HMP CHANNINGS WOOD Prison Regime Info

Online Library documents for HMP CHANNINGS WOOD

UNLOCKING TIMES

Mon: 08:00 - 12;30, 13:45 - 17:00 & 17:30 - 19:30
Tue: 08:00 - 12;30, 13:45 - 17:00 & 17:30 - 19:30
Wed: 08:00 - 12;30, 13:45 - 17:00 & 17:30 - 19:30
Thu: 08:00 - 12;30, 13:45 - 17:00 & 17:30 - 19:30
Fri: 08:00 - 12;30 & 13:45 - 17:00
Sat: 08:00 - 12:30 & 13;45 - 16:45
Sun: 08:00 - 12:30 & 13;45 - 16:45
 

ASSOCIATION

Mon: 11:00 - 12:20 & 18:00 - 19:15
Tue: 11:00 - 12:20 & 18:00 - 19:15
Wed: 11:00 - 12:20 & 18:00 - 19:15
Thu: 11:00 - 12:20 & 18:00 - 19:15
Fri: 11:00 - 12:20 & 14:00 - 16:30
Sat: 10:00 - 12:20 & 14:00 - 16:30
Sun: 10:00 - 12:20 & 14:00 - 16:30
 

HEALTH & SPORTS

The gymnasium comprises a weights/fitness suite, sports hall and sports field. Channings Wood has competitive football, rugby and volleyball teams that play in local leagues. Involvement in certain gym activities may be dependent on employment status and privilege level.

Sports available include

(Note: *These are only available on the VPU)

• *Indoor Bowls
• *Soft Tennis
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Circuit Training
• Light Circuit Training
• Over 40s
• Remedial
• Soccer
• Sports Field
• Volleyball

The IMB say; "This is a well managed, popular and well equipped facility with high levels of enthusiasm and commitment from staff. All prisoners in work are entitled to 3-6 sessions per week depending on their workplace, eg remedial 3 sessions, shops 6 sessions. Additional recreation time can be spent on outdoor sports. Those without a job are only entitled to evening and weekend sessions. The Board has heard of only a very small number of cancelled gym sessions this year. Four courses for gym/sport instructors are available to candidates. Certified dietary and nutrition courses are also available. The Board was saddened that the prison football team had lost their place in the local league because of its inability to play away matches and the fact that visiting
teams did not like the necessary searches when playing at the prison."

LIBRARY

Every day, depending upon activity.

FAITH

Every prison has a Chaplaincy department managed by a Co-ordinating Chaplain and supported by admin staff, other Chaplains and ‘Sessional Chaplains’ (faith leaders who visit for specific services or sessions). The Chaplaincy is considered an important part of the prison structure. When a prisoner arrives at a prison they are usually seen by a Chaplain within 24 hours and are invited to register as a specific religion (if they haven’t already done so) and can change their declared religion at any time.

The Chaplaincy does far more than just pastoral care; they often are able to lend radios, musical instruments and typewriters; they may take part in Sentence Planning and are available as a ‘listening ear’ and are able, sometimes, to help with domestic problems. Most Chaplaincies run various courses and activities which may or may not have a religious theme. Every prisoner has the right to follow their religious practices and attend Chapel for services pertaining to their declared faith (even when segregated).

The Chaplaincy are able to organise faith activities for all main religions (as recognised by the Prison Service; this does not, at present include Rastafarian as a specific religion) and contact faith representatives to visit individual or groups of prisoners for the purpose of religious activities. The chaplaincy can also intercede on matters of religious dress, diet and artefacts. A full list of permitted artefacts can be found in the Glossary Section under Religious Artefacts.

You can contact the Chaplaincy by letter or by telephoning the main prison number and asking to speak to the Chaplaincy. The Chaplaincy works as part of the prison and cannot, therefore, guarantee confidentiality (they can explain this to you in detail). Prisoners can contact the Chaplaincy in person or by Application.

Chaplaincy Statement of Purpose (HMPS)
The Chaplaincy is committed to serving the needs of prisoners, staff and religious traditions by engaging all human experience. We will work collaboratively, respecting the integrity of each tradition and discipline. We believe that faith and the search for meaning directs and inspires life, and are committed to providing sacred spaces and dedicated teams to deepen and enrich human experience. We contribute to the care of prisoners to enable them to lead law-abiding and useful lives in custody and after release.

