Prisoners have taken over the jail: Total disorder at HMP Birmingham

Staff have lost control of one of Britain’s biggest prisons, a shocking report reveals today.

Inmates are openly taking drugs, carrying out assaults and behaving with ‘near impunity’.

In a dramatic escalation of the dire situation in the country’s jails, inspectors warn that Birmingham Prison is in ‘a state of crisis’ and host to ‘appalling violence and squalor’.

The situation is so out of hand that inmates are roaming around unchecked while ‘fearful’ staff lock themselves in their offices or sleep when they should be on patrol. 

In his report today, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Peter Clarke, accuses the Ministry of Justice of an ‘abject failure’ to monitor the jail, which is run by G4S on a 15-year, £30million private contract.

A shocking report has revealed staff have lost control of prisoners in one of Britain’s biggest prisons in Birmingham. Pictured: Prisoners gleefully pose with guard’s helmets during a prison riot in 2016

Eight deaths and a string of dire warnings has forced the Government to re-nationalise prison

The decision to seize back control of Birmingham Prison is the culmination of months of increasingly dire warnings.

Campaigners told of chronic overcrowding and surging violence in chaotic, drug-soaked institutions.

Shocking images regularly posted online highlight how inmates are taking advantage of acute low staffing and spiralling morale.

As well as smuggling in mobile phones, illicit substances and other luxury items, many boast about their ‘easy life’ behind bars.

Contraband is often delivered using drones, 32 of which have been seized in just six months – more than one a week. 

After being confronted with the findings, Justice Secretary David Gauke took the dramatic step of moving the jail back into Government control for at least six months. 

A new governor has been appointed, 30 extra staff moved in and 300 inmates moved out.

Mr Gauke insisted there would be no additional cost to the taxpayer. But the scathing assessment of conditions at the Category B prison – the first in the public sector to be privatised – is a major blow and will spark intense concern about the state of our jails.

A series of dire reports have already suggested that prisons are mired in chronic overcrowding, surging violence and rampant drug abuse.

Tory ministers now face a battle to the party’s reputation on law and order.

Mr Clarke’s report, following an unannounced inspection at the end of July and start of August, assessed the 1400-place jail in Birmingham to be failing in every one of the criteria. It found:

  • Birmingham was the most violent prison in England and Wales and thugs could act with ‘near impunity’.
  • Inmates intimidated staff without consequence and ‘routinely disregarded the rules’. There was a ‘general lack of order’ on some wings.
  • Staff were ‘fearful’ and locked themselves in offices – or slept – when they should have been on patrol.
  • Blatant drug use went unpunished and prison officers simply shrugged their shoulders when challenged by inspectors.
  • Trafficking of illegal substances including Spice was ‘blatant’ and drug use so widespread inspectors felt ‘physically affected’ by cannabis smoke in the air.
  • 50 high risk criminals are due to be released in the next three months, and measures to protect the public are ‘very poor’.
  • The prison was filthy, infested with rats and cockroaches and blood and vomit not cleaned up.

The lack of security at the jail – the scene of a major riot in 2016 – was highlighted during the inspection itself when there was an arson attack on a supposedly secure car park in which inspectors’ cars were destroyed.

Warning of ‘high levels of ‘violence and delinquency’, Mr Clarke said serious assaults had left staff and inmates needing hospital treatment.

A ‘wholly inadequate’ response meant most attacks were ignored and investigations eventually dropped. Bullied prisoners hid in their cells for fear of attack, with many emerging for just one hour a day to have a shower.

The report said: ‘Throughout our investigation we observed a prison where control was tenuous…with wing staff often not knowing where their prisoners were at any one time.

‘There was a general lack of order on some wings and the movement of prisoners from place to place within the prison lacked sufficient control.’

One in three prisoners were on drugs and one in seven said they had started using since being locked up.

Mr Clarke said the ‘use and trafficking of illegal substances was blatant’ but staff did nothing about it.

Staff have been beaten up by marauding prisoners, guards hiding in offices and drugs are openly taken as ministers take back control of the prison

The prison was previously run by G4S

 Staff have been beaten up by marauding prisoners, guards hiding in offices and drugs are openly taken as ministers take back control of the prison. Pictured: Lawless inmates during a riot inside the facility in 2016 

Dozens of dangerous criminals will be released in the next three months after staff ‘failed to deal with high-risk criminals’

The public are at risk from around 50 dangerous criminals to be released from crisis-hit HMP Birmingham in the next three months, inspectors warned.

