Winchester prison faces damning report revealing persistent violence and 'vermin-infested' buildings

In the latest independent monitoring board (IMB) review, inspectors found that the Hampshire prison was was suffering from the loss of experienced staff, a high turnover of prisoners, a persistent atmosphere of violence, and vermin-infested, crumbling, outdated buildings.

The report found a ‘continued unsatisfactory nature of the living conditions, continued availability of drugs and contraband and a prevailing atmosphere of volatility’, according to a representative from the IMB.

Earlier this year, a surprise inspection of HMP Winchester labelled the facility as one of the most dangerous in the nation, with inmates forced to eat their food next to dirty toilets.

IMB chair Rob Heather said: ‘Although there has been some improvement, there are many areas where the prison fell short of the standards required, including high levels of violence and not enough purposeful activity.

‘Staff shortages and Covid restrictions meant that basic welfare checks were often not carried out, and the key worker scheme, which is meant to ensure meaningful interaction between staff and prisoners, was very severely curtailed.’

Overcrowding has seen multiple prisoners sharing cells designed for just one individual, while Covid restrictions previously saw some inmates held in their cells for 22 hours a day.

The review found that the prison had faced extreme difficulty in recruiting, training, and retaining skilled staff, given better paid, less challenging roles across the county.

Despite a slight reduction in the number of assaults on staff, the prison remained a violent place, according to the review.

Younger prisoners were responsible for a disproportionate number of violent incidents.

As prisoners came to the end of their sentences, there is little opportunity for pre-release or resettlement work.

The board did commend senior managers for their hard work and care for prisoners under such challenging conditions.

The organisation also welcomed the fact that that work has started on a new care and segregation unit (CSU) after the old unit – which housed up to seven of the most challenging prisoners – had been condemned as a ‘dungeon’ in successive IMB reports.