the National Newspaper for Prisoners & Detainees a voice for prisoners since 1990 December 2017 / Issue No. 222 / www.insidetime.org / A ‘not for profit’ publication / ISSN 1743-7342 An average of 60,000 copies distributed monthly Independently verified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations
“At least we showed people what we were and what we did warts and all.” Lord Neuberger
“When I won the X Factor I had a letter from the prison saying I owed them money.” Sam Bailey
“We didn’t meet in some cocktail bar. You broke into my house…” Will Riley
Comment // page 16
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Comment // pages 30-31
SEASONS GREETINGS TO ALL OUR READERS 64 page issue including 2018 wall planner
Detention Centre staff abuse charges Seven former members of staff at Medomsley Detention Centre are being prosecuted for alleged abuse and misconduct following one of the country’s biggest investigations of its kind
Medomsley “A number of people still under investigation”
Inside Time report The seven men, who worked at Medomsley Consett, County Durham, have been summonsed to appear before Newton Aycliffe magistrates this month. Durham police launched Operation Seabrook more than four years ago into alleged abuse at the centre, which closed in 1988. A spokesman for the police force said the seven men, who are aged from 61 to 73, will appear on 19 December to answer charges of misconduct in a public office and alleged
physical abuse offences. Some will also answer sexual abuse charges. More than 1,480 men have contacted the inquiry team to report allegations of either sexual or physical assaults while detained at Medomsley, with some claims dating back to the 1960s. The police said there could yet be further charges. Teenage prisoners at the DC typically spent six to eight weeks at the Home Office-run facility before being released. These days such offending would be dealt with by
l Allegations from 1,500 former prisoners l Accusations of sexual and physical mistreatment l Claims dating back to 1960s community punishment. DCS Adrian Green said that the announcement, “Marks a significant step forward in what has been, and continues to be, a long and complex investigation. Enquiries do not stop here - the Operation Seabrook team and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) remain committed in continuing to move the investigation forward. In February this year, we submitted 32 files to the CPS for charging decisions. A number of people are still under investigation so we do not rule out further charges in the future.”
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Legal aid for prisoners to be restored in New Year Government throws in the towel following challenge by prisoner supporting charities Inside Time report The Ministry of Justice has abruptly abandoned what was expected to become a battle in the Supreme Court. In April, the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prisoners’ Advice Service, deciding that legal aid for inmates should be restored in three areas: pre-tariff reviews by the Parole Board, category-A reviews and decisions on placing prisoners in Close Supervision Centres. The three appeal court judges, Lady Justice Gloster, Lord Justice Patten and Lord Justice
and confiscation proceedings. Rahman Ravelli’s hard-won reputation has been earned in cases involving tax fraud, financial regulation, money laundering, serious fraud, bribery and corruption, investment fraud and many other major legal issues. Not to mention its role in having shaped the law in the highest courts.
Beatson said, “At a time when ... the evidence about prison staffing levels, the current state of prisons and the workload of the Parole Board suggests that the system is under considerable pressure, the system has at present not got the capacity sufficiently to fill the gap in the run of cases in those three areas.” The MoJ declared that it would appeal to the Supreme Court to reverse that ruling. Seven months later, before the Supreme Court had even agreed to hear the case, the department has capitulated. Continues on page 11
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Ja-faikens… innit?
A not for profit publication.
D Sopp - HMP Rochester
Inside Time is wholly responsible for its editorial content. Comments or complaints should be directed to the publisher and not to New Bridge.
Board of Directors Trevor Grove Former Editor Sunday Telegraph, Journalist, Writer and former Magistrate. Dr Peter Bennett Trustee, New Bridge Foundation and former Governor of HMP Grendon Geoff Hughes Former Governor of HMP Belmarsh John D Roberts Former Company Chairman and Managing Director employing former prisoners Louise Shorter Former producer, BBC Rough Justice Alistair H E Smith BSc FCA Chartered Accountant, Trustee and Treasurer, New Bridge Foundation
The Editorial Team
Erwin James Editor in Chief
John Roberts Publisher and Director
Rachel Billington OBE Associate Editor Commercial Manager David Roberts
Noel Smith Paul Sullivan Commissioning Reporter Editor
Correspondence
Head of Administration Justine Best
I’m currently serving a 12-month sentence, and have not been in prison for over a decade. Among the huge changes I have noticed there is one that really gets my goat - the fake Jamaican accent (Ja-faiken).
“Young prisoners and lads in their 20s from the Home Counties talking as though they are Yardies and descendants of Bob Marley, thinking it’s cool to say ‘innit’ and ‘bredrin’ after every sentence.” On a visit last week poor little Tarquin was crying his eyes out to mummy and daddy on the table behind me because he had crashed daddy’s Jag after the school prom and was sent to prison for a whole month, and he was missing them and nanny ever so. Once he had finished stuffing his fat entitled face with chocolate and pop, and his parents were safely in mummy’s 4x4 on the way back to Berkshire, Tarquin suddenly switched back to his native tongue and was telling everyone how he had a ‘sick visit blud, nice time with fam, ya know’. 10-years ago, if you had wanted to sound hard or ‘street’ you would put on your best Ray Winstone accent and run around shouting ‘You slag’ or ‘Where’s your tool’. So, if you are a YP or in your 20s, here’s a bit of advice - roll down that one leg of your joggers, stop fake limping, pull up your pants and speak properly. Mummy and daddy deserve that after paying 20-grand a term at boarding school, young man. Innit.
Countryman’s Weekly Gregg Hill HMP Highdown I am from the countryside and have an interest in all things rural, fishing, hunting, game keeping and livestock. I ordered a newspaper called The Countryman’s Weekly, but I am told I cannot have this as it advertises shooting events and guns. Can HMPPS give me a cogent and logical reason why the prison would refuse me being allowed to purchase this publication? HMPPS Response Newspapers and periodicals may, at the local discretion of the prison, be purchased by prisoners, through the use of local supplier agreements. Publications, however, must not compromise safety or security. This policy is outlined in section 8 of Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 23/2013. If a prisoner is not satisfied that this policy is being implemented correctly they can make a formal complaint to the Governor under the normal local complaints processes.
Insidetime December 2017
Mailbites Feed the old Name Withheld - HMP Birmingham Just thinking about the people who claim that prisoners have it better than OAPs, especially this time of year. Surely if OAPs are hungry, cold and being treated badly these people should point the accusing finger where it belongs, at your Government. If the elderly are cold and hungry it is not the fault of prisoners. We don’t decide how much pension they get or how much they are charged for heating. So, looking accusingly at us, or talking as though we are somehow responsible, is just nonsense. Attack your Government, not people who are disenfranchised by the Government and have practically no say in the daily running of their own lives, let alone wider society.
Inside Justice doing good D Patterson - HMP Frankland I was compelled to write after reading the letter ‘Inside Justice, where are you?’, in the September issue. To the letter-writer, I would say that Louise Shorter and her team of experts have been looking at my case for a while, but I know these things take time. Everyone who is fighting an injustice or miscarriage of justice should know it is easy to get convicted, even with no evidence, and you should be praising people like Louise Shorter and her team for being a lifeline for the wrongly-convicted. You must remember that when they take your case they have to start from scratch. So, stop putting IJ down and let them get on with the good work they do.
Dubious X-Box practice Lewis - HMP Frankland
Layout & Design Colin Matthews
I came here from another HM Prison where I purchased my X-Box 360 from Gema Records. Gema Records advertise in this paper and it clearly states in their advert that Gema Records remove all the Wi-Fi capability from all the X-Box 360s they sell in 37 UK prisons. It seems that this is not quite good enough for this prison so they force us to send our X-Boxes (at our own expense), the ones that we bought in prison and which have been checked and supplied by an approved supplier, to a company owned by an ex-prison officer called Chips Computers. Is this the prison acting like the Mafia and putting rules in place to benefit one of their own?
Website Design and Advertising Gary Bultitude
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Reaping smokefree rewards
Porridge MkII “Unrealistic monotonous garbage”
Terry Winter - HMP Highdown I wanted to write and provide my thoughts on the BBC1 sitcom ‘Porridge’, set in the fictional HMP Wakely. The original programme, set in the 1970s, was much more realistic. There are a number of things about the new series that jar a bit, and confused me when compared to my own experience of the modern prison system. 1) The scene where there is a communal area on the wing with tables and chairs, and inmates and staff sitting down drinking tea together from ceramic cups. Communal area? Tables and chairs? Ceramic mugs? What happened to the real cheap plastic mugs issued in prison, or the staff retreating to their office to drink from their big coffee beakers or disposable cardboard cups? 2) Nigel Fletcher (supposedly Norman Stanley Fletcher’s grandson) seems to have plenty of time on his hands out of cell every day, it’s not like a prison at all with no bangup or cancelled association and exercise.
3) Where is the customary, and near obligatory nowadays, prisoner on the landing having a Spice attack? 4) The staff shown on this programme seem to be more docile and geriatric than the steroid-abusing, grim bouncer-types we are more used to. 5) The staff actually took an interest in Fletcher’s personal life, have these officers undergone a personality transplant? 6) The landings and wing seem exceptionally quiet, whatever has happened to all the shouting, screaming, doors slamming, cellbells ringing, people banging on their doors and loud music? 7) How unrealistic was the scene where Fletcher was engaging in sarcasm with an officer, yet it didn’t result in a negative entry on his file or in him being put on Basic?
The Mailbag section of the paper is always peppered with negative comments concerning the prison smoking ban. I have asthma and COPD, they run in both sides of my family and have already claimed the life of my nan. I was a medium to heavy smoker and I enjoyed it. However, I am so glad that the smoking-ban came into effect because I wouldn’t have quit of my own accord. Yes, it was hard, yes, I was very stressed but it was all worth it. Since quitting smoking I’ve not had to use my inhalers, I can do more physical exercise without wheezing, and my taste and smell have improved. But smelling actual prison is somewhat of a double-edged sword. All in all, for me it has been a great benefit. Not only am I reaping the rewards of the things stated above, but my canteen-sheet is looking a lot healthier. What I would say though, is that the guys puffing away on tea-bags and nicotine patches need to give their heads a shake. Just bite the bullet.
Battling for a plan
N Taylor - HMP Bedford Prison can be a funny place sometimes. Certain situations, rules, even staff can be unintentionally funny. This was captured brilliantly in the original Ronnie Barker sitcom, Porridge. In the original run, Fletcher’s witty repartee with his fellow inmates and jailors illustrated perfectly the ‘them and us’ mentality of prison. However, the new updated version of this much-loved BBC sitcom stars Kevin Bishop as Fletcher’s grandson, in for fraud and computer hacking, and something is missing. Reviving an old favourite was always going to be tough, and expectations were dashed. The new version of Porridge does not deliver. Ronnie Barker, the original Fletcher, brought the character to life, but Kevin Bishop’s imitation is just that, an imitation. Television has moved on since the 1970s and so must the writing. I cannot see this new Fletcher doing extra time beyond his allotted 6-weeks.
Contributing to Mailbag If you would like to contribute to Mailbag, please send your letters to the address on the left. It is very important that you ensure the following details are on all paperwork sent to Inside Time: YOUR NAME, PRISON NUMBER & PRISON. Failure to do so will prevent us responding to you and your submission being withheld from publication. Please note letters for publication may be edited. We will be using the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize money so include your DOB on your entries. To avoid any possible misunderstanding, if you have a query and for whatever reason do not wish your letter to be published in Inside Time or appear on the website, or yourself to be identified, please make this clear. We advise that wherever possible, when sending original documents such as legal papers, you send photocopies as we are unable to accept liability if they are lost. We may need to forward your letter and/or documents to Prison Service HQ or another appropriate body for comment or advice, therefore only send information you are willing to have forwarded on your behalf.
2-9
Mailbag
Lee Bridge - HMP Channings Wood
Page 5
“It’s not as if I’m going to be driving my car around the landings.”
I have been in prison for over 9-months and have less than 8-months left to serve. Yet, I still have no Sentence Plan.
Newsround
I was under the impression that a Sentence Plan was of the utmost importance and that they should be completed at the start of the sentence? You need a Sentence Plan in order to progress through the system, and even just to get onto the Resettlement Wing, and you can bet that Probation are going to want me to complete some kind of course before I get released.
Page 10
I have put in Application after Application and also wrote to Probation some months ago, but nobody has bothered to get back to me. You really have to battle and pester and almost get into trouble trying to get any sort of rehabilitation here. If the staff really can’t be bothered then perhaps they should hand the job over to someone who is really going to do it. This feels like negligence.
It is a shame that we have to endure another five episodes of this ‘twallop’, but I, for one, will not be watching this monotonous garbage any further.
Fletcher’s porridge was tastier
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Image: BBC
LMB - HMP Isle of Wight
Stale porridge
Mailbag 3
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Insidetime December 2017
The National Prison Law Specialists
10-15
“I thought it was a joke in bad taste. Then I thought, ‘What the Hell’.” 16-31
Comment
“You go in a cell and it’s like a crack house” Page 27 32-37
Information
Page 34
“I had many aspirations, yet no ideas of how to reach any of my goals in life.” 38-43
Legal
Page 41
“You may have heard this referred to as a ‘nicking sheet’.” 44-60
Jailbreak
Page 48
“I used to cry on Christmas morning. Only gift I got was a slap for moaning”
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Wage deductions
Judge money Z Ahmed - HMP Woodhill
Not so independent Mr Lewis - HMP Frankland I wrote to the IMB to complain about this new policy of forcing me to pay £30 to have my X-box checked to make sure it doesn’t have Wi-fi capability. This after I proved to the prison that I bought it from Gema Records (an approved and long-standing supplier to HMP) who disable the Wi-fi from every X-box they sell to 37 different prisons. The IMB wrote back and when I looked at their address I noticed that they are based in this prison, so how can they be ‘independent’? No surprise then that they sided with the prison. If the IMB are independent why are they based inside prison?
Money charges S Carr - HMP Rye Hill This new online service for getting money to prisoners is a great idea and prisoners will benefit by not having to wait for weeks for cheques to clear. So, why are private companies who run prisons, such as G4S, being allowed to charge for this service? It is free for Government-run prisons. Private prisons are charging a fee which works out at the same price as a postal order, so the service does not benefit everyone. Are all prisoners aware of this?
Lighting the fuse C Aird - HMP Forest Bank When will the government wake up and admit the prison smoking ban is not going to work? Acts of violence and self-harm have risen by 40% since its introduction, and we all know that this is just the start. There will be an increase in riots and suicide, Long Lartin will not be the last. Where is our human rights in all of this? The government should scrap this ban, but if they are too cowardly then what happens next is on their hands. The fuse has been lit…
Living like animals N Fowler - HMP Exeter D-wing here at HMP Exeter is in a disgraceful state, hard to believe it is really the 21st century here. We have to flush our toilets with buckets of water, the toilets and showers are falling apart. In fact, the whole building is falling apart, the conditions we are living in are disgusting. We are humans and should have the right to be held in decent conditions.
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Too often of late, we hear media commentators asserting that our judiciary is overworked and underpaid. I find that astonishing and so I did a bit of digging around in the library.
Last week we received a notice on the kiosk telling us that there will be a deduction in our (cleaners) wages from the 1st of October, as they do not want to pay us for working at weekends. They still expect us to work, but for no pay! I’m sure staff and people at HMPPS get paid if they are asked to work weekends, so why not us?
To become a judge, one must first attain the relevant training and practise as a barrister. In modern times that means GCSEs, A-levels, a degree, an optional post-graduate degree, a BPTC course, 6-months pupillage and then another 6 before being ‘called’ to the Bar. So, already, that is 10-years or more in preparation, quite an investment.
HMPPS Response HMP Northumberland implemented a new resident pay policy on the 10th July after lengthy consultation with resident representatives. The aim of the policy was to provide a fair and balanced structure designed to encourage constructive participation in regime activities. Prior to the review houseblock cleaners were paid £0.63 per session working up to a maximum of 14 periods over the week. This equated to a weekly wage of £8.82. The new structure increased the sessional pay to £1.25 so the vast majority of residents work a maximum of 10 sessions per week. Therefore, from the figures outlined it is noticeable that this provides a weekly wage of £12.50 which is still significantly higher than their weekly wage prior to the introduction of the policy in a shorter period.
Let’s look at the pay. According to Whitakers Almanac 2017, the wage for a barrister during pupillage is between £12,000 and £65,000. £25,000 to £300,000 once qualified, and then over £1million after 10-years. Not too shabby.
Old hands are better T Lawrence - HMP Stafford I read with interest the article in September’s Inside Time regarding an increase in prison officer numbers.
The highest paid Judge, Lord Thomas, earns £249,583. There are 39 Justices of Appeal and they earn £204,695 each. In the High Court combined there are 88 Judges earning £179,768 each. A Senior Court Judge earns the same as an Old Bailey Judge, £144,172. A Circuit Judge earns £133,506. Not forgetting the Judge for Administrative Court on £179,768, or Admiralty, Commercial, and London Mercantile Court Office Judge, a snip at £179,768. The lowest paid Judge? District Judges at £107,000.
Having recently transferred from a G4S jail (Birmingham), where I found the prison to be woefully understaffed and the ‘new hires’ to be poorly equipped to deal with prison environments, to a state-run prison (Stafford), and there is a marked contrast between the two. Any new hires coming into Birmingham, some as young as 18, were back out the door within a month, as was mentioned in the news. Not only does the atmosphere here at Stafford seem calmer, but the staff seem far better equipped to deal with the prison population. Just saying.
The media and possibly Judges would do well to read this and realise Judges are not underpaid. The minimum of £107,000 per year would not be earned by the majority of the working population even after a lifetime of trying.
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Courses can be good for you Name withheld Rampton Hospital I’m writing in reply to Graham Coutts of Wakefield in the October issue. People who slag off all psychology courses really pee me off. I admit that in prison I did a couple of courses, like ETS, and I also did a drug programme. All you had to do was pass a couple of MDTs and then tell them what you think they want to hear. But, since being in Rampton I have completed Anger Management, Violence Reduction and also Scheema Therapy, and they have had a dramatic effect on me. I can honestly say that I am no longer the person that I used to be. In fact, if prisons used the courses that hospitals use then a lot more people would be able to change their lives around. I’m sure prison psychologists mean well, but can only work with the crap courses they are given.
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Looking for solutions No recovery, no change Paula Wainwright - HMP Peterborough I have been in prison for 3-years and during this time I have been shipped to 6 different prisons. I am completely shocked at the lack of recovery communities in our prisons. Over 74% of the prison population has addiction issues. The substance misuse services are quick to give substitute medication, the problem is there is no one promoting the very effective recovery communities, such as NA, CA, AA. When I was at Drake Hall, there was no NA and only one AA meeting every fortnight. The Government’s NTA do recognise NA and AA as ‘models of recovery’ which bring ‘real recovery’ from addiction and crime.
“The drug teams seem to be missing vital opportunities in prisons to turn people away from addiction and crime as 71% of prisoners go on to reoffend within twelve-months.” Taxpayers spent approximately £35,000 per prisoner last year, so my concern is if we spend so much money on employment and education, we miss the real problem and are completely wasting this money. It costs approximately £10,000 to send someone to rehab, so why don’t we save money and create more pathways from courtrooms to treatment centres? I am distressed when I hear women telling me that it is their first time in prison and their children have been placed in adoption. At no point have they been offered rehab in the community, yet, we as a country are quick to remove kids from their mother’s care. More needs to be done to recognise the harm which addiction brings. More joint working between prisons, courts and substance misuse services. Governors in prison need to oversee their drug teams and ensure they are running proper recovery services and not just replacing one drug with another. NA and AA meetings should be available daily in order to ensure people have the chance to live drug-free lives.
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Insidetime December 2017
“It’s not like I’ll be driving my car around the landings”
Driving in wonderland John Munday - HMP The Mount I do not have long left to serve, and thought I would get my driver’s license sorted out now so as to have more of a chance at a job when I am released. I have a full license but it has expired, so I wrote to the DVLA and they supplied me with a form to renew my license. So far, so good. As I was replacing my old paper license for a card one and I wanted any endorsements removed, the cost was £90. I wrote to my bank and they sent me a cheque payable to the DVLA for £90. Now, this is where things fall apart. The prison has said I cannot do this and the prison finance department have informed me that I must get the cheque from them and it must come out of my spends account. As I do not have enough money in my account I must save my prison wage until I do! How mad is that?
“I want to increase my chances of not going back to crime on release by using my own money and yet the prison authorities are blocking this for no good reason.” I am on Standard IEP, so do not get access to a lot of money, and it seems like the prison do not want us to help ourselves. And, they definitely are not helping us. What has it got to do with them whether I want to use my own money to renew my driving license? It’s not as if I’m going to be driving my car around the landings. It’s like Alice in Wonderland.
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Do No Harm
Monkey noises? Not here
D Sage - HMP Dovegate
Richard Roberts - HMP Garth
During my time at HMP Lowdham Grange an audit was taken and by far the biggest number of complaints, apparently over 90%, was about the way they are treated by Healthcare staff.
I feel I must reply to the mailbag in the October issue titled ‘Chanting monkey noises’. I have been in Garth for the past 8-months and I have never heard any chanted monkey noises.
After I transferred here to Dovegate, I arrived full of hope and thought that Healthcare was bound to be better here. You can imagine my disappointment when not only was it just as bad here but many of the same personnel as at Lowdham Grange Healthcare are also working here. Now, call me cynical, but I feel there is a connection between these two facts. I understand that the first rule in medical care is do no harm, but I wasn’t aware that NHS staff in prisons equate that with doing nothing at all! Also, why, when we need treatment in prison from NHS workers is it given with such begrudging sullenness? I understand that to most of the lower middle-class in this country we are nothing but the ‘scumbag prisoners’ their media tells them to hate, and we deserve nothing but utter contempt, but would it be okay if at the same time they weren’t making a good living out of us? Just give us a decent service.
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The writer implies that it is a prison that ethnic minorities should avoid because of the racist elements that apparently abound here. This prison is no worse than the outside world, there is racial, religious, sexual-orientation bias throughout the world. On the whole, people are not very tolerant of things that they do not understand. That applies to a great many white people as well. We all have to be tolerant in this world, but especially in the confines of prison. If the governor of Garth was aware of any of his officers acting in a way that was reported in the letter then I am very sure he would take disciplinary action. To conclude, I am putting my name, number and wing on this letter, unlike the coward who wrote the original letter and wanted to hide his identity.
Chanting racist nonsense Name withheld - HMP Garth I am writing in reply to the mailbag titled - ‘Chanting monkey noises’ - in the October issue. The author of that particular letter should think about writing a novel, because he has managed to write a piece of fiction that JRR Tolkien would be proud of. Now, I’m not saying that racism is dead and buried in this modern diverse world, and if anyone thinks it is they must be delusional. What I am saying, is that there are many people, me included, who will challenge racism wherever it rears its ugly head. Not once have I witnessed any of the things described in the mailbag. Also, the writer might want to consider adjusting his own views a bit as his letter comes across as ‘all white people are racist deep down’, which I, as a white British person find deeply hurtful and offensive. I would urge everyone, no matter their race, creed or colour to report any racism that they witness. We should unite to stop discrimination in all of its forms. It is an ugly monster that should have no place in modern Britain.
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6 Mailbag
Uncaring Healthcare J McCullough - HMP Garth How many times have we read in the pages of Inside Time about the healthcare problems in our jails? Complainers? Moaners? Whingers? Maybe some, but surely not all of them. Three examples that I know of make me wonder what kind of standards apply to prisoners? A 78-year-old man complained of chest pains. The doctor took his blood pressure and said he was ‘fine’. As for the chest pains, the doctor told him ‘keep an eye on it’. No stethoscope used during this ‘examination’. A second inmate, another pensioner, visited the doctor complaining of severe pains in his arm. He was given tablets for gastric problems. My third example is suffered by the inmates as a whole. When inmates go to the healthcare centre to see a doctor or dentist, there can be up to 30 men, and they are packed into a waiting-room meant for less than half of that number. One small room, no windows, one door. If you ever watched a movie that shows cattle-trucks full of prisoners being taken to concentration camps in Germany or Poland - this is actually what the healthcare waiting-room resembles. In warm weather inmates struggle to get near to the crack in the door for fresh-air. The healthcare in prison is supposed to be the equivalent of healthcare in the outside world, so there should at least be triage nurses on hand to assess injuries or health and make a decision as to how urgent your problem is and get you the appropriate treatment in good time. How many prisons are getting the same substandard service? We are still people, we still suffer and bleed and die. The fact is that other than Inside Time we have no voice, no one to listen and take our complaints seriously. The attitude is - you are in prison, deal with it. But why should we accept this situation, which is just another form of punishment?
‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB.
Leading by example?
Insidetime December 2017
Mailbites
Chris Morin - HMP Wakefield
No hot water
Re: October issue, page 10, ‘Bully Bully’. I have to wonder whether it is right for the new head of the Prison Officers Association, Mark Fairhurst, to even suggest that some prisoners should be locked up 23-hours a day, wearing orange Guantanamo-style jumpsuits and being handcuffed during their one-hour exercise period. He suggests that this would be a deterrent to those who ‘rock the boat’.
S Garrod - HMP Wakefield
It is people like Fairhurst, Grayling and others who share their twisted views, who go searching to the Americans for ideas on how to repair our ever-failing prison system.
“When will they understand that it is themselves who are causing most of the problems with their political meddling.” To suggest, as Mr Fairhurst did, that prisoners should be treated with violence ‘because that’s the only language they understand’, shows how far these creatures have been allowed to come into the light under the present government. If he had said this 10-years ago there would have been calls for his resignation. I have come across officers who really want to help prisoners turn their lives around. Under the present climate, officers who want to help prisoners are not given full-support. I would suggest that if Mr Fairhurst is looking for a better way of doing things then perhaps he should look in the direction of those countries who have low prison populations, low reconviction rates and seek to implement their ideas. Instead of devotional slavering after American ideas, a country by the way that gives out thousand-year sentences as though it were logical and has people sitting for decades waiting to be executed. Our current system is bad enough, so why would you want to import worse.
Violence begets violence J Smyth - HMP Oakwood On reading the October issue I was confused to find you had moved your joke page from page 52 to page 10, until I realised the piece titled ‘Bully Bully’ was supposed to be serious. This statement by new POA leader Mark Fairhurst was very disturbing and concerning. It is outrageous that someone in such a responsible position of leadership would openly condone and incite violence towards inmates by his members and fellow officers by using these words, I quote - ‘Violence is the only language they understand’. At a time when the prison estate is in meltdown and there are people working hard towards positive change it is sickening to hear what comes out of the mouth of this dinosaur. It makes me wonder about his membership and the people who could vote this man in as their leader. Is this the official line of the POA, treat prisoners with violence? They now feel bold enough to openly state what has been their ‘unofficial’ stance for years. We should invite Mr Fairhurst back to reality and point out what he already knows, that the system is broken and needs structure and focus to provide hope for those trapped within it. The last thing we need is his draconian, sadistic and brutal ideology infecting new and inexperienced staff.
