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Listen
8. CARE
Family Contact
8.1 The visit room is bright, spacious and well maintained: visits take place in a relaxed atmosphere. There were adequate staff supervising the visits, although there were no regular visit staff apart from the First Line Manager. The room is accessible to disabled prisoners and visitors. Facilities for children are good. There is a play area and each evening volunteers from the organisations TOYBOX or MUPPETS attend.
8.2 Canteen facilities had been provided by a volunteer until 18 months ago. Now there are vending machines which provide a range of snacks.
8.3 Visits for remand prisoners are booked by the visitors who telephone the establishment between 13.30 - 16.00 hrs on week days. Some visitors might not have access to a telephone during this time and the arrangements should be improved.
8.4 There are six Family Contact Development Officers ( FCDO) who each spend about 20% of their time in this role. One FCDO is available during visits to speak to prisoners' families. If required, an FCDO will meet any disabled visitors or first time visitors before scheduled visits to explain procedures and show them the visit area. This is an area of good practice.
Suicide Prevention
8.5 There were two deaths in custody in the year prior to inspection (subject to Fatal Accident Inquiries). Since April 2005 there have been eight incidences of self harm. The review of the deaths has highlighted learning points which are shared within the prison and inform the ACT National Co-ordinators meeting.
8.6 An ACT committee is in place and meets bi-monthly. The prison set a target of 80% compliance for refresher trained on ACT and is currently 85% compliant.
8.7 The prison has a good relationship with the Samaritans and has a Service Level Agreement in place. There is also a framework agreement in place with the Listeners which includes a 'statement of intent' explaining what is expected of the Listeners and what is expected of prison staff. The demand for Listeners is increasing and this may well be due to the proactive approach being taken.
Physical Education
8.8 The provision of physical education has stalled. There are fewer sessions for prisoners than before and much certificated work has now stopped. Facilities are dated although a new gym is planned in the next phase of the establishment's Development Plan.
8.9 A change to staff attendance patterns has resulted in evening classes for prisoners being lost. Convicted prisoners now have fewer sessions during the day: this is undoubtedly a consequence of the increase in remand prisoners.
8.10 Facilities consist of a small gym and a large cardiovascular and weights room. There is a 5-a-side football pitch in a yard next to 'E' Hall. A large grass football pitch that used to be very popular with prisoners was lost as it was on the site of the new activities centre. Showers and changing facilities, although old, are clean and functional.
8.11 A small classroom is used when the PEI's are delivering training: 'Heart Start' to staff and 'Manual Handling' to staff and prisoners. When it is not being used as a classroom the room is used as a store.
8.12 Previously prisoners could work toward the Community Sports Leader Award qualification, football coaching badges and SVQ modules. None of these were now available.
8.13 The gym facilities in Friarton are disappointing. The weights room is a long narrow room with limited space for exercise. The cardiovascular room is larger but there is very little by way of equipment.
Social Work
8.14 The social work staffing complement is six full-time social workers: four in the main prison and two at Friarton. Until recently the team had been operating with half that number. This has impacted on the level of social work service provided to prisoners. Vacancies are being filled gradually. Accommodation is good: it is in an Annexe of 'A' Hall and close to prisoner programmes and the Chaplaincy.
8.15 The social work team has had to concentrate on statutory work as a result of the staffing situation. This work has focused on the National Standards and Objectives for Criminal Justice but timescales have not been met. The team have not implemented phase I of the Throughcare Standards but have written to local authority social work departments asking them to pick up prisoners on throughcare and to attend pre-release meetings. All prisoners are risk assessed but are not offered one-to-one work. The team works with all sex offenders. Referrals are received in writing and all are responded to. The Unit had 1,000 such referrals last year.
8.16 A major area of concern is the movement of prisoners from the prison, particularly during the preparation of statutory reports. This makes it difficult to ensure continuity of care. Sometimes the social work department was not copied into the movement of prisoners in relation to parole, although this has now been addressed.
8.17 There is an issue that prisoners are moving through Friarton too quickly. The fact that some prisoners are moving before a background report has been completed increases the pressure on social work staff.
8.18 A social work manager attends the Head of Department meeting every three months. There is also social work representation at the health/addiction meetings, mental health team meetings and risk management group. The social work manager also has regular meetings with the regime services manager to appraise developments and issues. The social work manager should be part of the new ACT strategy and attend ACT meetings.
8.19 All social workers should have a ' SPIN' terminal. At present some are using Perth & Kinross social work computers which are not networked.
8.20 Contact with community colleagues tends to be in relation to preparation for release; parole prisoners subject to recall; extended sentencing; and supervised release orders. Social workers regularly liaise with community colleagues in the preparation of home background reports. In relation to high risk offenders and sex offenders, social workers regularly liaise with the police and child protection agencies as well as attending community multi-agency risk assessment meetings.
