Serious concerns still needed addressing at HMP Lindholme, but its deterioration had been halted and work, training and education had improved, said Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the training prison near Doncaster.

In past years HMP Lindholme was managed as part of a cluster of South Yorkshire prisons, but in 2013 it was reconstituted as a separate institution. It is a designated ‘working prison’ and holds just over 1000 longer-term adult male prisoners. At its last inspection in 2013, inspectors criticised a prison that was preoccupied by a possible takeover by the private sector. Staff-prisoner relationships were weak and drugs and alcohol were having an impact. This more recent inspection found that the deterioration previously seen had been arrested, but big risk factors were still to be addressed. Lindholme was providing reasonably good work, training and education and was a more respectful prison, but inspectors had very serious safety concerns and structural and organisational issues were undermining its resettlement responsibilities.

Inspectors were concerned to find that:

• many safety outcome measures were poor despite prison managers taking the need to improve safety seriously;
• the level of assaults was almost twice that at similar prisons and much higher than during the previous inspection in 2013;
• over half of prisoners surveyed said they had felt unsafe at Lindholme;
• reported levels of victimisation were very high and recorded levels of self-harm, some linked to NPS, were far higher than at similar establishments;
• since the previous inspection in 2013 there had been six deaths in custody, two of which occurred immediately following the inspection and were apparently self-inflicted;
• the influx of drugs, including NPS, was destabilising the prison and despite the prison working hard to combat the problem, nearly two-thirds of prisoners said it was easy to get illegal drugs;
• the prison had no resettlement function, was not served by a community rehabilitation company (CRC) and was unable to provide adequate resettlement planning and support; and
• many prisoners presented a high risk of harm to others, yet offender management was poor, risk management was insufficient and prisoner contact and motivational work was only reactive if it happened at all.

Inspectors were, however, pleased to find that:

• the prison was a reasonably respectful place, despite the difficulties and the mixed quality of the accommodation;
• staff-prisoner relationships were improved and 85% of prisoners surveyed felt respected by staff;
• there had been some improvements in the provision of health care;
• time unlocked was reasonable; and
• more work, training and education had been provided, with opportunities for 80% of the population, and the quality was generally good.

Peter Clarke said:

“This is a mixed report. That said, it was clear that the prison was led by a focused and committed governor and management team, aided by a much better approach now being adopted by staff. Lindholme was a recovering prison and we were confident that improvement could continue. The priorities were clear to us: a robust strategy to stop NPS and, linked to that, to reduce violence; significant improvements in offender management and proper arrangements to provide resettlement services.”

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

“Lindholme provides a purposeful regime for prisoners with a focus on rehabilitation, which is commendable.  Their efforts have been undermined by the illegal supply of new psychoactive substances and the violence it encourages.  The Governor is working hard with police colleagues to tackle this threat – and to generally improve safety.

“I share the Chief Inspector’s confidence that, despite the difficult challenges it faces, Lindholme is an improving prison moving firmly in the right direction.  The Governor will use the recommendations in this report to drive his improvement plan.”

 

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. HMP Lindholme is a category C designated working prison holding adult male prisoners serving four years and over.
4. This unannounced inspection was carried out from 7-18 March 2016.
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.