Through the spyhole – something and nothing going bump in the night
Boring ghosts Sarah Jane Baker HMP Lewes I was not impressed to read of the “brave souls” taking up the offer to spend a night ghost-hunting in HMP Shepton Mallet. During my own 3-years there I often felt as though I was being watched by some strange ghouls, only to discover it was the night officer doing his rounds or my personal officer trying to catch me with a spliff in my mouth! I was aware of Shepton’s history as a military prison, but I was not aware of the ghosts of executed soldiers running around the wings without staff supervision. Personally, the dead have never made their presence known to me. In Shepton Mallet I was more concerned with the living, who kept nicking things out of my cell. My years there were neither ‘amazing’ or ‘terrifying’, all I remember is being bored half to death.
Restless spirits Name withheld - HMP Whatton I spent four years at Shepton Mallet and was there when it closed. I had heard a few stories over the years, particularly about the ‘lady in grey’ who apparently walks the landings.
“We got used to the ‘spirits’ moving chairs in our cells and throwing paperwork about, etc. I wasn’t one who believed in such things before I experienced it myself at first-hand.” I was on A-wing just 2-weeks before the prison closed down when the young lad in the cell next door hanged himself. On the day it happened his body was removed and his cell was sealed until the inquiry was finished. That night, after bang-up, things started to happen in the cell next door. It sounded like the cell was being trashed and I thought it was staff maybe looking for any note he may have left. The next morning, I asked staff if they had found anything in the cell. They had no clue what I was talking about, so I explained about the noise of the previous night and was told that the cell was still sealed and that nobody had been in there. Two-days later the cell was unsealed and it showed that the cell had indeed been trashed. It certainly was a spooky experience.
Let’s hear it for Andy’s ManClub Gordon Wilson - HMP Perth I would like to give my thanks and appreciation to those who travelled all the way up to Scotland to visit us and establish ‘Andy’s Man Club’ in Scottish prisons, towns and cities. Andy was a man suffering from mental illness in silence and sadly took his own life, leaving behind many friends and family in disbelief that such an active and outgoing man had any reason to come to such a sad and drastic end. On the 4th of September, Andy’s mum and brother-in-law came to HMP Perth and gave an honest but clearly heartfelt talk about their beloved Andy, but mainly how they want to try and help prevent others who think suicide is their only way out of the darkness that envelops their lives. Andy’s brother-in-law gave a very insightful, honest and, at points, quite hilarious talk about men’s attitude towards mental health, depression and the unnecessary act of suicide. You could tell that he and Andy were obviously close as he clearly spoke from the heart. I would also like to thank Alec and Adam, HMP Perth PTIs, who have worked hard to bring Andy’s Man Club to HMP Perth. For all those who live in a dark, isolated world, Andy’s mum, brother-in-law and all those involved are shining a light for us to see a brighter future.
Can anybody explain why here at Wakefield we are not allowed kettles? We are given a prison-issue flask on arrival, but they are pretty poor quality and we cannot get them replaced if they break. After 8-weeks my flask developed a fault, I could not get the lid off. Apparently, this has happened to others with these flasks. For 4-weeks I have tried to get a replacement, but I have now been told that if I want hot water I should buy a flask from Argos, which costs £27. I have just started a job and get paid a total of £12 per week. But why should I have to save up for weeks, surely the prison has an obligation to not leave me without a hot drink for weeks? Can anybody help?
Open and shut in Name withheld - HMP Leyhill “Test in open conditions”, that was the decision of the Parole Board. However, like the vast majority of prisoners here at Leyhill, it’s not happening. There are men who have been here for more than a year and they still haven’t been allowed outside of the prison for “testing”. It is a fact that in the past men on town visits or home-leave have committed further offences. But management here are collectively punishing all of us. As a D Cat prison this place does not work for the majority, there are no town visits, no home-leave, no working out, with the exception of a very small minority. I ask, what good is a D Cat prison that does not test people in the community?
Exam cheaters Name withheld HMP Long Lartin Open University students here are allowed to cheat in their final exams. The exam is supposed to be 3-hours long and done in one sitting. Here they are being forced to do 2-hours and 15-minutes in the morning. They then stop in the middle of the exam and are taken back to the wing and their cells for lunch. Students are locked in their cells for 2-hours before being let out and taken back to complete the exam. I wonder if any of them revised and looked up their notes during that 2-hours in the middle of the exam? Would you, if you were given the chance? The cheating on educational exams is just another symptom of the general malaise.
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8 Mailbag
‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB.
On the Wire
Not so magic roundabout Name withheld - HMP Holme House
Old chestnut M Williams - HMP Wormwood Scrubs I wonder how long it will be before one of the right-wing tabloid rags start winding their ‘readers’ up this year by printing a Christmas menu from one of the prisons? It happens every year without fail, if it’s a slow-news week just bash and demonise prisoners, works every time. What they do not tell their readers is that you would probably get more pleasure and nutrition from eating the actual printed menu than you would from eating the actual meal.
Humbug M Johns - HMP Wandsworth Is there anything more depressing than Christmas in prison? And this year we can’t even have a smoke to relieve the stress. But the worst thing is when the press gets hold of a Christmas dinner menu and start getting all breathless, like a bunch of Victorian school marms, pointing and pulling metaphorical faces to try and get the message across to their idiot readers that prisoners are living a life of luxury, with their sliced turkey and boiled-todeath veg. How dare we?
Why no selection box? Stephen Williams - HMP Rochester Rochester is a good nick, overall, but I choked on my Earl Grey tea when told that we don’t receive a selection box on Christmas Day. Rumour has it that we don’t get a mince-pie either. I can’t help feeling a little hard done by. This is shocking, so I will not be hanging a Christmas stocking outside of my cell this year. Bah, humbug!
Santa’s naughty list James O - HMP Wakefield I am a first-timer in prison, and this will be my first Christmas away from my family. Obviously, this is a very sad time for those of us in prison and our loved ones. But, on a lighter note, I have noticed that there does not appear to be any chimneys or other openings for Santa to get in here and drop off our presents! It would appear that we are all on Santa’s naughty list, but even if we weren’t he couldn’t get in here anyway. Sad. WE ARE HERE TO FIGHT YOUR CORNER
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I got an 18-month IPP sentence but I’ve been in jail since June 2005. At my first prison, Durham, I was assessed to do core SOTP, but that jail does not do it, so; • 4 years later I was sent to Acklington to do core SOTP. Acklington reassessed me and said I should do Adapted SOTP instead, but; • 14 months later I was sent to Whatton to do Adapted SOTP, but; • 4 days later Whatton sent me back to Acklington; • 10 months later I was sent back to Whatton; • 4 months later at Whatton I was reassessed. They said Acklington should not have sent me as I’m suitable for core SOTP, so I did core SOTP at Whatton, who then said I should do Therapeutic Prison then Extended SOTP, so they then sent me to; • HMPs Lincoln, Leicester and Nottingham, who don’t do these programs; • Well, Nottingham sent me to HMP Isle of Wight, who said I needed to be reassessed. Now they said I should do 1-1 work first, then Extended SOTP, but a riot broke out on another wing, so some of us, not involved in the disturbance, were shipped off to HMP Woodhill, who don’t do these courses; • 9 months later, Woodhill asked HMP Hull if I could do 1-1 and Extended course there. Hull said yes, and promised me 1-1 and Extended, so into the ‘sweat box’ once again for a trip to Hull; • 4 months later in Hull, I’m reassessed again- seems after all they don’t do1-1 work but I am suitable for ‘Becoming New Me’, (basically I start programs all over again). In the meantime, Parole Board knock me back, saying do another course. But, after another little think, psychology tell me I’m not suitable for Becoming New Me, but could do a new course called Becoming New Me Plus;
Here I am, in the 13th year of my incarceration, following an 18-month initial sentence, for an offence that carries a maximum of 10 years, recently dumped in another prison that doesn’t run the promised course, so here they first threatened to send me to a jail that does not run the course just in case it ever does! Or complete the circle by sending me back to Whatton, or what exactly...?
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Will I ever be released?
Don’t send me to die
Ryan David Smith - HMP Glenochil
Name withheld - HMP Parc I am a 20-year-old serving a 4-year sentence. I was born in Brazil and adopted when I was 2-years-old, and brought to the UK by my dad, who is also Brazilian, and my mother who is British. I suffer with attachment disorder, which comes from being abused from a young age. That means I suffer with anger issues, overall behaviour problems, trust and controlling my emotions. Because I was born in Brazil, the Home Office want to deport me. I have no family in Brazil, I don’t speak the language and do not know anything about the culture. I rely on my family in this country and it has been noted that deportation could be a death sentence for me. I don’t know why my parents didn’t register me for a UK passport, but it is now too late. I am British and the only difference between me and you is the colour of my passport. I am very anxious and scared for what my future holds. I don’t know any other life apart from British life. Somebody please help me.
•17 months later in their jail, HMP Hull promised they would only send me to a prison that does BNM+, but;
Insidetime December 2017
I read with interest the case relating to prisoner James Ward, and how he is being released 10-years after his expiry date for a 10-month IPP. I am a prisoner in the Scottish system who has a sentence which is called an OLR (Order of Lifelong Restriction). My punishment part was 4-years, which expired in 2012. I have done every offending behaviour course they asked me to do, including CARE, CONSTRUCTS, Good Lives, MF:MC, as well as CBT and drug and alcohol group, and I have voluntarily done the Sycamore Course run by Prison Fellowship, which is about victim empathy and impact, and I am still in closed conditions. OLRs are similar to IPPs and currently in the Scottish prison estate there are 1050 life sentence prisoners as well as 149 OLRs, of which 68 are held here at Glenochil. OLRs were introduced in 2006. Granted, I am in for a sexual offence, which is serious and I am not taking anything away from that. However, the way OLRs are managed is poor in my opinion and we are left to rot in a rubbish system with no incentives and progression for OLRs is practically non-existent. I am still in closed conditions because I am a self-harmer, I do this as a way to cope and also because of childhood trauma. The SPS has used this as a factor for me still being in closed conditions. I am now well over my tariff expiry date but I am told I must go to National Top End and then open estate, adding 4-5 years onto my sentence. Where is the justice in that? Most days I ask myself what is the point of going on because I am not getting anywhere and nobody seems interested. Nobody’s mental health should be used as a factor for them being held back, but it will continue until we start speaking up. OLRs should be looked into and treated the same way as IPPs.
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M Huby - SOJP La Moye
Paula Wainwright HMP Peterborough
The national media keep raising the issue of an aging population and the ever-increasing problem of diabetes, but with a proper diet and the right type of exercise this could help alleviate a growing problem. Of course, this problem is made worse in our prisons with the limited diet available and restrictions on exercise.
“When I joined the prison population in early 2012, I was overweight but reasonably healthy. In the last 10-months I have been diagnosed as a Type 2 diabetic.” I mainly put this down to the dietary restrictions of prison, not enough fresh fruit or vegetables, too many carbohydrates (bread, potatoes, pastry, etc) and too many irradiated apples. The kitchen here at La Moye do have a salad option 5-days a week, but, by the time you get rid of the fill-ins like potatoes, pasta and other odd mixes you might as well opt for a slice of lettuce and a grated carrot. Talking to one of the prison doctors I was advised to cut out all of the above items as well as sugar, chocolate, biscuits, pudding, etc. But with the menu that is available that does not leave much else for me to eat. We are told that some of the items that are good for diabetics are available from the prison shop. But why should I pay for food that should be available on a prison menu? Isn’t there a rule about prisoners not having to contribute to their own imprisonment? Are there ANY establishments in the UK which recognise this problem and actually help by putting a diabetic selection on the menu? Or, even a separate menu? Given the media focus on diabetes and how it is becoming a major problem, wouldn’t it be interesting to find out how many people have become diabetics since entering prison? I can honestly say that in my time served in prison the only thing it has done for me is give me diabetes.
“Wilful fractures”
Smoking gun Jerry D - HMP Wandsworth I am a non-smoker, but that doesn’t make me blind to what is going on in front of my eyes. The smoking-ban has made prisons much more dangerous than they previously were, and they were already pretty dangerous to begin with.
Forget about the fact that a new black-market opportunity has been gifted to the dealers (there is now even a trade in rolling-papers and matches), which allows them to earn £200 from every ounce of tobacco smuggled in (better than drug money) by charging £10 for a skinny roll-up. That was inevitable. What was also inevitable was the fact that the stress levels in prison were going skyhigh because of the ban, leading to violence, self-harm, acting-out and suicide. The government know all of this, in fact, they knew it long before they put the ban in place, but still they persist. It is almost like they are wilfully forcing fractures on the system. But the thing they may not have considered is how long this is going to last.
“Every single day there will be hundreds of people coming off the street, where they can smoke, and into prison where they will be deprived of this.” It is not only the people who are in prison when the ban is imposed that will be kicking off as they struggle with one of the worst addictions, but also the people who are yet to come in for the next few years. That’s more violence, self-harm and suicide stretching out into the future. Whoever thought this idea up should be forced to take a thinking skills course because obviously they have ill-considered the consequences of their actions.
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I think prisoners are nothing more than modern-day slaves, and we are set up to fail from the outset. I earn £10 per week and this money has to furnish me with phone-calls, stationary and stamps, toiletries as well as subsidising the poor diet. When I leave prison, I leave with £47.
“Why can’t we bring more business into prisons, things which offer opportunities for prisoners to better their lives financially for when they get out, instead of just scrimping our way through prison and getting out to nothing.” Some prisons have outside businesses working within prison grounds and still they only pay prisoners £30 per week. It’s a joke, modern-day slavery. So, while I’ve been working in prison for 3-years I will still leave here homeless and clutching the £47 discharge grant. It is time that prisoners were given the right to earn at least a minimum wage. The cycle of crime, poverty and addiction may finally come to an end once we are allowed to earn a decent wage for our labours, instead of being sold cheap to private companies.
A good Christmas in prison? Santa says NO!
Hateful Christmas S Johns - HMP Warren Hill “I hate Christmas” is a very courageous thing to say, and very unpopular at the same time because nine-out-of-ten people you encounter will absolutely adore the occasion. Truly, and deep down in my bones, I know I am one of those nine-out-of-ten as well. I grew up loving Christmas so the emotional bond I have with it could never completely disappear. So why do I hate it now you may ask? The reason for my present hatred of Christmas is not religiously motivated, it is actually because I cannot spend it how I want to. I want to be at home with my loved ones, being awakened by excitable children, eating a nice breakfast, watching the family glow as they unwrap their gifts, playing with the youngsters on their new games, eating a great dinner, wearing silly hats and pulling crackers, feeling warm and cosy in front of the fire. Instead, it’s another pool, darts, weightlifting competitions, with a bunch of people I do not particularly care for. Christmas dinner here will be another flavourless half-a-pigeon accompanied by over-cooked vegetables and rock-hard potatoes. It will be another cold evening ‘Christmas tea’ served at 3pm so that the staff can go home and indulge. The early lock-up means an extra two hours behind the door. During the day it’s another scramble and fight to get to use the communal phone. I cannot wait for lock-up to come. My only light on the horizon is that when I eventually get to a D cat prison I may be able to spend a couple of good Christmases with my family again.
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Having been in prison for over 5-years, I was wondering if any surveys have been done on diabetes and the knock-on effects this has had on prisoners’ health?
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9
Mailbag
‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB.
Insidetime December 2017
10 Newsround
www.insidetime.org
Fewer deaths but more violence
Newsbites
Record figures for assaults and self-harm in prison Inside Time report Fewer people are dying in prison, but prisoners are hurting themselves and each other more than ever before according to the figures released recently by the Ministry of Justice. During the 12 months to the end of June 2017 there were 27,193 assaults - a 14 per cent increase on the previous year and assaults on staff rose by 25 per cent to 7,437. Prisons recorded 41,103 self-injury incidents during the same period - a 12 per cent rise from the previous year. Incidents requiring hospital attendance rose by 9 per cent. This is the sixth successive quarter when incidents of self-injury have reached their highest level on record. The figures show that 300 people died in prisons during the 12 months to the end of September 2017, down from 324 during the previous year. Self-inflicted deaths down They included 77 people who lost their lives through suicide - 72 in men’s prisons and five in women’s prisons. This is a fall from the previous year, when a total of 110 people lost their lives through suicide. Figures also published recently on prison disciplinary hearings - adjudications - support Howard League for Penal Reform
More additional days The sharp rise in impositions of additional days’ imprisonment piles more pressure on the prison system. It increases the prison population and worsens overcrowding, which in turn creates conditions for drug abuse, violence and other types of misbehaviour. No room for complacency Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League, said: “It is extremely worrying that ministers have announced the rollout of more weaponry for staff, when these figures reveal that the most disturbing problem in prisons is an epidemic level of self-injury and distress.” Ms Crook said she was meeting the Secretary of State for Justice (David Lidington) soon and will urge him, “to take immediate and decisive action to relieve pressure on the prison system. Reducing the number of people in prison would save lives, protect staff and prevent more people being swept into deeper currents of crime, violence and despair.”
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Interviews at the scene of the crime The Home Office is considering changing the rules to allow police to interview suspects at the scene of the alleged crime using body worn cameras (BWC). Footage from the cameras can already be used as evidence but interviews must still be conducted at a police station. The Home Office say it will save police time and unnecessary trips. By the end of the year 60,000 body worn cameras will be deployed across the country. Critics of the scheme say it could jeopardise the rights of suspects and witnesses as they may not be in a fit state to be interviewed nor will they have had access to proper legal advice.
research, which has found that prisons are increasingly resorting to draconian measures to punish rule-breaking in a desperate attempt to maintain control. Almost 47,000 adjudication outcomes were recorded between January and March 2017, of which 5,581 resulted in the imposition of additional days’ imprisonment - a 30 per cent increase on the same quarter in 2016.
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Insidetime December 2017
“Er, pull the other one…”
False leg tagged A man found it difficult not to laugh when an electronic tag was fitted to his prosthetic leg. He was fitted with the tag and made subject to a four-week curfew after being caught stealing. When asked by the Capita worker who was fitting the tag whether it mattered which leg it was fitted to, Mr Sammut said: “I thought it was a joke in bad taste. Then I thought, ‘What the Hell. Let’s see what he does’. He lifted up the false leg and warned me he needed to roll down the sock because the tag had to go on the skin. I thought he’d realise then, but he fitted the tag and asked me how it felt. I had to force myself not to laugh. I could have told him, but I’ve let it go this far to highlight how ridiculous it is.” Basildon Echo
30% reduction in prison staff The National Audit Office has published damning statistics about the staff shortage in prisons in England and Wales. Since 2010 the number of operational staff in public prisons has been reduced by 30% (over 10,000) leaving 92% of prisons understaffed - that means just ten of the 118 prisons are fully staffed. The average shortfall across the estate is about 7% or 1 in 14 posts vacant, but it is much higher in some, the worst, Feltham is missing 20% of staff. The results of staff shortages and overcrowding mean that many prisons now run almost permanent restricted regimes which severely affect prisoners’ access to education, association and contact with families. Many prisoners are missing important hospital appointments.
Suicides “dreadful” Michael Spurr, the chief executive of the Prison Service has admitted that the record numbers of suicides are a “damning indictment” on his service. He had been called before the Public Accounts Select Committee to explain the rocketing suicides, 120 in 2016, almost double that of 2012, of which 70% were known to involve mental health issues. Mr Spurr told the committee: “I think the level of self-harm and the deaths in prison are a dreadful thing and yes, it is a damning indictment that anybody takes their life or dies in prison. Every time I hear of a death, which I do - every single one - of course it’s dreadful.” Blaming the rise partly on new psychoactive drugs, Mr Spurr said: “There has been a huge switch in drug use over the past year to psychoactive substances, which has been a very, very difficult thing for us to deal with in prisons.”
Outstanding nurse A student nurse who demonstrated “outstanding caring skills” while working with prisoners and drug addicts during a placement has been recognised with an award from his university. Simon Hunter, who graduated from Edinburgh Napier University last month, has been named this year’s winner of the Simon Pullin Award, which marks compassionate care in nursing and midwifery. During his training, he took part in clinical placements at HMP Edinburgh.
Bad tagging A scheme to have thousands of people fitted with electronic tags is now five years late and has been drastically cut back. £60million has been wasted on the scheme, which has a total cost of £135million and could have seen 65,000 tags in operation.
Prison gear sale banned Prison clothing which was being sold on eBay has been removed from the site after the Prison Service said its sale was illegal and threatened to take action. Several different sellers had on eBay HMP items for sale including HMP Liverpool jeans (£29.99), a ‘very rare’ red HMP Gloucester gym orderly sweatshirt (£50), HMP Lincoln green sweatshirts (£50) and HMP Acklington hi-vis jackets (£47). A spokesman for eBay told the newspaper that the Prison Service had not been in touch with them but they wanted to stamp out illegal sale of HMP items on the site. Prison Service spokesman said: “It is against the law to steal or sell prison property. We are looking into this case and will take the appropriate action.” Metro.co.uk
New Scottish gender neutral prison The Scottish Sun claims that the Scottish government is planning an £11million ‘gender-neutral’ prison specifically for prisoners who are unsure about their gender identity or want to swap genders. There about 20 prisoners in Scottish establishments who maintain gender-identity problems. Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr told the paper: “There may be a tiny minority of cases where a non-binary gender individual could be catered for. But to spend this is outrageous and will inevitably be ridiculed by the public. The hard-pressed prisons system has many costly priorities including appropriate treatment, facilities and proper staff protection.”
Name change for police watchdog Following continued complaints about the ineffectiveness of the Independent Police Complaints Commission, it is no more. Well, it has a new name Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). It will oversee the police complaints system in England and Wales and sets the standards by which the police should handle complaints.
through the Inside Time archives December 2007
Justice rough “Five years after the BBC Rough Justice programme first began investigating the case of Barri White and Keith Hyatt they have now had their convictions quashed by the Court of Appeal. Programme axed after 27 years of public service broadcasting.” Louise Shorter
Reinforcing stereotypes “I write as an admirer of Inside Time as I believe it fulfils a useful role for prisoners, the public and prison service staff. I also believe that it should contain some light-hearted entertainment along with serious issues. However, I do think the November issue went too far in the ‘Jailbreak’ section in which eleven ‘jokes’ were printed. Nine of these eleven jokes were sexist in the extreme and should not, in my opinion, have been printed in your newspaper.” Steve Orchard - Head of operations, HMP Nottingham
The nightmare of release “So I was homeless … the big NFA. My discharge grant went on a few days Bed and Breakfast and the rest of my money was for food. After five days in a B&B, I was out on the streets. Surely lads who are due for release should get some help? I was told that because I wasn’t on licence or probation I couldn’t get any help. It’s absolutely shocking. I’m now 37 and in jail for another birthday and another Christmas. Surely the system has got to be looked at; being homeless the day you get out is the worst start anyone could want.” Mailbag
Serbia’s secret shame “Shocking images of distress, malnourishment and extreme neglect of disabled inmates in Serbia’s institutions have been dismissed by that country’s prime minister as ‘dark propaganda’.” Newsround
Systemic failure at Yarl’s Wood
Newsbites Through care scheme cuts churn effect
A report by HM Inspector of Prisons has found that in the first six months of 2017, 67% of women held at the controversial Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre (IRC) were released into the community, questioning why they were ever held in custody in the first place. Many of the women claimed to have been tortured or raped; the Home Office does not count rape as torture. The inspectors also said that the women’s immigration casework was not handled properly and problems with the centre’s Healthcare Centre were having a negative impact on the women held there. Opposition politicians said the report shows that the Home Office continues to ‘systematically fail’ the women with a detention system that is ‘inhumane and unnecessarily harsh’. In 2015 a report was published about allegations of women there being abused by staff. Commenting on his report, Chief Inspector Peter Clarke said: “The fact remains that around 70 per cent of the women detained at Yarl’s Wood are released back into the community. The provision of welfare support for these women was far from systematic and needed to be improved.”
HM Inspectorate of Prisons has moved They are now based at: HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 5th Floor, Clive House, Petty France, London SW1H 9EX. New Telephone number : 0207 340 0500
A scheme that offers prisoners extra support as they prepare to leave prison has been credited with cutting reoffending. The Throughcare scheme was introduced at 11 Scottish prisons in 2015 and now an independent evaluation has found that 78% of prisoners who received Throughcare support in the past two years had not returned to custody. Throughcare aims to ensure prisoners have arrangements in place for housing, medical provision and benefits when they leave prison and Throughcare Support Officers (TSOs) continue to give guidance after release.
Transgender pretender
“You should get a subscription Giovanni”
Right on Inside Time! Strictly star Debbie McGee gets right answer on The Chase Celebrity Special about prisoners’ favourite tabloid The former magician’s assistant who, with her dance partner Giovanni Pernice, has been tearing up the dancefloor with sizzling dance routines, (and their unbelievable chemistry) was asked on the popular early evening quiz show recently to identify the name of the national newspaper for prisoners from three choices: The Daily Jail, Inside Time, or the Screws of the World. After just a moment’s hesitation jubilant Debbie pulled the correct answer right out of the hat. “Inside Time!” she cried. “Correct” replied host Bradley Walsh, adding for the sake of his millions of viewers, “and a damned good read it is too!” (Well if he didn’t say it he probably thought it…)
Credit: BBC
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Newsround 11
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New government guidelines which say that prisoners can register as ‘transgender’ without taking hormones or having surgery have sparked alarm amongst campaigners who have asked the government to guarantee that male prisoners registering as ‘transgender’ will not be moved to female prisons until they have had gender realignment surgery. They claimed in comments to tabloid newspapers that there have been instances of men registering as women in order to get transferred to women’s prisons to abuse the female prisoners there. Inside Time understands that any man who wants to register as ‘female’ is placed on a Transgender Pathway which includes psychological examinations to determine if they genuinely identify as female or are simply trying to exploit the system.
Crime up... arrests down Police have been criticised after it has been revealed that, despite the number of recorded crimes soaring to 5.2 million, the highest for ten years, in the last year police arrested just half as many people as they did ten years ago. Critics point to a 20,000 drop in police officer numbers, and a recent revelation that police call handlers were crossing off vandalism, theft and burglary in minutes if there were no clues or victims did not have evidence or name a suspect. The Home Office says the huge fall is linked to police efforts to keep people out of courts with on-the-spot fines and taking people to police stations to ‘help with enquiries’, without arresting them.
Legal aid for prisoners to be restored Continued from front page Laura Janes, legal director at the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “One hopes that it’s part of a wider respect for the rule of law and an understanding of the importance of access to justice for everybody. For the past seven months, hundreds of prisoners have been stuck in the system without the legal support they need to move forward, even though the Court of Appeal made it clear that this was inherently unfair and therefore unlawful. We are pleased that the Lord Chancellor [David Lidington MP] has now withdrawn his appeal and hope that urgent steps will be taken to give effect to the judgment.” Deborah Russo, joint managing solicitor of the Prisoners’ Advice Service, said: “After a long wait and
years of battling through the courts we ... very much welcome the Secretary of State’s decision to finally accept the Court of Appeal’s ruling of inherent unfairness of the legal aid cuts imposed on prisoners back in December 2013. We believe that urgent action is now required to reinstate legal aid for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.”
