Maghaberry Prison

Steele Update - September 2004

The Government formally accepted the recommendations of the Steele Review of Safety at Maghaberry Prison on 8 September 2003.   In the year to Septemebr 2004 a comprehensive programme of work was taken forward to implement the Review Team's findings.  A summary is provided below.

This review recommended that republican and loyalist paramilitary prisoners should be accommodated separately from each other, and from the rest of the prison population, on a voluntary basis.

The Prison Service implemented the main recommendation of the Review that prisoners with paramilitary affiliations should be accommodated separately from each other and the rest of the prison population on 8 March 2004.

The following summarises the key stages in the implementation of the recommendations and issues arising from the Steele Report.

21 Sept
The outcome of the public consultation on revised prisoner complaints procedure and the appointment of a Prisoner Ombudsman was published. There were 25 responses to the consultation.

The Prisoner Ombudsman will consider any eligible complaint referred by a prisoner, or former prisoner, regarding his or her treatment in prison and, if he or she considers it appropriate, to make recommendations concerning that complaint to the Director General of NIPS. The appointment to the position of Ombudsman will conform to the principles set out by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.

Work is now ongoing to introduce the new prisoner complaints procedure.

Revised proposals

14 Sept
A gymnasium for use by separated prisoners opened increasing the number of PE sessions available to separated prisoners to two weekly sessions and, when possible, three sessions per week . The gym programme has been developed to maximise out-of-cell time so that those not taking visits or association can be offered the use of the gym.

The gym, which can cater for up to 16 prisoners at any one time, is fitted out with a wide range of cardiovascular, weightlifting, boxing and multi-gym equipment.

6 Sept
From Monday 6 September separated prisoners have been taken in a vehicle to visits to further avoid any contact with the rest of the prisoner population thereby enhancing their safety. Up to six prisoners at a time may be transported to visits.

14 May
One of the changes made to prison rules was provision for the award of remission to a separated prisoner found guilty of a prison disciplinary offence following a hearing before a Commissioner. Two Commissioners were appointed on 14 May by the Secretary of State to fulfill this role. There have been no such hearings to date (Sept 2004).

13 May
The Justice Bill which made provision for the compulsory transfer of prisoners from Northern Ireland received Royal Assent on Thursday 13 May 2004. This enables the Prison Service to transfer a prisoner, without his/her consent to another prison in England & Wales or Scotland in the interests of maintaining good order and discipline. This was judged necessary given that the prison estate in Northern Ireland is relatively small with limited opportunity to disperse disruptive prisoners. This provision has yet to be used (Sept 2004).

21 April
A public consultation document was published outlining proposals to introduce a new Prisoner Complaints Procedure and a Prisoner Ombudsman on 21 April 2004. As part of the Steele Review report published in September 2003 the Team said that they believed that such a post could make a valuable contribution to defusing the tensions which are bound to arise in prisons.

Consultation document

7/8 Mar
The main Steele recommendation to separate loyalist and republican prisoners was implemented. 29 republican prisoners moved into separated accommodation in Roe House on 7 March and 31 loyalists were moved to Bush House on 8 March.

In Bush and Roe inmates have access to a large recreation room for a period every day. This room has a pool table, hi fi unit and a television. There is also cardiovascular gymnasium equipment and an area to play board games. There is daily access to an exercise yard and to the telephone. A gymnasium has opened and new exercise areas, equipped with astro turf surfaces, are nearing completion. Prisoners receive one visit per week and are encouraged to take part in the education programme. Education is delivered in the houses. Religious services are also provided in the houses. All cells have integral sanitation and all cells have television sets.

To date the refurbishment programme to enhance physical security measures, as recommended by Steele, has cost around £6 million.

26 Feb
The revised compact was published setting out the parameters of the regime in the separated facilities. There were 21 responses to the public consultation issued in December 2003.

Compact document

12 Feb 2004
NI Prison Service and the Prison Officers' Association reached agreement on the staffing requirements to implement the separated regime agreed by the Government as a result of the Steele Review.

A recruitment competition for Night Patrol Officers was launched on 26 February (936 applications). Advertisements appeared in w/e 2 April to recruit Prisoner Custody Officers (2600 applications).

The Service is now in the process of offering employment to successful applicants.

11 Feb
NIAC report into the separation of paramilitary prisoners at Maghaberry was published.

2 Feb
The first of a number of week long training programmes began for officers working in separated conditions. Just over 250 officers and some specialists completed this training and two training events for managers have taken place. Frequent team briefings take place for staff and managers working in the separated houses and from time to time a ½ day briefing slot is available to address ongoing issues

1 Feb
Changes to prison rules came into effect. The changes included: new offences against prison discipline; preventing the wearing of paramilitary style uniforms by prisoners; and enhancement of current penalties available to Governors

14/15 Jan
On the night of 14/15 January loyalists accommodated in temporary separated accommodation caused extensive damage to Bann House after they had barricaded themselves in and set fire to an office. All prisoners were examined by healthcare staff before being returned to their cells and there were no reported injuries. 18 prison staff were examined in the healthcare centre following the incident and were believed to be suffering from the effects of smoke inhalation and shock.

16 Dec
A written statement was laid in the House of Commons amending the Northern Ireland Prison Service Corporate and Business Plan 2003-2006 to reflect the changing circumstances and priorities within the Service as a consequence of the Steele Review. The statement of purpose was also amended to reflect the Service's contribution to peace and stability in Northern Ireland.

Written statement

13 Dec
Prisoners were moved from Roe to Bush House to facilitate refurbishment.

11 Dec
The beginning of a 6 week consultation was announced on a draft compact for separated prisoners and new pre-release home and resettlement leave arrangements for sentenced prisoners.

Consultation document

10 Dec
The Steele Review team visited the newly refurbished Bush House. John Steele praised the new facilities describing the arrangements as excellent and fully in accordance with his report.

Virtual tour of Bush House

3 Nov
Six members of Northern Ireland Affairs Committee visited Maghaberry as part of their inquiry into 'The Separation of Paramilitary Prisoners at Maghaberry.'

4 Nov
Representatives of Maghaberry's senior management team gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee inquiry.

4 Nov
New arrangements were put in place for visits to separated prisoners with the opening of a dedicated visits room and the introduction of different visiting slots for republican and loyalist prisoners. Visiting cubicles in this room were modified to allow for more effective staff supervision.

29 Oct
The Director General gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee for their inquiry into 'The Separation of Paramilitary Prisoners at Maghaberry.'

20 Oct
A consultation document was issued on the proposed amendments to prison rules. These include new offences against prison discipline and the enhancement of current penalties available to Governors.

Consultation document

6 Oct
Prisoners in Bush house were transferred to other accommodation to facilitate refurbishment.

3 Oct
Separated republican prisoners were moved from Foyle to Lagan House.

18 Sept
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee announced 'An Inquiry into the Separation of Paramilitary prisoners at HMP Maghaberry'.

15 Sept
The first meetings with political and other groups representing the interests of prisoners took place - PUP (15 Sept), IRPWA (17Sept) and UPRG (3 Oct) - as recommended by Steele to improve relationships. To date 15 meetings have taken place. This is on top of regular telephone calls, e mails and letters from those representing separated prisoners (Sept 2004).

15 Sept
Temporary arrangements were put in place to hold republicans and loyalists in separate accommodation in Maghaberry (Foyle and Bann House).

8 Sept
The Government announced that it had accepted the main recommendation of the Steele Review that loyalist and republican prisoners should be separated from each other and the rest of the prison population.

OTHER ISSUES

In Appendix B Steele referred to a number of other issues arising from the Review. Some have been referred to in the digest above and progress to date on some of the other issues is provided below.

RESOURCES

Staffing levels
Sick levels in Maghaberry Prison have reduced from 112 (13%) of staff in post on 8 September 2003 to 68 staff (7.6%) on the same day this year.

Fine defaulters
In 2002-2003 the Service accommodated 1191 fine defaulters serving very short sentences of up to a maximum of 14 days. The Service agrees that this high turnover of people serving very short sentences does divert significant resources from our main business activity. Currently, the Service has a legal obligation to hold all sentenced prisoners.

Detainees
The Steele Review Team suggested that urgent steps are taken to deal with immigration detainees outside of the prison system. The Government explored how this might be done but concluded that it saw no prospect of them being held outside of the prison system in Northern Ireland, because of the small numbers involved, but that it would consider measures to reduce the number detained here.

On 21 June 2004 the Prison Service transferred male immigration detainees from Mourne House, Maghaberry to Maghaberry's facility in Belfast adjacent to Belfast Prison. This provides detainees with a more suitable environment and easier access to support groups as well as going some way to simplify the management role in the prison referred to by HMCIP as the most complicated in the United Kingdom.

Female immigration detainees were transferred with the female prison population to Hydebank Wood.

STAFF

Morale/confidence
The Steele Review team noted that morale in Maghaberry was not high at the time of their review. Support and training has been provided to those staff working in separated conditions and is ongoing. Morale among this group of staff is high and amongst the best in the Service at this time.

It is planned that staff will be rotated throughout the separated houses so that no officer works in separated conditions for longer than two years.

