Rise in drug taking and self-harm at women's jail

An inmate at a prison where inspectors found high levels of self harm had hurt herself 400 times in one year, a report said.

HMP Styal near Wilmslow, Cheshire, was named the worst in the country for positive drug tests after an inspection in December, which also highlighted low staffing levels.

The number of cases of self-harm, more than 5,200, had almost doubled at the prison in three years, with a small number of women harming themselves every day, the report by HM Inspector of Prisons said.

The Ministry of Justice said staffing had been increased and it was investing in safety improvements.

Some 41% of inmates at Styal, which houses about 480 women, had tested positive for drugs, the highest number in England.

A lack of enough staff was "a fact keenly felt by women", the report said.

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, said: "The vulnerabilities of the women were evidenced everywhere; notably in the amount of mental health need, four self-inflicted deaths, and near doubling of the amount of self-harm recorded since we last inspected.

"Many other safety indicators were similarly concerning."

He added: "The lack of access to officers was arguably one of the most important issues to address at Styal."

Most women lived in detached houses that required urgent and significant investment to address fire safety concerns and provide basic levels of decency, inspectors said.

Education provision needed improvement as did release planning, they added.

The report praised the work being done to support women to maintain family ties while in jail and also commended extra support for new arrivals.

But prisons charity NACRO said it was "shocking" that the report showed most of the women who had been released from Styal were "homeless or without sustainable housing".

Campbell Robb, NACRO chief executive, said: "Failure to secure a safe space for women upon release not only endangers them at a moment of immense vulnerability, it also fundamentally undermines efforts to rebuild their lives after prison."

He said it was "deeply troubling, yet unsurprising" that more women were "turning to substance misuse and self-harm to cope at HMP Styal".

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "The Lord Chancellor has created a Women's Justice Board so fewer women end up sent to prison and this report shows how urgent that work is.

"Staffing at the prison has now increased and we are investing in safety improvements so that women at HMP/YOI Styal are better supported."

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