A Devon prison has been asked to find extra capacity in temporary cells, according to reports.
HMP Channings Wood in Newton Abbot is said to be part of wider plans to 'double up' hundreds of prisoners in prefabricated cells designed for one person. The Ministry of Justice is said to have made the request as a solution to the prison overcrowding crisis.
Channings Wood, a Category C training and resettlement prison for adult men, has a capacity in the region of 750 prisoners. According to leaked documents, it is one of 10 category C prisons asked to sign off a second bed plan in what are known as 'Rapid Deployment Cells' [RTCs]. Rapid Deployment Cells are purpose-built prison accommodation, designed specifically for prisons and installed on existing prison sites.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed feasibility assessments are currently being undertaken to assess whether some RDCs can hold two prisoners, adding that safety and decency considerations are always taken into account. It does not comment on leaked documents, but when asked about Channings Wood a ministry spokesperson said: “As the public would expect, we’re pulling every lever available to ensure there is always space to lock up dangerous offenders."
RTC 'pods' measure 2.9 metres by 3.4 metres and include a bed, toilet and shower. They were placed in the grounds of more than 15 prisons as a temporary solution to past overcrowding problems and have a 15-year lifespan. According to leaked emails, the planned doubling-up suggested by Ministry of Justice officials would increase the overall capacity of the prison estate by 476.
Governors and prison officers are concerned the requests could breach health and safety laws and make jails unsafe for prisoners, staff and the public. The plans were disclosed in an email sent on 27 August by a senior Prison Service executive to governors, reports The Guardian. It says His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has been asked to 'explore the viability' of crowding Rapid Deployment Cell accommodation. It says it is 'important that all potential capacity is identified quickly'.
The Government has been scrambling to find more places after announcing a U-turn on prisoner eligibility for its early release scheme. Hundreds of violent criminals have been blocked from being freed. According to a second leaked document, prisons were asked to find extra capacity in temporary cells include Channings Wood and The Verne in Dorset.
Mark Fairhurst, the national chair of the Prison Officers Association, said capacity breaches could prompt industrial action by his members. “By law our members cannot strike, but I know they would walk out on health and safety grounds if asked to oversee prisons which cannot cope with the numbers being proposed,” he said.
Tom Wheatley, the president of the Prison Governors Association, said a full risk assessment would have to be carried out. “Increasing the operational capacity of a prison isn’t as simple as putting bunk beds in cells," he said. "There needs to be staff available to supervise the additional prisoners and there needs to be additional regime activities."
The Ministry says it has fast-tracked £110m from existing budgets so the Government can deliver prison places more quickly, including turning existing spaces inside prisons into cells.
Devon Prison Asked to Double Up One-Person Cells