HMP & YOI Sudbury was offering good support to help rehabilitate the men it held, said Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons. Today he published the report of an unannounced inspection of the open prison in Derbyshire.

HMP & YOI Sudbury held 576 prisoners, including a small number of young adults aged 18 to 21. Nearly all men were coming towards the end of a long sentence. The central task of the prison was to provide men with the conditions and support they needed to prepare them for successful release back into the community. At its last inspection in 2013, inspectors concluded that the prison was failing badly in this central task and were pleased at this more recent inspection to see that this had now changed. There was evidence of positive work to rehabilitate the men held.
Inspectors were pleased to find that:

• the prison was generally safe with few instances of violence, and there was  a downward trend in the number of prisoners absconding and failing to return from release on temporary licence (ROTL);
• there was a good focus on ensuring men only returned to closed conditions after more serious transgressions of the rules or after a period of reflection;
• arrangements for the small number of men self-harming were good;
• security focused on the main challenges, relating to preventing contraband from entering the jail;
• new psychoactive substances had been implicated in some recent deaths in custody and the prison was focused on managing these issues and supporting men with addictions;
• work to support men to develop educational and employment skills had improved and a wide range of good opportunities were now provided;
• a good range of ‘through-the-gate’ support was provided to help men prepare for release; and
• offender management and public protection work had improved considerably and casework was generally good.

Inspectors were, however, concerned to find that:

• not all instances of antisocial behaviour were investigated and support for some victims of bullying was not always sufficient;
• while the majority of staff supported the rehabilitative ethos of the prison, prisoners responded more negatively when asked about staff treating them respectfully and having someone who would help them with a problem; and
• some work to help resettle prisoners on release was made more challenging by the substantial number of men with only short periods of time to serve and who as a result could not benefit from the opportunities available.

Peter Clarke said:

“Sudbury was well led and had made significant progress since our last inspection. It was now delivering some strong support and doing much more to achieve its main aim of providing rehabilitative opportunities for men held. There remained a small number of important issues for the prison to address, but we left confident that yet further improvement was within the prison’s capabilities.”

Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of HM Prison & Probation Service, said:

“I am pleased that the Inspectorate has recognised the good progress that HMP& YOI Sudbury has made in creating a positive environment to support effective rehabilitation. The prison has made great strides since its last inspection and this report rightly recognises the hard work and dedication of the governor and his staff.”

– ENDS –

Notes to editors:

1. A copy of the full report, published on 5 September 2017, can be found here.
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 & YOI Sudbury is a category D open resettlement establishment for young adults and adult male prisoners.
4. This unannounced inspection was carried out from 10-28 April 2017.
5.  Please contact John Steele at HM Inspectorate of Prisons press office on 020 3681 2775 or 07880 787452 if you would like more information.