Prison inspectors have produced a damning report into the safety standards at an overcrowded jail published just days after it was saved from the axe.
Inspectors from Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) arrived unannounced at HMP Lincoln in August this year and say they found serious failings at the category B jail, in the report released on Tuesday.
The report's authors said staff morale was poor and prisoners' welfare was being placed at risk at the Victorian jail, but did acknowledge speculation over the prison's future meant some of its problems were outside its direct control.
Among the report's findings was the fact the jail was holding 50% more prisoners than it was certified to hold and, in one shocking case, it was discovered a foreign national prisoner had been incarcerated for nine years after the date his sentence originally ended.
Prisoners also told inspectors it was easy to get drugs and alcohol in the jail and there was clear evidence of inmates developing a drug addiction, while instances of fighting and assaults were also high.
The standard of care for prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm was mixed and too many of those at risk of suicide were being held in segregation with little to do. Also criticised in the report was the amount of time prisoners were kept locked in their cells, or kept occupied with ineffective domestic duties on their particular wings.
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