成人快手

Lost in a system

By Noel Titheradge

Many believe there is a crisis in British prisons, with understaffing and the drug Spice causing huge problems.

Rob Morris died six months after leaving prison. His family is still trying to understand what went wrong while he was inside.

Warning: Contains offensive language

Rob was often the last prisoner into the visitors鈥� room.

On one of Alison鈥檚 previous attempts to see her son, he hadn鈥檛 turned up at all. The officers simply said they couldn鈥檛 find him.

Now she was here again on one of the hottest days of summer 2016. The room - big enough to hold 40 tables - was sweltering.

Alison and her husband Chris sat down in the middle of the room - waiting and watching intently. A single file of inmates queued - each was methodically patted down before coming in. Alison didn鈥檛 look away for a second - she wanted to see Rob the moment he arrived.

Despite his distinctive close-cropped red hair, it was sometimes hard to make him out among the identical blue and white check shirts worn by the other prisoners.

But this time he was unmissable. Every visitor turned to see Rob enter the room.

鈥淗e was walking like a zombie with his back arched, completely out of it. I was absolutely shocked,鈥� his mother recalls.

Alison leapt up and ran to Rob. Chris, who was queueing for coffee, also rushed to his son. Rob looked on the verge of collapse.

Chris called his son鈥檚 name, says Alison. 鈥淩ob said, 鈥業s that you, Dad?鈥欌��

They brought their son over to where they were sitting. 鈥淚 was shouting, 鈥楥an somebody come and help us?鈥欌�� says Alison.

As Rob sat down, she noticed that he had a T-shirt on underneath his prison-issue top - two layers despite the heat.

Alison wanted to cool him down.

鈥淎s I pulled the T-shirt down I noticed that he had 鈥榯wat鈥� drawn across his chest in Biro.鈥�

Alison shouted again for help from nearby prison officers. The medical team escorted Rob out of the visitors鈥� room and checked him over.

They denied he was under the influence of Spice, but his mother was convinced.

鈥淚t was obvious he鈥檇 taken it, we know he had. I was scared for him and I felt that he was humiliated.鈥�

Also in the visitors鈥� room that day was Ben, an inmate who had served time in six prisons and was then inside after a fraud conviction.

He was talking to his girlfriend when Rob entered the room. 鈥淚鈥檇 seen Robert about, always dazed, high all the time.鈥�

Rob and Ben were being held on the same wing. But it was only after seeing the episode in the visitors鈥� room that Ben got to know Rob.

鈥淗e came in doubled over backwards as if he was going to fall over, sweating.

鈥淲hen the parents sat down I told them, 鈥業鈥檝e seen him on my wing, I will keep an eye on him.鈥欌��

Rob had been transferred to The Mount prison on 11 May 2016 at the age of 24, after serving a large part of his sentence in HMP Peterborough.

It marked one of the final stages of a sad decline.

He had been someone that people loved. One friend would later describe his 鈥渨ildly engaging smile and his eccentric sense of humour鈥�. Another wrote: 鈥淪wimming in the park on boiling hot days will always stay with me, as will making dens and climbing trees - always in places we shouldn鈥檛.鈥�

But Alison had seen a big change in Rob in his penultimate year at secondary school.

Previously a sporty child, playing rugby and cricket at county level, he and his friends then started to smoke cannabis. The drug was supplied by one friend in particular.

鈥淗e was able to supply them with whatever they wanted and they were impressionable.

鈥淎 lot of his friends got through that stage but for Rob, I realise now, from the age of 18 it affected his mental health. That鈥檚 when his behaviour became quite unpredictable.鈥�

There is evidence that cannabis can have an effect on teenagers鈥� mental health. A 2015 study by King鈥檚 College London found that the risk of psychosis was five times higher for those who smoked potent cannabis every day compared with non-users.

Rob didn鈥檛 seem built to cope with addiction.

In his early 20s he travelled to India three times. He had always been interested in the spirituality of India - but his mother thinks he was really just trying to escape from his addiction.

On one of his trips he had to be picked up from Dubai airport by his father.

Rob had experienced a drug-induced breakdown and was in custody after stealing alcohol from an airport shop.

In the year before being sent to prison in the UK, his alcohol and drug addiction led to a string of shoplifting offences and then robbery.

