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1. PREAMBLE
1.1 Dumfries is a safer prison than it was. In the past
year there have been no escapes, no suicides, no serious
assaults on staff, and the number of assaults by prisoners
on prisoners has reduced. All prisoners and members of
staff interviewed during the inspection said that they felt
safe. At the same time, the uncertainty about the use of
this prison has been brought to an end, at least in the
short term, by the arrival of prisoners serving long
sentences who are vulnerable or in need of protection,
usually because of the nature of their offences.
1.2 There are therefore some signs of a new stability at
Dumfries. In that context, it is clear that some basic
aspects of prison life are being done well. Prisoners live
in decent accommodation and the prison is not overcrowded.
Any visitor would notice that it is kept clean, and this
was confirmed throughout the inspection process. For very
many prisoners two key aspects of their lives are food and
visits. The
SPS Prisoner Survey gives consistently
high approval ratings for food; and the food eaten by
inspectors was good, although the constant shortage of
fresh fruit and vegetables was apparent. The Visit Room is
a very good facility, bright and spacious, with crèche
facilities for children and a tea-bar run by
volunteers.
1.3 Previous reports of
HMIP have been listened to and acted
upon. The prison has acknowledged the challenge of the new
group of prisoners which it now holds; and management and
staff can be pleased with the way in which a potentially
difficult transfer of these prisoners took place safely.
Relationships between staff and prisoners have been
commended in previous reports: Dumfries is a good example
of an increasing number of prisons where such relationships
are identified as humane and appropriate.
1.4 Yet there is much which is not yet right. Compliance
with
ACT requirements was inadequate; and
this issue was raised as a matter of urgency during the
inspection. It is important for prisoners, for prison staff
and for the general public that the greatest possible
vigilance be exercised with regard to the preservation of
life within prisons.
1.5 High staff sickness levels are continually mentioned
as the key difficulty in Dumfries. It is not easy to
compare one prison with another; but it is true that two or
three members of staff who are ill for long periods have a
disproportionate effect in a small prison. Staff sickness
levels are understood by prison managers and staff to lead
to restriction of regime. Workplaces, for example, will be
closed down, or health provision will not be accessed
because, it is said, staff are simply not available to make
it possible.
1.6 It is obvious that many members of staff do not wear
name badges. Why this should be much more common in
Dumfries than in other prisons is not clear: but it is one
example among several of the difficulty this prison has had
in changing with the times. There are good reasons why in
other prisons a health centre is no longer called a
surgery, why cell doors no longer have name notices
outside, why boards with prisoner names are no longer
surname only; just as there are good reasons for staff to
wear name badges. But these good reasons have not caused
change in Dumfries. Indeed the prison still seems to call
itself
HMYOI Dumfries, although it ceased being
a Young Offenders Institution in 2003.
1.7 These are among the serious challenges which face
this prison. On a more basic level there is frustration
among prisoners and staff with the number of things which
are not working: in the kitchen, the gym, the laundry, the
gardens and the unit for women there are machines which are
not working and which have been neither repaired nor
replaced. The greatest challenge, however, may be that
presented by the combination of different groups within the
prison. It is difficult to meet the needs of vulnerable
long-term prisoners, of local short-term prisoners and of
women prisoners within a small prison. There are problems
of keeping the populations separate, of restrictions on the
amount of useful work which is available to each group, of
an almost inevitable feeling in each group that the other
groups "get everything".
1.8 The challenge of meeting the needs of these
different prisoner groups has two implications which must
not be ignored. The first is to do with the particular
needs of the new population. The inspection took place
seven months after the long-term prisoners had arrived. But
their needs had not properly been addressed. There is
limited induction for long-term prisoners, almost no
training in dealing with sex offenders has been given to
staff, the
PE provision which is very good for
short-term prisoners does not offer a noticeably different
approach for the long-term prisoners who are likely to be
older and less fit, and sentence management is not taking
place according to national standards for long-term
prisoners.
1.9 The other implication is to do with preparation for
release. There is a pre-release programme for short-term
prisoners, but almost nothing for long-term prisoners and
only very limited provision for women. It is often argued
that the circumstances surrounding the release of a
prisoner are extremely important in determining whether or
not that prisoner will re-offend. If there is truth in that
claim, then good pre-release programmes are a significant
contribution to public safety, and their absence should not
be ignored.
2. POPULATION, ACCOMMODATION AND
ROUTINES
Population
2.1 Dumfries holds a wide mix of prisoner groups: male
adult and under 21 remands, convicted short and long-term
prisoners, adult and females aged under 21, and remand and
short-term convicted prisoners. On the first day of
inspection 175 prisoners were unlocked. The design capacity
of the prison is 178.
2.2 The introduction of long-term protection prisoners
to Dumfries took place in Spring/Summer 2004. This process
was managed with great care, and as a result Dumfries has
become three prisons in one, part local short-term/remand,
part long-term protection, part local women. It is a
feature that each group believes they are the least well
off in terms of regime.
Accommodation and Routines
2.3 The prison has seven residential units. Routines
across all of these units are regularly disrupted or
cancelled because of staff shortages. On the week of
inspection one area each evening had recreation cancelled.
This results in prisoners spending long periods locked in
their cells.
'A' Hall
2.4 'A' Hall houses male local short-term adult
prisoners. It has a design capacity of 30 and held 30
prisoners on the first day of inspection.
2.5 The hall has twelve two-person cells and two
three-person cells on two floors. The building is old and
there are signs of wear and tear, especially in communal
areas. Because of demand for places it is difficult to get
decoration and repairs done.
2.6 All cells have power points, televisions and
kettles. There is integral sanitation within each cell.
There is one telephone in the hall and four showers, two on
each floor. The facilities in general are reasonable.
2.7 'A' Hall prisoners have access to the recreation
room adjacent to 'C' Hall in the evenings. A telephone in
the recreation room is available during the recreation
period. Prisoners can play pool, table tennis or watch
television. They can access outside exercise every day in
the main prison yard.
2.8 Some cells had large amounts
of pornography displayed on cell walls. Offensive material
on cell walls should be removed and management should
publish a local policy on the displaying of materials.
'Bravo Zero'
2.9 'B Zero' divides into two separate units. There is a
separate cells area with four normal cells and one strong
cell. The other area has nine cells and is known locally as
the Behavioural Change Unit (
BCU). Some cells are shared in the
BCU bringing the capacity to 14. On the
first day of inspection there were three prisoners in the
separate cells and 10 in the
BCU.
2.10 There is a power point, a kettle, and a television
and integral sanitation in all cells. There is also running
water in each cell in the
BCU but not the separate cells.
Prisoners in the separate cells as a result of an Orderly
Room adjudication have their television removed.
2.11 A door separates the two areas. In general both
areas were well maintained, especially the
BCU, which was very bright and clean.
There are two showers in each area.
2.12 Prisoners in the separate
cells can take exercise in the open air on their own every
day in a small enclosed yard adjacent to the hall. They can
also use the telephone located in the
BCU. Otherwise they are locked in their
cell. If the telephone is being used by a prisoner from the
separate cells all other prisoners are locked up. The
telephone is uncovered and located directly next to the
staff desk. Prisoners using the telephone during
association periods have no privacy. The prison should make
sure that telephone calls can be made in private.
2.13 The prisoners located in the
BCU only leave the area to attend
exercise in a small enclosed yard, to go to a visit or to
the health centre. They have no access to work.
2.14 There are no recreation
facilities in the
BCU and there can often be up to 14
people standing around in a cramped area with nothing to
do. Added to this is the fact that some of the prisoners in
this area are poor copers and may have mental health
problems. The prison should create a more productive and
constructive environment in the Behavioural Change
Unit.
'B' Hall
2.15 'B' Hall houses vulnerable long-term prisoners.
There is a mixture of sex offenders and non-sex offenders
on three floors. Each floor is a separate unit connected by
an external stair. The capacity of the hall is 50. All
cells are single occupancy. There were 50 prisoners in the
hall on the first day of inspection.
2.16 One floor houses elderly or infirm prisoners. They
spend almost all of their time on this floor including meal
times. Meals are transported in a lift and prisoners served
from a heated trolley.
2.17 Each cell in 'B' Hall has
integral sanitation, electrical power, a television and a
kettle. There are three showers and one telephone on each
floor. The telephones are uncovered and there is no
privacy.
2.18 Recreation takes place on each floor. Facilities
are fairly basic. There is a pool table, table tennis and a
large screen television. There is access to terrestrial
stations. A common complaint amongst prisoners was that
recreation was regularly cancelled due to staff shortages.
