A troubled London prison has seen a 50 per cent increase in violence, caused by drugs and gang conflict between “volatile young men”, a watchdog warned today.
Peter Clarke, chief inspector of prisons, said the high number of volatile men at Pentonville jail was contributing to the “grave” situation inside, with an average of 40 assaults and 10 fights each month.
Other problems included insecure cell windows, prisoners reluctant to leave segregation units because of safety fears, and staff corruption. Mr Clarke also said there was no strategy for reducing the “problematic” flow of drugs into the prison and warned there had been no investigations into violent incidents in the three months prior to his inspection.
There were also significant levels of self-harm, with four inmates committing suicide over the past two years, and “weak” rehabilitation work.
The findings come the day before ministers are due to reveal results from a flagship project to reduce violence and drugs at 10 other prisons, which are expected to show significant progress. But Mr Clarke’s conclusions show that Pentonville is among many prisons still with dire problems, despite previous calls to address the poor standards.
He added: “Violence had increased by 56 per cent since our last inspection, much of which was believed to be caused by gang culture, illicit drug use, associated debt and the presence of more volatile younger prisoners.”
Mr Clarke said that drug availability was “high”, with 45 per cent of prisoners saying that it was “easy” to buy illicit substances. Around a quarter of drug tests by the prison’s security department had also not taken place.
