HMYOI Deerbolt was a reasonably safe and decent prison, but faced some challenges, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the young offender institution in County Durham.

HMYOI Deerbolt holds male prisoners aged 18 to 21. In 2011 inspectors found it to be a safe and decent prison that provided reasonably good work, training and education and some solid resettlement support. The population had changed, and Deerbolt now held mainly those convicted of violent and other serious offences, but evidence again suggested that the prison is performing reasonably well.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• most prisoners felt safe and early days support was good;
• the prison had not had any self-inflicted deaths since opening, which was testament to good work supporting those vulnerable to self-harm;
• substance misuse support on the recovery unit was excellent but needed to be extended to those on other units;
• relationships between staff and prisoners were strong and staff had high expectations of the behaviour they expected from the young men;
• health services were very good, as was the general environment, although some residential areas were in a poor state of repair;
• time out of cell was reasonable for most and although too many prisoners were locked up during the core day, most had some activity;
• leadership and management of learning and skills was good and some excellent work was taking place to improve the range and amount of activities available; and
• pre-release resettlement support was very strong and more prisoners than at similar prisons said they had done something that would make it less likely that they would offend in the future.

However, inspectors were concerned to find that:

• while most violent incidents were low level, some were more serious and the emerging problem of prisoners using new psychoactive substances meant the prison had to be vigilant;
• use of force was not high, but overall arrangements did not provide reassurance that all force used was proportionate;
• some aspects of education provision needed urgent attention, particularly the quality of some teaching and outcomes in functional English and maths; and
• offender management arrangements were underdeveloped and many key assessments were overdue.

Nick Hardwick said:

“Overall, while Deerbolt remained a decent and generally safe prison, some key challenges were evident. Action to address the supervision of force started as soon as we raised concerns with the prison management, and needed to be quickly resolved. Deficits in the key areas of functional skills teaching and achievements, and offender management, needed close management attention, but we were confident that this would happen and that in time progress would be made. The quality of the buildings’ infrastructure is more difficult for local managers to address and support is needed from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) to resource the improvements required. This is a challenging agenda but Deerbolt remains one of the better young adult prisons we have inspected.”

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

“This is a positive report and I’m pleased that the Chief Inspector found Deerbolt to be a safe and decent prison.

“Deerbolt manages a challenging young adult population and the report highlights strong relationships with staff and high expectations of behaviour – which are key for successful rehabilitation.

“The weaknesses identified in education provision are being actively addressed and like the Chief Inspector, I am confident that the necessary improvement required will be achieved.”

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. HMYOI Deerbolt is a closed young offender institution holding convicted young male prisoners aged 18-21.
4. This unannounced inspection was carried out from 1-12 December 2014.
5. Please contact Jane Parsons in HM Inspectorate of Prisons Press Office on 020 3681 2775 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information or to request an interview.