Free Sky TV, free telephones, breakfast in bed, cheap drugs, hookers...........

iguanamanc · 25th April 2008, 19:27

Then go to prison.......

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...5/njail125.xml

rufus diabolus · 25th April 2008, 20:05

Ridiculous, they need to get that sorted, just give them a shitty bed with a rock hard mattress and a bucket to piss in, that'll show the cunts.

vanthaman · 25th April 2008, 20:24

nice one, might have to try that

starman · 25th April 2008, 20:39

I know someone who got sent to prison for two year and said that his life inside was better then it was in normal society and it would not bother him getting sent down again.

This article pretty much backs up what he said.

Fearless · 25th April 2008, 21:08

I bet they can even fill their dustbins 4 inches higher than we can without getting fined by council staff wearing stab jackets and then arrested.

Redlambs · 25th April 2008, 22:56

It is completely true, it's not just paper talk. I've worked in a number of them (not to mention asylum centers), and they get treated unbelievably well.

Marching · 25th April 2008, 23:17

90 litres of illegal alcohol was found in Frankland jail the other month.

topper · 25th April 2008, 23:21

who cares about the victims but the poor downtrodden lag we must make sure he's comfortable.

Hey warder close the door on the way out please - its causing a draft

Alex · 25th April 2008, 23:55

Something is clearly wrong with the world

shane · 26th April 2008, 00:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by rufus diabolus

Ridiculous, they need to get that sorted, just give them a shitty bed with a rock hard mattress and a bucket to piss in, that'll show the cunts.

thats what it was like about 20 years ago, nowadays prison sounds more like butlins holiday camp.

Frosty · 26th April 2008, 00:50

Every prisoner costs about £25,000 a year to keep in custody. A night in a police cell costs more than a night in London's Dorchester Hotel.

Up to a third of prisoners have some identifiable psychiatric disorder.

Prison is ineffective at reducing crime. Half of all prisoners (and nearly two thirds of young prisoners) reoffend within two years.

On average, one prisoner commits suicide every four to five days.

http://www.peterjepson.com/law/Priso...rm%20Trust.htm

kuanteen · 26th April 2008, 01:27

Hard labor anyone?

I still don't think it makes an economical sense to keep people locked up in luxurious surroundings. Nor does it sound like a deterrent for future crimes if they "don't mind going there again."

kuanteen · 26th April 2008, 01:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

On average, one prisoner commits suicide every four to five days.

Well, in the outside world:

Quote:

Originally Posted by www.patient.co.uk

Incidence The UK has a relatively low suicide rate of 7.1/100,000 of the population per annum compared to many other countries. France has an incidence of 20.6, Lithuania 48.2 and the USA11.9.

Using a ratio of 15:1 for attempted vs. completed suicides given an incidence of ~1/1000 population/year.

That's about 11 people a day. For a "low suicide rate" country.

20le_Solskjaer · 26th April 2008, 03:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

Every prisoner costs about £25,000 a year to keep in custody. A night in a police cell costs more than a night in London's Dorchester Hotel.

Up to a third of prisoners have some identifiable psychiatric disorder.

Prison is ineffective at reducing crime. Half of all prisoners (and nearly two thirds of young prisoners) reoffend within two years.

On average, one prisoner commits suicide every four to five days.

http://www.peterjepson.com/law/Priso...rm%20Trust.htm

I'm staying out of prison

topper · 26th April 2008, 08:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

Every prisoner costs about £25,000 a year to keep in custody. A night in a police cell costs more than a night in London's Dorchester Hotel.

Up to a third of prisoners have some identifiable psychiatric disorder.

Prison is ineffective at reducing crime. Half of all prisoners (and nearly two thirds of young prisoners) reoffend within two years.

On average, one prisoner commits suicide every four to five days.

http://www.peterjepson.com/law/Priso...rm%20Trust.htm

well with prisons being such a cushy place and being honest and hardworking apparently frowned on is it any wonder they do re-offend

iguanamanc · 26th April 2008, 10:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by 20le_Solskjaer

I'm staying out of prison

I'm going in.............good living and escape from wife and kids.

iguanamanc · 26th April 2008, 10:22

And from today's paper.

