Deerbolt riot: History of incidents at Barnard Castle institution

Now 18 inmates at HM YOI Deerbolt, near Barnard Castle, are being held in segregation unit or have been moved to other prisons in the area.

The Northern Echo has looked at some of the other recent incidents at the prison, which opened in 1973, and looks after around 500 inmates aged 18 to 21.

DRUGS SMUGGLING

In November, two women and a former inmate were sentenced over a plan to smuggle drugs into the institution.

Chanise Lee Oliver was searched on arrival at Deerbolt as she visited boyfriend James McGonnell, who was serving a sentence there, at the time.

Durham Crown Court was told she tried to smuggle almost 20-grams of cannabis in three smaller wrappers concealed in her bra.

Oliver, 22, of Keats Walk, South Shields, subsequently admitted conspiracy to supply prohibited drugs, plus taking a mobile phone and drugs into a prison and was given a 12-month community order.

McGonnell, 21, of Holbein Road, South Shields, also admitted all three charges and was given a further 20 weeks imprisonment.

Tracy Carney, 49, of Wellbeck Road, Newcastle, admitted the conspiracy charge, and was also given a 12-month community order.

Last March, two prisoners received hospital treatment after an incident broke out, but no staff members were hurt.

LOVE LETTER SCANDAL

In November 2018, a prison officer has appeared in court accused of entering into a relationship with a serving prisoner.

Stacey Louise Sutherland

The following month, Stacey Louise Sutherland, 27, who was convicted of a single charge of misconduct in a public office, was spared prison.

The alleged offence related to a six-week period between April and May in 2018.

Sutherland cried when was she handed an eight-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work.

ROOFTOP STAND-OFF

In 2015, two inmates climbed onto the roof to go sunbathing - but came down five hours later when they got cold.

William Palmer and Jonathan Knox were said to have been angry about cuts to their family visits and "association time".

Knox was also furious that an application to attend his grandmother's funeral was knocked back on the day of the service.

The pair took a hammer from a workshop and made their way to the roof.

Palmer and Knox, both 21 at the time, admitted a charge of criminal damage after wrecking felt roofing, industrial ducting, doors, windows, and toilet plumbing, and had ten months added to their sentences.

WATCHDOG REPORT

Last January, the prevalence of gangs, increasing levels of violence, staff shortages and an ongoing problem with drugs were raised as concerns at Deerbolt in a report by the prison watchdog Independent Monitoring Board.

The board said it believed prisoners were treated fairly but was "concerned about the prisoners who spend the majority of their time on the accommodation wings due to a lack of provision of suitable activity".

Board members said the lack of activity did not prepare prisoners for release while they were also concerned at the lack of programmes available for sex offenders.

The board called on the Government to tackle issues with violence across all prisons and said the levels of violence at Deerbolt had increased in the last six months of the reporting period between October 2017 and September 2018.

Gang rivalries were also a problem as prisoners are sent from across the country and, despite officers now wearing body cameras, the levels of violence and bullying continued to rise.

The report said an increase in mobile phones and drugs entering the prison had particularly contributed to gangs forming and staff had been assaulted, with many of them feeling under pressure and "exposed to potential threats of violence".

Deerbolt YOI

RISE IN VIOLENCE

In April 2018, similar concerns about the rise in violence were raised by the Chief Inspector of Prisons Peter Clarke following an unannounced inspection in conjunction with Ofsted and Care Quality Commission.

Mr Clarke said the jail needed to pay more attention to the “governance of use of force by staff”.

A total of 16 per cent of prisoners reported that they had acquired a drug habit in Deerbolt and this, Mr Clarke said, underlined the importance for the jail of understanding and addressing the issue of drugs.

Mr Clarke said: “So far as safety was concerned, the amount of violence had gone up, but by the time of this inspection had levelled off; overall, it was not at high levels compared to other similar establishments.

“There were few prisoners who felt the need to isolate themselves because of fears for their own safety, but more needed to be done to support victims of violence.

“There were also clear indications that more attention needed to be paid to the governance of the use of force by staff.

“Body-worn video cameras were not consistently used, and footage was not reviewed as often as it should be.

“Where force had been used, there were too many missing staff reports.

“Documentary and video evidence reviewed during the inspection did not always show that de-escalation techniques had been used appropriately.

“The presence and use of illicit drugs in the prison was becoming an increasing problem.”