Brinsford youth prison safety criticised

A youth prison near Wolverhampton must do more to protect inmates, according to a report.

It revealed a third of detainees at Brinsford Young Offenders Institution told government inspectors they had been victimised by other prisoners.

The HM Inspectorate of Prisons report recognised improvements over recent years but found flaws in procedures were jeopardising safety.

The National Offender Management Service said more needed to be done.

More than 400 young adults were held at Brinsford which was labelled a "disgrace" by the chief inspector of prisons in 2001.

The latest findings were from inspections in November and December.

The current Chief Inspector, Anne Owers, said it would not be easy to ensure Brinsford made further progress.

She noted that its juvenile unit is due to close and it had also has had to absorb budget cuts.

She also identified poor management of activity and learning schemes for inmates.

"That is not just not good for them but also not good for the rest of us because it means they're not going to get the skills they need to get work outside prison, which means their risk of re-offending is very high," she told the BBC.

Phil Wheatley, Director General of the National Offender Management Service, said he was pleased the report recognised progress had been made but accepted there remained more to do.

"Staff at Brinsford manage a challenging young adult population and will continue to work hard to ensure effective public protection and to reduce their risk of re-offending on release, he said.