The report said that between August and November the criminals assessed as posing a ‘high risk of harm’ would walk free at the end of their sentences.

But inspectors said they were ‘greatly concerned’ about what would happen when they were released.

They wrote: ‘Birmingham held and frequently released men who were assessed as posing a high risk of harm to others. 

Between August and November this year, 50 high-risk men are due to be released and we were greatly concerned that measures to protect the public from those men – while in prison and on release – were very poor.’ 

The report also found that risk assessments for inmates were not up to date and criticised staff for failing to deal with high-risk criminals. 

Sex offenders were also unable to access rehabilitation courses. 

The report said: ‘When inspectors raised the fact that drugs were clearly being smoked on a wing, the response from staff was to shrug.’

Condemning ‘innefective’ leadership and management, Mr Clarke said staff were ‘anxious and fearful’ as they did their jobs.

‘We saw prisoners behaving poorly or intimidating staff and other prisoners without challenge and staff were ineffective in maintaining even basic standards.

‘It was often difficult to find officers, although we did find some asleep during prisoner lock up-periods. On more than one occasion we found groups of staff who had locked themselves in their offices.’

During the unannounced inspection, inspectors found piles of rubbish left to fester in ‘filthy’ communal areas, rats, cockroaches and blood and vomit not cleaned up. 

A pool of blood was left for two days in a shower area, inspectors found.

Ministry of Justice sources said the decision to ‘step in’ at the jail had in train for some considerable period, and insisted the other four G4S prisons were performing well. 

But one Whitehall source told the Mail the decision had been made in recent days in response to the catastrophic findings of the report. 

Mr Clarke issued an ‘urgent notification’ to the Ministry of Justice last Friday in a letter to Mr Gauke setting out the failings at the jail.

G4S took over the prison in 2011 when HMP Birmingham became the first publicly run prison to be privatised.

It is only the latest in a string of scandals to affect the controversial firm. Most notoriously, in 2012, it botched the security of the Olympic Games leaving the Government to summon the Armed Forces to fill the gaps.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said: ‘What we have seen at Birmingham is unacceptable and it has become clear that drastic action is required to bring about the improvements we require.’

Jerry Petherick, managing director of G4S said: ‘HMP Birmingham is an inner-city remand prison which faces exceptional challenges including increasingly high levels of prisoner violence towards staff and fellow prisoners.

‘The well-being and safety of prisoners and prison staff is our key priority and we welcome the six month step-in and the opportunity to work with the Ministry of Justice to urgently address the issues faced at the prison.’

Built in 1849, HMP Birmingham is a category B facility for adult male inmates and had a population of 1,269 at the end of last month. 

Prison riots, a botched Olympics and ‘unprecedented levels’ of complaints but security firm G4S is STILL charging taxpayers BILLIONS of pounds

A litany of scandals has not stopped G4S pocketing billions of pounds from taxpayers over the last decade.

The world’s largest security company has been repeatedly exposed over failures in prisons, tagging, security services and patient transport.

It even botched the security of the 2012 Olympics leaving the Government to summon the Armed Forces to fill the gaps.

MPs called on ministers to rethink any future contracts as critics said the outsourcing giant had effectively become a ‘private army’ of the State. 

The firm was then hit with a £109million bill after it was revealed it had overcharged the Government during a contract to monitor electronic tags.

The world's largest security company has been repeatedly exposed over failures in prisons, tagging, security services and patient transport (Security pictured at Wimbledon 2014)

The world’s largest security company has been repeatedly exposed over failures in prisons, tagging, security services and patient transport (Security pictured at Wimbledon 2014)

Incredibly, senior staff continued to bill the taxpayer for watching over criminals who were dead, in prison or had left the country.

But the high-profile and embarrassing problems appeared to have little to no impact on the company’s bottom line.

Executives continued to receive lucrative public-sector contracts, posting a significant rise in profits last year and overall revenue of almost £8billion.

However, the collapse of rival Carillion wiped significant chunks off the share value off it and other public-sector contractors.

 



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