Prison workers suspended over checks on inmate

Ricky Crosher died on the morning of 11 October 2023 at HMP Lowdham Grange

Two prison workers were suspended over failings relating to checks on an inmate who was later found dead, an inquest has heard.

Ricky Crosher died on the morning of 11 October 2023 at HMP Lowdham Grange in Nottinghamshire.

The 40-year-old, who was originally from Basildon in Essex, was under twice-hourly checks after self-harming four days earlier, but Nottingham Coroner's Court heard they had not been carried out for more than an hour before he was found hanging in his cell.

The jury was told Alyson Trapp had little training before she started doing night shifts, while Daryoush Ramsden's checks were also criticised in an investigation.

Ms Trapp was an operational support grade worker, who was normally based in the gatehouse and started work at the Category B jail in 2022, when it was run by Serco.

'Just doing the job'

She told the inquest she began to cover night shifts the following year - after Sodexo took over the prison in February 2023 - but said her only training was four days of shadowing two prison officers.

Even though her job required her to carry checks under a process called assessment, care in custody, and teamwork (ACCT) that is used in jails to help people at risk of self-harm or suicide, she said she was initially unaware of how it worked.

"They [were] just doing the job, and I was watching," Ms Trapp said. "I didn't even know what [an ACCT document] looked like."

The jury was previously told Crosher had a history of self-harm and substance abuse and was put under an ACCT - which required him to be checked on by prison officers twice an hour - after harming himself on 7 October.

He set fire to his cell the following day, after which he was seen by a mental health nurse.

Ms Trapp told the court she was unaware of the recent developments before she began a night shift on 10 October.

She was responsible for carrying out ACCT checks between 19:00 GMT on 10 October and 00:00 on 11 October, when Mr Ramsden took over until 05:00 - after which they were due to share checks until the end of their shift.

However, the court heard her recorded entries did not match up to CCTV of her outside his cell, and that checks lasted three seconds or fewer.

She said she would "make a mental note" of when she had seen him before writing it down, adding she could see him watching television in his cell, so did not bother him.

When questioned by area coroner Laurinda Bower, Ms Trapp acknowledged her checks were not thorough enough.

"Now I know more what to look for," she said. "This [was] how I was taught."

HMP Lowdham Grange is a Category B jail

The court heard Crosher was seen by Mr Ramsden at about 02:25 after ringing his cell bell.

He was reported to be feeling low and was recommended to call the Samaritans, but Ms Trapp said she and her colleague did not escalate checks.

Ms Trapp was seen on CCTV checking Crosher's cell at 05:58 on 11 October, when she said she saw him asleep, but she appeared to peer through the door hinge after checking the cell's observation hatch, which she had not done before on other checks.

She denied this was because the hatch was obstructed, but could not remember why she had a second look.

A record of a check at 06:10 was made on Crosher's ACCT form, but CCTV showed Ms Trapp did not do this.

She said she "accidentally" signed a check on another prisoner in his file and only learned of her "mistake" when shown the CCTV.

The court heard no ACCT checks on Crosher were made between 05:58 and 07:02, when his cell hatch was found obstructed, and shortly before officers found him hanging.

Ms Trapp was suspended in June 2024 - by which time the Ministry of Justice had stepped in to take over running from Sodexo - and was given a final written warning before returning in September that year.

She said she received ACCT training the following month but had continued covering night shifts and completing checks in between Crosher's death and her suspension.

'It was exhausting'

Giving his own evidence, Mr Ramsden said he did not know Ms Trapp had not had proper ACCT training, but also said he did not read Crosher's records and did not know him.

While acknowledging "with hindsight" he should have checked the records after the cell bell was called and his actions in supporting him were "totally lacking", he told jurors at the time he had no concerns the prisoner was in crisis.

"When I was talking to him he seemed fine with waiting for healthcare in the morning," he said. "He didn't seem like he was at risk of self-harm at that point."

The court heard Mr Ramsden was suspended for three months following an investigation, which found he displayed "a lack of profound interaction" with Crosher when he was "clearly in crisis" and criticised "poor and inappropriate" actions around the checks.

Mr Ramsden said he had worked at the prison since at least 2017 and noted conditions "deteriorated" after the Covid pandemic.

"It became more about locking people up all the time," he said. "You would try your best trying to put out fires... it was exhausting."

The inquest continues.