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<p>The Ministry of Justice welcomed the scrutiny brought by the Chief Inspector of
Prisons in his annual report published in July 2015. Steps have been taken at each
of the prisons inspected during 2014-15 to address the specific recommendations made,
and detailed action plans put in place. We are also seeking to address the Chief Inspector’s
comments on each of the four outcomes of safety, respect, purposeful activity and
resettlement, and we are tackling the risks of increased violence highlighted by the
Chief Inspector.</p><p>The National Offender Management Service is committed to running
safe prisons. We are holding a more violent prison population; the number of people
sentenced to prison for violent offences has increased by 30% in the last 10 years.
In addition the illicit use of New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) has been a significant
factor in fuelling violence in prisons. This Government has introduced two new offences
through the Serious Crime Act 2015 for being in possession of a knife or other offensive
weapon within a prison without authorisation, and throwing of items, including NPS
over a prison wall without authorisation. This offence will help to control these
substances in prison. We are also introducing an offence of possession of NPS in the
prison estate.</p><p>NOMS also operates a violence reduction project to gain a better
understanding of the causes of the current levels of violence in prisons and to ensure
that there is strengthened handling of it, in terms of both prevention and response.
A joint national protocol between the National Offender Management Service (NOMS),
the CPS, and ACPO was published in February 2015 with the purpose of ensuring a nationally
consistent approach to the referral and prosecution of crimes in prison.</p><p>The
Chief Inspector of Prisons found that “respect” (how a prisoner is treated) held up
best amongst their four areas of inspection. We are continuing to take forward the
strengths he highlighted which included: good staff/prisoner relationships, increased
use of prisoner peer mentors and good practice in health care.</p><p>We noted the
Chief Inspector’s concerns about “purposeful activity”. We want prisons to be places
of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners
to learn and for prison staff to prioritise education and work. The hours worked by
prisoners in industrial occupations has already risen from 10.6 million hours in 2010/2011
to 14.2 million hours in the 2013-2014.</p><p>Finally in relation to resettlement
(preparing prisoners for their release into the community) we have put in place an
unprecedented nationwide ‘through the prison gate’ resettlement service, meaning most
offenders are given continuous support by one provider from custody into the community.
Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) launched their ‘Through the Gate’ service
on 1 May 2015. This service provides offenders with support to find accommodation
and jobs, finance and debt advice, and support for sex workers and victims of domestic
violence.</p>
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