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Titan prison warning over inmate safety

26/08/2008

Plans to build Titan prisons housing up to 2,500 inmates will put vulnerable prisoners at risk from "those who might cause them harm", a prisons watchdog has found.

The National Council of Independent Monitoring Boards said the government's consultation on the scheme was a "fait accompli", indicating the decision has already been made.

Saying there were "considerable concerns" about the plans, the council said: "there will be major and potentially dangerous consequences if services such as health and education are provided centrally, as it will be difficult to protect the most vulnerable prisoners from those who might cause them harm".

The council joins an ever-growing coalition opposed to the scheme, including opposition parties and prison reform groups such as the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prison Reform Trust.

Council president Dr Peter Selby said: "Most of our boards favour smaller units and have negative experience of large establishments and clustering of prisons to achieve efficiency, but at the cost of effective rehabilitation.

"We shall continue to emphasise and carry out our task of monitoring fairness and respect wherever people are imprisoned, and point out the major disadvantages of prisons of a size that present serious management problems."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "These new Titan prison complexes will not be warehouses - prisoners will be accommodated in small units capable of addressing their needs and offending behaviour."