'Appalling brutality' at youth jail

Sir David Ramsbotham visited Stoke Heath last October

The Chief Inspector of Prisons has reportedly branded a young offenders institute "unsafe" after uncovering evidence of hundreds of injuries to inmates.

Sir David Ramsbotham wrote to Home Secretary Jack Straw to alert him to the "appalling" evidence of brutality at Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institute in Shropshire, the Independent reported.

During the eight months prior to October 2000 more than 800 reports of injuries to inmates were made, which included more than 90 alleged to have been caused by staff, the paper said.

Sir David's comments come in the wake of a visit he made to the prison last October.

Peter Small, deputy governor of Stoke Heath, said: "We have seen a draft of Sir David's report in which he points out concerns about the use of control and restraint, reported injuries to prisoners and young boys feeling unsafe due to bullying by other inmates."

New measures

In his letter, Sir David is understood to have said the number of injuries caused by staff at the prison, which houses young offenders aged from 15 to 21, "suggests that control and restraint is not being appropriately applied".

Injuries were also caused by fights, self-harm and workplace accidents among boys who suffered from "a total lack of constructive activity".

Mr Small, who has been deputy governor at Stoke Heath since last October, admitted the figures were on the high side but that since Sir David's visit, measures had been implemented to tackle the problem.

He said as a result of the new measures the average number of occasions where control and restraint methods were used had fallen.

"In October last year the average number of times control and restraint methods were used was 37. In November that had dropped to 30, in December the figure was 22, January it was 14 and to date it is just 10."

He said the measures included recruiting extra staff to deal with problem prisoners, incentive schemes to encourage prisoners to behave and weekly training schemes for staff.

Former governor John Alldridge retired from Stoke Heath for medical reasons and was replaced last October by Cathy James.

A spokesperson for the Home Office confirmed that a letter had been sent to Jack Straw by Sir David shortly after the visit to Stoke Heath but said he was unable to comment on the contents.

An official report on the prison is due to be published in the next couple of months.