:00:00. > :00:00.of Europe's biggest jails. Wandsworth Prison. They have been
:00:00. > :00:00.given new powers over budgets and the daily regime. This film contains
:00:00. > :00:15.graphic footage which some of you may find disturbing. SHOUTING. This
:00:16. > :00:21.is Wandsworth Prison. The BBC has been given unprecedented access
:00:22. > :00:28.inside a British jail. Over seven days, we saw the violence and fear.
:00:29. > :00:36.One person they are... The wing looks secure. You become a victim.
:00:37. > :00:42.The drugs feeding and addiction inside. Heroin, crack, anything you
:00:43. > :00:50.like. Right now. Is it easy to get Canada's? It is. It is. It is. --
:00:51. > :00:56.cannabis. The prison officers pushed to the edge. I am the most stressed
:00:57. > :01:01.I have been in 24 years. And the government demanding change. Without
:01:02. > :01:15.reform, I don't know how long we can sustain the prison system. SHOUTING.
:01:16. > :01:18.BANGING. Our prisons are changing. The government is reforming six
:01:19. > :01:22.jails in England and Wales by handing back control over budgets
:01:23. > :01:28.and contracts to their governors. Wandsworth Prison is one of them. We
:01:29. > :01:40.spent six months persuading the Ministry of Justice to allow us
:01:41. > :01:51.inside. This is what we found. BLEEP. B Wing. Jennifer, a new
:01:52. > :01:56.recruit, and Steve, a Wandsworth Prison veteran, face the first alarm
:01:57. > :02:05.of the day. An inmate is refusing to go back to his cell. ALARM GOING
:02:06. > :02:16.OFF. 20 years ago, this man murdered another in a fight. Gets down! This
:02:17. > :02:31.is his 38th jail. He told us he was trapped in a cycle of violence. I
:02:32. > :02:38.have been sliced in the face, so many cuts. Non-stop violence.
:02:39. > :02:45.Violence? Non-stop violence. Three broken bones in my hands. I said you
:02:46. > :02:49.are putting me in a predicament where I have no alternative but to
:02:50. > :02:53.utilise violence for my safety. That is counter-productive to my
:02:54. > :02:59.progression. A to go home. Psychologically, it is torture.
:03:00. > :03:08.Mentally, it is difficult. And they are so shortstaffed in here this
:03:09. > :03:14.place cannot run. It is unsafe. The staff are in fear. This is
:03:15. > :03:21.Jennifer's first job inside a prison. Four weeks in. Yeah. Are you
:03:22. > :03:29.shaking? I it. You can feel the rush. I have done so much. The first
:03:30. > :03:36.time I used my techniques. It all goes up in here. Is this the job for
:03:37. > :03:55.you? You just have to get used to it. The times inside Wandsworth
:03:56. > :03:59.Prison felt relentless. And this is an understaffed Victorian jail. And
:04:00. > :04:04.alarm goes off because there was a fight in the courtyard. At least one
:04:05. > :04:09.officer has been injured. Are you all right? To understand what
:04:10. > :04:16.happened, we looked at the CCTV footage. On the left you can see one
:04:17. > :04:23.inmate attacked and other with a chair leg, breaking his arm. In
:04:24. > :04:28.seconds the fight spreads We are told this was planned. Two south
:04:29. > :04:35.London gangs fighting over respect. Every day I wake up... Days later we
:04:36. > :04:46.tracked down the man who started the fight. A rare opportunity to ask
:04:47. > :04:53.why. Everyday violence happens. From this postcode and that pose could...
