Maghaberry: Report says prison improves but 'still only four out of 10'

Inspectors who last year branded Maghaberry Prison unsafe and unstable have said the situation has improved, but would still only give it four marks out of 10.

A report published on Wednesday said the leadership team within the prison has been strengthened since they visited last year.

The new team is "focused on stabilising" the regime.

Inspectors said the progress which has been made is "fragile".

Brendan McGuigan, the chief inspector of Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland said despite improvements, more work needs to be done

The inspectors welcomed the action taken to "start" addressing serious concerns raised in a previous report.

But Brendan McGuigan, the chief inspector of Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland, said much more needs to be done.

In an interview for the BBC, Mr McGuigan was asked how he would characterise conditions in Maghaberry on a scale of one to 10 last year, and when inspectors returned last month.

"Definitely in May 2015 it was at the bottom of the scale, it would certainly have been a one," he said.

'Progress'

"When we went back in January of this year, I would have estimated between a three and a four."

Justice Minister David Ford was disappointed by the assessment, but welcomed the inspectors' conclusion that progress has been made.

"Clearly we would have perhaps hoped it would be a bit better than that," he said.

"But given the scale of the problems that were identified and the amount of work which has had to be done, I think the important issue is not just where we are exactly at the minute, but the trajectory we're on, and I have confidence that the team in Maghaberry is making significant progress.

Violence and access to illicit drugs remain concerns, the report says

"I think the important thing will be to ensure that progress continues."

'Drugs and violence'

While the report on Wednesday says there has been progress, it also makes it clear that they still have significant concerns.

Violence in the prison and access to illicit drugs are identified as ongoing problems.

"In my view a significant amount of work remains outstanding to make Maghaberry safer for prisoners and staff and for this to reflect more positively in the outcomes of prisoners and their experience," Mr McGuigan said.

The report says that while some aspects of primary health care had improved since inspectors visited in May last year, "it was very worrying that mental health provision had deteriorated as a result of staff shortages and now needed urgent attention".

A new management team has improved the prison, but the report says staff still view prisoners with fear

Inspectors also say the culture within Maghaberry needs to change "to make it fit for the 21st century".

'In fear of prisoners'

"Many staff adhered to the view that prisoners were to be feared and that they could do little to influence prisoners custodial or future behaviour on release," the report adds.

The inspectors have also taken the unprecedented step of announcing that they will return to the prison a number of times during the next 18 months to oversee the implementation of changes they have recommended.

"We have taken this step to ensure the early momentum found at Maghaberry last month is not lost, and the fragile progress made to date is strengthened so that the Northern Ireland Prison Service does not allow Maghaberry to regress," Mr McGuigan explained.

Brendan McGuigan said he does not underestimate the scale of the challenge facing the management team at Maghaberry, but believed they are moving in the right direction.

"In May 2015 standing outside the gates of Maghaberry, we had a real sense of despair," he explained.

"In January of this year we were given a sense of hope."