IMB – HMP Gartree
ANNUAL REPORT
To the Secretary of State
1st December 2013 - 30th November 2014
1. STATUTORY ROLE OF THE IMB
The Prisons Act 1952 and the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 require every prison to be monitored by an independent Board appointed by the Secretary of State for Justice from members of the community in which the establishment is situated.
1) Satisfy itself as to the humane and just treatment of those held in custody within its prison and the range and adequacy of the programmes preparing them for release.
2) Inform promptly the Secretary of State, or any official to whom he has delegated authority as it judges appropriate, any concerns it has.
3) Report annually to the Secretary of State on how well the prison has met the standards and requirements placed on it and what impact these have on those in custody.
To enable the Board to carry out these duties effectively its members have right of access to every prisoner and every part of the prison and also the prison’s records.
2. CONTENTS.
1) Statutory role of the IMB 2
2) Contents 3
3) Description of the prison 4
4) Executive Summary 5
Matters for the Minister 6
Matters for the DDC 6
Issues for the Governor 7
5) Specific Areas 7
5.1 Equality and Diversity 7-8
5.2 Education 8
5.3 Healthcare 8
5.4 Purposeful Activity 9
5.5 Resettlement 9
5.6 Safer Custody 10
5.7 Segregation 10,11
5.8 Residence 12
6) Other areas 13
6.0 Security 13
7) Work of the IMB 14,15
3. DESCRIPTION OF PRISON
3.1 History and Location
The prison opened in April 1966 and for most of the following period it operated as a dispersal prison until 1989 when it changed its role to a Category B prison with emphasis on life-sentenced prisoners. It is located 3 miles north of Market Harborough, which is equidistant from the East Midlands conurbations of Leicester and Northampton.
3.2 Style
The layout is based upon 9 wings. The original 4 are almost identical forming A, B, C and D wings. The two latest wings, G and H are located south of the original complex and are much longer in length, on two levels. E wing holds a 12 cell Separation and Progression Unit, F wing holds the GTC (Gartree Therapeutic Community) and there is an additional unit: Therapeutic Community Plus (TC+) which holds 12 prisoners with learning disabilities and low IQ. H wing now houses the PIPE (Psychological Informed Planned Environment) unit holding 58 prisoners. In addition on this wing there is the over-50 unit for 60 older prisoners. G wing is the drug-free wing. There are 60 prisoners in the substance-free section and a further 60 in drug recovery. Finally I wing is for new arrivals to Gartree and is termed the Induction Wing
The prison has a CNA (Certified Normal Accommodation) of 708 the current level is 711 and operational capacity 725.
3.3 Population
The ethnic breakdown of the prison is:
Group / Number / Percentage of TotalAsian / 88 / 12.4
Black / 104 / 14.6
Mixed / 26 / 3.6
Other / 19 / 2.7
White British / 418 / 58.7
White Other ** / 57 / 8.0
Total / 711 / 100.0
The Asian population has increased by 12.8% since 2013.
The dominant religions are C of E 28.3%, RC 17.4% and Muslim 16.9%.
There is one prisoner aged below 20 yrs
4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
During this period the prison achieved an upgrading to Cat 4 prison, one of only four in the country. This meant they had done exceptionally well in all audit targets. Also in the year there was an Inspection audit done by HM Inspector of Prisons. Many of their conclusions are mirrored in this report.
The Governor, management team and all staff at Gartree should be congratulated on this achievement. The hard work in delivering this category. the co-operation from the POA and all staff shows a commitment to Gartree and the prisoner population and is way beyond the call of duty. This should also be shown in the light of being understaffed by around 23 uniformed staff and at the same time not reducing the regimes of the prisoners. That is offering them and indeed encouraging them to work, education, course work, gym and leisure time.
A busy year saw a full prison inspection from HMIP, and around 15 different audits of different areas of prison activity.
The IMB implemented our own changes during the year, to ensure we were also better placed to monitor the prison by aligning a Board member with a senior management team member to encourage regular meetings where we could raise any issues we may have found during our weekly reports or when speaking to prisoners. This has worked very well and in most cases we have been able to ask for changes, or had situations explained to us without the need to escalate the situation. We also have access to the full staff meetings where there was a specific IMB item for members to discuss or for us to highlight. We then deliver back to the Board any information we need to enable us to monitor any issues we have raised and see them come to fruition.
We also try to attend as many prisoner council meetings as possible. The prison instigated around 18 months ago a prison council which comprised prisoners who were elected by their peer group and who meet each week to discuss any changes they would like to see at Gartree that would be helpful to them. They then meet once per month with the Governor and try to persuade him to make the changes. Our attendance means we also have a better understanding of problems for prisoners and can monitor the prison more effectively.
We were concerned that we were too remote from the action with our office in the main administration block and a comparative lack of quality time in front of prisoners. We addressed this by establishing wing drop in centres once per month during their lunch break and also moving our office into the body of the prison. The former did not work too well as we found prisoners still seem to take their lunches back to their cell rather than in the common areas. The latter however, whilst only just in place, seems to work well.
Finally we try to attend all management meetings wherever possible, be they Safer Custody, EAT( Diversity), Reducing Reoffending, Multi Faith, Healthcare, Education, Security etc.. All these meetings mean we have to develop our own communications skills to ensure all the Board are aware of each initiative and can act accordingly. We are better but still have room for improvement,
There have been three deaths in custody at Gartree during this year; any death is regrettable but it would appear all of these may be due to natural causes. We do have concerns regarding delays in some cases in calling for help when a problem occurs, these are highlighted below.
