provision of healthcare service delivery and patient outcomes; data not being used well enough to improve outcomes; residential units shabby, bleak and in need of significant repair and mental health and learning disability services not providing adequate or timely care or treatment.
There is also evidence of insufficient oversight and control of medicines; reading and literacy not being prioritised; access to education not prompt enough; not enough contact with offender managers and too little support to rebuild ties with families and friends, with no reliable resettlement help for those being released.
Furthermore, black and minority ethnic and Muslim prisoners and those with mental health problems report a more negative experience in respect of key aspects of their care, compared to other prisoners.
The prison was last inspected in 2019.
Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, has said:
“HMP Isle of Wight is a training prison – its primary purpose is to support rehabilitation and prepare prisoners for release including those who pose a high risk of harm to the public but it’s failing to do so.
“Their time in prison presents an opportunity to reduce their risk of reoffending, and that opportunity is being lost when, instead of taking part in education, work and training, men are sitting locked in their cells all day.
“When it comes to the end of their sentences, too many men we know pose a risk of harm to the public are being released without a sustainable place to live and without proper planning around protecting victims of their crimes and often inadequate contact with local probation services.
“This is frightening. The prison service has to take serious and immediate action to address this.”
Over a third of staff not available, why!!!!!
Because they stopped recruiting from the military and employed woke university kids with no backbone so when the crap hits the fan they go off sick that’s why
What a shame Covid never wiped out the lot of them. Maybe one day we will get a man made selective virus which will do good not bad for mankind.
Easy to get signed off on the sick back twinge or depression.Why go to work with this scum if you can get paid for being off can’t blame these officers I would do the same.
an increased level of self-harm and significant gaps in release planning for prisoners who pose a high risk of serious harm to the public
I think we can identify a few issues of our own..
Poor old prisoners let’s transfer them all to holiday camps then give them all a house with loads of benefits.The moral is don’t get sent to prison to start with .All these do gooders worrying about this scum really P##S ME OFF.
Totally agree. If prison was more of a hardship people would think twice before risking ending up there. The do gooders and hand wringers have destroyed society with their liberal ideals.
i watched a documentary on one of America’s new triple max prisons, where the cells are designed as sensory deprivation rooms – solid grey concrete walls and once the door is closed you cannot hear a single thing from inside or see anyone. 23hrs a day locked up, without any human interaction and food put through a hatch in the door. 1hr exercise alone in a cage.
The UK interviewer asked how this could possibly help with rehabilitation – the american prison officer replied “this facility isn’t about rehabilitation. The regime here is designed to break the prisoner so that he is compliant and does as he is told. Most here are serving life without the possibility of parole and americans don’t want tax dollars spent on these people.
It’s a prison … not a holiday camp ..they don’t get enough exercise bloody shame …. bloody tree huggers …. Throw the keys away !
They are in prison because they have committed serious crimes. They are not in there for a holiday, it’s not Club Med!
Some prisons around the world would have them all in together, sleeping on the floor and they would be fed bread & water only! They ought to be grateful. These men are a danger to society. The only bit that concerns me in the report, Release Planning is not what it should be for high risk prisoners! This needs to rectified immediately!
Sadly many other hotels on the island are also a little below par. Let’s not forget though, all the guests at this one are volunteers.
971 bullets and the problem is gone.
Could possibly use a bolt gun to save the ammo
Saving of over
£29,130,000 a year.
First of all you can’t have a training prison when the island holds high risk prisoners such as the bosnian butcher, and other main stream figures, and sex offenders. These prisoners are fit for nothing in society. They are unemployable and will never hold down a job again. Plus you can rehabilitate a mains prisoner such as a thief but you cannot rehabilitate someone who likes kids – fact! Well done to all the incredibly hard working officers on the wings and although no one has any idea of the hell you lot go through us old colleagues do.
Problem is once you get stupid gullible soft weak women in charge like Ms van der bok etc all hope is lost, as they then only ‘recruit’ similar thinking or, imo, non thinking ‘nice’ weak, gullible people in the top jobs and the whole prison is then doomed.
Poor prisoners, no work, no studying , too long in their cells ! Hopefully they will all top themselves and save us taxpayers a fortune. !!