:04:54. > :05:00.Day follow you in here, the gangs? Everywhere you go you meet a gang
:05:01. > :05:04.member. And when you walked out in that yard... I walked out there and
:05:05. > :05:11.I had to fight. I had to fight because if I did not I won't be a
:05:12. > :05:21.man. So after all of that fighting I came back in and I thought, yes. I
:05:22. > :05:26.made it. But this is the cost. An inmate hurt and angry. He was
:05:27. > :05:31.weaving the stick around and wrecked my arm. -- waving. You have to do
:05:32. > :05:35.what you have to do. There is nothing you can do about it. Three
:05:36. > :05:40.days it took them to take me to hospital. Three days. You are
:05:41. > :05:44.vulnerable in here. I have many friends around me so there is no
:05:45. > :05:50.problem for me. But with another person I could be very vulnerable.
:05:51. > :05:54.The threat of violence was everywhere. This prisoner had oil in
:05:55. > :06:06.water and sugar thrown over his face. -- oil in. Another was beaten
:06:07. > :06:11.up. Just another fight he said. You are a victim. You cannot defend
:06:12. > :06:21.yourself. How many fights have you had in here? Five, six? Five, six?
:06:22. > :06:32.Yeah. The most violent inmates are sent here, the segregation units. We
:06:33. > :06:36.are facing these. These come out when you come through that door.
:06:37. > :06:46.They are that heavy. That will do some damage. Yeah. All these cells.
:06:47. > :06:54.Do you see the guy opposite you? There is another one. There are
:06:55. > :06:59.about 30-40. Only half of them are working. And this is what it takes
:07:00. > :07:05.just to feed some prisoners. Officers wearing helmets delivering
:07:06. > :07:13.a sandwich. How dangerous is this job? It is getting dangerous. It is
:07:14. > :07:20.getting worse. Help me! Every we saw the pressure. ALARMS GOING OFF.
:07:21. > :07:28.Excuse me, sir. This is because another in an make is refusing to go
:07:29. > :07:37.back to his cell. Stopped! Stephen has worked here 19 years. It looks
:07:38. > :07:44.secure. The amounts of incidents have gone up. With 4-5 staff on the
:07:45. > :07:49.units in wings like that it gets quite tense at times. There needs to
:07:50. > :07:53.be fundamental change. We release prisoners and they keep coming back.
:07:54. > :08:02.This was found in his bag. Fuelling the violence is the drugs. This is
:08:03. > :08:07.Spice, a synthetic cannabis. It has gotten so bad, Wandsworth Prison now
:08:08. > :08:16.has an x-ray machine to search inmates. There are also sniffer
:08:17. > :08:22.dogs. Still, the drugs are smuggled inside. So... Prison officer
:08:23. > :08:28.Danielle showed us the evidence room which is packed with drugs,
:08:29. > :08:33.evidence, and phones. We have a very, very small mobile phone. It is
:08:34. > :08:40.tiny. Absolutely tiny. Those are obviously home-made none Jack's.
:08:41. > :08:48.They could do a bit of damage. We suspect this is Spice. What is Spice
:08:49. > :08:53.doing the prisons? A lot of damage. People using Spice can potentially
:08:54. > :08:58.make people extremely violent. And it is getting more and more common
:08:59. > :09:05.now. Wherever you work there are always Spice stories. In just 12
:09:06. > :09:10.months, prison staff say 300,000 lbs of drugs have been seized inside
:09:11. > :09:15.Wandsworth Prison. I sleep here. My cellmate slips here. This is my TV.
:09:16. > :09:21.Ashley has just started his sentence. He says drugs are
:09:22. > :09:27.everywhere. I use them at night when I am relaxing and that. Same old.
:09:28. > :09:32.This is it. This is my home. This is where I live. What drugs can you get
:09:33. > :09:40.here? Spice, Harrow when, crack. Anything you like. I would just need
:09:41. > :09:44.to go down to the 2s, 3s, 1s, anything is there, anything you
:09:45. > :09:49.like. Is it easy to get cannabis? It is. It is. As it made your addiction
:09:50. > :09:59.worse? I have been here so long now. Nearly a key is. Drugs are the
:10:00. > :10:06.problem. --8 years. And being inside so long. There are so many people
:10:07. > :10:14.that use the staff. It is like cannabis. In most days we could
:10:15. > :10:22.smell cannabis. This is B Wing. Especially up here. And then we see
:10:23. > :10:30.it. Age-group smoking below us in full view. -- A group. There is no
:10:31. > :10:36.order now. How do you feel about people smoking it down here? Not
:10:37. > :10:40.good. There will be fights and that. The officers are just here now. How
:10:41. > :10:47.do you get cannabis now? From anyone! You can get it right now?
