Prison chiefs rebel over court cells

Prison chiefs rebel over court cells

By Ben Leapman, Home Affairs Correspondent, Sunday Telegraph
Last Updated: 12:56am BST 17/06/2007

Prison governors have accused the Government of holding criminals in "squalid" and "potentially dangerous" court cells because jails are full.

In an outspoken attack, the usually moderate Prison Governors' Association (PGA) described the use of court cells as a "desperate, bottom-of-the-barrel option".

It revealed that it had entered an official dispute with the Prison Service for the first time in its history, urging its members not to volunteer to supervise the temporary jails. But the Ministry of Justice is forcing governors to carry out the task.

Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, is expected to add to the criticism when she publishes the first report on facilities at one of the courts involved within a few weeks.

Last week, the prison population reached an all-time high of 80,977, only 481 places away from absolute capacity. The total included 415 in police stations and 24 in court cells. Nine courts have been put on standby to hold up to 100 prisoners a night.

Paul Tidball, the president of the PGA and a former governor of Cardiff Prison, accused the Government of breaking a promise that only carefully-vetted prisoners, who were unlikely to be violent, would be placed in court cells.

Instead, he said, courts had been sent "all sorts", including prisoners under the influence of drugs and a man on the first night of a life sentence. As a result, according to Mr Tidball, staff are at risk of assault.

The PGA urged ministers to order the early release of thousands of minor offenders simply to resolve the immediate crisis. Tony Blair is said to have blocked the idea when it was put forward by Lord Falconer, the minister in charge of prisons.

Mr Tidball said: "If that proves to have been the case, prison governors will remember the Prime Minister for requiring them to compromise their professionalism by presiding over the squalor of prisoners in crown court cells during a period of chaos. Millions of pounds a month are being wasted on locking up prisoners in potentially dangerous conditions."

The PGA says prisoners in court cells often sleep on mattresses on the floor. There are no showers and few phones. One particular concern is that smoking, permitted in prison cells, is banned in court buildings. Guards fear depriving inmates of tobacco, on top of other hardships, could spark violence.

Last week, it emerged that prisoners had been awarded £2.5 million in compensation over claims of abuse, assault, unlawful detention and medical negligence.

Court cells in use as temporary prisons are staffed by private security firms rather than regular warders, but prison governors are being told to oversee the sites. John Reid, the Home Secretary, promised 8,000 extra prison places before he relinquished control of the system last month, but they will not be ready until 2012.

Last week, prison officers were ordered to transfer all suitable inmates to open prisons for the final two months of their sentences to free high security cells.

Juliet Lyon, the director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: "Forget rehabilitation - imprisonment is now reduced to a dangerous game of musical cells.

"Prison after prison is reaching its safe operating limit so people are being decanted into unsuitable court cells. In some cases, they are stacked up in escort vans reeking of urine. This is no way to run a criminal justice system."

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "Court cells are used only as a measure of last resort if accommodation in prison and police cells is exhausted.

"In order to ensure correct supervision, a compulsory rota of on-call Prison Service governor grade staff has been put in place."