Staff confirmed this.
2.19 All of the long-term prisoners exercise in the open
air every day in the large exercise yard. The yard is very
open and plans are in place to section it off and control
the movement of prisoners more effectively.
'C' Hall
2.20 'C' Hall houses vulnerable long-term prisoners.
There is a mixture of sex offenders and non-sex offenders
on four floors. Each floor is a separate unit connected by
an external stair well. The capacity of the hall is 40. All
cells are single occupancy. There were 36 prisoners in the
hall on the first day of inspection.
2.21 There is electronic night
sanitation throughout 'C' Hall. This is also used during
the day when staff are re-deployed to other duties. During
inspection it was apparent that some staff left cleaners
out in the sections during periods of the day. This meant
that prisoners locked in their cells could not get access
to the toilet.
2.22 The hall is kept clean and
tidy and prisoner/staff relationships are positive and
constructive. There was no consistent management presence
in the wings. Management should be more visible to ensure
consistency from wing to wing.
2.23 The recreation facilities
in the hall are very good. Prisoners have access to pool,
table tennis, table football, darts and a large screen
television with access to satellite. There is an uncovered
telephone available to prisoners in the recreation
rooms.
2.24 There are showers and
ablutions on each floor. Some of the shower plinths were
chipped and in need of replacement. In general the standard
of cleanliness and decoration was satisfactory. However, on
one floor there was an inappropriate "notice" telling
prisoners to be more careful when using the toilet written
on the tiled wall in felt pen. Even when inspectors
remarked upon the existence of this graffiti it was not
removed.
'D' Hall
2.25 'D' Hall houses remand and short-term convicted
prisoners. There are four sections on one floor, three
together and one in an annexe. There are 17 cells in the
hall with cell sharing throughout. Some cells can take up
to four prisoners giving the hall a design capacity of 47.
There were 35 prisoners in the hall on the first day of
inspection. As the admission hall it has been necessary to
hold as many as 50 for short periods in the past.
2.26 All cells have integral
sanitation, power points, kettles and televisions. Two
cells have showers. There is also a communal ablutions
area. The floor in this area was dirty and the paint on the
floor unsightly. The ablutions room floor should be cleaned
and repainted. The general standard of cleanliness and
decoration in the hall was good.
2.27 Some concerns were expressed about the quality of
the mattresses in the hall. A store in 'D' Hall contains
spare mattresses and mattress covers. Inspectors were
assured that old or worn mattresses or covers were replaced
as required.
2.28 Admissions are allocated to a cell based on a local
cell sharing risk assessment. Although a fairly basic tool
it appears to be effective. Prisoners can also influence
who they share with through discussions with staff.
2.29 Recreation facilities are
basic. There is a pool and a table tennis table. There is
also a quiet room with cards, board games and a small
library. There are two telephones in the hall, one covered,
one uncovered.
2.30 Prisoners have access to
the open air every day in a yard adjacent to the hall.
However, the yard is small, enclosed and claustrophobic.
The prisoners would benefit from being allowed to exercise
in the large yard on their own or with 'A' Hall
prisoners.
Observation Suite
2.31 The observation suite houses prisoners at risk of
self-harm or who are particularly vulnerable. There are
three single cells and a four-person dormitory. On the
first day of inspection there were three prisoners living
there.
2.32 Each cell has integral sanitation, electrical
power, a kettle and a television. There is an ablutions
area with a shower. Recreation facilities consist of a pool
table. The suite was clean and tidy.
Female Unit
2.33 The female unit has six cells with a design
capacity of 12. There are two cells which house three
prisoners, and three cells which could house two. If the
population increases to 14, two foldaway beds are
available. There is also one safe room for any female
prisoners who are considered at risk. On the first day of
inspection there were nine women in the unit.
2.34 The rooms have in-cell sanitation. One room has a
shower and wash hand basin (this was previously the mother
and baby room). There is one other shower in the unit,
although this is locked and the women cannot freely use it.
All rooms have in cell power and are well maintained.
2.35 The condition of the unit
is in general satisfactory, although consideration should
be given to the replacement of the 'waiting room' style
chairs with sofas. The carpet should also be cleaned. There
is one telephone enclosed within a booth to ensure
privacy.
2.36 There is one officer working within the unit at any
one time, and relationships between staff and prisoners
appear to be mixed.
2.37 Work for the women consisted of putting bolts
together, which was described as boring and meaningless. It
took place at the 'breakfast bar' within the unit. The
women were able to attend education every afternoon. If
they did not attend they had their wages reduced. Education
consisted of Art and basic English and Maths.
2.38 Physical Education classes were provided twice
during the week and once at the weekend. However, if a
session was missed during the week access was not allowed
at the weekend. Wages were also reduced.
2.39 The women were positive about the visiting
arrangements and found visits to be relaxed and
enjoyable.
2.40 Meals are eaten within the
unit and at each mealtime two prisoners went to the kitchen
to collect the food. They carried it back to the unit in
large heavy containers. None of the prisoners were trained
in manual handling and the arrangements for transporting
food should be reviewed. Management should also consider
offering women the opportunity to cook their own meals in
the unit. There were complaints about the temperature of
the food and it sometimes had to be reheated within the
unit. Recreation was limited - there only appeared to be
TV or reading available.
2.41 The women said they felt 'really safe' from other
prisoners and from staff.
3. CUSTODY AND GOOD
ORDER
Safety
3.1 In 2003-04 there were four serious
prisoner-on-prisoner assaults against a
KPI target of two. In the same period
there were no serious prisoner-on-staff assaults. There
were 13 minor prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and two minor
prisoner-on-staff assaults within this period. Between 1
April and 31 October 2004 there had been one serious and
six minor prisoner-on-prisoner assaults. There were no
serious and five minor prisoner-on-staff assaults.
Security
3.2 There have been no escapes since the last
inspection.
3.3 In a recent security audit the establishment was
assessed as 81% compliant with
SPS Security Standards. Some local
processes have changed to meet the requirements of the
Security Standards; others will need significant capital
investment if they are to be addressed.
3.4 At the time of inspection the operations group was
under complement and had high levels of absence.
Consequently, the major issues facing the prison were the
inability to cover posts and carry out escorts. It has
recently become more difficult for managers to persuade
staff to cover escorts or posts made vacant by absence,
especially at short notice. This has led to restrictions in
the delivery of regime, and managers covering officer posts
or undertaking escort duties. This is not a viable
long-term solution.
3.5 Staff rotate through all posts in operations and
while this gives everyone the opportunity to participate in
different types of activity it is not necessarily conducive
to building high levels of confidence and competence in
each role. There are fewer operations roles in Dumfries
than in some other establishments and some areas such as
visits are supervised by residential staff.
Prisoner Disciplinary System
3.6 The Inspectorate attended one Orderly Room hearing.
The lay out of the room and the manner in which the process
was managed by the adjudicator was consistent with
SPS Orderly Room guidance: formal but
relaxed. However, one of the members of staff present tried
to influence the outcome by commenting on the video
evidence without being invited to do so by the
adjudicator.
3.7 In the period between 1 April 2004 and 30 November
2004, 291 charges were dealt with in the Orderly Room. The
establishment could not indicate how many of these charges
resulted in a guilty verdict. Orderly Room paperwork was
reviewed and two cases gave cause for concern. In one, a
prisoner was placed on report for the same offence twice by
two different officers. This should not happen. In the
second case a prisoner pleaded not guilty to a minor
charge. He gave a different version of events than the
officer who had placed him on report. The adjudicator found
the prisoner guilty on the original charge. On leaving the
Orderly Room the prisoner was placed on report, by the
officer who had first charged him, for disputing his
evidence. No prisoner should be placed on report for
questioning the evidence against him. Management should
review the Orderly Room procedures.
Prisoner Complaints Procedure
3.8 Dumfries has experienced an increase in the number
of complaints since the arrival of the long-term prisoners.
Before May the average received monthly was 13. Since May
that average has risen to 39.
3.9 There were 182 Internal Complaints Committees (
ICC) held between 28
th June 2004 to 29
th November 2004, an average of 9.6 per week
from a capacity of 178 prisoners. This number is higher
than the average number which take place per month in
Polmont, Cornton Vale, Shotts and Peterhead.
3.10 The Duty Manager has responsibility for organising
and chairing
ICC's. Timescales are not met due to the
high number of complaints.
3.11 Complaint Procedure forms
are locked away in staff offices, therefore prisoners have
to request a form from a member of staff. Complaint
Procedure forms should be readily accessible to
prisoners.
Night Duty
3.12 Night shift orders, contingency plans and area
instruction books are in place and are all user friendly.
When asked, the staff on night shift had a good
understanding of emergency procedures. There were concerns
about managing the prison if a prisoner had to be escorted
to hospital during the night. The inability to persuade
some staff to come in at short notice made this a
particular issue in Dumfries.
Relationships
3.13 Staff prisoner relationships were in general good.
This is supported by the
SPS Prisoner Survey. However, some staff
seemed to have difficulty in dealing with prisoners with
respect. It was also apparent that some staff were
reluctant to engage with prisoners.
4. ADDICTIONS
Strategy
4.1 A written addiction policy is now in place. The
prison also has a Drug Strategy Steering Group which meets
regularly, chaired by the Governor and including the head
of Prisoner Management, head of Rehabilitation and
Care/Operations, and the addiction co-ordinator. There is
also a regular Drug Strategy Group meeting which consists
of the addictions co-ordinator, the Health Centre Manager,
the Links Centres Manager and the Cranstoun team leader.
Individual prisoner cases are discussed at the Links Centre
Forum.
Staffing
4.2 Staffing has not improved since the last follow-up
inspection in March. The addictions co-ordinator still
carries out addiction duties in addition to a full-time
manager post. At the time of inspection the prison did not
have an addictions counsellor. Management are trying to
re-instate this post. Cranstoun has one team leader and one
case worker, who assess prisoners and also, uniquely, do
transitional care work. This is an area of
good practice as it means continuity for
the prisoners and the fact that Cranstoun staff are able to
develop good links with the community. The addictions
manager is still unable to liaise with Cranstoun and to
oversee their management appropriately. This impacts
adversely on individual care planning for prisoners. There
is no addictions nurse in the prison and this too results
in a reduced service for prisoners.
Practice
4.3 Individual cases are reviewed through Links Centre
Forum meetings. Although these meetings are not only for
people with addiction problems, addiction problems can be
discussed and the Cranstoun worker, the addictions
co-ordinator, programme manager, housing, job centre staff
and others can be present. This means a very positive
holistic view of prisoners needs can be taken and action
identified. While this meeting focuses primarily on
admissions and liberations, crises can also be
discussed.
Cranstoun
4.4 Two Cranstoun workers who carry out
CAART assessments also carry out
transitional care work. This is unique in the
SPS. Both staff are
COSCA trained. While the transitional
care contract does not include employment or benefits it
does include housing, health and harm reduction and this
provides a useful service. Cranstoun staff carry out harm
reduction during the induction process and also
pre-release. Cranstoun assessments have dropped from
approximately 40 to 25 per month because of the change in
prisoner population. As in other prisons, remand prisoners
are given crisis throughcare. Cranstoun staff have carried
out some very positive work in linking with the community,
for instance, in persuading Cameron House staff to visit to
maintain continuity, and in identifying a gap for family
support in the community.
Counselling
4.5 There is no counsellor at present. The prison has
made attempts to rectify this but so far unsuccessfully. It
is very important for the delivery of addiction services to
prisoners that counselling is part of the process of
care.
Programmes
4.6 Cranstoun ensure that referral is made to programmes
after interviewing prisoners. There is a 21-hour drug
awareness and a sensible drinking programme in place. Harm
reduction information is given during the induction process
and in the pre-release programme.
Care Management
4.7 The Links Centre meetings are important in planning
care. External agencies representing employment, housing
and benefits are available and there are good links with
community projects such as Turning Point and Cameron
House.
MDT
4.8 The
SPS mandatory drug testing policy
requires that a random sample of 10% of the prisoner
population is tested each month. Dumfries achieves this. In
the period April to October 2004, random mandatory drug
testing indicated an underlying negative (clear) rate of
90%. This means that the
KPI target of 82% of prisoners testing
negative for drugs was easily surpassed. This is a major
improvement on the situation in 2003-04 when only 75% of
prisoners tested negative against a target of 88%. This
improvement is to be welcomed.
4.9 The officer who manages
MDT does this in addition to other
duties and has to constantly reorganise testing to suit
officers available. He tries to target individuals, and
follow-ups on negative testing are good. Week-end testing
is available on occasions and some suspicion testing takes
place but this is variable.
Health Care
4.10 There is no addictions nurse but health care staff
provide a good service. Detoxification takes place to
Health Care Standard 10.
Substitute Prescribing
4.11 Methadone is prescribed for those who are receiving
it on admission. Cameron House and Turning Point in
Stranraer will keep prisoners previously known to them on
their lists if they are in prison for short periods. For
prisoners being discharged who wish to receive methadone,
work has to be done with these agencies as they both have
waiting lists. At the time of the inspection, there were
21 people receiving methadone, which is delivered in the
health centre.
Blood Borne Virus
4.12 There is a Blood Borne Virus Clinic in the prison
with one trained nurse and one trained counsellor.
Alcohol
4.13 The addictions team offer help with alcohol
problems and there is sensible drinking programme in place.
Alcoholics Anonymous attend every Friday. This is primarily
for long-term prisoners but some short-term prisoners are
offered the opportunity to attend.
Women
4.14 Women receive the same help as men with addictions.
Cranstoun offer the same service and
MDT is able to test women. Women have
received the 21 day drug awareness programme in the female
unit and have received one-to-one counselling when that was
available.
5. PRISONER MANAGEMENT
Reception
5.1 The reception at Dumfries immediately impresses with
the space available and the level of cleanliness. However,
access is not good. The entrance is adjacent to the inner
gate and vans have to park outside on the only roadway into
the prison, an area which is not secure and where there is
steady traffic. While the Inspectorate appreciate that this
situation is unlikely to change, the movement of vehicles
and prisoners should be closely monitored.
5.2 The reception area has an
office fronted by a desk with full glass screen. There is a
spacious holding cell fully visible from the office. There
are eight traditional reception cubicles along the external
wall. Each of these has some access to natural light. Also
along this wall are two shower cubicles, a toilet cubicle
and a cubicle containing a bath. This is in a poor state of
repair and has minimal privacy. If the bath is to be used
(which it rarely is) it should be replaced. If not it
should be removed.
5.3 On the opposite wall are two search cubicles
adjacent to the office, a nurses' station, a further two
traditional reception cubicles and two store cupboards. In
the centre of reception there is an x-ray machine used for
examining all property sent in, including any suspicious
letters.
5.4 Staff indicated that the
cubicles are used almost exclusively to allow prisoners to
change and to hold their property while they are out of the
prison. However when prisoners are admitted who require
protection or are at risk, they are held in the cubicles
until the other admissions have been dealt with. This can
mean some prisoners spending excessive periods of time in
cubicles.
5.5 Most admissions are held in a communal area. This is
bright, clean and spacious and has a television. Plans are
in place to produce a local information video to show here.
This is to be welcomed.
5.6 Prisoners are called to the
desk to be processed. The subsequent interview is very
impersonal, lacks any privacy, and is done in earshot of
other prisoners. The prisoner is not allowed the common
courtesy of being seated during the process. This is a very
traditional reception practice which should be reviewed. It
is questionable whether Dumfries fully meets Operating
Standard 3.8 for Prisoners on Reception.
5.7 At reception, personal
clothing is handed in and prisoners are issued boiler suits
to wear on their way to the hall where they are then issued
with their prison clothing. The boiler suits seen were
small and apparently date back to when Dumfries's
population was predominately young adults. The sizes of the
boiler suits should be reviewed.
5.8 The stores for holding prisoners' private property
and clothing were bright, clean and well organised. There
is provision for personal clothing to be laundered.
5.9 Little information is given to prisoners in
reception, and no list of articles in use is displayed.
Short-term prisoners receive information on routines if
they ask for it or if staff think they need it, although no
formal assessment of need is made. Long-term prisoners
receive a handbook. This is suitable for those with
reasonable reading skills. Information for prisoners who do
not speak English consists of a number of information
sheets in principal languages. No translation of these is
available and staff were unaware what the information was.
However, there is now access by telephone to the Language
Line for prisoners who do not speak English.
5.10 The notice board in the
holding room is not well managed. Dumfries has a Temporary
Waiver in its Contract in respect of Operating Standards
3.2 and 3.5 although there seems to be no good reason for
this. Management should review all information available in
reception.
5.11 Overall, the reception
works in a purposeful and relaxed manner, although staffing
poses problems. There is a single reception officer. When
admissions arrive, that officer has to radio for a second
member of staff to help. Although one member of staff in
the gate is the nominal assistant, that member of staff is
often not available, leading to delays. Sometimes that
member of staff has no training in reception procedures. At
the weekend, the reception officer is required to assist at
visits morning and afternoon. Property handed in at the
weekend is not issued until Monday at the earliest. This
breaches Operating Standard 3.6. The system for ensuring
that two officers are available when the reception process
is taking place should be reviewed and a clear protocol put
in place to minimise delays and ensure timescales are
met.
Induction
5.12 Induction ranges from being excellent to being
non-existent, depending on the sentence a prisoner is
serving or the regime they are undergoing.
5.13 For short-term and remand
prisoners the induction programme is as good as any in the
SPS. They receive a pre-prepared kit
issue immediately and have a short initial interview. At
this a well-designed Induction Pack is used both to record
information and to give information. An excellent feature
of this is a 'First Night Form' which captures key
information and which is completed the next day giving
continuity of information between staff. This is an example
of
good practice.5.14 An Induction programme conforming to the
SPS national models is run in the hall
by hall staff. Again this provides excellent consistency of
information. From this, induction information is generated
for the Links Centre via both a local form and the
SPS Core Screening instrument. This
initiates appropriate interventions for prisoners.
5.15 The Induction programme is carried out over a week
with sessions being run by hall staff and by local service
providers. There is a comprehensive checklist kept for each
prisoner which clearly identifies which element has been
completed. A feature at the last inspection was a follow-up
"test" to see what information had actually been absorbed.
Plans are in place to re-introduce this. It is an
imaginative way to test the effectiveness of the
process.
5.16 Women now receive access to a shortened, but
acceptable, version of the short-term programme. However,
the induction of long-term prisoners may or may not happen,
and the quality of the programme depends on the interest
and availability of a personal officer. Similarly, for
those prisoners who are admitted and go straight onto
protection or who are deemed vulnerable, it appears that no
induction occurs.
5.17 Management should ensure
consistency and quality of induction for all groups of
prisoners.
Sentence Management
5.18 At the time of the last inspection, Dumfries held
short-term and remand prisoners. In May 2004 this
population changed significantly with Dumfries now holding
a mixture of short and long-termers.
5.19 This latter group is made up of a mixture of
individuals, many of whom have issues which make it
difficult for them to manage in the mainstream. Some have
committed offences of a sexual nature, some have committed
offences which make them a target for other prisoners, some
have behavioural issues which either make them vulnerable
or at risk. They have complex needs, and it is
disappointing to report that the
SPS Sentence Management Scheme for
long-term prisoners does not operate in any coherent way at
Dumfries. Some work occurs on an ad hoc basis and an
attempt is made to do statutory work. Otherwise, the
situation is extremely poor.
5.20 In terms of what is in place, there is a Personal
Officer assigned to each long-term prisoner. Eight staff
have been identified as Risk and Needs Assessment Officers,
but some appear not to have received training. Despite this
there is evidence of Risk and Needs Assessment work having
been done.
5.21 As with other areas in
Dumfries, the change of population has occurred without
putting in place appropriate systems to deal with it. This
was described as a resource issue which has not yet been
resolved with
SPSHQ. Despite this, there seems to be no
reason, given that staffing in residential areas is a
priority, that more effort to carry out Sentence Management
could not be made. Dumfries is not compliant with operating
Standards 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, or 2.5.
It is recommended that the
SPS Sentence Management Scheme for
long-term prisoners is introduced as a matter of
priority.Throughcare
5.22 As with other aspects of the regime, the experience
of throughcare can be quite different for different
prisoner groups. Short-term prisoners, as with induction,
have the best access.
5.23 The Links Referral Form in the induction pack
provides an immediate range of information about the
prisoner. This allows interventions to be made prior to the
prisoner's situation being discussed at a case conference
at the fortnightly Links Forum meeting. This
multi-disciplinary casework meeting was set up following
the last inspection to address an issue raised about
monitoring and evaluating throughcare. The Forum appears to
be a successful local response and provides a useful
overview of throughcare.
5.24 In addition to the local
Links Referral Form, the
SPS Core Screening Instrument is used
with all short-term and untried prisoners, including women.
As with induction, those prisoners who go straight to
protection or vulnerable individuals managed outwith 'D'
Hall do not have this work done. This is unacceptable.
5.25 The Links Centre
administration staff manage all of the referral and Core
Screening information, and via the fortnightly Links Centre
Forum, ensure that individual referrals are followed up and
the Prisoner Record System updated. Partner agencies have
"read only" access to the record system. There is therefore
the potential for information to be lost.
SPS should review the level of access
which partner agencies have to the Prisoner Record
System.
5.26 While the use of two forms has the potential to
cause confusion, the approach does appear to meet local
needs. The Forum works well in monitoring the progress of
interventions. The prison is well served by a range of
internal and external partners providing interventions
including Jobcentreplus, Citizens Advice, Housing Benefits,
Career Scotland as well as internal Education, Social Work
and Addiction Services.
5.27 However, the situation for long-term prisoners is
poor. No use is made of the
SPS Core Screening Instrument. This
appears to be a training issue, although given the
simplicity of this form it is hard to understand why this
would be an inhibitor to its use. What happens to long-term
prisoners appears to be dependent on the outcome of the
one-to-one induction interview (which does not occur
consistently).
5.28 As mentioned elsewhere in this report, the
long-term prisoner population is a complex one, and to find
that seven months after their arrival that there is no
organised and monitored access to throughcare is
surprising.
5.29
It is recommended that management address access to
throughcare for all prisoners as a matter of
urgency.Pre-Release
5.30 With little Sentence Management occurring there is
no Sentence Management Action Plan for long-term prisoners,
to manage either interventions or release. Long-term
prisoners being released are dealt with on a one-to-one
basis as are women (although a successful condensed
Pre-Release Course was run for women in August 2004). In
both cases the reasons given are the low number of
long-termers and women who are released.
5.31 Prisoners were involved in
the design of the Pre-Release Course which is run over two
weeks and commences every fortnight. Eight to ten prisoners
can attend and staff target prisoners ahead of each course
to encourage them to attend. The Pre-Release courses are
well designed, and an examination of the prisoner feedback
sheets reveals that they are well received. The use of the
feedback sheets allows prisoners to influence the content
of the courses and is an example of
good practice.6. HEALTHCARE
Physical Environment
6.1 The health centre is clean, bright and spacious,
although some of the signage is out of date and should be
replaced: 'Surgery' for example, should be replaced with
'Health Centre' to reflect the multi-disciplinary approach
to maintaining good health. Storage space is adequate,
although the second consulting room requires more lockable
cupboards, particularly for non-drug items. Management
should also consider any data protection implications
arising from having prisoners' names on a white board in
the examination room - a practice that also occurs in the
residential areas in relation to prisoners receiving
medications at particular times.
6.2 A room is set aside in the reception area which is
solely for nursing staff carrying out initial assessments
of prisoners: this is an appropriate environment in terms
of privacy and décor.
Access to Healthcare
6.3 Access to healthcare is a relatively straightforward
process, with nurses triaging all requests for nursing or
medical attention on the day they are made and informing
prisoners of appointment times. Prisoners usually wait no
more than a day to see a nurse and around three days to see
a doctor for a routine appointment, although this may be
longer, for example over a weekend. Urgent appointments can
be seen on the same day and arrangements for dealing with
emergencies are in place. Out of hours - that is after
21.00 during the weekend and after 18.00 at weekends,
officers contact medical help direct.
Nursing Services
6.4 The nursing staff team consists of a health centre
manager and four
RGNs. There is no
RMN/Addictions nurse. This means that
amongst other things, there is no one-to-one drug
counselling, no particular nursing support directed at
those on Methadone programmes, no links with community
psychiatric nursing services for those being liberated and
none of the targeted interventions seen in some other
establishments. It is accepted that the prison has made
repeated attempts to recruit an
RMN and has been unsuccessful. It is
also understood that there has been some initial thinking
around joint arrangements with the local Health Board and
this option should be pursued as soon as possible.
6.5 The health centre manager has recently been included
on the working group developing an addictions strategy for
the prison, although health care input to addictions work
will be severely limited until an
RMN is available. Three of the current
nursing team are trained in smoking cessation support, but
are unable to extend this beyond those with existing
illnesses
e.g. respiratory conditions.
