There were mixed inspection findings at HMP & YOI Portland, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons. There was some impressive work going on but more attention needed to be given to recommendations arising from investigations into self-inflicted deaths and more training and education places were needed for prisoners. Today he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the Dorset jail and young offender institution.

Built in 1848, Portland is a category C training prison holding a mix of young adult and adult male prisoners. The establishment aimed to accept prisoners from the south west region and to resettle them. Due to national population pressures, many prisoners from outside the area were sent there to reduce overcrowding elsewhere. Portland’s last full inspection was in 2009 and a follow-up inspection in 2012 confirmed it was progressing well. This inspection’s findings were more mixed and reflected the operational challenges the prison was facing, including the age and offence profile of the prisoners it held, the pressures of overcrowding, the age of the infrastructure and the limitations of the regime.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• the prison was fundamentally safe;
• good attention had been given to how prisoners were received into the prison, with swift reception processes and first night arrangements properly focused on risk;
• the levels of recorded violence were not high for such a population, but the prison had only recently started to improve its approach to identifying bullying;
• use of force was not excessive and the use of segregation was low;
• relationships between staff and prisoners were reasonable; and
• resettlement provision was generally good.

However, inspectors were concerned to find that:

• there had been three self-inflicted deaths since the last full inspection and it was not clear that recommendations from investigations into the deaths had been properly implemented;
• support for prisoners with substance misuse issues had worsened, in part as a consequence of staff shortages and increased demand, and there was evidence that psychoactive substances such as Spice were available;
• most accommodation was old and inadequately maintained;
• purposeful activity and the provision of education, training and employment was poor;
• there was sufficient activity for just three-quarters of the population and what was available was not used well; and
• some prisoners had inadequate contact with their offender supervisors and there was a lack of appropriate offending behaviour programmes.

Nick Hardwick said:

“This is a mixed report and contains significant criticisms under all of our healthy prison assessments. Learning from investigations into deaths in custody certainly required greater attention and the lack of meaningful activity was a real concern. However, there was some more impressive work and evidence of some progress. The population mix was challenging but staff were experienced and trying hard to support prisoners and challenge poor behaviour, although the lack of purposeful activity undermined their endeavours. I believe that if Portland fully implements the working prison model, as intended, many of the issues and inadequacies we found will be mitigated and will potentially improve significantly.”

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

“I am pleased the Chief Inspector has recognised that Portland is a fundamentally safe prison.

“Reducing self-harm and self-inflicted deaths remains a top priority for the Service and we continue to work very closely with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, who investigate all deaths in custody, to ensure we can learn from their recommendations and try to prevent deaths and self-harm wherever possible.

“Since the inspection, additional staff have been recruited to provide over 130 extra activity places which will substantially improve the levels of purposeful activity.

“The Governor will continue to take forward the recommendations to make further improvements.”

Notes to Editors:

1. Read the 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 unannounced inspection was carried out from 14–24 July 2014.
4. HMP & YOI Portland is a closed young offender institution and also holds male category C adults.
5. Please contact Jane Parsons at HMI Prisons on 020 3681 2775 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview.