Easier said than done: resolving prisoner requests

What we found

Drawing on 5,431 survey responses from inspections of adult men’s and women’s prisons, this report highlights the many problems prisoners have in resolving simple, everyday tasks.

Despite an expectation that prisoners sort out most of their day-to-day requests informally with officers on the wings, the survey responses revealed that a shortage of available officers and too little time out of cell often limited these opportunities. Prisoners relied instead on more formal, written ‘applications’ systems to get things done.

There were multiple issues with these systems. Paper forms were not always available, prisoners rarely received a receipt to show they had handed one in, replies were almost never logged, and responses took far too long to arrive. Electronic systems were also flawed, with touchpad ‘kiosks’ on the wings not accommodating all types of applications, some departments not contactable via the system, and kiosks in some prisons broken. Even in-cell laptop systems, which generally offered prisoners greater control, needed improvement.

Too many leaders were not prioritising the need for swift, clear and helpful responses, leading to unnecessary and potentially harmful frustration from prisoners.