Prisons: The good, the bad and the ugly

Critters abound

Is it a dragon? Is it a monster? No it’s a critter who has been out visiting prisoners and hoping to win their hearts. Last month he called in to Doncaster with the Critterish Allsorts.

Chapel refuge for Winchester staff

Winchester prison staff nearly lost control of an exercise yard in late February according to the BBC. The Prison Service said the incident “was resolved swiftly” by “skilled prison officers” and there were no injuries to staff. Following the incident staff gathered in the chapel and the prisoners were locked in cells. BBC sources blamed “perilously low” staffing levels and said staff had passed a no confidence vote in bosses. Mark Fairhurst, national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said that senior managers had ignored concerns raised by staff in the weeks before the incident. Last October, a report by the prison’s Independent Monitoring Board found during the pandemic HMP Winchester had high levels of violence and an “underlying volatile atmosphere”. 

The Prison Service said that they are “committed to retaining staff and providing a safe environment for them to develop their careers” and were introducing an enhanced overtime scheme and borrowing staff from other prisons.

Twinning project arrives at Peterborough

Peterborough United have teamed up with Peterborough as part of the football ‘Twinning Project’ whereby local football teams work with prisons to use football as a means to break the cycle of reoffending. Eligible prisoners will be able to access accredited coaching and employability training to better prepare them for life after their release. Those who complete the course will receive a FA Level 1 Coaching qualification. Former Twinning Project participants from elsewhere in the country have gone on to secure employment with football clubs, local authorities and more. The Peterborough project has been made possible by a £5K award from the Police and Crime Commissioner which has been match funded by The Twinning Project. The project will support three cohorts of 16 who are anticipated to complete their training over a year. Both male and female cohorts will be taking part in this project.

Damian Evans, Director of HMP Peterborough added: “This is an exciting project and we are pleased to be working with our local football club, Peterborough United. We are committed to supporting prisoners on their rehabilitative journey to reducing reoffending. The Twinning Project adds another dimension to this work and we are confident that it will provide an extra incentive to encouraging prisoners towards choosing a better future.”

Styal soft play

Following the refurbishment of their visits garden, children visiting the ladies in Styal now have a wonderful new soft-play resource to enjoy and relax in (above). The visits garden refurbishment has created a bright, colourful space for everyone to enjoy.

Row over legal meeting eavesdropping

A row has broken out between defence lawyers and the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) after confidential legal meetings between a Maghaberry prisoner and his lawyer were listened to by staff. The man’s lawyer told a court: “As things stand it is impossible for him to receive a fair trial because we have reached the conclusion in light of these events that we cannot consult with him securely while he is in Maghaberry Prison.” The judge said the eavesdropping was ‘very concerning’ and there was a need to ensure ‘complete confidentiality’ around legal consultations. He said such listening should only go ahead if authorised at a very high level, preferably within the judiciary.

Prison for sale

Hewell Grange, previously the open prison section of Hewell has been put on the market by the Prison Service. The grade 1 listed building was originally built in the 1800s. The Grange is set in 247 acres of land which includes another 20 listed buildings. When it closed in March 2020 it was described in an inspection report as the worst conditions in an open prison that inspectors had seen.

Risley monster munch failure

The latest attempted throwover at Risley concerned two Monster Munch packets which had been emptied and filled with an I-phone and pills, worth £5,000, before being resealed and thrown over the wall. A prison spokesperson said that it is not unusual for debris to get blown into a prison’s grounds and it might not get a second glance and people hope the ones thrown over will blend in with other rubbish and be ignored.

