Source · IMB Annual Report
Chelmsford
Year: 2024
Published: 5 Dec 2024
Type: Prison · Cat B local
Recommendations: 4
Key concerns
Positive findings
HMP Chelmsford, a category B local prison, faced significant challenges during the reporting year ending August 2024, particularly with overcrowding affecting 69% of its population and leading to poor conditions in older wings. While the prison saw a reduction in self-harm incidents towards the end of the year and staff were commended for managing gym facilities, use of force incidents increased, and access to healthcare remained a major concern with substantial waiting times. Processes for safeguarding prisoner property and approving telephone PINs were consistently problematic, hindering rehabilitation and family contact, although the introduction of the Launchpad system was a notable success.
Safety statistics
| Indicator | This year | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths in custody | 4 | — |
| Self-harm incidents | 884 | 980 |
| ACCT cases opened | 960 | — |
| Prisoner assaults | 195 | 227 |
| Assaults on staff | 167 | 169 |
| Use of force | 1,019 | 864 |
Positive findings
HMP Chelmsford has made improvements in several areas, including enhanced safety for most prisoners and a notable reduction in self-harm incidents towards the end of the reporting year. The Board commends staff for managing the gym and sports facilities, which are highly valued and improve mental and physical health. The introduction of the Launchpad computer system has been successful, leading to a drop in IMB applications, and the prison management is praised for overall improvements. The library's various initiatives for prisoner wellbeing and development are also a point of pride.
Key concerns
Overcrowding
Repeated
Overcrowding: 69% of prisoners share cells designed for one person. This conflicts with the requirements of decency and respect and is in contravention of the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners. The Board noted that, because of this overcrowding and pressure on space, some of the cells in the Victorian wings (A, B, C and D) continued to be occupied in winter, despite their damp and mouldy conditions.
Other
Our most significant concerns are the processes for safeguarding prisoners’ property (particularly during intra-Chelmsford moves). Property is often high on the list of issues at HMP Chelmsford and this year was no exception. Our stats show a 48% increase in applications concerning property at the prison and a 500% increase in problems concerning prisoner property from a previous establishment. We are still very concerned about the processes adopted by the prison when property is moved following a man’s relocation within the prison, most often to the CSU. We still saw prisoners’ property, sent in by family, getting completely lost and there appeared to be a reluctance to discover how – and why – this had happened.
Healthcare
Repeated
Healthcare-related IMB applications remain the most numerous, increasing by 148% over the last reporting period. Health is the number one issue in the prison. Problems that prisoners had in obtaining an optician’s appointment are best summed up in two pieces of information: The optician only visited the prison one day per month during the reporting period, and on 1 May 2024, the optician had 52 people on their waiting list. A double transfer of prisoners awaiting healthcare was delayed because the lift in the healthcare unit was out of order. The majority of prisoners found it ‘quite difficult’ or ‘very difficult’ to see a doctor, nurse, dentist, pharmacist and mental health worker.
Safety
Repeated
Use of force (UoF) has increased for the second successive year, mainly accounted for by an increase in guiding holds, but also driven by a renewed focus on using full control and restraint (C&R) techniques during planned moves as a way of reducing violence towards officers. The Board still finds the number of UoF incidents to be high. The total use of force incidents increased by 18%, the second successive year of significant rises. The Board considers this level of use of force to be high.
Education/Purposeful Activity
The awarding of educational and work qualifications was haphazard and needs improving. The Board found that some men were often forced to wait too long for their certificate of qualification, and in some cases, prisoners didn’t appear to be too sure of the qualification they had actually achieved. There was serious disruption to the bio-cleaning course after the instructor suddenly left. Bio-cleaning qualifications are not transferrable from establishment to establishment. Some men were banned from mass move, only being allowed to work on their own wing, and others were unable to work and left on the wing all day doing nothing.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Repeated
The approval of men’s telephone PINs was slow, occasionally unsatisfactory, and frustrating. The phone PIN and number approval process continued to be slow and, on occasion, unsatisfactory. The Board received many complaints about the time taken for contact numbers to be added to a prisoner’s PIN: in a lot of cases this ran to several weeks. Too often IMB heard that new prisoners were unable to call family or their solicitor for weeks after arriving in the prison. Officers appeared slow in handling PIN applications, and many didn’t seem to understand the importance of this process.
Recommendations
| # | Recommendation | Addressee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
In previous years, the Board has highlighted many issues concerning life in HMP Chelmsford and the wider prison system. To our dismay, this has mostly led to the various Ministry of Justice Minsters doing little or nothing to address those concerns. Our voices need not only to be heard but actively listened to.