One evening in November 2015 he demanded money from a man leaving a supermarket. When the man refused, he punched him in the face.

Rob was arrested and pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and theft. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison for those offences, with another three months added from a previous suspended sentence.

Alison says Rob was drunk at the time of the robbery and on anti-psychotic medication. He was full of remorse although he had little memory of exactly what he had done.

Rob was classed as a vulnerable person on entering prison because he had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis.

鈥淗e finally was sent to prison after he had been diagnosed with a mental illness,鈥� Alison says.

鈥淎s his family, we were relieved, thinking the prison system will sort this out now.鈥�

Warning: Contains offensive language

Rob was often the last prisoner into the visitors鈥� room.

On one of Alison鈥檚 previous attempts to see her son, he hadn鈥檛 turned up at all. The officers simply said they couldn鈥檛 find him.

Now she was here again on one of the hottest days of summer 2016. The room - big enough to hold 40 tables - was sweltering.

Alison and her husband Chris sat down in the middle of the room - waiting and watching intently. A single file of inmates queued - each was methodically patted down before coming in. Alison didn鈥檛 look away for a second - she wanted to see Rob the moment he arrived.

Despite his distinctive close-cropped red hair, it was sometimes hard to make him out among the identical blue and white check shirts worn by the other prisoners.

But this time he was unmissable. Every visitor turned to see Rob enter the room.

鈥淗e was walking like a zombie with his back arched, completely out of it. I was absolutely shocked,鈥� his mother recalls.

Alison leapt up and ran to Rob. Chris, who was queueing for coffee, also rushed to his son. Rob looked on the verge of collapse.

Chris called his son鈥檚 name, says Alison. 鈥淩ob said, 鈥業s that you, Dad?鈥欌��

They brought their son over to where they were sitting. 鈥淚 was shouting, 鈥楥an somebody come and help us?鈥欌�� says Alison.

As Rob sat down, she noticed that he had a T-shirt on underneath his prison-issue top - two layers despite the heat.
Alison wanted to cool him down.

鈥淎s I pulled the T-shirt down I noticed that he had 鈥榯wat鈥� drawn across his chest in Biro.鈥�

Alison shouted again for help from nearby prison officers. The medical team escorted Rob out of the visitors鈥� room and checked him over.

They denied he was under the influence of Spice, but his mother was convinced.

鈥淚t was obvious he鈥檇 taken it, we know he had. I was scared for him and I felt that he was humiliated.鈥�

Also in the visitors鈥� room that day was Ben, an inmate who had served time in six prisons and was then inside after a fraud conviction.

He was talking to his girlfriend when Rob entered the room. 鈥淚鈥檇 seen Robert about, always dazed, high all the time.鈥�

Rob and Ben were being held on the same wing. But it was only after seeing the episode in the visitors鈥� room that Ben got to know Rob.

鈥淗e came in doubled over backwards as if he was going to fall over, sweating.

鈥淲hen the parents sat down I told them, 鈥業鈥檝e seen him on my wing, I will keep an eye on him.鈥欌��

Rob had been transferred to The Mount prison on 11 May 2016 at the age of 24, after serving a large part of his sentence in HMP Peterborough.

It marked one of the final stages of a sad decline.

He had been someone that people loved. One friend would later describe his 鈥渨ildly engaging smile and his eccentric sense of humour鈥�. Another wrote: 鈥淪wimming in the park on boiling hot days will always stay with me, as will making dens and climbing trees - always in places we shouldn鈥檛.鈥�

But Alison had seen a big change in Rob in his penultimate year at secondary school.

Previously a sporty child, playing rugby and cricket at county level, he and his friends then started to smoke cannabis. The drug was supplied by one friend in particular.

鈥淗e was able to supply them with whatever they wanted and they were impressionable.

鈥淎 lot of his friends got through that stage but for Rob, I realise now, from the age of 18 it affected his mental health. That鈥檚 when his behaviour became quite unpredictable.鈥�

There is evidence that cannabis can have an effect on teenagers鈥� mental health. A 2015 study by King鈥檚 College London found that the risk of psychosis was five times higher for those who smoked potent cannabis every day compared with non-users.

