No inmates at HMP Peterborough test positive for COVID since March - but jail criticised for slow easing of virus measures

No inmates at HMP Peterborough have tested positive for coronavirus since March - but inspectors have criticised the jail for not relaxing strict measures that has left prisoners stuck in cells for most of the day.
HMP PeterboroughHMP Peterborough
HMP Peterborough

The privately run jail - the only prison in the country with both a male and a female wing - was visited by inspectors in November, who said many inmates had just 90 minutes out of their cells a day as a result of COVID restrictions.

The report - which looked into the male side of the jail, from Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons said: "HMP Peterborough, holding just over 850 male prisoners, was found by inspectors from HM Inspectorate of Prisons to have taken a “very cautious” approach to easing COVID-19 restrictions.

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"This was despite the fact that there had been no positive tests among prisoners since the start of the restricted regime in March 2020, and the number of staff testing positive was low."

When the inspection took place, the jail had 863 inmates - just five short of the operational capacity of 868.

Inspectors found 'many prisoners had only around 90 minutes a day out of cells. The published regime set out 30 minutes a day out of cell for prisoners to complete domestic tasks and to shower, with a further 45 minutes outside in the open air.'

The report added: “Both prisoners and staff told us that on some wings these times were often curtailed further without credible explanation. Some prisoners told us that that long periods locked up with little to do had affected their well-being.”

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Mr Taylor said: "Prison leaders had quickly established a structure to communicate information, design cohort arrangements and deliver a restricted regime. The prison was taking a very cautious route to recovery, which meant that some improvements had been slow to materialise.”

David Smart, Acting Director at HMP Peterborough, said: “We welcome this valuable feedback from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate. Our primary concern during the pandemic has been to preserve the health, safety and wellbeing of our staff and those in our care, in the context of a very challenging local and national situation. As such, we are pleased to see that the report reflects that there were no positive prisoner tests in the period leading up to the inspection.

"In these exceptional times, we have to constantly make very difficult choices and risk assessments– against this backdrop, we are proud of the work undertaken by our team and appreciative of the continued cooperation of our prisoner population, their families and our professional partners.”

Violence had reduced since the start of the restricted regime but, nevertheless, around one in four prisoners felt unsafe, and a notable number said they had been victimised. Inspectors were concerned to encounter a few prisoners who “clearly had some unmet needs.”

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Mr Taylor said: “Living conditions were generally clean and tidy, although the limited time out of cell and some procedural problems meant some prisoners found it difficult to keep themselves or their cells clean. Prisoners were consulted about minor issues affecting their daily lives, but actions from consultation meetings were carried over from meeting to meeting and, in some cases, were not resolved.”

“Equality work had not been prioritised during much of the restricted regime, although it had started to gather some momentum recently. The quality of the prison’s engagement with prisoners from protected groups was basic and did not really explore the issues affecting them.” The 40-week waiting list for dental treatment required urgent attention.

Rehabilitation and release planning had been a strength at the last full inspection, in 2018, and some elements of this work remained in place and had developed further. Two examples of notable positive practice identified by inspectors related to release work. Partnership working with Nacro had resulted in the purchase of accommodation in the city centre that prioritised prisoners leaving Peterborough, though a third of prisoners left with no settled accommodation.

Gaps in public protection work also created some risk, including the monitoring of calls by some dangerous prisoners.

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Overall, Mr Taylor said:“Leaders at Peterborough assured us that recovery plans to move into phase two of the national strategy were complete and would provide a much more purposeful regime. Given that the prison has remained mostly virus-free for eight months, we would encourage it to implement these plans as soon as it is safe to do so. This report contains several key concerns and recommendations that we hope will help it to prioritise its work as it enters this important next stage.”