Staff shortages still a concern at prison

The warning follows an independent report released this week, just days before the trial of seven men, alleged to have taken part in last year’s New Year’s Day riot at the prison, is due to begin, today (Thursday, January 19).

The report, commissioned by Ford’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), has been sent to Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke.

It highlights concerns over the insufficient number of officers on duty during the evening – a problem which allowed last year’s riots to escalate out of control – as well as the concerning level of sickness among staff at the prison.

The report states: “Following the riot at the start of the year we are pleased to note that there is an extra officer on duty at nights.

“Whilst this would still not be sufficient to contain a major disturbance such as we saw then, it is a definite improvement.

“We are pleased to note that the level of alcohol offences has dropped and that there is a zero tolerance level. With so many offenders working outside now it is more difficult to contain drug use and this remains a concern, particularly with regard to spice.”

It adds that a new system for issuing keys at the prison had its flaws, particularly when only one member of staff was on duty at the gate. This left the other access point, used by prisoners, unattended.

The report also highlights that staff sickness levels as a major concern, remaining “obstinately high”, with some areas suffering a 30 per cent employee absence.

It adds: “The board continues to be very concerned however that the offender development unit remains under-resourced and suffers from a very heavy rate of absence due to sickness.

“With sickness rates at up to 30 per cent we are surprised that it can operate at all and we are concerned that this level of sickness results in a vicious cycle where staff shortages lead to more pressure on individuals and this in turn leads to stress.”

The IMB, led by chairman Charles Pinney, also voices concern about the prison having inadequate resources to deal with a potential increase in the number of offenders serving indeterminate sentences at the prison.

“If, as seems likely, Ford receives a substantial increase in the number of offenders serving indeterminate sentences then we believe that the resources to manage their sentence plans can not be made available without impacting on the sentence management of the other offenders.”

However, the board praises the “good progress” that has been made getting more offenders into paid and unpaid work outside the prison.