PRISONS FAILING TO MEET TARGETS

The Prison Service failed to meet six of its 15 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), according to a new report published today by the Prison Reform Trust.  A record prison population has led to prisons failing to prepare prisoners for release.  In The Prisons League Table 2001-2002 the best and worst prisons are revealed. 

Main findings

• Despite an average cost per prisoner of £35,784 in 2001-2002, the Prison Service failed to meet its Key Performance Indicator (KPI) target of providing an average of 24 hours a week purposeful activity per prisoner.  The Prison Service has met the target just once in the last seven years.  Only 46 per cent of prisons met the purposeful activity target in 2001-2002.   

• There were 6,684 recorded assaults by prisoners in 2001-2002, an assault rate of 9.9 per cent.  This was ten per cent higher than the KPI target and the fifth consecutive year that the Prison Service failed to meet its assaults KPI target. 

• Although the Prison Service met its overall target for completions of offending behaviour programmes by prisoners, the 6,405 completions represent less than ten per cent of the average prison population.  For the fourth year running, the Prison Service failed to meet its target for working with sex offenders.  Just 839 of the 5,000 convicted sex offenders in prison completed the Sex Offender Treatment Programme.

• The Prison Service failed to meet its target for improving the basic skills of prisoners, although it met its target for prisoners achieving key work skills awards. 

• Considerable progress has been made in reducing escapes and drug use.  All three KPIs on escapes were met.  The recorded rate of drug use was 11.6 per cent, a big reduction on previous years and an improvement on the KPI target of 12 per cent.

• Meeting KPIs should be viewed as a way of encouraging improved performance in prisons and not as firm evidence that prisoners are being treated humanely or constructively.  New KPIs should be introduced for reoffending rates, the distance prisoners are kept from their homes, getting prisoners into stable housing and time out of cell. 

The Prisons League Table 2001-2002

The best and worst prisons in England and Wales in 2001-2002 were as follows.

Assaults (rate of assaults on prisoners and staff as a proportion of prisoners)

KPI target: 9%
Highest

1. Ashfield (male juveniles)   74.1%
2. Huntercombe (male juveniles)  69%
3. Castington YOI    64.2%
4. Werrington (male juveniles)  61%
5. Brinsford YOI    47.7%

The safest prisons were Blantyre House, East Sutton Park, Erlestoke, Ford, Grendon, Hewell Grange, Kingston, Kirklevington Grange, Latchmere House, Leyhill, North Sea Camp, Shepton Mallet, Standford Hill and Whatton, all of which had no recorded assaults. 

Drug use (percentage of random mandatory drug tests that were positive)

KPI target: 12%
Highest      Lowest

1. Lewes   31.6%    1. Albany   0%
2. Blakenhurst 27.5%    2. Kirklevington/Wakefield 1% 
3. Risley  23.9%    3. Swinfen Hall YOI  1.3%
4. Haverigg  23.4%    4. Foston Hall  1.8%
5. Dorchester 23.1%    5. Whatton/Latchmere  1.9%

Purposeful activity (average number of hours per prisoner per week)

KPI target: 24 hours
Highest      Lowest

1. Latchmere House 61.2 hours  1. Belmarsh  11 hours
2. Kirklevington Grange 51.6 hours  2. Bullingdon  13.8 hours
3. Blantyre House  49 hours  3. Pentonville 15 hours
4. Thorn Cross YOI  43.9 hours  4. Haslar   15.2 hours
5. Kirkham   43.4 hours  5. Holme House 15.5 hours

Speaking today, the report’s author, Joe Levenson, said that:

“The Prisons League Table shows that the Prison Service is struggling to cope with a record prison population.  A disturbing number of prisons are overcrowded, unsafe and provide inadequate purposeful activity for prisoners.  Until these failing prisons are drastically improved, prisoners will continue to be held in damaging conditions with little done to prepare them for release.”

Director of the Prison Reform Trust, Juliet Lyon, added that:

“It is clear from the Prisons League Table that prison overcrowding threatens to paralyse the entire system.  Constant movement of prisoners from one overcrowded jail to another also makes it impossible for the Prison Service to assess how good or bad each prison is at reducing reoffending.  Unless the Government acts urgently to divert less serious offenders away from prison and into supervision or treatment in the community, prisons will continue to fail to meet performance targets and public safety will be undermined.”