Prisoners locked up for too long at HMP Birmingham, report finds

Prisoners at HMP Birmingham in Winson Green spend most of their day locked behind their doors, a report found.

The report marked out several priority concerns at the prison, including that many prisoners only had 90 minutes a day out of their cells - which was far too little.

The report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor is based on an unannounced inspection from January 30 to February 9, 2023.

Mr. Taylor writes in the report that at a previous inspection of HMP Birmingham in the summer of 2018 led to an Urgent Notification to the Secretary of State, in which the then Chief Inspector of Prisons described: “a prison that was rife with drugs and violence, a staff team that had retreated to wing offices for their own safety and prisoners held in conditions of utter squalor.”

After the latest inspection he wrote: “I am delighted to report that our latest inspection of this large, inner-city reception jail found that it was much safer and more decent.”

The Chief Inspector of Prisons has also praised the current governor of the prison for transforming HMP Birmingham.

The report said: “He had focused on reducing the ingress of drugs, including dealing with some serious staff corruption issues. With the supply of drugs far lower than in 2018 there has been a fall in violence by more than 60%.”

However, there are still some key concerns that need to be addressed at the prison. For instance, prisoners were spending far too long locked up.

The report found: “Most were unemployed and there were not enough spaces in education, training or work, which meant that many were spending up to 22.5 hours a day locked behind their doors. This was not acceptable. Making sure that prisoners spend longer unlocked in purposeful activity must be a priority for the jail.”

Here are the priority concerns at HMP Birmingham:

1. Many prisoners only had 90 minutes a day out of their cells, which was far too little.
2. In their survey, too many prisoners, particularly those who had been segregated or those with a mental health problem, had negative perceptions of safety and some reported being victimised by staff.
3. Leaders had not established sufficient activity spaces for education, training or work, and attendance was not good enough.
4. The range of workshops on offer was too narrow and leaders had not improved sufficiently the quality of training in work and workshops.
5. Risk management planning for the release of high-risk prisoners was weak.
6. Resettlement services were poorly staffed, and the provision of support was disjointed. It was not clear who assessed needs in the lead up to release, which meant that some prisoners did not get the help they required.

Here are the key concerns at HMP Birmingham:

1. Prisoners’ perceptions of the help they received during their early days were not sufficiently good and the induction programme lacked structure.
2. Body-worn video cameras were not being used routinely, which limited leaders’ oversight of the use of force.
3. Very few prisoners received meaningful key work support.
4. Professional telephone interpretation services were rarely used to interact with prisoners who had limited or no English.
5. Clinical and medication rooms did not meet patient safety or infection prevention and control standards.
6. There was a considerable shortage of suitably trained and experienced nursing staff.
7. Despite being raised at the last inspection, weaknesses in the management of medication persisted.
8. Staff providing initial advice and guidance did not spend enough time discussing prisoners’ aspirations or the opportunities available to them in the prison. Too few had a personal learning plan.
9. Too many calls by prisoners using their emergency cell bells were not answered quickly enough. In some cases it took up to an hour, which was far too long.

Assaults in HMP Birmingham increased in 2022

Despite the improvements at HMP Birmingham, the Ministry of Justice figures paint a different picture. Prisoners at HMP Birmingham committed 25 serious assaults in 2022, up from 23 in 2021.

The reason for frustration and violence are due to too many people being held in tight spaces, burnt-out staff, and prisoners being locked up for much of the day, says the Prison Reform Trust - an independent UK charity working to create a just, humane and effective penal system.

Pia Sinha, chief executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said these latest figures are a “dire sign of the state of some of our prisons”.

She added: “With too many people held in spaces they weren’t designed for; staff who are burnt out and leaving in droves; and people locked up for much of the day, frustration and violence are the all too familiar consequences.

“It is only when people in our prisons have purpose and hope, and staff have the space to develop relationships with those in their care, that we can avoid so much unnecessary and damaging conflict.”