TRAINING OF PRISON OFFICERS
321. We know from evidence given to this Committee
that the initial training period given to a Prison Officer has
been reduced from 11 weeks to 8 weeks. Paul Goggins MP told us
that:
'…it was the case that officers received
11 weeks' training. They now receive eight weeks training and
that focuses mainly on security and resettlement.'[216]
322. Evidence taken from the Prison Officers' Association
confirmed that further mandatory training has been abolished and
that training to encourage and motivate prisoners to learn has
never been a part of their training:
'The initial training (for a prison officer)
is 7 weeks. There is no minimum qualification to become a prison
officer. The mandatory training which took place for prison officers
throughout their career has now been abolished and it is down
to each individual governor.. how they utilise their budget. There
has never been an element of prison officers' training that would
give the skill to impart skill to others.'[217]
323. Brian Caton agreed that the seven week initial
training period for prison officers is inadequate. He said:
'I do not believe that seven weeks is adequate for
the training of a prison officer. I do not believe that 12 or
16 is; I really do not. I would like to see the training more
challenging. I would like to see the training longer.'[218]
324. The importance of appropriate training for prison
officers to bring the UK in line with international standards,
was highlighted by Professor Andrew Coyle:
'The key people in prisons remain uniformed prison
officers. They are the key to a successfully managed prison and
I think, again using my international experience, we have one
of the shortest and most basic forms of training for prison staff
of any country, certainly in Western Europe. The initial training
of prison staff was recently within the last year or so reduced
from something like eleven weeks down to eight or nine weeks now.
So we take someone in off the street, we give them eight or nine
weeks' basic training and then we ask them to go to deal with
young offenders, to deal with high security prisoners or to deal
with women, or to deal with long-term prisoners. Now, that passes
a message about what our priorities are and what we expect of
our staff. The staff, I think, in reality deliver much more than
we are entitled to expect and one could contrast that with a number
of other countries in Western Europe where the training of prison
officers equates to the training of a nurse or a teacher, a two
or three year course, because if that is really what we want the
staff to deliver then we have to give them proper training. So
while the Prison Service has, I think, made significant improvements
in the processes, there are these basic underlying needs which
do not contribute to what you call a learning environment. Most
prisons are not learning environments.'[219]
325. Professor David Wilson added:
'It therefore concentrated on security, security,
security, and in the same way that Andrew (Coyle) has been reflecting
that it has been reduced, that is in a sense to reflect the external
pressures that have been placed on the Prison Service at a time
of expansion where prison officer numbers are needed.'[220]
326. When asked if there should be a minimum entry
requirement for prison officers, Brian Caton said:
'Test them and give them a qualification that
is unique to that particular role. Being a prison officer is a
unique job. Is not something that is easily learnt and I do not
think it necessarily follows that if you can get through a Masters
degree or get an honorary doctorate in the study of mental health
and crime like me that you necessarily would make a good prison
officer.'[221]
327. If the Government is to recognise the important
role played by prison officers in relation to prison education,
then it must invest in prison officers appropriately, to enable
them to undertake the sort of behaviours and activities we have
recommended. As Professor Augustin John said:
'it seems to me that the conditions have got
to be created wherein prison staff could have an investment made
in them so that they could acquire the capacity to assist offenders
and aid the rehabilitation process ... so that, while they may
not have expertise in particular areas of education provision
or delivery, they should have some general competences in terms
of facilitating people's development.'[222]
328. Paul Goggins MP agreed that if the Government
wants to get the most out of Prison Officers, they will have to
properly invest in their training. He told this Committee that
Prison Officers should have an entitlement to receive appropriate
training:
'I think that staff do have an entitlement to
expect to receive appropriate training. In the end, what are they
being trained for? They are being trained to work with and motivate
the prisoners who are in their custody and care. What we are trying
to do in prisons is to change lives and that requires tremendous
skill on the part of an officer who has to be responsible for
security and safety but also has to be able to motivate and help
people change their behaviour and attitude. That is a highly skilled
job.'[223]
329. The
initial training period of 8 weeks for prison officers is totally
inadequate. The Government must encourage the development of prison
officers if prison staff are to be expected to encourage the development
of prisoners. The initial training period must be significantly
increased to a level that reflects an appropriate investment to
enable prison officers to play a key role in the education and
training of prisoners. Furthermore, prison officers should have
an equivalent entitlement to training and development once they
are in post.
SUCH CHANGES ARE OUTSIDE THE REMIT
OF THE DFES
330. Professor Andrew Coyle told the Committee that
it is the very nature of prisons that result in these barriers
to prison education:
'I think by definition the prison environment
does not lend itself, obviously, to the sorts of things that we
have been discussing today. In many respects what it achieves
it achieves despite its environment. Prison is a coercive environment.
People who are there do not want to be there. I think one has
to see all of the positive activities which go on in prison within
this overall context.'[224]
331. Paul Goggins MP told us that the scale of reform
that would be required to remove such barriers is being considered
at present:
'The second comment is simply to emphasise that
this discussion, this inquiry and the work that we are doing to
develop further education and skills training in prison is happening
within the biggest reform of prisons and probation that has been
undertaken for decades as we develop the National Offender Management
Service'[225]
332. The
barriers to prison education that exist within the regime itself,
including overcrowding, churn, staffing shortages, and staff attitudes
to education, cannot be overcome by the DfES alone. These are
complex and long-established barriers that need tackling from
within the prison service itself if the provision of prison education
and training is to be significantly improved. The Government should
be aiming to develop a culture within prisons in which education
and skills are a priority. The Home Office must take the lead
in the large scale reform that is necessary to remove these barriers,
and we encourage them to be bold in the reform of prisons and
probation that is reportedly taking place at present.
189 Q 35 Back
190
Home Affairs Committee, First report of session 2004-05, Rehabilitation
of Prisoners, HC 193-I. Back
191
Ev 178 Back
192
Q 479 Back
193
Ev 4 Back
194
The Carter Report on Correctional Services and its response, Reducing
Crime; Changing Lives Home Office, January 2004 Back
195
For example, we know that the significant decrease in the rate
of imprisonment in Finland since the 1950s was the result of deliberate,
long-term, and systematic policy choices.Lappi-Seppälä
Tapio 2001, "Sentencing and Punishment in Finland: The Decline
of the Repressive Ideal." In Punishment and Penal Systems
in Western Countries, edited by M. Tonry and R. Frase. New
York: Oxford University Press. New York. Törnudd Patrik,
1993, Fifteen Years of Decreasing Prisoner Rates in Finland.
National Research Institute of Legal Policy. Research Communication
8/1993 Back
196
Q 760 Back
197
Q 6940 Back
198
Q 45 Back
199
Q 106 Back
200
Q 40 Back
201
Information was sent to the Forum on Prisoner Education in preparation
for the Directory of Offender Education.The FPE collated this
information for this Committee. Back
202
Ev 79 Back
203
Q 7 Back
204
Ev 3 Back
205
Ev 4 Back
206
Q 1042 Back
207
Ev 4 Back
208
Q 1042 Back
209
Q 63 Back
210
Q 378 Back
211
Ev 94 Back
212
All-Party Parliamentary Group for FE and Lifelong Learning, Prison
Education in 2004 and Beyond Back
213
Q 41 Back
214
Q 1054 Back
215
Q 41 Back
216
Q 770 Back
217
Q 329 Back
218
Q 1032 Back
219
Q 65 Back
220
Q 70 Back
221
Q 1047 Back
222
Q 405 Back
223
Q 773 Back
224
Q 41 Back
225
Q 757 Back