The Co-ordinating Chaplain at Channings Wood is: Nick Martin

Full-time Co-ordinating Chaplain (Anglican), Part-time Anglican Chaplain

Sessional Chaplains; Buddhist, Catholic, Free Church, Hindu, Jehova's Witness, Jewish, Mormon, Pagan, Pentecostal, Salvation Army

Russian and Greek Othodox priests also available

The Chaplaincy is awaiting the appointment of a Muslim Chaplain

The chapel and multi-faith room are available, and appropriate services and meetings are arranged for all major religions. Evening and weekend groups and Bible studies also take place. Individual faiths may be catered for by consultation with the Chaplaincy team.

The IMB say; "There is a range of faiths recognised and respected at the prison and the chaplaincy team are to be congratulated on their commitment to serving the needs of prisoners and staff. A warm welcome is offered to all, regardless of beliefs, and access to religious leaders is made easy for prisoners. Pamphlets offering a range of worship meetings, prayer times, meditation and support groups ranging from Alpha Courses to Beyond the Gate and Perspectives are easily accessible. Numbers at services fluctuate. The continuing absence of an Imam is a problem especially in view of security concerns about the behaviour of some younger Moslem prisoners. In the interim, a prisoner is taking prayers on a weekly basis and an Imam is brought in for such occasions as Eid. It is hoped that efforts to appoint a replacement Imam are successful very soon. Overall Special dietary requirements are met for the various faiths. It remains a challenge for the prison management to accommodate the demands of minority groups whilst retaining vigilance regarding issues of security and fairness."

HEALTHCARE

Type 3 Healthcare, (no in-patient facilities).

Visiting Specialists

Dentist: 1 1/2 days a week
Optician: Fortnightly
Podiatry: Monthly
Stop Smoking: As required
CPN: As required
InReach: As required
 

NHS Healthcare Information for Channings Wood

Prison Healthcare Manager: Majella Pearce
Tel: 01803 814600
 

EDUCATION

EDUCATION PROVIDER
Strode College
Church Road, Street, Somerset BA16 0AB
Tel: 01458 844400

Career Information & Advice Services (CIAS)
Tribal Education Ltd
Head office: 87-91 Newman Street, London W1T 3EY
Tel: 020 7323 7100
 

Classes include;

• Basic Skills
• Business Studies
• Creative Media
• Customer Services
• Distance Learning
• ESOL
• Fast Track
• Fathers Inside
• Firm Start
• Food Hygiene
• Information Technology
• Key Skills
• Kinetic lifting
• Music Workshop
• PMO
• Preparation for work
• Progression Award
• Resettlement
• Yoga

OFSTED INSPECTION

OFSTED inspect education establishments from schools to colleges to prisons. They inspect education facilities within prisons and have inspected HMP.

Inspection judgements
Inspectors use a four-point scale to summarise their judgements about achievement and standards, the quality of provision, and leadership and management, which includes a grade for equality of opportunity.

Key for inspection grades

• Grade 1 Outstanding;
• Grade 2 Good;
• Grade 3 Satisfactory;
• Grade 4 Inadequate.

Click Here for further information on how inspection judgements are made.

Scope of the inspection
In deciding the scope of the inspection, inspectors take account of the provider’s most recent self-assessment report and development plans, and comments from the local Learning and Skills Council (LSC) or other funding body. Where appropriate, inspectors also consider the previous inspection report , reports from the inspectorates’ monitoring visits, and data on learners and their achievements over the period since the previous inspection.

OFSTED NUMBER: 52263

Last inspection: 02/07/2007

Summary of grades awarded

Effectiveness of provision: 2
Capacity to improve: 2
Achievement and standards: 2
Employability training: 2
Literacy, numeracy and ESOL: 2
Personal development and social integration: 2
Quality of provision: 2
Leadership and management: 2
Equality of opportunity: 3
 

To read their report click here

VOCATIONAL TRAINING

Note: Employment may be subject to location (VP/Main)
Employment includes;