Repeated
Response
I was concerned to read that the Board considers that previous issues raised have not been addressed effectively. This must be extremely frustrating. I am keen to reset our relationship with Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) so that we better address the important issues identified through your monitoring activity. It is becoming increasingly clear to me that matters raised by IMBs often reflect system wide issues across the prison estate, criminal justice system or wider Government services. These issues, and others, may not be straight forward to solve, requiring progressive and collaborative action over a period of time to make the necessary changes. Staff continue to deal with difficult challenges day to day and I am extremely grateful for this hard work. I agree that the Board’s voice should be actively listened to and am working hard to arrange opportunities to engage further wherever possible, such as the Independent Monitoring Board event at HMP Berwyn on 11 November 2024 where I spoke and answered questions from a number of members from across the country. |
Ministry of Justice | In progress |
| 2 |
The Board asks, again (as in our previous report), how does the Prison Service plan to eliminate overcrowding? A total of 69% of men in HMP Chelmsford share cells designed for single occupancy. This conflicts with the requirements of decency and respect and is in contravention of the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners. The Board noted that, because of this overcrowding and pressure on space, some of the cells in the Victorian wings (A, B, C and D) continued to be occupied in winter, despite their damp and mouldy conditions. This is an unsatisfactory situation.
Repeated
Response
Operational capacity at HMP/YOI Chelmsford has been reduced to account for cells that are uninhabitable due to damp and mould. As outlined in the Minister’s response, HMPPS is investing approximately £27 million into HMP/YOI Chelmsford in the next financial year to improve the infrastructure. The HMPPS cell certification framework requires that cells are only shared where a Prison Group Director has assessed them to be of adequate size and condition. There are other standards set out in the framework, including adequate lighting, heating, ventilation, fittings, and access to water and sanitation. These standards ensure that prisoners are accommodated safely even when held in crowded conditions. On 12 July 2024, the Lord Chancellor announced a package of measures aimed at addressing prison capacity and the 10-year prison capacity strategy was subsequently published in December 2024. This will allow the department to consider longer term reform of the system, including decency across the estate. We are committed to the construction of a further four new prisons, as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate, including through temporary accommodation. These new places will have a positive impact on lowering the proportion of crowding in the prison estate by providing accommodation that is safe, decent and uncrowded. With headroom generated by SDS40, there is flexibility to deactivate the most operationally challenging crowding, at least for a period of time. This could enable targeted reductions of the least suitable prison places, but it is not possible to commit to numbers or locations until the overall capacity position has stabilised. |
HMPPS | In progress |
| 3 |
The Board would like to pay tribute to the Governor, Acting Governor, and also to the Deputy Governor and Acting Deputy Governor, for all the improvements seen at HMP Chelmsford over the past three years. There is, though, still lots of work to be done. We would like to see scrutiny of, and improvements made to, many of the processes used by staff to manage various aspects of prison life, notably property, neurodiversity and body scanning. In particular, the process around property losses resulting from wing moves desperately needs fixing.
Response
I note you have raised some local issues of concern in your report which the Governor will continue to keep you aware of as work continues. |
Governor / Director | In progress |
| 4 | The Board recommends that the senior management team introduce targets for key operational areas, such as, for example, violence, self-harm and property loss. We believe this would drive a proactive culture of focusing on causes and defining actions. | Governor / Director |
Applications to the IMB
| Category | Current | Previous |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation, including laundry, clothing, ablutions | 68 | 6 |
| Canteen, facility list, catalogues | 16 | 6 |
| Discipline, including adjudications, incentives scheme, sanctions | 20 | 2 |
| Equality | 22 | 9 |
| Finance, including pay, private monies, spends | 4 | 7 |
| Food and kitchens | 12 | 12 |
| Health, including physical, mental, social care | 104 | 42 |
| Letters, visits, telephones, public protection, restrictions | 52 | 20 |
| Miscellaneous | 32 | 18 |
| Property during transfer or in another facility | 12 | 2 |
| Property within the establishment | 43 | 29 |
| Purposeful activity, including education, work, training, time out of cell | 28 | 2 |
| Sentence management, including HDC (home detention curfew), ROTL (release on temporary licence), parole, release dates, recategorisation | 39 | 18 |
| Staff/prisoner concerns, including bullying | 69 | 34 |
| Transfers | 7 | 2 |
Related inspections & investigations
22 Jan 2024
HMIP · Unannounced
Safety 2
· Respect 2
· Activity 2
· Release 2
Other reports for Chelmsford
Report details
- Establishment
- Chelmsford
- Type
- Prison · Cat B local
- Report year
- 2024
- Published
- 5 December 2024
- Responsible body
- HMP Chelmsford
- Recommendations
- 4
- MoJ rating (2024/25)
- 1 — Serious concern
Population
| Operational capacity | 723 |
Service providers
Dental Services
Time for Teeth
Escort/Transfers
Serco
Facilities Management
GFSL (Gov Facility Services Limited)
Healthcare
HCRG Care Group (CRG Medical)
Psychological Support
St Andrews Healthcare
Substance Misuse
The Forward Trust
Talking Therapies
The Forward Trust
Visitor Centre
Ormiston Families