Inspectors "Shocked" by how bad things have got at Nottinghamshire prison
Violence, incidents of self-harm and use of drugs continue to dominate at Lowdham Grange.
Last updated 20th Feb 2024
More than a thousand pints of "hooch" were seized at a prison branded so unsafe the Government stepped in to run it - but no inmates had yet been disciplined, according to a watchdog.
Chief inspector of prisons Charlie Taylor said he and his team were "shocked by quite how bad things had got" at Lowdham Grange which holds up to 900 men, many of whom are convicted of "very serious offences".
Levels of violence, incidents of self-harm and use of drugs continued to dominate at the category B prison near Nottingham, according to the watchdog.
The situation at the Sodexo-run jail had become so concerning the Prison Service intervened in December, bringing in a new governor to improve safety and security.
It came after the jail was branded unsafe during a concerning inspection by the prisons watchdog in May last year.
Inspectors reviewed the progress being made at the prison in January in the wake its earlier findings.
The watchdog found more than 100 members of staff had resigned in between its visits, leaving the prison "desperately short-staffed" and five inmates had taken their own lives in 2023.
The prison had not made an "acceptable level of progress in a single one of the concerns" previously raised, according to the inspectors, which was "particularly worrying as these focused on safety and public protection".
Highlighting steps taken by the prison to crack down on disorder, Mr Taylor said "targeted searches" over Christmas led to more than 600 litres (approximately 1,055 pints) of hooch - illicitly brewed alcohol - being confiscated.
But the watchdog's latest report said adjudications "provided little deterrent to poor behaviour, and disciplinary procedures needed urgent improvement", with potentially large numbers of actions outstanding.
More recent "breaches of discipline had not been dealt with correctly".
In the wake of the hooch confiscations, more than 30 prisoners had been "placed on report for allegations of possession of unauthorised items" but prison bosses told inspectors "not one adjudication had been dealt with in the specified timescales, so none had been proceeded with, despite the large quantities of hooch being recovered", according to the findings.
Inspectors observed "frequent low-level poor behaviour" including inmates "vaping" and "openly" defying staff.
The report suggested prison officers "did not always have the confidence to challenge prisoners" because of increased levels of violence directed towards them.
In one case "a prisoner was returned to standard privileges five days after the assault of a female PCO (prison custody officer), without any consideration given to disciplinary proceedings or appropriate targets being set to improve his behaviour", the report said.
Lowdham Grange had "one of the highest positive result rates for mandatory drug testing, at over 40%", Mr Taylor warned, as he highlighted that inspectors were "increasingly concerned" about the prevalence of drugs in prisons, adding that it was "particularly reassuring" that efforts to tackle this were a priority.
"It's unprecedented for the prison service to use their power to step in and take back control of a privately run prison, so we knew Lowdham was struggling, but even so we were shocked by quite how bad things had got at the jail.
"The new governor and the existing director appeared to be working well together, however, and there was very early evidence that their combined actions since the step-in had begun to improve things," Mr Taylor said.
It was "absolutely vital" the prison continued to receive the support it needs in order to maintain "adequate staffing and a relentless focus on improving safety, including the serious drug problem at the jail", he added.
A Prison Service spokesman said: "Since we stepped in to take over the running of the prison in mid-December, we've made swift improvements including supporting the prison with additional staff and we welcome the chief inspector's acknowledgement that this action has had a positive impact.
"We know there is still work to do which is why Lowdham Grange remains supported by an experienced public sector governor and we are continuing to review the situation."