.................................................. ............

No wonder prisoners don't want to leave

By Richard Edwards
Last Updated: 2:11am BST 26/04/200

HMP Hewell Grange, Worcs, houses 200 non-violent male prisoners in the sort of setting a luxury hotel might offer.

The Grade II-listed building, completed in 1894, was the seat of the Windsor-Clive family - originally given the estate by Henry VIII - until they sold it to the state, which turned it into a borstal in 1946. The prison has a farm and gardens, also Grade II listed, where inmates work.

HMP Hewell Grange, a Grade II listed building, houses 200 non-violent male prisoners in settings more typical of a luxury hotel.

Last night it was also claimed that spaces at another jail remained unused because its kitchen could not provide a choice of meals.

As prisoner numbers hit a record high yesterday, an officers' leader claimed that there were up to 292 wasted beds at HMP Birmingham.

A multi-million pound expansion project has increased the jail's capacity, but because the kitchen is not big enough to give prisoners a choice of meals - including vegetarian and specific diet requirements - it will not fill the cells, he claimed.

Brian Clarke, the chairman of Birmingham's Prison Officers' Association, said: "We could accommodate an extra 292 prisoners, we have those extra beds. We need a bigger kitchen and more staff."

The disclosures emerged after a prison officers' leader said jails had become so comfortable that some inmates were ignoring chances to escape. Further details of luxuries emerged yesterday.

At Hewell Grange, an open prison in Redditch, Worcs, inmates can use a bowling green in the summer at the Grade II, 19th century property, built by the Earl of Plymouth as a family home.

Facilities inside the marble-floored house with oak panelled walls include a gym, a snooker room and a library where inmates can borrow CDs and computer games. Each dormitory - there are no cells - has its own television. One inmate serving a 15-year sentence for kidnap said the facility was "like a hotel, except it's free".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...nprison126.xml

.................................................. .......................................

What happened to prison ships? This place is only a few miles away from me.

iguanamanc · 26th April 2008, 10:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

Every prisoner costs about £25,000 a year to keep in custody. A night in a police cell costs more than a night in London's Dorchester Hotel.

Up to a third of prisoners have some identifiable psychiatric disorder.

Prison is ineffective at reducing crime. Half of all prisoners (and nearly two thirds of young prisoners) reoffend within two years.

On average, one prisoner commits suicide every four to five days.

http://www.peterjepson.com/law/Priso...rm%20Trust.htm

So what's the cure then, Frosty?

No prison? Plenty of counselling? Upping the suicide rate?

Or are you really suggesting moving them into first class hotels.

Up to a third have some sort of psychiatric disorder? Lock 'em up in a secure mental facility then.

topper · 26th April 2008, 10:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by iguanamanc

So what's the cure then, Frosty?

No prison? Plenty of counselling? Upping the suicide rate?

Or are you really suggesting moving them into first class hotels.

Up to a third have some sort of psychiatric disorder? Lock 'em up in a secure mental facility then.

I think the buzzword is good rehabilitation but nobody know what it really means or explain how it can be put in practice

I still have a problem in figuring out how one can rehabilitate an Ian Brady or the young cnuts that kicked to death that mentally challenged young lad.

And after rehabilitation ? would the advocates of shorter sentences/better rehab want the enlightened Mr Brady or these reformed ? thugs living next door to them

topper · 26th April 2008, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by iguanamanc

And from today's paper.

.................................................. ............

No wonder prisoners don't want to leave

By Richard Edwards
Last Updated: 2:11am BST 26/04/200

HMP Hewell Grange, Worcs, houses 200 non-violent male prisoners in the sort of setting a luxury hotel might offer.

The Grade II-listed building, completed in 1894, was the seat of the Windsor-Clive family - originally given the estate by Henry VIII - until they sold it to the state, which turned it into a borstal in 1946. The prison has a farm and gardens, also Grade II listed, where inmates work.

