:00:00. > :00:00.Now on BBC News in a special programme with exclusive access,
:00:00. > :00:17.Lucy Manning looks at the reality of prison life in England and Wales.
:00:18. > :00:21.On the programme, we take a look up close at Britain's prison system,
:00:22. > :00:31.Delivery by drone, as prisons struggled to cope with a tidal
:00:32. > :00:36.wave of legal highs, phones and weapons.
:00:37. > :00:39.The drug use, violence and fear which is part of daily life in jail.
:00:40. > :00:42.Justice Secretary Michael Gove tells us some prisons are not
:00:43. > :00:54.Welcome to a BBC News special programme from Wandsworth
:00:55. > :01:01.In a week when the government announced what it said was the most
:01:02. > :01:04.significant reform of the prison system since the Victorian era.
:01:05. > :01:07.Originally built to take 900 inmates, this
:01:08. > :01:14.It was announced this week that Wandsworth was to be one
:01:15. > :01:18.of six reform prisons, jails where governors have
:01:19. > :01:20.extensive new powers over running the prison, their budgets,
:01:21. > :01:28.After months of negotiations with the Ministry of Justice,
:01:29. > :01:31.the BBC has gained exclusive access into the prison to see the problems
:01:32. > :01:40.My colleague Ed Thomas spent the past week inside.
:01:41. > :01:52.The BBC has been given unprecedented access, inside a British jail.
:01:53. > :01:57.Over seven days, we saw the fear and violence.
:01:58. > :02:00.One person under restraint, the wing looks secure.
:02:01. > :02:03.You have to defend yourself, if you cannot defend yourself,
:02:04. > :02:10.Is it easy to get cannabis?
:02:11. > :02:19.The prison officers pushed to the very edge.
:02:20. > :02:26.I am the most stressed I have been in 24 years, in this job.
:02:27. > :02:29.It is the second alarm of the day, a prisoner refusing to go back
:02:30. > :02:43.20 years ago, the inmate in the middle of all of this
:02:44. > :02:53.We cannot identify him, he told us he was trapped
:02:54. > :02:56.I have had warfare with politics in jail.
:02:57. > :02:58.Sliced down the side of my face, attacked by 15 people,
:02:59. > :03:13.At the end of the day, you are putting me in a predicament
:03:14. > :03:19.They are so short staffed in here, this place cannot run.
:03:20. > :03:33.Next, B-Wing, the smell of cannabis is everywhere.
:03:34. > :03:35.And then we see it, they groups making below us.
:03:36. > :03:43.How do you feel about people smoking cannabis?
:03:44. > :03:59.If they cannot get in next week, there will be fights.
:04:00. > :04:07.Obviously it is not good, defeating everything
:04:08. > :04:14.You don't have to look far to find drugs in Wandsworth.
:04:15. > :04:19.Ashley has only just arrived, he says all drugs
:04:20. > :04:33.Right now, all I have to do is go down to the twos, threes, one.
:04:34. > :04:40.Then there is alcohol, brewed in the cells.
:04:41. > :04:56.Smartphone, 700 quid they go for retail price.
:04:57. > :05:06.This prisoner asked us not to show his face.
:05:07. > :05:18.I know officers that charge ?500 a parcel.
:05:19. > :05:20.The size of three tennis balls, full of drugs, phones,
:05:21. > :05:29.The BBC was invited here, to hear the stories,
:05:30. > :05:45.to see the pressure from a governor demanding change.
:05:46. > :05:47.Corruption the one thing I absolutely cannot stand,
:05:48. > :05:50.one of the first things I want to do with reform,
:05:51. > :05:58.is to think carefully about how we deal with issues of corruption,
:05:59. > :06:00.how we can tackle the staff bringing drugs in.
:06:01. > :06:03.That will deal with some of the issues you have highlighted
:06:04. > :06:05.How long will this prison reform take?
:06:06. > :06:10.At the moment, just a victim of an assault.
:06:11. > :06:12.My wife worries I will not come home.
:06:13. > :06:14.If she could, she would have me out of a job.
:06:15. > :06:23.Wandsworth has been Andy Topping's life, for in it cannot get worse.
:06:24. > :06:26.Wandsworth has been Andy Topping's life, for him it cannot get worse.
:06:27. > :06:28.It is because I care, I want to make a difference,
:06:29. > :06:31.I believe my staff want to make a difference.
:06:32. > :06:33.We are struggling, we do not have the staff.
