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VIOLENCE is plaguing a Staffordshire prison for young men despite improvements in other conditions there, an inspection has found.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons said that HMP Swinfen Hall, which incarcerates more than 500 men under the age of 28, has “high levels of violence — much of it gang-related and involving group attacks on individuals.”
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said that since previous inspections “significantly more prisoners told us they felt safe” following changes made by prison management.
“However, despite the Covid-19 restrictions on mixing and the limited amount of time prisoners spent out of their cells, levels of violence, often serious, between prisoners were still too high and staff assaults were on the rise,” he said.
Mr Taylor also expressed concern at increasing use of gas sprays and that about a third of prisoners were still routinely locked up for 22 hours a day.
He concluded: “There remains considerable and fundamental work still to do to create an environment in which this group of young men are really incentivised and motivated to behave in an atmosphere that is safe and supportive.”
