Source · IMB Annual Report
Peterborough (Men)
Year: 2022
Published: 28 Sep 2022
Type: Prison · Cat B local and reception/resettlement
Population: 824
Recommendations: 2
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP Peterborough operated under significant Covid-19 restrictions, impacting regime and staffing, yet saw a welcome continued decrease in violence and self-harm incidents. Concerns persist regarding the adequacy of healthcare services, resettlement provision post-CRC transition, and the length of time some remand prisoners are held. The prison demonstrated strengths in staff commitment, SEN provision, and resettlement accommodation outcomes, while acknowledging ongoing challenges in staff retention and property management.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 3 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 452 | 485 |
| Prisoner assaults | 175 | 177 |
| Assaults on staff | 77 | 80 |
| Use of force | 460 | 518 |
Positive findings
The Board commends the outstanding effort and commitment of all prison staff, who successfully recruited and trained new staff despite challenges. The prison effectively communicated regime changes, fostering acceptance among prisoners, and healthcare staff increased activity amidst significant service changes. The appointment of a SENCo has greatly improved staff awareness and interventions in education. The Board also welcomes the continued downward trend in violence and use of force, alongside improvements in accommodation and the achievement of accommodation targets on release.
Key concerns
Other
The Board is concerned at the length of time some remand prisoners are held.
Resettlement/Release
The Board is concerned that the handover from community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) to the National Probation Service (NPS) left gaps in provision of resettlement services, and that NPS will be restricting their activities further.
Healthcare
Because of the widespread perception among prisoners that all Healthcare services (Clinical, Mental, and substance misuse) are not up to the standard expected.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The prison has struggled to process and deliver property and mail, leading to an increase in both complaints and applications to the IMB, partly due to staff shortages.
Mental Health
Primary and secondary mental health teams have access to one male clinic room which limits capacity, and there are no group rooms allocated to the services, making it difficult to run regular group sessions. Additionally, a shortage of mental health hospital beds put additional pressure on SMHT staff.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Some men remain unaware of the key worker system, and some are dismissive of it, with the Board not observing much evidence of improved outcomes for prisoners.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Board would expect to see the full range of resettlement support provided.
Response
The Director of HMP/YOI Peterborough acknowledges that the transition period following the unification of Probation affected the continuity of delivery of resettlement services. The prison team continues to work closely with Probation colleagues and CRS providers to ensure the needs of the men and women are being met. The Director is proud of the successful Outside Link facility initiative in supporting prisoners post release and in the wider community. More broadly and to clarify, as part of the unification changes made, contracts have been let in each Probation Region to providers of Accommodation services for sentenced prisoners (including the East of England Region where HMP/YOI Peterborough is located). These CRS providers are mandated to have a presence in the resettlement prisons in their region. HMPPS is currently in the process of extending these contracts to provide services to all people in prison who have accommodation needs and hope to have the extended service in place by the end of 2022. In addition, East of England and other regions are commissioning for a single multi-regional custody Finance, Benefit and Debt (FBD) service (for remanded and sentenced men) which will commence in 2023. Under the new resettlement approach all resettlement prisons including locals, will have an embedded resettlement provision (managed by or otherwise linked to a Probation Delivery Unit). The embedded Pre-Release teams are to provide immediate resettlement needs and pre-release support for all people in prison including the unsentenced and people out of area, including pre-release services not currently available via CRS including FBD services. The minimum will be to assess under the Basic Custody Screening Tool 2, undertake specialist immediate needs and support services to the people in prison. The Pre-Release teams will liaise with the Community Offender Manager or Short Sentence Function as allocated and support pre-release planning activity throughout the sentence, including progressing referrals that have been made to CRS suppliers and providing a point of contact for CRS suppliers seeking to engage with the individual. Regional Probation Directors are working to stabilise the Pre-Release teams and CRS provision in their regions to improve service delivery to all people in prison. |
HMPPS | In progress |
| 2 | Because of the widespread perception among prisoners that all Healthcare services (Clinical, Mental, and substance misuse) are not up to the standard expected, going forward the prison should prioritise the review and monitoring of Complaints to Healthcare e.g. in the Monthly Clinical Governance Meeting, to ensure that standards are maintained and improved. | Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 23 | 13 |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogue(s) | 5 | 2 |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives schemes, sanctions | 11 | 1 |
| Equality | 8 | 7 |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 29 | 10 |
| Food and kitchens | 10 | 6 |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 94 | 62 |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection restrictions | 45 | 10 |
| Miscellaneous, including complaints system | 4 | 2 |
| Property during transfer or in another establishment or location | 22 | 12 |
| Property within this establishment | 63 | 50 |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, library, regime, time out of cell | 25 | 8 |
| Sentence management, including HDC, release on temporary licence, parole, release dates, recategorisation | 48 | 29 |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 79 | 54 |
| Transfers | 18 | 4 |
Other reports for Peterborough (Men)
Report details
- Establishment
- Peterborough (Men)
- Type
- Prison · Cat B local and reception/resettlement
- Report year
- 2022
- Published
- 28 September 2022
- Responsible body
- Peterborough (men)
- Recommendations
- 2
Population
| Population | 824 |
| Operational capacity | 892 |
| Time out of cell | 1.5h/day |
Service providers
Accommodation Support (sentenced prisoners)
Seetec
Bail, Accommodation and Support Service
NACRO
Community Rehabilitation Company
BeNCH
GP Service
Cimarron UK
Integrated Substance Misuse Service (ISMS)
Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Learning and Skills Provision
Sodexo Justice Services
Physical Healthcare
Sodexo Justice Services
Primary Mental Healthcare
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust
Prison Management
Sodexo Justice Services
Probation Services
National Probation Service
Secondary Mental Healthcare
Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust