HMP Channings Wood was good in places, but work, training and education opportunities for prisoners needed to improve, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of an announced inspection of the training jail in Devon.

A significant proportion of the prisoners held at HMP Channings Wood are classified as vulnerable, largely due to the nature of their offence. Recent inspections have found Channings Wood to be a reasonably good establishment although its last inspection noted some emergent concerns over safety. At this inspection, the prison continued to perform reasonably well but with caveats – most notably on the provision of activity.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• security was proportionate, the prison was calm, prisoners mainly felt safe and levels of recorded violence were low;
• work to support those in self-harm crisis was reasonable, and better for more complex cases;
• the general environment in the prison was good and overall, relationships between staff and prisoners were good;
• work to help prisoners resettle back into the community was generally good, with a well founded strategy and needs assessment;
• prisoners felt helped as they sought to address their offending behaviour; and
• the prison was using temporary release well to support reintegration.

However, inspectors had some concerns:

• more prisoners indicated that they felt victimised, particularly among the vulnerable population and those who said they had a disability, and although inspectors found little to explain this, the prison should do further work to understand and address prisoners’ concerns;
• far too many prisoners thought it was easy to obtain illegal drugs and there was evidence that the diversion of prescribed medication was a problem;
• there were not enough activity places for the size of the population and not all those that were available were used efficiently; and
• the strategic management of learning and skills was weak.

Nick Hardwick said:

“Overall this is a good report. Channings Wood is safe and respectful, and useful work is being done to support the resettlement of offenders. However, the inadequacy of the regime is very poor in the context of a training prison and something we have highlighted before. We urge that the prison adopts a clear strategy to improve and deliver what is, after all, its core function.”

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

“I am pleased that the Chief Inspector acknowledges that Channings Wood is generally performing well and provides a respectful and safe environment for the prisoners it holds.

“The Governor and staff are working to further improve performance particularly with regard to purposeful activity as highlighted in the report.”

Notes to Editors:

1. View the report. (200 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 17-21 September 2012.
4. HMP Channings Wood is a category C adult male training prison, accommodating prisoners serving a range of sentence lengths.
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.