A surprise inspection at Nottingham prison in September found that it was ‘failing in most of its core responsibilities.’
The inspection report exposed concerning levels of violence at the prison on Perry Road, Sherwood which included hostage taking and assaults on staff and prisoners.
In the week before inspectors arrived there had been a three day lock down on some of the wings to deal with some of the violent incidents.
The last full inspection was in 2010, with a shorter inspection in 2013 and both times the outcome was positive.
Safety concerns
Almost 40 per cent of prisoner said they had been victimised by other inmates and a high amount of inmates felt unsafe.
Violent incident were also found not to be investigated and their was no system in place to support victims.
Staff shortages meant many prisoners were locked in their cells for 21 hours a day and the report found that staff-prisoner relationships had deteriorated.
Nick Hardwick, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons said in the report: “At the time of our inspection, Nottingham prison was in a very difficult place.”
“The prison was not safe enough, conditions were not good enough prisoners were not sufficiently active and not enough was done to manage risks and reduce the likelihood of reoffending.”
Poor living conditions
The report also highlighted the poor living conditions of inmates including dirty showers and toilets and prisoners having poor access to clean clothes and bedding.
The grounds of the prison were described as bleak and littered and many cells were found to be overcrowded, graffitied and had large amounts of rubbish.
Mr Hardwick continued in the report: “A new interim governor is in place, but at the time this report was written it was too early to judge whether the prison’s new leadership was making improvements. We will return to the prison much more quickly than usual to assess progress.”
The National Offender Management service said extra staff had been brought in and conditions had improved since the visit in September.
HMP Nottingham opened in 1860 and is now is a Category B prison that holds males who are convicted or on remand from courts in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
It currently holds just under 1000 prisoners in the 1060 capacity prison and receives just under 100 people a day through its doors.