Our inmates go missing INSIDE the jail: Guard at Winchester Prison makes admission to watchdog

Inmates go missing INSIDE jail: Officers at troubled Winchester Prison had no way of knowing whether offenders were locked up or not, watchdog report reveals

  • Winchester Prison officers had no way of knowing where offenders were in jail
  • Chief inspectors’ report found that some cells were filthy and even fly-infested 
  • Inspectors visited jail weeks before riot where prisoners went on the rampage
  • Report found violence soared in the medium security Category B part of the jail

Prison wardens have been losing track of inmates inside one of Britain’s oldest jails, a report reveals today.

Winchester prison is harshly criticised for a series of failings – including errors which meant inmates were not ‘accounted for correctly’.

Officers sometimes had no way of knowing whether offenders were locked in their cells or were elsewhere in the 480-bed jail.

The team visited the jail just weeks before a riot, where prisoners dislodged bricks in crumbling cell walls with utensils from the canteen and bits of furniture, making 2ft wide holes. Then they went on the rampage, filming it on an illicit mobile phone

Peter Clarke, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, said he had considered asking the Justice Secretary to intervene after uncovering a series of problems at Winchester, which dates from 1849.

His team visited the jail just weeks before a riot which began after inmates dug their way out of cells with plastic cutlery.

They dislodged bricks in crumbling cell walls with utensils from the canteen and bits of furniture, making 2ft wide holes. 

The chief inspector’s report found levels of violence were up and some cells were filthy and fly-infested. It described how violence had soared in the medium security Category B part of the jail since an inspection in 2016

The chief inspector’s report found levels of violence were up and some cells were filthy and fly-infested. It described how violence had soared in the medium security Category B part of the jail since an inspection in 2016 

Then they went on the rampage, filming it on an illicit mobile phone and posting videos online. 

The breakout by 19 inmates led to police and specialist officers being drafted in to restore order on August 20.

‘Physical security was proportionate but there were weaknesses in procedural security,’ the report said. 

‘Drug testing was poor and the whereabouts of prisoners were not always accounted for correctly,’.

‘During our roll checks, we also found that residential wing staff did not know where prisoners were or how many remained locked in their cells, which was a potential risk to safety.’

The chief inspector’s report found levels of violence were up and some cells were filthy and fly-infested. 

It described how violence had soared in the medium security Category B part of the jail since an inspection in 2016.

The report said: ‘There had been 260 incidents in the six months leading up to the inspection, compared with 162 in the same period before the previous inspection. Assaults on staff were also very high.’

The breakout by 19 inmates led to police and specialist officers being drafted in to restore order on August 20. Winchester prison is harshly criticised for a series of failings – including errors which meant inmates were not ‘accounted for correctly’

The breakout by 19 inmates led to police and specialist officers being drafted in to restore order on August 20. Winchester prison is harshly criticised for a series of failings – including errors which meant inmates were not ‘accounted for correctly’

However, violence was ‘rare’ in the separate, lower security Category C area.

Mr Clarke said he gave ‘serious consideration’ to using one of the most significant tools at his disposal – requiring the Justice Secretary to come up with an action plan under his ‘Urgent Notification’ powers.

He decided not to, however, because the governor and staff appeared to have a proper plan and were making progress.

In September a separate report by the Independent Monitoring Board said there was a ‘worrying trend’ of inmates using ‘boiled water as a weapon’.

Phil Copple of HM Prison and Probation Service, said: ‘There is still much to do at HMP Winchester, but I know the governor and staff have been working hard to improve safety.’

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