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This newsletter is intended to provide you and your staff colleagues with feedback on the results from the prison survey which was conducted in Dumfries earlier this year. However, before discussing some of the results, we would like to thank all those people in Dumfries who took the time and trouble to complete the survey form when it was issued. The form was completed by eight out of ten 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.
A good many of the results in Dumfries are positive. For example, improvements were recorded in relationships with specialists and the overall atmosphere, while relationships with prisoners and relationships between staff were maintained at the high levels which had been recorded before. However, a number of areas were identified as in need of improvement. These included the quality of most staff facilities, especially those for privacy and showering, and the atmosphere in the workshops or work parties. In particular, two areas of staff training were identified as poor - those for dealing with negotiation skills and interviewing skills.
We feel that the feedback of information is an important part of the survey process and it is our intention to return to Dumfries later in the year to give presentations on the main results for Dumfries 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 Dumfries 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.
Nearly all staff thought that relations with doctors and chaplains were positive. Over nine out of ten also stated that they got on well with education staff, social work staff, psychologists and nursing staff. Figure 1 shows that staff perceptions of relationships with specialists have improved over what they were in 1994 and 1991.
Figure 1 Relationships with specialists in Dumfries
Around eight out of ten staff considered the facilities for physical recreation and access to SPIN terminals to be adequate. However, around four out of ten criticised the eating and washing facilities, and roughly a half rated the staff facilities for relaxation, report writing and making outside phone calls negatively. In addition, more than two thirds of staff described the level of privacy and the showering facilities as poor. Figure 2 shows that staff perceptions of facilities are still better than they were in 1991, although they have fallen when compared with the findings from 1994.
Figure 2 Staff facilities in Dumfries
It is reassuring that all staff reported getting on positively with officers of both sexes. Eight out of ten described relationships with the Governor and Unit Managers as positive. Figure 3 shows that the relatively high standard of relationships between prison staff recorded in 1991 and 1994 have been maintained in 1998.
Nearly all respondents said that they got on positively with prisoners. Figure 3 shows that relations with prisoners have also been maintained when compared with the findings from 1991 and 1994.
Figure 3 Relationships with prisoners and other prison staff in Dumfries
Over nine out of ten staff described the atmosphere in the reception area, the halls, PE classes, the visits area and in the prison generally as acceptable. One quarter of staff, however, described the atmosphere as being either tense or very tense in the workshops or work parties. Figure 4 shows that staff perceptions of the atmosphere inside Dumfries have improved considerably when compared with what they were in 1994, but they are still below the levels of the 1991 survey.
Figure 4 Atmosphere in Dumfries
Almost three quarters of staff rated training for control and restraint as adequate. By contrast, over nine out of ten staff were critical of the standard of training for negotiation skills and interviewing skills. Figure 5 shows the staff views of different aspects of staff training in 1998.
Figure 5 Aspects of training seen as adequate by staff
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 6 shows that the quality of service delivery by the SPS is still higher than the rating in 1991, although it has fallen with regard to the 1994 rating.
Figure 6 Staff views on quality of service delivery by the SPS
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 "staff can be trusted to do a good job without excessive supervision". Figure 7 shows that the management rating of the SPS recorded by Dumfries staff has decreased compared with the result from 1994. However, this may be a response to certain management changes, such as SSR, performance pay and market testing.
Figure 7 Management ratings
Over two thirds of staff stated that they had worried about their physical safety at some point whilst doing their job.
More than six out of ten staff alleged that they had been physically assaulted by a prisoner at some point whilst working in a Scottish prison.
Almost four out of ten staff believed that they had been bullied by a Unit Manager or Governor whilst working in a Scottish prison.
Two thirds of staff had worried about catching Hepatitis B/C and six out of ten had worried about contracting HIV/AIDS. Approximately six out of ten staff also believed that the current arrangements for dealing with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B/C were poor.
Staff were asked to choose the three main causes of stress from an extensive list. The most common choice was 'relationships with management', with 37 staff ticking this box. The next most frequent choices were 'performance related pay' and 'PPP', with 36 and 22 staff respectively ticking these boxes.
The most common suggestion which staff made in answer to the question "If you were in charge of this prison what changes would you make?" was linked to 'management', with 28% of respondents 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 suggestion also concerned 'management', with 39% of the responses being related to this category.
Suggestions encompassing the term 'management' included:
"management does not support staff with problems"
"let supervisors make decisions and do their job"
"improve relations with SPOA"
"stop dictatorial attitude and improve communications with staff"
"unit managers to return to uniform and be situated in halls"
The most common suggestion in answer to the question "If you were in charge of the Scottish Prison Service what changes would you make?" was related to 'changes', with 31% of respondents making such comments.
The most common response to the question "If you could make just one change to the Scottish Prison Service what would it be?" was related to 'PPP', with 38% of respondents making such comments.
Suggestions for improving the situation regarding 'changes' included:
"stop all privatisation of prisons"
"stop two tier officer grades"
"reintroduce senior and principle officer grades"
"improve Grievance Procedure"
"remove operations group"
"introduce national quality assurance department"
Suggestions for improving the situation regarding 'PPP' included:
"abolish PPP and PRP"
"unfair system - divides staff and causes low morale"
"improve reporting system"
This newsletter provides feedback on the results from the third prison survey which was conducted in Dumfries 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 Dumfries are positive. For example, relationships with staff, the atmosphere in general and the overall access to family and friends all seem to have improved. In addition, prisoners rated relationships amongst each other as good. However, there are several areas which were identified as in need of further improvement. These included the cleanliness of the showers and toilets, the overall level of ventilation in the prison, the standard of dental care, the level of privacy at visits and the quality of facilities in the library and at recreation.
