Swansea prison accused of ‘inexcusable failures’ after four inmates kill themselves within week of arrival

Despite stark warnings in 2014, self-harm has soared and mental health provision is failing to meet level of need, watchdog reveals

HMP Swansea, the fifth-most overcrowded jail in England and Wales, has been accused of 'complacency' after Prison Inspectoare finds it is failing to respond effectively to high levels of suicide and self-injury (Google Maps/screengrab)

A Welsh jail has been accused of “inexcusable failures” after it emerged that four inmates took their own lives within a week of arriving at the prison in the past four years.

The UK prisons watchdog warned in a report published on Thursday that HMP Swansea was failing to respond effectively to high levels of suicide and self-injury, with self-harm having tripled since the last inspection.

Inspectors found the prison had not fully acted on recommendations by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), which investigates deaths in prisons.

Chief Inspector Peter Clarke said the PPO recommendations were “significant and highly relevant” and failure to implement them was “inexcusable”.

Despite stark warnings from the watchdog in 2014 that the prison must deliver better outcomes, the watchdog said the latest findings were “very disappointing”, adding that "the complacency [they] warned about after the last inspection had been allowed to take hold”.

A third of prisoners said they felt depressed or suicidal on arrival at Swansea, but inspectors noted that mental health provision “did not meet the high level of need”.

Figures show HMP Swansea is the fifth-most overcrowded jail in England and Wales, holing 431 inmates despite being designed to accommodate 268.

The report notes that prisoners in the Victorian, inner-city jail “usually had to eat their meals next to their toilets, which did not always have seats or lids”.

More than half (53 per cent) of inmates said they had problems with drugs and 32 per cent has problems with alcohol on arrival - higher proportions than in comparable prisons. Yet “far fewer” prisoners than at similar jails said they had received help with drug or alcohol problems, states the report.

Inspectors said the suicide constant watch cell was “unwelcoming, dirty and unfurnished,” and that prisoners trained by the Samaritans to support vulnerable fellow prisoners – as part of a scheme started in the 1980s - felt "underused and undervalued".

Violence had risen in Swansea since 2014 and drugs were a significant problem, while “far too little attention” was paid to ensuring that the 458 men could obtain the “very basics for everyday living”, such as socks, boxer shorts and sheets, the watchdog said.

A further area of significant concern was that “purposeful activity” had fallen to the lowest possible HMIP assessment of “poor”, with half of prisoners locked up during the working day, and unemployed prisoners locked up for around 22 hours each day.

The report also noted that there were no programmes for the many men who had problems with domestic violence.

Campaigners said the findings highlighted the failure of prisons to learn lessons from past mistakes, warning that overcrowding was sweeping inmates into "deeper currents of crime, violence and despair".

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The new year has begun as the last one ended. Less than a month after we saw an appalling report on Wormwood Scrubs, this inspection of Swansea prison should compel ministers to act without delay.

“Swansea is one of the most overcrowded prisons in the country, where men find it easier to get drugs than clean clothes and bedding. But most concerning of all are the terrible findings on self-injury and suicide, which show that this prison is failing to learn lessons from past mistakes and men are dying as a consequence.

“People should not be sent to prison to die. Bold action to reduce the prison population would save lives, protect staff and prevent more people being swept into deeper currents of crime, violence and despair.”

Peter Dawson, director of the Prison Reform Trust, echoed her concerns, saying: “The fundamentals of this depressing report about a failing prison are the same as so many others – too many prisoners crammed into inadequate space with too little to do.

“We know ministers’ plans to replace old prisons with new don’t stack up financially and are already behind schedule. They need to tackle the fundamentals and end our national obsession with imprisonment.”

Michael Spurr, chief executive of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, said: “The Governor and his team have taken immediate action since the inspection to strengthen safety arrangements in the prison and reduce self-harm.

“This includes work to improve the level of care and support given to new prisoners in the first night centre. A new senior operational manager has also been recruited to focus on safety and enhanced suicide and self-harm prevention training is being given to staff to increase interventions and support available to vulnerable prisoners.

“I’m pleased that the Inspector has recognised the progress that has already made. A robust action plan is in place to address the recommendations in this report.”

Mr Spurr added that there were no self-inflicted deaths at HMP Swansea in 2017, and that the prison had implemented a new drugs strategy to reduce substance misuse.