Safety
Thirteen deaths in custody occurred in 2023 compared with seven in 2022.
Safety
The number of reported violent incidents in 2023 was 31% higher than in 2022, with prisoner-on-prisoner incidents increasing by 72%.
Safety
The frequency with which force was used increased by 44%.
Staffing
Repeated
Key worker targets continued to be missed.
Food/Catering
Repeated
While the quality and quantity of food was generally good, especially as it operates on a daily food allowance of just £2.70 for each prisoner, its distribution to and on house blocks continued to present issues, principally:
• claims from prisoners that inadequate staff supervision at mealtimes was leading to favouritism and unfair portions
• servery staff working without hygiene certificates, which might suggest they had not received the required training
• a large number of the insulated trolleys used to hold food in transit from the kitchens to house blocks being unserviceable or badly damaged
• on occasion, poor separation of halal and non-halal food
• lack of sufficient or appropriate serving utensils, including temperature probes.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
The age of the prison’s infrastructure, combined with maintenance and repair issues (such as external drainage, mould, leaking roofs, heating/hot water problems, and unserviceable washers/driers), continued to have an adverse effect on conditions for prisoners, particularly in areas of Parkhurst.
Estate/Conditions
Repeated
It is disappointing to report that for the fourth successive year the central laundry has remained closed, due to the same problem with steam generation. In addition to the lost job opportunities, this entails the prison incurring the additional cost of sending laundry to mainland prisons.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Older prisoners (aged 65 and over) who were neither working nor in education were often locked up during the working day when wings were not fully staffed, due to an inconsistent application of policies and rigid reliance on safe systems of work.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Repeated
Work opportunities, however, remained constrained by a lack of instructors and the poor state of repair of some workshops.
Staffing
Repeated
Staffing shortages in the offender management unit (OMU) remain extremely high, impacting prisoners’ progression, limiting contact with prison offender managers (POMs), and causing delays in annual re-categorisation reviews.
Source wording under review
Safety
We did observe challenges for staff when prisoners arrived late, i.e. between the end of core hours, at 17.15, and reception closing at 19.00. On occasion, we observed (despite staff’s best efforts) that processing appeared rushed or had to be delayed until the following day. We acknowledge that late arrivals are beyond the prison’s control and note that late-arriving prisoners were always given the essentials for their first night, including shower access and a personal phone call. Nevertheless, we are concerned that rushed or delayed screening presented a potential risk.
Healthcare
Medical staff conducting initial health screening outside core hours did not have access to a dedicated speaker telephone for translation services, nor were they trained to access and use them, potentially putting vulnerable prisoners with poor English at risk.
Equality/Diversity
Induction materials have yet to be translated into other languages.
Safety
Repeated
The Board regularly monitored ACCT reviews and ACCT documents, checking for their level of completion. We note the steps taken by the prison to monitor performance in maintaining these records properly. Generally, levels of completion appeared to have improved during the year, but we continue to observe incidents where documentation is incomplete.
Complaints/Property
The prison was not consistently exercising the opportunity to defer charging prisoners until receipt of the confirmatory second test result following an initial positive Mandatory Drug Test (MDT), causing stress and anxiety.
Overcrowding
Repeated
Housing this number of prisoners necessitated a return to double cell occupancy in some house blocks in Parkhurst. While these cells are larger than others, they are not – in contrast to those in the social care wing in Albany – designed for multiple occupancy. Most of them contain toilets and the issue of inadequate screening, noted in previous HMIP reports has not been fully addressed. This is particularly concerning, as prisoners eat their meals in their cells.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
Breakdowns in the call system and limited time allowed for toilet visits during night sanitation, posing difficulties for older residents.
Healthcare
Repeated
The continued absence of a dietician, following the departure of the sole qualified member of staff during 2022, remains a cause of concern.
Staffing
The appointment of a dedicated neurodiversity support manager was a welcome development in 2023, responding to the recognised gaps in staff understanding about behaviours linked to neurodiversity and how to engage with neurodivergent prisoners. We commend this appointment and the wider programme of initiatives introduced towards the end of the year to ensure that any staff member – irrespective of grade or role – will be better able to support neurodivergent prisoners. The available expertise is, however, very limited and we would encourage the prison to consider expanding this capacity.
Equality/Diversity
Discrimination Incident Reporting Form (DIRF) investigations often went outside of the timeframe.
Source wording under review
Staffing
Vacancies for chaplains in several faiths remained unfilled.
Complaints/Property
Repeated
The expectation that complaints be dealt with within five working days was, again, not fully met in 2023.
Resettlement/Release
Repeated
In 2023, property issues remained a significant source of formal complaints to the prison and IMB applications. Most were in respect of property lost or delayed in transit to HMP Isle of Wight from other establishments. We note and have challenged the 14-day turnaround for the prison to process all the property of newly arriving prisoners. We believe this could be swifter.
Education/Purposeful Activity
Waiting lists to join some courses, however, remains high. For example, at the end of the year, 53 prisoners in Parkhurst and 78 in Albany were waiting to start Level 1/2 English.
Education/Purposeful Activity
It is not clear how the prison intends to measure the impact of the literacy strategy.
Regime/Time Out of Cell
The Ministry of Justice’s approved stock policy for books in an establishment for men convicted of sexual offences cuts out a significant number of books where a teenager is the main protagonist.