HMIP Annual Report 1997-98 - Points of Note

HMIP Annual Report 1997-98

11. Points of Note

For Scottish Office and SPS HQ Consideration	Remand Prisoners
	11.1 Key Performance Indicators for remand prisoners should be re-established (paragraphs 1.2, 4.7, 6.8-9 and 8.6).
For SPS HQ	*Overcrowding*
	11.2 Consideration might be given to the possibility of further building within existing prison perimeters as a means of reducing overcrowding (paragraph 4.19).
	*Drug Abuse*
	11.3 Consideration ought to be given for the establishment of an individual to co-ordinate an overall substance misuse strategy and an Intelligence Co-ordinator to enhance a more strategic approach at national level (paragraphs 5.17 and 5.18).
	11.4 The scale of punishments for prisoners who fail MDT tests could be revised (paragraph 5.21).
	11.5 There should be a review of the potential and further development of MDT in the areas listed (paragraph 5.21-23).
	11.6 There should be a national audit on the service provision at each establishment together with an evaluation of the various programmes available (paragraph 5.40).

	*Suicide*
	11.7 Consideration should be given to the provision of in-cell TV for all remand prisoners (paragraph 6.9).
	*Employment/Purposeful Activity*
	11.8 The different needs of young offenders and women prisoners should be more fully recognised and a suitable risk/needs assessment methodology should be put in place for such individuals (paragraph 8.12).
	11.9 As part of the employment and programme needs scoping review, a pilot scheme should be introduced whereby prisoners could earn an enhanced wage (paragraph 8.15).
	*Staff and Management*
	11.10 When making appointments to Deputy Governor posts, selection boards should take more fully into account the likely compatibility between the individuals and the Governor-in-Charge of the relevant establishment (paragraph 9.7).
For SPS HQ and individual establishments	*Drug Abuse*
	11.11 Wherever possible, new visitors to prisons should receive personal briefings from staff about the penalties involved in smuggling drugs into establishments and the benefits of not doing so (paragraph 5.24.)
	11.12 Prisoners who reject drug abuse or who are making genuine efforts to do so, should receive appropriate incentives (paragraph 5.31.)

For SPS HQ and individual establishments (Contd)	*Suicide*
	11.13 Priority should be given to anti-suicide measures which concern remand prisoners, including greater attention to induction arrangements and the assessment of risk, with special care being taken where there are drug withdrawal complications. Additionally, more therapeutic regimes for remands ought to be provided, especially at weekends (paragraphs 6.8 and 10.4).
	*Employment/Purposeful Activity*
	11.14 More priority should be given to pre-release arrangements, particularly with regard to links with relevant community-based agencies (paragraph 8.13).
	*Equal Opportunities*
	11.15 A more proactive approach of "positive action" to the recruitment to the SPS of individuals from ethnic minority groups should be adopted (paragraph 9.15).
For individual establishments	*Drug Abuse*
	11.16 Establishments should ensure that their reception and induction phases are fully capable of assessing a prisoner’s previous drug history (paragraph 5.26).
	11.17 Other prisons might consider piloting the total abstinence approach adopted at HMP Low Moss, as a means of tackling drug abuse (paragraph 5.29).

	11.18 Consideration should be given to FCDOs making families aware of the drug rehabilitation programmes on offer within their establishment and possibly involving them in pre-release briefings on what the prisoner has been taught during the sentence, as is ongoing at HMP Shotts (paragraph 5.32).
	11.19 Regular contact with external agencies as a means of providing support to prisoners who arrive with recognised addiction problems is essential (paragraph 5.33).
	11.20 Wherever possible, alcohol aware- ness training should be included in pre-release arrangements (paragraph 5.34).
	*Employment/Purposeful Activity*
	11.21 A timetabling approach to prisoners’ routines is worthy of considera- tion (paragraphs 8.10 and 10.6).
	*Staff and Management*
	11.22 Management at all levels should ensure that the quality of local staff training is constantly being monitored and assessed (paragraph 9.12).