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21/08/2013
Inspection Finds Female Inmate Kept In Segregation 'For Years'
A prison inspection report has revealed that a female prisoner spent more than five years in segregation.
It is understood that the discovery was made in April when prison inspectors carried out an unannounced visit on HMP Bronzefield, near Ashford, Surrey.
A report on the prison reveals that a female inmate was held in the segregation unit since 2007. In the report, chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, wrote: "We were dismayed that the woman who had already been in the segregation unit for three years in 2010 was still there in 2013."
He went on to write that: "Her prolonged location on the segregation unit amounted to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment - and we use these words advisedly."
The report also says that treatment of other inmates on the same unit was "little better".
The report calls for a new policy to better manage women with "complex needs who cannot be supported in the prison's normal location".
It is understood that the Ministry of Justice has not yet commented on the report.
(MH/JP)
It is understood that the discovery was made in April when prison inspectors carried out an unannounced visit on HMP Bronzefield, near Ashford, Surrey.
A report on the prison reveals that a female inmate was held in the segregation unit since 2007. In the report, chief inspector of prisons, Nick Hardwick, wrote: "We were dismayed that the woman who had already been in the segregation unit for three years in 2010 was still there in 2013."
He went on to write that: "Her prolonged location on the segregation unit amounted to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment - and we use these words advisedly."
The report also says that treatment of other inmates on the same unit was "little better".
The report calls for a new policy to better manage women with "complex needs who cannot be supported in the prison's normal location".
It is understood that the Ministry of Justice has not yet commented on the report.
(MH/JP)
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