‘More drugs than sweets’ in prison tuck shop
Published yesterday on the Department of Justice website, the report for 2009 listed a catalogue of problems, including overcrowding and poor toilet facilities.
The Visiting Committee make a bitter joke that they could have resubmitted the 2008 report as “the regime remains largely the same”.
“Still chronically overcrowded, vermin-infested, more drugs in the prison than sweets in the tuck shop, filthy facilities and no structured approach to a prisoner’s day,” it states.
It said elements of the Prisons Act 2007 “are continuously broken”, while the committee criticised the failure to open a separation unit by the end of 2009, as had been promised. It said the “constant stream” of people being jailed for fines was “ridiculous and must cease”, while overcrowding meant a prison population of almost 650.
It said 23 vacancies in work-and-training programmes meant it was hard to keep workshops open, and absenteeism and overcrowding meant they were running at 50% of the set programme.
Visits to the library halved last year, and the reception area of the prison was also criticised.
On the drugs issue the committee said: “Higher nets must be provided at yards and a review of the camera system carried out. A dedicated structured approach to reducing and eventually stopping dependency on drugs should be implemented as a priority issue.”
It also described the shutting down of external work parties, where prisoners engage in supervised community labour, as “a bitter blow”, with no advance notice given.
Toilets were described as being in a “bad state”, a situation that is not always the fault of prisoner vandalism.
- The report on the Training Unit stated that capacity increased from 96 to 117 because of overcrowding in other prisons, with some offenders having to share rooms, while staff numbers fell by seven, with no replacements.
The committee noticed “a change for the worse in the atmosphere” due to overcrowding, and were “dismayed and appalled” at the sight of extra mattresses on floors and chamber pots in rooms, while the electronic workshop ceased and other workshops were run by a skeletal staff.
- The Midlands Prison Visiting Committee said it was concerned that the loss of two psychologists in September this year would impact on the mental health of inmates.
A passive search dog has helped reduce the availability of drugs and mobile phones in the prison, but the committee said it was “very concerned . . . that the phone blocking system introduced here on a pilot scheme two years ago is still not fully commissioned”.
- Portlaoise Prison Visiting Committee reported that “an increasing number of requests were made by prisoners who had been transferred to the new state-of-the-art C Block and were looking to go back to Mountjoy Prison” – even though the Committee found the new C Block to be “a very modern building” with in-cell sanitation and a wide range of workshops and educational options.
- The Visiting Committee at St Patrick’s Institute for Young Offenders said the prison was being run in “an efficient, fair, safe and a humanitarian way”.
However, increased numbers of prisoners remanded to the jail and increased threats of violence caused concern.
- 201 mobile phones were found by prison officers in Wheatfield Prison last year, while the introduction of sniffer dogs “significantly reduced” the flow of drugs.
- 77 prisoners absconded from open prison Shelton Abbey last year – up from 73 the previous year, with most having been transferred from the Midlands Prison or Mountjoy.
- ARBOUR HILL
Arbour Hill was praised for being an “extremely well-run” prison which was “kept spotless and in pristine condition”.
The prison was also congratulated for introducing a multi-disciplinary, in-depth risk assessment programme for prisoners known as “integrated sentence management”.
However, the Visiting Committee said it was deeply concerned at the upward spiral in prison numbers which had seen the number of inmates increase from 138 at the start of 2008 to 156 at the end of last year.
It also praised the replacement of the sex offender treatment programme with a new Building Better Lives programme.
- CASTLEREA
Welcomed the opening of a new remand unit which it claimed would end the problem of serious overcrowding. Expressed shock at an incident in October 2009 where staff had to wear riot gear for the first time in the prison’s history after a riot broke out among prisoners recently transferred from the Midlands Prison.
The Visiting Committee found Castlerea to be “a very well-run prison with very professional and courteous staff.”
- CLOVERHILL
Expressed concern about overcrowding, as prisoners complained that new committals had been put in their cell on a mattress during the night which the committee said caused tension and disruptions.
It also highlighted how Cloverhill accommodated the highest number of foreign prisoners in any detention facility and called for the need of problems associated with the language barrier to be addressed.
The committee said a significant percentage of Cloverhill prisoners were also given protection, which places a massive strain on the prison’s resources.
The committee criticised the absence of a psychologist for the prison since 2008.
- CORK
Prisoners were unable to enjoy the full benefit of educational facilities due to the frequent transfer of inmates caused by overcrowding.
The committee also criticised the practice of “slopping out” and the lack of in-cell sanitation as well as “inadequate” mental health services.
- DÓCHAS CENTRE
“Increasing levels of overcrowding and the accessibility of drugs in the prison have continued to impact on conditions,” the report said, with prisoner numbers reaching more than 150% of capacity on occasion.
“Authorities appear to be powerless to stop drugs coming in over walls,” it said, leading to “heightened tensions”. It was “unacceptable” that perimeters can be breached and officers cannot intervene due to safety considerations.
The committee also criticised media coverage of some high-profile inmates.
- LIMERICK PRISON
Prisoners complained about the level of medical attention received, loss of privileges and visitors being denied access under new search procedures.
The committee raised concerns over the need for an upgrade of prison buildings, overcrowding in the women’s section of the jail and fears that some prisoners would be better being treated at a central mental unit.
- LOUGHAN HOUSE
60 inmates absconded from the open prison last year, although most were returned to custody shortly afterwards. The visiting committee praised the condition of the prison.
