HMP Winchester - serious concerns

Recent inspections have found HMP Winchester performing reasonably well. This inspection found the prison had deteriorated sharply and was now of serious concern. There are two parts to the prison. The larger site is a Victorian prison of radial design. A more modern annexe, West Hill, was built in the 1960s and fulfils a category C training function. The prison suffered many of the problems typical of local jails: it was seriously overcrowded and the resources to deal with a challenging and needy population were very stretched. These problems had been exacerbated by a lack of stable leadership and outcomes were much worse than in comparable establishments.

The prison was inconsistent in the way the regime operated on different wings and in the relationships between individual staff and individual prisoners. Managers did not have the information and data they needed to identify and address these inconsistencies.

Inspectors were concerned to find that:

• more than half of prisoners said they had felt unsafe at some time;
• the prison did not have a full picture of the nature or extent of violent incidents and there was insufficient action to address the behaviour of the perpetrators or support the victims;
• the crucial first 24 hours of a prisoner’s time in Winchester were badly managed;
• inspectors witnessed foul abuse directed at vulnerable prisoners in their exercise yard, processes for locating prisoners on the vulnerable prisoner wing were unclear and vulnerable prisoners had very poor access to activities;
• the prison had recently taken action to combat the supply of drugs in the prison, but one third of prisoners said drugs were easily available and one in 10 said they had developed a drug problem in the jail;
• the day-to-day experience of many prisoners was poor, with insufficient activity places for the population and some places underused;
• prisoners were issued with insufficient and poor quality prison clothing and bedding;
• diversity and equality issues were neglected and health care provision was weak in some areas;
• two older, severely disabled men shared a small cell and spent 23.5 hours a day in it;
• the range and quality of work and training places were insufficient; and
• resettlement provision was hindered by a lack of an effective analysis of needs. There was a large backlog of risk assessments, and insufficient offender behaviour programmes for prisoners.

However, inspectors were pleased to find that:

• the experience of prisoners on the West Hill site was much better;
• throughout the prison, arrangements for supporting prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm were reasonable;
• use of force was low;
• relationships in the segregation unit were satisfactory;
• a new senior manager had conducted a useful analysis of prisoners’ learning and training needs and was making a good start on delivering these;
• education was supported by some very valuable volunteers from the local community; and
• practical resettlement support was reasonable, visits provision was good and there was good support for armed services veterans.

‘Until shortly before the inspection, HMP Winchester was neglected and drifting. There had been pockets of good practice and although many staff did their best, their efforts were often haphazard, inconsistent and badly coordinated. However, a new governor was appointed shortly before this inspection. The new leadership was aware of many of the problems and we saw early signs of a determined effort to tackle them. But the prison is just at the start of the process of putting things right again, and it will be a long, hard task to do so. We hope the recommendations in this report will assist that process.”

‘I accept that performance at Winchester has fallen short of the standards expected. As the Chief Inspector acknowledges, the new Governor has begun to tackle the deficiencies and I am confident that these will be properly addressed and rectified.

‘In particular concerns about levels of violence and first night procedures are being robustly tackled, and we are urgently putting enhanced measures in place to address the supply and circulation of illicit drugs.’

1. View a copy of the report. (802 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 15-19 October 2012.
4. HMP Winchester is a category B local adult male prison with a separate category C unit known as West Hill.
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.