HMP Whatton was a safe and decent prison, but needed to sharpen up its offender management and resettlement services, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of an announced inspection of the Nottinghamshire training jail.

HMP Whatton’s population is made up exclusively of sex offenders. It focuses on managing and reducing the risks presented by this inherently high-risk group of individuals, and on ensuring that they are resettled in a way that is helpful to them and safer for the communities to which they return.

Its last inspection in 2007 found evident progress and improvement. This inspection found that progress had continued. Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• Whatton remained a safe prison, helped in part by excellent arrangements to receive and induct new arrivals;
• there was very little violence, use of force was low and the segregation unit provided good support;
• the one-to-one care for prisoners who self-harmed was good;
• a culture of respect was evident throughout the prison and relationships between staff and prisoners were excellent;
• the prison was very clean and the quality of health care was generally very good;
• sufficient activity was provided for the whole population and most was of a reasonable quality; and
• the quality and range of its offending behaviour work was excellent, with well-managed programmes.

However, inspectors were concerned to find that:

• the prison’s approach to resettlement was mixed, with clear weaknesses in strategy, ineffective needs analysis and a need for greater coordination of effort and provision;
• while offending behaviour work was excellent, the resources required and the huge demand meant that there was still insufficient provision, particularly in programmes for sex offenders;
• many prisoners waited months for a place on a programme, leaving some well beyond their sentence tariff or unable to move to lower category prisons;
• a small number of prisoners were discharged without having completed a sex offender treatment programme at all; and
• there was too little vocational training and limited opportunities for learning progression.

Nick Hardwick said:

‘HMP Whatton is a prison with a clear purpose and function. Prisoners felt safe and respected, and nearly all had something to do. Despite this clarity of purpose and the risks being managed, it was surprising that offender management and resettlement services were not sharper, and it was concerning that not all sex offenders who required it were receiving the treatment they needed. In the interests of the individuals
concerned and the communities to which they were returning, this was a matter that needed to be addressed.’

Download a copy of this press release (42 kB) (PDF 0.04mb)

Notes to editors:

1. Read the full report. (425 kB)
2. HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
3. This announced inspection was carried out from 30 January – 3 February 2012.
4. HMP Whatton is a category C training prison for adult males that holds exclusively sex offenders.
5. Please contact Jane Parsons in HMI Prisons Press Office on 0207 035 2123 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview with Nick Hardwick.