North Sea Camp open prison criticised over 'cramped' cells

HMP North Sea Camp open prison, near Boston, is "very safe", inspectors have concluded

Cells in an open prison in Lincolnshire do not have "enough space for even a table or chair", inspectors have found.

HMP North Sea Camp, near Boston, holds about 300 men, with more than half serving sentences for sexual offences.

Despite its "cramped cells", a report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons concluded the jail was "very safe".

Other key criteria, including respect, purposeful activity and rehabilitation and release planning were deemed "reasonably good", inspectors said.

However, their report also highlighted several other "priority concerns", including:

• Not enough prisoners who have poor numeracy and literacy skills being able to access maths and English lessons

• Support for prisoners to maintain family ties remaining poor

• Staff not communicating with each other properly, with "significant failings in public protection arrangements"

Prisoners with "protected characteristics", including those from black or ethnic minority backgrounds, lacked confidence to raise concerns, prison bosses were also told.

'Trigger dates'

Instances of prisoners absconding and temporary release failures were "very infrequent", however, and compared favourably with other open prisons, inspectors found.

The prospect of temporary release or "the potential to live in accommodation outside the prison gate" were effective incentives for many prisoners, they said.

New prisoners were received well into the prison, with violence said to be "very rare".

Recently introduced measures to mitigate risk included the introduction of a "trigger dates" database to identify key dates that might affect a prisoner's mood, the report found.

Packs allowing for "immediate sharing of information" in the event of a prisoner absconding were also highlighted in the HM Inspectorate of Prisons report.

HMP North Sea Camp was originally a borstal which opened in 1935.

It comprises four residential units, with single accommodation for up to 17 prisoners, the remainder being housed in cells and dormitories.

In addition, there are five detached houses outside the main prison perimeter, accommodating 67 prisoners living independently, who are nearing the end of their sentence.