Inmates at Portland Prison are living in 'inhumane conditions' and are at risk of falling ill, a new damning report reveals.

The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) has raised serious concerns over the management and running of HMP YOI Portland, a Category C facility built 170 years ago which accommodates 500 male adult and young offenders aged 18 and over.

In the report, IMB inspectors said that the cell conditions for many prisoners were 'insanitary and inhumane' due to the lack of 'maintenance work'.

'Years of neglect' had led to the conditions, the chairman of the IMB suggested.

Inspectors also highlighted that there is a lack of provision in place to deal with the entry of drugs and other illicit substances into the prison causing 'serious disruptions and risks to the health and well-being of staff and prisoners'.

This was despite improved collaboration between the prison and Dorset Police.

Inspectors also found that it 'lacked the financial and technological investment in safety and security features' that would bring it into the 21st Century in order to help it deliver a regime more appropriate for its status.

Diversity issues are not being addressed with incidents of casual racism going unchallenged and the needs of prisoners with “protected characteristics” not being recognised and met.

The report comes at the same time as figures from the Ministry of Justice show the prison was given a one out of five, the lowest rating possible in it's annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017/18 which said that 'urgent action' was needed to improve the establishment.

Portland was 1 of 15 UK prisons which were given the rating.

Within the 19 individual group ratings which determine the prison's overall outcome, Portland was given a 1 rating for safety for its inmates and for the quality of prison staff control and restraint training while it received a two (concerning rating) for treating prisoners with respect for their human dignity.

An inspection by the HM Chief Inspector of Prisons last year found the facility was ‘a prison with very high violence levels and a marked decline in safety’. It described a ‘toxic atmosphere’ in which guards and prisoners don’t feel safe.

The Echo has reported that the number of prison officers resigning had increased significantly in recent years.

Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform stressed that the government must act 'boldly and decisively' to prevent more 'bloodshed behind bars' at prisons including Portland.

Meanwhile, IMB inspectors noted some positive work being undertaken in the prison which included developing a range of education, training and employment opportunities which deliver relevant work-related skills and qualifications for prisoners alongside introducing action plans to identify vulnerable prisoners and to ensure improved prisoner safety and well-being.

They stressed the new governor, appointed in April 2017, was working 'hard to change the culture and practices in Portland'.

Anna Knight, chairman of the Portland IMB, said: “Years of neglect to the estate and failings in the delivery of the criminal justice strategy, locally and nationally, mean that prisoners at Portland are living in inhumane and unacceptable conditions, and are not having their risk of harm and re-offending adequately assessed or addressed during their sentence.

"In addition shortcomings in security features for the prison result in too much time lost from the daily regime. As a consequence, the prison gate has become a revolving door for many offenders.”


A Prison Service spokesman said: “The Independent Monitoring Board acknowledge that the new governor  has begun to change the culture and practice of the prison. 

“With the recruitment of 25 new staff, a review of its approach to dealing with violence and a revamp of cells and landings to improve conditions, significant progress is being made.

"The increase in drug seizures is a demonstration of the good work that staff at Portland have been doing, in association with Dorset Police, to stop contraband like drugs and mobile phones entering the prison.”