Sixteen men have died at Leeds prison in the last three years according to a new inspection report which has revealed ‘critical safety concerns’. There have been a further 2 suicides since the inspection was completed this July.
Overcrowding was highlighted as a significant issue, with 78% of prisoners sharing cells originally designed for one. The report also found that 40% of inmates were spending 22 hours a day locked up in their cells. It was also found that there was insufficient support for mental health issues and staff described as ‘disengaged or unhelpful’.
The report raised concerns about the high levels of drug use and availability in the prison, with 37% of surveyed prisoners confessing to having a drug or alcohol issue, and 18% claim to have developed an addiction whilst in the prison.
Charlie Taylor, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said that many concerns raised at their last inspection remain ‘unaddressed and immediate action is required.’ He also emphasised that the needs of vulnerable prisoners should be ‘at the heart’ of the prison’s work ‘to end the unacceptable numbers of suicides at the prison’.
Prison campaigners, the Howard League for Penal Reform, have responded to the findings, with Chief Executive Andrea Coomber labelling the overcrowding ‘inhumane’ and calling for Ministers to take action to ‘save lives, protect staff and prevent more people being swept into deeper currents of self-harm, violence and despair.’
Pia Sinha, Chief Executive of the Prison Reform Trust, said that ‘the report highlights familiar patterns in prisons struggling to provide safe, respectful, and purposeful conditions: overcrowding, minimal meaningful activity, high levels of drug use, and limited support for constructive staff-prisoner relationships.’
The report did find some positive practices in initiatives to allow school-aged children to visit their fathers during early evenings. It also highlighted that the Governor does have a vision and plan for the prison but that it was difficult to deliver in the face of a ‘transient and complex’ prison population.
The situation in HMP Leeds reflects the systemic capacity crisis detailed in the recent Independent Review of Prison Capacity, which found the state of prison capacity in England and Wales as ‘unsustainable’. It urged a shift from managing crises to preventing them through structural reform and coordinated long-term planning.
As quoted by the BBC, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice confirmed that they are ‘already taking urgent action to address the number of self-inflicted deaths’ at HMP Leeds through improved staff training and new specialised cells with more oversight of prisoners at risk.
