A HIGHLY critical official report into conditions at Hydebank Wood prison in south Belfast has suggested that at times "the humane treatment of prisoners was of secondary importance" to the prison regime.
The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) complained of the inmates becoming the "helpless pawns in the ongoing poor working relationship between the Northern Ireland Prison Service and its frontline staff" at Hydebank. Hydebank Wood currently houses 165 young male prisoners mostly aged 17-21 and separately has 57 women prisoners. "The women and young men had to endure appalling living conditions," according to the report.
The board complained of the high number of periods when prisoners were confined to their cells. "In several cases, on account of enforced cell-sharing, two young men confined to a small cell designed for one, for many consecutive days and had to consume all their meals in a very restricted space that contained a lavatory bowl," it said.
"The IMB considers that the duration and frequency of use of cellular confinement and loss of association were excessive and were indicative of a punitive regime," it said. "Many of those locked away from their peers in solitary confinement appeared to be mentally ill or personality disordered," the report added.
"It seemed to the Independent Monitoring Board at times that the humane treatment of prisoners was of secondary importance."
The IMB also referred to "the marked over-representation of Protestants" among prison staff while the majority of the prisoner population was Catholic.
The IMB made over 50 recommendations to improve conditions at the prison which the Prison Service said it is addressing. The Prison Service however described the report as "dated" because it dealt with the 12-month period to March 2008.