6.6 The health centre manager now inputs to a
multi-disciplinary meeting with prison staff and external
agencies on housing, addictions etc, for prisoners on
admission and those soon to be liberated. Nursing staff
also offer a Blood Borne Virus testing and counselling
service although follow-up has to be sourced from a local
clinic. The health centre manager is hopeful that an
NHS nurse specialist will be available
to provide that service within the prison from next
year.
6.7 In general health care is under-resourced in staff
terms for the size and complexity of the new population,
resulting in a situation where anything beyond basic
provision is difficult to offer. An already difficult
situation is worsened by the lack of any dedicated
administrative support for the work of health centre
staff.
Medical Services
6.8 General medical care is arranged through the
SPS contract with Medacs and is provided
mainly by one
GP who has worked at the prison for four
years. Out of hours and other cover is also provided
through Medacs, although the
GP spoke of having had difficulty
finding colleagues who might share the prison
responsibility with him. The
GP sees prisoners 09.00-10.00 Monday to
Saturday, although he reports that often the first
appointment is not brought to the health centre until
09.20, causing unnecessary additions to waiting times;
current capacity is therefore not being fully utilised, and
this should be addressed.
6.9 Prisoner satisfaction with medical services is
markedly lower than with nursing services and the
GP attributes this to the 'tough' stance
he takes on the prescription of 'abusable' drugs -
anxiolytics, night sedation and analgesia. The absence of
one-to-one drug counselling and any input from an
RMN or psychologist arguably serves to
exacerbate the apparent harshness of this situation to
prisoners.
Psychiatry
6.10 Psychiatric input is provided by a local Consultant
Psychiatrist, who has been working at the prison for ten
years. During that time, the psychiatrist has seen
psychologist support withdrawn by
SPS and that, combined with the
difficulty in recruiting an
RMN, has meant the demise of a team
approach to mental health in the prison, although
relationships with the nursing team, addictions services
and the
GP are good. There is little specialist
input to addressing offending behaviour and little room for
any pro-active work in relation to the co-morbidities
common to many prisoners - depression, anxiety, Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder and anger management. This
situation of high levels of co-morbidity is especially
characteristic of the female prisoners in Dumfries as
elsewhere in the
SPS.
Dental Services
6.11 The present wait for a routine dental appointment
is around eight weeks, which is comparable to that for
NHS dentists in the community. However,
the situation could be improved were prisoners always to
attend for booked appointments. Instead, it is not uncommon
for booked appointments in the one dental session a week to
be cancelled because there is no officer available to bring
prisoners to the health centre. This should be
addressed.
Pharmacy
6.12 A local pharmacist, organized through the contract
with Moss Pharmacy, comes into the prison fortnightly to
check the Controlled Drugs register, supervise stock
control and scan prescriptions for interactions.
Optician
6.13 There is no provision for an optician to visit the
prison and therefore no provision for routine eye
appointments, since all appointments that are made have to
be made with opticians in the community. This is despite
repeated efforts on the part of the health centre manager
to recruit local opticians to come into the prison. Some
prisoners raised concerns about charges which were made for
glasses, claiming that there was no provision for free
glasses and that prisoners with no personal resources could
not afford them.
Podiatry
6.14 There is no podiatry provision within the prison; a
local
NHS clinic is being used for all routine
and 'special' foot care.
Counselling
6.15 A counsellor is contracted for one day a week,
although on the day she is in the prison, there is not an
officer available to bring prisoners to the health centre
in the morning. This situation undoubtedly contributes to
the present two month wait to see the counsellor and also
limits plans she has to do more pro-active work with
prisoners.
6.16 Referrals are made to the counsellor from the
healthcare team, from officers and on occasion following
concern expressed by a prisoner's family.
Links with External
Services
6.17 Links with external services are not as well
developed at Dumfries as they might be. Health promotion
for example, is an excellent way of getting external
services involved in the prison and should have a much
greater profile with prisoners. The annual health promotion
event, which did not take place at all this year, should be
more frequent. As noted above, the lack of an
RMN on the nursing team means that links
with related services in the community are not well
developed; sexual health promotion has not happened in any
formal way at the prison for over two years.
Suicide Prevention
6.18 In the year prior to the inspection there had been
no suicides at the prison. Up to twenty incidents of
self-harm were reported.
ACT procedures had been initiated on
30-50 occasions.
6.19 The March 2004 inspection report commented on the
infrequency of
ACT strategy meetings, the absence of a
Listener Scheme in the prison and the fact that the
external audit of the
ACT procedure requested at the time of
the last full inspection in 2001 had not been carried out.
Little progress has be made in any of these areas.
6.20 The
ACT Strategy Group has met only once
since the last full inspection. This should be addressed.
There is still no Listener Scheme operating in the prison,
although this seems to be due to the lack of support
capacity in the local Samaritan group.
6.21 An external
SPS audit of
ACT procedures at the prison was carried
out in the summer of 2004, but as yet has not been
considered. No local audit has been carried out.
6.22 The Inspectorate was
informed that there was a 12 month plan to get the prison
to a good place in relation to
ACT, in terms of resources, senior
commitment, regular meetings of the strategy group,
prioritization of case conferences, pro-active work with
prisoners and families and staff training.
It is recommended that the proposed plan in
relation to improving
ACT procedures is formalised and
documented with action deadlines agreed.7. LEARNING, SKILLS AND
EMPLOYABILITY
Education
7.1 Education services are provided in a dedicated
learning centre under contract by Motherwell College. The
learning centre is managed by a Learning Centre Manager who
has been in post for a number of years. The Learning Centre
Manager liaises regularly with the Regimes Manager and with
staff in other areas of the prison. Motherwell College
deploys four part-time teaching staff in meeting the
requirements of its contract with the
SPS. Current staff have a good range of
experience in working with prisoners and were appropriately
qualified in their subject areas. As part of a national
pathfinder project, a further part-time tutor, employed by
Dumfries and Galloway Council, provides discreet, one to
one support for literacies learners in the Links Centre.
There is no dedicated administrative support in the
learning centre.
7.2 Accommodation in the learning centre, which is
situated below 'D' Hall, comprises four teaching areas with
staff room, prisoners' rest room and the managers' office.
One teaching area contains eight networked computers with a
limited range of learning software. This teaching area is
cramped. A further classroom is well-equipped for arts
classes. Motherwell College has installed additional
computers in the two general classrooms to support courses
in these areas. Generally, furnishing and fittings are
suitable for purpose and teaching staff have good access to
the learning resources they require. The learning centre
accommodates 18 prisoners in each session. However, the
centre and teaching staff could accommodate up to 32
prisoners. The current numbers are restricted by the
National Contract which
SPS has put in place.
7.3 At induction, short-term and
remand prisoners are assessed for literacy and numeracy
capabilities using the Basic Skills Assessment. Female
prisoners are assessed and inducted into the learning
centre as soon as possible after admission. Long-term
prisoners are assessed and inducted as required by the
sentence management process. Convicted prisoners complete
an individual learning plan (
ILP) as part of their induction into
education. However,
ILPs recorded the classes that prisoners
will attend but not their learning goals. Very few
ILPs had been reviewed. Learning centre
staff should improve their use of individual learning plans
to more fully engage prisoners in setting their learning
goals and reviewing their progress towards achieving
them.
7.4 Most prisoners have access to
education on 50 weeks of the year. The timetable
arrangements provide opportunities for long-term prisoners
in the mornings and short-term and female prisoners in the
afternoons. There is no provision for short-term protection
prisoners. Classes are advertised through a regular
newsletter,
TheBrainCell, that is available throughout the
prison. The Learning Centre Manager also visits the gardens
and work shops to promote education opportunities weekly.
An average of 52 prisoners accessed education in any month
during 2003-2004. The learning centre had met its
contracted learning hours target in 2003-2004 and was
slightly ahead of target for 2004-2005. However, continuity
and consistency of prisoners' attendance at classes had
been adversely affected by the loss, in the summer, of a
dedicated officer to provide escort functions for
education. Plans to re-instate this post should be
implemented. The current programme of classes included art,
IT, literacies, and maths. However, of
the 24 classes on offer, nine are art classes. Learning
centre staff should implement their plan to consult
prisoners about their needs to ensure that the curriculum
is as relevant as it can be to the different prisoner
populations.
7.5 During the year 2003-2004, of
155 registrations, 145 Scottish Qualifications Authority (
SQA) awards were achieved by prisoners.
