Gangs operated openly in Dorset prison, say inspectors

A Dorset jail has been officially branded a prison in crisis after inspectors found that managers and staff had all but lost control to rival gangs that were openly operating at the jail. Inspectors say they found ”very high levels of violence” and many frightened prisoners when they made an unannounced visit to Guys Marsh prison, near Shaftesbury in Dorset, last November.

They also say there were at least 14 “incidents at height” in 2014, in which prisoners climbed on to roofs or other dangerously high structures out of reach of staff in the hope that they would be taken to the segregation unit for their own safety when they were taken down.

Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, says in the official inspection report published on Wednesday that gangs operated openly at Guys Marsh. “I had a ‘civil’ meeting with some prisoners who appeared to be operating unimpeded as a gang with a leader, and who boasted to me about the power they wielded in the prison,” he said.

The high levels of violence in the jail, which takes most of its inmates from Bristol and Gloucester, included 17 assaults on staff, 19 fights and 53 assaults on prisoners within six months: “The violence was driven by the supply of drugs, particularly synthetic cannabinoids such as Spice, and diverted medicines and illicitly brewed alcohol. Much of this trade was led by gangs and by organised crime operating outside the prison. Although the price of the drugs on the streets was low, it was very high in prison, so there were attempts to get large quantities in … Big profits could be made,” the inspectors’ report says.

They say that the supply of drugs led to debts enforced by violence or threats of violence to prisoners, or their families or associates outside the prison. Some gangs also intimidated some prisoners to ask to be moved to a different part of the prison so they could act as drug distribution points.

Hardwick said security staff and managers were working hard to overcome these problems, with a large number of drug finds, and key players had been moved elsewhere. But the Guys Marsh governor told the inspectors that the transforming rehabilitation programme of the justice secretary, Chris Grayling, had led to a regional prison reorganisation that meant that it was holding a significant number of rival gang members without the flexibility to split them up by diverting them elsewhere.

“At a time when we are seeing some overall improvement in the system, HMP Guys Marsh stands out as an establishment of great concern. Regional managers began to take decisive action during the inspection, but real risks remain and turning the prison round will take sustained support from the prison service nationally. The failures of the prison at the time of the inspection posed unacceptable risks to the public, staff and prisoners, and this cannot be allowed to continue,” said the chief inspector of prisons.

Michael Spurr, chief executive officer of the National Offender Management Service, said the inspectors had visited the prison during a particularly difficult period. “Changes in the population combined with a rise in the illegal trafficking of new psychoactive drugs was fuelling gang-related violence. The prison was not out of control and action was being taken in response to these threats – but I accept the situation at the time wasn’t acceptable. Since the inspection, we have worked with the police to provide extra support to the prison to tackle drug supply and gang activity – including moving perpetrators to more secure jails as necessary,” he said.