Featherstone Prison 'still improving' despite challenges with inmates

An Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) said it had witnessed further improvements at the jail near Wolverhampton which was once ranked as one of the worst in the country.

However, it raised concerns around the state of some of the prison's buildings and the behaviour of a number of inmates connected to organised criminal gangs.

The board said the number of prisoners affiliated with these gangs had risen and that staff were having to "deal with the consequences on a daily basis". Staff have also faced a battle to stop drugs and mobile phones getting into the prison, which currently houses around 600 prisoners.

Extra prison officers have been brought in to help tackle the problem, but staffing levels still remain short of the target.

Parts of the jail have undergone refurbishment but the board said "significant improvements are still required to the poor state of repair in parts of the prison", the board said.

Concerns were also raised that an education was being inadequately delivered by provider Novus. Some courses have not been available for the l ast six months due to staffing issues, and the board described the situation as a "retrograde step".

Novus said there had been a "period of transformation and change, which is ongoing to support longer-term service delivery improvements".

The IMB report said: "The board continues to see improvements in the effectiveness and operational running of the establishment. Despite some refurbishment, significant improvements are still required to the poor state of repair in parts of the prison.

"The introduction of the clear, rehabilitative, enabling and decent (CRED) programme to improve working and living conditions using appropriately trained and security-cleared prisoners has been a positive initiative that has worked well.

"During the last year HMP Featherstone has dealt with many difficult prisoners and increased numbers involved in organised crime gangs many of whom have little interest in work or education.

"Their challenging and often aggressive behaviour has caused problems for frontline staff who have had to deal with the consequences on a daily basis. Detailed attention has been given throughout the year to tackling the ingress of illicit items, namely drugs, mobile phones and tobacco, resulting in some improvement.

"The recruitment of new staff has continued with a current complement of 124 officers against an establishment target of 136. This has allowed the establishment to improve day-to-day relationships between prisoners and staff. However, ensuring new staff are fully integrated places additional pressure on the system."