Prison officers gave ‘misleading, inaccurate’ statements on prisoner deaths

Some prison officers have given misleading and inaccurate statements in the aftermath of the deaths of prisoners, the Inspector of Prisons Judge Michael Reilly has found.

In a report into 34 deaths of prisoners in the 2 ½ year period to June 2014 – 15 in jail and 19 on temporary release – Judge Reilly has been very critical of the Irish Prison Service and some prison staff.

He says when deaths occur, some of the documentation supplied to him includes operational statements from prison officers. “In a number of my investigations I have found such statements to be minimal in content, misleading and in certain cases inaccurate,” he concluded.

Governors and senior staff needed to read his reports and implement recommendations even when the reports related to other jails. Any failure to do so would be considered “a serious matter”.

Not monitored

The judge added now-deceased vulnerable and at-risk prisoners were at times not monitored properly by prison staff even when placed in special observation cells specifically for that purpose.

Some prisoners’ medical records were incomplete to the extent it was impossible to determine if the deceased had been afforded access to psychiatric services.

In a number of the investigations, he found a lack of any line management structure for the implementation of prison operating procedures and compliance with orders by prison governors or other senior staff. In some cases, orders were not followed.

Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said the shortcomings raised were being addressed.

“The Irish Prison Service has assured me that governors and prison management are fully aware of the necessity to ensure that the appropriate checks are carried out,” she said.