:10:48. > :10:55.Definitely. Yeah. How does that make you feel? Obviously, it is not good,
:10:56. > :11:00.isn't it? It defeats everything we are trying to do as a service. And
:11:01. > :11:03.many inmates told us the same story. Drugs smuggled into Wandsworth
:11:04. > :11:11.Prison, available for the right price. They charge you say 500 for a
:11:12. > :11:18.parcel the size of say three tennis balls full of drugs, a phone,
:11:19. > :11:24.whatever you want. This prisoner asked us not to show his face. He
:11:25. > :11:31.wanted to talk about the Russian. A smartphone, 700 quid. They go for
:11:32. > :11:36.retail price. Who brings them in? Officers, other prisoners... Are you
:11:37. > :11:44.just saying that to get them in trouble? No, of course not. There
:11:45. > :11:50.are a number of staff quite willing to bring in mobile phones and drugs.
:11:51. > :11:55.They could potentially put me in danger and other staff. I don't want
:11:56. > :12:01.to work with them. How many? I don't know, at least one person in every
:12:02. > :12:05.jail. Inside Wandsworth, inmates and staff talk freely about corruption.
:12:06. > :12:08.The governor admitted there was a problem and that he had to deal with
:12:09. > :12:14.it. Corruption is the one thing that I absolutely cannot stand. That is a
:12:15. > :12:17.clear message from it. One of the first things we need to do and
:12:18. > :12:23.reform is to think carefully about how to deal with those issues of
:12:24. > :12:26.corruption and how to tackle those staff who are doing it. That will
:12:27. > :12:31.deal with those issues you have highlighted and have seen last week.
:12:32. > :12:35.The corruption, drugs, and violence, are just part of the story. In
:12:36. > :12:45.Wandsworth Prison, we found a jail facing another crisis. How are you?
:12:46. > :12:52.How are you? I am no good. This was cut. Twice in Wandsworth Prison this
:12:53. > :12:58.man came to see us. He had cut every inch of his body. Desperate, he
:12:59. > :13:03.speaks very little English. Are you getting mental health help? Yeah.
:13:04. > :13:10.Yeah. I am crazy. I am crazy. No sleeping everyday. No sleeping. I
:13:11. > :13:18.can't... I can't... I can't... I can't... And so many here are in
:13:19. > :13:25.crisis. This man jumped over the railings onto the netting. SHOUTING
:13:26. > :13:36.AND CHEERING AND JEERING. Other inmates wanted us to meet him.
:13:37. > :13:43.They said he should not be in a jail. Severe mental health, he needs
:13:44. > :13:55.help. They neglected. -- neglect him. He is severely schizophrenic.
:13:56. > :14:03.Nuts. What is the matter with you? I'm in jail! Where'd you want to be
:14:04. > :14:13.right now? Where'd you want to be? What do you want? I have handed in
:14:14. > :14:22.paper already. Why do they keep telling me... Offices are constantly
:14:23. > :14:30.assessing prisoners. An inmate has smashed up his cell. He is in
:14:31. > :14:36.distress. Nathan has self harmed. He says his mental health is getting
:14:37. > :14:43.worse. This is my artwork. This is Romeo. You can see down there, there
:14:44. > :14:58.is a bottle of the killer. There is also a very light gun. Rodeo, love
:14:59. > :15:04.hearts, and if you see here, Juliet. If you look here, that is up. I have
:15:05. > :15:09.a personality disorder. I am also signed off from the doctor for
:15:10. > :15:16.severe anxiety, and I only just received my medication yesterday.