Rob didn鈥檛 seem built to cope with addiction.

In his early 20s he travelled to India three times. He had always been interested in the spirituality of India - but his mother thinks he was really just trying to escape from his addiction.

On one of his trips he had to be picked up from Dubai airport by his father.

Rob had experienced a drug-induced breakdown and was in custody after stealing alcohol from an airport shop.

In the year before being sent to prison in the UK, his alcohol and drug addiction led to a string of shoplifting offences and then robbery.

One evening in November 2015 he demanded money from a man leaving a supermarket. When the man refused, he punched him in the face.

Rob was arrested and pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and theft. He was sentenced to 21 months in prison for those offences, with another three months added from a previous suspended sentence.

Alison says Rob was drunk at the time of the robbery and on anti-psychotic medication. He was full of remorse although he had little memory of exactly what he had done.

Rob was classed as a vulnerable person on entering prison because he had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis.

鈥淗e finally was sent to prison after he had been diagnosed with a mental illness,鈥� Alison says.

鈥淎s his family, we were relieved, thinking the prison system will sort this out now.鈥�

The prison

The Mount is built on the site of a former RAF station in the village of Bovingdon in Hertfordshire. You can still see the remains of the control tower.

Another part of the old RAF base holds an outdoor market where you can get everything from cheap trainers to Chinese food.

Once a tiny medieval village, Bovingdon expanded rapidly after World War Two and is now a 9,000-strong community, firmly ensconced in the London commuter belt.

The prison is home to just under 1,000 men. The names of its wings mostly refer to WW2 bomber pilots - Lakes, Ellis, Fowler, Brister. It鈥檚 category C - a closed prison but one where inmates typically serve shorter sentences for more minor crimes.

But being the nearest category C prison to London, it has a lot of prisoners from the capital. A lot of inner-city mentality lands in rural Hertfordshire, says Michael (not his real name), a prison officer with two decades of experience who has worked in The Mount.

Short-staffing always causes problems. Experienced staff left and were not fully replaced. A high proportion of officers and managers had less than two years鈥� experience.

Many other prisons have also been struggling. In November 2016, the then Justice Secretary Liz Truss announced plans for more funding and for 2,500 extra officers across the system in England and Wales. Up until then officer numbers had fallen from about 25,000 in 2010 to just 18,000.

鈥淎 lot of problems are caused by staff shortages,鈥� says Michael. But while staff shortages have caused many prisons to struggle, another factor has pushed some to the brink - Spice.

Spice was originally a brand name but has come to be used generically for a number of synthetic replacements for cannabis created from the 1980s onwards.

These substances were designed to mimic cannabis, but some experts say they can be up to 100 times more potent.

Soon after their invention they were being used recreationally, marketed as 鈥渓egal highs鈥�. A rapid spread was to follow.

By 2012, the drug was beginning to have a foothold in British prisons and by 2015 it was everywhere.

Spice became illegal in May 2016, under the Psychoactive Substances Act.

There was some progress, but the change in the law did not stop the drugs getting into prison. Ministry of Justice figures obtained by the 成人快手 show Spice seizures in the six months after the ban were 20% down in prisons in England and Wales.

But not a single month passed without Spice being seized in The Mount between October 2015 and June 2017.

Every night, drones would fly in to deliver the drug, taking advantage of the absence of netting, a report by the prison's independent monitoring board noted. That was addressed and drone deliveries were declining, its report suggested last year, but drugs were still getting in.

In February this year, 50 prisoners were randomly tested - 24 had taken a drug of some kind.

Lots of prisons have problems with Spice, and the effect of this drug on prison life is chilling.

鈥淪pice is the worst drug I鈥檝e ever seen,鈥� says Michael, whose duties included administering drug tests.

鈥淯nless you see a full-on Spice attack you can鈥檛 imagine. It鈥檚 like they鈥檙e absolutely paralytically drunk but can also speak.

鈥淚f you didn鈥檛 know better you would say they were fitting. It鈥檚 extreme.鈥�

As well as these dramatic zombie-like 鈥渁ttacks鈥�, Spice has also been linked to a wave of self-inflicted deaths in prison.

Figures from the Prison Ombudsman show that 79 prisoners died in England and Wales between June 2013 and September 2016 who were either known to use synthetic cannabinoids, or were strongly suspected to have taken them before death.

