Prisoners kick up stink over ‘hygiene-related’ scraps over cells with smelly lags
A lack of hot showers, clothing and a laundry malfunction saw tensions boil over at HMP Chelmsford – ‘If you’ve got a padmate who stinks to high heaven, it is going to end in trouble’
Prisoners are kicking up a stink…over having to share a cell with lags with a B.O problem. Just under 500 of the 720-inmates at HMP Chelmsford in Essex share a cell – that’s 69% of the jail’s population.
The problem over whiffy cellmates was raised by inspectors from the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) in its latest report. It states that not only was there a lack of hot showers for most prisoners, but that a lack of jail-issue clothing and a breakdown of washing machines meant a rise in ‘hygiene-related’ altercations among lags.
The report states than when the washing machines broke down, jail bosses sent laundry to HMP Ranby in Notts – that’s 146 miles away.
It states: “In our previous two years, we have reported that ‘kit’ – which includes clothes, bedding and towels – delivery was unreliable.
“Unfortunately, this has still been an issue in this reporting year; if anything, it has got worse. The laundry was closed for several weeks, owing to problems with the machines.
“This issue was mitigated by sending weekly loads of dirty washing to HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire.”
The report said inmates had inundated jail chiefs with complaints about a lack of hot showers, prison clothing and their own clothes being washed properly.
It states: “We received written and verbal complaints from men…stating that they had not had a kit change in seven weeks.
“In this instance, wing staff were not collecting the bussed-in clean washing from the out-of-service laundry.
“The knock-on effect of this was to cause trouble in the wing population, with some men getting into and/or fearing getting into altercations with their cell mates through a perceived lack of hygiene.”
Referring to the hot showers, or lack of, the report stated: “Men complained about cold showers.
“Not every wing has thermostatically controlled water, meaning that the system may require manual intervention when there is a short ‘cold snap’.
“Water was often not given enough time to heat up and the hot water tended to run out early.”
It added: “Our most significant concerns include overcrowding…69% of prisoners share cells designed for one person.”
“This conflicts with the requirements of decency and respect and is in contravention of the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners.”
A prison insider said prisons were ‘smelly enough’ without adding a malodorous cellmate into the mix.
He said: “The pervading smell inside a prison is a mixture of sweat, cannabis or Spice fumes, cooking smells, stale air and cleaning products.
“It depends where you are in the prison, but the one place you want to be in control of the smell is your cell.
“If you’ve got a padmate who stinks to high heaven, it is going to end in trouble, that’s for sure.”
