Chronic staff shortage at heart of Featherstone Prison's problems

The prison has to make do with 50 fewer officers than in 2010, according to figures released by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

But the shortfall has impacted on many areas of prison life, with inmates having hospital appointments and gym classes cancelled due to no staff being available.

The issue is mirrored across the UK, with prisons facing a 30 per cent reduction in staffing numbers at a time when inmate numbers are soaring.

In jails in the West Midlands, this has led to a shortfall of around 700 staff, which has contributed to a multitude of problems including a rise in violence and rampant soar indrug use among inmates.

The report by the Independent Monitoring Board into HMP Featherstone reveals a litany of issues.

The frequently vandalised Care and Separation Unit (CSU), which houses prisoners who have behaved badly on other wings, was said to be not sufficiently staffed to lock up violent prisoners.

The report, which covers the period from November 2013 to October 2014, revealed that a number of cells in the unit were damaged by prisoners during the year.

The new report, which describes substance misuse in Featherstone as 'a major problem' for staff, says that drug testing has become less frequent in the prison due to a reduction in staffing levels.

An increase in the use of weapons was also said to have caused concern, leading to warning posters being put up around the jail highlighting the consequences of making and carrying weapons.

The report also noted the rehabilitation of some prisoners was being affected by being unable to attend educational classes due to them staying in their cells or attending visits.

During the last year alone, 26 complaints were made regarding missing property, leading to a total compensation payout of £756, the report says.

The loss of property had led to financial struggles for some inmates.

The report said: "The loss of property during transfer has been a problem for many years and has certainly not improved.

"Understandable frustration and annoyance for affected prisoners is increased when matters extend over many weeks and even months," the report added.

Inmates' social time has also suffered, with gym activities curtailed due to a shortage of uniformed staff.

The report states: "Gym staff have had to cover operational shortages in the residential function resulting in the closure of the department for normal gym activities."

The transportation of drugs into the prison continues to be a concern, according to the report.

It says increased fencing and controls have been introduced in a bid to curb the passage of illicit substances into the jail.

Vacancies and sickness absences are said to have adversely affected the services provided by the prison's healthcare department. The report says a number of outside appointments were cancelled last year because no uniformed officers were available to escort prisoners to and from hospital.

Last year, prison staff at Featherstone passed a vote of no confidence in the management, with 87 per cent of them saying they were concerned for their safety.

Sources claimed the prison was 'flooded' with the synthetic cannabis Black Mamba, and that officers had been attacked.

They had claimed violent acts were handled 'weakly' by management, that an officer was punched to the ground and kicked and that the prisoner responsible received a 28-day sentence for common assault – but this was served alongside his existing term.

Featherstone sits next to HMP Oakwood, which has been beset with problems since it opened in April 2012, including an incident where prisoners held a nine-hour stand-off with officers early last year.

A series of damning reports by the chief inspector of prisons on individual jails have detailed a rise in violence among a record prison population of 85,000, a large proportion of whom spend most of their days locked up on restricted regimes due to staff shortages.

Despite repeated warnings by the chief inspector and penal reformers, justice secretary Chris Grayling has remained adamant there is no crisis and that overcrowding remains below the levels under the last government.

Prison Service spokesman Yasser Mehmood said the Ministry of Justice was confident that an ongoing recruitment campaign would see Featherstone close to fully staffed by the end of February.

He said: "We are currently going through the process of taking on officers.

"By the end of next month we are confident that Featherstone will have only three vacancies."

But the shortages have become so acute that a reserve of prison officers is being recruited by the Ministry of Justice to work in Featherstone, as well as Brinsford, Stafford, Drake Hall and Swinfen Hall.

HMP Stafford, which now exclusively holds sex offenders, has been criticised for its low staffing levels, with prisoners not able to access the right rehabilitation work.

Existing staff at Featherstone, however, are praised throughout the report.

Resettlement services for prisoners are praised, while work done to manage prisoner debt and housing issues, and to educate them on the dangers of illegal synthetic drugs, are described as 'impressive'. The prison's work to unite inmates with their families through family days was also commended, as was the work of the staff in the CSU, in catering, the gym and also in the prison chaplaincy.

The report says the education department at the prison is well staffed, with inmates offered a variety of training programmes as soon as they arrive on-site.

Classes have an attendance rate of between 75 and 85 per cent, with a 70 per cent pass rate on course completion.

The report added: "The board recognises the hard work of both the staff in the workshops and in the education department in these times of austerity."

The report also noted that catering services had suffered on occasions as a result of a shortage of staff due to 'illness, long-term sickness and holidays'.

"Despite a difficult year the catering team met their budget criteria and provided the daily requirement and standard of meals," the report added.

A number of financial savings have been made over the last year, the report says.

Food management is better controlled due to waste being monitored, while recycling is estimated to have saved the prison around £50,000 over the course of the year.

Work to redevelop a section of run down land next to the jail into a habitat for wildlife was also highlighted in the report, with Christmas trees grown on the land sold off to bolster prison coffers.

A new social enterprise shop selling items created by prisoners is due to open in the coming months.

Mr Mehmood added: "We are pleased that independent inspectors have recognised the hard work of our dedicated staff and praised the service they deliver, particularly in the chaplaincy and the visits centre.

"We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison and use a range of robust security measures to find them.

"Our robust measures mean we are well below our drug testing target and we expect this good work to continue.

Increase

"We have also recently strengthened our search strategy, leading to an increase in the number of weapons found at Featherstone," Mr Mehmood added.

"All forms of violence at the prison are taken very seriously and we will always refer perpetrators to police, and press for the most serious charges possible to be laid."

This positivity is echoed by justice minister Andrew Selous, who said: "Prison staff have done a fantastic job maintaining safe and decent prison regimes during a period of significant change and I would like to thank them all for their dedication."

The Prison Service came under fire last year for sending officers from under staffed prisons to shore up the numbers at other similarly under staffed jails.

Mr Selous added: "Sending prison officers on detached duty is a sensible and proportionate way of managing temporary staffing shortfalls and is something the Service has used for over 20 years."

The report concluded that Featherstone had performed strongly in some areas, as identified in a number of audits.

The prison caters for 703 prisoners across seven units, with the majority of them housed in single cells.