In 42 concluded inquests from this period, 27 of the deaths were deemed to be self-inflicted.

Michael says problems connected with Spice exacerbate short-staffing.

He remembers three or four ambulances attending The Mount in a single day for separate Spice attacks. Officers have to accompany inmates to hospital.

鈥淭he impact on staff is demoralising. For each person in hospital, that takes four staff out of the system for 24 hours.鈥�

In November 2016 alone there were 70 emergency service call outs, mainly for drug-related problems. More than half of those occurred in a single week.

And the popularity of the drug in prisons creates a dangerous Spice economy.

Lots of prisons have problems with Spice, and the effect of this drug on prison life is chilling.

鈥淪pice is the worst drug I鈥檝e ever seen,鈥� says Michael, whose duties included administering drug tests.

鈥淯nless you see a full-on Spice attack you can鈥檛 imagine. It鈥檚 like they鈥檙e absolutely paralytically drunk but can also speak.

鈥淚f you didn鈥檛 know better you would say they were fitting. It鈥檚 extreme.鈥�

As well as these dramatic zombie-like 鈥渁ttacks鈥�, Spice has also been linked to a wave of self-inflicted deaths in prison.

Figures from the Prison Ombudsman show that 79 prisoners died in England and Wales between June 2013 and September 2016 who were either known to use synthetic cannabinoids, or were strongly suspected to have taken them before death.

In 42 concluded inquests from this period, 27 of the deaths were deemed to be self-inflicted.

Michael says problems connected with Spice exacerbate short-staffing.

He remembers three or four ambulances attending The Mount in a single day for separate Spice attacks. Officers have to accompany inmates to hospital.

鈥淭he impact on staff is demoralising. For each person in hospital, that takes four staff out of the system for 24 hours.鈥�

In November 2016 alone there were 70 emergency service call outs, mainly for drug-related problems. More than half of those occurred in a single week.

And the popularity of the drug in prisons creates a dangerous Spice economy.

A drug called Death

Like many other prisons, Spice was easy to get hold of in The Mount.

But there were reports of a particularly virulent strain. It was known simply as Death.

This type of Spice was widely available and led to a number of hospital visits, the prison鈥檚 Independent Monitoring Board said.

Ben says cannabis was everywhere too.

鈥淲hen you come into my wing you smell so much weed, more than I鈥檝e ever smelt outside.

鈥淓ven an idiot officer comes to the wing, which they do every hour, and knows somebody鈥檚 smoking it there.鈥�

Once the drugs were in, many prisoners would do anything to get hold of them.

The debt culture was so acute in The Mount, Michael says, that prisoners who owed money and goods to others were deliberately offending so they could get into the prison鈥檚 segregation unit, or be transferred to another prison.

Ben remembers one particularly vicious assault in The Mount.

鈥淚 went down to the laundry and four or five guys started on someone, punching and kicking him in the face.

鈥淚t was so ferocious. His face was so mashed up he looked like he鈥檇 been hit by a car.鈥�

Ben was told the inmate was attacked because he had not settled a debt.

While Rob was in The Mount, Alison received phone calls as regularly as once a week from her son on different prisoners鈥� mobile phones. Each time he was asking her to transfer money.

鈥淗e told me it was for tobacco and if he didn鈥檛 get the money he would be beaten up.

鈥淚 think what had happened was Robert has been given Spice on tick [credit] and then he had to pay it back.鈥�

Alison says she typically paid 拢25 each time.

鈥淚 was scared for him. It鈥檚 very difficult.鈥�

Like many other prisons, Spice was easy to get hold of in The Mount.

But there were reports of a particularly virulent strain. It was known simply as Death.

This type of Spice was widely available and led to a number of hospital visits, the prison鈥檚 Independent Monitoring Board said.

Ben says cannabis was everywhere too.

鈥淲hen you come into my wing you smell so much weed, more than I鈥檝e ever smelt outside.

鈥淓ven an idiot officer comes to the wing, which they do every hour, and knows somebody鈥檚 smoking it there.鈥�

Once the drugs were in, many prisoners would do anything to get hold of them.