HMP Hewell Grange, a Grade II listed building, houses 200 non-violent male prisoners in settings more typical of a luxury hotel.

Last night it was also claimed that spaces at another jail remained unused because its kitchen could not provide a choice of meals.

As prisoner numbers hit a record high yesterday, an officers' leader claimed that there were up to 292 wasted beds at HMP Birmingham.

A multi-million pound expansion project has increased the jail's capacity, but because the kitchen is not big enough to give prisoners a choice of meals - including vegetarian and specific diet requirements - it will not fill the cells, he claimed.

Brian Clarke, the chairman of Birmingham's Prison Officers' Association, said: "We could accommodate an extra 292 prisoners, we have those extra beds. We need a bigger kitchen and more staff."

The disclosures emerged after a prison officers' leader said jails had become so comfortable that some inmates were ignoring chances to escape. Further details of luxuries emerged yesterday.

At Hewell Grange, an open prison in Redditch, Worcs, inmates can use a bowling green in the summer at the Grade II, 19th century property, built by the Earl of Plymouth as a family home.

Facilities inside the marble-floored house with oak panelled walls include a gym, a snooker room and a library where inmates can borrow CDs and computer games. Each dormitory - there are no cells - has its own television. One inmate serving a 15-year sentence for kidnap said the facility was "like a hotel, except it's free".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...nprison126.xml

.................................................. .......................................

What happened to prison ships? This place is only a few miles away from me.

The lunatics have taken over and are running the country and heading them all up is that nice Mr Gordon Brown

er sorry folks - that was uncalled for - this must be the rehabilitation process in action

iguanamanc · 26th April 2008, 10:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by topper

I think the buzzword is good rehabilitation but nobody know what it really means or explain how it can be put in practice

I still have a problem in figuring out how one can rehabilitate an Ian Brady or the young cnuts that kicked to death that mentally challenged young lad.

And after rehabilitation ? would the advocates of shorter sentences/better rehab want the enlightened Mr Brady or these reformed ? thugs living next door to them

I have a basic problem, Topper. I thought prison was a punishment not a rehabilitation exercise.

topper · 26th April 2008, 11:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by iguanamanc

I have a basic problem, Topper. I thought prison was a punishment not a rehabilitation exercise.

ah now thats yer first mistake mate - punishment is not the idea of prison - its supposed to be a period of calm meditation, good food, the ability to catch up on all those soaps see the error of their ways for these poor unfortunates- Then they get get released having served their time and been suitably prepared for interfacing with society and then they re-offend

Wonderful rehab GREAT INNIT

and the best thing about all this is you and the rest of UK payers are funding it - I know this last bit will make you very happy

Frosty · 26th April 2008, 11:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by kuanteen

Well, in the outside world:

That's about 11 people a day. For a "low suicide rate" country.

I don't think you can compare the two. In prison individuals are supposed to be supervised and held securely. They are not supposed to have the means, or the freedom, to take their own lives.

Also, you are comparing statitics for a country of 60 million (which would include prison suicides) to a closed prison population of 80,000.

The rate of 7.1/100,000 population UK wide compares to a rate of 95 per year out of 80,000, a much higher rate.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iguanamanc

I have a basic problem, Topper. I thought prison was a punishment not a rehabilitation exercise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by iguanamanc

So what's the cure then, Frosty?

No prison? Plenty of counselling? Upping the suicide rate?

Or are you really suggesting moving them into first class hotels.

Up to a third have some sort of psychiatric disorder? Lock 'em up in a secure mental facility then.

You hinted at the issue in the first post I quoted.

It all comes down to what you want prison to be. I know that may seem liek a vacuous point, but let me explain.

What is the point of prison?

Is it to punish an offender further? Or is it to remove the offender from society, stripping them of their freedom? If it is the latter, then surely how these individuals are held is no concern, as the point of their incarceration is to protect the public. Any calls for further punishment would be based on a wish for further retribution against the individual, in a type of revenge for committing the crime.

Now, I am not saying that you would not be justified in holding some of those viewpoints, but I think these issues often get forgotten or glossed over, and it is important we discuss them.

