London Evening Standard/London

Parts of Britain’s biggest prison are being left dangerously unguarded for long periods because of staff shortages that are having a “severe” impact on safety and other key standards, an official watchdog warned yesterday.
Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, said that “almost every service” in Wandsworth jail was inadequate as he published a highly-critical report on the conditions faced by inmates. He said the worst problems included prisoners locked in overcrowded cells for 23 hours a day, deteriorating healthcare, and inadequate education and rehabilitation work.
Hardwick also highlighted the death of 12 inmates — including five suicides and an “apparent homicide” — in the past two years and the “demoralised” and “exhausted” state of staff.
But his most stark warning was on the impact staff shortages had on security, as he revealed that prison officers were sometimes “absent altogether” from parts of the jail.
“Landings were unstaffed for long periods and this created potential for violence to take place unnoticed and unchallenged,” Hardwick said, adding that one in five inmates reported feeling unsafe. “There were not enough staff on the wings to engage with prisoners; sometimes they were absent altogether. Essential safety processes were inconsistently applied.”
Hardwick said the prison was holding 1,630 prisoners, 70% more than its official capacity of 963, and was suffering from many other “severe” problems after the loss of 100 officers’ jobs and a 25% budget cut. They included an absence of risk assessments to protect young men held on the “vulnerable prisoner wing” from the “predatory behaviour” of older inmates.
Health services had also deteriorated with “poor” nursing and “unacceptably long delays” transferring prisoners to secure mental health facilities, and a “listener” suite used by inmates needing emotional support was “dirty and blood-splattered”.
The report says overcrowding and staff shortages were having a “severe” impact and added: “Most prisoners were doubled up in small cells designed for one, with an unscreened, shared toilet close to the beds. Prisoners struggled to obtain sufficient clothing, bedding and cleaning materials.
“The third of prisoners who were unemployed — more than 500 men — usually spent 23 hours a day locked in their cells. Daily exercise periods might be as little as 15 minutes.”
Hardwick, who warned earlier this month that jail conditions nationally are at their worst for a decade, said prisons would “struggle to hold men safely and decently” unless ministers provided more resources.
The National Offender Management Service said extra staff had been drafted into Wandsworth since the inspection and it now had a “limited but decent” regime.