CAB129-53 — Page 77

6

Page 77

76

:

building is kept in a proper condition but also on effective routine precautions in such matters as avoiding the deposit of coal or rubbish where they might facilitate taelinoff preventing access to Paddlers78 ofher5imple- ments, the locking of doors and the safe custody of Reys. Many of the locks in the Institution were installed many years ago and though no doubt the. that could be obtained at the time, they are capable of being opened, as erience has shown, by a key which can be made by an ingenious patient. Modern locks are much more secure and steps have been taken to change the locks of the Institution. Constant watch must also be exercised to see that patients do not obtain material from visitors or maintenance staff which may enable them to inflict harm on themselves or on others or to attempt an escape. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of watchfulness and close supervision by the nursing staff.

17. In this connection we desire to emphasise that the security aspect of Broadmoor should never be depreciated and, while fully appreciating the great importance of treatment, we consider that Broadmoor cannot be regarded as comparable to an ordinary mental hospital in so far as security measures are concerned. One important difference is the increasing number of young aggressive psychopaths with criminal propensities who have in recent years been certified insane and sent to Broadmoor from prisons. While the behaviour of these psychopaths may for prolonged periods be superficially excellent under the sheltered conditions of Broadmoor, many of them are unlikely to respond permanently to treatment and therefore must always require the most careful supervision to prevent their escape. At the same time we wish to emphasise that there is no ground for thinking that the Board of Control take a different view about security than did the Home Office. We reject the suggestion that has been made that the control of Broadmoor should be returned to the Home Office, but we recommend that the Board of Control should continue to ensure that the prime importance of security is constantly brought to the attention of every person in any way concerned with administration at Broadmoor.

18. Hitherto, the senior medical officers have had prison experience. Although from some points of view it is an advantage that medical officers from mental hospitals should be appointed to Broadmoor, we think that it will continue to be desirable that, save in very special circumstances, the Medical Superintendent and the Deputy Medical Superintendent should have had either prison experience or experience in Broadmoor or one of the other two State Institutions, in order to make certain that the medical staff has a thorough appreciation of the importance of security measures.

Lapses in Supervision

19. Our examination of the circumstances of the escapes that have occurred in recent years indicates that there must have been carelessness on the part of one or more persons in the Institution on a number of occasions. We do not necessarily imply that on any of these occasions there was such carelessness as would warrant a prosecution under the provisions of Section 12 of the Criminal Lunatic Asylums Act, 1860, but there was a failure to exercise · that close supervision that ought to be exercised at Broadmoor.

Staff Deficiencies

20.

We have accordingly made a close examination of the system to see in what respects supervision can be improved. In our opinion the lapses in supervision which we have noted above are due to staff shortages and to the fact that the present staff is not wholly of the quality that the needs