Prison 'more volatile than ever', inspectors say

A prison with high levels of violence and continuing staff shortages has become more volatile than ever, inspectors have said.

HMP Bullingdon declared a red alert for instability after "concerns about safety" for a short time in May, the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) revealed in its annual report.

Dog handlers were deployed to maintain control, the inspectors added.

The Prison and Probation Service said the Oxfordshire jail, which has many prisoners on short-term remand, was addressing the report's concerns.

The IMB, which monitors inmate welfare, said problems were exacerbated by staff shortages and the high turnover of prisoners.

Its report said: "Both experienced members of staff and experienced members of the Board judge the prison to have been more volatile during the reporting year than they remember in the past.

"For several days during one week in May, the prison changed its stability level from amber to red (the highest level of concern) in recognition of high levels of violence and other concerns about safety."

In the year to the end of June, the board recorded an increase in assaults on staff, and high levels of violence, self-harm and seizures of illicit items.

It said 130 of the jail's 217 officers were in their probationary year and 60 staff were not available for duty.

The report concluded: "The Board is seriously concerned about the continuing shortage and high turnover of staff, which has a negative impact on almost every aspect of the prison.

"The prison continues to be a violent and unsafe environment for both prisoners and staff."

In response, the Prison and Probation Service said: "HMP Bullingdon has already made significant strides in addressing the concerns raised in this report, including through improved staff training around self-harm and using X-Ray scanner searches to clamp down on illicit items entering the prison."

HMP Bullingdon is a category B jail for 1,112 men, situated near Bicester.

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