UK: Report on an Announced inspection of HMP Erlestoke
01 November 2008
Erlestoke is an adult male training prison in Wiltshire. Inspectors have previously commended the quality of its purposeful activity and resettlement, and this full announced inspection found some further improvements in these areas. Unfortunately, other aspects of the prison had deteriorated, particularly Wren unit, which held an unsafe mix of new arrivals and misbehaving prisoners. Erlestoke was also struggling with a serious drug problem and was even failing to provide basics, such as clean sheets and clothing.
Provision for prisoners' first days in custody was poor. Reception was cramped and poorly located and new arrivals were placed on Wren unit which was not only shabby, but also held prisoners who had been "regressed" from elsewhere in the prison for poor behaviour, particularly for failing drug tests. This exposed the potentially vulnerable to the predatory, and many prisoners reported feeling unsafe in their first days. Concerns about deteriorating levels of safety were compounded by evidence of high levels of illegal drug use across the prison, with around a quarter of prisoners testing positive or refusing to be tested. Violence reduction and anti-bullying arrangements were weak and needed to be reinforced to meet the new challenges facing the prison. Similarly, paperwork needed to be improved when recording use of force and when locating prisoners to the new segregation unit. Fortunately, suicide prevention procedures were generally good and, once off Wren, most prisoners reported feeling safe.
Inspectors were dismayed to find that managers had failed to remedy persistent problems with the provision of clean sheets and clothing. Matters were so bad that, during the inspection, there were no clean sheets at all in the prison which meant that prisoners were re-issued with their own dirty bedding.
While the management of race issues was reasonable, wider diversity provision was underdeveloped. Foreign national prisoners were particularly vociferous in their complaints about life at Erlestoke. The new Marlborough unit had opened as a dedicated foreign national unit, but it contained shared cells and many existing foreign national prisoners had refused to move. The role of the unit, and provision for foreign nationals generally, needed to be reviewed.
The quantity and quality of purposeful activity at Erlestoke had continued to improve and was now among the best found in the training estate. Time out of cell was good, although inspectors found that the officially reported hours were inaccurate. Prisoners had plenty of work, training and education, and allocation and attendance arrangements were well managed. The library was about to move into new accommodation and physical education was adequate.
Anne Owers HM Chief Inspector of Prisons commented:
Erlestoke benefits from some of the best purposeful activity provision in the training estate and a generally sound approach to resettlement. However, other aspects of the prison have deteriorated. Drugs are now a significant problem and violence reduction and anti-bullying arrangements need improvement. We were particularly concerned by Wren unit, which holds an unsafe mix of new arrivals and prisoners who had misbehaved elsewhere in the prison. The unit was in very poor condition and should be closed. We were also disappointed by the prison's inability to deliver some of the basics. For example, there was not a single clean sheet available during the inspection. There is a lot to commend at Erlestoke, but the new governor needs urgently to address the frailties we have identified if it is to become a first class training prison.
“Report on an Announced inspection of HMP Erlestoke, 28 April - 2 May 2008 by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons”, (report compiled August 2008, published Friday 31 October 2008)