Providing feedback is an important part of the survey process and we will return to Dumfries later in the year to discuss the main results for Dumfries 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 Dumfries 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 just over eight out of ten prisoners in Dumfries. Without your help we would not have been able to present as accurate a picture of prisoners' views.
Over nine out of ten prisoners described levels of cleanliness in their cells, of their clothes, in the visits area and in the reception area positively. More than four out of ten prisoners, however, criticised the cleanliness of the toilets and the showers. Figure 1 shows that prisoners' views of the standards of cleanliness in Dumfries are lower than they were in 1994.
Figure 8 Standard of cleanliness in Dumfries
Over three quarters of prisoners rated the way in which food was served and the range of items available from the canteen as acceptable. However, the choice of menu, the size of portions and the quality of food were criticised by approximately four out of ten prisoners. Figure 2 shows that prisoners' views of food are lower than they were in 1994, although still higher than the results obtained in 1991.
Figure 9 Standard of food in Dumfries
Over eight out of ten prisoners thought the level of noise in their hall and in the prison generally was acceptable. Prisoners, however, were more critical of the level of heating in the prison and the overall state of repair of the prison - a third criticised these areas. The level of ventilation in the prison was also criticised by more than six out of ten prisoners. Figure 3 shows that the prisoners' views of the condition of Dumfries recorded in 1994 have been maintained in 1998.
Figure 10 Condition of Dumfries
Nine out of ten prisoners thought that the service provided by education staff and chaplains was acceptable. However, approximately one third described the standard of care from psychologists and social workers as unsatisfactory, and almost one half were critical of the service from medical staff. In addition, dental care was rated as inadequate by almost two thirds of those who had experience of this service. Figure 4 shows that the prisoners' ratings of services provided by specialists have fallen when compared with the findings from 1994, and are at a similar level to what they were in 1991.
Figure 11 Service from specialists in Dumfries
Over eight out of ten prisoners considered the facilities for PE and education to be acceptable. By contrast, around four out of ten prisoners criticised indoor exercise and outdoor exercise facilities, and six out of ten were critical of the recreation facilities. Around two thirds of prisoners were also critical of the facilities in the library and those for dental care. Figure 5 indicates that prisoners' views of facilities are lower than those in the 1994 and 1991 surveys.
Figure 12 Facilities in Dumfries
Over nine out of ten prisoners described relationships with officers in the prison generally as positive and eight out of ten reported positive relations with Unit Managers and the Governor. Figure 6 shows that relationships with prison staff have improved on those recorded in 1994 and 1991.
Relationships between prisoners in Dumfries were also described as good by nine out of ten prisoners. Figure 6 shows that relationships amongst prisoners are not quite as good than they were in 1994 and 1991, although they are still relatively high.
Figure 13 Relationships with prison staff and other prisoners in Dumfries
Around nine out of ten prisoners described the atmosphere in the reception area and in PE classes positively. Approximately eight out of ten also believed that the atmosphere in recreation, the halls or dormitories, the workshops or work parties, the visits area and in the prison generally was positive. Figure 7 shows that prisoner perceptions of the atmosphere inside Dumfries are better than they were in 1994 and 1991.
Figure 14 Atmosphere in Dumfries
Almost nine out of ten prisoners rated the length of visits as acceptable. However, one third of prisoners were critical of the facilities for children at visits and the access to pay phones in the prison. Nearly six out of ten prisoners also believed that the level of privacy at visits was poor. Nevertheless, Figure 8 shows that the views on the overall access to family and friends has improved when compared with the views expressed in the 1994 and 1991 surveys.
Figure 8 Access to family and friends in Dumfries
Almost one half of the prisoners said that they had feared for their physical safety at some point during their current sentence at Dumfries.
Similarly, almost half the prisoners alleged that they had been physically assaulted at some point whilst in a Scottish prison.
One third of prisoners stated that they had been physically assaulted whilst in Dumfries.
Over the last six months in Dumfries, more than four out of ten prisoners had worried at some point about contracting HIV/AIDS and four out of ten had also worried about catching Hepatitis B/C.
The most frequent suggestion which prisoners made in answer to the question "If you were in charge of this prison what changes would you make?" was related to 'recreation', with 18% of respondents 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', with 30% of the responses being related to this subject.
Suggestions for improving 'recreation' included:
"more recreation"
"daily exercise"
"TVs in cells or dormitories"
"recreation for protections"
"better facilities at recreation"
"wider range of activities"
"allowed time outside in fresh air"
The most frequent suggestion in answer to the question "If you were in charge of the Scottish Prison Service what changes would you make?" was related to 'general' issues, 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 'general' issues, with 11 respondents making such comments.
Suggestions for improving the situation regarding 'general' issues included:
"serve sentence in proximity of family"
"earn points for good behaviour and be rewarded, e.g. go on outings"
"stamp out bullying"
"more inspections of jails"
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