The Lancashire prison that smells of cannabis and where 25 per cent of inmates test positive for drugs

Kirkham Prison, a Category D open prison, has been inspected by Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, who described it as having had “a difficult two years”.

The damning report lists a category of problems at the instituion, which it states are partly because interventions to reduce the national prison population crisis have disrupted the normal running of the jail.

Drugs

At 25 per cent, the rate of prisoners testing positive for drug use was by far the highest in the open estate. Kirkham was, in fact, in the top third of all adult male prisons in the country and inspectors frequently smelt cannabis around the jail. The report states: “Although leaders had worked hard to reduce the supply and had found large quantities of illicit items in searches, they had not done enough to reduce the demand. We were surprised that prisoners returning from work in the community were not routinely searched when they entered the prison.”

Prisoners “bored” and facilities underused

The report also states that it was “very disappointing” to find in Kirkham that the proportion of prisoners receiving ROTL (Release on Temporary Licence) was far lower than in other open jails, and that apart from some clubs in a well-used library, there were few enrichment activities seen in other open prisons. The report said: “Men frequently complained that they were bored in the evenings or weekends. Relationships between staff and prisoners were poor and there were few opportunities to break down barriers...leaders had allowed a culture to develop that was not supporting prisoners to prepare for their eventual release.”

Risk-averse staff

Mr Taylor also stated it was “deeply depressing” to find the new £10 million gym was rarely full and that sessions were frequently cancelled. Similarly, the outdoor football pitch was virtually unused. It says that a risk aversion among staff meant that prisoners could not use any of the facilities unsupervised and this meant that “opportunities were wasted to provide physical activity that would help prisoners to stay off drugs, get them fit, and improve their health and well-being.”

State of the buildings

The report states that prisoners were housed in aging wings known as billets, many of which had showers in a poor state, with black mould on the walls and ceilings caused by inadequate ventilation. Inspectors found that alhough the men spent 12 hours a day unlocked, there was little for them to do on the billets in the evening, and the small, sparse recreation rooms contained little more than a dart board to help them pass the time.

Positives

Mr Taylor did highlight some good work happening at the jail. He said that the new acting governor already had a “good grasp of the many challenges faced by the jail and was beginning to address some of the longstanding issues identified in this report”.

He also remarked that the provision of education was better than inspectors often see and there were a good range of work opportunities in the prison - but said that much of the land around the prison was not in use and greenhouses were unused and dilapidated.

What does the Ministry of Justice say?

The Ministry of Justice said the new Government “inherited a prison system in crisis”, adding: “Reports like these demonstrate the need for robust action to get the situation back under control. “We have zero tolerance towards drugs and will continue the hard work of ensuring prisons like HMP Kirkham become places where offenders can turn their backs on crime for good.”