PSI this, that and the other… Star Letter of the Month

Reading the letters pages of Inside Time is always enlightening and they serve to prove two things. The first is that the problems experienced by prisoners are universal and the second is that year-on-year nothing changes. Actually, the second point is not quite true – things do change, but only for the worst. Many letters relate to the failure of various establishments to adhere to the NOMS guidelines as defined in the multitude of Prison Service Instructions (PSIs) which were previously Prison Service Orders (PSOs), so perhaps the essence of the problem is in the change of name? Having gone through the complaints process, including contacting the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) many inmates are left in total confusion and frustration and share their feelings in the letters they write. I doubt that anyone expects some miraculous intervention that will resolve their problems, but putting pen to paper is often a mechanism that helps us cope with the stupidity and futility which is the prison system. NOMS invariably write about their dependence on the PSIs and the guidance they supposedly provide. They may quote from PSI-this, that and the other in the same way that the original letter writer, in their frustration, has described how prison staff themselves failed to adhere to the guidance. Invariably the advice from NOMS is to raise a complaint, again totally ignoring the fact that the letter was most likely written due to the lack of response and the continued failure of the establishment to work within its own guidelines. Every government department is full of people who give themselves willingly and completely to dogma. The adherence to rules, no matter how inane, stupid or contradictory may give them a feeling of power that is lacking in their personal lives. These same people have been wielding the same kind of power throughout history; the Nazis, Khmer Rouge, Interahamwe, Janjaweed and other followers of despotic leaders. One thing is clear, there is nothing personal about the treatment of inmates, it is simply systematic and institutionalised behaviour directed at an audience that is held captive, coerced through petty injunctions and forced to comply with situations that any normal person would view as insane.