Low staffing levels are contributing to high levels of violence at Deerbolt Prison, a watchdog has warned.
In its annual report Deerbolt independent monitoring board (IMB) says insufficient staff and absences has led to some prisoners spending 23 hours a day in their cells, leading to frustration and then violence.
It also warns that without meaningful activities, inmates are turning to drugs.
The report said: “Levels of violence remained high in the reporting period, whether this concerned serious prisoner-on-prisoners assaults or, indeed, prisoner assaults on staff.”
The warning follows a prison inspection late last year which found that 40 per cent of prisoners tested positive for drugs and about a quarter of prisoners developed their drug habit while serving their sentence.
The board said the duration of prisoners being locked up was similar to levels during the covid pandemic five years ago.
The report said that while there are enough education staff, a lack of prison warders due to absence meant prisoners could not be escorted to activities.
The IMB was also critical of a lack of preparation for Deerbolt’s change from a young offender institution (YOI) to a category C facility.
It said not only is there a lack of activities for older prisoners, but more pressure is being put on health workers to deal with them too.
The IMB report said: “With such radical changes in the requirements of the provision, should a rapid increase in prisoners’ ages not have led to changes in provision/funding changes? Should this not have been forecasted by management external to Deerbolt?”
The report added: “With an increase in the age profile of the average prisoner, together with the aforementioned staffing challenges and the facilities of Deerbolt, the physical healthcare team has struggled during this period.
“The board notes that staff are under huge pressure and are not to blame for the struggles. But it is no surprise that we have received complaints from prisoners regarding healthcare during the reporting period.”
The report heaped praise on the prison’s segregation wing where it said staff showed “organisation and compassion”, as well as a “commitment to prisoners with more complex needs”.
There was also approval for the drug and alcohol rehabilitation team (DART) for its collaboration with other teams.
