Key concerns 13 items
Key concerns were extracted from the report text by an AI model.
Key concern 1
Overcrowding · Repeated from a previous year
The unacceptably high percentage of the population who are on remand will continue to be a problem until Crown Courts are able to reduce the backlog caused by the pandemic. When will the government tackle the inhumanely long periods that boys are currently being held in prison on remand?
Key concern 2
Staffing
1 Governor Both the Governor and the deputy governor were made permanent appointments in February 2022, after being initially installed on a temporary basis. However, it was announced in July 2022 that the Governor would be transferring to Werrington with immediate effect, meaning that Cookham Wood is facing a further period of leadership churn with a risk to leadership continuity. The positions are currently being covered by internal temporary promotions to Governor and deputy governor.
Key concern 3
Resettlement/Release · Repeated from a previous year
Delay in the transfer of 18+ boys with long sentences to adult establishments, causing frustration and posing a risk to Cookham Wood by holding adults alongside vulnerable children.
Key concern 4
Estate/Conditions
The delays in the timely delivery of capital projects and poor state of general repairs and maintenance by Gov Facility Services Limited (GFSL) are a disgrace, with projects regularly over-running, being poorly monitored, shoddily delivered, and some running unfinished for well over a year.
Key concern 5
Staffing
Inadequate staffing levels mean that boys in Cookham Wood experienced nothing close to full-time provision, with the daily regime regularly suspended due to staff shortages.
Key concern 6
Regime/Time Out of Cell · Repeated from a previous year
The limited out of cell hours (particularly at weekends) that boys have been allowed throughout the 12-month reporting period is considered by the IMB to be inhumane, especially for those held separated for up to 23 hours per day.
Key concern 7
Equality/Diversity
Over the past year, Cookham Wood has failed to provide boys of faith with access to regular weekly corporate worship due to officer shortages and difficulties with movements.
Key concern 8
Safety
Some boys in Cookham Wood have stated that they carry improvised weapons because they do not feel safe, a concern also highlighted by HMIP inspections on high levels of violence.
Key concern 9
Safety · Repeated from a previous year
Cell occupation ID labels are commonly tampered with, a concern previously raised by the coroner following a death in custody, and a programme of replacement tamper-proof labels is yet to be completed.
Key concern 10
Estate/Conditions · Repeated from a previous year
HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) found the worst living conditions at Cookham Wood, with communal areas and cells being grubby, and extensive and offensive graffiti in cells, communal areas and exercise yards.
Key concern 11
Mental Health · Repeated from a previous year
4 Progress since the last report The refurbished Phoenix unit (a new facility to provide enhanced support to ▪ vulnerable boys) was opened after an inordinately long delay, although the refurbishment was not 100% completed (see case study 4). It has since been significantly under-used due to limited staff which in turn, has denied accessibility for vulnerable boys in desperate need of additional support.
Key concern 12
Mental Health
It has been challenging to arrange for boys needing in-patient mental health care to be moved to an appropriate setting, with officers and medical practitioners expressing major concern for their welfare.
Key concern 13
Education/Purposeful Activity · Repeated from a previous year
With those restrictions lifted, staffing issues meant that the offer still in no way matched that available out in the community, even though the prison was required to provide full-time education prior to lockdown. During August 2022, the provision was still far from a full-time education offer. The IMB does not understand why the service has only provided such a meagre education offer for such a protracted length of time. This stance has denied the boys their right to full-time education. For those boys separated from their peers, the situation regarding their education offer is considerably worse: they have only been offered the occasional one-to-one session or small group class each week, far from the full-time offer that should be made to vulnerable students in the community, in a pupil referral unit or special school.