STAFF at HMP La Moye are working on an “action plan” to address a series of failings identified in a damning review of the Island’s Prison Service, the Home Affairs Minister has confirmed.
Deputy Mary Le Hegarat said she would not be providing a formal response to the report carried out by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor at this stage, but emphasised that improvements were already under way.
“The prison management team is already working on an internal action plan, on which I will be regularly briefed, and improvements to several of the concerns raised are already in train,” she said.
“There are many positives and successes outlined in this report, and I commend all prison staff on their work in those areas and for their positive and collaborative approach in working with the inspectorate team.”
The report, published last Monday following an inspection in November, revealed a number of problems at La Moye.
External reviewers found that “poor facilities”, “insufficient resources” and a “serious failure in leadership” had resulted in the “near collapse” of the facility’s work-and-education provision over the past seven years.
It found that most prisoners – including high-risk offenders – were being released without probation supervision, which “undermined public protection” and limited “efforts to manage risks in the community”.
The report also found that La Moye was not providing training to help prisoners gain employment upon release – with a survey showing that “significantly fewer” prisoners were attending education or vocational training than in 2017.
Reviewers acknowledged that the prison’s new management team was “striving to restore and re-establish the provision”, but found that leaders were “hampered by poor facilities, insufficient resources and staff absences”.
The report described arrangements to support prisoners with additional learning as “poor”, with “too many prisoners” working in “menial” and “poor-quality” jobs that occupied only a small part of the day.
Another concern raised was the lack of facilities for monitoring prisoners’ phone calls or letters, “even if intelligence suggested that they might have resumed their offending behaviour, such as harassing a former partner”.
The inspection also revealed that HMP La Moye remained without a body scanner, meaning all prisoners – including women – had to undergo strip searches.
