A TOP security prison near York has been hailed by a watchdog as a "safe and decent" jail.
Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said that Full Sutton Jail benefitted from "energetic leadership and a staff group who interact well with the prisoners in their charge".
He said: “If the plans that are now in place to improve the provision of education, skills and work bear fruit, and a few key issues in other areas are addressed, there is no reason why Full Sutton could not aspire to be one of the best performing prisons in the country.”
A report said that at the time of an inspection in February and March, Full Sutton held around 560 prisoners, 80 per cent of whom were assessed as presenting a high or very high risk of harm to others.
Mr Clarke said Full Sutton had the lowest levels of violence in the high security estate, with a comparatively small proportion of prisoners - 22 per cent - reporting to inspectors that they felt unsafe at the time of the inspection.
“It was pleasing to see that the segregation unit had improved considerably since the time of the last inspection,” he said.
“The incentives and earned privileges scheme (IEP) was used in a way that did genuinely encourage good behaviour.”
However, he said prisoners suffering with mental health problems or who were disabled had more negative views of their treatment, including their safety, than other prisoners.
The inspectors were also disappointed because there was not enough work or activity places. “The prison was very confident that its plans would come to fruition quite quickly, and said they would be encouraging Ofsted for an early re-appraisal of progress,” said Mr Clarke.
Phil Copple, Director General of Prisons, said Full Sutton’s governor and staff deserved "real credit for creating a safe, well run establishment with low levels of violence and I’m grateful for all of their hard work," adding: “We’ve already increased the number of drug tests and are introducing new classes and qualifications so offenders can focus on turning their lives around.”
The report has been published just a week after a separate, equally positive report was published by the jail’s Independent Monitoring Board.
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