Bristol Prison labelled one of most violent in England and Wales
There's been seven suicides and one alleged murder inside in the past 10 months
Last updated 28th Jul 2023
Bristol Prison is being labelled one of the most violent and unsafe across England and Wales, as the government is urged to act to improve things.
It follows an inspection earlier this month when the prison was found to be severely overcrowded.
His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons has now written an Urgent Notification letter to the Secretary of State for Justice highlighting "extremely concerning" conditions inside.
The Howard League for Penal Reform, a charity calling for reform of the prison system, says there have been eight self-inflicted deaths inside since the last inspection in 2019 including seven suicides in the last 10 months.
Just last month an inmate was charged with the murder of another.
Michael Harkin (34) has been charged with the murder of Daniel Childs, (38) from the Telford area, who was found dead at the prison on Monday 5 June.
Almost half the men held inside the prison are currently forced to share cells designed for one person, while some men are forced to share cells with no toilet.
Most spend up to 22 hours a day locked inside and almost half of those surveyed by inspectors say it is easy to get drugs inside.
Andrea Coomber KC (Hon.), Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “When a prison is made the subject of an Urgent Notification, as Bristol was in 2019, you would expect it to be given extra support and the resources it needs to improve.
"That Bristol remains, four years on, one of the most unsafe prisons in the country is a crushing indictment of a system that has been asked to do too much, with too little, for too long.
“There are grim details to be found throughout the Chief Inspector’s briefing, but most worrying of all is his accurate assessment that the problems in Bristol – staff shortages, overcrowding, unstable leadership and aging facilities – can be found in other jails up and down the country.
“Bristol follows Exeter in being the second men’s prison to receive consecutive Urgent Notifications.
"With the prison population in England and Wales having risen by more than 4,000 since the beginning of the year, putting jails under enormous pressure, the logical question might be: ‘Where next?’
“Sensible steps to reduce prison numbers would save lives, protect staff and help more people to move on from crime.”
Asked to comment by Tay FM, Prisons Minister Damian Hinds said: "“The findings of this report are completely unacceptable and we are taking urgent action to turn the prison around and ensure the safety of staff and prisoners.
“We have already deployed extra staff to improve safety and work is underway to refurbish showers and cells, but we know much more work is needed to get the prison back to where it needs to be.
"We will shortly publish our action plan which will set out what measures we’re taking to resolve the most serious issues.”