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5.1 Accommodation was normally contained in five Halls -; viz. 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' and the Female Unit -; though at the time of our inspection, 'A' Hall was in the process of being refurbished and was, therefore, out of commission. That work included the installation of integral sanitation, electric power and new cell furniture and was due to finish shortly after the completion of our inspection.
5.2 Also ongoing and nearing completion was a project to floor in the central core of the Institution to provide new recreation areas for 'C' Hall. The need for such facilities had been raised in previous inspection reports and we were, therefore, pleased to see that the project was finally being undertaken. We were satisfied also that, when finished, it would provide excellent facilities for the YOs contained in that area.
5.3 When these projects were completed, work was scheduled to begin on Phase II of the project, which involved a major upgrading of the 'B' Hall cells, with YOs from that area being moved to the new 'A' Hall to enable the work to proceed. However, because 'A' Hall was smaller, the establishment had started to run down the 'B' Hall numbers and at the time of our inspection, the top flat of the Hall was empty. As part of our inspection, we visited the cells in all the areas that were presently being occupied.
5.4 'B' Hall comprised three traditional gallery style flats though, as noted above, only two were currently in use. Normally, the cells in this Hall were all single occupancy but because of the current situation, some were doubled up. The overall standard of decoration was reasonable and the cells contained beds, locker, desk, drawer unit and chair. The cells had internal light switches but no electric power sockets or integral sanitation -; both of which would be installed as part of the refurbishment programme -; and prisoners had been provided with chamber pots. The cells were clean and the furniture was in reasonable condition though it was showing signs of age. There was a pantry on the ground floor and YOs dined in cell. There were also communal toilet/shower areas which were in need of upgrading but as part of the refurbishment programme, these were to converted into modern shower facilities with part of each of these areas being used for a new stairwell. The refurbishment would also involve a flooring-in of each of the galleries. This would, in effect, create three mini Halls in each of which there would be a small recreation and dining area with each flat also having its own telephone -; at present, there was only one for the whole Hall.
5.5 Immediately below this Hall there was a basement area which contained 15 single cells. This had originally been used as the Segregation Unit but it had recently been temporarily split into two parts. One of these was still the separate cells area but the other part was being used to accommodate admissions whom staff thought might require observation during the early stages of their stay at the Institution. Most of those located in that part could expect to remain there for a very short period of time. The cells throughout the basement area were extremely basic and normally contained only beds or, in the separate cells area, a concrete plinth and mattress. Some cardboard furniture was available. The recreation area consisted of a television in an open area adjacent to the staff office and there was one card telephone. This whole area was to be included in the 'B' Hall refurbishment programme.
4.6 'C' Hall comprised four flats each with ten cells. A grille gate at the end of each section allowed YOs in these areas access at night to toilet/shower areas, one of which was located at the end of each section, by means of a cell call button and an electronic locking system. The cells had been refurbished since our last inspection and now had electric power units and internal light switches. Each cell had been adequately furnished with a bed, desk/cupboard unit, chair, under-bed box, curtains, small table lamp and two pin boards. In overall terms, the standard of accommodation in this area was very good. Within the sections there was a communal television and at the time of our visit, YOs in this area were sharing recreation facilities with 'B' Hall. That situation would, however, change with the imminent opening of the new 'C' Hall recreation areas -; see paragraph 5.2.
5.7 'D' Hall was in an area separate from the other main accommodation areas and was intended primarily for local remand prisoners. However, because of the work going on in other parts of the Institution, it was being used to accommodate local convicted adult prisoners. As with 'C' Hall, this area had been refurbished since the time of our last inspection with a number of cell walls having been knocked down to create larger cells, the majority of which now contained three or four beds. The cells were in very good condition and as part of the refurbishment, each had been provided with an enclosed integral sanitation unit and a wash-hand basin. All the cells also had electric power, pin boards and sufficient furniture of good quality. Also within the Hall were a recreation room, which contained pool and table tennis tables, a television room, a fully furnished kitchen area (which was used mainly to provide hot meals for admissions who arrived outwith the normal meal times) and a large toilet/shower area.
5.8 The Female Unit, which was also separate from the main residential part of the establishment, contained a mixture of accommodation. There were three single cells that had been designated for category 'C' prisoners who each had a key to their door, thereby giving them access to night sanitation facilities, including a shower unit. These cells had electric power and were in good condition with an adequate amount of furniture. There was also a cell which had been designed to meet the needs of any disabled prisoner and which had a specially adapted en-suite toilet/shower facility. Finally, there were two dormitories, each with accommodation for three. Again these rooms had electric power, integral sanitation, wash-hand basin, pin boards and adequate furniture. The remainder of the Unit comprised a number of rooms, one of which was a work area, which also contained a pool table, a laundry area, a toilet/ablutions area and a small stock of books which comprised the Unit's library. In addition, there was a general store room which contained two lockable cupboards that served as the Unit's canteen, an interview room, a staff office and a general purpose area which had a television/video and was used as the main recreation and dining area. Immediately outside the Unit was a self-contained exercise yard.
5.9 We were satisfied with the overall standard of accommodation within the Institution. Considering that the vast bulk of the population is made up of YOs and remand prisoners, who can be the most volatile groups within any establishment, it was pleasing to note the standard of cleanliness and the absence of any graffiti or vandalism. Since our last inspection, a number of significant improvements had been made, most notably to 'C' and 'D' Halls and we were impressed with the work that was being undertaken in 'A' Hall and the central core. The 'B' Hall area -; and in particular, the basement - was clearly showing signs of age and so it was reassuring to note that work was about to start shortly in this area. When completed, this will bring the entire establishment up to a first class standard.