Certification played an important role in raising the
self-esteem of prisoners, particularly those who had never
previously achieved any accredited qualifications. However,
a few prisoners reported that they had not received
certificates for courses they had completed. Motherwell
College should ensure that its processes deliver
certificates to prisoners as soon as possible after
completion. The learning centre is an
SQA accredited centre enabling teaching
staff to assess prisoners' progress in learning modules.
Very few prisoners were engaged in higher level courses and
none were studying through the Open University. The
learning centre had a commendably strong record of using
national competitions and exhibitions to acknowledge the
work of prisoners in art. This had resulted in a number of
Dumfries prisoners achieving commendations and cash prizes
in Koestler and other award schemes.
7.6 The atmosphere in the learning centre is relaxed and
purposeful. Staff work well together as a team and provide
effective learning support for prisoners. Prisoners'
behaviour in education is generally good and they show
appropriate respect for teaching staff.
7.7 Staff discuss their work
regularly but informally. Commendably, Motherwell College
had started to bring together subject tutors from across
those prisons where they delivered education. Staff in
Dumfries appreciated these development opportunities.
Teaching staff are also included in Motherwell College's
annual review and development processes, although annual
reviews had not yet been held for 2004/2005. However, as in
many other prisons, staff need to apply more systematic
approaches to self-evaluation as part of planning for
improvement.
Employability and
Employment
7.8 Prisoners have a limited range of work party options
in laundry, catering, cleaning, gardens and as passmen. In
addition, just over 20% of prisoner activity time is spent
in assembly and packaging work to meet contract targets for
a Rawl bolt manufacturer. Award-bearing vocational training
opportunities are limited to industrial cleaning and
bricklaying. The industrial cleaning
VT operates to high standards and
provides British Institute of Cleaning Science modules at
levels which are valued by firms in the community.
Prisoners achieved 31 cleaning operators proficiency
certificates at levels one and two in 2003-2004. They also
achieved 27 modules in cleaning minor and major hazards.
One prisoner is progressing towards a level three award
which would qualify him to supervise and assess other
prisoners. Consequently, the mobile cleaners work party
made a valuable contribution to ensuring the cleanliness of
the prison and in dealing with various bio hazard
incidents. Overall, this is an area of
good practice. Prisoners achieved 19
bricklaying awards and four bricklaying progression awards
in 2003-2004.
7.9 Overall, however, too few
prisoners are able to benefit from vocational training.
Previous opportunities in painting and joinery are no
longer available. The potential for prisoners to work
towards accredited qualifications in catering, horticulture
and painting and decorating are not being realised.
Management should improve the range of opportunities for
accredited vocational training to better equip prisoners
for work on their release.
Library
7.10 The small library is located in a locked room
beside the recreation area in 'B' Hall. It is managed by an
enthusiastic residential officer in a voluntary capacity.
Prisoners access books through a publications list and
order forms that are available in each hall. However, as a
result of books being damaged, short-term prisoners did not
have access to the library at the time of the inspection.
Because of the location of the library, prisoners are
unable to visit and browse for titles of interest to them.
The library is well-maintained and well-catalogued. It
contains some 3,000 titles, 70 audio books and 30
CDs. The library would benefit from a
computer to assist with loans and stock management. Budget
constraints had significantly reduced the capacity to
replenish stock. The development of the library needs to be
taken forward alongside other plans to improve learning and
employability within Dumfries.
Physical Education
7.11 Prisoners have access to a good games hall and a
well-equipped, if cramped, gym. There is good storage space
for the varied range of games and other sports equipment.
The
PE facilities are open seven days each
week and staffed by three Physical Education Instructors (
PEI) on a rota system. The facilities
are made available to staff for an hour and a half at
lunchtimes and for an hour in the early evenings. All
prisoner groups, with the exception of short-term
protection prisoners, have access to the facilities on at
least three sessions each week. Prisoners do not have
access to an induction booklet about
PE provision.
7.12 The
PEIs provide a health and fitness
assessment for prisoners and staff who use the facilities.
Female prisoners are not currently assessed, although most
attend
PE. Assessments are conducted in
confidence within a well-equipped physiotherapy room. The
PEIs also monitor the progress of
individual prisoners but records of their progress are not
kept.
7.13 The
PEIs have a range of appropriate
qualifications in weight-lifting, aerobics, first aid,
manual handling, football, hockey, badminton and health and
safety. They are also highly motivated and enthusiastic.
However, none of them are trained assessors and so
currently cannot provide accredited training for
prisoners.
7.14 The
PEIs have established a good atmosphere
within the
PE facilities and relationships with
prisoners are relaxed and purposeful. Prisoners show
improvements in attitudes and behaviour as well as health
and fitness through engaging in the physical education
programme. However, programmes are sometimes curtailed
because
PEIs are redeployed for escort or
security duties. Budget constraints have resulted in some
gym equipment not being repaired or replaced.
Summary
7.15 Prisoners had access to a limited range of learning
and vocational training opportunities. The provision was
constrained by the need to cater separately for the
different prisoner populations. Provision was typified by a
good atmosphere for learning and good working relationships
between staff and prisoners. However, staff were in the
early stages of developing more holistic approaches to
meeting the needs of individual prisoners. Developing
relationships with learning providers in the community had
the potential to improve continuation of learning for
prisoners once released. Staff shortages were adversely
affecting the range, continuity and consistency of
prisoners' opportunities for relevant vocational
training.
8. CARE
Family Contact
8.1 The visit room is bright, spacious and well
maintained. The visits take place in a relaxed and pleasant
environment. There were adequate staff supervising the
visits, although there were no regular visit staff. The
Visit Co-ordinator did show flexibility by allowing
prisoners to have visits outwith their scheduled times in
exceptional circumstances. There is a good canteen
available managed by 'Friends of Dumfries Prison' who are a
group of motivated volunteers.
8.2 Both male and female prisoners have visits together
in the visit room. To date there have been no problems with
this arrangement. The booking system is viewed by both
prisoners and visitors as easy to use. Concern is given to
the arrangements in the event of having a disabled
prisoner. The visit room is not accessible to any prisoner
who is confined to a wheelchair. Facilities for children
are in place.
8.3 Other arrangements for
maintaining family contact are poor. There is one Family
Contact Development Officer (
FCDO) in post: however, this is in
addition to other Residential Officer duties. Due to this
no contact is made with families. The
FCDO does not attend the visit area
during visits. There are no posters/leaflets anywhere in
the prison to say that there is an
FCDO. Nor are there any referral forms
or family contact database in place. The
FCDO should be provided with dedicated
time to develop family contact.
Social Work
8.4 The staffing compliment is two social workers plus
20% from the manager of the community based Criminal
Justice Team. One of the social workers at the time of the
inspection was on long-term sick leave and the other had
recently left for another post within the Social Work
Department, but was providing some cover. A retired Senior
Probation Officer had been recruited to provide some cover
and a Social Work Assistant was due to start soon after the
inspection visit. Despite the staffing situation statutory
responsibilities were being met and duty cover was also
being provided to look at family matters and parole.
However, the staffing situation needs to be addressed to
ensure a full service is provided.
8.5 The team is accommodated in the administration block
and interviewing takes place in two offices at the central
core of the prison. Social work also has use of the Links
Centre.
8.6 There are good links with Cranstoun and with the
Links Centre Forum. Social Work also provides input to the
induction process in 'D' Hall.
8.7 Social work has had to readjust in terms of
skill-base because of the change in prison population with
the introduction of sex offenders into the prison.
8.8 Social work maintain good links locally and is
developing links throughout Scotland for throughcare
work.
Psychology
8.9 Dumfries shares a psychologist with Barlinnie (two
days per week at Dumfries). The main tasks involve Risk and
Sentence Management, Anger Management and the Drug
Programme. Discussions are ongoing as part of the
SPS Review of Psychological Services to
include a Mental Health Resource.
8.10 The two key issues facing the psychology unit are
the backlog in the Sentence Management process given the
staffing problems in the prison and the backlog of Risk and
Needs Assessments which came with the new prisoner
population.
Programmes
8.11 Two programmes officers deliver the following
programmes in the Links Centre:
Programme | Status |
Cognitive Skills | Accredited Programme |
Anger Management | Accredited Programme |
21 Hour Drug Awareness | Approved Activity |
Relationships | Approved Activity |
Sensible Drinking | Approved Activity |
Pre-Release | Local Activity |
8.12 However, the Cognitive Skills Programme had not
been run for some time as there was no trained coach
available. The target for the year was 80 completions of
which 8 were from Accredited Programmes. To date of
inspection, the prison had completed 43 of the target of 72
Approved Activities. Plans were being made to run an Anger
Management Programme.