The debt culture was so acute in The Mount, Michael says, that prisoners who owed money and goods to others were deliberately offending so they could get into the prison鈥檚 segregation unit, or be transferred to another prison.

Ben remembers one particularly vicious assault in The Mount.

鈥淚 went down to the laundry and four or five guys started on someone, punching and kicking him in the face.

鈥淚t was so ferocious. His face was so mashed up he looked like he鈥檇 been hit by a car.鈥�

Ben was told the inmate was attacked because he had not settled a debt.

While Rob was in The Mount, Alison received phone calls as regularly as once a week from her son on different prisoners鈥� mobile phones. Each time he was asking her to transfer money.

鈥淗e told me it was for tobacco and if he didn鈥檛 get the money he would be beaten up.

鈥淚 think what had happened was Robert has been given Spice on tick [credit] and then he had to pay it back.鈥�

Alison says she typically paid 拢25 each time.
鈥淚 was scared for him. It鈥檚 very difficult.鈥�

Ben says addicts like Rob are especially vulnerable to bullying in prison. In Rob鈥檚 case he would buy things from 鈥渃anteen鈥� and then give them to other prisoners. Canteen is in effect a shop where each prisoner has a set allowance to spend and the goods are collected on Fridays.

鈥淩ob never spent any money from his canteen [on things for himself],鈥� says Ben. 鈥淚 told the officers, 鈥楽top his canteen, let鈥檚 see who鈥檚 taking this from him because he鈥檚 got nothing in his room.鈥�

鈥淲ho is it taking it from him? If he鈥檚 got money where鈥檚 the money going to? Why is nobody checking the bullying?鈥�

Other prisoners would stand alongside Rob, ready to take his items as soon as they were handed to him. This happened in plain sight in front of officers, says Ben, but they dismissed his concerns.

鈥淭hey鈥檇 say he鈥檚 an addict - he can deal with it. I said you can see he鈥檚 not capable of dealing with it.鈥�

Robert was an easy target for drug dealers inside prison, says Alison.

On one occasion he was held hostage by another inmate for two hours.

Alison obtained prison records of Rob鈥檚 mental and physical health inside The Mount. They said 鈥渟taff could hear Mr Morris being punched and crying out in pain鈥�.

The records said: 鈥淲hen the hostage situation was resolved, Mr Morris denied that he was being punched, which was challenged by staff.鈥�

Rob told officers that he did not want to press charges and did not want to get other prisoners in trouble.

Staff on Rob鈥檚 wing told mental health services that he was a regular Spice user and 鈥渁llows other prisoners to punch [him] as payment鈥�.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what they do, they completely and utterly bully a vulnerable person,鈥� says Alison.

The Spice trade has cultivated bullying in many prisons, says Mike Trace, chief executive of the Forward Trust. The charity helps prisoners with drug and alcohol dependence and ran a centre in The Mount.

Last year the trust stopped running rehabilitation courses because drugs were too readily available across the prison.

鈥淭he scale of the consumption of Spice was also creating violence and intimidation problems because it was gang-led.鈥�

Prisoners undergo 鈥淪pice dares鈥� - ridiculous challenges either while high on Spice or in return for more of the drug, says Ben. Their behaviour is erratic enough without being goaded or forced into worse.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen people being dragged [around the floor] banging their heads into walls,鈥� says Ben.

鈥淧eople watch people on Spice and they just see it as entertainment. This is what keeps them happy in prison.鈥�

Sexual violence was driven by the drug trade, Ben believes.

鈥淚鈥檝e heard of inmates being offered spice for sexual favours. It鈥檚 a bit rampant actually.鈥�

Alison understands that Rob was subjected to sexual abuse inside the prison, recorded in his medical records as a 鈥渟uspected assault鈥�. She says her son鈥檚 release papers also showed he had received rape counselling.

鈥淚 never asked Robert about that because it could humiliate him more.鈥�

She says on release that information was not passed on to his probation officer, psychiatrist or his mental health team.

鈥淎nd so when he came out he had to live with all of those things that had happened to him.鈥�

Ben says addicts like Rob are especially vulnerable to bullying in prison. In Rob鈥檚 case he would buy things from 鈥渃anteen鈥� and then give them to other prisoners. Canteen is in effect a shop where each prisoner has a set allowance to spend and the goods are collected on Fridays.