“The government’s withdrawal of its application means that the court of appeal’s decision is final.” Legal aid remains unavailable however in two other areas: in appeals against disciplinary decisions and disputes over access to prison courses paving the way towards eventual release.
Unlawful Legal Aid cuts - the MoJ backs down page 13 Unlawful Legal Aid cuts page 26
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IMB Round-up New Hall
Coldingley
The education department cuts get a special mention from New Hall IMB who say: “The education budget was reduced from £1.2m to £820k which had a negative effect on the education provision within the establishment. Of concern to the IMB was the withdrawal of the Art classes for residents located in Holly House. Many of the residents on the wing have complex and challenging mental health issues and the removal of the classes was deemed inappropriate and detrimental to their wellbeing. However, Management through redistribution of the budget have been able to provide a (albeit lesser) level of education and vocational opportunities which the residents are able to access.”
The IMB continue to draw attention to the operation of the NightSan system which they describe as ‘inhumane’. They do, in their report, shift some of the blame onto prisoners for the way they use it. They say: “Even though work is underway to refurbish the lavatories and washing facilities on each landing of the old wings, it will remain an unfair process, open to misuse and even open to abuse by prisoners on each other. This severely affects those prisoners who most need to use the communal lavatories at night. A prisoner must operate an in-cell button to indicate that he requires to use the lavatory. When it is his turn he is allocated 8 minutes to use the lavatory and return to his cell. The queue may be long and any abuse by other prisoners taking more than their allocated time can cause significant delays in the queue. A prisoner’s only other option is to use a pot in his cell and then to ‘slop out’ in the morning or as happens, to dispose of human waste via his cell window. Required observation of prisoners in cells by night staff adds to the problem by increasing the wait for lavatory access.”
Download the report at: www.tinyurl.com/ybvekhjv
Nottingham The IMB at Nottingham, along with many others raise the issue of staff shortages which means, say their report, that the normal routine cannot be sustained. “There were daily, often unpredictable, cancellations of regime activity and prisoners seemed to lose the habit of attending work and education, meaning that there were further issues about attendance and the challenges which that creates in terms of applying sanctions fairly. The prison tried very hard throughout the period to maintain stability and occasions of indiscipline were quickly and effectively brought under control. However, with prisoners spending time on the wing, frustration, bullying, violence and use of New Psychoactive Substance (NPS) illegal drugs became increasingly evident. Download the report at: www.tinyurl.com/yahhdz7t
Wealstun The condition of the accommodation in some parts of the prison is unacceptable, says the latest IMB report, particularly in A and B wings. Repeating a theme that occurs in many reports they say: “Whilst HMP Wealstun is currently recruiting new officers, the report highlights a considerable number of problems which are caused, or compounded, by inadequate staffing levels, and the Board does not feel that the staffing increase proposed by the Government is sufficient to address the serious problems that HMP Wealstun is currently experiencing. It is obvious to the Board that funding for HM Prison Service has reduced to a critical level where the safety of prisoners and staff is at risk.” Download the report at: www.tinyurl.com/ycar3sxv
Storstrøm – “A small village”
Maximum humanity prison Denmark’s newly opened Storstrøm Prison has been labelled the world’s most humane prison. It is designed as a mini-community where prisoners live as normal a life as possible. The new prison on the island of Falster, is far from the normal British vision of a maximum security prison. Instead, the country’s second largest prison, holding just 250 prisoners, resembles a small village. It took five years to build at a cost of over £100m and was commissioned by the Danish Prison Service with the idea of creating conditions which would remind prisoners of the society they left behind.
Download the report at: www.tinyurl.com/y8ffzwpu
Taking in the natural beauty
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The cells measure about 13 m² and form residential units consisting of four to seven cells clustered to form a social community with access to a sitting room and communal kitchen. Prisoners can cook for themselves and are essentially free to determine whether they wish to cook with others or on their own. Each cell unit also has its own fitness room. Architect Mads Mandrup of C.F. Møller, told the Danish newspaper Berlingske: “We have concentrated all buildings around a centre for joint activities. Here we have a square with, for example, an activity house, a grocery store, a school, a church and a devotional room. We have
Devoted to hope also made an effort to promote communication between inmates and staff,” Despite its seemingly idyllic conditions, the Storstrøm Prison remains a prison nonetheless, being surrounded by a six metre high wall and packed with security cameras. There are also tensioned steel wires strung across the premises, to prevent helicopters from landing on the roof. Acknowledgements: Sputnik International News
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The cells, which are 40 feet square, are equipped with a fridge, closet, and a 22-inch TV. The windows, spanning from floor to ceiling, are located at such an angle that they prevent other prisoners from looking in, yet allow the occupant to take in the island’s natural beauty.
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Unlawful legal aid cuts - the MoJ backs down Stephanie Brownlees The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has abandoned its challenge to the April 2017 Court of Appeal decision, which ruled that legal aid cuts for prisoners were unlawful because they were “inherently unfair”. There were major cuts to Legal Aid imposed in 2013, following the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). These cuts have had a profound impact on prisoners, particularly vulnerable prisoners with mental health issues or disabilities. The Court of Appeal decided earlier this year that the current system does not have the capacity to fill the gaps left by the removal of Legal Aid, and that safeguards should have been implemented to ensure that all prisoner could engage in processes or decisions about their treatment. The cuts were therefore unlawful. The MoJ immediately declared that this decision would be challenged, but seven months later, before the case reached a hearing before the Supreme Court, the appeal application has been withdrawn. The department announced that it has begun to review the impact of cuts to legal aid, suggesting that someone, somewhere, may finally be listening to us. Whilst this is clearly a victory for many prisoners, who for the last seven months have been unassisted with their progression, despite the cuts having been deemed “unlawful”, Legal Aid will not be reinstated at this stage for areas such as appeals against disciplinary decisions or disputes over access to prison courses. Legal Aid will now be available again for PreTariff Reviews by the Parole Board, Category A Reviews and decisions on placing inmates in Close Supervision Centres. Stephanie Brownlees is a Solicitor at Eden Legal If you require advice or assistance in relation to these areas of Prison Law, please contact us today on 01902 275 042 or you can write to Eden Legal Services, West Midlands House, Gipsy Lane, Willenhall WV13 2HA.
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Newsround 13
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‘Chaotic’ probation Concerns have been raised about the number of released prisoners being recalled after official statistics show 21,700 people were recalled to prison last year. Critics say the growing use of recall has cast doubts over Chris Grayling’s 2015 overhaul of probation services which increased probation supervision to those who were sentenced to less than 12 months. Some prisoners are recalled for just 14 or 18 days for very minor breaches which, say critics, heaps more pressure on already overcrowded prisons that are struggling to cope with staff shortages, drugs, violence and self-harm and suicide. Shadow Justice Minister Imran Hussain said the ‘broken’ probation system was making it difficult to reduce offending: “The sharp rise in the number of prisoners being recalled to prison not only demonstrates how our prisons and probation system are failing to rehabilitate people, but is placing a severe strain on an already overcrowded prison system that is close to breaking point.”
‘More children in jail’ call The Howard League has severely criticised the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Cressida Dick, over comments she made that young ‘offenders’ should face harsher sentences. Ms Dick, who was in charge of the operation which saw the killing of Charles de Menezes in 2005 claimed that many ‘young offenders’ did not believe they were likely to be sent to prison. She said ‘Harsher, more effective sentences’ could be used to deter a ‘core group’ of repeat offenders. The Howard League responded saying that any plans to lock up more young offenders was a ‘counsel of despair’.
Disclosure rules ‘unfair to children’ Rules that force adults to disclose crimes committed as children are wholly inappropriate and deny children a second chance say MPs who are demanding changes in the law. Although many convictions become spent after a length of time there are 942 convictions that must always be disclosed. The Justice Select Committee says that the system works in a “mechanical fashion” with no rights of appeal against disclosure decisions. Committee chairman Bob Neill said: “Mistakes made as a teenager can follow someone around for decades and create a barrier to rehabilitation, as well as profound problems with access to employment and education.”
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World prison review Phone stew A woman was arrested by prison officials in Nigeria as she tried smuggling a mobile phone, hidden in a cup of soup, to her boyfriend. She said: “I hid it in the stew because I know they will not allow me to take it to him in the Prison. I did not know it is bad.” The woman was arrested at the prison gate but the State Comptroller of Prisons said the action was a threat to national security.
More women in prison More than 714,000 women and girls are in prison around the world, a new report published by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research shows. The analysis indicates that female prison population levels have grown much faster than male levels since around the year 2000, with the number of women and girls in prison increasing by more than 50% while the male population has increased by around 20%.
Death Row inmate who survived his own execution really doesn’t want to go through it again An Ohio man who became the third U.S. Death Row inmate in seven decades to survive his own execution filed a new appeal for mercy, arguing that Ohio’s lethal injection protocol constitutes cruel and unusual punishment because one of its drugs may not work properly. Alva Campbell has a history of chronic heart and lung problems that can make finding a vein tricky. In fact, the prison was so worried that Campbell’s lungs would give out and he would stop breathing, while lying on the execution gurney, that the team gave him a wedge pillow to help him stay calm and alive until they could execute him. Campbell’s new execution date is June 6, 2019. Prison staff jailed The Supreme Court of the tiny Russian Republic of Kalmykia has upheld the convictions of several employees of a penal colony of beating prisoners. The staff, including the penal colony’s doctor and deputy head received sentences of up to eleven years. In 2015, three members of the colony’s staff beat a prisoner 60 times for refusing to give his name. The colony’s deputy head ordered that a CCTV camera was obscured to hide the beating. The prison doctor, aware of the beating, did not take any measures to stop it or to provide emergency help to the prisoner who died shortly afterward. Later, the officers responsible for the beating were told to present the event as if the prisoner attacked staff with a blade.
Charles Manson dies Charles Manson, the notorious cult leader who directed his followers to commit a string of brutal murders, and who became a symbol of the dark side of 1960s counterculture, has died aged 83. Manson convinced a number of his followers that he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ, using a combination of drugs and genuine charisma to bring the “Family” - mainly young, middle-class women - under his control. He was sentenced to death in 1971 but before Manson’s death sentence could be carried out, California outlawed capital punishment and his sentence was reduced to nine life sentences. Almost half a century on, the Manson Family’s killing spree continues to fascinate many Americans, and has been retold through books, films and music.
“Questionable identification” Innocent man freed 50 years too late It is nearly 50 years since a Louisiana man was sentenced to life in prison for the kidnapping and rape of a nurse but now, after a judge overturned his conviction, he has walked out of prison a free man. State District Court Judge Richard Anderson previously said the case against Wilbert Jones, 65, was “weak at best” and that authorities withheld evidence that could have exonerated Jones decades ago. The state’s case against Jones “rested entirely” on the nurse’s testimony and her ‘questionable identification’ of Jones as her assailant. The nurse, who died in 2008, picked Jones out of a police line-up more than three months after the rape; but she also told police that the man who raped her was taller and had a ‘much rougher’ voice than Jones had. Jones’ lawyers from the Innocence Project New Orleans, claim the nurse’s description matches a man who was arrested but never charged in the rape of a woman abducted from the parking lot of another Baton Rouge hospital, 27 days after the nurse’s attack. The same man also was arrested on suspicion of raping yet another woman in 1973. Pope to visit Irish prison The Archbishop of Dublin has revealed that Pope Francis will visit one of the Republic’s 14 prisons during his trip to Ireland next August. The exact itinerary remains unclear until the Vatican officially confirms that the visit is going ahead, which is expected in January.
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Newsbites Volunteers wanted at Portland
Inspirational sculpture
HMCIP Peter Clarke
Books and benches combine to celebrate reading Learners from HMP Manchester leave their mark on community Inside Time report Throughout the summer, benches shaped like open books popped up across Manchester to celebrate the city’s love of reading. 58 Book Bench sculptures, installed as part of the Read Manchester campaign, were decorated with literary designs by local schools and community groups. Read Manchester was a Manchester City Council and Wild in Art collaboration and the prison library worked in partnership with Novus and the prison to complete this inspiring project. Book review competition A group of around 70 Novus learners from HMP Manchester designed and decorated one of the Book Benches for the project. Their Book Bench was displayed at the prestigious Royal Exchange Theatre during the months of July and August. Head of Learning and Skills at HMP Manchester, Fiona Patterson, helped to organise the project at the prison. “We ran a book review competition open to everyone in order to increase reading and re-reading of favourite literature,” she explained. “This was successful with lots of entries submitted, and with an array of genres reviewed. It also created a healthy competition between the learners and raised awareness of reading and its positive impact to those taking part.” Expecting ownership The three books to feature on the bench were chosen by managers Tracey Kennedy of NOVUS, Jayne Stevens of Manchester City
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Council and Fiona Patterson, were Great Expectations, Lord of The Rings and The Birds. A design featuring elements of all three books was created, with the prisoners working together to paint the design onto the Book Bench during Art classes. “The men took real ownership of the Book Bench,” explained Fiona. “The design aspect allowed the men to discuss and explore the themes of the books further, which were then incorporated into the final design.” Designing and painting the Book Bench for it to be displayed at the Royal Exchange had a very positive effect on the learners at HMP Manchester, and inspired some to develop their reading and art skills. “I hadn’t heard of two of the books until I got involved with the bench,” said one prisoner. “I am going to try and read Great Expectations and The Birds.” “I can now mix colours really well,” said another learner. “I have learnt a lot about blending paint. When I get released I am going to do some craft things with my kids.” “It looked great” Having the Book Bench displayed in a public space for families to visit also had a positive effect on the men, as Fiona explained: “The pride that the men had in working on the Book Bench was transferred to the families, who visited the trail and gave positive feedback, which in turn had a positive impact on family links.” The book bench now takes pride of place in the entrance to F wing, the wing where education and the library are situated.
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People convicted of sex offences being used to calm prison Prison inspectors have raised concern over a policy of moving men on remand for, or convicted of, sexual offences into HMP Doncaster to provide a stabilising influence on the prison after concerns of the levels of violence there. Peter Clarke, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “Over the course of the previous year, the number of men on remand for, or convicted of, sex offences had trebled, and many of them were longer-term, high-risk offenders. I was told that this was a deliberate policy in order to help to stabilise the prison in light of the serious problems with violence that had been identified at the last inspection (in October 2015). However, support, offender management and programmes intended to reduce the risk both in custody and on release presented by this population were not present. In effect, this large cohort of men was being denied the opportunity to make progress. While it is perhaps understandable that, as a matter of policy, it might be decided that a prison should have a particular population profile, this should not be done in such a way that offender management of those prisoners is neglected.”
Barnardo’s is recruiting Dorset volunteers to prevent vulnerable children suffering a “hidden sentence.” The charity has been commissioned by HMPPS to support families visiting loved ones at HMP Portland. Barnardo’s wants to help encourage positive relationships and promote children’s play during visits, in order to reduce the impact of parental imprisonment on young people. Volunteers will also signpost families to important sources of information and support.
“No” to Baglan People campaigning against a new prison being built at Baglan, Port Talbot, Wales, have presented a petition to the Welsh Assembly with nearly 9,000 signatures. The land where the Ministry of Justice wants to build the prison is owned by the Welsh Government and opponents to the prison are urging them not to release the land. The prison would hold around 1,600 prisoners but David Rees, Labour MP for Aberavon said: “It has been obvious since we knew where the site was that this location is wholly inappropriate for a new prison. I have called on many occasions for the Welsh Government not to sell the land to the Ministry of Justice and instead use it for improving the economy of our town. Today’s message to the Welsh Government from the people of Port Talbot is quite clear - when the Ministry of Justice asks to buy or lease the land, just say no.” No decision has yet been made.
Bomb panic at Risley There was a minor panic at HMP Risley last month, and the whole prison was put on lockdown after staff found what they thought might be a nail bomb at the prison. Police and the bomb squad descended on the prison and the device was dismantled and found not to be a danger to prisoners or staff. A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “There was an incident at HMP Risley on Sunday 12 November. There was no threat to the public or those within the prison. The matter has been referred to the police and it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Wellingborough rebirth Work to start building a new prison on the HMP Wellingborough site is expected to start next year. Wellingborough was closed in 2012 and has been mothballed ever since. The new prison, which is expected to hold around 1,500 men is one of five new prisons the government has promised to build by 2020 in a bid to close down old Victorian prisons. Peter Bone, Conservative MP for Wellingborough, said it was great news for the town and would support the local economy.
Is Dumfries prison under threat of closure? Dumfriesshire MSP Oliver Mundell has said that he fears HMP Dumfries may be closed because the Scottish justice secretary Michael Matheson failed to make reassurances during a question and answer session in the Scottish Parliament. When the Scottish Prison Service published its plans for future investments, Dumfries was not included. Mr Matheson said: “We are taking forward the next phase of the estates plan and, after we have completed that process, we will look at the remaining elements of the prison estate, including HMP Dumfries.”
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Good Prison News
FBI in HMP Frankland
Decency not just a word
Prisoners helping the hungry
Good deeds prevailing at Styal Han M. Yusoff Many years ago, decency in prison did not exist because the Prison Service did not represent as such. However, at Styal we all agree on one thing that our prison has come a long way trying to provide a moral and decent environment. At Styal decency is an expectation and is paramount for all to follow and the result of this is a better place to work or live for prisoners and staff. Decency is not just a name because decency is what connects us together here at Styal. We as the Decency Team have done numerous accounts of fundraising events that help others inside and outside the community. Decency reps and staff are working tirelessly to make this possible. Two years ago, I was tirelessly fundraising for our family day when I came across a good-hearted and kind individual Governor Sampey. She is such an inspirational person, she has got so much kindness and is the reason that Styal has changed into a decent environment. She has made the impossible quite possible,
Colin Campbell
for over 2-years the Decency Team has been involved in so many good deeds, bringing lots of intervention activities for the women and raising money for Family Day, as well as for various charities out there in the community.
“We raised over £20,000 for little Charlie who sadly passed away recently after an 18month battle with a brain tumour.” We also raised money for Manchester bomb victims, and have been cooking and baking to raise money for the homeless people in Manchester areas. We also did a coffee-morning for Macmillan Cancer, and we are in the middle of fundraising for another homeless centre in Booth Town, Manchester. I am proud of Governor Sampey and our Decency Team - Tracy, Connie, Jaine, Julie, Stella, Harriet, Alwen, Beth and Wendy. Together, our good deeds shall prevail. Han M. Yusoff works in the Safer Custody Department HMP/YOI Styal
Frankland prison has a reputation for being one of the last prisons to come into line with other establishments; especially within the High security estate. However, due to the FBI, things are hopefully about to change. The FBI is a Food Bank Initiative that has finally been given the go-ahead. It has taken just over 6-months for permission to be granted by the powers-that-be. Special thanks to the Deputy Governor and the Head of Reducing Reoffending for taking time to consider the proposal. It was refreshing to have a ‘working together’ attitude, by actually sitting and having conversations as opposed to just getting a flat NO.
With the help of my peers, we designed posters to advertise the project. The basic idea is that we ask people to purchase extra goods from their canteen on a weekly basis for a full month. There is no limit set as even the smallest donation can make a huge difference. All items must be donated with original seals intact. We had a designated point where goods would be accepted at set times, and, to avoid any security concerns, all items would be logged and checked by an officer. The food bank charity would then collect the goods at the end of the month. Donating and helping others can boost a person’s self-esteem and what better way to do that than knowing that your donation can help a hungry family. So, why not try to set up an FBI in your prison? It would be nice to pick up Inside Time and read of more success stories like this. Colin Campbell is resident at HMP Frankland
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Around 3% of the prisoners have previous experience in the armed forces and understand only too well the sacrifices made by its members across the generations. Many others had lost family members through conflict around the world serving their country and were glad to be able to help. Governor Chris McPhee, himself a Falklands veteran , suggested inviting the local branch of the Royal British Legion to the prison to receive the funds raised . On 14th November RBL member Mr Ernie Oldfield visited the prison to personally thank the prisoners and accepted a cheque for £513.
Newsbites Probe call into deaths at Nottingham Toby Perkins, the MP for Chesterfield has called for an urgent investigation into deaths at HMP Nottingham after five prisoners died within the space of one month. He said: “I call on the Ministry of Justice to instigate an urgent investigation into the spate of deaths at HMP Nottingham. Cuts to the number of prison officers over the last seven years have increased the number of prisoner deaths, as well as seeing significant increases in drug use, assaults on staff, serious incidents and bullying.”
“Yes” to Highland Councillors in Inverness have approved plans for a new prison in the city. The new HMP Highland will be built at the rear of Inverness Retail and Business Park where work is expected to start next year. The agreement follows a long drawn out argument about the new prison’s location with local people saying they did not want it built near their homes at Milton of Leys, and retail park shops saying they didn’t want it near their premises. Inverness South Councillor, Ken Gowan said: “Inverness needs a new prison. The old prison is a Victorian building and after speaking to several officers who work there, it’s clear it’s not fit for purpose. We need a new modern prison in the Highlands and looking at the design, it looks state of the art.”
Inverness prison attraction Plans to convert the old Inverness Prison into a major tourist attraction and housing complex will be unveiled within weeks. The Victorian prison is owned by the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) but it is expected to be sold by the Scottish Government once the city’s replacement prison, planned for a site beside the Inverness Retail Park, is operational. A spokesman for the SPS said: “We’re still pursuing the planning process and we will require to secure funding and to secure someone to build on the new site before we’re in any position to vacate the current site.” The old prison is within a conservation area and is listed by Historic Environment Scotland to reflect its historical importance.
Supreme Court rules on solitary The Supreme Court has ruled that a man kept in solitary confinement, with virtually no contact with other prisoners, at HMP Grampian has had his human rights violated. The SPS has said isolation, known as “removal from association”, is only used in exceptional circumstances and Governors need special permission from the Scottish Government to keep a prisoner in solitary for more than 30 days at a time.
Oscar’s prison project Reading gaol, whose only previous connection to the performing arts was being the prison home to Oscar Wilde may become a new theatre venue if a feasibility study produces positive results. Local organisation Theatre & Arts Reading (TAR) is to carry out the feasibility study to determine whether a venue could be built on the Reading site. Wilde was imprisoned in the Victorian prison in 1895. It was closed as a working prison in 2013. Last year it hosted readings of De Profundis written by Wilde during his time there, as part of an art project. TAR has secured a £20,000 grant from Arts Council England, as well as matched funding from Howard Panter and Rosemary Squire’s Trafalgar Entertainment Group and Festival Republic, which will also provide input into the study. Acknowledgements: The Stage
16 Comment
Lord Neuberger: Judges should explain what they are doing and why
A Life in Court Former president of the Supreme Court reflects on Joint Enterprise, cameras in court and allegations that are treated as evidence
Month by Month
The Right Honourable the Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury PC Hon FR S sounds ver y grand but the man I met in the Treasurer’s Office in Lincoln’s Inn Fields is informal and friendly. David Neuberger began his career in 1974. By 1 9 8 7 h e w a s a Q u e e n’s Counsel, in 1996 a High Court Judge, a knight and in 2007 a life peer - an almost meteoric rise. Then in 2012 he became President of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the United Kingdom, from which he retired in September this year. If anyone can talk about the condition of law in this country, it has to be him. Was he born or made a lawyer? “My mother, who was a s t rong i n f lue nce d id n’t approve of lawyers who she thought were “Smart Alecs” who argued for whichever side paid them,” he says, “which is of course true but it is the w ay t he s y stem work s.” Neuberger studied science at university which he admits he wasn’t very good at and then went into the city but, “If I was a bad scientist, I was a worse banker.” Eventually a friend suggested law.
l The role of law in society “ There has to be a system that is fair and open and that is the role of the courts.” So, in his view, what role does the law play in society? “In order for any society to function,” he says seriously, “people have to be given the ability to enforce their rights or defend themselves in an open and fair way. So if two people fall out in a marriage, if two neighbours fall out, two business people fall out, there has to be a way of resolving their disputes. Otherwise you will have a strong feeling of injustice and/or you will have people sorting out their disputes by fighting or hiring thugs or murderers. However, in order for a government to function there has to be give and take between the government and the people. The people have to accept that the government makes laws that impinge on their freedom, where they can’t park, the taxes they have to pay and so forth, but in return the government has to ensure that it gives them rights and freedoms against the government and those rights and freedoms are perfectly useless if they aren’t enforceable. And of course the criminal law is part of the same picture. In order to have a stable society you have things that are illegal and the government has to have the
right to enforce the criminal law and the people who are accused have to have the right to defend themselves. There has to be a system that is fair and open and that is the role of the courts.” The government has three arms, he explained: Parliament makes laws, the Civil Service carries them out and the Judiciary interprets and enforces the laws. He emphasised that, although we hear a lot about social security, health, education, the fundamental and historic function of the government is for the Defence of the Realm from threats abroad and to maintain law and order at home. We don’t have a written constitution but we do have Common Law which means that the judges can develop the law. This is interesting because, although parliament is generally thought of as elected and judges unelected, in fact, only MPs are actually democratically elected to their job wh i le m i n i s te r s a re appointed. “They are technically members of the executive, not the legislature,” says Neuberger, adding, “We have a muddled system. People often talk about unelected judges but I think there are things that it’s sometimes very difficult for MP’s to do because it’s short term unpopular, which the unelected judges can do more easily because they don’t have to worry about losing their jobs.”
