Section one Context Official Complaints process among prisoners, although the regular attendance by Prison Ombudsman staff has encouraged dialogue, and there was progress with the introduction of regular forums, including separate forums for foreign nationals. IMBNI also noted positive developments following the introduction of the Supporting Prisoners at Risk procedures (part of the Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention Strategy) across the Northern Ireland prison estate. IMBNI found that the procedures have led to more effective triaging with staff taking an individualised approach to the prisoner and diffusing situations which, formerly, would have resulted in use of the special accommodation and anti-ligature clothing. HMI Prisons reported that in adult male prisons in England and Wales, safety outcomes remained poor or not sufficiently good in just over half of their inspections, especially in local prisons.116 Self-harm incidents reached yet another record high of 64,552 incidents in the 12 months to March 2020, up 11% from the previous 12 months.117 In over two-thirds of prisons, HMI Prisons found managers had not done enough to understand and respond to the causes of self-harm. Similarly, levels of violence had continued to rise across most of the estate. Inspectors found that prisons often failed to collate and analyse data well enough to inform effective violence reduction strategies. The use of force had increased since the previous year in just over half the adult male prisons visited. In approximately one-third of prisons, use of force documentation was incomplete or of poor quality. At HMP Hewell, for example, 350 reports were missing. However, a few prisons had improved scrutiny in their use of force, and good practice was found at HMP Wormwood Scrubs, HMP Parc and HMYOI Aylesbury. Safety was a key issue at HMP Bristol, which contributed to HMI Prisons invoking an Urgent Notification. At HMP Bristol, inspectors found ‘chronic and seemingly intractable failings’, which had been evident for the best part of a decade. This was despite improved staffing levels and some new investment. The rate of self-harm was high and there had been two selfinflicted deaths since the last inspection, with one in 10 prisoners monitored for risk of suicide and/or self-harm.118 Yet the recommendations of the PPO, who investigates all deaths in custody in England and Wales, had not been implemented. The PPO reported that around 40% of all prisons had not adequately implemented the recommendations from their investigations. In the 12 months to March 2020, there were 286 deaths in prison custody, a decrease of 10% from 317 deaths in the previous 12 months. Of these, 80 deaths were selfinflicted, an 8% decrease from the 87 selfinflicted deaths in the previous 12 months.119 116 HMI Prisons, October 2020, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons 2019-20 Annual Report, https://www. justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2020/10/HMI-Prisons_Annual-Report-and-Accounts2019-20-WEB.pdf [accessed 30/10/2020] 117 MoJ, July 2020, Safety in Custody Statistics, England and Wales: Deaths in Prison Custody to June 2020 Assaults and Selfharm to March 2020, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/ file/905064/safety-in-custody-q1-2020.pdf [accessed 24/08/2020] 118 HMI Prisons, June 2019, HMCIP Peter Clarke Letter to Secretary of State for Justice RE: Urgent Notification: HM Prison Bristol, https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2019/06/11jun-UN-letter-and-debrieffinal.pdf [accessed 24/08/2020] 119 MoJ, April 2020, Safety in Custody Statistics, England and Wales: Deaths in Prison Custody to March 2020 Assaults and Self-harm to December 2019, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_ data/file/893374/safety-in-custody-q4-2019.pdf [accessed 24/08/2020] 39