Source · IMB Annual Report
Isis
Year: 2023
Published: 15 May 2024
Type: Prison · Cat YOI, Category C
Population: 600
Recommendations: 10
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP/YOI Isis, a YOI and Category C training prison, experienced a marked increase in violence and self-harm during 2023, attributed partly to a younger demographic and increased prisoner mixing. Staffing shortages and a high number of 'ineffective' staff consistently impacted regime delivery, education, and healthcare access. The Board highlighted persistent concerns with property management, cell cleanliness, and the limited range of rehabilitation programmes.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 0 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 252 | 180 |
| ACCT cases opened | 132 | 96 |
| Prisoner assaults | 319 | 244 |
| Assaults on staff | 161 | 97 |
| Drug finds | 142 | 145 |
Positive findings
The Board commended the whole-team approach to equalities, including senior managers acting as champions and successful events organised by the Diversity and Inclusion Manager. Scrutiny of discrimination reports by the Zahid Mubarek Trust found the prison diligent in responding and resolving complaints. Healthcare saw positive changes with a new provider introducing early days in custody and release teams, and a Neurodiversity Support Manager was appointed. There was also an improvement in time spent in education and vocational activities.
Key concerns
Safety
Violence in the prison increased markedly this year, with a 31% increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and a 66% increase in prisoner-on-staff assaults compared to 2022. There was an increase in self-harm compared with 2022, up from an average of 15 incidents per month to 21.
Estate/Conditions
The general standard of cleanliness of the spurs continued to be of concern. In particular, serveries were often left overnight with dirty pans and remnants of food from the previous day. First-night cleanliness and condition of cells for new prisoners were often unacceptable.
Segregation
There was a notable increase in the number of men held in the Segregation Unit. There is a lack of data available about the breakdown by prisoner protected characteristics making it difficult to monitor fairness. This extended to no systematic recording of the use of restricted regimes and separate regimes.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
As the Board has stated in every annual report since 2018, prisoner property continued to be a problem, particularly property on transfer between prisons. The aim of the Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework, to improve the management of property, has not been met.
Staffing
Repeated
Staffing levels continue to impact many aspects of the prison regime, partly due to a high level of ineffective staff, i.e. staff who are unavailable for prison duties due to sickness or other reasons. This impacts prisoners’ access to training and education, healthcare and faith services.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The only HMPPS accredited programme run at HMP/YOI Isis is the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) and prisoners must move to another prison if their sentence plan requires that they take other courses.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The windows in prisoners’ cells are still a problem even though a solution has been found. Only six cells had their windows renovated in 2023.
Safety
Repeated
The Board remained concerned by the number of cell bells activated but not answered within five minutes. The cell bell answering system is complex and we were told that it does not lend itself to automated reporting.
Mental Health
The Board remains concerned that prisoners with serious mental health problems were held in the Segregation Unit, often whilst waiting for an appropriate transfer to a specialist hospital, as there is no in-patient facility in the prison.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
There remains a backlog of OASys reports, estimated to be about 116 at the end of December 2023.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | As the Board has said in every annual report since 2018, prisoner property continues to be a problem, particularly property on transfer between prisons. The aim of the Prisoners’ Property Policy Framework is to improve the management of property, but this has not been met. The manual, paper-based system is error-prone and inefficient. It relies on the manual recording of tags on prisoner property bags and handwritten property cards, which are sometimes illegible, incomplete and inaccurate. Will the minister allocate funding to digitise the system? Repeated | Ministry of Justice | |
| 2 | Staffing levels continue to impact many aspects of the prison regime, partly due to a high level of ineffective staff, i.e. staff who are unavailable for prison duties due to sickness or other reasons. This impacts prisoners’ access to training and education, healthcare and faith services. Will the minister increase the prison’s headcount buffer for ineffective staff to allow the regime to be fully resourced? Repeated | Ministry of Justice | |
| 3 | Loss of prisoner property continues to be a problem, and the Prisoner Property Policy Framework has not improved this. How will the Prison Service improve processes and technology to ensure that prisoners’ property is not lost? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 4 | Since at least 2014, the Board has drawn attention to the need for prisons receiving prisoners from the courts to complete an initial sentence plan (OASys) before onward transfer. The current system is clearly not working. How will the Prison Service address this and ensure that every prisoner on arrival at HMP/YOI Isis comes with a sentence plan that will enable him to begin the process of rehabilitation? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 5 | The windows in prisoners’ cells are still a problem even though a solution has been found. Only six cells had their windows renovated in 2023. Can the Prison Service assure us that that the remaining windows will be fixed in 2024? Repeated | HMPPS | |
| 6 | The only HMPPS accredited programme run at HMP/YOI Isis is the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) and prisoners must move to another prison if their sentence plan requires that they take other courses. Can the Prison Service authorise and facilitate the running of a wider range of accredited programmes at HMP/YOI Isis? | HMPPS | |
| 7 | Can the Governor ensure that data regarding separate and restricted regimes is collated and analysed to provide a better understanding of these regimes’ use and impact? | Governor / Director | |
| 8 | How will the Governor monitor, analyse and report on prisoners’ time out of cell and engagement in purposeful activities? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 9 | Can the Governor ensure that processes for making sure that cell bells are answered in the specified times are followed and monitored? Repeated | Governor / Director | |
| 10 | Will the Governor ensure that the regime allows sufficient time at the end of the day to allow cleaners to properly clean the serveries and remove any uneaten food? | Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Equality | 4 | — |
| Healthcare | 11 | — |
| Property | 48 | — |
| Staff conduct | 13 | 30 |
Other reports for Isis
Report details
- Establishment
- Isis
- Type
- Prison · Cat YOI, Category C
- Report year
- 2023
- Published
- 15 May 2024
- Responsible body
- Isis
- Recommendations
- 10
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 1 — Serious concern
Population
| Population | 600 |
| Operational capacity | 628 |
| CNA (designed for) | 478 126% |
Service providers
Catering/Facilities Management
Mitie
Dental services
NHS England
Healthcare (Physical & Mental, Substance Misuse)
Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust
Optometry
The Prison Optician Trust