Richard Pohle/The Times
l The Supreme Court “One of its functions is to ensure coherence in the law between different parts of the UK”
Rachel Billington
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I asked him about the make-up and reason for the Supreme Court. He explained that the UK has three separate legal systems; England and Wales, S cot l a nd , a nd Nor t he r n Ireland. “One of its functions is to ensure coherence in the law between different parts of the UK,” he says. “It is also the top court in the country which will decide very important points of law, sometimes because they’re politically sensitive, sometime because they’re legally sensitive. It has nine English and Welsh judges, two Scots, one Northern Irish.” And what about gender balance?” He points out the President is a woman, Lady Hale, and there is one other women judge, Lady Porter. The Court almost always deals with appeal cases. l Joint enterprise “The men weren’t necessarily wrongly convicted but perhaps convicted of the wrong crime.” I had sat in on the Supreme Court when there were two appeals against the law of Joint Enterprise where a man or woman can be convicted of murder because of their association rather than the actual delivery of the murder. The cou r t u nder Neuberger’s Presidency found that in both cases, the trial court had wrongly directed the jury but, as some of my readers may know too well, few men convicted under the law have been let out of prison subsequently. I asked him to explain why that was . He remembered the case well and said that the court had ruled that the men “weren’t necessarily wrongly convicted but perhaps convicted of the wrong crime. It had been made too easy to find them guilty of murder.” So the prisoner is entitled to seek an appeal against his conviction. In fact, Jogee, one of the convicted, did appeal, had a retrial and was downgraded to a conviction of manslaughter. Which means, of course, he is still in prison but it does also mean a change in the way future trials will be run. l Prisoner votes “The government has done everything asked for by the Court of Human Rights except in regard to prisoner votes.” Another case which affected prisoners was the Hirst case asking for votes for prisoners in 2005. This was fought and won in the Strasbourg Court of Human Rights. Why had
that not taken effect after so long? Neuberger pointed out that, “The government has done everything asked for by the Court of Human Rights except in regard to prisoner votes.” It is also true that, finally, on November 2nd , the Minister for Justice announced that up to a hundred prisoners on temporary licence relief can be given the vote. They are, of course, not behind bars. l Brexit “You can’t go round pontificating about things which are not to do with the rule of law.” He wouldn’t be drawn on the effect of the UK leaving the EU. “So much depends on the terms we agree, if any. It’s very difficult to predict. Nobody knows,” he says. I next drew his attention to a letter in October’s issue of Inside Time which accuses judges of hiding “behind a wall of utter silence”- “I don’t think it’s fair to say that judges hide behind a wall of utter silence,” he says defensively. “It’s an overstatement. They give talks and lectures far more than they did. But it’s true we’re quite restrained in what we say. First of all we have to be careful not to talk about things which aren’t in our remit. You can’t go round pontificating about things which are not to do with the rule of law. For example it would not be appropriate for judges to go round talking about Brexit. But we should explain what we’re doing and why we’re doing it and let people watch it. I’ve always been much keener on cameras in court than most judges. Virtually any appeal can be fi lmed as indeed happens in t he Supreme Court.’” The problem he said, is that cases, particularly appeal cases when there is no jury and arguments about points of law, can be very boring. l Closer ties “I support the general idea of judges being more involved so they see what the consequences of a sentence are.” What did he think about proposed programmes where a sentencing judge would continue to be involved in the convicted man or woman’s future? “I support the general idea of judges being more involved so they see what the consequences of a sentence are,” he says. “One of the odd things about the traditional criminal judge is the distance between the judge and the jury during a hearing and the distance between a judge and the defendant after sentencing. I mean, when I was a
criminal judge and addressed the jury I thought I didn’t really know whether I was failing them…In the Court of Appeal you might say the right sentence is 8 years but you don’t have an in-depth idea of what the sentence involves and what it means to that particular prisoner and you don’t always get much feedback.” l Allegations as truth “Sometimes the press do treat allegations as true.” These days allegations are all too often treated as evidence, pa r t icula rly w it h sexua l offences. What did he think about that? “Sometimes the press do treat allegations as true,” he says. He admits that it’s a difficult area and gives the example of a teacher accused by three pupils of sexual abuse. In theory that teacher should be treated as innocent but the parents wouldn’t be very pleased. On the related question of anonymity for the alleged victim but not for the alleged accuser, he merely remarked that he could “see arguments both ways.” l High points “At least we showed people what we were and what we did warts and all.” What were the high points in his career? Firstly he mentioned his success in getting the Supreme Court to sit outside London in Edinburgh and Belfast. Secondly he pointed to the Court’s management of the high profile Brexit/Miller case, heard as he remarked, “in a fetid atmosphere. At least we showed people what we were and what we did warts and all. I hope it’s a more collegiate place and a more publically recognised place.” As our interview came to an end, he quoted, although not very seriously, the Marquess of Salisbury, who in 1886 having just won the election and become Prime Minister, said to his private secretary, “If things are no worse when I leave here in six years’ time then I will regard myself as having succeeded.’” I left him with a copy of Inside Time which he has read and k now s a l l ab out . A s he browsed the pages he said, “I’m impressed with the volume of information, the variety and the quality.” When I suggested “remarkable” as a suitable adjective, he agreed happily. With that I promised to make sure he received a regular copy of the prisoners’ favourite newspaper.
Conversations with Clare Clare Barstow
Playwright honoured in Pentonville Joe Orton’s sister Leonie unveils picture in prison as part of 20 year London Shakespeare Workout celebration
On 25th October I was able to go up to Pentonville to see the unveiling of a picture by Leonie Orton, sister of the famous playwright Joe Orton who spent six months in prison himself in the Sixties supposedly for defacing the covers of library books by drawing on them with his lover Kenneth Halliwell. However during questioning they were asked in such detail about their homosexuality it is thought they were only given a prison sentence because of their illegal relationship as the defacing itself would not have warranted a prison sentence.
Artist Glen Mendes’ sketch unveiled
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Murdered Orton was the writer of such famous award winning plays as Loot and Entertaining Mr Sloane and ironically Islington Libraries now have the books on display in their museum. It is 50 years since Joe was murdered by his lover Kenneth, as seen in the famous Stephen Frears fi lm, ‘Prick Up Your Ears’ and soon to be seen in a BBC2 documentary Orton Laid Bare.
Joe Orton It feels strange being back inside a prison after three and a half months of freedom but as I’ve been invited by Jose, an Education Representative of the Ministry of Justice I feel safe enough. We are all here due to the persistence and dedication of Bruce Wa l l, D i re ctor of t he L ondon Shakespeare Workout. He is a charismatic figure who instills enthusiasm in his writers, performers and artists by his bountiful energy. When I first met Bruce in 2001 at HMP Cookham Wood I was impressed by his zeal and ability to enthuse even the least willing with his love of Shakespeare and drama. He encouraged my writing and asked such esteemed actors as Sir Kenneth Branagh and Juliet Stevenson to read my poetry as well as putting some of my work on in the West End, around Britain and abroad. He has championed the idea that drama builds confidence and his workshops are an
rience of prison into his creativity, most notably in the play Loot. As Orton says, “Being in the nick brought detachment to my writing. I wasn’t involved any more. And suddenly it worked.” Certainly his best work was produced after being inside. Another sketch unveiled by Leonie’s former neighbour Ann was done by the Art Director of Call the Midwife.
incredible testimony to that. Even Richard Dreyfus and Tom Hiddleston have performed in his drama sessions. Everyone gets touched by the magic wand of fantasy he wields. Hopes and dreams Bruce has taken some of his workshops into the harshest prisons in the States and this country. He has transformed many lives - and getting ‘hardnuts’ to dance around the stage spouting Shakespearean sonnets surely deserves massive credit. It is 20 years since he set up LSW with Dame Dorothy Tutin with the remit that those inside would be rehabilitated more effectively if they had skills, hopes and dreams. Bruce gives up so much of his time free of charge to the project. Given he was a child actor from Canada, his determination in the face of growing cutbacks to Prison Education budgets is praiseworthy.
Bruce Wall, “zeal and ability” Now he has linked forces with drama c o l l e g e s s u c h a s R A DA a n d Goldsmiths in London to allow the men in Pentonville to do a recognized 12 week course and they are writing their own work and performing it live
In rehearsals on radio. He has joined forces with National Prison Radio and has recorded the first piece entitled Tuesdays which will be aired shortly. The men’s original writing is also b e i ng publ i she d b y M et hue n Bloomsbury which will ensure that other drama students can read the work in the future. The talent of the men is incredible given the harsh circumstances they find themselves in. Sketches Artists were invited in to sketch the men in rehearsal and it is the work of Glen Mendes which is being unveiled by Leonie in the library at Pentonville. I spoke to Glen and he e x pla i ne d t hat he w a s rea l ly enthused by the men’s commitment when he was sketching them. He used to work for Universal Studios and has mainly done set and production design. As you can see from the sketches, they are really of a high standard and are excellent at showing the work in progress. In her speech, Leonie spoke of her brother’s insistence to turn the negative expe-
Deep in thought Leroy, one of the actors, read some quotes by Joe Orton of his prison experience as well as showing an image of a defaced cover which is an artwork in itself. Leroy is incredibly articulate and is due for release shortly. He has already been hired to appear in a film next month, proving that the project is working by allowing us all to have the will to dream. As Bruce quotes from The Tempest at the end of each session, “We are such stuff as dreams are made on.’ Clare Barstow is a writer and a former resident of HMP
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18 Comment
Missing forensics Miscarriage may arise from what is not submitted rather than what is Robert Green Over the past few years we have seen calls for statutory powers to be given to the Forensic Science Regulator and warnings that standards of forensic science are at significant risk. Whilst, of course, applauding the introduction of a timetable to comply with the Regulator's Code of Practice, it is, in my view, time to look more widely at the use of forensic science not only as an aid to securing a prosecution but also to support the defence. Perhaps I can begin by explaining a little about the forensic process. Some readers may not necessarily appreciate both the physical transfer mechanisms and also the somewhat linear A-Z process from the crime occurring until the presentation of evidence in court. Before this, though, perhaps I can give an example of how forensic investigation can be biased by (a) non-submission, as well as (b) inappropriate submission of forensic material or (c) contamination issues within the laboratory. Just take, for example, the case where contact between two individuals is alleged. This could suggest submission of other forensic/DNA material. In this case, we suggest that the suspect’s clothing would be a good shedder of fibres. If contact had occurred between both parties as is alleged by the victim, then you would expect fibres to have been transferred/ detected. The simple fact is though that the submitting body (most often the police) will not agree to the examination of fibres - presumably based on cost. Nevertheless, if fibre work was undertaken and it was shown that no fibres had been transferred, then the findings could well support the defence more than the prosecu-
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tion. In reality, we will never know because the final samples were not submitted nor perhaps even taken. With many forms of forensic support, the scientist is trying to prove or disprove connection. Sometimes referred to as linkage theory, this principle can be used to provide a connection: 1. Between individual and individual, as in the case above. 2. Between incident and suspect; more simply linking the crime scene with the suspect. 3. Between one incident and another (in the case of DNA match).
an inverted pyramid and, beginning at the top, you appreciate the significance of each level and the attrition between each level. Likewise, one can see that, throughout this continuum, a series of options, outcomes and choices is to be made. In very simple terms, the amount of evidence that makes its way to court is a small proportion of the total evidence available. In the past, I have experienced where the ‘forensic’ case is built wholly from the perspective of the prosecution. Of course, one would expect this - as the police are a rather effective prosecution agency - but, in this context, who looks after the interests of the innocent? Who would be interested in submitting (and paying for) items which did not support the prosecution hypothesis? This is particularly so given the current period of extreme austerity which the police, and, for that matter, others across the criminal
The evidence in its entirety (100%) The evidence which is observed (<100%) The evidence which is then collected 4. And the link between physical evidence, victims, suspects and the scene of incidents.
Of this, the evidence which is then submitted for scientific analysis The evidence which has then scientific value (both prosecution and defence) The evidence that has then investigative value within the context of the case
justice sector, face.
In the past, if forensic evidence The evidence was overlooked or which is deemed admissible other items in the case might support another Depending upon the parversion of events, one could ticular context of the case, somet i mes rely upon t he then forensic science can help defence team identifying these provide these links as above. Very and further work being conducted often, the questions asked in forenon their behalf. With the significant sic science are: cuts in Legal Aid budgets, the number (a) Did the item under examination of cases being submitted from defence is dramatically reduced. Although I make a mark at the scene? (b) Did the material found at the have no direct knowledge, nevertheless I am led to believe that the recent scene originate from the suspect? (c) Have these two items been in con- events at Randox were spotted not by the auditors from UKAS, not by the tact with each other? and finally Forensic Science Regulator but by an (d) What is the material? independent scientist commissioned So, on the face of it, this seems a rath- by the defence. Without wishing to prejudge the enquiry in any way one er straightforward way of thinking. might suspect that the errors around In reality, things can be rather dif- this are associated with calibration ferent. Perhaps we can think of it as and standards. Being able to identify
these very specialist issues requires a depth of analytical knowledge and appears to have been overlooked during the audit process and, for a significant period. Given that UKAS had audited and accredited these services for some time will be cause for deep reflection. In effect, we currently experience the worst of both worlds: very targeted and often limited prosecution evidence being submitted for testing with no opportunity for the defence to test their own theories. Of course, the external forensic provider is not aware of any other evidence or of the full circumstances of the case and so cannot comment on anything other than the results of the test they have been directed to conduct. I hope you will see that one of the real dangers here is not the quality of the science within the laboratory but, rather, the material that may be screened out or the analysis undertaken in-house (within the police service). Currently, several areas of forensic analysis are not open to the scrutiny of UKAS or the Forensic Science Regulator. Consequently, whilst the quality failings we have seen in the external provision (outside supplier) - at least these are in the open and can be acted upon and remedied. Those analyses that are undertaken within the police service or, those which aren't undertaken at all are far less visible. My rather sad forecast is that we may very well encounter a miscarriage of justice based not on what is submitted to the laboratory but on what is not. In this sense, one cannot ‘regulate’ with or without statutory powers what is not submitted in the first instance. What perhaps makes things worse is that the defence may lack the experience and expertise (even if they were funded) to look through the unused material in a systematic and effective way. For example, how many of them would know how to navigate the HOLMES exhibit system? Reflecting on the situation in the USA, the term ‘picking sides’ - picking evidence - is sometimes used. Whilst past remarks may have been
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My rather sad forecast is that we may very well encounter a miscarriage of justice based not on what is submitted to the laboratory but on what is not. directed at the USA (James & Nordby, 2003), there are some parallels to be drawn with the increasing use of ‘in-house’ police testing laboratories in the UK, many of which are unaccredited and unregulated. Within the NAS report, there is reference to the cultural incompatibility between forensic science and law enforcement. The report goes on to suggest that publicly funded laboratories should be independent of and autonomous with law enforcement agencies. Despite the almost daily litany of error from the USA, it seems the UK are intent on following this model. To conclude, the issues which have the most potential for miscarriages of justice are, in my view: 1. The non-submission of items which may otherwise support the defence hypothesis. 2. The over-targeted way in which some examinations are requested of the external forensic supplier. 3. Currently examinations being undertaken in non-accredited police laboratory to which the defence often have no access. 4. Under the present guise, a Forensic Science Regulator whose influence seems limited to the external providers of forensic science. This is despite the fact that the majority of forensic work is undertaken within the police service itself.
Robert Green OBE is the Director of Undergraduate Studies in the School of Physical Sciences at the University of Kent and has over 28 years of experience working within the field of forensic science.
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Prisoners maintaining innocence More information needed to bolster arguments for change John Stokes
(alleged) offence.
A recent advertisement in Inside Time asking for prisoners maintaining innocence to write to us at Progressing Pr isoners Maintaining Innocence (PPMI) about their experience, elicited 80 replies. One correspondent wrote: “To me, it appears that I have no chance of progress or risk-reduction simply because I didn't commit the alleged crimes and therefore can't discuss them.”
The Parole Board also usually expects a prisoner to have spent some time in a lower security prison (Category C or D) - where behaviour is tested in a less strictly controlled environment - before considering release; but the Prison Service insists on evidence of reduced risk before allowing a prisoner to progress to a lower category prison. The result is to put an innocent prisoner in a Catch 22 situation: to get his risk reduced the prisoner is being asked to admit to the crime!
The problems that this prisoner is referring to come about because a person serving a life or indeterminate sentence can only be released if the parole board believes that the risk of re-offending is sufficiently low, and this is often taken as meaning: if risk has been sufficiently reduced. This matters because the prison service needs some way of measuring reduction in risk, and for this it has relied to a great extent on successful completion of offending behaviour programmes, some of which require d iscussing t he
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The unfairness of this situation has been recognised by the Prison Service and it has responded by providing officially recognised alternative pathways for reducing risk (The Seven Pathways). These include such things as maintaining strong family ties and i mp r ov i ng p r o s p e c t s o f employ ment on relea se. Working on these areas can be a way forward for some; but not all the pathways are available to all prisoners. For exam-
ple, a prisoner may have lost family ties as a direct result of many years inside; and older and disabled prisoners may have little or no prospect of employ ment on relea se. Another serious problem is that it is not clear how much weight is given, in practice, to these pathways.
It appears that I have no chance of progress or riskreduction simply because I didn’t commit the alleged crimes and therefore can’t discuss them. One correspondent was proud of his achievements in education and skills training, but he was told in an official report: “all my courses I got mean nothing.” A few months ago the Prison Service also announced that its principal sex offender treatment pro-
grammes were ending, due to research which has shown that they increase risk. They are being replaced by programmes which do not require participants to speak about their offence. This is good news for innocent prisoners who have been convicted of a sexual crime; but it remains to be seen how well the changes will work in practice, and programmes for those convicted for other offences have not, so far, been changed. It is widely believed that expressing empathy for one's victim and showing some insight into the motivation for the offence are themselves indicators of reduced risk. Here, once again, the innocent prisoner is at an obvious disadvantage. Not only is this route to risk reduction not available, the prisoner's alleged failure to follow this path can be cited as further evidence of continuing high risk. In fact, evidence about what makes someone who has committed a crime less likely to
re-offend is patchy at best, and the professionals involved in decisions about release will form judgements in ways that reflect personal attitudes and experience as much as they do any hard evidence. In these circumstances, it is perhaps not surprising, but is clearly wrong that the mere fact of maintaining innocence can be given as a reason for not recommending progression or release. Here is an example from a probation report: “(Mr X's) continued denial and minimisation gives great cause for concern and should this continue I believe this will increase risk at the point of release.” Notice that the phrase “continued denial” indicates an assumption by the report writer that the prisoner must be guilty. PPMI has persuaded the Parole Board to stop using the phrase “in denial” but it can still be found in prisoners' reports. We received evidence in some cases of attempts to bully a prisoner into changing his stance. One prisoner, typical of many, wrote: “My first probation officer said he would make me crack and admit guilt. He said I would never progress from a B cat.” The mental effects of their sit-
uation was a recurring theme of the letters: “I have nothing to live for. I am getting more and more depressed” - this was from a man in his eighties; “I am very restless and weep every day, realising how unfair the justice system can be”; “I don't think I have much strength left for this uphill struggle”; “At 43 years old, I have accepted I will die in prison.” Perhaps the saddest comments were from correspondents who find themselves in a hostile world that does not want to hear their story: “Nobody in this world believes me”; “I don't know where to turn or what to do, no-one's listening.” PPMI thanks all those who have written to us and would like to receive information about their situation from others. Please write to us and we will send a questionnaire. Your replies will give us the vital information we need to put forward effective arguments for change.
John Stokes is Chair of Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence (PPMI) PPMI, c/o Compass House, 57 Meridian Centre, North Street, Havant, PO9 1UW
20 Comment
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“Winning the X Factor hasn’t changed me” Former prison officer Sam Bailey takes time out from new show to reflect on her previous job patrolling the landings of a British prison Bailey’s prison would have in her X Factor involvement, especially now most have televisions. “I had messages from colleagues on different wings, saying so and so on H Wing sends his best and is really proud,” she says. “I had a lot of nice messages from people I’d been in charge of which was really sweet. On the night that I won the whole prison was banging on their cell doors. They only usually do that for football finals and midnight on the last day of the year. That’s around 700 prisoners all banging at once for me. Can you imagine that?”
Even before Sam Bailey won the final of the 2013 X Factor singing competition her job as a prison officer was as good as at an end. She had been patrolling the landings and corridors of HMP Gartree in Leicestershire for three years. “Once I’d got through the first auditions I took a three month break,” she explains during a lull in rehearsals for her starring role in the new musical Fat Friends which opened at the Grand Theatre in Leeds last month. “My colleagues and the Governor were fantastic about it. But the further I got in the competition I wasn’t sure I’d be going back. Then I remember at Boot Camp having a conversation with a couple of governors and asking for an official career break. They basically said it wouldn’t be in the best interests of the prison or me for me to go back after all as there was just so much about my personal life, my family and where we live on the show.” In the four years since Bailey won the biggest talent show in the country the rates of violence, self-harm and suicide across the prison system have escalated to record levels. Regimes have become more and more limited as many of the most experienced prison officers have taken voluntary redundancy, leaving the prisons dangerously short of staff able to maintain effective control. NPS (New Psychoactive Substances) such as Spice and Mamba have flood-
ed the wings and landings and introduced a new level of unpredictability for all those who live and work in our prisons. Talking people down Despite the evident problems across the prison estate, Bailey reminisces often about her old job. “I think a lot about my old colleagues and how tough it is for them,” she says. “To go into work every day not knowing what you are going to be up against can be incredibly stressful and demanding. But it can be a very rewarding job when you look at the bigger picture. In terms of the pressures, there are a lot of things you have to do on a daily basis that could potentially be quite dangerous. In Gartree where I worked I was in awe of some of the officers I worked with. The way they dealt with situations, violent confrontations that could have been really serous, I saw how
“Nobody took me seriously” What did her colleagues at Gartree think about her going on the X Factor? Did she tell them she was auditioning? “No, not at first. I didn’t really tell many people that I was auditioning. I’d had the micky taken out of me a lot when I told people I was a singer and I don’t think anyone actually believed me. Nobody really took it seriously. I didn’t really do a lot of singing at work - though I did sing down the corridors sometimes as the acoustics were great. When all the prisoners were locked up I used to sing as I patrolled the corridors. I loved it. But then obviously I needed some time off as the audition was on a day that I was supposed to be working and I had no TOIL (Time Off In Lieu) left at all. I ended up owing hours which I had to pay back. When I won the X Factor I had a letter from the prison say ing I owed them money.”
“I loved singing in the prison corridors” Football mad What went through her mind the moment she knew she had won? “I was desperate to see Leicester play,” she says. “That was the only thing I was excited about, but not just going to see the lads play - I was going to be singing at half-time on the pitch. I was literally in my element about that, I couldn’t wait.”
As a former prisoner I could imagine the interest that prisoners serving in
“Nobody believed I was a real singer”
sam-bailey.com
Erwin James
Skill The stigma attached to being a prison officer is unfair. A lot of people think of a prison officer as a big stocky guy swinging a set of keys looking all hard. They’re not. They come in all shapes and sizes and they are there to help people in their care to facilitate rehabilitation. The service has lost a lot of the more experienced officers who knew how to talk to prisoners and build rapport. I’ve seen the skill it takes for an officer to talk someone up when they’re at their lowest ebb. The skill that takes deserves applause and respect.”
they were able to talk people down. I learned so much from the experienced people I worked with and I saw how they managed to get the prisoners’ respect.”
sam-bailey.com
The moment Sam Bailey won the 2013 X Factor
Credit: Tom Dymond/Thames/REX
I didn’t really do a lot of singing at work - though I did sing down the corridors sometimes as the acoustics were great. When all the prisoners were locked up I used to sing as I patrolled the corridors. I loved it.
The impact of her win must have been extraordinarily life changing. Life as a professional performer couldn't be more different than the life of a serving prison officer. “It’s been life-changing,” she says, “but it hasn’t changed me. It never has. I still live in the same house. I’m still in contact with most of the people I worked in the prison with and I still like to do as much as I can for the Prison Service and support the prison officers. I have to say I take my hat off to anyone who works as a prison officer right now. It’s not an easy time. I want to be able to let the public know, that what these men and women do is phenomenal. The public rarely get to see the value of the officers, it’s all about what the prisoners do, the problems, the drugs and riots. But the officers, it’s one of the best of the public services and I think they deserve recognition for what they do.
On the night that I won the whole prison was banging on their cell doors. They only usually do that for football finals and midnight on the last day of the year. That’s around 700 prisoners all banging at once for me. Can you imagine that?” There must have been some challenging times as she walked the landings? “The most challenging part was not taking your work home,” she says. “When you see stuff at work it’s so hard not to take it home, you’re wondering if that person’s going to be alive the next day. The best and most satisfying part is when you see a prisoner start to change. You see the light bulb switch on and when you see them trying and making a real effort you see them become better people and you know something good is going to come from the sentence.”
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A journey through the Inside Voices therapy looking glass Moral low ground
© Fotolia.com
solicitors, academics, film producers, and anyone else residents invite are able to visit the wing, socialise and learn about work done here. Many residents use the afternoon to build ties with their offender manager.
Harold Mose
Promising Futures You know you’re in Grendon when you wake up with a laptop on your side, your calendar is full of event dates and you’re slightly dreading nine a.m. The once just bearable group meetings, however, become less intense; Open University essays are typed up by those involved in higher learning; and after drinking coffee with Ministry of Justice prison coordinators, and criminology professors, or playing the steel pans alongside prison staff during black history month one can be left wondering what unique experience will happen next… One of these is the opportunity for an ex-resident, if invited by a community member or member of staff, to visit the wing for Social Day. Social Days are special afternoon hosted on each community twice a year. Professionals such as probation officers, therapists,
I walked downstairs freshly shaved, scented with aftershave, and happy to meet the guests on my community’s recent social day. “Yo Harold, what’s happening?” smiled T, a friend and ex-resident, who strolled onto the wing as if he owned the place (understandably after spending 6 years here). “All good bro,” I greeted and after a quick catch up he was whisked away to reconnect with other residents and staff. It’s funny how a few months of freedom brings a glow in one’s skin I thought. And it seemed to most he was walking proof that Grendon assists you to create a better life. Towards the end of the afternoon the community room filled with residents and guests. Speeches were given by our therapy manager, some poetry was read by residents and, of course, T was invited to speak. “After 10 years in prison, my time here was the hardest time I ever done. Probably the hardest thing I ever done” he explained. “But I tell you now it set me up to live a better life outside.” He was dressed in a business suit (no blazer though) and looked as though he was living a better life -entrepreneurial essence oozing from his presence. “I’d like to thank the residents here that helped me on my journey. I’ve been out for nearly a year now and, I tell you all, stick to your dreams. When I was in Grendon
I imagined so many things I wanted to do once I got out. And it’s all coming true. There is a life outside and it’s good.” I felt psychic as I looked round the room at the residents -they’re all thinking I need to do my therapy. I certainly was thinking that anyway, and not just to prove to the parole board I’m no longer a danger but also so, like T, I will become stronger mentally and will work harder and smarter to materialise my dreams. If universities teach students to think; Grendon teaches residents tolerance and that hard work pays. There are also other aspects to life post-release -better family relationships, less impulsivity and a clearer understanding that we can achieve more than we thought we could (among a list longer than a psychologist’s dictionary). I looked to my right and sat next to me was another friend and ex-resident who had visited from open conditions. What he said earlier in the afternoon rang in my mind -“Stick it out here. I tell you summat, I’m glad I came here. It helped me loads.” Many days have passed since then but I remember when I’m feeling stressed and overwhelmed that I’ve come too far to turn around. The finishing line is ahead and I’ll continue working on my therapy targets until I move on. And I hope, one day, I will arrive outside the gate, glowing of freedom, with a message to share to those who have lives awaiting them more beautiful than they can imagine. But just don’t know it - yet… Harold Mose, a nom de plume, is a resident of HMP Grendon
M Sammon I am currently ser v ing a 30 -mont h sentence for a sex-offence, yet I have never tried to justify my offence or to blame anyone but myself for my actions. There is no excuse for ANY crime, not only sex-crime; so I absolutely concur with the sentiment that Inside Time should not provide a platform for prisoners to make excuses for what they have done, nor to express ‘twisted and sickening views’. This should be a given and contrary to the views of some of last month’s contributors I have never seen any evidence of this occurring. Maybe some readers should try to avoid speculation and sweeping generalisation. One constant that comes from the ‘nonce-bashers’ is that they use the term ‘sex-offender’ as a one-size-fits-all term that assumes that all people convicted of a sex-offence are as bad as one another. This simply is not true. This is like saying that someone who shoplifts a couple of DVDs is exactly the same as a violent armed robber. No sane person would believe this to be true, yet much of the population of ‘ordinary’ criminals are incapable of acknowledging this simple truism. Don’t get me
wrong, there are some very twisted, predatory offenders within the VP community, and I am not for one moment defending them, but we are not all the same.
