Select a region
Prisoners in Jersey have been able to spend more time outside of their cells each day following a drive to "over-recruit" staff at La Moye last year, it has emerged.
The data was revealed in the 2023 annual report by the Jersey Independent Prison Monitoring Board, which was recently presented to Home Affairs Minister Mary Le Hegarat.
According to the report, the prison was fully staffed in April but had vacancies by July, which coincided with concerns about the impact parental leave could have in the summer.
The concerns stemmed from new parental leave requirements introduced at the end of 2022, giving fathers additional leave as well as mothers.
Pictured: Prison management adopted a policy of "over-recruitment" in 2023 amid concerns over staffing pressures.
However, throughout 2023, prison management adopted a policy of "over-recruiting" to combat such pressures.
This drive saw ten new officers complete training earlier in the year, and a further 15 enter service in November.
"The coming on stream of new officers enabled others to be promoted and several management positions were reorganised as a result," the report said.
The bolstered staff complement enabled prisoners to have more time outside of their cells, which had been an area of focus for the board in previous reports.
The report noted that time spent outside of cells "is a key factor for prisoner welfare".
"In recent years this has been impacted negatively by Covid from 2020 and more recently by the States parental leave policy and the consequential staff shortages," it said.
"Due to 'over-recruiting' during 2023, the prison has become better resourced and so there has been an increase in the number of hours prisoners spend out of cell."
In 2022, the average time spent by a prisoner outside of their cell each day was five hours and 30 minutes, which grew to six hours and 58 minutes last year.
"This includes all time spent outside of cells, not solely for purposeful activities," the report continued.
"It is an objective of prison management to work towards increasing the time out of cell up to ten hours."
Pictured: Prison management is working towards increasing the time each prisoner spend out of their cell up to ten hours.
The prison has an operational capacity for 200 prisoners, with the actual population peaking in December at 159.
The report stated that the overall security situation within the prison was "strong" in 2023 with few serious of dangerous incidents.
However, one remaining area of concern is mental health, which the board explained has been "constantly at the fore".
"Mental health issues affect at least half of all prisoners," the report revealed.
"A review of the healthcare function commenced in January 2023, and remained ongoing at the end of the year. We will continue to follow its progress in 2024."
The report also stated that there were "a wide range of areas needing improvement" in relation to education, but that La Moye prison was "generally well managed".
"Both uniformed and civilian staff are to be admired for their continuous efforts in sometimes trying circumstances," the board said.
"In addition to the pressures of any workplace, and staff shortages, many of the people they are dealing with are experiencing mental health issues ranging from anxiety about legal cases, families and money to serious conditions requiring specialised treatment, while also adjusting to their loss of liberty."
INSIGHT: "How has it taken me to come to prison to learn I have ADHD?"
Prison’s external escort policy reviewed following human rights breach
Prison clamps down on visitor drug exchanges
Comments
Comments on this story express the views of the commentator only, not Bailiwick Publishing. We are unable to guarantee the accuracy of any of those comments.