Our Prisons are a mess and a Complete Joke

[stevenicks]

Some type of uniform would be a start, no TV's, PlayStation's or other luxuries. The whole system is a complete joke

[Westonboy]

Originally Posted by stevenicks

Some type of uniform would be a start, no TV's, PlayStation's or other luxuries. The whole system is a complete joke

When I started at HMP Bristol, officers on 7 am start walked the landings ringing a hand bell. When unlocking after roll check, every inmate had to be up and dressed and stood to attention against the back wall of their cell. Their bed packs would be precisely laid out, and beds could only be used for sitting on until lock up at night. At unlock any inmate still in bed or not fully dressed went in the bed book, two offences in a calender month meant extra days in prison. On leaving their cell all inmates had to be dressed appropriately, grey trousers and jacket with tie for convicted inmates, brown for unconvicted. All convicted inmates had compulsory labour, either sewing mail bags or wing cleaning, unconvicted inmates had compulsory education. As for tv, that was every second night when association was allowed, and complete bang up on weekend apart from chapel and excercise. We were seriously in control and the inmates liked it that way, because contrary to opinion,when staff lose control, inmate on inmate violence is a much bigger issue than than violence towards staff.

[COLVERT]

I spent three years in Dartmoor prison on updating the old prison cells.

Dartmoor prison. Terrible place to work and dangerous too.

We were working to give hot and cold running water in all the cells. Central heating and a toilet pan.

TV and radio points too.
Previously all there was in all of the cells was a bucket for you know what.

Digging trenches outside for services we had to have steel roofing erected above us to avoid the knives and sharp objects that were thrown at us.
Even socks filled with excrement-------and all we were doing was trying to greatly improve their living conditions.


Didn't seem to do much good really.----

[Westonboy]

On my first day on duty at HMP Bristol, straight from the training schooI I reported to the detail office in my shiny new uniform. The grizzled old senior officer in charged looked me up and down dissaprovingly. He then informed me that I was on bomb disposal, I trembled and nervously asked what that was, I was promptly told that it meant supervising a couple of inmates whilst they cleaned up all the excrement parcels around all four wings that had been thrown out of the cell windows.

[topman]

Originally Posted by Dallas

An eye for an eye

Makes the whole world blind, I believe someone once said.

[wraymond]

It’s understandable when you consider the atrocious activities some criminals get up to and the appalling things they do, that the cry for ultimate retribution goes up.

It’s also easy to apportion blame; like aiming a blunderbuss at a barn door in the sure and certain belief that at least parts of it will hit the target. The experience of Westonboy is educational and most illuminating, not a job many would consider doing and, if I may say, you are to be congratulated on your service.

The behaviour of prisoners, or at least some of them, is partly down to a core of brutes and hard cases and those who comply with a survival instinct to get by until they are released, so perhaps not all of them should be considered in the same light. Also, by virtue of the obvious fact that they were stupid enough to get caught doing stupid things they may not necessarily be the brightest examples of mankind. Oh, and by definition and weight of circumstantial evidence as opposed to proof. Not unlike the rest of society really.

My view is that the prevailing prison climate is largely the product of politi…sorry, can’t go there.. ‘PC’ do-gooders, having far too much sway when it comes to prison reform. The admirable, nurturing and gentle disposition of, and I hesitate to go here for obvious reasons, some feminist chairpersons, appointed for their committee-based careers and not least, their gender, means the prison regime is flawed by a softening of attitudes and contrary to what is actually needed to control the more violent and wayward of law-breakers. I speak with a craftiness that kept me ‘out’ combined with the following fear of capture in my subsequent life coupled with a high scepticism of officialdom and what it will allow through to protect its own interests.

[wraymond]

Originally Posted by topman

Makes the whole world blind, I believe someone once said.

And toothless.

[topman]

...........

[Lancpudn]

When I was driving we had a contract to deliver furniture to to all the county council/government buildings/prisons/courts/schools etc. you wouldn't believe how many times we had to re-deliver the same furniture time & time again, (including pool tables) to the same prisons because the Johnny scroat bags decided to wreck them . all on the taxpayers coin.

[Best_of_British]

Comes down to money, less money, less staff, less discipline. Majority of governors would not last 5 minutes in outside industry. 4 years ago staffing levels were reduced and experienced staff paid off and got off the roll to be replaced with new recruits on lesser contracts. You cant buy experience, spice and less staff has made Prison a dangerous place to be. Unfortunatly untill Prisons burn and staff are fatally injured I doubt Torry Goverment will invest in it.

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