HM Prison Service thinks prison is to:

To protect the public and provide what commissioners want to purchase by:

* Holding prisoners securely
* Reducing the risk of prisoners re-offending
* Providing safe and well-ordered establishments in which we treat prisoners humanely, decently and lawfully.

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/ab...mentofpurpose/

I would argue that the statistics, including the high suicide rate and high recividism rate, shows that the current system is not working, or needs to be improved.

Would the re-offending rate be affected by making prison a harsher place?

This goes in tandem with the fact that we are sending more and more people to prison than ever before, and the current public opinion seems to be in favour of a retributive theory of punishment, keeping individuals in prison for their full sentences.

Would this really give rise to a low re-offending rate?

Well, I'm not sure. The biggest influence on recividism, and on crime in general, seems to be the economy, rather than any social measures. It is a tricky subject, to be sure, and I am not sure that I have any definite answers on this topic.

What I am sure about, however, is that prison is not a nice place to go. You are deprived of your freedom and forced into an institutionalised regime, where your life is highly ordered and you know, despite having normality only two hundred yards away over the walls, that you will not see it for a long length of time.

Also, the original article was referring to category C and D prisons in the main, rather than category A and B prisons, which are definitely not places I want to spend my time.

topper · 26th April 2008, 11:38

Now prison offices say call girls are smuggled in and they admit some jails have 'no go areas'
By MATTHEW HICKLEY -
Last updated at 10:59am on 26th April 2008

Further damaging criticism of the crisis within jails emerged yesterday following the Daily Mail's extraordinary revelations that dealers are breaking into prisons to sell drugs to inmates.

The latest claims include the suggestion that some prisons have become 'no-go areas' for demoralised staff.

The allegations have led to a bitter war of words between the Prison Officers' Association and the Ministry of Justice - and there are signs that the officers could vote for national strike action next month.

Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the POA, admitted staff were too overstretched to control some prison wings.

He said: "We have got no-go areas in certain prisons because prisoners have got complete control."

Mr Travis spoke as the prison population in England and Wales hit a record yesterday of 82,319, up 600 in three weeks - the equivalent of a mediumsized jail.

Last night Mr Travis stressed that staff were willing and able to confront criminals, but added: "We have got a massive shortfall of staff. We are 1,000 prison officers short across the country.

"There is a serious recruitment problem and we have the New Labour Ministry of Justice imposing year-on-year efficiency savings which will further reduce the level of staff and supervision of prisoners."

The POA's claims were backed by a report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers, who found that parts of Rye Hill Prison in Warwickshire were effectively controlled by inmates.

She warned of inadequate supervision and violent incidents not being properly investigated - "which led to prisoners stating that they, rather than the staff, were in control of the units".

The incidents of prostitutes being smuggled into jails to spend the night with inmates are alleged to have happened at Sudbury Prison in Derbyshire, an open jail.

Staff reported seeing women - thought to be call girls - leaving the jail in the mornings.

Mr Travis has already warned of the problems uncovered at Everthorpe Prison in East Yorkshire, a Category C 'secure' jail.

Staff there discovered in January that a drug dealer was using ladders to break in to the prison at night to pass drugs and other contraband items into inmates' cells.

The prison service confirmed the problems at Everthorpe but insisted they had been stamped out.

The POA has warned that its members cannot stem the tide of illegal drugs, which are often cheaper inside prisons than on the streets.

Former prison service officials have estimated that £100million worth of drugs are sold in jails every year.

The union has also condemned what it believes is an overly-comfortable regime in jails.

Many inmates have satellite TV in their cells and breakfast in bed while staff are nervous of breaching the criminals' human rights.

The Ministry of Justice complained that the POA's comments "undermined the excellent work done by prison officers".

"It is simply not true that there are areas of prisons that are no-go areas for staff. The POA's description of prisons is out of touch with reality," it said.

The ministry defended the conditions in prisons, saying: "The punishment of the court is loss of liberty - harsh regimes do not lead to rehabilitation or a reduction in re-offending."

POA leaders expect to face calls for strike action over pay when members gather for their annual conference next month.

