Concerns over “very high levels of violence” and drug issues have prompted a watchdog to demand that Winchester Prison, a category B facility in Hampshire, be placed under emergency measures.
Inspectors sent an urgent notification for improvement to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood.
Examples of “weaknesses in physical and procedural security” were discovered during an examination earlier this month. One wing was so “dilapidated” that an inmate had “been able to remove his own cell door.”
According to a different assessment released earlier this year by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), inmates at Winchester were able to use plastic cutlery to dig through barriers.
“Winchester had been in a very bad state for many years,” stated Martin Lomas, deputy chief inspector of prisons.
We discovered that standards had declined to the point where we were forced to issue an urgent notification for improvement during the most recent inspection.