• Cleaners / Domestics
• Clothing Exchange Stores
• CRT (TV recycling)
• Farms and Gardens
• Kitchen Manufacturing Stores
• Laundry
• Main Stores
• Orderly Positions
• Recycling
• Staff Mess
• Tailors Shop
• Wood Assembly Shop
• Wood Mill
• Works Department

Vocational training includes;

• Barbering
• BICS
• Catering
• CSCS (Plant)
• CSCS (Site)
• Driving Theory
• Dry-Lining
• Electrical Installation
• Fork Lift Driving
• Gymnasium Based Courses
• Hard Landscaping
• Horticulture
• Industrial Cleaning
• Painting and Decorating
• Warehousing

Learning aims recorded for Skills Funding Agency OLASS

Vocational study not leading to a recognised qualification, Preparation for Life and Work (SSA 14)

Current Wages

Employed: £7.00 - £25.00
Education: £7.75 - £9.75
Retired: £6.00 - £8.00
Long term sick: £6.00 - £8.00
 

OFFENCE FOCUSED COURSES

• Cognitive Self Change Programme (CSCP)
• Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS)
• SOTP - Core Sex Offender Treatment Programmes
• SOTP - Extended Sex Offender Treatment Programmes
• Therapeutic Communities (eg Kainos)

RESETTLEMENT

The establishment has close links with a number of voluntary and statutory sector organisations providing resettlement services to prisoners. Appropriate activities are provided to help prisoners prepare for release into the community with the goal of reducing reoffending.

• Job club - Job Centre+
• Self employment classes
• Working out opportunities

FAMILY DAYS

The parent-child bond can be hard to maintain when an offender is in prison, but Play in Prisons is a project producing positive results at the Service's three Devon establishments.

“Prisoners' children are, in their own way, innocent victims of crime,” says Andy Keen-Downs, Director of the charity PACT (Prison Advice & Care Trust). It's a sentiment few could disagree with, and the thinking behind PACT's Play in Prisons project, which is running a series of family days at the three Devon prisons: Exeter, Channings Wood and Dartmoor.

“For some children, contact with a father in prison may not be possible, or desirable,” continues Andy, whose organisation has helped develop successful homework clubs and supervised play services in prisons.

“But for the vast majority, maintaining a loving family bond with a father is vital to a child's wellbeing and sense of identity.”

It was with this in mind that the Service agreed to facilitate the three-year project, which is funded by the National Lottery's Big Lottery Fund. Launched in July 2008, this year has been a busy one so far, with a total of 44 events scheduled for 2009.

At family days, prisoners get to spend quality time with their partners and children in a setting unlike the conventional visits arrangements. While still supervised by staff, opportunities to play sports, games and music are all available, and families can sit and eat together halfway through the day.

The benefits for prisoners are obvious, but their own enjoyment is not the purpose of the events. Encouraging better parenthood is a major motivation behind Play in Prisons and an educational module on the importance of playing with your child currently being developed by PACT.

Alison Lucas, HMP Exeter's Head of Reducing Reoffending says: “We've recognised the need to teach parenting skills to offenders for many years now as an approach to break the cycle of offending.

“Family visits have previously taken place for enhanced prisoners, but the opportunity for standard regime prisoners to meet with their children and families while supported by the wealth of knowledge and experience of our partner agencies is relatively recent.

“The visits are a joy to watch, with so much affection, activity, bonding and normality. The feedback from prisoners, partners and their children is glowing.

“Statistics show that strong family bonds can keep an ex-offender from reoffending, as well as minimising the damage experienced by the children in such a family.”

Encouraging more children of school age and above to visit their fathers in prison was a major factor in starting up Play in Prisons. More important was to make it a positive experience for both parties.

PACT research conducted over the last two years has shown that children frequently stopped visiting prison once they reached school age, contributing to a weakening of the bond between father and child.

“Many fathers in prison have themselves had very poor experience of family life,” says Andy.

“Many have been in care, or have suffered neglect or abuse, and sometimes, they don't know how to play with their children in a positive, nurturing way.

“They may have forgotten how to play, or have lost confidence. But play is a serious business. If we can support parents and children to play together, to communicate, to share precious times and show one another love, then our hope is that we can help build stronger families and a safer society.”

