Episode 11 - Prison Inspectors

The Inspectors could not have arrived at a worse time for Governor Neil Grayling. G wing is without a wing governor, the prison canteen accounts are showing a major loss thanks to Cassie and Yvonne's scam and then Maxi is found dead in her cell.

The Prisons Inspectorate (or HM Inspectorate of Prisons as it is properly known) really do turn up unannounced at about 20 prisons per year to undertake short inspections or to follow up on previous full inspections. They also undertake about 20 full inspections which are announced in advance and last longer. All prisons are inspected about once every 2-3 years.

The Inspectorate is based in the Home Office but is independent of it. The current Chief Inspector, Anne Owers, was previously working for the organisation Justice which provides a critical voice on the way the criminal justice system works. Her team of inspectors are draw partly from the Prison Service, partly from non-prison backgrounds, and the Inspectorate makes increasing use of specialists and consultants on areas such as drugs, education, children and health.

The role of the Inspectorate is to inspect and report to the Home Secretary on prisons in England and Wales (Scotland has its own prisons inspectorate) particularly concentrating on the conditions in the prisons and the treatment of prisoners and other inmates and the facilities available to them. They also carry out specific thematic pieces of work and recent reports have looked at women prisoners, suicide and the resettlement of prisoners (this last was jointly undertaken with the Inspectorate of Probation).

During a full inspection the inspectors look at:

• The way prisoners are treated
• The quality of the regime including opportunities for prisoners to work or receive education
• How the prison prepares prisoners for release
• The morale of prisoners and staff (not very good at Larkhall at the moment!)
• The quality of health care
• How the prison is managed and whether it is good value for money (potential problems for Larkhall there too!)
• The physical conditions of the buildings

They talk to managers, staff and prisoners both individually and in groups to get their views. They certainly talk to prisoners without staff present, so even if the prison has had a recent lick of paint, the gardens have been spruced up and the food suddenly improves during an inspection the inspectors are likely to hear all about what it is usually like.

Inspectors can move around the prison without an escort from prison staff, and there is nothing more likely to have aroused their suspicions than Bodybag's insistence that they should look at the cells on G wing's 3's landing first while the Julies moved Maxi's body.