鈥淩ob never spent any money from his canteen [on things for himself],鈥� says Ben. 鈥淚 told the officers, 鈥楽top his canteen, let鈥檚 see who鈥檚 taking this from him because he鈥檚 got nothing in his room.鈥�

鈥淲ho is it taking it from him? If he鈥檚 got money where鈥檚 the money going to? Why is nobody checking the bullying?鈥�

Other prisoners would stand alongside Rob, ready to take his items as soon as they were handed to him. This happened in plain sight in front of officers, says Ben, but they dismissed his concerns.

鈥淭hey鈥檇 say he鈥檚 an addict - he can deal with it. I said you can see he鈥檚 not capable of dealing with it.鈥�

Robert was an easy target for drug dealers inside prison, says Alison.

On one occasion he was held hostage by another inmate for two hours.

Alison obtained prison records of Rob鈥檚 mental and physical health inside The Mount. They said 鈥渟taff could hear Mr Morris being punched and crying out in pain鈥�.

The records said: 鈥淲hen the hostage situation was resolved, Mr Morris denied that he was being punched, which was challenged by staff.鈥�

Rob told officers that he did not want to press charges and did not want to get other prisoners in trouble.

Staff on Rob鈥檚 wing told mental health services that he was a regular Spice user and 鈥渁llows other prisoners to punch [him] as payment鈥�.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what they do, they completely and utterly bully a vulnerable person,鈥� says Alison.

The Spice trade has cultivated bullying in many prisons, says Mike Trace, chief executive of the Forward Trust. The charity helps prisoners with drug and alcohol dependence and ran a centre in The Mount.

Last year the trust stopped running rehabilitation courses because drugs were too readily available across the prison.

鈥淭he scale of the consumption of Spice was also creating violence and intimidation problems because it was gang-led.鈥�

Prisoners undergo 鈥淪pice dares鈥� - ridiculous challenges either while high on Spice or in return for more of the drug, Ben says. Their behaviour is erratic enough without being goaded or forced into worse.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen people being dragged [around the floor] banging their heads into walls,鈥� says Ben.

鈥淧eople watch people on Spice and they just see it as entertainment. This is what keeps them happy in prison.鈥�

Sexual violence was driven by the drug trade, Ben believes.

鈥淚鈥檝e heard of inmates being offered spice for sexual favours. It鈥檚 a bit rampant actually.鈥�

Alison understands that Rob was subjected to sexual abuse inside the prison, recorded in his medical records as a 鈥渟uspected assault鈥�. She says her son鈥檚 release papers also showed he had received rape counselling.

鈥淚 never asked Robert about that because it could humiliate him more.鈥�

She says on release that information was not passed on to his probation officer, psychiatrist or his mental health team.

鈥淎nd so when he came out he had to live with all of those things that had happened to him.鈥�

Unseen struggles

鈥淚鈥檝e seen people dance on netting, be jabbering wrecks on the stairs, tell officers they love them.鈥�

Spice鈥檚 impact on existing mental health problems is devastating, says Michael.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 blame the prisoners. They can鈥檛 get a beer out the fridge after a bad day. I come home and watch a film. That鈥檚 my escapism.鈥�

He says the general mental health of prisoners has been in decline for years.

鈥淲hen I joined the service two decades ago, there were very few mental health problems. Now it seems only one in three hasn鈥檛 got a mental health issue. It鈥檚 that prevalent.

鈥淚鈥檝e had people walk up to me and slice their own stomach open.鈥�

More than one in three (37%) prisoners report having mental health or well-being issues at any one time, according to surveys carried out by HM Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales.

The number of health emergencies and mental health interventions is rising throughout the prison system, says Mike Trace. Forward Trust tries to track them. Spice is causing both cardiac and respiratory problems as well as psychosis.

鈥淭he level of use of cannabis in prisons has been high for decades and what we鈥檝e seen is a partial replacement of cannabis and tobacco with Spice. That鈥檚 the explanation for the much higher rates of hospitalisation and psychosis,鈥� says Mr Trace.

In April 2015, an unannounced inspection of The Mount by the Chief Inspector of Prisons found that while secondary mental health care provision was deemed good, primary mental health services - the first port of call for inmates - were inadequate.