It beggars belief that someone who has brutally taken another human being’s life is regarded more highly than someone like me. Mr ‘name withheld’, wot dun just a few commercial burglaries should maybe tr y to convince the person who put blood, sweat and tears into building up the business that he robbed, that they have not been affected because they were not the victim of a sex-offence. Try telling the terrified old lady who cannot face leaving her home since having her handbag snatched, or the family who no longer feel safe in their home since being burgled, or the person who saved for years to buy their dream car only to have it stolen, that they are not victims. Tell these people that they have not been abused in any way. I think they might disagree.
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All thieves and violent criminals have committed acts of abuse; their victims have been irreparably damaged too. Just because they are not sex crimes it does not diminish the effect they have had on their victims. The reason that many VPs write in complaining about being ‘slagged off’ is that we are the only section of the prison population continually vilified by other wrong-doers in a transparent attempt to convince themselves, and us, that their own crimes are less serious. It beggars belief that someone who has brutally taken another human being’s life is regarded more highly than someone like me. They are welcomed into the main community, revered and free to occupy the moral high ground over any and all sex-offenders. I don’t spend my time searching for someone whose crime is worse than mine. They have already been judged and that is why they are in prison. My crime is no better or worse than anyone else’s. It is all relative. I am responsible for what I done. People need to take responsibility for what they have done and stop trying to divert attention from t hei r ow n cr i me s. Some should remember that those who shout loudest usually have the most to hide. M Sammon is resident at HMP Littlehey
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in 1986, when Ann Wetherall, the Prison Phoenix Trust's founder, was working on a research project into the spiritual experiences arising from imprisonment. Writing to prisoners, as part of her research, led her to conclude that there was a spiritual hunger among prisoners that was not being met. She felt that, if prisoners could be introduced to meditation and yoga and then given support in their efforts, they might well feel differently about themselves. The first regular prison yoga classes officially started in 1989 and are expanding all the time. Over 170 weekly classes in approximately 87 secure establishments are now being supported by the Trust.
Rising from the ashes
Dancing to the music of Yoga Christmas card sale brings small but beautiful source of funding for the Prison Phoenix Trust Maggie Pernot-Deschamps
Everyone knows about the Phoenix, a mythical bird rising from its ashes, and therefore linked to the idea of rebirth, while the ashes symbolize destruction and even devastation. Let's listen to the voices of men and women who have ended up behind bars and yet have managed to leave the ashes of their former existence behind, to embark on the arduous process of being reborn, to life and hope. From HMYOI Polmont: “I'm four months into my first ever sentence and I'm finding it really hard. Three weeks ago the guys from chaplaincy told me about the Friday afternoon yoga classes so I put my name down. To my surprise I actually enjoyed it... I never thought I would come into prison and start enjoying reading books and doing yoga, but I do!” From HMP Dartmoor: “During my second year in prison I started yoga and meditation... I was instantly hooked... Two
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years on and yoga is part of my daily routine and life... This keeps me focussed and calm, ready for whatever prison life throws at me... Thank you for being there to encourage ways of coping with prison life. It is definitely working for me.” From HMP Liverpool: “At stressful times... I have been using the book and CD. It has helped me a lot... I have only been using it a week and it's made a major difference in myself. The yoga and meditation have made me see life from a different perspective. And it has made me take a step back from self-harming. It has probably saved my life.” These words come from the quarterly newsletter published by a charity that has taken the mythical bird as its symbol - the Prison Phoenix Trust, which aims to encourage prisoners to develop their spiritual welfare, by practising meditation and yoga, and by working with silence and the breath. The whole adventure started
Support is given through teaching, workshops, correspondence, books, CDs and newsletters and also through the training of yoga teachers for work in prison. Letter writing plays an important part in the Trust's work and many requests come to the Trust every day. During the last 12 months, they sent out 3,341 packs of books and CDs. The Trust's pioneering work with prisoners and prison staff has been given regular recognition over the years. In 2011, it was awarded the highest accolade a voluntary organis at ion c a n re ce ive: T he Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. The Prison Phoenix Trust is a registered charity which is independent of any religion. It honours all religions and works with people of any faith or no faith at all. All its funding comes from grants and donations. One small but beautiful source of funding c o m e s f r o m t h e s a le o f Christmas cards. Each year the card is drawn by a prisoner. It reflects the Trust's work or can be an image suggesting hope and peace. All the prisoners who enter the competition receive 2 free packs of cards. In 2016, the drawing on the card was a snowman yogi, in the pose called natarajasana, the dancer.
Inside Voices
No honour amongst thieves Every man for himself in the new prison order Grant Stanley Times have surely changed and gone are the days when there was an unwritten code of conduct between criminals in prison. There was a hierarchy amongst prisoners and the wings ran themselves. Bullying was not tolerated, disputes were settled man-to-man in the recess, baroning was moderately controlled and theft from cells was unacceptable. It was always ‘us’ and ‘them’, when it came to prison staff and they knew their place, i.e. to lock us up, unlock us and, if they were lucky, to catch us in the act of breaking a rule. However, this is no longer the case. Bullying is uncontrolled, cell-thieves are rife and instead of shaking a man’s hand after a fair fight, you now have to watch your back for fear of a shank in the derriere. How did the prison system adapt to these changes, and why did it change in such a dramatically short period of time? Necessity and a change of guard is the simple answer. When staffing numbers were cut by a third, the ‘old guard’ took early retirement and a new generation of staff were employed with no guidance from those that went before them. This drop in prison staff created a vacuum that the system seemed to fill with changes for prisoners, changes to the IEP scheme, additional rules imposed and staff reverting to adherence and enforcement of all rules, governors creating a network of information-suppliers in the guise of Insiders, Equality Reps and Listeners. Now, before all the Insiders, Equality Reps and Listeners start jumping on their soap-boxes, not everyone is a tell-tale and the information they divulge to staff is not necessarily inten-
tional. Most prisoners take these jobs for altruistic reasons, but prison staff have become more inventive in their information-collecting and interrogation techniques. This was to be expected from staff, but what is disappointing is the fact that some prisoners feel it is acceptable and necessary to volunteer information to staff, implicating others. Prison has become every-man-for-himself and the petty adherence to rules deprives us of feeling like nor ma l huma n beings. Psychologists and Probation Officers increase risk because they believe some of us are becoming institutionalised and is there any wonder when some of the pathetic rules are aimed at making us ‘good prisoners’ but not necessarily ‘good people’. I get it, I really do; protecting the vulnerable is important, reduction of violence is important, but have any of these new rules or the introduction of representatives impacted self-harm numbers, reduced violent incidents or even reduced reoffending? The answer is a resounding NO! So why make changes? Prisons employ inmate councils to feedback constructive opportunities to improve, but rarely do they actually listen and implement any suggestions and instead they make bizarre decisions that have no benefit to prisoners. Prisoners are losing backbone and governors are capitalising on this weakness to impose even more restrictions and operationally bizarre rules. The system is long overdue a widespread meltdown so that self-important and supercilious governors will start to seriously engage with operational staff and prisoners. Grant Stanley is resident at HMP Whatton
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Inside Voices
Why prison doesn’t work J Haynes On the 6th of October 1993, then Home Secretary Michael Howard vehemently stated at the Conservative Party conference that “Prison works. It ensures that we are protected from murderers, muggers and rapists - and it makes many who are tempted to commit crime think twice. This may mean that more people will go to prison. I do not flinch from this. We shall no longer judge the success of our justice system by a fall in our prison population.” When we look at this statement we may loosely agree with Michael Howard, in the sense that prison works by keeping criminals off the streets, however, if “prison works” then why are so many ex-offenders committing further crimes and coming back to prison on an unprecedented scale? The limited data that is currently available to me shows that the UK had a 47% reoffending rate during 2005, compared to Norway, who had a 20% reoffending rate in the same period. So, if our prisons really are working in the sense of deterrence, punishment and rehabilitation, then why are the UKs recidivism rates so much higher than some of our Western counterparts? The answer lies within our society, where a majority of UK citizens still have a “lockem-up-and-throw-away-thekey” attitude. To quote Richard Burgon (Inside Time August issue) - “there is a problem in society with a view towards prisoners, most clearly shown in the right-wing newspapers. I remember going on the Daily Politics (BBC2) and Kelvin
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McKenzie (former editor of The Sun) was a fellow guest, and we were discussing prisoners and McKenzie called them ‘pigs’.” This kind of mentality has no place in modern society and harms the very principles that penology is based on. Yet a number of Whitehall officials still seem to harbour this type of mentality. Even the former PM David Cameron, can be quoted as stating in 2015 that the thought of prisoners being given the right to vote made him feel “physically sick.” What kind of message do these two statements portray to both citizens and its prisoners within the UK? Sir Winston Churchill once said - “there is goodness in every man’s heart, we just need to find the key to unlock it.” So, why are we, as a civilised society not attempting to do just that?
Our prisons should be places of hope, rehabilitation and purpose, and ultimately work for the many and not the few. If any prison is to truly work, rehabilitation has to be at the top of its agenda. There needs to be ‘tough on crime’, ‘tough on t he cau se s of cr i me’ approach, to tackle the on-going failures within our UK prison estate. Fyodor Dostoyevsky stated in Crime and Punishment (1866) that - ‘You can judge a society by how well it treats its prisoners.’ So, what does this powerful statement say about us
as a supposedly democratic society? Are we doing enough to help our fellow citizens who have lost their way and ended up behind bars, or are we simply creating more failure, more crime, more prison and more victims? If Governments continue to refuse change, if society continue to refuse rehabilitation, then we as a democratic society will continue to fail. Any prison system that turns out released prisoners with no accommodation, no job, no money and no skills, cannot be regarded as working. That is probably one of the many reasons as to why we currently have a 47% reoffending rate within the UK. This fact alone, shows that our prisons are failing on an unprecedented scale. If we continue to fill our prisons with dejection, gloom, misery and pain, then we will continue to fill our streets with more criminals - that is a fact. When we look at the 95,000 plus prisoners within UK prisons, we need to be asking ourselves this - when these people leave prison do we want them to be angry or rehabilitated? I know which I would prefer, so let’s take a chance and put rehabilitation before punishment. Our prisons should be places of hope, rehabilitation and purpose, and ultimately work for the many and not the few. “Change is the morally right thing to do” - according to Richard Burgon, and I have to agree with him on that.
J Haynes is resident at HMP Littlehey
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We’re riding our prisons too hard with no provision of respite and repair Noel Smith The report on prison living conditions by the Prison Inspectorate we highlighted in last month’s issue of Inside Time - Catalogue of disgrace, (p31) - appears to be to be rattling a lot of cages (forgive the pun). But to people of my era, who first went to prison in the 1970s, it just seems like nothing has changed. The filth and degradation of prison conditions have been with us for a long time, and nothing will change until politicians are forced to confront the problem head-on. Vermin Many of us will remember HMP Wormwood Scrubs being condemned by health inspectors for the atrocious conditions, not once but twice, back in the late 1970s. Most, if not all, of the Victorian local prisons had vermin and cockroach problems, as well as very poor sanitation from their 100-year-old sewage systems. Wading through pools of raw sewage during the slop-out years was not unusual on a lot of prison wings. I remember when the rule was that prison blankets were washed or exchanged every 7-years! Blood and excrement Conditions were so bad in YOIs, that when remanded to Ashford Remand Centre you were often expected to actually make your bed. I don’t mean sort out the bedclothes, but to actu-
Many cell windows had been broken out over the years, so that when cells were vacated the pigeons would move in. ally put your bed together from the component parts that had not been stripped and thrown out of the window. Many cell windows had been broken out over the years, so that when cells were vacated the pigeons would move in. Often you would be shown to a cell that was covered in graffiti, pigeon droppings, and sometimes blood and human excrement. Your furniture, if you were lucky enough to have any, would be in several pieces, drawers missing, doors gone or hanging off, and your ablutions bucket would be as used and stained as some of the modern-day cell toilets. Too many bodies It comes as no surprise that our prisons are in such a state, to use a biker’s term - our prisons are being ridden hard and put away wet, there is no respite where repairs (even if budgets were to allow) can be done, no down-time where deep-cleaning can occur. If you pack our system with too many bodies, cut the budgets and privatise the maintenance contracts so that profit is the marker on whether repairs can be carried out, then you will have what we have - a broken and dilapidated system with filthy and crumbling infrastructure.
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From over the wall
After several weeks of a number of small items going missing the students got together and confronted the teacher telling him that he should punish the student and if he did not they would all leave and his work would come to an end.
Terry Waite CBE
When I read an article I often wonder where the writer is when he or she is writing. If you have a curiosity about me then let me tell you I am somewhere in the heart of rural Suffolk not a million miles away from Highpoint. If anyone in that establishment is reading this then you may be interested to know that each time I drive past the jail I think of you. Not you in particular because obviously I don’t know who you are but I do think of those who are spending time inside and I wonder if you read Inside Time. The house I live in was built well over 500 years ago and, although across the years it has been adapted, some original features remain. There are ornately carved beams which are reputed to have been installed in this house when Bury Abbey was destroyed at the time of the Reformation. You wouldn’t expect me to support terrorism or acts of violence and I don’t but if anyone is tempted to point fingers at Islam because of some of the terrible things that have happened in recent years it’s as well to remember that Christians have been savage one to another across the ages. Hanging was commonplace and drawing and quartering virtually the order of the day when the beams were fitted in our house. Violence can be caused by many factors. Years ago I remember a hostage who, when he was locked up, could not control his anger. You might reasonably argue that he had something to be angry about! However, whenever a guard came in to bring him food the hostage lunged at him despite the fact that he was secured to the wall by chains. What happened? Well he was savagely beaten time and time again by guards who were having none of it. As I said, you could argue that he had a just reason to be angry but his way of dealing with it was futile. It simply brought him further pain and suffering to add to the pain he already felt as a result of being chained up. Recently I published a new book entitled ‘Out of the Silence’. It’s a book of reflections I have made across life and is a mixture of narrative and verse. In speaking about anger I wrote the following: Anger is like a consuming fire Seeking all whom it may devour. Do not extinguish the flames totally But warm yourself By the gentle glow of the embers. There is not a living soul who does not experience anger. It’s a normal human emotion and no human being is exempt from it. I have known a number of very well known people who have chosen to go on an anger management course just to be able to get some degree of control over what can be such a destructive force. The force of anger can never be totally eliminated but the good news is that the force generated by anger can be directed towards positive ends.
I am often very angry at some of the injustices in this world. Angry at the way thousands of kids around the world never have a chance in life. Angry at the fact that although there is plenty of food in the world millions go hungry. Angry when I see people whose home has been broken into cry at the loss of what few valuables they had. Angry that some politicians think that by locking people up for years on end they are solving the problem of crime. Yes, there are many things that make me angry but if I were to translate that anger into violence I too would deservedly be behind bars. It is a fact, believe me or not, that eventually anger does more harm to those who harbour it than to those whom it is directed against.
Second chances abound in the classroom
Tales of Wisdom Our man on the inside tells it like it is Sid Arter
Anger is a normal human emotion but it need not destroy. With the right understanding and approach the flames generated by this force need not burn but they can warm and make life more tolerable for all of us. Take extreme forms of anger that lead to murder. When another person is murdered something in the murderer dies also. One may be so possessed by anger that at the time one does not see what a destructive effect it is having. In recent years I have met with former members of some of the violent groups that operated in Ireland during the height of the troubles. Years later, some of them have met relatives of those who were killed and then have realised how terribly destructive their acts were. Well, the good news is that forgiveness is possible and, although the dead can’t be brought back to life, something positive can be done. Restorative Justice brings together those who have committed crimes with their victims. It’s not an easy process but time and time again it has been possible for the victim or the victims relatives to understand more completely the perpetrator and for that person themselves to understand more deeply the effect their actions have had on others. It’s a damn difficult process but has led, in many instances, to something positive coming out of what seems to be an impossible situation. Anger is a normal human emotion but it need not destroy. With the right understanding and approach the flames generated by this force need not burn but they can warm and make life more tolerable for all of us. By the way, I do wish you all a very Happy Christmas even though it may not be the best Christmas you have had. I’ve spent several Christmas days chained to the wall so I do know what it’s like! Terry Waite was a successful hostage negotiator before he himself was held captive in Beirut for 1763 days between 1987 and 1991; the first four years were spent in solitary confinement.
The dishonest student There was once a famous teacher and people came from far and wide to study and stay with him. The students lived at his home and slept in dormitories in the grounds and each day would have lessons on life, philosophy and righteous living.
Unfortunately one of the students was not too honest and amongst other ‘crimes’, used to steal food, bed linen and books. His fellow students found out and told the teacher and they asked that the student should be thrown out or punished. The teacher did nothing and when later the student was caught in a similar act, his colleagues complained to the teacher again. And again the teacher did nothing.
© Deposit Photos
Terry Waite writes his monthly column for Inside Time
The teacher listened to their request and asked all the students to meet that evening. He told them that most of them were wise and should be pleased that amongst all their lessons they had learnt the importance of honesty and that they clearly knew right from wrong. And such was their wisdom that they were free to leave his studies as they had much to offer the wider world; indeed they could leave and teach others as well as learn elsewhere. He then announced that the one amongst them who had taken things was not free to leave - “He doesn’t even know right from wrong, and who will teach him if I do not? I will allow him to stay here even if all the rest of you leave.” Tears flooded the face of the dishonest student, for all desire to steal had vanished - such was his learning from this day.
26 Comment
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Unlawful Legal Aid cuts Still waiting for guidance from MoJ and Parole Board Andrew Sperling
tle harder sometimes. It means the Parole Board can be more satisfied that they are providing fair hearings. They can rely on good lawyers to provide advice to their clients which Parole Board members might otherwise have to provide. They can rely on the communication chains which are not available to prisoners.
Prisoners can seek legal advice in the interim period even if legal aid is not yet available for their cases.
The fourth Lord Chancellor in four years, David Lidington, has withdrawn an appeal to the Supreme Court against the Court of Appeal’s ruling that several cuts to legal aid for prisoners were unlawful. It has taken over six months for this decision to be made. A Statutory Instrument is now being drafted to reinstate legal aid for: 1. Pre-tariff expiry reviews before the Parole Board; 2. Category A reviews; 3. Close Supervision Centre reviews. It is likely to take up to three months before the legal aid cuts will be reversed. This means that prisoners who need legal help with these cases from February 2018 should be entitled to legal aid if they qualify financially.
The Supreme Court
The situation is a lot less clear for people who need help before legal aid is restored. There are reviews which will be happening within the next three months.
advice. The Court of Appeal decided that the failure to provide legal aid created systemic unfairness. If a system is unfair in February 2018, it is unfair in December 2017 and January 2018. Both the MoJ and the Parole Board have a responsibility to be pro-active and provide answers. The MoJ has let this unfair situation drift for far too long. They have spent a significant amount of money in legal costs defending the indefensible.
They explained the importance of pre-tariff reviews for prisoners serving indeterminate sentences. They acknowledged the problems that can arise in these cases if prisoners are unrepresented. The scale of this problem has been masked by the willingness of some agencies to provide free representation. Some prisoners will have borrowed money or called on family members to pay for legal representation.
At the time of writing, neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Parole Board have issued any guidance or
The Parole Board provided evidence in the case brought by the Howard League and Prisoners Advice Service.
Representation by good lawyers helps both prisoners and the Parole Board - even if it might make their job a lit-
Similar considerations apply to Category A and CSC reviews. They are important and often complex reviews. They bear a lot of similarities to parole reviews. They rely on dossiers of evidence, some of which will involve disputed psychological evidence or contested facts. Opinion evidence can and should be challe nge d i n appropr i ate c a s e s . Prisoners might want to gather their own evidence. Unrepresented prisoners are disadvantaged in many ways. Some of these prisoners will have learning difficulties, suffer from mental illness or be vulnerable in some other way. The Court of Appeal judgment does not deal with the new separation centres because they were created after those proceedings. They will involve similar decision-making as
category A and CSC reviews. It is hard to see why they should not be subject to the same kind of safeguards. What should people do if they need help with one of these cases now? It is possible that more information will be provided in the coming weeks, particularly if the MoJ, the Legal Aid Agency and the Parole Board accept that they have a responsibility to provide it. They could engage with prisoners who are affected as well as their lawyers. Prisoners can seek legal advice in the interim period even if legal aid is not yet available for their cases. Prisoners should be able to make informed choices about what to do with their cases. They may wish to carry on with their reviews. They may decide they want to postpone them. Prisoners who have had reviews in recent months without legal advice or representation might argue that they have been unfairly disadvantaged. Providing reliable information and guidance is an essential part of a fair system. It will be a great shame if officials decide that doing nothing and hoping the problem will resolve itself is the best response. Andrew Sperling is the Managing Director of SL5 Legal, 39 Warren Street, London W1T 6AF.
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needed; they should clarify the duties of officers to improve consistency; and the prison should do more to celebrate prisoners’ achievements.
Kimmett Edgar
“Prisoner participation is a term which means the development among prisoners of an active, instead of a merely passive, participation in the planning and management of as many aspects as possible of their community life. It is yet another technique for helping to develop self-responsibility and self-respect.” Commissioners of Prisons - 1957
Fresh insights An aim of these forums was to provide managers with fresh insights into prisoners’ experience. We think they achieved this. For example:
Sixty years later much has changed, but the goal of a prison regime where people are able to take responsibility for themselves and their environment remains just as important. With the support of the Milo & Violet Cripps Charitable Trust, Prison Reform Trust (PRT) launched our active citizen forums because we wanted to tap into the expertise of people who live in prisons and ask them how to improve them. The purpose is to discuss a specific area of prison life and suggest improvements. Each forum meets four times, building up a picture of the problem and its causes. We look at what the prison is currently doing to address the problem. And finally, the group agrees on what the prison should do to tackle it. On behalf of the forum, PRT submits a report, with recommendations, to the governor.
Prisoners ask for, “Commitment, transparency, respect, ‘a chance’, to work with us, follow through, and trust”
Prisoners can be part of the solution ‘Active Citizens’ forums allow people in prison to demonstrate expertise
We ran them in many types of prison, including locals, prisons for women, and training prisons. We have just finished our tenth one, so this is a good time to share the news with readers of Inside Time. The topics we considered included: preventing fights and assaults; debts in prison; keeping the wing clean; building a caring community in prison; and making the most of time inside. For most groups, the theme was chosen by the governor. But two chose their own topic.
A problem might be caused by a combination of government policy, prison management, how officers run the wing, and the behaviour of other people who live on the wings. The clean environment forum explained that when cleaning materials were in short supply, it was hard to do cell cleans. People on the wings wouldn’t challenge others who litter. Prison officers didn’t take pride in keeping the wing clean, and standards fell.
Solutions to problems The first meeting of the forum involves an open discussion: what the problems are, who are affected, and how the problem harms people. Consider, as an example, the group who looked at keeping the environment clean. They explained that when one person was discharged, their cell wasn’t cleaned before a new person arrived.
The third session discusses what the prison is currently doing about the problem. For example, members explained how delays in making repairs raised frustrations and contributed to wings looking run-down. Asked what they wanted from managers, they said: “Commitment, transparency, respect, ‘a chance’, to work with us, follow through, and trust.”
“You walk into a cell. It’s dirty. The furniture is broken. There’s graffiti. There is no cleaning done between prisoners.” Another member said: “You go in a cell and it’s like a crack house.” The second session looks at who is responsible.
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The final session begins with a blank sheet: it’s up to the members to come up with solutions. The forum agreed to set up ... “a regular working party to clean, paint and maintain the wing.” They proposed that managers should make a big push to improve cleanliness, and set a standard which the wings would then be able to maintain.
After the four sessions, the forum’s report is sent to the governor, listing their suggestions for improving the prison, as well as the evidence on which those were based. The governor or a senior manager are invited to meet the members to discuss the proposals and the next steps for the prison. At that meeting, one forum member said, “We don’t want this to stop when PRT goes. We need all of this wing’s support, because if you put something into it, you will take pride in it.” An important test of the method is whether their recommendations are implemented. As one member said, “We need to see some change to believe that this prison wants to progress.” So, we asked one forum why change is hard to achieve. Reasons they gave included: a lack of resources, managers and staff not being accountable, and indifference to their needs, and a lack of hope among prisoners. The same group suggested solutions: managers should listen to prisoners’ perspectives, especially in targeting resources where they are most
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One looked at how to treat prisoners as responsible adults. A man described visits and explained that if he left his assigned seat, his visit would be stopped. When his wife brought their young children, and the children became disruptive, she had to bring them back to the table. If he tried to discipline them, staff would bring the visit to an end. He said his children knew that he had to behave, just as they did. His role as father - his adult status - was compromised. His story shows how the residents’ experience and knowledge can broaden our understanding of a system that is too often taken for granted. Another forum brought a fresh perspective to the challenge of making best use of time inside. We asked them what they would tell a young man who continually got into trouble. The members made clear that their first step would be to ask him what he wanted out of life. They would let him know that they had been in his shoes. Turning to more practical advice, they suggested getting him interested in education or workshops; giving him a job to minimize time banged up; and helping him to set targets. Enabling responsibility Each active citizens forum is a creative process that belongs to its members. They set the rules for working together, discuss the problem and its causes, and come up with their own solutions. No one knows ahead of time what they will propose; they are free to decide on what to recommend. As the groups worked, members offered both criticisms and solutions in a positive and constructive spirit. Their views were valued as a contribution to the task set for the forum. Sixty years on, we’re still challenged by the Prisons Commissioners’ vision for prisoner participation. PRT’s active citizen forums contribute by enabling members to take responsibility for their prison community in a new way. We hope that the active citizens programme keeps growing and that we can continue to learn from participants in these forums in the future. Dr Kimmett Edgar is Head of Research at the Prison Reform Trust and is coordinating the Active Citizens project
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Acclaimed film director to deliver Longford Lecture 2017 Veteran film maker whose film I, Daniel Blake won the Palme d’Or at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, and the 2017 BAFTA for Outstanding British Film says he hopes to “rattle cages” when he gives the fifteenth annual Longford Lecture this month
Ken Loach Ken Loach This is a huge responsibility. When Jon Snow asked me to do this it was hard to refuse as I have total respect for him. It is also a chance for me to learn something. Most of the people in the audience will understand the issues, and probably know more than me. What I hope to do is disentangle the roots of the problems - and look at how we can
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change the framework of society to give people different choices. A long time ago I went into one of the London prisons and met one of the first writers I worked with - a man called Jimmy O’Connor, who was sentenced to hang for murder and was within a few days of execution in Dartmoor when he was reprieved. He served 11 years of his life sentence, and while in prison he taught himself to write and became a playwright.
