Report on HM Prison Noranside

HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland 1998

ANNEX 7

THE THIRD PRISON SURVEY

A MESSAGE FROM THE SURVEY TEAM

Noranside Prison

This newsletter is intended to provide you and your staff colleagues with feedback on the results from the prison survey which was conducted in Noranside earlier this year. However, before discussing some of the results, we would like to thank all those people in Noranside who took the time and trouble to complete the survey form when it was issued. The form was completed by all members of staff. Without your assistance we would not have been able to present as accurate a picture of staff views.

Briefly, to remind those of you who might not have been working in the prison when the survey was conducted, the prison survey was completed in all Scottish prisons and Young Offender Institutions between February and May this year. The survey is conducted every three to four years to find out how staff feel about the services and facilities in prison and to understand better the way staff think the system could be changed or improved. Also, by comparing the results of each of the surveys it allows us to discover whether people feel things are getting better or worse.

Many of the results in Noranside are positive. For example, the overall cleanliness, the standard of food, the prison condition, the overall atmosphere and the relationships with specialists and other prison staff all maintained high satisfaction levels. However, there are several areas which were identified as still requiring improvement, such as facilities for privacy, facilities for operating SPIN terminals and facilities for making outside phone calls. In particular, four areas of staff training were identified as being inadequate - those for interviewing skills, operation of the SPIN prisoner records system, dealing with suicidal prisoners and counselling skills.

We feel that the feedback of information is an important part of the survey process and we will return to Noranside later in the year to give presentations on the main results for Noranside and the other prisons. All staff and prisoners will have the opportunity to attend these sessions and ask questions.

Your views are important. Each prison will be using the results of the survey later on this year when drawing up their strategic plans. These strategic plans set out the changes which management will propose for each prison. The onus is on local management to consider the results carefully and take them into account in planning.

We hope you find this summary of results from Noranside interesting and if you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to contact us at the address below. Also, if you would like a copy of the full report simply send your name and address in an envelope (no stamp required) to the address below and a copy will be sent on when it is available.

Ed Wozniak and Graham Dyson

Research & Evaluation Services

FREEPOST SC02876

Edinburgh

EH12 OBR.

THE KEY FINDINGS FROM THE THIRD PRISON SURVEY

Cleanliness

· Nearly all staff reported acceptable levels of cleanliness in all areas of the prison. Figure 1 shows that staff perceptions of the overall cleanliness of Noranside have been maintained at the high levels of 1994 and 1991.

Similarly, nearly all staff rated the choice of menu and the quality of the food positively. Figure 2 shows that staff perceptions have also been maintained when compared with 1994 and 1991.

Nearly nine out of ten staff viewed the level of ventilation in the prison, the level of noise in the prison, the level of attention paid to health and safety matters in the prison and the overall state of repair of the prison as being adequate. Figure 5 indicates that staff perceptions of facilities are comparable with those of 1994 and 1991.

Of those staff who had come into contact with different specialists, nearly all thought that they got on well with education staff, social work staff, nursing staff, doctors, psychologists, and chaplains. Figure 4 shows that staff believe the relationships with specialists are better than they were in 1991 and the findings also show that the high standard of relations in 1994 have been maintained.

Over nine out of ten staff considered the facilities for training, eating, toilets, washing and cooking food to be adequate. By contrast, over one third of the staff considered facilities for privacy, access to SPIN terminals and making outside phone calls to be poor. Nevertheless, Figure 5 indicates that staff perceptions of facilities have improved considerably, when compared against the results obtained in 1994 and 1991.

It is reassuring that all staff reported getting on positively with officers of both sexes. In addition, over nine out of ten reported getting on positively with Unit Managers and the Governor. Figure 6 shows that positive relationships with prison staff in 1994 have been maintained in 1998.

· With regard to staff relations with prisoners, all staff respondents stated that they got on positively with them. Figure 6 shows that this is consistent with the findings in 1994.

Over nine out of ten staff stated that they thought the atmosphere in all areas of the prison was acceptable. Figure 7 shows that prisoner perceptions of the atmosphere inside Noranside have been maintained at a high degree of satisfaction when compared with perceptions in 1994 and 1991.

Over seven out of ten staff rated training for control and restraint as adequate. In contrast, over seven out of ten considered the training for interviewing skills, operation of the SPIN prisoner records system, dealing with suicidal prisoners and counselling skills as inadequate. Figure 8 shows the current view of different aspects of staff training in 1998.

