The Independent Monitoring Board

On Monday we had an insightful talk from Roger who is a member of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) for HMP Wormwood Scrubs .

Established in 1952, IMBs consist of unpaid volunteers who visit prisons and immigration detention centers 2-3 times per month to ensure standards are upheld and the conditions are adequate. Members then publish reports and have meetings with the prison governors to discuss issues within the prison or engage in disputes involving inmates problems.

Roger, who became a member of the IMB for Wormwood Scrubs in 2016, is currently an active member monitoring the prison with a special interest in housing resettlement. He spoke to us about the lack of education, medical and therapeutic provisions inside the crumbling Victorian prison (constructed in 1874). Roger remarked that a large number of prisoners in Wormwood Scrubs were in need of rehabilitation for substance misuse and that prison was the wrong place for them. The high level of prison bureaucracy was also emphasized as a reason for the inability for individuals to be taken care of and for the lack of consideration for individual needs.

Gangs were also highlighted as a complex problem, particularly in London, with high levels of violence amongst inmates. This is an issue that cannot be solved within the prison system but should be tackled in the community. The safety inside prisons is so appalling that Roger noted that many prisoners welcomed the coronavirus lockdown measures being confined to small cells up to 23 hours a day because they felt 'safer'. He also informed us that despite the media hype of non-violent prisoners being released early, as far as he was aware no one was released from Scrubs at the start of the pandemic.

We were appalled to her about some of the conditions for inmates who had coronavirus and were isolating 24 hours a day in their cells and only permitted showers once a week. Roger explained that some inmates would keep quiet about having symptoms of coronavirus in order to avoid the two week extreme isolation. This, of course, made outbreaks in prisons a lot worse.

Whilst painting a rather bleak picture of the conditions of prisons today, Roger gave us a practical insider perspective into why making positive changes inside prisons is difficult in the UK. This gave us an insight into the real challenges that prisoners and governors face on a day-to-day basis and will inform our campaigns in the future. It also re-emphasized to us that prisons are not institutions for change and a focus of community resettlement, rehabilitation and intervention is needed more than ever.

Find out more or sign up to be a member of an IMB here: https://www.imb.org.uk/

(Participation of young people would be enthusiastically received on the boards)