DARTMOOR'S downgrading from a high security prison to a Category C training prison has been the biggest change in recent years and the most positive, according to staff and inmates.

Journalists were given a tour of the prison last Wednesday, after it was revealed the jail had passed performance tests enabling it to remain in the public sector.

They were able to see the work being done to retrain prisoners, tackle drug problems and improve family relationships.

Dartmoor has formed strong links with North Devon College to deliver training in plumbing, brickwork, joinery and painting and decorating. A large number of prisoners are completing foundation courses enabling them to access NVQ training and employment on their release.

Having only started the training programme in February, David Offley from North Devon College said it was too soon to tell how successful the courses had been, but they were overscribed and two former inmates were now working in the construction industry as a result.

A unit tackling the issue of drugs and alcohol misuse has been running for a year with positive feedback.

Tutor George Blake said 70% of crimes were now drug related and the PASRO (Prisoners Addressing Substance Related Offending) unit was focusing on reducing offending by motivating prisoners to change.

'We run six week courses and it is all about promoting a lifestyle change,' he said. 'We have received a lot of positive feedback from prisoners.'

One of the keys to Dartmoor's progress is the resettlement unit, which again has only been open for 12 months. It accommodates 45 prisoners who are nearing the end of their sentences and showing the biggest determination to change.

Vastly different to other residential wings in the prison, the unit has colour TVs in every cell, exercise machines in the main hall and carpets on the floor.

Speaking to the staff and inmates, there is a real buzz about this new addition to the prison which many feel sums up the future of Dartmoor.

Three months into the resettlement's education and training programme, prisoners are invited to apply for licences allowing them to work on the prison farm or with the outside works department. This leads to community projects and work experience with local firms to give inmates a better chance of employment on release. They are also given the chance to spend a day on the outside with their family.

Resettlement officer Ivan Judd said the work the unit had done had gone a long way to saving Dartmoor: 'We have very strict criteria that prisoners have to meet before they can get into the resettlement unit,' he said.

'The whole aim is to deal with all the issues surrounding work, accommodation and family relationships and to help people back into society.

'If these prisoners can secure a job on their release they are less likely to fall back into crime and hence save the prison service and the taxpayer tens of thousand of pounds.'

One inmate Steve, who has eight months left to serve of his sentence, is a great ambassador for the project.

He said he had been given his future back.

'When I came into prison my world collapsed around me, but the staff and the unit here has given me the confidence to get back on track,' he said.

'Eight hundred licences have been issued since the unit opened and there have been only two breaches during that time. The work being done here is really positive and it is giving opportunities to prisoners so they can take responsibility for themselves on their release.'

An unprecedented number of inmates are now enrolled on basic education courses and for the first time, family relationship workshops have been held, enabling prisoners to spend time with their partners and cuddle their children for the first time since being in prison.

Senior prison officer Sam Cade said when he first started working at Dartmoor 20 years ago it was much more authoritarian. The emphasis had changed with the downgrading of the prison to a C category , he said.

'The focus now is on training — there is a lot more for prisoners to do and the ethos of the place is different — relationships between staff and inmates have improved and we feel we are really doing something good with them now,' he said.