The quality of service delivery by the SPS was a score made up of the answers to six questions in the section of the questionnaire entitled "Views about the Scottish Prison Service". Questions included, "the SPS is committed to improving its performance" and "staff in the SPS take a strong pride in the quality of their work". Figure 9 shows that the quality of service delivery by the SPS has been maintained at a relatively stable level in comparison with the 1994 and 1991 ratings.

The management rating was a score made up of the answers to seven questions in the section of the questionnaire entitled "Views about the Scottish Prison Service". Questions included, "the style of management in the SPS is to reward good performance and punish bad performance" and "conflict between staff and management is high in the SPS". Figure 10 shows that the management rating of the SPS has remained relatively static compared with the findings from 1994 and 1991.

Over one third of staff stated that they had worried about their physical safety at some point whilst doing their job.

One in five staff alleged that they had been physically assaulted by a prisoner at some point whilst working in a Scottish prison.

Almost one half of staff believed they had been bullied by a Unit Manager or Governor whilst working in a Scottish prison.

Over five out of ten staff had worried about catching Hepatitis B/C and nearly five out of ten had worried about contracting HIV / AIDS. Nearly two thirds of staff also believed that the current arrangements for dealing with HIV / AIDS and Hepatitis B/C were poor.

Stress

Staff were asked to choose the three main causes of stress from an extensive list. The most common choice was 'everyday work load', with 24 staff ticking this box. The next most frequent choices were 'performance related pay' and 'relationships with management', with 17 and 16 staff respectively ticking these boxes.

CHANGES YOU WOULD MAKE TO THIS PRISON:

The most common suggestions which staff made in answer to the question "If you were in charge of this prison what changes would you make?" were linked to 'management', with seven respondents making such comments.

Answers to the question "If you could make just one change to this prison what would it be?" revealed that the most common suggestions concerned 'changes', with eight respondents making such comments.

Suggestions encompassing the term 'management' included:

• "make management more accountable and responsible"
• "restructure senior management"
• "more communication with staff"
• "create a more approachable management"
• "remove managers who bully"

Suggestions encompassing the term 'changes' included:

• "review staff attendance systems"
• "change the TOIL system"
• "alter the criteria for prisoners"
• "introduce more staff"
• "reduce the confusion over the future of staffing policies"

CHANGES TO THE SCOTTISH PRISON SERVICE:

The most common suggestions in answer to the question "If you were in charge of the Scottish Prison Service what changes would you make?" were related to 'PPP/PRP' with fifteen respondents making such comments.

The most common responses to the question "If you could make just one change to the Scottish Prison Service what would it be?" were also related to 'PPP/PRP', with eleven respondents making such comments.

Suggestions for improving the situation regarding 'PPP/PRP' included:

• "scrap PPP"
• "initiate a fair appraisal system"
• "address the financial differences between managers and officers"

THE THIRD PRISON SURVEY

A MESSAGE FROM THE SURVEY TEAM

Noranside Prison

This newsletter provides feedback on the results from the third prison survey which was conducted in Noranside earlier this year.

For the sake of those of you who might not have been in the prison when the survey was given out, we should explain firstly what the survey is. The prison survey gives every prisoner in each Scottish prison the chance to say what he or she thinks about the prison they are in. It lets every prisoner air his or her views on prison life by asking them to rate such things as facilities, conditions, atmosphere, relationships, etc. The survey is conducted every three to four years and the third survey was completed between February and May this year. Since many of the questions which are asked from one survey to another are identical we can compare the results to see whether people feel things are getting better or worse.

As you can see in the pages which follow, a good many of the results in Noranside are positive. For example, relationships between staff and prisoners, atmosphere, cleanliness, food and the overall access to family and friends all seem to have improved. What is particularly encouraging is that only a small number of prisoners stated that they had feared for their physical safety whilst in Noranside, and no prisoners stated that they had been physically assaulted. However, there are several areas which were identified as still requiring improvement, such as the cleanliness of the showers and toilets, and the range of items available from the canteen.

Providing feedback is an important part of the survey process and we will return to Noranside later in the year to discuss the main results for Noranside and the other prisons.  All staff and prisoners will have the opportunity to attend these sessions and ask questions.

We should emphasise again that your views can make a difference. Each prison will be using the results of the survey later on this year when drawing up their plans for the next year. These plans set out the changes which management will propose for each prison

We hope you find this summary of results from Noranside interesting and if you have any questions or comments please don't hesitate to contact us at the address below. Also, if you would like a copy of the full report simply send your name and address in an envelope (no stamp required) to the address below and a copy will be sent on when it is available.

Finally, we would like to thank all those people who took the time and trouble to complete the survey form. The form was completed by nine out of ten prisoners in Noranside. Without your help we would not have been able to present as accurate a picture of prisoners , views.

