One in ten prisons in England and Wales should be closed down, says the chief inspector of prisons.
His comments came as the independent monitoring board for Pentonville prison in north London—which was built in 1842—found it “unfit” for prisoners to live or be rehabilitated.
He said: “Wandsworth was built for around 1,000 prisoners and I think has 600 over, Pentonville was built for around 450 and I think there are about 1,200 prisoners in that jail. So there are an awful lot of jails that have got just far more prisoners than they were originally designed for.”
Mr. Taylor said he was shocked by a recent visit to Wandsworth prison.
“We saw a cell that was ready for a first-night arrival, potentially your first night in a jail cell, having been burnt out by the previous occupant. It was just hideous,” he said.
‘Infrastructure of Some Jails ... Really Struggles’
“But also the infrastructure of some of those jails really struggles. You’re probably talking about 10 percent of jails that struggle to be fit for purpose,” Mr. Taylor added.He said in an ideal world he would want to see 14 prisons closed.
Referring to Victorian-era jails, he said: “They tend to be built with very small footprints because they’re built in inner cities. And they definitely haven’t got enough activity places when the population is double the number that the prison was originally built for.”
With the next general election to be called any time until January 2025, the chief inspector said politicians who were advocating longer sentences for criminals needed to address the elephant in the room—prison capacity and conditions.
Mr. Taylor said: “Sentencing is a matter for the courts and ministers decide policy. But I think there should be a bigger conversation about what we want from prisons. What is our expectation of what we are going to get? Because, apart from a handful, the prisoners we lock up are coming out at some stage.”
Gangs Causing Problems in Pentonville
The report went on to say: “Pentonville has more gangs than any other London prison and prisoners bring their gang affiliations inside with them, which remains an ongoing challenge.”It said, “Regular security meetings were held at which detailed intelligence data was shared, but there was no noticeable reduction in the proportion of gang-related assaults.”
“It was often a struggle to house men who wanted to avoid violence but had ‘non-associates’ on most wings, or to accommodate repeat perpetrators of violence so they did not cross paths with rivals. Occasionally the only solution was a transfer to another prison,” it added.
A Prison Service spokesman said, “The latest figures show that the majority of prisons are performing well and, where there are issues, we are providing intensive support for those jails to drive long-term improvements, recruit extra staff, bolster security and boost training and work opportunities for prisoners so we can better protect the public.”
“We are also pressing ahead with the biggest expansion of prison places by any government in over a century, delivering 20,000 additional spaces including six new, modern prisons,” he added.