:06:34. > :06:40.What is happening to your mental health?
:06:41. > :06:42.I don't think people care about what is happening
:06:43. > :06:52.I think I am the most stressed I have been
:06:53. > :07:02.This prison revolution, a promise to fix broken jails.
:07:03. > :07:14.As you saw in the report drug use in prison is widespread.
:07:15. > :07:16.Authorities in prison are fighting a losing battle trying
:07:17. > :07:19.to prevent smuggled items, including drugs and phones
:07:20. > :07:29.A BBC investigation has found the number of banned items coming
:07:30. > :07:32.over the wall into jails has doubled in the last two years.
:07:33. > :07:35.In some cases, the packages have been flown in by drones.
:07:36. > :07:40.The Ministry of Justice says they are determined to crack
:07:41. > :07:48.down on the problem, as I found out, drugs,
:07:49. > :07:50.especially the legal high known as spice are fuelling
:07:51. > :08:02.The prisoners cannot get out, but there is little to stop drugs,
:08:03. > :08:06.Wandsworth Prison, a drone hovers, then you get a package dangling
:08:07. > :08:08.in midair, packed with spice, a synthetic drug
:08:09. > :08:19.The prisoner guides the drone into his cell, after a few attempts
:08:20. > :08:28.Caught on CCTV this was a wasted effort, seized by prison officers.
:08:29. > :08:30.Outside Pentonville prison, a more low tech attempt.
:08:31. > :08:40.A man attaches a bundle to a rope, from inside the jail,
:08:41. > :08:43.Lifted over the ball into the prison.
:08:44. > :08:45.A problem jails up and down the country are
:08:46. > :08:49.A snag as it is caught on a branch, then lifted over.
:08:50. > :08:52.An arm from inside the prison yanks it in.
:08:53. > :09:04.The official figures show only 15 cases of thrown items over
:09:05. > :09:09.Locals say they must have missed a zero, seeing it
:09:10. > :09:13.Another drone crashing inside Wandsworth Prison grounds,
:09:14. > :09:16.Some drugs and phones are seized, sometimes packed
:09:17. > :09:23.The BBC has found the number of banned items thrown into prisons
:09:24. > :09:25.in England and Wales has doubled in the last two years.
:09:26. > :09:37.2000 packages, many more not detected.
:09:38. > :09:39.Sam, his voice has been disguised, served five years
:09:40. > :09:42.It can literally be thrown over the wall.
:09:43. > :09:49.Wandsworth has seen this method, managing to intercept
:09:50. > :09:57.Spice, in the packets, the legal high taking over prisons.
:09:58. > :10:07.With spice on the increase, so too is the violence.
:10:08. > :10:09.The BBC has learned more than 1000 weapons were found in prisons
:10:10. > :10:12.in England and Wales in just six months last year.
:10:13. > :10:14.Nearly three quarters, knives and blades, four a day.
:10:15. > :10:17.Jonathan Burke was released last year after serving time for robbery.
:10:18. > :10:27.I see a change, especially since spice came into prison.
:10:28. > :10:30.There was regular violence, then the spice came in,
:10:31. > :10:35.three months later, it was just ridiculous.
:10:36. > :10:51.I have personally known people making thousands,
:10:52. > :10:54.They are richer coming out than when they went in.
:10:55. > :11:01.The BBC has discovered an increase in people charged with smuggling
:11:02. > :11:20.Oliver was released from jail last year.
:11:21. > :11:22.Staff is commonplace, having a good supply.
:11:23. > :11:24.I have seen the handover of drugs and mobile phones personally
:11:25. > :11:26.in prisons on a pretty regular basis.
:11:27. > :11:38.The prison service said this is a minority of staff,
:11:39. > :11:43.The defence prisoners are presenting is that they were tooling up
:11:44. > :11:46.This becomes, what was described to me, almost an arms
:11:47. > :11:55.The combination of drugs, drugs and knives and fewer staff
:11:56. > :11:57.make a dangerous mix for prisoners and officers.
:11:58. > :12:04.Too many jails in England and Wales are not fit for purpose,
:12:05. > :12:06.according to the Chief Inspector of Prisons, highlighting the growing
:12:07. > :12:10.Figures obtained by BBC News show emergency services are being called
:12:11. > :12:13.out to incidents at prisons across the UK almost every 20
:12:14. > :12:22.That represents a rise of more than 50% in prison
:12:23. > :12:27.The chief inspector told me problems in jails are having a draining
:12:28. > :12:39.In the prison yard a fight breaks out.
