News / Crime
Bristol Prison ‘unsafe, if not dangerous’
Bristol Prison has a drugs problem and is “unsafe, if not dangerous”, according to a new report which says the prison requires extra funding.
Violent incidents between inmates are on the rise, hygiene conditions are poor and leadership needs improving, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) of volunteers at the prison found.
In its annual report the board said it was concerned that at times the prison is “little more than a ‘warehousing’ institution with a negative knock-on effect for the well-being and resettlement of prisoners”.
is needed now More than ever
It called for a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, including legal highs, which have been identified as a particular concern.
Bristol Prison is a 614-capacity category B men’s prison with approximately 50 per cent on remand and 80 per cent staying less than a year.
The new findings have been published as part of the August 2014-July 2015 annual report from the 12 lay volunteers at the prison.
The report says: “Too often, weekly reports from members of the board – based on observations and conversations with staff and prisoners – have asserted that the prison has an atmosphere of being “unsafe if not dangerous”.
It adds: “HMP Bristol has a drugs problem, and not least in the ascendancy of new psychoactive substances (NPSs, often known as “spice”) with its unpredictable effect on users – often leading to violence, confrontation and tension around the prison.
“The board urges high profile priority on a zero-tolerance approach to drugs – clearly no simple task but one that would emphasise the rule of law in prison, reduce the pressure on staff dealing with drug related emergencies and address the addictive habits of many prisoners.”
Reports of people throwing drugs over the prison walls have increased in recent months.
Avon and Somerset Police carried out a two-day operation in October tackling the flow of drugs into the prison, arresting one person on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs.
Violence is also a “significant” concern at the prison, according to the board. Violent incidents have doubled to two a day. But the board also said there was a “lack of confidence in the data recording procedures”.
The board said the level of cleaning is “just about adequate overall”, but difficult to keep on top of with missing or cracked floor and wall tiles and leaking or broken toilets.
They said there were fewer sightings of cockroaches this year, but “there remains evidence of their survival in the prison”.
The board said that since the new governor was appointed to HMP Bristol in August there has been a number of new initiatives with the aim of improving the safety, well-being and resettlement of prisoners.
The prison was criticised in last November’s annual report for being unsafe, understaffed and at “bursting point”.