Legal News

A new report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) has branded Wormwood Scrubs in northwest London as “filthy and unsafe”.

BBC News reports that inspectors found nearly half the inmates at HMP Wormwood Scrubs felt unsafe during their stay at the jail. Since a previous inspection of the jail in 2011, six prisoners have committed suicide at Wormwood Scrubs – five of these died in 2013.

The prison has undergone a major structural change which resulted in many experienced prison staff members leaving in 2013.

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has said the prison has undergone “a difficult change process”.

Chief executive of NOMS, Michael Spurr, said:

“It has had to adapt to hold young offenders alongside its adult population, while implementing new structures and routines to provide a decent regime for prisoners at lower cost.

“This has not been an easy transition – however, as the chief inspector acknowledges, the governor has taken decisive action to address the situation.”

The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Nick Hardwick, has called the findings of the recent HMIP report “very disappointing”.

Mr Hardwick said:

“There was some recent evidence that important steps had been taken to arrest the decline, but there was still much to be done.”

Around 2,500 inmates move in and out of the 1,300-capacity jail every month.

In May, 22% of inmates said they felt unsafe at HMP Wormwood Scrubs – the new report reveals that now nearly half say they have been in danger at any one time during their stay.

Inspectors say that the prison has not introduced recommendations made by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman to help reduce suicide and self-harm at Wormwood Scrubs.

The inspectors also found that conditions at the prison were deteriorating, with high levels of violence and a culture of fear for personal safety among inmates.

Cells designed for one prisoner were also housing two inmates, the report found – and broken windows at the jail had shards of glass exposed, while lavatories were found to be “filthy” and there was widespread graffiti on the walls of the prison.

The HMIP report states:

“Many staff appeared extremely stretched and some were clearly frustrated that they could not do more; others appeared to have lost focus on prisoners' needs.”

The Prison Reform Trust has blamed the government’s “drastic cuts” in prison budgets for the deterioration in standards.

Chief executive of charity the Howard League for Penal Reform, Frances Crook, also told BBC News:

"Prisons have gone into meltdown in the last year and it is a direct result of government policy.

"I have never seen a public service deteriorate so rapidly and so profoundly.

“People are dying and staff are put in danger as a result.”

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