:12:40. > :13:00.A fight between an Albanian gang and a local one over the control
:13:01. > :13:05.For the new chief Inspector of prisons, it is a toxic mix.
:13:06. > :13:11.The biggest single challenge is violence, the levels
:13:12. > :13:15.of violence in prisons are unacceptably high.
:13:16. > :13:17.Last year there were 100 self-inflicted deaths.
:13:18. > :13:21.Ambulances last week at Wandsworth, with legal highs fuelling violence
:13:22. > :13:24.and health problems inside, combined with mental health
:13:25. > :13:32.Are some of the prisons you are seeing not fit for purpose?
:13:33. > :13:36.If the purpose is to develop an environment in which meaningful
:13:37. > :13:38.rehabilitation and resettlement can take place, then again,
:13:39. > :13:44.some of these prisons are failing, no doubt about that.
:13:45. > :13:49.I suppose the honest answer to your question is,
:13:50. > :14:00.yes, some prisons are not fit for their purpose.
:14:01. > :14:03.Guards have to step in to deal a prisoner, for those
:14:04. > :14:06.who have spent time in jail, they saw the new synthetic drugs
:14:07. > :14:08.such as spice as the root of the problems.
:14:09. > :14:11.It has messed up a lot of people, people getting heart
:14:12. > :14:12.attacks, ambulances coming every couple of days.
:14:13. > :14:14.Sometimes you would see three ambulances outside,
:14:15. > :14:21.because of the amount of drugs coming in from all different parts.
:14:22. > :14:24.The BBC has learned emergency services were called out to prison
:14:25. > :14:34.Police forces, ambulance trusts and the Fire Service were called out
:14:35. > :14:39.A rise of 50% over the last four years.
:14:40. > :14:42.The impact that these drugs are having is not only
:14:43. > :14:46.inside the prison walls, it has an enormously draining
:14:47. > :14:57.There are just too many prisoners on the wing struggling
:14:58. > :15:06.It is another destabilising factor inside prisons.
:15:07. > :15:11.There needs to be a serious review about the availability of secure
:15:12. > :15:13.beds outside prisons, so that people can receive treatment
:15:14. > :15:19.Fewer staff are having to deal with more problems.
:15:20. > :15:22.I think everyone would like to see more staff in prisons.
:15:23. > :15:25.I have not spoken to anybody that thinks the current staffing levels
:15:26. > :15:29.are right, or that it would not be a good thing to have more staff.
:15:30. > :15:40.Obviously we know about the pressures.
:15:41. > :15:51.The problems inside are laid bare, so many areas that need fixing,
:15:52. > :15:54.at a time when staff complained are not enough officers or money.
:15:55. > :15:56.Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, has admitted there are significant
:15:57. > :16:00.problems with the prison system in England and Wales.
:16:01. > :16:02.He says he has serious concerns about the safety of
:16:03. > :16:05.And drugs and violence behind prison bars could undermine
:16:06. > :16:10.One new measure could see more prisoners left out of jail,
:16:11. > :16:15.to work on day release as part of their rehabilitation.
:16:16. > :16:33.Michael Gove knows he has got problems.
:16:34. > :16:35.What to do about prisons many say are overcrowded, full
:16:36. > :16:38.He thinks his new autonomous jails will work.
:16:39. > :16:45.They will, I hope, the places of rehabilitation, order and purpose.
:16:46. > :16:48.But as gangs fight over drugs in Wandsworth Prison's yard, it is
:16:49. > :16:52.He does not shy away from a damning assessment.
:16:53. > :16:54.Your Chief Inspector of Prisons says some prisons
:16:55. > :17:03.There are some prisons which are not safe enough, for prisoners,
:17:04. > :17:05.and for the dedicated staff who work in them.
:17:06. > :17:08.There are some prisons which are not doing a good enough job
:17:09. > :17:09.in providing education, or employment opportunities
:17:10. > :17:15.He admits the increase in drugs and weapons is worrying.
:17:16. > :17:23.The startling footage of a drone flying in a package of highly
:17:24. > :17:29.addictive legal highs and phones into a prison cell is something
:17:30. > :17:31.the Justice Secretary saw when broadcast by the BBC this week.
:17:32. > :17:36.What did you make from what he saw in that footage?
:17:37. > :17:38.The public will now realise one of the big problems
:17:39. > :17:43.We are taking action to deal with the corruption that sometimes
:17:44. > :17:47.facilitates getting these drugs into prison.
