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1.1 A formal inspection of HMYOI Dumfries was carried out between 16 and 19 May 1999, the previous formal inspection having taken place in the spring of 1994. During the intervening period there had been intermediate inspections on at least an annual basis as well as frequent visits to the establishment by members of the Inspectorate.
1.2 The report of the previous formal inspection had concluded with a generally positive assessment, though recommendations had included the need to improve education services and the range of offending behaviour programmes. This and previous reports had also referred to the need for refurbishment and it was Phase I of this work that had led to a delay in carrying out this latest inspection.
1.3 We found that a number of the shortcomings identified in the previous report had been addressed, though there was still a lack of progress in the social work department. On this occasion, the inspection team concentrated its efforts on evaluating the Institution under the following broad criteria:-
• Is it safe? We concluded that Dumfries continued to be a relatively safe and appropriately controlled environment for Young Offenders (YO) and staff, though we had some concerns about a sudden increase in violence over the last year. There had also been the death resulting from a drug overdose of an adult male remand prisoner in August 1997. However, we found that the Institution's suicide record was excellent, especially given the vulnerable and volatile group with which it has to deal.
• Is it decent? Previously, HMYOI Dumfries has enjoyed the reputation of being a clean jail with high standards of catering. Despite the dislocation caused by the reconstruction work, we found that high standards were being maintained. The refurbishment work currently underway included the installation of integral sanitation and when the work is completed next summer, it should be possible to describe HMYOI Dumfries as being decent in every respect.
• What is the prison doing about reducing future crime? So far as YOs were concerned, our conclusion was that the various programmes contained in the regime were laying down a foundation for individuals to begin to address their offending behaviour. Nevertheless, we believe that much more has yet to be done, particularly within the context of national policy to define a structured and rational approach for the management of YOs. Additionally, we thought that more could be done about tackling drug misuse among adult convicted and local remand prisoners (see paragraphs 4.11-32).
1.4 We encountered very few concerns of a statutory nature during the inspection. Nevertheless, the regime for female prisoners was a notable exception and points towards the need for urgent reinvigoration.
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