Inspectors demand urgent action on unsafe Exeter Prison

Exeter Prison has the highest rates of self-harm of any reception prison in England and Wales

Exeter Prison has the worst rates of self-harm in England and Wales and continues to be unsafe with 10 self-inflicted deaths in the last four years, an inspection has found.

It is the first male prison to have urgent notifications issued by the prison inspectorate in consecutive inspections.

The unannounced inspection took place between 31 October and 11 November.

The Prison Reform Trust called it a "damning report".

In a letter to the Justice Secretary, the Chief Inspector said the number of deaths was "despite us highlighting our grave concerns at the 2018 inspection before which there had been six suicides and in 2016 before which there had been 10".

The Justice Secretary, Dominic Raab, has 28 days to respond.

'Inadequate'

The letter said "the arrangements for inducting and monitoring prisoners in their first few weeks at the jail, when they are often most at risk, are inadequate".

Vulnerable prisoners were housed alongside the main population when they first arrived and were "often subject to abuse through their doors from fellow prisoners", the letter added.

The report found a lack of progress since previous inspections

It also identified significant staffing issues and said the prison had the highest rates of self-harm of any reception prison in England and Wales.

In conclusion, the Chief Inspector, Charlie Taylor wrote: "The prison needs a period of leadership stability, with adequate staffing, much better performance from partners such as healthcare and education, improvements to the physical environment and a relentless focus on making sure that the many vulnerable prisoners at the jail are kept safe."

The Prison Reform Trust said in response: "The human cost of our chronically overburdened prison system is laid bare by this damning report.

"Time after time, the inspectorate describes prisons that do not keep people safe, and the same themes of chaos caused by overcrowding, inadequate staffing and permanent crisis management emerge."

It added: "Exeter prison is a strategic and political failure just as much as an operational one."

In 2018, inspectors found "disturbingly high levels of violence and self-harm" at the prison, and described conditions as "unequivocally poor".