Ed Wozniak and Graham Dyson
Research & Evaluation Services

FREEPOST SC02876
Edinburgh
EH12 OBR

THE KEY FINDINGS FROM THE THIRD PRISON SURVEY

Cleanliness

Eight out of ten prisoners reported acceptable levels of cleanliness in all areas of the prison. Nearly all prisoners described the cleanliness of the cells as acceptable. One quarter of prisoners, however, viewed the cleanliness of the toilets and the showers as poor. Figure 1 shows that prisoners believe the overall cleanliness to have improved from what was claimed in 1994.

Over nine out of ten prisoners rated the choice of menu, the size of the portions, the quality of the food, and the way in which food was served as acceptable. Prisoners were more critical of the range of items available from the canteen, as nearly one half believed the range to be poor. Figure 2 shows that prisoner perceptions of food are better than they were in 1994 and 1991.

Over eight out of ten prisoners had positive views about the level of noise in the prison, the level of noise in the hall, the level of ventilation in the prison, and the overall state of repair of the prison. However, over one quarter described the level of heating in the prison negatively. Figure 3 shows that prisoners believe the condition of the prison to have improved from what was said in 1994.

Of those prisoners who had come into contact with different specialists, over eight out of ten thought that the service provided by education staff, medical staff, dentists, psychologists, social workers, chaplains and personal officers was adequate. Figure 4 shows that prisoner perceptions of services provided by specialists are considerably better than they were in 1994 and 1991.

Over eight out of ten prisoners considered the facilities for indoor exercise and outdoor exercise to be acceptable. By contrast, one quarter of prisoners considered recreation facilities to be poor. Figure 5 indicates that prisoners' perceptions of facilities have improved from those expressed in 1994 and 1991.

Overall, prisoners in Noranside reported getting on with staff positively. For example, over nine out of ten prisoners stated that relations with Unit Managers and the Governor, staff in their work party and officers in the prison generally were acceptable. Figure 6 shows that relationships with prison staff have improved on those in 1994 and 1991.

With regard to prisoner relations with other prisoners, over 95% of respondents stated that they got on with them positively. Figure 6 shows a steady improvement in relations between prisoners when compared with the results from 1994 and 1991.

Over nine out of ten prisoners stated that they thought there was a positive atmosphere in the halls or dormitories and the workshops or work parties. In respect to the prison generally, over eight out of ten prisoners rated the atmosphere positively. Figure 7 shows that prisoner perceptions of the atmosphere inside Noranside are better than they were in 1994 and 1991.

Over eight out of ten prisoners rated access to family and friends, the length of visits, the facilities for children and the ability to rearrange visits as acceptable. However, over one third of prisoners rated the level of privacy at visits and the access to pay phones in the prison as poor. Figure 8 shows that prisoner views concerning the overall access to family and friends have improved when compared with the views expressed in 1994 and 1991.

Only one out of ten prisoners stated that they had feared for their physical safety at some point during their current sentence at Noranside.

Only two out of ten prisoners alleged that they had been physically assaulted at some point whilst in a Scottish prison.

No prisoners stated that they had been physically assaulted whilst in Noranside.

Over the last six months in Noranside, four out of ten prisoners had worried at some point about contracting HIV / AIDS and five out of ten had worried about catching Hepatitis B/C.

CHANGES YOU WOULD MAKE TO THIS PRISON:

The most common suggestions which prisoners made in answer to the question "If you were in charge of this prison what changes would you make?" were concerned with 'recreation' and 'staff', with 16% making such comments.

Answers to the question "If you could make just one change to this prison what would it be?" revealed that results were similar, as the most common suggestions also concerned 'recreation' and 'staff'.

Suggestions for improving 'recreation' included:

• "TVs in cells"
• "more outdoor activities"
• "alternative to days out in Dundee made available"
• " more gym"
• "more phones"

Suggestions for improving 'staff' included:

• "be more relaxed and friendly "
• "dislike of in intelligence gathering"
• "dislike the use of parole as a sanction"

CHANGES TO THE SCOTTISH PRISON SERVICE:

The most common suggestions in answer to the question "If you were in charge of the Scottish Prison Service what changes would you make?" were concerned with 'drugs', with 20% making such comments.

The most common answers to the question "If you could make just one change to the Scottish Prison Service what would it be?" were also related to 'drugs', with 26% of respondents making such comment.

Suggestions for improving the situation regarding 'drugs' included:

• "more drug free halls"
• "stop cannabis testing"
• " more alcohol programmes needed"