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(Editor ial Note: Jimmy O’Connor was born into poverty and eventually became a small-time criminal based in Notting Hill. He was found guilty of being involved in the murder of a man known to receive stolen goods. O’Connor protested his innocence. The date for his hanging was set for his birthday in Pentonville in 1942. When the then Home Secretary Herbert Morrison received information that O’Connor was not in fact the murderer, he reprieved the condemned man days before the drop day and O’Connor’s sentence was commuted to life. While in prison O’Connor educated himself by reading widely and taking a correspondence course in writing with the Ruskin Trade Union college. Upon release he began a career as a professional writer and wrote the first of the BBC’s Wednesday Plays. In all he wrote 13 television plays. In 1994 another man confessed to the murder on his deathbed, but the confession was never made into an affidavit - so O’Connor’s conviction stood until his death in 2001 aged 83.) Someone like me delivering the lecture, is not about making an expert speech - it’s about trying to provide a wider picture really. I hope to rattle a few cages. That would be a good thing to do, that’s the important thing - to put different people in the dock. We know who the people are in the dock today, but I know that if I and others had not been so lucky - we too could be there.
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Ken Loach is director of television and independent film. He is known for his socially critical directing style and for his socialist ideals, evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (Poor Cow, 1967), homelessness (Cathy Come Home, 1966) and labour rights (Riff-Raff, 1991, and The Navigators, 2001). Loach's film Kes (1969) was voted the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute. Two of his films, The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) and I, Daniel Blake (2016) received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, making him the ninth filmmaker to win the award twice.
Longford Prize Winner - Safe Ground The judges’ citation: Founded in 1993 by Antonia Rubinstein and Polly Freeman, and working through drama, dialogue and debate with serving prisoners, Safe Ground has an outstanding and independently-verified track record of reaching the angry young men who both commit crime and are victims of crime. Its ‘Man Up’ and ‘Fathers Inside’ programmes challenge those in both the adult and the youth estate to develop a greater self-awareness and resilience that will lead them to change the entrenched patterns of their lives. Outstanding Achievement Award: Niki Gould The judges’ citation: We were hugely impressed by the work of Niki Gould, head of women’s community services at the Nelson Trust since 2010. Supporting inmates through the gates, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them as they confront the challenges of rebuilding their lives, she combines the calm purposefulness of a model professional with what one colleague describes as ‘a below-the-surface ferocious, iron-willed stubbornness driven on by a keen sense of social justice’. Outstanding Achievement Award: David Jolie The judges’ citation: David Jolie does extraordinary work on the front-line of some of the toughest parts of London, with some of the most damaged and needy people in the capital. His involvement with St Giles Trust started in 2005 while he was still a serving prisoner, and he has subsequently taken on challenging leadership roles there working with homeless prison leavers, and as part of the Outliers programme that engages with those who have fallen through every other safety net. As his nomination puts it: ‘David is living proof that ex-prisoners are the very best people to help others rehabilitate’.
The Pinter Poem An award for poets in prison The inaugural winning poem:
Prisoner
Charles Sharp - HMP Wakefield
Antonia Fraser “Poetry was central to the life of Harold Pinter and thus became central to our life together,” says Antonia Fraser, widow of the Nobel Prizewinning playwright and poet Harold Pinter. In his memory, and as Frank (Lord) Longford’s daughter, she has established the Pinter Poem Award. “As an actor,” she says, “Harold particularly enjoyed reading poetry aloud. In this way, we often read from the poems printed in Inside Time. This led to discussions about poetry, prisoners and what part writing poems might play in their lives. I had the inspiration that a prize for a Pinter Poem by a serving prisoner, selected by Inside Time, would be an appropriate way to salute Harold’s memory, his love of poetry, and the creative work of prisoners, all together.”
Do not condemn me for all that I do Fundamentally I am the same as you Try not to censor all my words It’s only the chatter you’ve often heard Do not intrude upon my thoughts Or in the trap of prejudice you’ll be caught In every life mistakes occur In that, I’m just like him or her I’m paying the price for what I’ve done Once I’m out let it be gone Don’t hound me forever for one misdeed Allow me to truly, hereafter, be free Burn me not with the prison brand Let me go and simply shake my hand I am not just things I’ve done Like you, I am a mother’s son All that I want is a chance to be free You’ve no idea how much that means to me. First published in the September 2017 issue of Inside Time. Charles Sharp is donating his £100 prize money to Children in Need.
An annual award The judges were Victoria Gray, executive director of the book charity Give a Book - and author Rachel Billington, associate editor of Inside Time. The Pinter Poem will be chosen on behalf of the Longford Trust each year from those published in Inside Time over the previous 12 months. The winner will be notified before his or her poem is read at the annual Longford Lecture in November, and they will receive prize money of £100. The poem will also be printed in ‘Inside Poetry - Voices from Prison’ the new collection of Inside Time poetry to be published in February 2018.
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Video justice game Convenience is the lowest common denominator of access to justice Penelope Gibbs Convenience is great when all other things are equal. Making services easy to access is important. But not if it compromises the values of the service itself. Our new report - Defendants on video: conveyor belt justice or a revolution in access - suggests that video justice may threaten access to justice. Video courts (where defendants appear on video into court from prisons and police stations) have been presented as a huge step forward in convenience, and thus access to justice. It is true that prisoners on video avoid the apparently disgusting “sweat box” vans, and hours waiting in a court cell for a f if teen minute appearance. Vans transporting prisoners regularly arrive at court late, thus delaying hearings and sometimes keeping witnesses waiting. And the inconvenience prisoners fear most is that they will be transferred to a completely new prison at the end of the court day. So for prisoners, video courts are definitely more convenient. As well as (maybe) saving the courts service money. But is anything lost for the gain in convenience? A potentially huge impact on genuine access to justice? As it is, defendants frequently feel excluded from our complex criminal justice system. Good advocates are the gatekeepers to that system - they advise and support their clients and
articulate their defence. Video courts jeopardise and compromise that relationship. There are technical problems which mean that defendants trying to talk to their lawyer over video can’t hear or see well, and the service often breaks down. The fifteen minute time slots allowed for consultations are not nearly long enough, particularly when it is the first meeting between lawyer and client. The Lammy report highlighted that defendants from BAME communities too often distrust the legal profession. Our research suggests video justice is a recipe for increasing that distrust.
Being remote made defendants frustrated, and robbed them of the ability to gauge the atmosphere of the room and the impact of their behaviour. “On those occasions when the video link works, we have very limited time. We often use a lot of it shouting for the custody staff at the other end to hear us on the video screen in the video room, and then come in and speak to us. When the defendant is produced on the other end, he seems remote, and I often find I can’t be sure if he understands my empathy/ sympathy/other emot ions which are essential to cultivating a working relationship in
Comment 29
this ver y diff icult circumstance.” (Criminal lawyer)
Inside Voices
Access to justice means ensuring that defendants understand and can participate in their own criminal justice process. This is challenging in the best of circumstances, given we often put defendants in a secure dock, and use complex procedures and language. There is evidence that f o r c i ng o r e n c o u r a g i ng defendants to appear on video compromises their effective participation. Respondents to our survey, including magistrates, were concerned that being on v ideo cha nged defendants’ behaviour in two ways, both negative.
Young man - say NO to Crime!
“You can only see their face [on video] and there is little interaction. In my experience unless you have time with the young person to prepare, it is very hard to tell the difference between surly teenage behaviour, a total lack of confidence and/or significant learning difficulties and a lack of understanding.” (YOT officer) In some cases, being remote made defendants feel they were not part of the proceedings and disengage. In other cases, being remote made defendants frustrated, and robbed them of the ability to gauge the atmosphere of the room and the impact of their behav iour. Law yers said defendants were more likely to swear and walk out. Those with mental health problems, learning difficulties and/or autism are doubly disadvantaged, particularly if their disability is “hidden”. Without effective participation there is no access to justice. And without evidence, we have no real idea how great is the negative (or positive) impact of video hearings on the participation of defendants. Prison to court video links have been running for 17 years. In that time no in-depth research has been done on the impact of video on defendants’ participation, or on the outcome of their cases. Nor has anyone challenged the convenience argument. If travelling to court is inconvenient, why not improve the journey rather than abolish the physical court hearing?
Penelope Gibbs is Director of Transform Justice The full report can downloaded from: www.tinyurl.com/ybwjb4j7
Important message from Charles Salvador (formerly known as Charles Bronson) who last month married his third wife, former Coronation Street actress Paula Williamson
Credit: Andrew Parkin
“Little interaction” in video courts
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Insidetime December 2017
Charles Salvador
Advice for young offenders “What would I say to youngsters who are about to take the road to crime? Simple! Put the brakes on. Stop and think! The facts are simple, it’s a road to hell. Don’t do it. You can never get that time back. It’s lost, forever gone. A waste of life. Imagine it, for years, decades. Try and work out the damage and pain it will have on your family life. It’s actually horrific. I’ll tell you what it does: it destroys lives and turns people into heartless souls. When you’re young you think it’s clever it makes you feel tough, you’re with the boys doing your porridge. Big tough guys but your mothers at home crying her eyes out. She has to save up every month to visit you in all weathers. She has to be searched and security checked to get in to see you. Your mother is just another statistic of your crime spree. She’s a victim too. Imagine her visiting you for 20 to 30 years. Imagine the stress, the worry, the pain. Her son’s throwing away his life. It hurts her. Then she dies broken hearted and you’re still in prison. You weren’t there for her. You never were. You may be refused to attend her funeral. Then when it’s all over, who visits you then? If and when you get out, you go to visit the grave, what can you say? This is only a small part of the prison world. It’s cold, cruel and wicked. There is no glamour or achievements in a prison cell. Then you need to think about the violence, the rapes, the suicides, the depression and the madness. It all rubs off on you. Years and years of emptiness, hopelessness, being told when to eat, when to get up, when to go to the exercise yard, when to shower. Being told when you can see, when to sh*t, when to sleep. Being controlled. Cr*p food, cr*p clothes, cr*p bedding, and a cr*p life. This is what comes with crime. You may get a short sentence. You may get a long one or you may get life. Whatever you get you’ve lost your life. No birds, no luxuries, no sweet smells, just a lot of porridge. That’s what you’re looking at. A boring existence, soul destroying.
Is crime worth it? Let’s say you make £1 million and serve 10 years, is it worth it? 10 years of nothing. Believe me, money can’t buy a life and the truth is very few in prison made much money. Most crimes are pathetic, committed by idiots. Prisons are full of idiots. They have to be clowns to keep coming inside. Look at me, 4 decades lost! All for what? If you follow my footsteps you’re following a madman so think! It’s your life, your shout. It’s one hell of a gamble. Look your mother in the eyes and ask yourself, do I really want to put her through hell? Do I really want to throw away my freedom? It’s your choice and only yours. Do you expect girlfriends to wait for you? Don’t be deluded. They don’t. Why should they? You’re a loser that’s why. Whilst you’re inside, she’s outside having a party and who can blame her. Your mates all have a job earning a wage. Going on holidays, buying nice clothes and enjoying life. You’re banged up in a stinking cell lumpy and smelly. You’re behind that steel door coz you’re a loser. You may have a son or daughter. What about them? You betrayed them. They needed you. You chose crime now do the time. See what you lost. By the time you get out those kids are grown-ups. You lost out on fatherhood. You walk out of prison to a world that left you behind. Your hairs grey, your eyes no longer shine. You’re a bitter old man. That’s your future, that’s if you make it out. Lots don’t. They die in prison. They may get stabbed up. They may die of stress, bad diets and some turn to drugs. It’s a cr*p existence. Do yourself a favour, turn your back on it. Life’s so precious. Priceless. Enjoy it. So that’s my truthful opinion on why crime don’t pay. If after you read this you decide to step into the world of crime, then don’t be moaning and crying when you get your collar felt and land in the big black pit of doom. So many youngsters come into this world whining and moaning ‘poor me’. Blaming the world, human rights cr*p. Well welcome to the funny farm, your straight jacket awaits.” PS. Do it for your mum, say no to crime.’
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“We didn’t meet in some cocktail bar…”
RJ: A chance to share pain and say sorry
Restoring hope Expansion of Restorative Justice delivery in Thames Valley and London prisons Inside Time report Thames Valley Restorative Justice Service is working with the Restorative Justice charity Why Me? to deliver RJ to all of the five prisons in the Thames Valley and seven London prisons. The charity was founded by Will Riley, an Islington businessman and victim of crime. Will was burgled by Peter Woolf, who was then a long term career criminal with a catalogue of convictions and prison sentences behind him.
and Wormwood Scrubs. Normally it is offender supervisors who make the referrals so any prisoner interested should talk to their OS. The RJ facilitation is undertaken by either Why Me? for the London prisons or Thames Valley Restorative Justice Service for those in the Thamse Valley. Both organisations have the Restorative Justice Quality Mark. There are some criteria for the kind of cases that are being sought. These are: l Where the perpetrator either pleaded guilty
or now accepts responsibility.
Will met Peter in prison in a Restorative Justice meeting and had the opportunity to tell him how he felt about what Peter had done. He challenged Peter and got some answers - then his life changed for the better. He could open his front door without fear. Following the meeting Peter changed his thinking and his ways after years of crime and dysfunction - which meant that hundreds more people did not become his victims. This is the power and the potential of Restorative Justice.
l That the offence is not a sexual one or domestic abuse. We do take referrals for these kinds of cases, but only where the victim approaches us first, not where the initial referral comes from the prisoner.
The new project is funded by money from Why Me?’s region of the Prison Service. It seeks to get referrals from the following prisons: Aylesbury, Brixton, Bullingdon, Grendon and Springhill, Huntercombe, Isis, The Mount, Onley, Pentonville, Wandsworth, Woodhill
People in these and other prisons might be approached to take part in RJ that is nothing to do with this project. This could be because there's an RJ organisation working in the prisoner’s home area, or because a victim has come forward and requested RJ.
l There is a named victim. So drug dealing or
thefts and frauds from institutions aren't in the frame. However if someone was hurt or threatened in the course of that offence, then they would be an identifiable victim.
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Peter’s story On 6 March 2002 Peter Woolf committed his last crime. He’d spent over 18 years of life in prison on various sentences, committing his first crime when he was just ten years old. A lifestyle of drugs, violence and calamitous criminality had brought significant highs, but more significant lows. “It was my job,” he says, “I never thought about the impact of my criminal actions. I was just a criminal.” His last crime however would change his life forever. “I was in the house I was burgling and looked in the wardrobe for a clean set of clothes. By this stage I was a drug-addicted alcoholic vagrant. My life had gone from Park Lane to a park bench. In this house I opened the wardrobe and saw a huge pair of shoes. I thought wow, the person who owns this place must be a really big guy. As I thought it, in real time, a voice behind me says, ‘What are you doing in my house?’ I turned around and there was Will Riley, six foot four, ex-university oarsman and fit as a fiddle. So we had this big fight, I hit him on the head with a piece of his cooker, we rolled down a flight of stairs. Then I picked up a flower pot and smashed him over the head with that. All the blood was pouring out of his head. Eventually in the st r uggle he ma nage d to manoeuvre me out of the property to stop the place getting smashed up. He was just trying to protect his home. I got arrested later for another burglary on DNA and once again I’m back in prison. About a month later I had a visitor from a policeman called Kim Smith. He was doing some random research for something called ‘Restorative justice,’ he said. ‘We’d like you to take part’, he said to me. I said nah, not for me, and I got up and walked out. A fortnight later officer Smith returned and said to Peter that if he was half the man he thought he was he would be prepared to meet with the victims of his crimes, “And you’ll answer the questions they want to ask you. Only you can give them closure.” Peter says he wasn’t sure if he was feeling magnanimous or if it was
the chocolate Hobnobs on offer that persuaded him. “Whatever it was, I agreed.” He says. “All of a sudden I was important. I was the first person in Pentonv ille to go through the process. Other prisoners said I had to be mad to do it, ‘what you doing meeting with these people. They might attack you, they’ll be furious’ etc etc. Well the day came, and my bravado left me. I was walking to the meeting with a prison officer and I started having big doubts. Just as we got to the door of the room for the meeting I turned and was about to say, take me back to my cell, when the door opened and Kim Smith, who was facilitating the meeting
a n d t a k i ng p a r t i n t h e Restorative Justice movement I understand completely that victims can feel guilty as well. For years I’d blocked out any sense of conscience or guilt about my behaviour. But suddenly in that room with Will the barriers came down. The blocks fell and a transition to ok place. T he pro ce ss dropped from my head, into my heart, and I started understanding what these people were talking about. Basically they’d said to me, ‘glad you’re here because you’ve caused us a lot of pain. And now you’re here we want to share our pain with you.’ At the end of the meeting I understood about another human being’s
Peter Woolf (left) and Will Riley was stood there. In I went, and there were two of my victims. I recognised Will Riley immediately.” For the first forty five minutes Peter played the game, displaying phoney body language and saying what he thought they wanted to hear “talking the talk,” with no real connection to the process. Then Will Riley startled him. “I said to Will Riley, ‘Will, when we first met…’ - then he just went mad. He said, ‘When we first fucking well met? We didn’t meet in some cocktail bar. You broke into my house… You did this, you did that.’ Then he started telling me of all the emotional turmoil he’d been in ever since. Here’s this big man, telling me that every time he puts the key in his door to go into his home, his hand trembles uncontrollably because, even though its irrational, he thinks I’m behind it. Then he turns to his wife who was sitting next to me and says, ‘please forgive me for allowing this to happen.’ I didn’t understand his guilt at first. Now, through studying
pain and how I was responsible for that pain. Suddenly these people took on the role as representatives of all the people I’d ever harmed, all my little life.” At the end of the meeting the victims expressed an interest in Peter’s life, asked him to give up drugs and crime, and asked if they could keep in touch with him and hear about his progress. “I’d burnt all my bridges by then,” he says, “no-one wrote to me. At first I made changes to my life because I felt I owed it to these people. But as I made the effort, doing courses like Turning Point and RAPT, I started to get very positive affirmations. From then I never looked back.” Peter went on to help Will Riley found the charity Why Me? In 2009 he published his first book - The Damage Done (Bantam Books, £10.99). He is currently the director of Peter F Woolf Consultancy limited and is a professional motivator, public speaker and addiction specialist.
“He hadn’t been able to work due to his injuries” Lewis’s story I just wanted to meet up with my victim and see what I put him and his family through and how it affected him. We didn’t plan on doing it. We was all drunk and ended up taking his belongings and beating him up. After that I just felt sorry for him and wanted to meet him. I don’t wanna keep coming into prison. I’ve been in prison before. I wanted to change my ways and not keep committing crime. Drinking isn’t the problem for me. My anger and my temper is. I want to change things for me and my family. When I first met my victim, I was scared of the confrontation. I thought he’d go off on one and be really angry. I was surprised he’d come and met me. My mum was with me. He came in. I told him how sorry I was. He didn’t go off on one. He was chilled about it. He felt sad and sorry for me being in prison. He said “I hope you do well while you’re in prison and will stay out of
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trouble when you come out.” He hadn’t been able to work due to his injuries. He had a fractured skull and brain injury. I’ve pretty well put someone out of a job and earning a living. His job involved helping people in the community. I’ve been writing letters to him through RJ at his request to let him know what I’m doing. He wanted to know why we done it. If I see him when I get out I’ll acknowledge him and say, ‘how’re you doing?’ He’s a good guy. He’s got a good heart and means well. I just wish we’d met differently. In my cell before the meeting I didn’t know what to expect. I thought about pulling out but decided I might as well actually meet him and learn something from what I’ve done. My mum is pleased that RJ happened, pleased I actually met him and am sorting it out. My mum is happy I’m on the right track. I want to go into schools and other places in the community with him if he wants to, to tell people not to go down the same path as me.
“They were keen for me to stop taking drugs” Victor’s story After I did the Sycamore Tree programme at HMP Bullingdon I was asked if I wanted to do RJ. This was in 2012. I was 53 years old and had been in and out of various prisons and other institutions, including children’s homes, for most of my life. I mostly did burglaries of houses but also shoplifting, taking cars and fraud. Most of it was for drugs. I told the prison I was interested in RJ but then immediately regretted it. I worried about the reactions of the victims who I thought would go mad at me. But once I’d said I would do it I felt I couldn’t back out. But the closer it got to the date of the conference, the more it bugged me. I couldn’t sleep and it was on my mind 24/7. I went to meet the victims of two of my burglaries with my probation officer and my housing worker. The victims were already there. It was nerve wracking. I’m not used to speaking to people and usu-
ally I just say yes or no. I was shocked by the reaction of the victims whose houses I had burgled. It was totally different from what I had expected. They didn’t shout at me or get mad. They were interested in me and why I had done it. I was relieved when it was over, but I found it liberating that they had been interested in me and my plans when I was just a nobody. They were keen for me to stop taking drugs. One of them asked where some of the property was that I had stolen, but I had thrown it in the canal and so couldn’t return it. One of the victims, a woman, told me that she felt better having met me as she was at home at the time of the burglary and she had been worried about being on her own since. Restorative Justice came at a time in my life when I had decided I’d had enough of prison. I had other support but RJ was one of the things that has helped me to stay away from drugs and crime and start a new life before it was too late.
“I wish I could have had the courage earlier” Mo’s story In 2015 I approached my offender supervisor about RJ. I’d been in prison many years by then. I had a lot of guilt I wanted to explore and it took me a lot of time to be honest about what I’d done. The victim’s family never got the chance to know what I’d done. I was anxious to start with - and thinking more about myself. I was asked to write a letter of apology to the victim’s family. It took me a long time to write it but it was only one page. The family said it was difficult to see me but had some questions they wanted me to answer. They said they didn’t want to put pressure on me, but hearing that made it hard. They were finding it very difficult and all these years later visit the grave every week and are still grieving. Then I thought that I wake up every morning and don’t think about him or his family. They are really decent people. Their top question was why?
Who said ‘Happy Christmas’? For many people Christmas is one of the happiest seasons of the year. But for many it is not: it is a time of great sadness. And that may be true for you and especially so if you no longer have contact with any family. And yet for Christians, above all else Christmas should be a time of celebrating the birth of Jesus: God’s gift of a Saviour to the world, demonstrating His great love for us. Whatever our circumstances, let us focus this Christmas upon Jesus as we bring our worship to God, giving thanks for His greatest of all gifts. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ Matthew 1:20-21 NIVUK
We pray that, alongside the pain of being isolated this Christmas, you will also experience the peace, hope and joy of knowing Jesus as your Saviour. If you would like to know what it means to have Jesus as your Saviour, please write to us:
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This was the question I feared the most. It took me four months and four A4 pads to write the next letter. My mind went totally blank when I was trying to write. I felt the family were watching me. I didn’t want to sound as if I had an excuse for my behaviour. All they knew was from court and it was lies. Therefore, telling the truth was important. I would wake up thinking about the letter. I was relieved they were going to read it as they wanted to know what happened and I hope it helped them. It was a slow process. Some members of the family had read it and others were keeping it for when they were ready to read it. I wish I could have had the courage earlier. I was cowardly. I could do something right, by telling the truth. There’s a lot of guys who find it hard to be honest about what they’ve done. The truth is ugly, disgusting and hard to take in. It was a way of me dealing with what I’ve done by keeping the truth to myself.
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Fifty years of letting people out (and keeping people in) The Parole Board is 50 years old this year. Nick Hardwick looks back on what has happened, what is going on now - and looks forward to what the future may hold for parole Nick Hardwick Parole Board Chairman In the Past Backlogs, prisoners waiting too long for their parole decision, mental health issues. These were issues that were written about in the Board's first report of its work in 1968. Sound familiar? They may well do, because these are still things that we must focus on to improve the experience of parole for prisoners and their families. When the Parole Board started, oral hearings didn’t exist. In that first year, the Board dealt with less than 100 cases. A panel of about 12 members would make decisions sat round a table with very little information about the person whose future they were deciding. Prisoners didn’t have the opportunity to speak to Parole Board members to talk about their own experience in prison and what plans they had for the future. They were only given the result and were not given the reasons for the Parole Board’s decision. Present The Parole Board has changed a great deal over the last 50 years. In 2016/17 there were 7,377 oral hearings and 16,866 cases dealt with on the papers. There are now about 245 members and prisoners are able to give written representations, speak for themselves about the progress they have made at an oral hearing, and have a detailed written explanation of the Parole Board’s decision. As we promised we would, we
are making progress sorting out some long-standing issues. We have almost eliminated our backlog. We are also working hard to reduce the IPP population, working with prisons and probation to make this a smoother and faster process for people that are well past their tariff. I know sometimes people with an IPP sentence feel like giving up hope. Well, in 2016/17, 46% of all IPP decisions resulted in release and 24% in progression. The number of IPP prisoners yet to be released is down from 6080 in 2012 to 3107 now. There is more to do of course. We have too many adjournments and deferrals, we want to speed the system up more and we can do more I think to improve our decision making. The Future There are three longer term areas we want to work on to make further improvements and we are going to consult on all of them. I would welcome prisoners’ views as part of this - you can either write to me at the Parole Board directly or tell us what you think via the letters columns in Inside Time: 1) Openness and transparency There is a famous quote that says, “if justice is to be done, it needs to be seen to be done.” I think that quote applies to the Parole Board. We can do a lot more to provide information in different ways to make a confusing process clearer to prisoners, victims, and the public. Here are some of the ways that
we are already trying to do that, and some of the ways I think we could do things better: Radio Shows We are working with National Prison Radio to make ‘Understanding Parole’, a series of radio shows explaining how parole works for prisoners. These will be aired from 11 December. We are also working with BBC Radio 4 to ma ke a docu menta r y on parole that should help the public understand what the Board does.
I have never been happy that the Parole Board is based in the Ministry of Justice headquarters and I am pleased we will be moving out of the MoJ building to our own offices next year. Decision Letters It is good that prisoners are given their parole decision letters but prisoners have often told me they are often very difficult to understand and they need someone else to explain them. We will work to make these letters simpler and clearer. We also think that victims and the public should be able to know why we make the decisions we do. A lot of information about individual prisoners and victims would have to be kept private but I think we could make much more information available than we do at present. Oral Hearings The Parole Board is a ‘courtlike body’, yet the public and
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media cannot watch oral hearings like they can with court hearings. People that don’t have a copy of the decision have to guess why a decision has been made and that often leads to news stories that aren’t true. That isn’t clear or fair to anyone. At the moment, if victims attend a hearing, they have to leave after they have given a victim statement. Should they be able to stay for the whole hearing? Should a prisoner's friends and family? The public? At a practical level, there are obviously limits to this because hearings are held in prisons - but I think that if we do not make the system more open, all the public and media have to go on is media reports from the time of a trial about what a prisoner was like then - not what they are like now and the progress they have made. Nothing is going to happen quickly about this and there will be a formal consultation process but I am interested to know what readers of Inside Time think.
2) Independence of the Parole Board The Parole Board is an ‘independent court-like body’ but sometimes people are confused about where we fit in the cr i m i na l just ice system. People often ask things like: “What’s the difference between probation and the Parole Board?”, “What is the PPCS?” It is important not just to be independent but also to be seen to be independent. We will think about our relationships with other parts of the system to ensure we work efficiently together but do not do the same work twice or confuse our independent responsibilities. It is also important that we are seen to be independent of politicians. I have never been happy that the Parole Board is based in the Ministry of Justice headquarters and I am pleased we will be moving out of the MoJ building to our own offices next year.
