Prison working conditions unacceptable, staff say

Staff at a prison have described working conditions as "unacceptable" and called on the government to take action.

The Prison Officers Association (POA) said HMP Durham was "overcrowded and understaffed" and that was having a "very significant impact" on the health, safety and wellbeing of both prisoners and workers.

It follows the release of a prison watchdog report, which found several problems at the site including a rise in drug use since its last inspection last May.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it "fully acknowledged" the challenges at the prison and it was taking "significant steps" to resolve them.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that positive mandatory drug tests at the prison had risen from 18% to about 24%.

Inspectors previously said there was a "thriving" drugs market there.

In this new report, it also said: "Violence levels were much higher than seen previously and continued to rise."

Some prisoners were found to spend up to 22 hours a day in their cells as there were "not enough activity spaces for the population".

It also said nearly all prisoners, about 820, lived in two-people cells originally designed for one person. This meant they lived in "cramped conditions with little privacy", it said.

Many new arrivals were also not given health and safety screenings, which were a "fundamental element of prisoner safety".

The body also found about 25% of prisoners released ended up sleeping rough - about the same proportion it found in its last inspection.

POA national chair Mark Fairhurst said "tensions" were high at the prison.

He said the union had made "representations" to the MoJ "time and again".

"The situation at HMP Durham is unacceptable," he said.

"Our members are trying to deal with an overcrowded prison where tensions are high and out of cell time limited; this stokes rising levels of frustration and violence.

"It is about time they listened to the prison officers who are under such huge pressure every day of their working lives."

The MoJ said it was working to disrupt the drug supply at HMP Durham and a new daily schedule had been set up to give prisoners more activities to do.

It also said the prison was taking steps to "improve safety" and health screenings.

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