:17:48. > :17:50.We are also taking action to ensure we audit our state,
:17:51. > :17:53.to ensure we can prevent drugs coming in, in the way
:17:54. > :18:00.Critics complain there are just too many people in jails
:18:01. > :18:09.Part of Mr Gove's plan is allowing people out to work.
:18:10. > :18:14.That means prisoners can spend time out of their cell, and out of jail,
:18:15. > :18:17.working for an employer, learning what responsibility means,
:18:18. > :18:18.preparing for a useful life on the outside.
:18:19. > :18:20.Will that be safe for the wider public?
:18:21. > :18:38.He admits the rise of suicide, self harm and violence
:18:39. > :18:40.He accepts to many people reoffending.
:18:41. > :18:42.The whole point of having someone inside prison,
:18:43. > :18:46.spending as much as parents will spend on sending their children
:18:47. > :18:48.to Eton, every year, is to change their lives.
:18:49. > :18:50.We will not change their lives leaving them banged
:18:51. > :18:53.It is only by transforming our prisons that we will
:18:54. > :19:04.That is why when people say this is a soft agenda, codling prisoners,
:19:05. > :19:11.When you have drugs ordered in, lifted over the prison walls,
:19:12. > :19:15.Mr Gove knows them, but can anything he does change them?
:19:16. > :19:17.Mental health problems are rife in prison.
:19:18. > :19:19.Across the prison system self harm and suicide are up by one
:19:20. > :19:23.Another key problem is the number of foreign prisoners.
:19:24. > :19:32.They make up about one in eight prisoners.
:19:33. > :19:41.Here is the second of Ed Thomas' exclusive reports from inside
:19:42. > :19:48.Who cares for the men behind these doors?
:19:49. > :19:51.Lack of staff, lack of staff, we cannot let you out.
:19:52. > :19:54.That needs to change, we are human beings.
:19:55. > :19:57.Self harm, prisoners in crisis.
:19:58. > :20:08.The system does not work, nothing works as it should.
:20:09. > :20:13.For seven days, the BBC was given rare access inside Wandsworth.
:20:14. > :20:15.To reveal the reality of life in an overcrowded,
:20:16. > :20:26.On B-Wing, an inmate has been in a fight.
:20:27. > :20:42.He says his mental health is getting worse.
:20:43. > :20:49.I'm also signed off from the doctor, for severe anxiety.
:20:50. > :20:51.I only just received my medication yesterday.
:20:52. > :20:57.Yes, I'm asking for help, the service seems so slow.
:20:58. > :21:09.Nathan is not alone, so many here are in crisis.
:21:10. > :21:12.On our final day in Wandsworth, this man came to see us.
:21:13. > :21:15.We cannot show it, every inch of his body is covered in cuts.
:21:16. > :21:17.He is in distress, speaks little English.
:21:18. > :21:36.For prison officers like Steve Johnson, the demand
:21:37. > :21:46.If you cannot look after vulnerable people, in a safe environment,
:21:47. > :21:55.people will get hurt, people will die.
:21:56. > :21:58.Do you think lives could be saved if there were more members of staff?
:21:59. > :22:01.There are demands all over Wandsworth.
:22:02. > :22:03.Nearly half of the inmates are foreign, many
:22:04. > :22:18.Like Nikolai, they say they have served their time,
:22:19. > :22:32.I am from Romania, does not matter where you are from.
:22:33. > :22:47.This man is unhappy with his room, but proud of his crimes.
:22:48. > :23:11.To pickpocket you, you make a lot of money.
:23:12. > :23:12.Astonishing stories, the governor wanted
:23:13. > :23:19.Like this, officers wearing helmets to deliver a sandwich.
:23:20. > :23:22.It is important for anybody that does not really understand
:23:23. > :23:24.prisons to understand the pressure we are under,
:23:25. > :23:36.Is that why you brought the camera is in, to see all of this?
:23:37. > :23:38.Absolutely, the public need to understand what
:23:39. > :23:47.To end the waste of lives lost behind bars.
:23:48. > :23:50.That is all from us at Wandsworth Prison in south London.
:23:51. > :23:53.Next on the BBC News Channel, all the latest news from the UK
:23:54. > :24:15.and around the world, thanks for watching.
:24:16. > :24:24.Good evening. A bright and breezy day across parts of the country.
:24:25. > :24:27.Rain heading in from the West in the last few hours. The scene from one
:24:28. > :24:28.of our weather