Chief Inspector Criticises CSC Prisoner Living Conditions

The independent inspectorate of prisons has criticised some of the living conditions in which dangerous prisoners are being kept in.

Chief Inspector Nick Hardwick published his findings in a report after visiting Close Supervision Centres (CSC), which hold about 60 men in eight prisons in England and Wales.

Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons described the daily living conditions in the small units as cramped, with one prisoner describing the experience as being 'like a submarine'.

Other prisoners had a restricted view or outlook, with some units having little natural light.

In addition, Mr Hardwick said the exercise yards, with grilles overhead, were 'grim, dehumanising' and 'unacceptably oppressive'. Some prisoners were only allowed to talk to visiting relatives through a barred window.

However, overall Mr Hardwick said the leadership of the system as a whole was 'clear, principal and courageous'.

He also said the centres managed inmates with 'impressive' care and humanity.

"We do not underestimate the risk the men held in the CSC system pose or the complexity of working with them," he said.

"The overall humanity and care provided to men whom it would have been easy to consign to the margins of the prison system was impressive. The system had a clear set of aims, was basically well run and founded on sound security and psychological principles and sought to contain men safely and decently. There were, however, a number of important issues that needed to be addressed."

The CSC hold the most dangerous inmates within the prison systems, many of whom have committed very serious offences in prison.

The centres have capacity for 60 men, and a further 14 in similar but slightly less restrictive conditions, and are by a centralised team within the prison service.

(LM)