Prisons ‘forced to hire staff who struggle to speak English’


Prisons ‘forced to hire staff who struggle to speak English’

05 November 2024 3:55pm GMT Severe staff shortages are forcing prisons to hire warders who struggle to speak and understand English, it has been claimed. Delegates at the Prison Governors’ Association (PGA) conference said they had been taking on staff who lacked basic skills because officers are recruited under a centralised system in which they are assessed largely by online tests and without face-to-face interviews. Some speak English to such a poor level that they cannot be understood by prisoners or colleagues, while others have poor vision or lack the physical strength required, governors warned. One officer had such bad eyesight that when he dropped his baton it took him 10 minutes to find it. A 62-year-old recruit also quit after a week because he found the physical demands too much. A combination of budget cuts and the pandemic have contributed to severe staff shortages which have led many jails to introduce restricted regimes, forcing prisoners to be locked in their cells up to 23 hours a day. One in seven prison officers quits each year. Despite a recruitment drive, prisons in England and Wales still have 11 per cent fewer staff now than they did in 2010, and over 40 per cent of officers have less than three years’ experience. Governors used to interview jobseekers, but the system has been centralised so that recruits apply and are assessed centrally, largely via online tests and Zoom interviews. Staff ‘put in danger’ A motion passed at the PGA’s conference in Nottingham called on the association’s leaders “to urge the prisons minister to review the recruitment process and to revert to ‘face-to-face’ interviews, so we can select suitable candidates that meet the criteria for the Band 3 prison officers”. One delegate told the conference: “We’ve got an officer who has got a visual impairment. He has four pairs of glasses for different things. He dropped the baton on the floor, it took him 10 minutes to find it. “We’ve got someone who has got a hearing impairment, it took us six months to get him regraded to an admin role. We had someone start last week, the language barrier is poor – they tried to call for staff assistance, they couldn’t even use the radio. That put them into danger, and my staff in danger trying to respond.” Proposing the motion, Steve Murdy, head of safety at HMP Coldingley, said Band 3 (one-stripe) officers were the only role for which prisons do not carry out face-to-face interviews. He said: “It’s just beyond a joke, really.” He was backed by Paul Crossey, governor of HMP/YOI Feltham B, who said managers were wasting time trying “to get people out of the job who should never have come in.” Tom Wheatley, president of the PGA, told the prison magazine Inside Time: “I’ve certainly heard of people for whom English is a second language, who manage to go through the assessment process. “And then when faced with the challenge of trying to operate in a prison environment, which is perhaps loud, and obviously with people who are talking about different things, they struggle to both understand and be understood. “That’s a significant problem in a role where you’ve got to be able to communicate effectively.” Charlie Taylor, the chief inspector of prisons and a guest speaker at the conference, said: “I have concerns about some of those entering the service. “I’m hopeful that in the future there will be a greater focus on who is recruited, with prison leaders directly involved in the process with face-to-face, values-based interviews to get the right people into the job.”