The union gave warning last year that it was withdrawing from a voluntary no-strike agreement, which will expire on May 8.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw has pledged to bring in new legislation banning prison officers from such action, but now faces a race to secure Royal assent before the agreement lapses.

Yesterday it emerged that a prison with 380 cells is standing empty at Wealstun in Yorkshire, despite the overcrowding crisis.

The open jail is due to be converted to a secure unit, but weeks after it was emptied, managers have yet to submit a planning application for the work, including a security fence.

Ministers revealed that the prison service is wasting £ 20million a year hiring police station cells as overspill capacity - costing £385 a night for each cell - which are then not used.

TRUTH WARNING

This is from the Daily Mail so - of course all the negative quotes are made up except those from The Ministry of Injustice which are 100% accurate

iguanamanc · 26th April 2008, 12:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

I don't think you can compare the two. In prison individuals are supposed to be supervised and held securely. They are not supposed to have the means, or the freedom, to take their own lives.

Also, you are comparing statitics for a country of 60 million (which would include prison suicides) to a closed prison population of 80,000.

The rate of 7.1/100,000 population UK wide compares to a rate of 95 per year out of 80,000, a much higher rate.

You hinted at the issue in the first post I quoted.

It all comes down to what you want prison to be. I know that may seem liek a vacuous point, but let me explain.

What is the point of prison?

Is it to punish an offender further? Or is it to remove the offender from society, stripping them of their freedom? If it is the latter, then surely how these individuals are held is no concern, as the point of their incarceration is to protect the public. Any calls for further punishment would be based on a wish for further retribution against the individual, in a type of revenge for committing the crime.

Now, I am not saying that you would not be justified in holding some of those viewpoints, but I think these issues often get forgotten or glossed over, and it is important we discuss them.

HM Prison Service thinks prison is to:

To protect the public and provide what commissioners want to purchase by:

* Holding prisoners securely
* Reducing the risk of prisoners re-offending
* Providing safe and well-ordered establishments in which we treat prisoners humanely, decently and lawfully.

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/ab...mentofpurpose/

I would argue that the statistics, including the high suicide rate and high recividism rate, shows that the current system is not working, or needs to be improved.

Would the re-offending rate be affected by making prison a harsher place?

This goes in tandem with the fact that we are sending more and more people to prison than ever before, and the current public opinion seems to be in favour of a retributive theory of punishment, keeping individuals in prison for their full sentences.

Would this really give rise to a low re-offending rate?

Well, I'm not sure. The biggest influence on recividism, and on crime in general, seems to be the economy, rather than any social measures. It is a tricky subject, to be sure, and I am not sure that I have any definite answers on this topic.

What I am sure about, however, is that prison is not a nice place to go. You are deprived of your freedom and forced into an institutionalised regime, where your life is highly ordered and you know, despite having normality only two hundred yards away over the walls, that you will not see it for a long length of time.

Also, the original article was referring to category C and D prisons in the main, rather than category A and B prisons, which are definitely not places I want to spend my time.

Punish an offender further? Further than what?

Remove the offender from society, stripping them of their freedom? Most definitely yes.

Would the re-offending rate be affected by making a prison harsher. Not if more of them committed suicide whilst in there. OK I didn't mean that.

Prison is not a nice place to go? Not for you or I probably, but for some of these guys it must be like a hotel, see the first post.

I think many of us would welcome a retributive theory - or rather practice - of punishment. What would your answer be?

25th April 2008, 19:27	#1 (permalink)
iguanamanc Reserve Team Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: exiled in Worcester Posts: 2,020	Free Sky TV, free telephones, breakfast in bed, cheap drugs, hookers........... Then go to prison....... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...5/njail125.xml

26th April 2008, 00:50	#11 (permalink)
Frosty Turns women gay Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Plotting to take over the world with my Illuminati brethren Posts: 7,416	Some Prison Facts Every prisoner costs about £25,000 a year to keep in custody. A night in a police cell costs more than a night in London's Dorchester Hotel. Up to a third of prisoners have some identifiable psychiatric disorder. Prison is ineffective at reducing crime. Half of all prisoners (and nearly two thirds of young prisoners) reoffend within two years. On average, one prisoner commits suicide every four to five days. http://www.peterjepson.com/law/Priso...rm%20Trust.htm

25th April 2008, 20:05	#2 (permalink)
rufus diabolus Reserve Team Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Sex me Carly Posts: 2,281	Ridiculous, they need to get that sorted, just give them a shitty bed with a rock hard mattress and a bucket to piss in, that'll show the cunts.