Monitoring a prison with all the accolades they have received is in itself a challenge and we have tried to be positive and practical in raising concerns with management, Those items we list below are well known to the management team and we believe need addressing.
Matters for the Minister
After the completion of Fair & Sustainable the prison were left with considerable staff shortages. The delay in replacing them has been far too long and the process should be reviewed. Without the commitment by all staff at Gartree to go “that extra mile” the regimes and prisoner safety would be at risk.
Prisoner transfers,particularly from the Segregation unit, of prisoners held under rule 45 is no better. This has been raised in the previous two annual reports and we get a very bland reply. It is in your hands to do something positive and ensure a system is put in place that can move these people to other establishments and into normal location. How long does this have to go on before someone grasps the problem?
For the past two years a great deal of work has been done at Gartree to bring more work into Industries and enable prisoners to earn money and have a more meaningful role whilst in prison. Towards the second half of this year they have been successful in negotiating new contracts but are then delayed in having to wait for approval by your department, this should be improved.
Area Manager
In each Annual Report we bring up the topic of prisoner movement, particularly those held under rule 45. This year is no different. Again we ask you to ensure a better method of handling the movement of challenging prisoners from the SAPU to other establishments where they have a better chance of returning to normal location. Our belief is the problem is resting on your shoulders not at Gartree, as we have witnessed countless efforts to move them thwarted by other establishments choosing not to take them, the main reason being they are “difficult prisoners”. We believe you should support Gartree, and challenge those who will not take up these men.
Issues for the Governor
Healthcare needs your attention. At the beginning of the year it was working well and indeed received an excellent audit report, but for the past three months there has been a definite downwards trajectory. We are receiving applications about delays in treatment, delays in hospital appointments and delays in collecting such things as hearing aid batteries. Whilst we acknowledge the NHS are under pressure, we feel the service provided has fallen far below the expectation .
Industries: the last report complained about prisoners being sent to workshops when there was no work, simply to meet targets. Unfortunately the earlier part of the year saw little change. However we are glad to report that in the last quarter things are changing with three new contracts coming on stream. It is essential this progress is maintained and continued, so that more prisoners are offered the opportunity to work.
IEP (Privileged Earnings System). Our concerns are that the reviews taking place are consistent across the prison. We feel this has not always been the case.
That more effort is put into establishing community projects to enable prisoners to demonstrate they are committed to offering their services freely to support the Gartree community and thus open up their prospects for reinstatement to enhanced level.
Last year we drew to your attention the adjudication system with far too many adjudications being rejected due to Natural Justice. In essence, too long a time period in bringing together either paperwork or witnesses, or both. We have seen very little improvement throughout this year and this should change.
We would also draw your attention to prisoners returning early from workshops due to lack of work or some other prison issue the being locked behind their door. We raised this last year and it is still an issue.
5. SPECIFIC AREAS
5.1 Equality and Inclusion
Leaders in Diversity is still in place until December 2015, with a green audit undertaken during the year.
The Equality Action Team has been actively and robustly led by the Governor with both prisoners and members of the senior management team representing the protected groups, there are seven prisoner representatives. There is a focus on disabled and aged groups and H Wing has been specifically orientated for older (over 50 year old) prisoners with games, keep fit facilities and a television lounge. Systematic Monitoring and Analysis of Race Equality Treatment (SMART) reports are used for regular monitoring. There have been some concerns from black prisoners over the delays and lack of information regarding repatriation and delays caused in transfers following re-categorisation. Immigration staff visits occur bi- annually. Black History month was again celebrated and was well appreciated. 20 discrimination incidents were reported during the year. External agencies are used to support those bi-sexual and gay prisoners identified.
We are concerned that wheelchair- bound prisoners who had cells with wider access and slightly larger have been moved out during the year to make these cells into double cells. This was at the request of NOMS to meet their need for more prisoner places. This is totally against the Act and should be changed as soon as possible.
There is one prisoner below the age of 21 for whom there is no equality provision.
5.2 Education
In spite of some criticism following the Office for Standards in Education Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED) report on the HCIMP visit regarding the lack of spreading best practice in teaching skills. Milton Keynes College has had an excellent year at Gartree. Class attendance is running at 86%. Vocational courses, in particular, Painting and Decorating are well thought of and educational training has been successful with 48 GCSE awards compared with 4 in 2013 plus a BA achievement. Vocationally, Painting and Decorating classes have been very popular. High standards have been achieved in Art (Koestler Awards) and the Flavours Bistro, essentially the staff canteen, run by prisoners where Geoff Sykes, the Milton Keynes catering instructor won the college’s Teacher of the Year Award. Learner feedback suggests that 93% of courses are well managed. Educationally, Toe by Toe and the Shannon Trust (reading mentoring) are an ongoing success and Learner Voice- the involvement of learners in shaping learning opportunities that are available to them, is instrumental in building confidence amongst students. ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languages) is insufficient as borne out by the concerns of immigrant prisoners voiced to the Board. Leicester County Council manages an excellent library facility with a good range of books, DVDs and in particular a growing number of foreign books. Sadly an illegal entry into the computers’ mainframe server has prevented their use for some weeks while police investigate and this follows deliberate damage earlier in the year. Overall the education department has a quiet, calm atmosphere and the relationship between staff and prisoners is excellent.