Prisons - in brief; UK: HMP Holloway inspection.
01 March 2003
In February 2003 the Prison Service was told by the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Anne Owers, to remove the 65 inmates under 21 still held at the jail. Anne Owers stated that "In our view, girls should not be held at Holloway." Parts of the jail were plagued by cockroaches; some units were infested with lice and fleas. The inspection team, which visited in July 2001, found that "No assessments of vulnerability and risk were being carried out, the regime was wholly inadequate, staff lacked essential documentation and no training plan meetings were taking place." There were 17 inmates with babies at the time of the visit and inspectors said new mothers were confined to their rooms for "long periods of time." Only cleaners were allowed to bathe more than two hours per week, so pregnant women and new mothers were denied regular showers. The prison was praised by the Chief Inspector for its suicide prevention procedures and treatment of inmates with drug problems. A spokesperson for Women in Prisons noted in response "Prison is not hospital, it's not drug rehab, it's not drug therapy, it's punitive...do we want to solve crime or incubate it?" Office of Chief Inspector of Prisons: Report of a visit to HMP Holloway; BBC News 18.2.03