Portland YOI given 'performance of concern' rating in latest report
27% of the 515 prisoners in Portland YOI are in crowded accommodation
Portland Young Offenders Institution has been given a performance rating of “concern" according to the Ministry of Justice's prison performance report.
The assessment is judged on four criteria: security, drug and alcohol addiction, training and readjustment to society.
HMP/YOI Portland received a score of just 56% in the the year up to March 2023, which is a slight improvement on its last rating of 53% in 2019.
A spokesperson from the Prison Reform Trust said: "Prisons are experiencing a perfect storm of a rapidly rising prison population with nowhere to put them, and working conditions which are driving staff away in droves.”
Data from the Home Office discovered prisoners living in overcrowded conditions increased from 21% in 2021-22, to 23% in the most recent year to March.
Roughly 27% of the 515 prisoners in Portland were in crowded accommodation.
Meanwhile in England and Wales, only 13 of the 119 prisons evaluated were rated "outstanding,” down from 2019-20 where 19 prisons achieved the top mark.
The Ministry of Justice report also found an increase in the number of prisons rated of "serious concern" compared with the previous year, nine prisons fell into this category.