Michael has seen everything there is to see in prison. He says he鈥檚 witnessed 16 riots, cut down 12 inmates who had attempted suicide, and dealt with six deaths.

He believes more sheltered accommodation needs to be provided for low-level offenders with mental health problems.

鈥淭here is still a view from judges that for people with diagnosed mental health illness, prisons are a place of safety,鈥� says the President of the Prison Governors Association, Andrea Albutt.

鈥淭hey are not a place of safety. Someone with mental health illness is very vulnerable.鈥�

Dying too soon

Just before he was released from The Mount in September 2016 Rob wrote a letter, in effect for himself, setting out what he hoped to achieve when he got out.

It started: 鈥淢y main aim on my release from prison is to make my parents proud.鈥�

The letter was an assessment of the flaws in his character and what he needed to do to make things better and restore his relationships with his family. He talked of his severe depression. And of giving up smoking Spice.

He finished by writing: 鈥淚 wonder when it was that I chose to get off the ride - one too many trips and an unstable mind makes for a complete mess.鈥�

Robert Morris died on 3 March 2017 at the age of 25.

It was just six months after he left The Mount, although he had also spent a stint back at HMP Peterborough in that time after being arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

He was found slumped in a chair in his room in a supported living accommodation unit, having inhaled his own vomit after drinking heavily.

The coroner鈥檚 report into Rob鈥檚 death recorded a verdict of misadventure. But it criticised a failure to rehabilitate him and the lack of attention paid to his mental illness.

鈥淒uring his time in prison he suffered significant abuse but his severe mental illness does not seem to have been fully recognised or addressed and an opportunity for beneficial treatment that this period of detainment afforded was missed,鈥� the coroner said.

(Below: Alison, Rob's mother)

From early 2015 it had been clearly established that Rob 鈥渟uffered from paranoid schizophrenia exacerbated by his alcohol and illicit drug abuse鈥�.

There鈥檚 no doubt Rob Morris must have been a complex prisoner to deal with. His prison records show he refused or failed to take medication on five occasions.

But it's clear he suffered a lot during his time in prison. In the first few months the records state that he was held hostage, as well as suffering bruises and abrasions on his body, a number of Spice incidents, suspected relapses of schizophrenia and a suspected sexual assault. After nearly three and a half months he was moved to a different wing.

Ben believes the prison was responsible for his death.

鈥淭he Mount killed him 100%. I鈥檒l stand anywhere in the world and say that.

鈥淚f he鈥檇 had 1% of the right help he鈥檇 be here now. The system did not care about Rob.

鈥淚f I had a headache you鈥檇 tell me to go to the hospital. He had mental issues - they put him in a prison with a thousand people from the general population who are messed up anyway.鈥�

Alison says the prison can鈥檛 be blamed wholly for her son鈥檚 death.

鈥淩obert was leading a risky life. Rob was sent to prison because he had committed crime, low-level crime.

鈥淸But] he was sent into a den of drug taking, abuse, bullying and was not kept safe. So what was the point of it all?鈥�

Alison doesn鈥檛 dispute that her son should have been sent to prison - she just wishes there was some way that people like Rob could be looked after once inside.

鈥淲hen a young person with complex needs such as Rob is sent to prison [they should be] rehabilitated.

鈥淚n fact, prison was less safe than the environment he鈥檇 come from. There were not enough staff there to deal with specific issues people may have.鈥�

People like Rob are often going to have difficulties in prison, says Andrea Albutt.

鈥淧risoners with mental health problems are vulnerable so are ripe to be abused by the stronger prisoners.

鈥淲e have a lot of people who drop between mental health and segregation units.... It鈥檚 really difficult to manage them - they disrupt wings and that further adds to what鈥檚 going on and it鈥檚 destabilising. If you have one or two people who are unwell it can have a massive impact.鈥�

The 成人快手鈥檚 request for an interview with the governor of The Mount was declined.

But in a statement, the Ministry of Justice said its 鈥渟incere condolences are with the family and friends of Mr Morris鈥�.

鈥淭he safety and welfare of people within our custody is our priority and all prisons, including The Mount, have procedures to identify, manage and support people with mental health issues,鈥� it added.

