Winchester prison 'still failing' in special measures

HMP Winchester consists of a Victorian prison (pictured) holding up to 561 prisoners and the smaller Westhill site with 129 inmates

A jail has been strongly criticised for failing to meet standards of treatment of its inmates despite being placed in special measures.

Independent monitors said a lack of experienced staff and underfunding had led to an "unsafe atmosphere" at HMP Winchester in Hampshire.

The Independent Monitoring Board's (IMB) annual report also noted there had been an increase in drugs.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) admitted it was facing "real challenges".

Some prisoners share cells with a sheet separating their bed from a toilet and conditions were described as 'unpleasant and dirty'

Prisoners were "not always treated humanely or fairly" and "locked up in squalid conditions for up to 23 hours a day", the report found.

It also found "disabled prisoners cannot access basic facilities".

Inspectors also noted prisoners did not have sufficient time to shower, exercise or make phone-calls which had created a "culture of hopelessness and frustration, leading to bad behaviour, drug abuse, violence and self-harm".

Between January and May, 225 incidents of self-harm were reported.

'Warehousing prisoners'

The MoJ placed the prison in special measures in January after it was described as "teetering on the edge of a major incident".

At the time it said it had introduced body-worn cameras, additional CCTV and recruited extra staff.

But inspectors, who visited the prison up to five times per week between January and May, said it was "hard to see any significant improvement given staff shortages, lack of resources and the high level of prisoner and staff turnover".

Angus Somerville, chair of HMP Winchester's IMB, said the prison was "little more than an establishment which fulfils the function of warehousing prisoners" and cited a "lack of funding and resources" as the cause.

While the total number of uniformed staff had risen, Mr Somerville said, up to 60% "had less than one year's experience in their grade".

The IMB suggested poor recruitment and retention could be addressed by giving staff the same pay increase officers in nearby prisons had received.

A prison service spokeswoman said it had recruited 80 new officers over the past year when the prison was in special measures.

"The prison has benefitted from new body-worn cameras and sniffer dogs, and we are investing £14 million nationally every year to stop the criminal gangs and drugs trade that is fuelling violence at prisons like Winchester.

"Across the estate we have recruited more than 3,500 officers in the past two years, and to improve retention have simultaneously given staff the biggest pay rise in a decade," she added.