Jail conditions blasted in report (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Jail conditions blasted in report

5:31pm Thursday 20th September 2007 in

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A report into conditions at Leeds Prison has listed a catalogue of failings.

Conditions in certain sections of the jail, where many Bradford prisoners are sent, are described as inhumane and unacceptable.

Serious concerns have been raised by the Independent Monitoring Board report in relation to sanitation, privacy, the holding of foreign nationals, the jail's methadone policy and the segregation of non-white prisoners.

But the Board's report also praises the work being done by staff at the 19th century prison which it states is always operating at its full capacity.

The report found that:

• In-cell sanitation is an "unacceptable" situation, where prisoners eat and sleep and have no privacy. It adds that, the lack of privacy screens for in cell toilets was "totally degrading and inhumane" and was "unhygienic and has health implications".

• The holding of foreign national prisoners "who clearly should not be in a category B prison, and remain here after their sentence has been completed, causes great concern".

The report goes on to say: "The policy of convicted and non-convicted prisoners sharing a cell is totally unacceptable and continues despite being commented on in previous reports."

The Board was also concerned by the disparity in the numbers of non-white and ethnic minority prisoners in segregation.

The report states: "The Leeds segregation unit remains a difficult but well-managed area of the prison. The board continues to enjoy a good working relationship with all staff" but notes that, "A discrepancy continues to persist where those of non-white ethnic background are between 6-9 per cent more likely to be segregated than others."

Several of these concerns were raised by the Board on previous assessments but were not acted upon by governors, the report states.

However, the prison scored favourably in terms of its staff.

The report states: "While there are concerns, the Board is also very much aware of the tremendous amount of work and the dedication and devotion to duty by staff and the management team at Leeds."

The report concludes: "Leeds Prison is a local prison always operating at full capacity, dealing with incidents on a daily basis, which are dealt with by caring and dedicated staff working together, plus a good senior management team."

Rob Kellett, Governing Governor of Leeds prison said: "I welcome the Board's report, much of which is positive about the work that is being done by staff at Leeds and the progressive cultural shift that is taking place in areas such as the Segregation Unit and Race Relations strategy.

"I recognise that some areas need improvement and I am committed to addressing these improvements where resources can be made available to do so."