:15:17. > :15:27.Being in prison with your needs, what is a dude you? I suffer. I have
:15:28. > :15:30.to say let me make a phone call holding a razor blade to my arm, and
:15:31. > :15:37.eventually the officer opened up the door. -- what does that do to you?
:15:38. > :15:42.Are you asking for help? Yes, but the system is so slow. Four officers
:15:43. > :15:47.like Steve, the demand can be overwhelming. Age 5% of people who
:15:48. > :15:51.come to prison have mental issues, personality disorders,
:15:52. > :15:59.schizophrenia, bipolar etc. What is the pressure like? If you can't look
:16:00. > :16:04.after vulnerable people, in a safe environment, people get hurt. Do you
:16:05. > :16:09.think lives could be saved if there were more members of staff.
:16:10. > :16:13.Definitely. The amount of self harm and self-inflicted deaths are on the
:16:14. > :16:17.increase. This inmate talked about taking his life. He had sewn his
:16:18. > :16:21.lips together and was on hunger struck. He is a failed asylum
:16:22. > :16:41.seeker. I think about killing myself everyday. 23 hours closed in there.
:16:42. > :16:46.And dealing with suicide, officers like Andy. He says he cut forget the
:16:47. > :16:55.faces of prisoners who have taken their lives. It leaves a big
:16:56. > :16:58.impression. I can see the guys I have dealt with, but eight specific
:16:59. > :17:08.guys, I can still see their faces. One of those guys was back in 1994.
:17:09. > :17:14.I had to cut him down. Another guy, around 1996, I can still see him,
:17:15. > :17:18.the grimace on his face. But how to cope with all of the violence, self
:17:19. > :17:24.harm, addiction, when your behalf the inmates are foreign and many
:17:25. > :17:32.can't speak Englishs -- when half. You are remaining? -- were many end.
:17:33. > :17:36.So many Romanians, like Richard. They said they have served their
:17:37. > :17:41.time, but are waiting to be deported. Three weeks ago, but they
:17:42. > :17:46.won't let me go home. Do you want to go back home? Yes, I don't want to
:17:47. > :17:49.come back here ever. It doesn't matter where you are from. Human
:17:50. > :17:58.rights are human rights. This is myself. -- my cell. Not everybody
:17:59. > :18:02.wants to go home. There is worse than this prison. This man is
:18:03. > :18:08.unhappy with his cell and proud of his crimes. What are you in for?
:18:09. > :18:15.Pickpocketing. How much will you still in? Up to ?3000 a day. Out of
:18:16. > :18:23.people 's pockets? I'm proud of it. I will do it again. In the UK? I
:18:24. > :18:27.might come here. I don't know how, but I will try to come here again.
:18:28. > :18:31.You make a lot of money here. Why should British taxpayers pay money
:18:32. > :18:39.to keep you here? I do know. No reason. They will send me back home
:18:40. > :18:45.anyway, so why'd you want to hold me more? Some foreign prisoners take
:18:46. > :18:50.English lessons, but the majority don't. And with so many languages
:18:51. > :18:56.things spoken inside Wandsworth, the jail struggles to cope. 30 or 40
:18:57. > :19:01.different nationalities, 30 or 40 different bandages, and they provide
:19:02. > :19:04.a huge challenge because there are lots of argument and debate about
:19:05. > :19:08.how much we engage those people into work or education and how much
:19:09. > :19:15.energy we put into people who might be here and to be deported. -- might
:19:16. > :19:18.not be here. There aren't enough police officers to deal with the
:19:19. > :19:22.problems facing Wandsworth. Across England and Wales, the number of
:19:23. > :19:27.prison staff has fallen by more than 30% in the last six years. For new
:19:28. > :19:32.members of staff, these conditions are all they have ever known. Is it
:19:33. > :19:39.what you expected? Yes. What you expect prison to be like? Written is
:19:40. > :19:45.prison. Did you expect this? Yes. I expected daily arguments, daily