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3) Diversity of Parole Board The Parole Board of 2017 is not very representative of the communities it serves. I think we will make better decisions if we can draw from the experience and insights of members from all parts of the community. We have too few members from black and minority ethnic communities and we work to make sure that future members recruitment improves this. Starting a Conversation We need to start a conversation on how to improve parole. Prisoners are a big part of that conversation and we would appreciate your ideas on how we can work to make parole a fairer, clearer system. So please write to me at the Parole Board with your ideas: Nick Hardwick, Chair, The Parole Board, 52 Queen Anne’s Gate, London, SW1H 9AG, or write to Inside Time and get a debate going there. Nick Hardwick is Chair of the Parole Board for England and Wales
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The Careers Lady The first step through the door to your future
Golden opportunities through the seasons
Seasonal work Temporary positions can provide work experience and employment history be retail jobs advertised in shop windows or through agencies that deal with employers that just want extra help during the Christmas rush. During the summer Garden Nurseries are almost always looking to recruit temporary staff who can help by working in Greenhouses, replanting seedlings in preparation for the
There are a number of times in the year where temporary work becomes available. This is called ‘seasonal work’ and may offer you a way into work which can help you to gain experience, increase the opportunities for further work or just to earn extra money. At this time of year there may
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summer bedding plant season as well as those larger Garden Centres that want help picking fruit and vegetables. All these are golden opportunities for anyone willing to work in areas of work they would not have an opportunity to apply for as a full time position but would most certainly contribute with work experience that can be included on your CV and job application forms in the future. Applying for these jobs will almost certainly be the same through a job application form but local employers may simply interview applicants to make sure they have the appropriate personal qualities to work as part of a team, be good timekeepers and reliable. General tips if you need to complete a job application form l The application form will
provide an employer with a first impression of you. So you need to do your best to make sure your form stands out from any others that the employer
will receive. If you can, ask someone to check it over before you send it. l If you are completing a writ-
Information // Through the Gate 33 Advice Bureau that can help you to complete the application forms. Don’t forget to ask for help from members of your family or friends.
ten job application form, practice your answers on a blank piece of paper first in case you make any mistakes.
Preparation is the key - particularly if this may be for future work
l Always always use black ink
l On a blank piece of paper
as the employer is likely to want to photocopy your form.
l Complete the information ontheforminCAPITALLETTERS. The information you give will be much clearer and readable this way. l Answer all the questions with
relevant information to the job you are applying for. This is very important because it shows the employer that you have skills and knowledge about the job. l You might want to apply for
these temporary jobs if they are ones you are only interested in but, remember it may be something you had not thought about before and be surprised at how well it inspires you to think about a long term career.
l Keep a photocopy of the form if possible as a reminder of the information you have provided in case you are called for an interview. This also helps when applying for other jobs. l Remember there are advisers
at the Job Centre or Citizens
write out your employment history - use the most recent first. You will need to supply the company name or employer, the address as well as the dates you started the employment and when you finished - particularly giving the reason why you stopped working at that job. You may also need to give a short list of responsibilities and key roles that you did in that position.
l Prepare alternative answers if you have not had continuous employment. If you have no work history, have not worked for some time or been in prison for a long time you will still need to put something in the employment history box. l Prison - write down any jobs
you did in prison. All these will be relevant to show any employer that the prison have given you responsibilities during your prison time.
l Record information regarding your education. You will
not need to go back too far but list your most recent education experience - attending education classes in prison will be most relevant here, particularly if you have passed any exams. l Think about the references
you will need to supply. They cannot be any family members but could include anyone that has known you for some time and can give you a character reference. Your Personal Officer may be willing to supply his/her name for you to include.
l If there is a section on ‘other
related experience’ you may have computer skills, languages you speak or machinery or equipment you are skilled at using.
l Lastly, don’t leave any sec-
tion blank and make sure that all the information you supply is accurate. Read it over several times or ask someone else to check it over before you submit it. Don’t forget to photocopy it if you have handwritten it. Your local library will often provide photocopying services you can access. Remember, your form may not be the only one that the employer will receive so make it stand out. This is your first step to getting an interview and a job.
I’m happy to give general advice on job searching and career planning, however please feel free to write to me at Inside Time for any specific advice or guidance you may need.
Parole Board Hearing? IPP, Lifer, Standard, Licence Recalls. Independent Adjudication? Sentence Wrongly Calculated? Oral Hearing? - Tariff Reduction? Appeal against Sentence or Conviction? Second Appeal through the CCRC? The above issues are still covered under Legal Aid! So if you need help get it from dedicated London based Prison Lawyers, helping prisoners fight for their rights throughout England and Wales.
Write To: Prison Law Dept, Office 226, 4 Spring Road, Ealing, London W5 2AA
Tel: 020 8123 3404 Email:
[email protected] www.mkslaw.co.uk
Flicker Productions are looking for people who are due to be leaving prison in December or January to take part in a new Channel 4 documentary.
A NEW DOCUMENTARY ABOUT PRISON LEAVERS This film aims to highlight the challenges ex-offenders From all backgrounds - may face on the outside and also celebrate the successes as many re-build their lives. We want to reveal people’s experience during their first year out of prison and ask what the government, communities and individuals could be doing to help improve lives after release and avoid re-offending. This is an opportunity to tell your story in your own words Filming parts of your experience after release yourself. If you would like further information or are interested in taking part...
PLEASE CONTACT EMAIL: email@flickerproductions.tv
PHONE: 0203 761 4576
MKS Law, Criminal Law Solicitors ADJUDICATION & PAROLE SPECIALISTS
WRITE: Flicker Productions, 128 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 3SA
Joint Winner - Poetry
Crime is of no concern when u get the chance to learn ‘Connor’ - HMP Winchester The past is a foreign country They do things differently there You are never too old to learn Or too clever Aye when we were all young All of us wished we could do Something better
To mark the second International Day of Education in Prisons, we asked Inside Time readers to submit poems, short stories and essays addressing the question: “Why does Education in Prison Matter?” We received dozens of submissions in each category, and a panel of PET staff and volunteers whittled them down to the strongest. Every winner received a book of their choice, up to the value of £15. If you see your name here and have not heard from PET, please get in touch with our FREEPOST address.
And those that tried and tried Whilst it just seemed to leave you Dry of water to let the river of Thoughts flow And those, who just had it made It seemed found it dead easy To do a brilliant pass to The man on the wing Who’d bang in the winning Past me in goals as head hung low I’d walk home for dinner
© Deposit Photos
Joint Winner - Poetry
Alan - HMP Stocken Art is Plan and Form Created inside doors Compartmentalised for sure Because pictures shock all sorts So I start with a line A steady Staedtler 6 is fine Allow the scene to slip from mind Through fingers we shall find On the paper scribbles wait Outlines of Caper Left for later Involving 1 and three schoolmates So clever Pen and Mighty Sword How now I wield both I never knew the words we use Could make us seem so close And now that I can read And dissuade this young man I can use this Education, in relation From this place in incarceration To let him know The way to go Till he becomes a man Now I know his plan Sorry son
Winner - Short Story
Winner - Essay
‘The Professor’ Michael - HMP Kirkham A Game of Thrones fan gets drawn into English history, thanks to an unexpected friendship with a terribly well-spoken older prisoner. The cell was filled with books, volumes of every kind piled high against the tatty graffitied walls of his single pad. “House of Stewart you were after, if my memory serves me well,” he said as he rummaged through one of the literary mounds. “Fascinating, you know, how much of actual history finds its way into these supposed works of fiction. Lifted straight from scholarly text, most of it.” I spent the next 45 minutes listening to this bespectacled, scruffy old man lead me through a magical world of royal courts, aristocratic feuds, forbidden romance and battlefield horrors that rivalled anything any box-set had to offer. I sat transfixed. I had no idea that ‘this’ was history.
But all of us have a faucet In life it may just seem the Taps turned too tight But, to learn how to draw And not to fight Would’ve really won many An auld gunslinger’s fight
When he finished he simply looked up and handed me the book.
And why I find it so great To learn now I’m older Have patience to eat all my Scrummy veg for dinner Is that learning opens your Life to something so much Bigger then being dragged Into the gutter courtesy of HMP Winchester behind The locked door
Runners Up: Sean, HMP Stocken, Jaime, HMP Thorn Cross, Adrian, HMP supplied
“All yours old man.” I could feel my face turn scarlet. I just looked at him. What was I going to do with it - batter someone round the head?”
A rudderless boat Sarah-Jane - HMP Lewes Coming from a family where education was neither valued nor respected, I entered the ‘care’ system and was placed into residential homes where education was not promoted. A clear message was conveyed to me, that no-one expected me to achieve anything worthwhile in life whatsoever. [...] I became angry with society and bitterness coursed through my veins until it seemed to corrode my whole spirit. I had many aspirations, yet no ideas of how to reach any of my goals in life. Like a rudderless boat, I drifted through life causing as much pain and misery as I could to those around me, in some attempt to alleviate the pain I was feeling. In spite of low levels of confidence and self-esteem, I was a very selfish person. Runners Up: Mark, HMP Wayland, Michael, HMP Kirkham Congratulations to all our winners! If you have a passion for creative writing you might be interested in a distance learning course to develop your talents - ask your education department how to apply.
My cell – my study
I get out and meet other Guys wanting more than The drab shite life of crime And I’m going to learn from them Try with this pen paper and brushes Of mine And paint a bright future Up in the stars And I’ll never forget the boys Behind bars Who broke away From guns and grenades And dance a cool tough ballet Tip-toing, without a sound Learning how to love, to be free History Philosophy Socrates J.C. You can do anything dudes Lovely ladies too Close the door it’s The end of the word Cut your new keys To freedom Forget Huxley’s sad ending To his Brave New World and Find a brave new classroom.
© PET
Why prison education matters
Art is Plan and Form
Insidetime December 2017
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© Deposit Photos
34 Information // Education
Start a degree with PET Last year 50 people in prison were able to start a degree inside without the burden of a loan, thanks to a partnership between Prisoners’ Education Trust, the Open University and the Garfield Weston Foundation. And we are now recruiting for the 2018 intake! The funding covers the first 60 credits of Open University study, roughly equivalent to half a year at undergraduate level. There are a number of options available, including: • The Arts • Business and Management • The Environment
• Science and Health • Social Sciences • Youth Justice
• Languages • Sport and Fitness
To be eligible, you should have already completed an OU Access course or be able to demonstrate the ability to start studying at that level. You must also have between six months and eight years remaining on your sentence at the time you start the first module. To find out more, speak to your education department. You will need to register on the module with the OU before 11 January to be part of the February 2018 intake.
Inside Drink & Drugs News Drink and Drugs News (DDN) is the monthly magazine for those working with drug and alcohol clients, including in prisons. In a regular bi-monthly column, editor Claire Brown looks at what’s been happening lately in the substance misuse field. www.drinkanddrugsnews.com Claire Brown DDN Editor We talk so readily about the science of addiction and how our brains are wired, but recent contributions to DDN have made us think more about the value of connection and the need to belong. ‘As a gay man in recovery, my own treatment experiences clearly demonstrated that the “one shoe fits all” approach doesn’t work,’ Mark Prest told us. ‘To my knowledge I was the only out gay in the rehab. It’s since felt to me that my sexuality and its relationship to my alcoholism were simply ignored by my counsellors. I exited rehab with much of the hurt and harm from my failed relationship hangovers still firmly in place. Post-rehab I’ve come to think of this as feeling like a pile of broken biscuits instead of a full packet of
Information 35
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Insidetime December 2017
Hobnobs. My gay and recovery identities were at odds and even now, nine years on, I’m feeling conflicted.’ He goes on to describe being on the recovery community’s ‘wider margins’ and says, ‘there’s a sense of homelessness - where do I belong?’ For Mark, art became the central strategy for recovery; a way of ref raming addiction and r e cov e r y ide nt it ie s a nd engaging in dialogue about challenging stereotypes. ‘Art helps me feel good about myself, gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning and a purpose for living,’ he says. This need for connection in an alienating culture is central to Russell Brand’s new book, ‘Recovery: Freedom from our Addictions’. ‘We’re all on the scale of addiction,’ he told me, a nd expla ined t hat he’d written the book to get to grips with the thorny problem of ‘being human’. The addiction might be to drugs or alcohol,
he explains, or it could be to any other area of life - consumerism, materialism, the way you relate to romantic partnerships - ‘those subtle forms of addiction, whereby your identity and wellbeing are attached to external phenomena’. Beck Gee-Cohen is all-too familiar with this idea. He now trains people in all kinds of organisations to be supportive of their LGBTQ+ colleagues, but he talks from the heart about being a trans person in recovery from addiction. ‘When we have to hide our authentic self, when we are not what society says we should be, we turn to drugs and alcohol for relief,’ he told me. ‘We might do things we wouldn’t normally do - and a lot of that is about f i nd i ng acce p t a nce a nd relieving the pain of being not wanted and not seen.’ I’m hopeful that the articles will encourage a more open-hearted approach to treatment.
DDN News Round-up Opioid emergency
Bets are off
US president Donald Trump has declared the country’s opioid crisis a ‘nationwide public health emergency’ and said that he is ‘mobilising his entire administration’ to address the situation, the White House has announced. Last year more than 2m Americans had an addiction to illicit or prescription opioids, with drug overdoses now the leading cause of ‘injury death’ in the US, outnumbering both traffic and gun fatalities. There were more than 52,000 drug overdose deaths in 2015, with the White House expecting 2016’s total to exceed 64,000 - a rate of 175 deaths per day.
The UK is responsible for almost 10 per cent of global ‘darknet’ sales of fentanyl - making it the largest seller in Europe - according to the Oxford Internet Institute’s ‘darknet mapping project’. The US accounts for almost 40 per cent of global trade, followed by Canada and Australia at 15 and 12 per cent. While China is responsible for just 4 per cent of sales, this doesn’t necessarily mean that China is not the ‘ultimate site of production’, the researchers stress, as many western sellers are more likely to be intermediaries than producers. The UK saw more than 60 deaths related to fentanyl or its analogues in the first eight months of 2017 alone.
The government has announced that it intends to reduce the maximum stakes allowed on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs) as part of its gambling review.Knownasthe‘crackcocaine of gambling’, the controversial machines currently allow users to bet up to £100 a time. The government will now consult on cutting the stakes to as little as £2, while other measures include stricter advertising guidelines and revised codes of practice for online gambling. ‘Given the strong evidence and public concerns about the risks of high stakes gaming machines onthehighstreet,weareconvinced of the need for action,’ said gambling minister Tracey Crouch.
Police pullback
Timely interventions
Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has removed the country’s police force from its lead role in his violent crackdown on drugs, the Philippine government has announced. The lead body will now be the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), with the police, armed forces and ‘ad hoc anti-drug task forces’ instructed to leave it as the sole agency in all anti-drug operations. Duterte previously suspended the crackdown in order to address problems of police corruption after a Korean businessman was allegedly murdered on police premises and there were widespread protests this summer, as well as condemnation by the country’s powerful Catholic Church, after an unarmed 17-year-old student was shot dead by police.
The first four weeks of treatment, as well as the first four after leaving it, are ‘critical intervention points to reduce mortality risk’, says an NHS Health Scotland evidence review on drug-related deaths. Complex psychological and social barriers also need to be addressed to support people to access services, it stresses.
Dark days
Is DDN in your library? Your prison can receive monthly printed issues of DDN magazine free of charge by emailing
[email protected]. DDN is also online at www.drinkanddrugsnews.com
Smoke free prisons PRISON REFORM TRUST
Ryan Harman Advice and Info Service Manager
It has been impossible to pick up a copy of Inside Time in recent months without being struck by one thing - the impact of the move to smoke free prisons is being felt across the prison estate. Reactions have been mixed - though most smokers are understandably upset by the change, some have been glad of the incentive to quit. There are mixed reactions from non-smokers too- some pleased about the potential improvements for their health whilst others concerned that the subsequent unrest is far from ideal in a system which is already under pressure. This change has been taking place in a staged process since NOMS announced their commitment in 2015, with Wales and prisons in the South West being the first to make the move last year. YOIs, Mental Health Units and high security hospitals have also been smoke free for some time. The policy is national, and includes all prisons in the public and private estate, for men and women alike. The process is expected to be completed by the end of March 2018. As prisons go smoke free, a variety of support should be available through healthcare including psychosocial interventions, nicotine replacement therapies such as patches and lozenges, and medication if needed. If you do not wish to engage with healthcare, electronic cigarettes and patches should also be available on canteen.
One question that we have heard regularly is whether banning smoking in prisons is a breach of Human Rights. There is actually no ‘right to smoke’ recognised in our law or by the European Court of Human Rights. Some people have argued that a smoking ban breaches Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 which is the ‘right to a private and family life’. However, it is more complicated than that. Article 8 is a ‘qualified right’ which means it can be restricted if needed to balance with the interests or rights of others. On the other hand, Article 2, the ‘right to life’, is an ‘absolute right’ which means it cannot be taken away under any circumstances or for any reason. Therefore, any right to smoke that might come under Article 8 can be restricted if it interferes with another person’s right to life, such as harm to health caused by second hand smoke. Most importantly, if you do not feel that you are getting the support you need to cope with these changes, make sure you raise this with healthcare and/or prison staff and use the internal complaints procedures if necessary.
You can contact the Prison Reform Trust’s advice team at FREEPOST ND6125 London EC1B 1PN. Our free information line is open Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 3.30-5.30. The number is 0808 802 0060 and does not need to be put on your pin. From 2nd January 2018 we will be discontinuing our Tuesday afternoon session and replacing it with a Wednesday morning session from 10.30am to 12.30pm.
Public Health England is reminding all eligible people in prison and their family members to get their flu jab. The flu immunisation programme offers protection against the effects of flu to as many eligible people as possible, particularly those most at risk. In 2017/18, the flu jab will be offered to those aged 65 years or over and those aged six months to under 65 in clinical risk groups. Hygiene is also an important way to avoid catching flu and preventing its spread. Remember to carry tissues and use them to catch coughs or sneezes, bin the used tissues as soon as possible and then wash your hands and kill the germs. A bad bout of flu is much worse than a heavy cold. Symptoms include fever, chills, headaches and aching muscles, as well as a cough and sore throat. If you get complications caused by flu, you could become seriously ill. There is common myth that the flu jab gives you flu but it doesn't. The injected flu jab given to adults contains inactivated flu viruses, so it can't give you flu. Remember it’s never too late to have the flu jab as for many people flu is an unpleasant illness however for some it is extremely dangerous and can be lethal therefore the best way to protect yourself is to get the flu jab.
So what are you waiting for? Get down to the healthcare centre and have the jab, protect yourself from a potentially deadly virus.
36 Information // HM Inspectorate of Prisons
Insidetime December 2017
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The Inspector Calls Inside Time highlights areas of good and bad practice from the most recent Reports published by HM Inspectorate of Prisons
HMP Preston
Category B local resettlement prison for young adult and adult males Unannounced Inspection: 6-17 March 2017 Published: 27 July 2017
HMP Grendon
Grendon provides group therapy and structured community living in which prisoners are encouraged to have shared responsibility for day-to-day decision-making and problem-solving. Unannounced Inspection: 8-18 May 2017 Published: 14 September 2017 Safety W W W W Respect W W W W Purposeful Activity W W W W Resettlement W W W W
“An impressive prison working with long-sentenced prisoners” It was four stars all round as Inspectors said Grendon offered excellent opportunities to the men it held to understand and address their offending behaviour. Other than the ‘outdated’ automated night-sanitation system there were many positive comments; • violent incidents remained infrequent, the prison operates without a segregation unit and very few men were required to move to other jails for security or disciplinary reasons; • although the physical fabric of the prison was shabby, men showed respect towards their living environment and staff made efforts to ensure they had the wherewithal to live decently; • relationships between staff and prisoners and among prisoners were excellent and underpinned much that was positive about Grendon; • therapy was the main purposeful activity and consumed a significant proportion of the day; • time out of cell was excellent, a range of activities were offered and work, skills and learning provision had improved; and • the whole prison was focused on providing a rehabilitative culture and environment.
Unannounced Inspection: 4-5 & 24-28 April 2017 Published: 17 August 2017 Safety W W W W Respect W W W W Purposeful Activity W WW W Resettlement W W W W
“Safety concerns and staff shortages” The latest report says that Aylesbury had deteriorated further in some areas and safety was a major concern. At its last inspection in 2015, inspectors commented on debilitating staff shortages which had negative consequences for prisoners. This more recent inspection found little progress had been made and some areas had deteriorated further. Inspectors found volatile and frustrated young people, too few staff and many who were inexperienced, and prisoners locked up for long periods with no activity and too little sentence progression. These factors led to some poor outcomes and safety was a major concern. Inspectors were concerned to find that: • nearly two-thirds of prisoners reported that they had felt unsafe at some point and there were high levels of sometimes very serious violence; • mechanisms of accountability for the very high use of force had effectively broken down and management oversight was very poor; • many residential units were in poor condition and basic standards of decency were not being achieved; • the management of equality and diversity was weak; • time out of cell remained poor and work, training and education activities, despite some improvements, were too limited; and • lack of staff in the offender management unit undermined risk assessment and rehabilitation work. Mr Clarke said: “It is time to stop rediscovering the same problems and to take concerted action to deal with them at all levels. Some areas of concern, such as poor governance of use of force, could be addressed by the establishment. Others, such as staffing and difficulties with securing progressive transfers for prisoners, needed action from HMPPS. The management team had a clear understanding of the challenges and the commitment to make progress, but needed support to implement our recommendations. Failure to do so yet again cannot be acceptable.” Report: https://tinyurl.com/ycrv6xl6
Holds boys aged 15 to 18
Unannounced Inspection: 13-24 March 2017 Published: 19 September 2017 Safety W W W W Respect W W W W (but better in Keppel) Purposeful Activity W W W W Resettlement W W W W
“Preston was better than many other local jails and could make further progress” “Preston remained a traditional and stable institution despite having many of the disadvantages common to old, inner-city prisons. In many areas it continued to do better than comparable prisons. The prison could, however, do more and there is no room for complacency. With more consistency, greater imagination and better coordination, even better outcomes are within the prison’s grasp. The management team was competent, settled and committed to the success of the prison. The staff group were capable and confident. Preston was a reasonably good prison; it should be ambitious and a very good prison.”
“Greater stability for boys but violence is still too high”
Although there had been four self-inflicted deaths since the last inspection, levels of selfharm were lower than Inspectors find at similar prisons. On the down side Inspectors said that although staff were generally experienced and treated prisoners decently, there was some poor practice and culture that needed to be challenged, and Healthcare had deteriorated, they found some positive aspects: • violence was not increasing, but there was the potential for more effective work in this area; • the prison was generally calm and vulnerable prisoners were now receiving better support; • prisoners in crisis said they felt supported by staff and mental health input was good; • although the amount of time prisoners spent out of their cells had deteriorated, 85% of prisoners were still engaged in either work, training or education; • Ofsted judged the effectiveness of learning, skills and work to be ‘good’ overall.
Wetherby has some extremely challenging young people but had improved and become more stable over the last year. There was a restored ‘sense of purpose and confidence’ in the running of the Keppel Unit, a self-contained specialist facility holding ‘some of the most challenging and vulnerable young people currently held anywhere in a custodial setting’. However, Inspectors found, in the wider Wetherby prison, there were high levels of violence between boys and rising numbers of assaults on staff. Bullying was also a problem. The latest report finds that: • while there was improvement in behaviour management strategies, with more effort to ‘incentivise boys’, the approach to violence reduction in general was still not adequate. In particular, Inspectors found that many approaches to security or the use of segregation “lacked proportionality and were needlessly restrictive”. They observed “an overbearing focus on risk rather than the needs of the boys”. • the wider prison operated a restricted daily routine and time out of cell was insufficient. During the working day inspectors found nearly half of boys in the wider Wetherby prison locked in cells - though the situation was much better on Keppel. • Inspectors also found that work to promote equality was weak. Boys from a black and minority ethnic background reported a “significantly worse experience of victimisation by other boys and staff” but there was a lack of clarity at Wetherby on whether racist abuse was being managed effectively.
Report: https://tinyurl.com/y75ojds7
Report: https://tinyurl.com/y6uwv98j
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Closed young offender institution holding 18-21-year-old male prisoners serving from four years to life imprisonment
R
In summing up Chief Inspector Peter Clarke said: “The strong picture we reported at our previous inspection had been enhanced, and outcomes were even better. Nearly all recommendations we made previously had been achieved, or significant progress made in doing so. Many men at the prison recognised the benefits of the opportunities offered and how they would help them live offending-free lives in the future. This was in no small part down to the strong, principled and focused leadership of the prison, which provided more junior staff and prisoners with role models, exemplifying the positive behaviour and thinking expected of them. Not every prison can or needs to be a therapeutic community, but the values, principles and practice seen at Grendon could provide positive lessons and inspiration for other prisons. HM Prison and Probation Service should ensure this example is shared more widely for the benefit of others.”
HMYOI Aylesbury
Safety W W W W Respect W W W W Purposeful Activity W W WW Resettlement W W W W
HMYOI Wetherby and Keppel Unit
• Excellent track record in POCA/Forfeiture cases.
Don’t waste your next opportunity before the Parole Board CONTACT EMMERSONS NOW and let us get on with preparing your case in good time.
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Keeping Safe now and through 2018 Ministers support your calls for action
Sam Gyimah
Information 37
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Jackie Doyle-Price
Juliet Lyon As Inside Time readers will know, the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAP) is hugely grateful to the very many prisoners who took time during the year to write in to IAP Freepost, or to leave messages via Prison Radio, on how best to prevent suicide and self-harm. Now we are grateful to the three Ministers pictured, Sam Gyimah for prisons and probation, Jackie Doyle-Price for public health and Nick Hurd for policing, who have welcomed your ideas and are giving active consideration to the solutions you propose. Over the last few weeks I have had the chance to meet each of these Ministers in turn and, with a copy of our Inside Time Keeping Safe four page spread on the table in front of us, discuss with them what they can do to keep people safe.
‘Ja p Se ilb a g e o re e i u r ak n t ’ s he ec ti on
Ideas and proposals Sam Gyimah is determined to get to grips with the harm done by Spice and reduce drugs, debt and violence in prison. He has also given the
THE PRISON PHOENIX TRUST Head doing you in? Stressed out? Can’t sleep?
Nick Hurd
go-ahead for increased staff training in mental health awareness and suicide prevention. You can read more about the action he is taking and plans to make prison safer early in the New Year. Jackie Doyle-Price is improving response to mental health need and developing liaison and diversion services in police stations and courts. Nick Hurd is pressing ahead with implementing the recommendations of Dame Elish Angiolini's report on preventing deaths in police custody and wants to increase support for families. What you can be sure of is that your ideas and proposals have reached people with the power to change things for the better. Conference At the Samaritans Listener conference it was great to hear from women in prison about improvements already made because of our IAP report from 60 women prisoners and 45 health and justice professionals. These included improved contact with families, better transfer of information and more use of peer support. The IAP has just one aim and that is to prevent deaths in any form of state custody. As a result of our partnership with Inside Time, we have adopted a new guiding principle that all our work, whether in prisons, hospitals, police custody, immigration and detention centres or approved premises, must take into account the views of people who live there - the experts by experience. So may I wish you a good Christmas and a peaceful New Year as we work together to keep people safe. Juliet Lyon CBE is Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody
We’d love to hear from you anytime and have several free books and CDs, which could help you build and maintain a daily practice.