25th April 2008, 20:24	#3 (permalink)
vanthaman Winner of the RedCafe Mickey Mouse Cup 2006 Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: in front of laptop Posts: 11,174	nice one, might have to try that

25th April 2008, 20:39	#4 (permalink)
starman Reserve Team Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Under a tree. Posts: 663	I know someone who got sent to prison for two year and said that his life inside was better then it was in normal society and it would not bother him getting sent down again. This article pretty much backs up what he said.

25th April 2008, 21:08	#5 (permalink)
Fearless Scared shitless Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Under Frank Cannon Posts: 1,804	I bet they can even fill their dustbins 4 inches higher than we can without getting fined by council staff wearing stab jackets and then arrested.

25th April 2008, 22:56	#6 (permalink)
Redlambs First Team Sub Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Be careful what you reply, unless you want to be drawn with Carragher's cock up your arse... Posts: 5,716	It is completely true, it's not just paper talk. I've worked in a number of them (not to mention asylum centers), and they get treated unbelievably well.

25th April 2008, 23:17	#7 (permalink)
Marching Admin Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne Posts: 26,821	90 litres of illegal alcohol was found in Frankland jail the other month.

25th April 2008, 23:21	#8 (permalink)
topper Pooper Trooper Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 11,302	who cares about the victims but the poor downtrodden lag we must make sure he's comfortable. Hey warder close the door on the way out please - its causing a draft

25th April 2008, 23:55	#9 (permalink)
Alex First team crossdresser Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: 39°44′21″N 104°59′5″W Posts: 12,855	Something is clearly wrong with the world

26th April 2008, 01:27	#12 (permalink)
kuanteen Youth Team Player Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: [Put your Location here] Posts: 470	Hard labor anyone? I still don't think it makes an economical sense to keep people locked up in luxurious surroundings. Nor does it sound like a deterrent for future crimes if they "don't mind going there again."

26th April 2008, 10:22	#17 (permalink)
iguanamanc Reserve Team Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: exiled in Worcester Posts: 2,020	And from today's paper. .................................................. ............ No wonder prisoners don't want to leave By Richard Edwards Last Updated: 2:11am BST 26/04/200 HMP Hewell Grange, Worcs, houses 200 non-violent male prisoners in the sort of setting a luxury hotel might offer. The Grade II-listed building, completed in 1894, was the seat of the Windsor-Clive family - originally given the estate by Henry VIII - until they sold it to the state, which turned it into a borstal in 1946. The prison has a farm and gardens, also Grade II listed, where inmates work. HMP Hewell Grange, a Grade II listed building, houses 200 non-violent male prisoners in settings more typical of a luxury hotel. Last night it was also claimed that spaces at another jail remained unused because its kitchen could not provide a choice of meals. As prisoner numbers hit a record high yesterday, an officers' leader claimed that there were up to 292 wasted beds at HMP Birmingham. A multi-million pound expansion project has increased the jail's capacity, but because the kitchen is not big enough to give prisoners a choice of meals - including vegetarian and specific diet requirements - it will not fill the cells, he claimed. Brian Clarke, the chairman of Birmingham's Prison Officers' Association, said: "We could accommodate an extra 292 prisoners, we have those extra beds. We need a bigger kitchen and more staff." The disclosures emerged after a prison officers' leader said jails had become so comfortable that some inmates were ignoring chances to escape. Further details of luxuries emerged yesterday. At Hewell Grange, an open prison in Redditch, Worcs, inmates can use a bowling green in the summer at the Grade II, 19th century property, built by the Earl of Plymouth as a family home. Facilities inside the marble-floored house with oak panelled walls include a gym, a snooker room and a library where inmates can borrow CDs and computer games. Each dormitory - there are no cells - has its own television. One inmate serving a 15-year sentence for kidnap said the facility was "like a hotel, except it's free". http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...nprison126.xml .................................................. ....................................... What happened to prison ships? This place is only a few miles away from me.