Prisoner’s fake letter ruse backfires

A prisoner’s bid to get his charges dropped by sending police a fake letter in the name of one of his victims was swiftly detected – because the envelope it arrived in carried a prison stamp. The 54-year-old man was detained on remand, accused of sexually assaulting two women, when he came up with the ruse. He wrote a letter purporting to be from one of the women, saying that she had invented the allegation and now wished to drop the matter. However, detectives who received the letter last June immediately saw it had been franked at HMP Altcourse, where the suspect was detained. The scheme backfired when the suspect not only admitted the two original offences, which occurred in 2020 and 2021, but pleaded guilty at Preston Crown Court to an additional charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

Starvation rations at Chelmsford

Men in Chelmsford have been complaining about ‘child-sized’ portions of food, and even staff have criticised the amount of food given to prisoners. This has now been confirmed in the latest report by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) which says that food portions were too small which was a major issue on a number of wings. According to a ‘prison source’ the portions are ‘way too small’ and the men are losing weight. When HM Inspectorate of Prisons visited in August last year their report said the main kitchen was ‘unkempt and grubby’, some equipment was in poor repair and there was poor drainage.

Prison declared Covid free

After a three month Covid outbreak which started last December, Exeter is no longer being declared an ‘outbreak site’. During that time 74 prisoners and 32 staff tested positive. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “Our precautionary measures taken at HMP Exeter, in line with public health guidance, mean it is no longer an outbreak site.” It has been confirmed time out of cell, including for visits and outdoor exercise, continued where possible. The National Framework outlines that it is down to individual governors to decide what is best for their prison in terms of Covid restrictions.

New mural at Warren Hill

The Warren Hill men are never happy unless they are busy demonstrating their various talents. One man has been busy painting a mural on the inside of one of the prison fences to enhance the environment for everybody (above).

More time after officer attack

A Birmingham prisoner has had his sentence extended after he attacked two prison officers in three days, which were described as ‘premeditated attacks’. The man, in prison for knife crimes, was given two six-month sentences after he pleaded guilty to the attacks. The court heard that the crimes were made more serious because it was a “deliberate attack on a public servant carrying out public duties”.

Spring raptors

Now spring is sprung the raptor breeding season is starting at Warren Hill. The men working with the birds are all gaining qualifications as well as being proud of what they achieve with the birds. .

Prison bans sugar

Sugar has been removed from a prison’s canteen sheet to prevent residents from brewing ‘hooch’. The decision was taken by governors at Channings Wood, a Category C jail in Devon. It means men cannot purchase bags of sugar with their weekly grocery order- although they still get small quantities with meals.

The Prison Service confirmed that sugar was first removed from the canteen sheet at Channings Wood in 2019, and remains unavailable today. The spokesperson added: “Illicitly brewed alcohol fuels violence and crime in prisons which is why we are cracking down on it.” In 2016, a prisoner told Inside Time that Channings Wood had removed fresh fruit from the canteen sheet, and stopped serving it with meals, to thwart hooch production. The Prison Service said last month that there are no restrictions on fruit at the jail.

Prisoner fell to his death while on Spice

A prisoner at HMP Humber fell to his death after climbing onto safety netting while under the influence of a Spice-type drug. Anthony Clark, 33, was a frequent drug user and regularly climbed onto netting to get moved off wings. In February 2019, during evening lock-up, an officer told him to go to his cell, but CCTV footage showed him climb onto first-floor safety netting. The officer noted that Clark’s eyes were red, he was waving his arms and looked unstable. According to a report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, “He took about five paces not looking where he was going and stepped off the end of the netting. Officer A saw him fall to the floor about 12 feet below and stop moving.” He was taken to hospital but died six days later. The report called Clark’s death “another example of the harmful effects of psychoactive substances.”

Prisoner died in ambulance after gate wouldn’t open

A prisoner died in the back of an emergency ambulance after it was held up for half an hour whilst trying to leave Leeds prison. Healthcare staff called the ambulance for Guy Paget, 73, at 1.23pm on March 16 last year because he needed urgent hospital treatment. Paramedics arrived at around 2pm, and at 2.35pm the vehicle left the prison’s healthcare unit with the patient aboard. However, the prison’s main gate failed to open. Then, according to escorting officers, an operational support grade member of staff tried to prevent the vehicle from leaving because paperwork had not been completed. Paget died in the ambulance, parked in prison grounds, at 3.06pm. A report by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman called on the governor to ensure that the gate is in working order and that staff are aware of what paperwork is required for ambulances.