Recruitment
In any recruitment exercise the Service continues to strive to address the workforce imbalance.

REGIME

Doubling
The Prison Service agrees that people sharing cells is far from ideal. However given the rise in prisoner numbers and pressure on accommodation it is sometimes unavoidable. The dedication of two landings in Bush and Roe to separated prisoners adds to the pressure on accommodation in Maghaberry.

It is worth noting that in certain circumstances it is sometimes beneficial for prisoners to share accommodation and this is facilitated.

Remand/sentenced
It is widely recognised that it is best practice to accommodate remand and sentenced prisoners separately. The law requires us to do so far as it can reasonably be done.

Bureaucracy
Outside of Steele the practice of issuing one day's supply of medication was reviewed mainly because of the amount of time consumed in preparing the medicines. The new policy introduced in April 2004 involves a risk assessment being conducted in each case and where appropriate the prisoner is permitted to hold a supply of medicines.

It is necessary for forms to be completed to attend church services so that chaplains know who will be attending.

Improvements have been made to letter and clothes parcels censoring arrangements.

Drugs
Maghaberry has a drug and alcohol strategy and is partnered with Dunlewey Substance Advice Centre. Every effort is being made to tackle drug misuse within the prison. Voluntary drug testing recommenced in the prison on 5 August 2004 and the Service continues to deploy passive drug dogs to great effect.

SECURITY

Cameras
A comprehensive range of measures were introduced at Maghaberry to enhance security of staff and prisoners.

Reserve accommodation
The transfer of prisoners from Mourne House on 21 June 2004 provides some contingency accommodation until such time as other building work around the prison estate is completed.

Searching
Enhanced security measures are now in place.

Staff security
The two staff car parks near the main entrance of Maghaberry have been screened so that vehicles can not be seen by visitors.

Agreement was reached on 15 January 2004 between the Government and the Prison Officers Association in relation to the dispute over home security measures.

Quakers
Quakers staff are searched at the staff entrance to the prison and there is no requirement for them to go through the search area for prisoners.

VISITS
A senior Governor at Maghaberry was tasked with taking forward the issues raised in the report in relation to visits. Booking of visits has improved with the dedication of three staff to man the booking office. The visits room for integrated prisoners has been refurbished and the size of the creche increased. The creche facility is now available to the families of remand and sentenced prisoners. A Child Centred Visits pilot was introduced in January 2004 for long term prisoners and a number of special themed sessions were run at Christmas, Easter and during the summer for all families.

Improvements planned for the future include: the erection of a rain shelter at the entrance to visits reception, the refurbishment of visit reception and

COMMUNICATION

The Prison Service has a communications strategy in place. During the year two new developments included the introduction of a weekly situation report and the publication of a new newsletter for prisoners and their families.

The weekly situation report, first published on 10 October, provides an update on statistics for the past week, a review of notable incidents and looks ahead to events of interest for the week ahead. It is currently e mailed to over 120 people and is published on the Prison Service web site.

The first issue of a new newsletter aimed at prisoners, their families and friends was circulated in mid August 2004. The magazine includes contributions from prisoners and is designed to keep readers informed about developments across the Prison Estate and give families a better insight of the opportunities available to prisoners.

Prisoner support groups
The Review team said that it would be useful for both the Prison Service and prisoners if constructive relationships were developing with groups representing the interests of prisoners. The Service has held 15 meetings with the Ulster Political Research Group, Ex Prisoners Interpretative Centre, Irish Republican Prisoners Welfare Association and more recently with Prisoners Human Rights Watch. Prisoners' representatives will also now raise issues by telephone, e mail and letter.

CHALLENGES

All of the above work has taken place a very difficult and challenging backdrop which has included an industrial dispute with the Prison Officer's Association, continuing attacks on the homes of prison officers and various campaigns from separated prisoners seeking to relax their regime.

Since January 2004 to the present there have been over 50 attacks in a clearly concerted effort to influence the way prison officers do their jobs. The worst period was after the announcement that the Government was to implement the Steele review with some 12 attacks in October 2003.

Since the prisoners were moved to separated accommodation in early March they have continued to mount a number of campaigns aimed at relaxing the regime. Their tactics have included not acknowledging staff on the landings, and flooding the system with written request forms with the apparent aim of encouraging staff to speak to a prisoner representative - there were around 400 such requests from March to July which is around 10 times the level that would normally be expected.

In mid April loyalist prisoners protested about full searching and refused to dress. Their representatives raised the issue both in the media and with Ministers claiming it is was disproportionate and humiliating.

Other issues raised include: orderlies, hygiene, eating in cell, haircutting and education.

There is no assurance that more serious conditioning and intimidation will not follow.