The POA, which represents rank-and-file officers, has for some time been raising the issue of psychoactive substances and the potential personality changes and cognitive function damage caused to inmates.

It is well known that prisoners bully other prisoners to take a drug in order to establish the strength of a batch, says Andy Baxter, from the POA鈥檚 National Executive Committee.

鈥淯nfortunately, despite government claims to have addressed the recruitment emergency, our members are simply rushed off their feet in the chaos that is a Prison Service in crisis, perpetuated in part by the availability of psychoactive substances.

鈥淧rison officers want to do a good job, but staffing levels of five or six officers to 190 prisoners make it impossible for staff to be all places at all times.

鈥淭he chaos within our prisons needs to slow down - things need to go back to being controlled and safe.鈥�

In July 2018, new figures showed that almost a third of prisoners randomly tested in The Mount over 12 months had taken drugs. Across the prison system, the figure was one in five.

Alison is sure that it was The Mount where Rob鈥檚 condition deteriorated most, rather than in Peterborough where he spent more of his sentence.

But it would be wrong to suggest that The Mount is a particularly bad prison. The problems it has are common to varying degrees across the prison system in England and Wales.

When it was last inspected in 2015, The Mount was deemed to be 鈥渞easonably safe鈥� and several aspects of the prison were praised or deemed better than comparable prisons. But the then chief inspector of prisons Nick Hardwick identified problems in key areas.

鈥淭oo many victims of bullying sought sanctuary in the segregation unit and most were then moved out to prisons with insufficient effort to resolve their concerns and reintegrate them back on the wings where appropriate.

鈥淧risoners told us drugs and alcohol were easily available, despite determined efforts by the prison to prevent this.鈥�

On 31 July 2017, almost a year after Rob left The Mount, there was an illustration of the pressures that can build up in a prison.

For two days armed inmates took control of all of one wing and half of another. Specialist 鈥渢ornado鈥� riot-trained staff were called in.

As many as 30 prisoners were involved - threatening prison officers and smashing windows. In the middle of the chaos, a report was published warning of 鈥渟evere鈥� staff shortages at the jail.

A year afterwards, the Independent Monitoring Board said the prison had been 鈥渓ocked into a vicious spiral of decline鈥�.

The current Chief Inspector of Prisons, Peter Clarke, has said that jails have become "unacceptably violent and dangerous places" with attempted reforms undermined by the presence of Spice and similar drugs among inmates. In a recent report he criticised 鈥渢he shockingly high numbers who acquire a drug habit while they are detained鈥�.

But the Ministry of Justice says it has tackled the rise in Spice by 鈥渂ringing in 300 specialist drug dogs, new body scanners and making it a criminal offence to possess NPS [synthetic drugs such as Spice] in prison鈥�.

Ms Albutt does not think these changes have had an effect yet and says drug use and mental health problems remain ubiquitous across the prison system.

The effect of funding cuts, and the loss of experienced staff, was exacerbated by other changes.

鈥淎 lot of prisons are in dire straits. We lost years and years of knowledge and at the same time the demographics of prisoners started to change so we had younger, more violent, less respectful men in prison.

鈥淥rganised crime gangs managed to get a hold of our prisons. Staff are scared. Self-harm, violence, prisoner on prisoner - every stat has gone up.

鈥淲e need more technology. We need body scanners. We need to have really well-resourced security departments joined up with the police. We are recruiting 2,500 officers but they鈥檙e brand new and coming into a prison service that has been in crisis for a long time. Once we get experienced officers and trust with prisoners - it will take time.鈥�

The death of a former prisoner isn鈥檛 the kind of thing that normally makes headlines. But Rob鈥檚 family and friends will always remember that prison was a place where he couldn鈥檛 find the help to be who he wanted to be.

鈥淚 am not ashamed of my son,鈥� says Alison. 鈥淚鈥檓 actually quite proud of Rob because he suffered an awful lot in his life.

鈥淎t his funeral we had 200 people. They remembered the Robert that was well.鈥�

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Author: Noel Titheradge
Illustrations: Rebecca Hendin
Online production: Ben Milne
Editor: Finlo Rohrer

Photography: Press Association; Shutterstock; Getty Images; Science Photo Library

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