Spiced up boxers

According to Vice Magazine, boxer shorts laced with the drug Spice are being sent into prisons across England and Scotland. “Prisoners either put the clothes in water to extract the substances they’ve been soaked in, turn it into psychoactive tea by boiling strands, or smoke or vape the ripped-up, drug-drenched material.” They say the boxer tactic has been discovered across the prison system in Scotland, as well as at Leeds, Doncaster, and Rochester in England.

Covid mask complaint

A man visiting his stepson in Hull has criticised the prison over their Covid mask policy. He told staff that he has a medical exemption and offered to prove it with medical evidence from his doctor. He says he was told there were no exemptions to the prison’s rules. He was also told that if he argued with staff after asking an officer’s name, he would be refused future visits. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said everyone had to wear a mask until after security searches, thereafter they could prove their exemption and remove their mask and have their visit behind a Perspex screen.

Marathon effort for Demelza

Two of HMP Rochester’s gym orderlies are running 10km every day for 100 days, to help raise money for Demelza Hospice Care for Children. The challenge was the brainchild of orderly John, who approached his friend Mark and asked if he would be interested in taking up the challenge! Mark, who had never run 10km before, agreed without hesitating! To make matters worse, they then decided to further test themselves and their endurance by having to complete each 10km run, in under 55 minutes.

They completed their first run on 24th January and 21 days into the challenge they were approached by Alan, one of the PEI’s, who asked if they were completing the challenge on behalf of a charity? The boys explained they’d considered it but didn’t have any particular charity in mind. Having raised money for Demelza Children’s Hospice in the past, Alan explained what amazing work they do and that it would be a worthwhile cause to raise money for.

Mark and John set themselves a £3,000 target and so far have managed to raise £624 from prisoners directly and a further £710 on their go.fundme page https://gofund.me/e245528c Totalling £1334.00. Once the challenge is completed on 3rd May 2022, they will have run 620 miles, which is the equivalent to nearly 24 marathons over 100 days!

Bullingdon mind calmers

As part of a trial, all new receptions will receive a new 3-part illustrated postcard mailer (above), with an easy-

to-follow mind and body calming practice, suitable for stressed and anxious people with no prior experience of yoga. The postcard mailer has been provided by Prison Phoenix Trust.

Drugs thrown into Manchester

Police are on the hunt for a man who was caught on CCTV throwing a package over the wall at HMP Manchester (above). 

A man got out of a white Ford van which had false number plates and hurled several packages over the wall which were intercepted by staff and found to contain drugs. Police have issued images of the van in the hope of tracing it.

White van man at Berwyn

A man in a white van has been caught after throwing drug filled tennis balls into Berwyn on ‘multiple occasions’, on one day he made two ‘deliveries’ to the prison. The floor fitter said he was just ‘helping a friend’. The balls contained cannabis and cocaine. Police number plate reading cameras were able to trace the man’s journey to the prison where CCTV cameras caught the items being thrown over the fence.

Man locked up for 20 months on minor charge

A court has apologised to a man who spent 20 months in prison awaiting an appearance for possessing a small quantity of drugs for personal use. The 38-year-old was staying at a halfway house in Gloucester, having recently been released from prison on parole, when it was searched by police in June 2020. Officers found two wraps of heroin in the man’s room. Although the quantity was small, it was a breach of the man’s release conditions so he was recalled to prison – but it took authorities 18 months to charge him with possession. After the man pleaded guilty in February at Cheltenham Magistrates Court via video link from HMP Portland, the court clerk apologised on behalf of HM Courts and Tribunal Service for the delay. The presiding justice, Richard Longstreth, said: “The length of time taken doesn’t reflect well on the bodies involved.”

Healthy living at Thameside

Thameside has recently introduced “His Wellbeing”, an innovative and brand-new newsletter for prisoners which provides useful and practical advice to improve both physical and mental wellbeing. The newsletter aims to help men in prison to improve their physical and mental health through food and other lifestyle interventions and is edited and published by UK national charity, Food Matters. The Thameside pilot includes educational content about food and nutrition, recipe ideas and tips (using ingredients and equipment that are available to them) and a guest-written article on Yoga and mindfulness from the Prison Yoga Project.