Hydebank Wood seeing outcomes at 'highest achievable level' for first time

Hydebank Wood Secure College and Women's Prison has become the first unit in Northern Ireland to secure outcomes at the "highest achievable level", two independent reports have found.

However the Criminal Justice Inspectorate and HM Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales voiced concerns at some aspects around safeguarding.

Jacqui Durkin, chief inspector of criminal justice in Northern Ireland, and Charlie Taylor, His Majesty's chief inspector of prisons in England and Wales, said: "We identified evidence of our expectations being met and 10 examples of notable practice that other prisons may be able to learn from.

"Inspectors found strong and effective leadership from the governor and senior team had generated pride, energy and commitment at every level of management and among most of the staff working there."

Ms Durkin said quality relationships between prisoners and staff in both sections of the facility were at the heart of the success.

"We found well-trained, authoritative prison officers knew the people in their care very well, and positive partnerships with other key services, including health care and education and training providers from the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT) and Belfast Metropolitan College (Belfast Met), made sure each woman and young man received support tailored to their individual needs," she said.

"Standards of behaviour were also good, with excellent opportunities available for young men and women to progress into residential units that had more freedom, self-catering facilities and additional time out of cell."

Mr Taylor said: "While it is not possible to directly compare levels of violence at Hydebank Wood with similar prisons in England and Wales because of the different ways of collecting data, it was clearly much safer than its comparators.

"Only one serious assault was recorded in the last year and most violent incidents were low level."

Both inspections raised six key concerns that the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS), the SEHSCT and Belfast Met leadership needed to address by working together to further improve prisoner and patient outcomes.

"While there had been improvements to the approach to adult safeguarding, processes and procedures were still not fully effective and the investigation of safeguarding incidents and serious complaints was not sufficiently robust," Ms Durkin said.

"This has been raised in other prison inspections and the NIPS and the SEHSCT need to put in place a workable adult safeguarding policy at pace that clarifies information-sharing arrangements and referral decision making."

Both inspection reports identified a need for greater scrutiny of incidents involving the use of force as current arrangements were not robust and could not assure prison leaders that force was always necessary, proportionate and used as a last resort.

Inspectors also recommended that leaders make better use of data available to them to effectively co-ordinate, sequence, prioritise and plan future provision, especially in relation to education, skills and work activities.

The inspectors concluded: "Overall, this was a very positive inspection and it is a pleasure to report on a prison that, despite an increased population with some complex needs, was operating far more successfully that most similar prisons inspected in England and Wales."

Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long said Hydebank Wood is a "model of excellence and good practice, transforming lives".

"The outcome of today's reports is a culmination of many years hard work by the Prison Service and its partner agencies. Just over 10 years ago inspectors described Hydebank as a failing prison - today it is a model of excellence and good practice," she said.

"Many people coming into prisons do so with hugely complex issues, addiction and mental health problems. We as a society should never underestimate the challenges our prisons face on a daily basis, to support and challenge those people to change their behaviours.

"Of course, with any report there will be learning, and the inspectors have explained where we can further improve."

Beverley Wall, director general of the Northern Ireland Prison Service, said: "Our staff are among the most dedicated and professional people working in the public sector. That is not often recognised on the outside.

"I am hugely grateful to the inspection teams for recognising the 'excellent quality' of relationships between prisoners and staff in both parts of Hydebank."