A HIGH security prison housing some of the country’s most dangerous prisoners is providing a “safe and decent” environment, but has been told to take prompt action to investigate and address a rise in violence.

A report arising from an unannounced inspection of Frankland Prison, on the outskirts of Durham, in February/March this year revealed that it was maintaining its good progress and

:: Systems to manage safety were generally sound

:: Levels of violence were not high, although assaults on prisoners had increased almost four-fold recently with some serious incidents

:: Prisoners in distress generally received good support

:: Accommodation was clean and well-maintained

:: Prisoners had reasonable time out of their cell and were engaged in work, training or education during most of the working day with good opportunities for these.

But the regime in the prison’s segregation unit was described as poor, while the transfer of prescribed drugs between prisoners was said to be a “significant problem” with potential for trading and bullying.

The report called for an up-to-date policy reflecting best practice guidance on the prescribing of “highly tradable” medicines.

It also highlighted excessive delays in transferring prisoners to secure mental health facilities and said there was a backlog of offender assessment reviews.

Staff-prisoner relationships were mostly good, while disciplinary processes were well managed and the use of force low, although too many staff incident records were incomplete.

Many prisoners said it was easy to get illegal drugs, with evidence of ‘spice’ – a synthetic drug that mimics cannabis – entering the jail, but good intelligence and robust security measures were helping to contain the problem

Meanwhile, a survey revealed that just 26 per cent of prisoners believed the food they were served was good with complaints also about the amount they got. Thirty four per cent said the overall quality of health services was very bad.

Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “The outcomes for prisoners at Frankland were reasonably good or better.

“Staff managed considerable ongoing risk every day, while maintaining a safe and respectful regime in which prisoners had good learning opportunities.”

Frankland, which opened in 1983, holds more than 800 prisoners over seven wings – more than half being lifers.

Michael Spurr, chief executive of the National Offender Management Service, said positive work was being done at Frankland while a rehabilitative approach ultimately protected the public.

He said: “The prison holds a long-term population including some of the country’s most dangerous prisoners, but provides a humane, purposeful environment and manages risk proportionately and effectively.”