(Prison Service Magazine - Feb 2009)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

PRISON PERFORMANCE
Ministry of Justice Performance Rating for this prison: 3
This is on a scale from 1 (serious concerns) to 4 (Exceptional) and is worked out by the Ministry of Justice taking into account 34 criteria such as overcrowding, purposeful activities etc. A score of 3 is considered a good performance. Published quarterly.

Average weekly hours of Purposeful Activity: 24.8 (2010)
This figure is supplied by each prison to the Prison Service. Actual hours are usually dependent on activities etc. and should be taken as the maximum time either in workshops or education over a whole week.
Both of these figures are published retrospectively by the MoJ and HMPS and may have changed since the figures were published but they give a simple comparison between prisons.

PRISON BUDGET
Annual Budget: £14,400,000 (2011-12)*
Approx cost per prisoner place (2010): £33,411

*The annual budget allocated to the governor covers all major costs of running the prison but excludes most costs related to education and healthcare.
 

Parliamentary Information
CONSTITUENCY: Newton Abbott
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT: Anne-Marie Morris (Conservative)

Prisoners may write to either their ‘Home MP’ or the MP in whose constituency their current prison lies.
The address to write to is:
House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

Local Authority
Devon County Council
County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, Devon EX2 4QD
Tel: 0845 155 1015
Click Here for link

You can contact the local authority on matters such as libraries, environmental health, trading standards, food hygiene, social services, education and electoral registration.

Teignbridge District Council
Forde House, Brunel Road, Newton Abbot, Devon TQ12 4XX
Tel: 01626 361101
Click Here for Link

Trading Standards
The nearest Trading Standards department is at:
Devon County Council, Trading Standards, County Hall, Topsham Road, Exeter, Devon EX2 4QH
Tel: 08454 040506
Click Here for link

Trading Standards can help with problems with purchases such as weights and measures, ‘best by’ dates, pricing & faulty goods.

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephones
Most prisons now have PIN phones. Your relative or friend usually needs to apply to have your name and number on his/her telephone account. You will usually receive a call from the prison to check who you are and to ensure you are happy for them to call you. Prisoners cannot receive telephone calls.

There is no restriction on who prisoners can call except in the case of calls to journalists intended to be broadcast. In some cases child protection measures may mean extra checks on who they call.

Prisoners can normally make calls only during ‘association’ periods. Some prisons limit the length of time a call can last to avoid queues and people being disappointed. Prisoners’ telephone calls are very expensive; calls to landlines now cost 10p per minute and 37.5 p to mobiles (compared to 2p in a public phone box). In most prisons the phone calls can be listened to and/or recorded.

In general prisoners phone calls follow the same rules as for letters in as far as who can be contacted and what can be said. If the rules are broken the prison may terminate the call.

If a prisoner is newly convicted or transferred they should be offered an immediate ‘Reception’ phone call to tell you where they are. It may take a few days for numbers to be transferred or added.

Letters
When you write to a prisoner you must include your full name and address. In most prisons the letters are searched and can be read before being given to the prisoner.

You can write about anything but letters must not be obscene, name ‘victims’, or be a threat to discipline or security. Do not enclose any items with letters. Make sure you put sufficient postage to cover the costs (anything bigger than A5 counts as ‘large’). Prisoners can normally receive a ‘reasonable’ number of letters per week.

If you send greetings cards these should be of reasonable size and not padded or pouched. Do not send musical cards. If you are sending more than one card put them all inside one outer envelope, this saves postage. Remember to include your full details (you could put your details on a ‘Post-It’ note stuck to the card or include a letter which has your details).

Always put the prisoner’s full name and prison number. If the person has been moved their mail will be forwarded.

On conviction or transfer a prisoner should be given a ‘Reception’ letter to write to tell you where they are.
Prisoners are given a free letter each week to post out, they can send more, but at their own expense. Some prisons allow you to send in stamps.

You can send stamped address envelopes (address to yourself), for the prisoner to reply, to any prisoner in any prison.

Prisoners are not allowed to send you letters or information to be posted on social networking internet sites.

Remember all letters are opened and checked and may be read.

Full information about prisoners’ correspondence can be found in Prison Service Instruction 2011-006

Photographs
You can usually send in photographs but in some prisons these must not include any image of the prisoner. Child protection measures may mean that some prisoners may not receive pictures of children, unless they are their own and were not ‘victims’. If you send pictures of children include an explanatory note identifying who the children are and their relationship to the prisoner.

