Prison staff could have done more to help a prolific criminal who died after he said he was being threatened by other prisoners who had falsely accused him of being a sex offender. David Glass, 48, was jailed in 2020 after his DNA was found on a shotgun.
The ECHO reported at the time that Glass, of Conway Drive in Birkenhead, had 71 previous convictions for 154 offences. He was pronounced dead in hospital on February 20 2024 after he was found hanging in his cell at HMP Altcourse in Fazakerley.
Ombudsman report findings
A report published today by Adrian Usher, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, said Glass was sent to Altcourse on November 29 2023 after being sentenced to one year in prison following an assault. Glass had a history of substance misuse, anxiety and depression. When he arrived at Altcourse, Glass told staff he had attempted to take his own life by taking an overdose in the past but had no current thoughts of harming himself.
Glass was reviewed by a mental health nurse and a substance misuse worker, but neither had any concerns. However, less than two weeks later on December 12, Glass told a prison custody officer that he was affiliated with a gang and had problems because of selling drugs and being in debt.
On February 9, 2024, prison staff found Glass with an improvised weapon. Staff put him on report (a disciplinary charge), and confined him to a cell on his own, while he waited for an adjudication (a prison’s version of a court hearing). The next day, Mr Glass told the adjudicator that the weapon was for self-defence. He said someone had come to his cell and threatened him.
Threats and segregation
The adjudicator found Glass guilty of breaking prison rules and gave him seven days’ cellular confinement as punishment. Staff moved him to the segregation unit. On February 16, Glass refused to go back to his previous unit and was placed on report again for refusing a lawful order. The next day, at his adjudication, Glass said other prisoners had accused him of being a sex offender and he was going to be assaulted. He did not have any convictions for sexual offences.
Glass said he was willing to move to the vulnerable prisoners’ unit (VPU) but would not move to any other unit. The adjudicator rejected his request to move to the VPU and found Glass guilty. As punishment, Glass was given a further seven days’ confinement and remained in the segregation unit.
At 8.23am on February 20 2024, Glass was found hanging in his cell by two prison custody officers, a nurse and a chaplain. The emergency services were called and CPR began. At 8.37am, paramedics arrived and continued CPR. They found faint signs of life and took Glass to hospital. However, he was pronounced dead on arrival at 9.38am.
Staff 'did not do enough to explore his concerns'
Mr Usher said the ombudsman is satisfied Glass did not indicate to staff that he was at risk of taking his own life and they "could not have foreseen" his actions. However, the ombudsman believes staff "did not do enough to explore Mr Glass’ concerns about being under threat", adding: "Although Altcourse has a violence strategy, it provides very little guidance to staff on how to support and manage victims of bullying, intimidation, or violence."
Mr Glass was held in segregation for 11 days but did not have an Initial Segregation Review Board throughout that time. The prison told us that as Mr Glass was held under cellular confinement, he did not require one. "Segregation policy was updated two years ago to say that staff should hold an Initial Segregation Review Board for any prisoner held in segregation for more than 72 hours regardless of the Prison Rule under which they are held."
As a result, the ombudsman recommend that Altcourse's director should review the prison’s violence strategy so that it provides clear guidance to staff on how to identify and support prisoners at risk of bullying, intimidation, or violence. The director should also ensure that staff hold an Initial Segregation Review Board (SRB) within the first 72 hours of segregation irrespective of which prison rule a prisoner is segregated under.
They should make sure all relevant segregation paperwork is updated to reflect the changes outlined in the June 2022 Security Briefing Note on Segregation. This states that the governor or prison manager can authorise segregation for an initial 72 hours. The SRB must review the case within the first 72 hours, and subsequently every 14 days. Any prolonged segregation extending beyond 42 days requires independent external authorisation from the Prison Group Director (acting on behalf of the Secretary of State).
