28 January 2005
The creation of a single inspection body for the entire criminal justice system would dilute the effectiveness of the prisons' inspectorate, its head has warned.
Chief prisons inspector Anne Owers used the publication of her annual report to mount a strident defence of her inspectorate's independence ahead of the expected emergence of plans for a more streamlined approach.
Ministers are considering proposals to slash the number of public sector inspectorates to four, covering health and social care, children and education, local government and criminal justice.
A consultation on a criminal justice merger is likely to be the first to emerge.
But Owers said subsuming the inspectorate into a larger body could undermine prison reform at a crucial time. 'The prison system is at a pivotal point. The need for an independent robust prisons inspectorate to chart these developments, and report them directly and fearlessly, has never been more evident,' she said.
Despite ministerial assurances that there are no plans to alter the inspectorate's methodology, Owers said she remained worried that its 'sharp focus and robustly independent voice' would be lost.
She added that she welcomed joint working with other inspectorates but stressed that this should be kept separate from the core task of inspecting places of detention.
The annual report, published on January 26, found that good progress had been made in many prisons, with better health care for inmates, fewer suicides and improved drug detoxification services. The prison population has also begun to stabilise.
But Owers was cautious in her praise, adding that progress was impeded by familiar problems.
'Our prisons are still 24% overcrowded, and are operating perilously close to full capacity; they are still recording nearly two self-inflicted deaths a week; they are still discharging prisoners who have been unable to benefit from the education, training and resettlement support they need,' she said.
'The levelling off of the prison population is, in reality, the difference between a manageable crisis and an unmanageable one.'
The National Offender Management Service has promised 2,600 more prison places by 2006 and make greater use of community sentences.
Noms chief executive Martin Narey said the recent reduction in the prison population had benefited both prisoners and staff, but he added: 'We are not complacent and will continue to develop and improve on the areas highlighted in this report.'
PFjan2005