Money
It is not a good idea to send cash, this can get ‘lost’ in the prison. Prisons prefer Postal Orders, but you could send a cheque. Make these payable to ‘H M Prison Service’, write your name on the back and also the prisoner’s full name and prison number. Any money sent which is deemed to be ‘anonymous’ can be stopped.
Money you send is paid into the prisoner’s ‘Private Cash’ account and they get access to a certain amount (depending upon IEP) each week [currently £15.50 for Standard prisoners]. Include your full detail in an accompanying letter or note. It takes about a week for the money to be credited to the prisoner.

Visits
For full information about visits please refer to our ‘Visit Info’ section for this prison. Visits are very important to prisoners. At most prisons you may not give any item to the prisoner. Any items you wish to give them must usually be posted to the prison, and often after the prisoner has placed an ‘application’ for authorisation to have it sent in. The items which can be posted in are very limited. Check with the prisoner first and wait until they confirm that you can post it.

Emergencies
If there is a serious emergency - close family serious illness, death, or other reason you need to inform the prisoner immediately, you should telephone the main prison number and explain the problem to the operator who will transfer you to the appropriate person. If you are unhappy about their response redial and ask to speak to the Chaplaincy. Prison staff will not pass on general messages but only critical and very urgent messages. You should provide full details of the prisoner including their number.

Support and Advice
There are many very good charities and agencies who offer support and advice to people with family or friends in prison. We have a special section ‘Help/Support’ which has details and contact information for many of these. Do not hesitate or feel shy about calling any of these; they are there to offer support and advice.
 

EMAIL A PRISONER
This service operates at this prison. Email a Prisoner enables you to send messages to prisoners, in the UK and Irish prisons that operate the service, from any computer, without any of the hassles of writing and posting a letter, and it costs less than a second class stamp!

Your message is delivered to the prison within seconds so that it can be delivered to the prisoner by the prison staff in the next delivery.

It is free to sign up to Email a Prisoner and only takes a few seconds - all you need is an email address (EMaP can help you if you don't have an email address).

Once a member you will be able to send a message to any prisoner in the UK or Ireland, provided you know their prisoner number, from just 25 pence per message.

Click Here for link to Email a Prisoner website

Story Book Dads/Mums
Story Book Dads/Mums operates at this prison.
The imprisoned parent records a story and a message which is then edited and enhanced using digital audio software and editors remove mistakes and add sound effects and music. Finally a CD is made, a personalised cover created, and the finished disc sent to the child. The whole service is free.

Click Here for more information
 

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP)

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales (HMI Prisons) is an independent inspectorate which reports on conditions for, and treatment of, those in prisons, young offender institutions and immigration detention facilities. They provide independent scrutiny of the conditions for and treatment of prisoners and other detainees, promoting the concept of 'healthy prisons' in which staff work effectively to support prisoners and detainees to reduce reoffending or achieve other agreed outcomes.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP) is appointed from outside the Prison Service, for a term of five years. The Chief Inspector reports to Ministers on the treatment of prisoners and conditions in prisons in England and Wales.

The Inspectorate’s programme of inspection is based on a mixture of chronology and risk assessment. Full inspections run on a five or three year cycle; all unannounced follow-up inspections run on a risk-assessed basis.

Full inspections
Prison establishments holding adults and young adults are inspected once every five years. Establishments holding juveniles are inspected every three years. This type of inspection lasts for at least one week. The Inspectorate collects information from many sources, including the people who work there, the people who are imprisoned or detained there, and visitors or others with an interest in the establishment. Inspection findings are reported back to the establishment’s managers. Reports are published within 16 weeks of inspection. The establishment is then expected to produce an action plan, based on the recommendations made within the report, within a short period following publication.

Full follow-up inspections
Follow-up inspections are unannounced and proportionate to risk. In full follow-up inspections inspectors assess progress made and undertake in-depth analysis of areas of serious concern identified in the previous full inspection, particularly on safety and respect.

Short follow-up inspections
Short follow-up inspections are also unannounced and conducted where the previous full inspection and their intelligence systems suggest that there are comparatively fewer concerns.

Escort inspections
Three escort inspections are conducted every year.

