{"id":9546,"date":"2017-10-23T05:51:05","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T09:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=9546"},"modified":"2017-10-23T05:58:03","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T09:58:03","slug":"hmp-birmingham-riot-managers-told-disruption-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2017\/10\/23\/hmp-birmingham-riot-managers-told-disruption-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"HMP Birmingham riot: Managers told of disruption threat"},"content":{"rendered":"
Bosses at HMP Birmingham were warned of potential disorder immediately prior to a 15-hour riot, a report has said.<\/p>\n
Last December’s disturbance spread to four wings, and 500 prisoners were let out of their cells. It cost G4S, which runs the jail, about \u00a36m.<\/p>\n
An Independent Monitoring Board report said “concerning indicators of potential disruption” were shared with senior managers.<\/p>\n
But the scale of the disturbance was “unprecedented and not anticipated”.<\/p>\n
The board praised staff who were on duty at the time, but said a lack of cameras on the prison wings limited their ability to assess the level of the disorder early on.<\/p>\n
“Whilst we do not know what the benefit of CCTV would have been, we can observe that a lack of CCTV was not beneficial,” it said.<\/p>\n
Despite indicators of disruption being “noted and communicated” with management, the board concluded “there was no clear indication of the likelihood of a disturbance of such impact”.<\/p>\n
In its annual report, the board praised several officers for their work during and after the riot, against a backdrop of on-going staff shortages.<\/p>\n
Board members said they “witnessed many positive, brave and considerate acts by members of staff” during the disturbance and in the weeks following.<\/p>\n
Other findings included “significant concerns” around general violence, with a record number of assaults amongst inmates, on prison staff and incidents of self harm.<\/p>\n
Other findings:<\/strong><\/p>\n
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Men have been held in the first night centre without daily access to fresh air or association and limited access to showers<\/li>\n
The telephone number to report concerns about inmates was not connected when checked on two occasions<\/li>\n
Broken lifts have prevented wheelchair users from accessing dental treatment, with one lift out of use for six months<\/li>\n
Managers plan to refurbish the Victorian wings in the next twelve months, subject to funding<\/li>\n
New leadership team is recruiting staff at all levels, although staff retention remains a concern<\/li>\n
The board “continues to be impressed” with the way staff respond to and support “some of society’s most difficult and disturbed individuals”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Drugs, in particular new psychoactive substances, leave staff concerned about how to deal with the “the next mamba attack”, the board said.<\/p>\n
“Dirty, cramped” Victorian conditions see men eating their meals “sat next to an unscreened toilet that has no lid”.<\/p>\n
“Addressing the issues highlighted in the report will be a challenge, but the board believes the new senior managers are committed to resolving those challenges,” the board concluded.<\/p>\n
Director at HMP Birmingham, Richard Stedman, said they are “entirely focused” on making the prison a “safe, ordered and purposeful establishment”.<\/p>\n
He added: “I welcome that monitors have recognised the work we are doing and the early signs of improvements in safety, order and staff morale.”<\/p>\n
Hundreds of inmates were relocated and wings left uninhabitable for months in the aftermath of the riot.<\/p>\n
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