Separation Centres – decent care but more engagement and progression needed
Two centres holding nine men who could not be managed in mainstream prison environments were providing safe and reasonable conditions, but were not focused enough on changing prisoners’ behaviour, according to HM Inspectorate of Prisons. Inspectors visited the separation centres in HMP Frankland, County Durham, and HMP Woodhill, Buckinghamshire in April 2022.
The separation centre model was introduced in 2017 with the aim of separating and controlling those who present a risk that cannot be managed in a mainstream location. A third centre, at HMP Full Sutton, was closed at the time of the inspection, but was likely to reopen as the numbers held in separation increased.
Overall, both centres were well-maintained, and prisoners lived in safe, reasonable conditions. They had good access to health care, including mental health services, as well as visits and phone calls.
Prison leaders and staff did not always recognise the particular needs of the men in separation and some staff were unsure about how their work could promote progression. Offending behaviour programmes aimed at deradicalising their beliefs were too ambitious, and most prisoners were not willing to engage.
Safety at the centres was good, and safeguarding procedures in the main prison were implemented for prisoners in separation. At Frankland, security intelligence was impressive, but it was poorly resourced at Woodhill, which was suffering from staffing shortages. This reflected a wider theme, highlighted during the Inspectorate’s recent independent review of progress at Woodhill, that staffing crises were affecting outcomes for prisoners at the prison. However, staff-prisoner relationships were better at Woodhill than at Frankland, where the men chose not to engage with officers.
Almost all prisoners refused any kind of purposeful activity or offending behaviour work, which limited their time out of cell.
Criteria for the separation of prisoners was clear and applied consistently, with reviews every three months. Men had reasonably good access to social visits and had been using secure video calling during the pandemic. All men we spoke to said they could make calls easily.
The central team and prison leaders need to be clear about the psychological and philosophical expectations of the centres and make sure that all staff fully understand and deliver their specialist role. The challenge for the centres is to fulfil their aim in protecting others from harm while providing clear progression pathways for men to follow. For those who fully engage and show progression, carefully organised and supervised opportunities to have some limited contact with mainstream prisoners and staff would be a way of testing whether further reintegration is possible and safe.
Notes to editors
- Read the full Separation Centres report, published on 9 August 2022.
- HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.
- The creation of separation centres was one part of the government’s response to a review in 2016 into the management of extremism within the prison estate, and supplemented existing arrangements for managing extremism. Three centres were set up within Frankland, Woodhill and Full Sutton high security prisons, providing a total of 28 places.
- At the time of this inspection, the centres held nine prisoners.
- This inspection took place from 11–22 April 2022.
- Please contact media@hmiprisons.gov.uk if you would like more information.