Pre-inspection visit
One month prior to each full announced inspection, an inspector will visit the establishment to plan the inspection and request a range of preliminary information. In addition, researchers will attend to conduct a confidential survey of a representative proportion of the prisoner population. Results from the prisoner survey are provided for inspectors prior to the inspection and constitute an important source of evidence.

The inspection
All inspections are conducted against the Inspectorate's published inspection criteria, 'Expectations'. Expectations' are based on international human rights standards, as well as Prison Service Orders and Standards, and over all issues considered essential to the safe, respectful and purposeful treatment of prisoners in custody and their effective resettlement.
'Expectations' is the document which sets out the detailed criteria HMI Prisons uses to appraise and inspect prisons. These criteria are used to examine every area of prison life, from reception to resettlement, including;

• safer custody
• health services
• good order
• work
• diversity
• resettlement

The concept of a healthy prison is one that was first set out by the World Health Organisation, but it has been developed by this Inspectorate, and is now widely accepted as a definition of what ought to be provided in any custodial environment. It rests upon four key tests:

• safety: prisoners, even the most vulnerable, are held safely
• respect: prisoners are treated with respect for their human dignity
• purposeful activity: prisoners are able, and expected, to engage in activity that is likely to benefit them
• resettlement: prisoners are prepared for release into the community, and helped to reduce the likelihood of reoffending

Post-inspection action
Inspection reports are published within 16 weeks of the inspection. Prior to publication, the Prison Service (or whoever is responsible for the establishment) is invited to correct any factual inaccuracies within the report. The establishment is then expected to produce an action plan, based on the recommendations made in the report, within two months of publication. A progress report on the action plain is produced after a further 12 months.

HMCIP REPORT
Last Inspection by HMCIP: 5 – 8 July 2010 - unannounced short follow-up inspection
Report Dated: September 2010
Published: 24th November 2010

They said:
“ Channings Wood is a purpose built category C training prison for adult males in rural Devon. On our last visit, we commended the prison for providing a largely safe and purposeful environment in the face of mounting population pressures. This short unannounced follow-up inspection found that, overall, Channings Wood had sustained much of the good work we had previously identified but there remained scope for improvement. In particular, we set out some increased concerns over safety.

“ Although the prison appeared generally safe, we were particularly worried about LB3 unit. Like other units, the design made it difficult to supervise but it appeared much less settled or well kept compared to other parts of the prison and we were told by prisoners about drug dealing, intimidation and assaults. We were also not assured that the establishment’s generally sound anti-bullying and violence reduction arrangements were being implemented effectively on the unit.

“ Happily, the situation on LB3 was not replicated elsewhere. Early days were generally well managed, suicide and self-harm reduction arrangements were sound and the mix of vulnerable prisoners housed together was now more closely monitored. Efforts had been made to improve security and, despite peaks and troughs, substance misuse did not appear out of control. Aspects of the segregation unit had improved but it remained a poor facility.

“ Relationships between staff and prisoners varied, and would have been helped by more consistent personal officer work. The quality of accommodation also varied but, apart from LB3, was generally adequate. Not all aspects of diversity received adequate attention, but the management of race equality was sound. Health care services remained reasonably good. Channings Wood remained a generally purposeful prison with some good quality work and education opportunities, and a much increased range of vocational qualifications. However, there was still not enough purposeful activity to keep all men occupied every day and those who were unemployed spent too long locked in their cells. PE provision was good.

“ The strategic management of resettlement was generally satisfactory but for many prisoners reintegration and contact with family and friends remained hampered by being held far from home in rural Devon. Offender management was good, with generally up-to-date assessments and a good range of interventions to address offending behaviour, including an effective therapeutic community for those with drug problems. Services to prepare prisoners for release had improved.

“ Channings Wood continued to be a reasonable training prison, providing a generally safe and purposeful environment, together with well managed resettlement arrangements. However, there remained a need for more activities to ensure that all prisoners are able to take part regularly in work or training, and we had a particular concern about one apparently unsettled unit, which was less safe and more squalid than other parts of the prison.”

