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Prison staff praised for ‘transformation’
Sep 15, 2009
A PRISON that was the scene of major riots two years ago has been removed from ‘special measures’ after inspectors said it had left its troubled past behind.
For more than two years, Deerbolt Young Offenders’ Institute at Startforth was operating under the Performance Improvement Process (PIP) for failing prisons.
It was placed in the scheme in early 2007, following a series of riots that left four prison officers seriously injured and a repair bill of nearly £1million.
Specialist riot control officers had to be called in from prisons around the region to restore order, and the then governor resigned following a vote of no confidence from the Prison Officer’s Association.
But under the leadership of new governor Jenny Mooney, Deerbolt has made improvements across every aspect of the prison’s operation, inspectors have said.
“Deerbolt has been through a very challenging period, but it has been transformed into a safe and constructive prison,” said Ms Mooney.
“The credit for this change must go to the staff, who have shown what can be achieved in a short period of time.”
Deerbolt, which houses around 500 inmates aged 18 to 21, was placed under PIP following an inspection in April 2007.
It identified “serious weaknesses in performance” and made 261 recommendations for improvement, including physical security, purposeful activity, drugs prevention and staff management procedures.
But Deerbolt responded with a “massive improvement” in performance, staff-prisoner relationships, staff confidence and morale and managerial grip, confirmed by a week-long inspection last month.
The progress the prison made was shown using a “large wooden jigsaw” displayed in the gate area of the prison.
The improvement was officially recognised at a ceremony at Deerbolt on Monday.
Director of offender management Phil Copple, who made the decision to remove Deerbolt from PIP,
presented the governor with a certificate to mark the institute’s ‘graduation’.
“This recognises the progress the establishment has made right across the board,” said Mr Copple, himself a former Deerbolt governor.
“The improvement has been tremendous and impressive and it has been a collective effort that has required considerable application from everybody – it has been a tremendous job done.
“The hard work is never finished, but I am confident that Deerbolt will continue to respond to new challenges.”
Mr Copple reserved particular praise for the leadership of Ms Mooney, who took up her post shortly after the troubles of early 2007.
“She has been and she continues to be an excellent governor for Deerbolt,” he said.
Collecting the award, Ms Mooney highlighted the collective efforts of all the staff at Deerbolt.
“It has been a lot of hard work for everybody, but it has paid off,” she said.
The governor said the staff at Deerbolt would continue to strive to improve into the future.
“Confidence and morale are now much better, but we are not resting on our laurels,” she said.
“Having come this far there is a real determination among all who work at Deerbolt to continue to move forward and improve.”