Shocking conditions at HMP Wandsworth result of leadership failures “at every level”
In May, a catastrophic inspection of HMP Wandsworth led Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons to write to the then Secretary of State invoking an Urgent Notification for improvement. Today, the full report from that inspection details the extent of the problems at the troubled jail which led to this action, noting that Wandsworth has come to be “symbolic of the problems that characterise what is worst about the English prison system”.
Wandsworth was not safe: there had been 10 self-inflicted deaths since the last inspection, seven of which had occurred in the last 12 months. The rate of self-harm was high and rising, and yet around 40% of emergency cell bells were not answered within five minutes. Staff were oblivious to a prisoner in crisis who had self-harmed in his cell until inspectors brought it to their attention. Overall rates of violence, including serious assaults, had increased and use of force was now higher than most other reception jails. More than half of men said it was easy to get drugs and the smell of cannabis was ubiquitous. Drug testing had been suspended, but the most recent tests found 44% of prisoners were actively using drugs.
Since the alleged escape in 2023, HMPPS had invested almost £900,000 in additional resources in safety and security. Despite this, and the threat to stability posed by illicit drug use, leaders had not got the basics of security right including an inability to account for prisoners during the working day. An action plan created after the last escape in 2019 had not been completed and key elements of the jail’s security strategy had not been reviewed in ten years.
Wandsworth was severely overcrowded with 80% of men sharing cells designed to hold one person. Living conditions were very poor with damaged flooring and furniture, broken windows and leaking fixtures being common. Many cells had no screening around the toilet, despite holding two men. At the time of the inspection, the prison had over 900 outstanding jobs in its facilities log, reflecting the scale of the challenge. The prison was dirty with persistent vermin problems and inspectors found rodent faeces and urine across residential units.
Around three quarters of men reported spending more than 22 hours a day in their cells in these appalling conditions. Inspectors carrying out two random roll checks were unable to verify this because record keeping was so poor, with staff unable to account for where prisoners on their wings were. Access to education, work and skills was very poor with most prisoners unemployed. While the library could have provided some respite from this, less than a tenth of planned library sessions in the three months preceding the inspection had taken place.
Inexperience across every grade of operational staff was preventing them from bringing about much needed change. Most leaders were temporarily promoted, and new staff were learning from inexperienced frontline managers. The working culture was not supportive and senior leaders were not visible around the jail. Despite a full complement of officers, sickness, restricted duties, and training commitments meant that over a third could not be deployed to operational duties each day; this led to curtailed regimes, cross-deployment, and burnt-out staff. Staffing shortfalls underpinned a myriad of challenges in daily life. For example, it took weeks for new arrivals to have telephone numbers approved so they could speak to their families. Prison officer absences also resulted in prisoners being unable to access healthcare services, resulting in important health assessment and treatment interventions being curtailed. The costly new health centre that was supposed to open in the summer of 2022 was still unused.
The offender management unit (OMU) was particularly short-staffed and the amount of one-to-one work which both probation- and prison-employed POMs were carrying out with their prisoners was minimal. Public protection procedures to safeguard children and protect other potential victims had also deteriorated substantially since the last inspection. Perhaps unsurprisingly, only 35% of men said that their experience at Wandsworth had made them less likely to reoffend in the future, a finding that was far worse than in similar prisons.
There was a degree of despondency amongst prisoners at Wandsworth that I have not come across in my time as Chief Inspector. Many well-meaning and hard-working leaders and staff persevered at Wandsworth, but they were often fighting against a tide of cross-cutting, intractable problems that require comprehensive, long-term solutions. This will not be a quick fix. For this troubled prison to begin to recover, Wandsworth needs permanent experienced leaders at all levels who are invested in the long-term future of the prison to improve security, safety and guide their less experienced colleagues. We will be watching closely to see whether this is the case.
Notes to editors
- This inspection took place 22 April – 2 May 2024. At the time of the inspection, the prison held 1,521 men. The baseline operational capacity of Wandsworth is 979 men.
- Following the inspection, the Chief Inspector of Prisons wrote to the then Secretary of State to invoke an urgent notification. Find out more about the urgent notification: https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmipris_reports/hmp-wandsworth-urgent-notification/
- A copy of the full report, published on 6 August 2024, can be found on the HM Inspectorate of Prisons website at: https://hmiprisons.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/
- 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.
- Please email media@hmiprisons.gov.uk if you would like more information.