:19:46. > :19:50.fights, and... I pulled out my baton the first time yesterday. I cut down
:19:51. > :19:54.my first hanging prison at two weeks into the job. You are going to be
:19:55. > :20:03.faced with a lot of real things. You will be faced with shocks. G1 to do
:20:04. > :20:07.this job? I came into this job to try to rehabilitate certain
:20:08. > :20:15.prisoners. Can you do that? I think I can. Wandsworth operates 50
:20:16. > :20:22.officers short of what is needed. Recruitment is a struggle. It
:20:23. > :20:27.doesn't take much for the jail to grind to a halt. There has been an
:20:28. > :20:33.incident and they have shot down -- shut down a wing. They are trying to
:20:34. > :20:36.get the inmate down. As this is happening, that whole wing, with
:20:37. > :20:41.hundreds of inmates, has been locked down. It means there are some days
:20:42. > :20:52.inmates are locked up for 23 hours. With no rehabilitation. For some, it
:20:53. > :20:57.leads to resentment and frustration. At least an hour a day. We don't get
:20:58. > :21:05.that. We are just here. We do is get banged up. All we here is like
:21:06. > :21:13.staff, lack of staff, but that needs to change. This prison has been
:21:14. > :21:18.Andy's life, but he says the job is harder now than ever before. My wall
:21:19. > :21:25.for is I will not come home. If she could, she would have me out of the
:21:26. > :21:28.job! My wife thinks. I want to make a difference and believe my staff
:21:29. > :21:31.can make a difference. We are struggling and don't have the staff.
:21:32. > :21:37.Leave it. It's all right. It's all right. Leave it. What is happening
:21:38. > :21:42.to your mental health? I don't think people care. I reading people care
:21:43. > :21:48.about what is happening to my mental health. -- I don't think people
:21:49. > :21:51.care. What is happening to it? I am the most stressed I've been in 24
:21:52. > :21:58.years in this job. What will happen to you? I will retire and die early
:21:59. > :22:05.probably. And he desperately needs reform now. And many offices feel
:22:06. > :22:11.the same. Let down and forgotten. Steve says he feels betrayed --
:22:12. > :22:15.officers. Do you feel appreciated? We are definitely not appreciated.
:22:16. > :22:19.You can tell that by the amount of cuts we have received. To have the
:22:20. > :22:23.strength and turn around and deliver care to be present his bid to your
:22:24. > :22:28.face and continue that, at the end of the day it is about society as a
:22:29. > :22:32.whole. If we were treated the West and deserving with care and respect,
:22:33. > :22:37.it says a lot about society. -- who spit in your face. The BBC was
:22:38. > :22:41.invited to hear these stories from inmates who one day will be
:22:42. > :22:48.released, and from a governor who believes without reform, Outer Isles
:22:49. > :22:53.will break. -- our jails. How big is this moment? It is massive, once in
:22:54. > :22:58.a generation to change the system and do something which is really
:22:59. > :23:03.positive. Without reform? We carry on running the system how you have
:23:04. > :23:08.seen it is in the last week or so. Drugs coming in. Mobile phones.
:23:09. > :23:12.While it is being perpetrated. Not having enough resources to challenge
:23:13. > :23:15.some of that behaviour. Without it, we carry on doing the same thing.
:23:16. > :23:20.The same faces coming through the system. We don't change people. And
:23:21. > :23:25.that is what we want to do. The prison revolution is promised. But
:23:26. > :23:29.without enough staff to provide even the basics, how can jails
:23:30. > :23:31.rehabilitate and end the violence, addiction and self harm? The lives
:23:32. > :23:52.lost behind bars. Well, for some of us
:23:53. > :23:56.it was very wet on Friday, for others it was
:23:57. > :23:57.gloriously warm and sunny. For the weekend, well,
:23:58. > :24:01.things kind of evening themselves Most of us will stay
:24:02. > :24:04.dry on the weekend.