Home comforts: Prisoners have access to Sky TV according to Prison Officers Association's Glyn Travis
Posted on 04/24/2008 10:52:55 AM PDT by Stoat
Prisoners are ignoring chances to escape because they would rather stay in their cushy jails where drugs are cheaper than on the outside, a prison chief officers has said.
Lags at Britain's 'toughest' prisons are treated to breakfast in bed, have Sky TV in every cell and are given cash bonuses for good behaviour.
At one prison in Yorkshire, drug dealers and hookers regularly break IN to ply their trade by leaning ladders up against prison walls.
But none of the criminals take the opportunity to leave because they have got it so easy, according to assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers Association Glyn Travis.
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Home comforts: Prisoners have access to Sky TV according to Prison Officers Association's Glyn Travis
He says Britain's jails are close to anarchy and staff morale is at rock-bottom due to under-funding by the Government.
He said: "We're trying to manage a system that's just snowballing out of control.
"The drug problem within prisons is massive. What prison officers find is only the tip of the iceberg. The quantity of drugs in our prisons today is absolutely vast.
"Prison staff are doing everything they possibly can, despite the shortage of resources, to stem the flow.
Unfortunately, we have got far more intricate systems now, fewer staff, and basic security measures are not being performed.
"Drugs are coming into prisons at a rate that's so dramatic that drugs in prisons are actually cheaper than on the outside.
"Every prison in Britain is under-staffed and over-crowded. The Government believes the only way forward is to reduce the cost of public prisons, making them less safe and less secure. Staff feel very vulnerable."
He added: "There's a classic case in Yorkshire where members of the public were climbing over the prison walls to take drugs into the prison. They put up ladders to climb over the walls, but prisoners were so comfortable in the environment they were living in that none of them tried to climb up the ladders and escape.
"When the ladders came down at night, the members of the public hide inside the prison until their colleagues come over the following morning at 6am, put the ladders back up and they were able to get out.
"None of the prisoners inside tried to escape. It tells me there's something wrong in society when people are breaking into prisons to bring in drugs and prostitutes, but the prisoners are quite happy to stay inside."
Speaking to TalkSport, he added: "Prison is no longer a deterrent. It is merely an occupational hazard."
Mr Travis, who has been an open critic of the way prisons are dealt with by the Labour Government for many years, believes prisoners live in better conditions than trainee soldiers at their barracks.
He said taxpayers would be 'appalled' if they knew how easy Britain's most notorious rapists, murderers and paedophiles have it - and screws are forced to treat them with kid gloves to avoid infringing their human rights.
He said: "Prisoners receive a wage for being in prison, they receive a bed, a TV in all cells, Sky television in most areas for recreational use, free telephones, breakfast in bed on many occasions, cash bonuses for good behaviour, and prison staff are forced to deal with them in such a subservient way. It's ridiculous.
"Society is completely out of control. We need more prisons. We have more drug abuse and more violence on our streets, sentences are longer, and we need a society that feels safe and secure.
"But the Ministry of Justice and the Prison Service have increased the prisoner-to-staff ratios and taken away the fundamental core duties of a prison officer - like interacting with prisoners on a daily basis - in their drive for efficiency."
A prison source said: "Pete Doherty and Blake Fielder-Civil will no doubt be taking advantage of the fact that drugs are cheaper on the inside."
Translation Assistance:
| Lag \Lag\, n. One transported for a crime. [Slang, Eng.] Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |
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| Lag \Lag\, v. t. To transport for crime. [Slang, Eng.] She lags us if we poach. --De Quincey. Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |
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Definition of Lag from dictionary.net
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A related FR thread that may be of interest:
Inside America's toughest jail (Brit paper says Sheriff Joe Arpaio's ideas would be great for U.K.)
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Please say a prayer for the people of Great Britain
But, what about Turner Brown?
Not-A-Ping
And his brother Ben Dover.....
8^)
...and all the sex you could ever ask for!............
Looks like a college dorm.
Absolutely outrageous - but not a surprise. Britain’s crime rate has continued to skyrocket, while their treatment of criminals has become more and more lax.
Unfortunately, we have the same problem here, although to a lesser degree.
I readily admit that I've only given that page a cursory read so far and I'm wondering if you would be so kind as to point out the part(s) that you find particularly objectionable? It seems that most points are of a rather general nature, with specifics usually being deferred to the Governor of the prison in question or the Secretary of State. I seem to be missing the point(s) that you're referring to.
It happens, but it is usually the homeless, often during cold weather, committing relatively minor crimes to get "three hots and a cot". Many of these people have mental and/or alcohol problems. Throwing a rock through a store window seems to be one of the most popular crimes. When the person is arraigned they say they have no permanent address so the courts will demand bail or bond to insure their court appearances. This is, of course, is what the defendant wants because he is happy to stay in jail for awhile. I don't think there are a lot of people committing felonies in order to get sentenced to prison.
Indeed...it looks much neater and cleaner than some dorm rooms I've visited :-)
I appreciate your clarification, thank you.
Use of force
47. - (1) An officer in dealing with a prisoner shall not use force unnecessarily and, when the application of force to a prisoner is necessary, no more force than is necessary shall be used.
(2) No officer shall act deliberately in a manner calculated to provoke a prisoner.
...This is extremely slanted to the benefit of the inmate; then again, I once dealt with such in previous employment.
Absolutely true. Minor crimes to get a warm place to stay, maybe a shower, and a few free meals.
I'm very sorry to hear that, and I sincerely hope that you're in a more congenial work environment now.
A very depressing societal commentary. However, I'm guessing that this sort of thing doesn't happen too often in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jurisdiction. I do wish that cloning science would get moving faster so that we can clone several more of him :-)
Inside America's toughest jail (Brit paper says Sheriff Joe Arpaio's ideas would be great for U.K.)
As a prosecutor I would regularly have to approve cases where a woman would call 911 from a pay phone and give her location and the crime she is guilty of committing. This happens all during the winter. It is always homeless people of course.
Yeah Brother! One of my best fantasies! To buy my own island, declare war on the U.S.A., and be rebuilt and coddled for the rest of my life!!!!
maybe I should denounce my citizenship, flee and sneek back in??
(oh well at least I can can dream, can't he?)
8^)
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