8.13 As with other areas in the
prison, staffing difficulties have impacted on programmes.
Programmes Officers have been used throughout the year for
other duties: but attempts have again been made to
ring-fence these staff. Management needs to consider how it
best meets the needs of the long-term prisoner population,
especially vulnerable prisoners.
Race Relations
8.14 There is one Race Relations Manager (
RRM) and two Race Relations Officers (
RRO) in post. They carry out these tasks
in addition to other duties. The
RROs deliver training as part of the
induction process and hold separate meetings with all
ethnic minority prisoners.
8.15 There were four ethnic minority prisoners being
held at the time of inspection - three long-term prisoners
and one untried. Dietary requirements were being met. The
prison had recently acquired access to the Language Line
for prisoners who did not speak English. Audio tapes of the
Koran were available (and on loan during inspection).
8.16 While the
RRM and
RROs were able to meet informally with
prisoners and tended to see them on a daily basis, there
was no formal Race Relations Monitoring Group in place.
Such a group should be set up and the meetings minuted.
8.17 Information promoting race relations is available
throughout the prison. Effort has also been made to link
with the local community and the prison is part of the
Dumfries and Galloway Race Relations Consultative
Group.
Chaplaincy
8.18 Meeting the religious needs of the prisoner
population has been problematic in Dumfries recently. The
Church of Scotland Minister's post has been vacant since
August 2004, the Roman Catholic Priest took up post in
October 2003 and a Minister from the United Free Church
took up post in October 2004. Both of the current team are
contracted to deliver five hours per week. The Chaplaincy
team should be fully staffed.
8.19 Roman Catholic prisoners
can attend mass on a Friday afternoon on alternate weeks.
This is to keep the short-term and the long-term
populations separate. A Protestant service is available
every second Sunday to those prisoners who wish to attend
for the same reason. Only a very small number attend either
service. It is not considered safe by the prison to allow
prisoners to mix even at church, but this should be
reviewed. This kind of mixing is commonplace in other
prisons. Women do not attend any services, although the
chaplains said none had ever asked.
8.20 Although small in number the Chaplaincy team said
they felt part of the prison. They have good informal links
with staff, who regularly seek their advice or refer
prisoners to them. They also work with the social work unit
helping develop links with outside voluntary agencies and
church groups.
8.21 Although they said they did
try to attend the Links Forum meetings whenever they could,
they confirmed that more formal links are not really in
place. They do not take part in committees or working
groups. They do not deliver any training or have any formal
meetings with groups of prisoners. The Chaplaincy should
become more directly involved in the formal structures of
prisoner management.
Visiting Committee
8.22 The Visiting Committee believes that it is well
supported in its work by management and staff within the
prison. There is a weekly visit by a member of the
committee. Members visiting have a useful aide-memoire to
guide them.
8.23 Matters raised with prisoners are regularly taken
up with prison management, and there is a record of that
process. However, there is no record of the result of the
process.
8.24 The arrival of the long-term prisoners has led to
some increase in the number of matters raised by prisoners
with the Committee. It is very unusual for matters of food
or healthcare to be raised with the Visiting Committee.
8.25 Among the views of the Committee on the life of the
prison are:
- It is a safe place: staff and prisoners feel safe
and there are no concerns about public safety
- Women prisoners do not have the opportunity to
spend a completely useful day
- The prison is clean
- There are only limited work opportunities
8.26 All of these confirm the findings of the
inspection.
9. SERVICES
Estates and Facilities
9.1 The Estates Manager has one maintenance manager, six
tradesmen, one labourer and one administrator in his
department. The unit is very well organised and there is a
very high standard of decoration and cleanliness throughout
the prison.
9.2 The prison has no development plan agreed with
SPS. The development of the local estate
is therefore restricted to individual projects/business
cases being submitted and
SPS making decisions on a case-by-case
basis. Over the last three years Estates have introduced a
maintenance programme backed up by schedules, checklists
and safe systems of work for each area and task. This
imposes a structure to the process that gives confidence
that work will be completed and that appropriate standards
are consistently applied.
9.3 Estates have also been affected by the staff
shortages in other parts of the prison. In the period
between 1 April 2004 to the first day of the inspection 880
hours of Estates staff time had been spent escorting
contractors: a task normally undertaken by operations
staff. This led to 880 hours lost on maintenance or project
work.
9.4 Estates do not have a painter
among the tradesmen. All painting and decorating has
therefore to be contracted out. The result of this is that
the prison pays for the painting and the estates department
lose another member of staff to escort the contractor as
they do the work. The Estates department team should be
reconfigured to include a painter.
Health and Safety
9.5 The Health and Safety Committee is well attended. At
least 50% of members attend the meetings which are held
twice monthly. Items covered relate to both staff and
prisoners, and cover both reactive and proactive
points.
9.6 The majority of First Line
Managers had completed Health and Safety training. However,
no non-managerial member of staff had received refresher
training recently. This should be addressed.
9.7 The Infection Control
Committee has never met. Therefore no infection control
measures are being driven forward in Dumfries. This should
be addressed.
9.8 Recent pre-audit conducted by
SPS in October 2004 showed a Health and
Safety compliance rate of 85%.
Human Resources
9.9 The full time equivalent staff in post exceeds the
agreed complement. This excess is primarily in the
Residential Officer group, who were 4.28 over complement.
At the time of the inspection there were 12 members of
staff on sick leave. It was indicated to the Inspectorate
that previous high levels of sickness had caused
significant staffing difficulties in the prison.
9.10 There were significant
numbers of staff who were not wearing name badges.
It is recommended that all staff should wear name
badges.Staff Training
9.11 Staff training has suffered recently. In the week
before the inspection the Staff Development Manager's post
was filled after being vacant for most of 2004. This has
meant that the Human Resources manager has had to do his
own job and try to keep training up to speed.
9.12 A good training plan is in place and good recording
systems exist. The matrix used for operations staff is
particularly good. This covers in-house competence in the
use of equipment in the
ECR or gate.
9.13 A matrix of core training competencies is also
maintained. Unfortunately it shows that there are large
gaps in core competencies and very little involvement in
other training. Most concerning was the very low level of
competence in
ACT. The establishment only has 42% of
staff
ACT competent although 89% of
residential staff were competent
9.14 There are no training
facilities in the prison. The Staff Development Manager has
to try and book a programmes room or another office to
deliver training. This also leads to a lot of training
being delivered outwith the prison. Management should
review the way in which it organises and delivers
training.
Catering
9.15 The Catering Department was fully staffed at the
time of inspection. The kitchen was a popular job with
prisoners and relationships in the workplace were very
good.
9.16 The quality of food was good at the point of
cooking. All but three areas of the establishment eat in
the dining room. Long-term prisoners always dine first to
suit the regime. All meals were served and eaten within one
hour. There was a good choice of menu with a healthy option
available at each meal time. The maximum amount of fruit
and vegetables on offer was an average two portions per
day. Prisoners stated that food portions generally were
adequate.
9.17 The kitchen did not have a
complaints book, preferring to address any concerns
directly with the prisoners. A complaints book should be
introduced. There were 'food complaint forms' and 'food
suggestion forms' in the halls for the prisoners to use if
they had a complaint or suggestion for the catering staff.
However, the number of complaints about food were
minimal.
9.18 Food Focus Groups were held each month. These were
chaired by a Catering Officer, and appeared to work
well.
9.19 Special diets were catered for.
Laundry
9.20 The two washing machines were broken which resulted
in the prisoners clothes being sent out to an external
source for washing. Since then there have been an increase
in complaints.
9.21 The laundry employs 10
prisoners. All these prisoners are
LTPs. There is no certificated work in
the laundry due to the laundry officer not having the
necessary qualifications to allow him to carry out
SVQ work with the prisoners.
Consideration should be given to the provision of such
training for the laundry officer.
Canteen
9.22 The canteen system in Dumfries is good. A "Bag
& Tag" system is in place. One prisoner is employed
alongside the full time canteen co-ordinator. The canteen
also receives administrative support for 1.5 days per
week.
9.23 Each residential unit has ample opportunity to
access the canteen, which is particularly impressive given
the complexity of the population. It was clear that the
prison had also added significantly to the canteen list in
recent months to cater for the changing tastes of the
population.
9.24 Prisoners cannot access
toasters or microwave ovens. While access across
SPS lacks uniformity, it is unusual that
no prisoners, particularly long-term prisoners, have access
to a means of augmenting prison meals in their own time.
