Ford open prison inspectors told drugs and alcohol easy to get hold of a month before disturbances
Ford open prison, the scene of a New Year's Day riot, was awash with drugs and alcohol when prison inspectors went into the West Sussex jail a month before the disturbances, it has been revealed.
Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons, said the smuggling of alcohol into the prison at night was a significant problem, but inspectors were more concerned about the availability of drugs.
More than 40% of the inmates surveyed by inspectors said it was "very easy" or "easy" to get hold of illegal drugs, and almost one in eight had tested positive in random mandatory drug tests.
But Hardwick said alcohol breath testing at the prison was unsophisticated and only 19 prisoners had faced disciplinary hearings for testing positive over the previous six months.
The riot started on New Year's Day after inmates at Ford refused to undergo breathalyser tests for contraband alcohol. Fires broke out in eight blocks at the open jail, including the mail room, gym, snooker room and pool room, causing £3m-worth of damage. Prison staff withdrew before riot squads arrived to help quell the disturbance. It was widely assumed that the inmates had been enjoying a New Year's Eve celebration.
Ford has a reputation as a "celebrity jail" for low-risk prisoners, with Lord Brocket, Darius Guppy, George Best, Ernest Saunders and Gerald Ronson all having served time there.
A report by the chief inspector says that poor staff-prisoner relationships undermined the "dynamic security" and a strong positive culture at the jail, which should have been focused on the resettlement of long-term prisoners. He says the low staffing ratios at open prisons such as Ford depend on dynamic security to run smoothly and safely.
"This inspection report does not explain – and certainly does not excuse – the disturbance. It does, however, describe conditions in the prison one month before the disturbance took place," said Hardwick.
Security reports for the previous seven months for the jail show that there had been 163 finds of drugs and drug paraphernalia, 112 mobile phones seized and 57 batches of illicit alcohol discovered. Alcohol finds had been running at five a month during the early part of last year, but rose to 16 in September and October.
"Alcohol finds were common but not as prominent as at previous inspections," said Hardwick, who also noted that some positive efforts had been made to improve security with enhanced CCTV and improved fencing. The police had even arrested and charged people for offences within the prison grounds.
Absconds had reduced but were still high, with 16 prisoners returned to closed conditions each month.
Michael Spurr, chief operating officer of the National Offender Management Service, said steps had been taken to strengthen the management at Ford: "I am pleased the good work done by the prison on safety, suicide and self-harm, healthcare, and improved security with fewer absconds, has been acknowledged."