‘Inhumane’ and understaffed HMP Wandsworth ‘having worst year in memory’ (2024)

HMP Wandsworth is enduring its worst year in recent memory, a watchdog has warned, as a damning report highlighted “inhumane” conditions and rampant violence in a prison beset by staff absences.

Nearly half of officers at the squalid and dangerous Victorian prison had less than a year’s experience as of April, according to the jail’s independent monitoring board (IMB), which warned that this had “seriously undermined the ability of the prison to function effectively”.

And with the rate of staff absences at Wandsworth rarely falling below 50 per cent on any given day, most inmates are left to spend 22 hours a day doubled up in locked cells built by the Victorians for one person, often forced to choose between showering and any other activities, the annual report warned.

The crisis-stricken jail was put into emergency measures in May by HM chief inspector Charlie Taylor amid concerns over security failings and severe issues with overcrowding, drugs, violence and self-harm – prompting the new government to redirect £100m from other jails to fund “urgent improvements”.

Warning that, “for HMP Wandsworth and the men whose treatment we monitor, this year has been as bad as any in our memory and, by many measures, worse”, Wandsworth IMB chair Matthew Andrews said his team of volunteers had been raising the alarm for years to no avail.

The chief inspector’s report in May “was highly critical but said little that surprised us”, Mr Andrews said as the new report was published on Thursday, adding: “Many of the same issues had been raised in previous IMB annual reports and ignored by the Ministry of Justice”.

The woes at Wandsworth were brought under the wider public glare in the wake of the alleged escape of prisoner Daniel Abed Khalife in September. He is due to face trial in October and has pleaded not guilty.

The new report reveals that a subsequent security audit identified “81 points of failure” and resulted in “previously unavailable” funding which enabled “long overdue” upgrades to CCTV cameras which had not worked for over a year.

This also included a new system installed in May in the visits hall this year to replace an old system “which had not been functioning for over a year”, which “immediately led to an increase in the number of illegal passes detected”.

The security audit was carried out in November while an internal review completed in December made 39 recommendations, the report said. The government is yet to publish these documents or confirm whether any disciplinary action has been taken.

While the IMB welcomed the improvements in security at the gate and reception, it warned it was “possible” the measures “led to an increase in drone activity, with 261 instances noted during the reporting period”, with such activity relatively rare in the previous year.

As a result, inspectors previously found that 51 per cent of inmates surveyed said it was easy to get illicit drugs, with the smell of cannabis ubiquitous in the prison. The prison’s governor resigned days after that report was published.

In its new report, the IMB said the crisis at the Category B jail could be blamed on the buildings’ decaying infrastructure, staffing issues and “insufficient or unhelpful management” from the Prison Service (HMPPS) and its lack of financial support.

The watchdog said prison officers worked very hard to try to give prisoners a full regime of time out of their cell to work, eat, socialise and access services despite a high level of violence, but that the prison “is severely limited in what it can do”.

As a result, sometimes inmates were not even given the basic essentials of 45 minutes outside of their cell to exercise and 45 minutes for domestic tasks. Prisoners were often forced to forego any other daily activity to queue for “squalid” showers frequently blighted by mould and rat faeces, the report states.

Essentials such as underwear and blankets were also frequently absent, with in one wing of 122 men at one point sharing 50 blankets, 25 sheets, 30 towels and no boxers or socks – to the extent that they had reportedly become “currency”, with new inmates forced to “pay” others for kettles and other essentials”.

Over 1,200 prisoners shared cells designed in 1851 for single occupancy – a total far greater than at any other prison in the country, the report said. Cells were cramped, squalid and often had broken or missing windows, furniture and fittings.

While the number of assaults fell slightly from more than 1,000 in the previous year to 960, the level of violence was still far too high, the report warned– with some 900 instances of disorder also recorded, including 363 cases involving damage to cells, further straining prison capacity.

There were 10 inmate deaths at Wandsworth over the past year. Six appear to have been self-inflicted, while four people apparently died from natural causes, the report said. There were nearly 1,000 incidents of self-harm involving 302 men.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “The new government inherited a justice system in crisis and has been forced to take action and get a grip of the situation across the prison estate, so we can lock up dangerous offenders, protect the public and make prisons safer for hard-working staff.

“Earlier this month, the new Lord Chancellor announced that the Prison Service is deploying extra specialist staff and will redirect £100 million to be spent over five years at HMP Wandsworth to ensure immediate action is taken to improve conditions.”

Additional reporting by PA