(i) Male YOs/Prisoners
5.10 For all YOs/prisoners, the routine was based on a 0700 hours unlock and after breakfast, which varied in time for the different categories, convicted YOs went to work. Worksheds were open again in the afternoons and following the evening meal and a period of lock-up, recreation was available until final lock-up for the night at 2100 hours.
5.11 On admission, each YO/prisoner was issued with two full kits and a system was in place to ensure that these were being laundered on a regular basis in accordance with SPS Operating Standards. Remand prisoners could wear their own clothing at all times whilst convicted YOs could do the same in the evenings, though no football tops were allowed. Regulation prison shirts did, however, have to be worn at visits. We were satisfied that everyone had adequate access to telephones, canteen, showers and periods of time in the open air as well as to other regime activities such as physical education (PE) and education.
5.12 Because the remand Hall was separate from the other parts of the Institution, it was possible to run a self-contained regime and accordingly, we were happy with the amount of time out of cell that was being offered. It was also very noticeable that staff and prisoner relationships in this part of the Institution were excellent. Recreation was available twice a day within the Hall and there was the offer of visits every weekday in the afternoons. Canteen was available three times a week and a booking system ensured that everyone had equitable access to the single telephone that was located within the Hall. We noted with interest that the prisoners had open access to a computer which had a Welfare Rights programme installed.
5.13 Locally convicted adult prisoners were normally located in 'A' Hall but because of the current building work, they were being housed with the remand population in 'D' Hall.
5.14 For convicted YOs, a progression system was in operation. Admissions were allocated initially to 'B' Hall but based on their conduct and industry, they could qualify for a move to 'C' Hall, which was a drug-free area. The major benefits of being in this latter area were that there was slightly better accommodation in smaller sections with access to night sanitation -; though the refurbishment of 'B' Hall would provide integral sanitation units in the cells. Two YOs in each section of 'C' Hall could have a television in their cell each night on a rotation basis, subject to continued good conduct. Computer games were also available.
5.15 The main recreation facility was shared with 'B' Hall and was available to each on alternate days. This area contained terrestrial TV and video, table tennis, pool and a computer game. A selection of newspapers was also available. This area was somewhat drab but would shortly become redundant following the opening of the new, improved recreation facility in the central core of the Institution. Similarly, as noted at paragraph 5.4, the refurbishment of 'B' Hall would include the provision of new recreation areas in the floored-in landings.
5.16 We were satisfied that all male prisoners were receiving their statutory entitlement in areas such as access to showers, telephones and recreation. Similarly, we were pleased to note that attempts were being made to maximise time out of cell for all classes of prisoner. The refurbishment work that was ongoing had meant that in some cases, convicted and remand prisoners were having to share facilities but that would be resolved in due course. Similarly, our concerns about the standard of the recreation facilities for convicted YOs would be removed with the opening of the new facilities.
5.17 As with the female units at HMPs Aberdeen and Inverness, the main problem was the fact that the transient nature of a population which is always small in number, makes it very difficult to provide a full and meaningful regime. For female prisoners at Dumfries, the day began with a morning unlock at 0700 hours and after breakfast, prisoners were expected to work. There were three jobs for Category 'C' prisoners acting as cleaners or passwomen in the Administration block but for the remainder, the main task was cell and Unit cleaning. Efforts were made to provide more meaningful work but this had always proved difficult and at the time of our visit, the main task for prisoners was repairing damaged denims from the Reception. There was a one hour period of outdoor exercise immediately before lunch; in the afternoons, visits were available every weekday for both remand and convicted prisoners, with opportunities for bonding visits for those with children. For those not at work or when work was not available, recreation was in the afternoons and consisted of pool or watching TV/video, with the same facilities being available in the evenings.
5.18 As with the male population, we were satisfied with the amount of access to showers, telephone, canteen and kit changes, with a facility being available to enable prisoners to do their own laundering. PE was available in one-hour sessions on both Saturday and Sunday, whilst education was provided on a distance learning basis and only for those who were serving longer than three months. There was no formal induction process and the Unit did not have its own Reception facility, which meant that on admission, all prisoners had to be processed through the main Reception area. As noted at
, the Unit had one anti-ligature cell and could, therefore, cope with only one prisoner on observation. Some work had been done to run a Cognitive Skills programme in the Unit but there were no other programmes aimed at reducing offending behaviour.
5.19 Having recently visited similar Units at HMPs Aberdeen and Inverness, we can appreciate the difficulties in trying to provide a meaningful regime but we felt that of the three, Dumfries was by far the most disappointing. We made a number of visits to the Unit during the course of our inspection and on most occasions, found that prisoners were sitting idly watching television.
5.20 We felt there was a sense of lethargy and a lack of ownership within the Unit and recommend, therefore, that there should be a complete re-invigoration of the entire routine. A good starting point in such an exercise would be for the Unit to have its own Reception area with staff being fully trained in these duties. Immediately after the Reception process, there should be a formal and structured induction programme with input as appropriate from staff from relevant parts of the establishment. Further efforts should also be made to find a steady stream of work in order to make the prisoners' days less boring and meaningless. In recognising that this may take time, consideration could also be given to inviting in groups from the community to give talks or demonstrations on topics of particular relevance to women. Even the organisation of a few light hearted events, such as quizzes, might help in the short term.
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