Nigel Newcomen September 2010
HM Deputy Chief Inspector of Prisons

Click here to read the full report

Previous Report
by HMCIP: July 2007 (Announced Full Inspection)

They said:
“Channings Wood is a medium-sized training prison in Devon. It has many advantages – an attractive site, some good quality education and training, and a well-functioning drug therapeutic community. But it has one significant disadvantage for many of its prisoners: half of them are more than 100 miles away from their homes, with serious consequences for family ties and resettlement opportunities.

“This inspection found that this consequence of current population pressure was having an effect on all aspects of prison life, though the prison was continuing to provide a reasonably good environment for most of its prisoners.

“Most prisoners at Channings Wood felt safe, and levels of self-harm were low. However, there had been an increasing number of assaults, many related to the availability of drugs. Strategies to control drugs supply, to test for and analyse drug use, and to deal with bullying were insufficiently robust. There had also been a rash of recent roof-top protests, by prisoners who were hoping that this would lead to their transfer nearer home. In fact, this was likely to lead to segregation. Some non-compliant prisoners in segregation were inappropriately passed from one west country segregation unit to another.

“Staff–prisoner relationships were generally respectful, but there was little proactive engagement, so that there were weaknesses in dynamic security. Vulnerable prisoners, however, were much more positive about the role of staff. Though race equality procedures were thorough, some of the black and minority ethnic prisoners complained about the cultural unawareness of some staff, and this was borne out in reported comments. There was very limited support for foreign nationals, and little wider diversity work. Health services were very good indeed, providing a full range of services, including mental health and chronic disease management.

“The prison’s figures for time out of cell overstated the true position, especially for the one in five prisoners who were unemployed. Those who were employed, however, had access to a wide range of education and work, targeted at providing employability skills and due to be developed further. There were also extremely good library and PE facilities.

“Resettlement was the one area which we judged not to be performing sufficiently well – a significant failing in a training prison releasing around nine prisoners a week. The analysis of resettlement need was basic, and the newly-created offender management unit was not yet driving the sentences of those prisoners under its supervision. Half the prisoners who should have had sentence plans did not have one, and there were no custody plans for the remainder: though these could be generated from the initial resettlement needs assessments carried out. Improvements were planned – but effective resettlement work would always be difficult, given the distance from home of so many prisoners.

“The prison offered good and specialised offending behaviour programmes and a well performing drug therapeutic community. Here too, however, population pressure was threatening good work. Prisoners transferred in to undertake programmes could wait for 12 months or more, and those who completed programmes also had long waits before they could be transferred out. It was equally difficult to move men who proved unsuitable for the drug therapeutic community.

“Managers and staff at Channings Wood have succeeded in maintaining a largely safe, respectful and active environment, in spite of the considerable pressures they face. However, it HMP Channings Wood 6 was clear during this inspection that those pressures were affecting all areas of prison life, and reducing the prison’s ability to work effectively to prevent reoffending.“

Anne Owers September 2007
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons

Click here to read the full report

Independent Monitoring Board

By law every prison and immigration removal centre must have an Independent Monitoring Board. IMBs in prisons derive their responsibilities from the Prison Act 1952 (Section 6). Prison Rules dealing with IMBs are numbers; 74 to 80

IMBs were known as ‘Boards of Visitors’ and are still referred to in the legislation under their old titles, although this is likely to change in the near future.

The Independent Monitoring Board for each establishment is made up of independent and unpaid volunteers from the local area. They monitor the day-to-day life in the establishment and ensure that proper standards of care and decency are maintained. Members have unrestricted access to all areas of the prison at all times and can talk to any prisoner they wish, out of sight and hearing of a members of staff. They visit all areas such as; kitchens, workshops, accommodation blocks, recreation areas, healthcare centre and chaplaincy.

If a prisoner or detainee has an issue that they have been unable to resolve through the usual internal channels, they can place a confidential request to see a member of the IMB. Problems might include concerns over lost property, visits from family or friends, special religious or cultural requirements, or even serious allegations such as bullying. In addition, if something serious happens at the prison, for example a riot or a death in custody, IMB members may be called in to attend and observe the way in which it is handled.

IMB members sample food, can attend adjudications and should visit people held in the segregation unit. They must also be kept informed on such issues as the use of restraints.

The IMB meets regularly, usually once per month, and has an elected Chair and Vice Chair. Members work together as a team to raise any matters of concern and to keep an independent eye on the prison.

Last Update: May 2013