These concerns appear to have been addressed in other
prisons.
9.25 Overall, the prisoners are well served by the
current canteen arrangements.
10. GOOD PRACTICE
10.1 Cranstoun Addiction Services provides one case
worker who does transitional care work (paragraphs
4.2,
4.4).
10.2 A 'First Night Form' is completed for untried and
short-term prisoners. This captures key information and
gives continuity of information between staff (
paragraph 5.13).
10.3 The use of feedback sheets on the Pre-Release
Course (
paragraph 5.31).
10.4 The industrial cleaning and bricklaying vocational
training opportunities (
paragraph 7.8).
11. RECOMMENDATIONS
For Establishment
11.1 The
SPS Sentence Management Scheme for
long-term prisoners should be introduced to Dumfries as a
matter of priority (
paragraph 5.21).
11.2 Management should address access to throughcare for
all prisoners as a matter of urgency (
paragraph 5.29).
11.3 The proposed plan in relation to improving
ACT procedures should be formalised and
documented with action deadlines agreed (
paragraph 6.22).
11.4 All staff should wear name badges (
paragraph 9.10).
12. POINTS OF NOTE
For
SPS/
HQ
12.1
SPS should review the level of access
which partner agencies have to the Prisoner Record System
(paragraph
5.25).
For Establishment
12.2 Offensive material on all walls in 'A' Hall should
be removed and management should publish a local policy on
the displaying of materials (
paragraph 2.8).
12.3 Prisoners should be able to make telephone calls in
private (paragraphs
2.12,
2.17,
2.23,
2.29).
12.4 A more productive and constructive environment
should be created in the Behavioural Change Unit (
paragraph 2.14).
12.5 The situation where some cleaners in 'C' Hall are
left out of their cells during parts of the day, thus
restricting others access to a toilet, should be reviewed (
paragraph 2.21).
12.6 Management should be more visible in 'C' Hall (
paragraph 2.22).
12.7 Some of the shower plinths in 'C' Hall should be
replaced (
paragraph 2.24).
12.8 Inappropriate graffiti in the ablutions area in 'C'
Hall should be removed (
paragraph 2.24).
12.9 The floor in the ablutions area in 'D' Hall should
be cleaned and repainted (
paragraph 2.26).
12.10 Prisoners in 'D' Hall would benefit from being
allowed to exercise in the large yard on their own, or with
'A' Hall prisoners (
paragraph 2.30).
12.11 The chairs in the Female Unit should be replaced
by sofas, and the carpet should be cleaned (
paragraph 2.35).
12.12 The arrangement for transporting food from the
Kitchen to the Female Unit should be reviewed (
paragraph 2.40).
12.13 Management should consider offering women the
opportunity to cook their own meals in the unit (
paragraph 2.40).
12.14 The inability to cover operations posts and
deliver the escort service should be addressed (
paragraph 3.4).
12.15 Management should review the Orderly Room
procedures (
paragraph 3.7).
12.16 Timescales for Internal Complaints Committees
should be met (
paragraph 3.10).
12.17 Complaint Procedure forms should be readily
accessible to prisoners (
paragraph 3.11).
12.18 The Addiction Service offered to prisoners is
reduced by the fact that the addictions manager is unable
to oversee the management of Cranstoun properly, and also
by the fact that there is no addictions nurse (
paragraph 4.2).
12.19 The prison should ensure that counselling is part
of the delivery of addiction services (
paragraph 4.5).
12.20 If the bath in reception is to be used it should
be replaced. If not it should be removed (
paragraph 5.2).
12.21 Prisoners should not spend excessive periods of
time in the reception cubicles (
paragraph 5.4).
12.22 The process of interviewing prisoners on reception
should be reviewed (
paragraph 5.6).
12.23 The size of the boiler suits issued on reception
should be reviewed (
paragraph 5.7).
12.24 Management should review all information available
in reception (
paragraph 5.10).
12.25 The system for ensuring that two officers are
available when the reception process is taking place should
be reviewed and a clear protocol put in place to minimise
delays and ensure timescales are met (
paragraph 5.11).
12.26 Management should ensure consistency and quality
of induction for all groups of prisoners (
paragraph 5.17).
12.27 Prisoners who go straight to protection or
vulnerable individuals managed outwith 'D' Hall should have
the
SPS Core Screening Instrument done (
paragraph 5.24).
12.28 Signage in the health centre should be updated to
reflect the multi-disciplinary approach to maintaining good
health (
paragraph 6.1).
12.29 The second consulting room in the health centre
requires more lockable cupboards, particularly for non-drug
items (
paragraph 6.1).
12.30 Management should consider any data protection
implications arising from having prisoners' names on a
white board in the examination room - and in the
residential areas in relation to prisoners receiving
medications at particular times (
paragraph 6.1).
12.31 Management should urgently explore joint
arrangements for
RMN input with the local health board (
paragraph 6.4).
12.32 Prisoners should be escorted to doctor's
appointments in the health centre on time (
paragraph 6.8).
12.33 The situation where dental appointments are
cancelled because there is no officer available to take
prisoners to the health centre should be addressed (
paragraph 6.11).
12.34 Prison health services should give higher priority
to health promotion (
paragraph 6.17).
12.35 Learning centre staff should improve their use of
individual learning plans to more fully engage prisoners in
setting their learning goals and reviewing their progress
towards achieving them (
paragraph 7.3).
12.36 Education provision should be made for short-term
protection prisoners (
paragraph 7.4).
12.37 Plans to re-instate a dedicated officer to provide
escort functions for education should be implemented (
paragraph 7.4).
12.38 Learning centre staff should implement their plan
to consult prisoners about their needs (
paragraph 7.4).
12.39 Motherwell College should ensure that its
processes deliver certificates to prisoners as soon as
possible after completion (
paragraph 7.5).
12.40 Learning centre staff need to apply more
systematic approaches to self-evaluation as part of
planning for improvement (
paragraph 7.7).
12.41 Management should improve the range of
opportunities for accredited vocational training (
paragraph 7.9).
12.42 The development of the library needs to be taken
forward (
paragraph 7.10).
12.43 The fact that staff shortages were adversely
affecting the range, continuity and consistency of
prisoners' opportunities for relevant vocational training
should be addressed (
paragraph 7.15).
12.44 The Family Contact Development Officer should be
provided with dedicated time to develop family contact (
paragraph 8.3).
12.45 The staffing levels in the social work unit need
to be addressed (
paragraph 8.4).
12.46 Management needs to consider how it best meets the
needs of the long-term prisoner population, especially
vulnerable prisoners (
paragraph 8.13).
12.47 A formal Race Relations Monitoring Group should be
set up, and the meetings minuted (
paragraph 8.16).
12.48 The Chaplaincy team should be fully staffed (
paragraph 8.18).
12.49 Consideration should be given to allowing
long-term and short-term prisoners to mix at church (
paragraph 8.19).
12.50 The Chaplaincy Team should become more directly
involved in the formal structures of prisoner management (
paragraph 8.21).
12.51 The Estates department team should be reconfigured
to include a painter (
paragraph 9.4).
12.52 Non-managerial staff should receive refresher
training in Health and Safety (
paragraph 9.6).
12.53 Infection control measures should be addressed (
paragraph 9.7).
12.54 Management should review the way in which it
organises and delivers staff training (
paragraph 9.14).
12.55 A complaints book should be introduced in the
kitchen (
paragraph 9.17).
12.56 Consideration should be given to providing
training for the laundry officer to allow him to carry out
SVQ work with prisoners (
paragraph 9.21).
12.57 Management should review the policy that no
prisoners can access toasters or microwave ovens (
paragraph 9.24).
ANNEX 1 SOURCES OF EVIDENCE
Written material and statistics received from the prison
prior to Inspection
Prison's self-assessment
Governor's briefing
SPS Prisoner Survey
Prison Records
SPS background material
Discussions with prisoners
Discussions with prisoners family
Focus groups with prisoners
Interviews with prisoners
Interviews with prison staff
Focus groups with staff
Observations
ANNEX 2 INSPECTION TEAM
Andrew R C McLellan | HM Chief Inspector |
Rod MacCowan | HM Deputy Chief
Inspector |
David McAllister | HM Assistant Chief
Inspector |
David Abernethy | HM Inspector |
Sandra Hands | Associate Inspector |
Jim Rooney | Education Adviser |
Rhona Hotchkiss | Healthcare Adviser |
Tom Leckie | Addictions and Social Work Adviser |
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