Open prison's 'crime wave'

An open prison has suffered "its own mini crime wave" after it was forced to house the wrong kind of offender because of overcrowding across the country.

On Wednesday, Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, said HMP Springhill, near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, had also seen a sharp rise in the number of inmates absconding.

The number of prisoners escaping from the jail was expected to reach about 76 in the year to April 2004, more than three times the target of 25, she said.

The low security jail for 340 inmates has also been hit by an arson attack on its drug testing building and a break-in at its reception centre as the population became "more unstable", she said.

Ms Owers said: "Population pressures had not merely increased numbers at Springhill, but had also led to the allocation of an increasing population of prisoners who would not previously have been accepted for open conditions.

The prison had even suffered its own mini crime wave with a burglary in reception and an arson attack on its mandatory drug testing building Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons

"Screening of prisoners before being accepted had largely been dispensed with.

"As a result, drug and alcohol problems had worsened and staff feared that bullying and self-harm were likely to increase as the balance of the population became more unstable.

"The prison had even suffered its own mini crime wave with a burglary in reception and an arson attack on its mandatory drug testing building."

A report, which made 84 recommendations for improvement, said prisoners from other jails were not searched on arrival, and were "not given even a basic rub down search".

Better selection procedures

It added: "Spaces were now filled with unselected, often short-term prisoners, who could not benefit from the regime, and whose presence destabilised the existing arrangements.

Ms Owers said: "The Prison Service needs to better select the prisoners that are sent to open prisons such as Springhill."

Despite the shortcomings, the jail was praised for some of its resettlement work, which inspectors described as "excellent".

Prison Service director general Phil Wheatley said: "It would be unfortunate if concerns about the immediate situation at Springhill completely obscured the good work that continues to be carried out here.

"However, we acknowledge the chief inspector's concerns about the effects of the changes in population upon Springhill's ability to operate successfully and safely."