26th April 2008, 11:38	#24 (permalink)
topper Pooper Trooper Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 11,302	Now prison offices say call girls are smuggled in and they admit some jails have 'no go areas' By MATTHEW HICKLEY - Last updated at 10:59am on 26th April 2008 Further damaging criticism of the crisis within jails emerged yesterday following the Daily Mail's extraordinary revelations that dealers are breaking into prisons to sell drugs to inmates. The latest claims include the suggestion that some prisons have become 'no-go areas' for demoralised staff. The allegations have led to a bitter war of words between the Prison Officers' Association and the Ministry of Justice - and there are signs that the officers could vote for national strike action next month. Glyn Travis, assistant general secretary of the POA, admitted staff were too overstretched to control some prison wings. He said: "We have got no-go areas in certain prisons because prisoners have got complete control." Mr Travis spoke as the prison population in England and Wales hit a record yesterday of 82,319, up 600 in three weeks - the equivalent of a mediumsized jail. Last night Mr Travis stressed that staff were willing and able to confront criminals, but added: "We have got a massive shortfall of staff. We are 1,000 prison officers short across the country. "There is a serious recruitment problem and we have the New Labour Ministry of Justice imposing year-on-year efficiency savings which will further reduce the level of staff and supervision of prisoners." The POA's claims were backed by a report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers, who found that parts of Rye Hill Prison in Warwickshire were effectively controlled by inmates. She warned of inadequate supervision and violent incidents not being properly investigated - "which led to prisoners stating that they, rather than the staff, were in control of the units". The incidents of prostitutes being smuggled into jails to spend the night with inmates are alleged to have happened at Sudbury Prison in Derbyshire, an open jail. Staff reported seeing women - thought to be call girls - leaving the jail in the mornings. Mr Travis has already warned of the problems uncovered at Everthorpe Prison in East Yorkshire, a Category C 'secure' jail. Staff there discovered in January that a drug dealer was using ladders to break in to the prison at night to pass drugs and other contraband items into inmates' cells. The prison service confirmed the problems at Everthorpe but insisted they had been stamped out. The POA has warned that its members cannot stem the tide of illegal drugs, which are often cheaper inside prisons than on the streets. Former prison service officials have estimated that £100million worth of drugs are sold in jails every year. The union has also condemned what it believes is an overly-comfortable regime in jails. Many inmates have satellite TV in their cells and breakfast in bed while staff are nervous of breaching the criminals' human rights. The Ministry of Justice complained that the POA's comments "undermined the excellent work done by prison officers". "It is simply not true that there are areas of prisons that are no-go areas for staff. The POA's description of prisons is out of touch with reality," it said. The ministry defended the conditions in prisons, saying: "The punishment of the court is loss of liberty - harsh regimes do not lead to rehabilitation or a reduction in re-offending." POA leaders expect to face calls for strike action over pay when members gather for their annual conference next month. The union gave warning last year that it was withdrawing from a voluntary no-strike agreement, which will expire on May 8. Justice Secretary Jack Straw has pledged to bring in new legislation banning prison officers from such action, but now faces a race to secure Royal assent before the agreement lapses. Yesterday it emerged that a prison with 380 cells is standing empty at Wealstun in Yorkshire, despite the overcrowding crisis. The open jail is due to be converted to a secure unit, but weeks after it was emptied, managers have yet to submit a planning application for the work, including a security fence. Ministers revealed that the prison service is wasting £ 20million a year hiring police station cells as overspill capacity - costing £385 a night for each cell - which are then not used. TRUTH WARNING This is from the Daily Mail so - of course all the negative quotes are made up except those from The Ministry of Injustice which are 100% accurate