Psychology
8.21 The team is made up of one full-time senior psychologist, two full-time psychologists ands one part-time psychologist who is the team leader on the Violence Prevention Programme. This team also provides the psychological services at the Open Estate and a certain amount of work for the SPS nationally.
8.22 The areas of engagement of the team include mental health, risk management, Sentence Management, prisoner programmes, identification and management of short-term sex offenders, research and participation in incident command.
8.23 The psychology team is well integrated into the management of the prison: recent SPS changes to the management of psychology have been appreciated by the team at Perth.
8.24 They have recognised particular concerns about the management of short-term sex offenders in Perth; and have been energetic in efforts to make it possible for such prisoners to be moved to prisons where they can participate in STOP programmes.
8.25 They have also been active in the matter of the movement of prisoners to the Open Estate. It has been their particular interest to make sure that prisoners are moved on because it is right for them and their situation, and to make sure that meeting the needs of the Open Estate for numbers is never a sufficient criterion. and not simply to meet the need of filling the Open Estate.
Programmes
8.26 Arrangements for managing and delivering programmes are sound. The responsible manager also has responsibility for addictions, the Links Centre and education. At the time of inspection he still co-ordinated Sentence Management which was in the process of being transferred to hall based staff. Oversight of programmes comes from the Risk Management Group which is chaired by the Deputy Governor and meets monthly. This meeting reviews prisoners who are causing concern, prisoners recalled from licence and downgrades from the Open Estate. It tries to link services available. Prisoners being considered can attend if they wish.
8.27 Since the last inspection, the number of Accredited Preferred programmes has reduced by one: Cognitive Skills and Anger Management are still offered. The Approved Activities offered include: 'Alcohol Awareness', 'First Steps', 'Relationships', 'Parenting' and 'Lifeline'. While targets were met last year, the temporary change in the population means that there are fewer prisoners available to take part.
Race Relations
8.28 A Race Relations Policy is in place. This is led by a Residential Unit Manager who chairs Race Relations meetings. A Residential First Line Manager acts as Deputy. Meetings take place every quarter and these are well attended by a cross section of staff.
8.29 At time of inspection there were 14 ethnic minority prisoners in Perth. The SPIN co-ordinator produces a list of all ethnic minority prisoners each morning for all members of the Race Relations Committee. This is an area of good practice. There have been no Race Relations complaints in the past 18 months and complaint forms are readily available in the halls. Translation services are provided by either the Translation and Interpretation Service in Dundee or the National Phone Translation Service.
8.30 Religious events are catered for, although there is not a good uptake.
Chaplaincy
8.31 The chaplaincy team consists of three chaplains: one full-time and two part-time. They provide a total of 67 hours each week. There is one vacancy which should increase provision to 77 hours each week. There is, however, uncertainty as to what is happening with this vacancy. At times there are no members of the chaplaincy team on duty. This is usually the case when a chaplain is on holiday. During the week of inspection there were three days with no chaplain in the establishment.
8.32 The team deliver a variety of services and are involved in the ACT Committee, the Multi Disciplinary Mental Health Team, and the Race Relations Committee. They aim to see every new admission on the day of admission or at the latest the day after. However, this has been problematic since July due to the vacancy.
8.33 There is no Prison Fellowship. This was stopped in December 2004 as the prison was not able to supervise the sessions.
Visiting Committee
8.34 The Visiting Committee has been very much encouraged by the ending of slopping-out. They regard this as "a milestone" in the life of the prison.
8.35 However, they continue to have concerns about the quality of the living conditions in 'E' Hall. They believe that the accommodation, the furniture and the fittings there are of a poor standard; and that in particular the dormitories represent living conditions which are unsatisfactory.
8.36 The quality of prisoner's food was also a long-standing concern of the Committee. Representatives of the Committee tasted the food regularly. They expressed confidence that a change in the method of serving food from sealed trays to a hotplate would improve the quality of the food.
8.37 It was the opinion of the representatives of the Committee who met with the Inspectorate that there was an increased level of safety in the prison: "Perth feels like a much safer prison".
8.38 Real regret was expressed about what was perceived as a reduction in the operation of the Links Centre. Members of the Committee recognised that the changing mix of prisoners in Perth might change the emphasis of a Links Centre; but they were in no doubt that the Centre was suffering from a reduction in resources at the very time when throughcare was being emphasised as a priority in the SPS and in the Scottish Executive.
8.39 An examination of minutes and records confirmed that The Visiting Committee met its statutory requirements. The Committee was in no doubt that it was well supported by the prison.
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