Winchester Prison 'one of most violent jails in the country' report finds

Winchester Prison remains one of the most violent jails in the country, according to inspectors.

Inspectors from the Prison Inspectorate visited the prison in February and highlighted problems including violence and poor facilities.

During an inspection in 2019,Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor described the prison as 'struggling with high levels of violence' and prisoners having very little time out of their cells.

Inspectors say at the most recent inspection in February, limited progress has been made, and the majority of prisoners were locked in their cells for 22.5 hours a day, and even more at the weekend.

The report also highlighted a struggle to recruit and retain enough staff, which meant at times, there weren't enough officers to ensure even the most basic regime for prisoners.

Education managers were also said to be 'very frustrated by the prison’s inability to get prisoners to classrooms and workshops, both consistently and on time.'

Some positive findings were that inspectors were frequently impressed by many of the officers and staff, who they say showed great skill and dedication in their work, despite the many challenges that they had faced over the last two years.

The Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor said to improve, the prison will need leaders to be active and visible on the wings, and ensure prisoners are kept in decent conditions and given enough to do during the day.

In a statement, a Prison Service spokesperson said: “While the pandemic created huge challenges for HMP Winchester, we are lifting the restrictions that kept staff, inmates and the wider community safe and are already addressing the issues raised by inspectors.

"A specialist team of experienced officers has been deployed to the prison to coach current staff on manging violence and we are boosting staffing levels -  allowing the prison to place a greater focus on rehabilitating offenders and cutting crime.”