Home Affairs Minister responds to prison cuts fears

Friday 27 September 2019

Frontline prison staff will not be cut as the government strives to make £100m savings, the Home Affairs Minister has pledged, as he expressed disappointment at the service for communicating in an open letter rather than meeting with him.

Published yesterday, the letter from the Jersey Prison Service Association expressed fears that they would have to make cuts beyond the £400,000 they had already identified, which could risk their ability “to protect the public and reduce reoffending”.

This, the JPSA warned, could lead HMP La Moye to suffer problems similar to austerity-hit jails in the UK, including overcrowding, staff supervision and retention issues, and an increase in trafficking and use of illicit substances.

The comments came in an open letter to Senator Kristina Moore - chair of a panel investigating the Government Plan and its proposals for £100m in “savings” over the next four years– ahead of a review by Ernst and Young, which holds a £2m contract to help the government manage its purse better.

Pictured: Prison staff said they had already found £400,000 in savings, and feared that making any more cuts would impact the services they offer.

Responding to the concerns voiced in their letter this morning, Constable Norman said he was “disappointed” with the JSPCA’s method of communication, “particularly after cancelling a meeting that I was due to have with them on Monday to discuss their concerns”. 

He explained that he had “made a commitment, as Home Affairs Minister, that there would be no cuts to front line staff across my department, which includes the States of Jersey Prison Service”. 

The Minister continued:  “The prison is currently running at a capacity of 70% and with a higher prisoner population than we have had for some time. We are also undertaking a multi-million pound investment programme of re-developing aged buildings and security measures, to improve facilities for both prisoners and staff. 

“I have full confidence in the Prison Governor and the Director General of Justice and Home Affairs, regarding their work to identify areas where we can make better use of taxpayers’ money, as well as providing reassurance about our use of public funds.”

However, while the Minister explained that front-line staffing should not be adversely impacted, his statement did not address specific criticism of the job evaluation methods currently being used, concerns about employee mental health, and fears raised over the future of the ‘Conditional Early Release’ programme.

The scheme sees offenders given post-custodial supervision for the final third of their sentence.

“To continue this excellent work and reduce reoffending we need to ensure we have the appropriate resources. Rehabilitating prisoners will not only reduce reoffending, which is the ultimate efficiency, but will mean that there are less victims of crime and offenders have a chance to lead a law-abiding and useful life after release,” the JPSA explained.