HMP and YOI Hatfield - a good prison that could be even better

HMP & YOI Hatfield was a reasonably good prison but some aspects were disappointing, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of an announced inspection of the South Yorkshire open prison.

HMP & YOI Hatfield is part of a cluster of establishments including HMP Lindholme and HMP & YOI Moorland. At the time of the inspection, the prisons were being contested as part of the market competition programme. Three private sector suppliers subsequently progressed to the next stage of the competition process meaning that, as part of the cluster, Hatfield will eventually transfer to the private sector.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

  • the prison was safe with few violent incidents and self-harm was very rare;
  • the provision and quality of work and activity was very good and was well coordinated with resettlement work;
  • around half the prison’s population undertook voluntary work, paid employment or learning in the community; and
  • sentence management arrangements and provision under the resettlement pathways to help prisoners as they prepared for release were all in place and had improved.

Inspectors were, however, concerned to find that:

  • although the prison was safe, more prisoners than expected reported feeling unsafe or victimised;
  • staff-prisoner relationships were mixed and disappointing; and
  • prisoners had little confidence in the processes to deal with their legitimate concerns or grievances.

Nick Hardwick said:

‘Hatfield is a good prison that could be even better. It was striking that, despite what it had to offer and the fact that prisoners were actively and positively engaged, in our survey, only a fifth of prisoners felt supported in preparing for release. There was a clear need to ensure that all connected to the prison were more supportive of its primary purpose, and prepared to support an ethos consistent with that purpose.’

Michael Spurr, Chief Executive Officer of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), said:

‘A competitive market testing process causes significant disruption and upheaval to a prison, so it is to the credit of the Governor and her staff that the good work at Hatfield has been highlighted during this time.

‘Open prisons perform a crucial function in preparing long sentenced prisoners for release by testing them the community.  To ensure the risk of reoffending is reduced, the staff at Hatfield will work to further improve resettlement provisions.

Notes to editors:

  1. Read the full report.
  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 full follow-up inspection was carried out from 1-5 October 2012.
  4. HMP & YOI Hatfield is a category D open resettlement establishment.
  5. Please contact Jane Parsons at HMI Prisons on 020 7035 2123 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview with Nick Hardwick.