Kindness shines through in dark prison times Berny I can’t begin to explain the importance of having somewhere safe to talk without fear of judgement or the responses that the prison is bound by its duty of care to have. As has been said many times before we have no figures to determine how many lives are saved by this scheme - sadly we can only show the figures of those who have died, incidents that cause so much distress to all involved. There is no sadder time on a prison landing than when someone you have shared space with takes their own lives and it affects everyone without exception. The key to the success of the Listeners is fi rst the consistency in every aspect of how these schemes are implemented in every establishment. We all need to be singing from the ‘same hymn sheet’. I have been blessed to have been a Listener in a number of establishments and I’m sure there are many establishments who understand that this scheme only operates because of confidentiality. This being the key to a successful scheme that is trusted by the prisoners. Somewhere safe they can talk w ithout judgement or response - something a prison employee is duty bound by there duty of care to implement. The Listeners scheme has been on an amazing journey over the years and has grown and developed with the same core principle at its heart, of providing somewhere safe for people to talk. Somewhere they can trust. In the early days as a Listener we were viewed with suspicion from a
lot of staff and our own peer group, the big question being, Why would you? My answer: Why wouldn’t I? But it wasn’t long before we established credibility gaining amazing support from staff, Samaritans and other prisoners and our journey began to move forward.
fellow Listener and said it was her - it was strange, I just felt it. Anyway staff came on the wing and shouted me to the office. Choking back tears they told me there had been a death and that I was to get the team ready to go out. They were all visibly upset and I’d actually watched a couple of the staff
There is nothing more heart-breaking than when such a tragic event takes place but it is also in that dark time that humanity and kindness shines through.
in tears at the bottom of the wing who had been working on her. The Sams were called in and they were there supporting us and out listening w it h u s a nd for u s t he Governor gave us the room outside his office.
I rememb er when a n e x Listener took her own life. She was well known in the prison and was so funny she did an amazing impression of Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing and had been an amazing listener when part of the team. It was Friday afternoon and I’d been at work with her that morning. The regime was on lockdown and I just knew in my gut somet h i ng wa s w rong. I looked out of a w i ndow towards the wing she lived on and saw a small paramedic car. I turned to a friend and
Leigh Day
Simple yoga and meditation practice, working with silence and the breath, might just transform your life in more ways than you think ... Interested? Write to The Prison Phoenix Trust P.O. Box 328, Oxford, OX2 7HF.
A beautiful journey
There is nothing more heartbreaking than when such a tragic event takes place but it is also in that dark time that hu ma n it y a nd k i nd ne ss shines through - something I have witnessed first-hand on many occasions from Samaritans staff and Listeners. I have been blessed to live this journey with some of the most amazing inspirational people. It’s been a shocking journey, a sad journey, a beautiful journey and a truly humbling one. Berny is a former resident of HMP and gave a keynote speech at the Samaritans Annual conference, Newbold Revel
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Outside the rules: how immigration detainees in prison are let down Patrick Page Unlike those held in Immigration Removal Centres (IRC’s), immigration detainees in prison are not permitted a mobile phone or internet access and face significant obstacles accessing lawyers, charities, and Home Office caseworkers. And if that isn’t bad enough, immigration detainees in prison are also denied the basic safeguards afforded to those in IRC’s. The safeguards, found in the Detention Centre Rules are crucial in preventing vulnerable people from being held in detention. Rule 35 is especially important. Under this rule, doctors are required to assess whether a detainee is particularly vulnerable in detention, and to send a report of the assessment to the Home Office. The doctors look especially at special illnesses and conditions, including mental health issues as well as a history of torture,
sexual abuse or trafficking. These reports can either result in the Home Office taking the initiative to release the individual, or can help lawyers obtain both release and compensation on the basis that they were unlawfully detained. The problem is, Detention Centre Rules are just that, for those in detention centres, and they do not apply to those being held under immigration powers in prison. There, only the Prison Rules apply, even if you are being held under immigration powers. Do the Prison Rules have any safeguards like Rule 35? The simple answer is no. Prison Rule 21 requires the prison governor to report to the Secretary of State for Justice about any ‘prisoner whose health is likely to be injuriously affected by continued imprisonment or any conditions of imprisonment.’ But Rule 21 does not explicitly apply to torture victims or those with suicidal intentions, and nor is there any obligation on the governor to report to the Home Office.
This is obviously unfair and unreasonable. There is no reason to think that detainees vulnerable to suffer harm as a result of detention in an IRC would not suffer the same level of harm in a prison. We at Duncan Lewis Solicitors are not alone in thinking this. In November 2015, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) recommended that ‘the Prison Rules should be amended to afford immigration detainees the same protections of Rule 35 of the Detention Centre Rules.’ This was echoed a few months later in January 2016 by a civil servant, Stephen Shaw, when he was asked by the Home Office to write a report about detention. But the Home Office has ignored these recommendations from senior officials. This different treatment makes no sense and needs to be challenged. According to figures gathered by the organisation AVID, through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests, there have been between 450 and 550
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people held in prison at any one time over the last two years under immigration powers, that is around 15-20% of the detained population. It is impossible to know how many of these would have been released if they had been held in an IRC, because they are not afforded the same safeguards. We believe that every single woman and man unlawfully detained is an outrage. The Public Law Team at Duncan Lewis Solicitors specialise in fearlessly challenging unlawful detention. If you are being held in a prison under immigration powers, and being detained is affecting your physical or mental health, please get in touch with us and we will do our best to assist you.
Patrick Page is a senior caseworker in the Public Law Team at Duncan Lewis Solicitors. He writes on human rights, immigration and asylum.
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The merits of instructing a Forensic Psychologist Collette Blake and Ruth Tully As mentioned in the first part of this joint article in last month’s issue of Inside Time, an ‘independent’ psychologist is considered a vital tool for inmates looking to progress and/or secure release. Independent in this context means that the psychologist assessing you is not doing so on behalf of the system that detains you. An independent assessment might be useful if you have already been assessed and you wish to obtain a second opinion, or where there is no existing report but you and your solicitor think that an assessment might help your case in some way. Dr Tully, Forensic Psychologist writes: ‘The process of psychological assessment will usually involve at least one interview with you and a review of your prison records. Usually, for parole assessments, some form of risk assessment is involved. This might include violence risk assessment (a tool called the HCR-20v3 is commonly used) or sexual risk assessment (a tool called RSVP is commonly used). When I visit a person to assess them, I always explain what psychological tools I am using, and I explain the format of the report. It is important to me as a psychologist that the person fully understands the process of assessment. An independent Forensic Psychologist in parole cases is usually instructed by the solicitor representing the prisoner, and the psychologist
would usually come to see you via a legal visit or visits, just like the solicitor would. The process involves a lot of essential research about an individual’s case, and ultimately the writing of a report. It is a necessarily lengthy process for any psychologist, and so much more time is spent in preparing the report than just the time spent in interview. The interview time is important, as this is your opportunity to have a say and to ensure that your voice is heard. All our psychologists are genuine down to earth people who treat people with respect and, importantly, take care in listening. This helps to ensure that the report that is prepared is thorough and factually correct, and this provides opportunity for you to tell us if there are any inaccuracies in existing reports. Once the report is complete, you and your solicitor will discuss it and if it is helpful to your case, you can decide that the report is then served. In parole cases, this means serving the report on The Parole Board and other agencies concerned with your case. The independent psychologist will be required to attend your parole hearing to speak about the recommendations that have been made. When your hearing comes along, unless there is significant new evidence, I am always happy and fully prepared to stand by any recommendations or proposals I make in any of my reports. I consider this to be vital. An independent report can be extremely useful in many
cases, not just because of a second or different opinion on progression, but also because the independent psychologist may contribute by identifying treatment or support pathways that could help you. My team have a broad range of experience in prisons, forensic psychiatric hospitals, and the community. They use this experience to help them to think carefully about risk management and treatment. Our independence means that we work with a range of leading law firms throughout the UK, such as Wells Burcombe, and we cover all of the prisons of England and Wales. We only have fully qualified and experienced psychologists working with us. An independent assessment conducted by my team is always conducted by a highly qualified psychologist. We only take instructions from solicitors and not directly from the person being assessed please speak to your solicitor about an independent psychological assessment and they can get in touch with us. Tully Forensic Psychology Ltd is a leading provider of independent psychological assessments with a team of Forensic Psychologists and Clinical Psychologists across the UK. They provide a range of types of assessments for parole, Court, and other proceedings. Wells Burcombe Solicitors continue to excel in the field of crime, prison law, criminal appeals and POCA cases. Collette Blake is a Senior Prison Consultant at Wells Burcombe and Ruth Tully is a Forensic Psychologist.
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IPPs - the barriers to release Pippa Carruthers My client is James Ward whose case has featured in the media due to the particularly long time he served on his IPP despite a short tariff of less than 10 months. Although his case is shocking we are aware it is not the only one of its kind with other individuals and families having been devastated by the impact of an IPP sentence. The Parole Board directed James’ release in September 2017 following a second oral hearing during the course of his review. The review started in January 2016 and the release decision arrived over 18 months later. His case was beset with the delays that can afflict many Parole Reviews; lack of adequate information, lack of resources in prison, an overwhelmed Parole Board. The repeated failure of the Prison to respond to Parole Board directions for a psychiatric assessment report was shocking and soul destroying. Of course the stress involved with a problematic review just adds to the existing stress for a person who has to deal with such an uncertain future. James had to deal with so much more because of the way his review unfolded. However he finally encountered some good luck when his case was allocated to a Parole Board Panel who were proactive, practical and thorough, allowing him,
despite everything, to eventually persuade them he should be released. A major problem with the Parole process is that it requires all the parts involved in it to work effectively; the Prison, the Probation Service, the Public Protection Casework Section, Parole Board caseworkers and Parole Board members. When Parole Board directions are not adhered to, not a lot happens because there is no legal recourse or sanction. So much depends on how well an offender manager has prepared the case and I’ve lost count of how many times I have used the phrase “It doesn’t matter whether or not you are supporting release, you still have to prepare a full release plan, including suitable identified accommodation”. I met James Ward at the end of 2011 and immediately felt that his IPP sentence could not be justified. In early 2012 we appealed it. A Single Judge refusedpermission.Weprogressed it anyway. The Full Court refused it. It is now with the CCRC. Although the law is as yet unchanged, it feels like there may possibly be a slight shift in wider attitudes towards IPP sentences. It has of course required individuals like James Ward to serve ridiculous lengths of time for such concern to be expressed. Two professionals involved with James’
case asked me why he had never appealed the sentence, only for me to point out that he had. I doubt there would have been that concern in 2012 when I first met him. It’s possible that there has also been a slight improvement in the approach to the test for release. Open conditions on the route to release used to be a must. It is now possible, in some cases, to persuade the Parole Board that it’s not appropriate. It was foreseeable that those likely to receive an IPP sentence would include individuals with complex pasts. Imposing an IPP sentence has often meant requiring those complex individuals to fit neatly into a custodial environment, to fit neatly into a slow and under-resourced rehabilitative process centred around structured programmes that apply a one fit approach to their offending behaviour. Hardly surprising that this has often failed to work. We hope that the publicity around James Ward’s case will add to the pressure on the Powers that Be to address the law as it applies to those subject to an IPP sentence. In the meantime we hope to continue supporting the vulnerable to navigate the Parole Review process and to see many more IPP prisoners released. Pippa Carruthers Howard and Byrne Solicitors
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Legal 41
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Insidetime December 2017
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Don’t get added days this close to Christmas! What is an ‘adjudication’? There are rules which all prisoners must adhere to during their time in custody and if any of these rules are broken this can result in you being charged with a disciplinary offence. An ‘adjudication’ is the procedure whereby offences are dealt with internally within the prison. How many types of ‘adjudication’ exist? There are two types of adjudication. The first is before the Governor who is a senior member of prison staff. The Governor has the power to impose a caution, loss of prison earnings, loss of IEP privileges, exclusion from associated work (adu lt s on ly), removal of activity (young offenders only), extra work outside normal hours (young offenders only), removal from wing or living unit and cellul a r c o n f i n e m e nt . S i n c e December 2013 legal aid has not been available for adjudications before the Governor and therefore a prison law solicitor would not usually be
in attendance at this hearing unless certain criteria are met. However, you may wish to contact a solicitor by telephone or letter if you are unsure about the process. All adjudications are fi rst heard by the Governor. The second type of adjudication is before an Independent Adjudicator. Independent Adjudicators are District Judges who come into the prison in order to deal with the charge. In addition to the punishments listed above, Independent Adjudicators have the power to impose up to a maximum of 42 additional days onto your sentence for each time you are found guilty of an offence. If the Governor decides to refer your case to an Independent Adjudicator, you should consider contacting a prison law solicitor at this stage to discuss whether you are fi nancially eligible for legal aid. You have the right to be legally represented at these hearings. Who will charge you with the offence? You will be charged by a member of prison staff who witnessed or discovered the alleged offence. This person
is referred to as the Reporting Officer. Your Reporting Officer will complete a Notice of Report on a form DIS1. You may have heard this referred to as a ‘nicking sheet’.
How can you appeal against adjudications? If you wish to appeal against a finding of g uilt by the Governor, you should complete a form DIS8 within 6 weeks of the end of the hearing and forward this to the Governor. The Briefing and Casework Unit will consider your review request and make a recommendation to a Deputy Director of Custody or the Director of High Security. They may decide to: 1. Uphold the adjudicator’s decision; 2. Mitigate the punishment (reduce it to something less severe); or 3. Quash the fi nding of guilt and punishment.
What procedure must be followed? The first thing you must do when you receive your nicking sheet is to check that the correct procedure has been followed. You must be issued your nicking sheet within 48 hours of the alleged offence being discovered and this includes weekends and bank holidays. You must then be brought before the Governor within 24 hours of being charged with the alleged offence. If these time limits have not been adhered to there is an argument that the charge should be dismissed. The most serious disciplinary offences will normally be referred to the police and dealt with in the Courts rather than by w ay of adjud ic at ion. However, if your case is not referred to the police or no prosecution follows, then the Governor will decide whether to re fe r t he c a se to t he Independent Adjudicator. If
Counting down the days… you are eligible for additional days and the Governor considers that the offence is serious enough to merit this punishment if you are found guilty, then your case should be referred. You must appear b e fore t he I ndep e nde nt Adjudicator within 28 days of your case being referred. If the time limits for charging you or opening the hearing have not been met, you or your solicitor will be given an opportunity to make representations to the adjudicator at the start of the hearing. The adjudicator will then decide whether or not to dismiss your case or to continue with the hearing.
Our open, friendly solicitors working in Criminal Defence will help you with all aspects of Prison Law including: Licence recall • Adjudications Parole hearings • IPP queries Judicial review • Sentence planning issues
Call us on 01865 518971 or visit www.hinesolicitors.com Oxford Freepost address FREEPOST RTHU - LEKE - HAZR Hine Solicitors | Seymour House 285 Banbury Road | Oxford | OX2 7JF
What happens at the hearing? The adjudication will take the form of a mini Court hearing, normally in the Segregation Unit of the prison. The adjudicator will ask you if you plead guilty or not guilty to the charge. The adjudicator will then hear evidence of the Reporting Officer and ask whether you or your solicitor wish to question the officer about the offence. The adjudicator may also ask questions. Evidence from witnesses, items allegedly found during the search, MDT results or CCTV may also be presented. You or your solicitor will be given the opportunity to put forward your defence or any mitigation which can include the calling of witnesses. What must be proved for the adjudicator to find you guilty? The adjudicator must be sat-
isfied beyond reasonable doubt that a charge has been proved in order to find you guilty of the offence otherwise your case will be dismissed. If you would like to see the elements that must be proved for your offence you should consult Prison Rule 51 paragraphs 1-25 and the Prisoner Discipline Procedures PSI 47/2011. How will you be sentenced if you are found guilty by the Independent Adjudicator? If the Independent Adjudicator is satisfied that the charge against you has been proved beyond reasonable doubt then you may be sentenced up to a maximum of 42 additional days in accordance with the Independent Adjudicator’s Punishment Guidelines. These guidelines set out the starting point and range of days that may be added to your sentence. You should be given full credit if you enter a guilty plea at the hearing and your punishment should be reduced by one third. The Independent Adjudicator also has the power to suspend the imposition of any additional days. Are you eligible to be punished with additional days? Additional days may only be imposed if you are serving a determinate sentence and not if you are serving an indeterminate sentence. This means that if you are serving a life or IPP sentence then you cannot be sentenced to additional days. If you are an extended sentence prisoner you are eligible for additional days.
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Darryl Foster and Ellie Louise-Gee
If you wish to appeal against a finding of g uilt by the Independent Adjudicator, you should complete a form IA4 and send it to the Governor within 14 days of the end of the hearing. A Nominated District Judge may decide to quash or mitigate the punishment but has no power to q u a sh t h e I n d e p e n d e nt Adjudicator’s finding of guilt. You can only challenge an Independent Adjudicator’s finding of guilt by way of judicial review. What can we do? You should obtain expert legal advice in relation to any appea ra nce before t he Independent Adjudicator. There may be a technical reason as to why the charge against you should be dismissed or you may require assistance in challenging the evidence presented by the prison. Added days can have a significant impact upon your potential release from custody. We can assist in ensuring that either no days are added or that the number of days added are kept to a minimum. Should you require any assistance with an upcoming Independent Adjudication, please contact our Prison Law Department at Hine Solicitors and we will be happy to help you. You can contact us on 01865 518971 or FREEPOST - RTHU - LEKE - HAZR Hine Solicitors, Seymour House, 285 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 7JF for our Oxford Office or FREEPOST T R X S -T Y C U -Z K H Y H i n e Solicitors, Crown House, 123 Hagley Road, Birmingham B16 8LD for our Birmingham Office. Darryl Foster is a Solicitor and Ellie Louise-Gee a paralegal at Hine Solicitors
42 Legal // Q&A
TG - HMP/YOI Rochester
Q I have not been given my tag and
have been refused HDC because part of my conviction involved possession of an offensive weapon.
Prison Law Answers are kindly provided by: Hine Solicitors Stevens Solicitors Kesar & Co. Solicitors MKS Law Solicitors Pickup & Scott Solicitors
Answers to readers’ legal queries are given on a strictly without liability basis. If you propose acting upon any of the opinions that appear, you must first take legal advice. Send your Prison Law Query (concise and clearly marked ‘Prison Law Query’) to: David Wells, Solicitor c/o Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. For a prompt response, readers are asked to send their queries on white paper using black ink or typed if possible.
A The first matter to note in relation to HDC is that it is not a right but a privilege that may be granted by the Governor of the prison after consultation with your Offender Manager and in some cases the Police. As with so many other areas affecting prisoners HDC will only be granted after a risk assessment is carried out by the authorities which includes a home circumstances check by the Probation office.
circumstance may vary between Governors but my experience shows that it is very rare for a Governor to determine that such circumstances exist. You can appeal against the refusal of HDC using the Complaints procedure and if you are still dissatisfied then you can take your case to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Legal Aid is not available to assist with the granting of HDC or appealing against a refusal. Response provided by Stevens Solicitors
AR - HMP Woodhill
The rules relating to HDC are contained in PSO 6700 and lists a number of circumstances where prisoners are ineligible for HDC eg recalled prisoners, previous breaches of HDC, extended sentence prisoners etc.
Q I would like to know what, if any, restrictions are put on released prisoners contacting serving prisoners by email, telephone or visiting. Is there a certain time after which this can be done or are there regulations to prevent this from happening?
In addition to the exceptions in the PSO the Home Secretary made a direction several years ago that certain offences would be presumed unsuitable for release unless “exceptional circumstances exist”. Possession of an offensive weapon is included on the list of presumed unsuitable offences.
A Communications to and from prisoners are detailed in PSI 49/2011 and you should ask to see a copy which will be in the prison library. The broad principle is that “prisoners are encouraged to maintain contact with the outside world which would include family friends….” Para 1.1
You would have to satisfy the Governor that there were exceptional circumstances in your case. I suspect that what constitutes an exceptional
Para 2.24 reads “correspondence with ex-prisoners should be allowed subject to any concerns there may be regarding threats to security and if the ex-prisoner is under supervision in the community
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‘Legal’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.
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to the views of his/her offender manager unless the Governor believes that it would seriously impede the rehabilitation of either”.
probation have said this is ok as long as I stick to my license conditions. Please advise me who is correct on this issue.
So, whilst there is no difficulty in principle in such communications the Governor can always interfere if he takes the view that either there are risks to security or in some way rehabilitation is being prejudiced. No doubt this has been deliberately given a very general definition to enable the Governor to retain a wide discretion.
A There are no laws prohibiting registered sex offenders from starting their own business or being self-employed.
The communications PSI is a comprehensive document and should answer any further specific questions of detail that might affect your particular case.
Once you are released from custody, you will be required to sign the Sex Offenders Register (unless you were convicted before 1997). Any business you undertake must clearly not breach the requirements of the register.
If communications are being refused, then you should register a complaint and if you do not get a satisfactory response you can refer the matter to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. Response provided by Stevens Solicitors
NS - HMP Bullingdon
Q I am planning on starting a busi-
ness in waste management and wholesale of new/old goods once I am released, however due to my conviction being one of a sexual nature the Public Protection Unit are saying I would not be able to as I’ll have contact with the public, but
If you are subject to any restrictions (such as licence conditions) then you cannot break the terms of those conditions for the purpose of running your own business.
As long as Probation are fully aware of the nature of the business and whom you are likely to come in to contact with i.e. keep them updated at all times, there is nothing in law that would prohibit you from continuing to run your business. If probation deem your business to be acceptable in terms of risk to the public, you should be able to proceed on this basis. Please be aware some insurance companies may refuse to insure you for public/employer’s liability insurance due to the nature of your conviction. Response provided by Pickup & Scott Solicitors
Our speciality is defending cases involving large-scale police operations where authorities have been granted powers under the Regulations of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Such cases involve informants, covert surveillance, undercover officers and material that requires expertise in disclosure and public interest immunity matters. Our track record, impressive rankings in national and international legal guides and enviable reputation mean we are often recommended to people by other legal firms or by our past and present clients. Rahman Ravelli has helped shape the law, takes cases to the highest courts in the UK and Europe, coordinates all types of international defence cases and negotiates tactically with all UK and worldwide authorities. “They absolutely know what they’re doing and have dedicated people with a real interest in the subject” Chambers Legal Guide
Insidetime December 2017
Grounds for appeal One Inside Time reader wrote to ask what he should do about launching an appeal after, in his own words, having failed to get positive advice on appeal. He seems to have been advised by more than one lawyer that there did not seem to be any grounds for appeal in his case.
Appeals
Firstly, it is important to say that if you have approached a lawyer, a solicitor or a barrister, and the advice they have given is that they can see no grounds on which you can appeal, it will always be sensible to consider that advice carefully. Even if it is not what you had hoped to hear, you should think very seriously about the advice they gave.
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the publicly funded body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England and Wales. They are the only body with the power to send a case back to the courts for a second appeal.
Having said that, you do not have to accept their advice. Lawyers, like everyone else, can make mistakes. Also, sometimes things may have changed since advice was given and the prospects for appeal might have changed because of some new evidence or development in the law.
In this regular column they answer questions about what they do and more widely about miscarriages of justice. The CCRC apologises but is unable to answer questions relating to individual cases.
It is a good idea to try to get advice from a lawyer if you can find one willing to help, but you don’t actually need to be legally represented to appeal. You can start the appeal process by filling in the form NG
Send your Appeal Queries to: ‘CCRC Q&A’ Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.
cm
Legal // Q&A 43
‘Legal’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. for yourself - this is the form to make an application to the Court of Appeal asking for permission to appeal, also known as “leave to appeal”. The reader also said that his friends had forked out more than £30,000 to two lawyers trying to get a positive advice on appeal. The reader said that the lawyers had taken the money but had basically not done what they said they would do. In a situation like this, where there is a claim that money was paid for work that was not done, it would be sensible to think about complaining formally to the relevant authority (for solicitors that is the Solicitors Regulation Authority and for barristers it is the Bar Standards Board). It is also worth thinking about first using the complaints process if the company concerned has one. Not so high profile In a couple of letters we have received recently, people have said they thought there was no chance the CCRC would be interested in their case because they believe that we are only interested in cases with a high public profile and/or lots of supporters. It may be that this impression has been created by the fact that, by definition, people generally only get to hear about the high
profile cases. However here are a couple of facts that might help to correct the false impression.
tests were all done between 2013 and 2017 when the problem was discovered.
The CCRC’s two highest profile cases of recent years have been those of the footballer Ched Evans and the soldier Alexander Blackman, aka Marine A.
Most of the tests (around 7,000) relate to driving offences, but around 1,000 relate to other offences including rape and murder. We are told that a programme of retesting affected samples is already underway, that the cases of people in custody are a top priority and that all priority retesting should be complete by mid-2018.
Between July 2014 when Ched Evans applied to us, and December 2016 when we referred Alexander Blackman’s case for appeal, the CCRC sent 70 other cases for appeal. Very few of these cases received significant public or media attention and very few of the people whose cases we referred had any kind of support from a campaign. In fact, most of the people applied to us with either no help, or with just the help of their lawyer or friends and family. Randox The Randox drug testing scandal has been in the news again. We mentioned Randox in this column back in June. Since then it seems the scale of the problem has got worse. At a press conference on 21st November by the National Police Chiefs Council and the Forensic Science Regulator it was confirmed that around 10,000 tests (mainly for drugs in blood) carried out by Randox Testing Services now cannot be relied upon. The affected
Since the Randox issue first came to light, the CCRC has been talking to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and the Forensic Science Regulator. No one knows how many cases there may be where the reliability of a Randox drug test might affect the safety of a conviction. But it is clear that the situation has the potential to generate a considerable number of cases for the CCRC as the statutory body responsible for independently reviewing potential miscarriages of justice. Because of that, we have asked that the CPS makes sure to explain the role and relevance of the CCRC to any people that they contact because their convictions may be affected by problems with Randox test results. We have also asked to be kept
informed about convictions causing particular concern and we have offered the benefit of our experience and expertise to those now looking at the potentialimpactofRandoxresults on the safety of convictions. You may remember that back in June, when we last wrote about Randox, we mentioned the advice offered by the renowned appeals barrister and author of the Taylor on Criminal Appeals, Paul Taylor of Doughty Street Chambers. What he said then remains wholly relevant today: “…even if the allegations of data tampering are proved this will not provide an automatic ground of appeal against conviction for all cases in which [Randox] carried out forensic testing. Indeed even in cases where the test data is shown to have been manipulated the central question will be: how important was this flawed evidence to the outcome of the trial? If it was a peripheral matter that was not central to the main issues to be determined by the jury, the Court of Appeal is unlikely to interfere. However, if it can be shown that fresh evidence (demonstrating that the data presented was unreliable) might reasonably have affected the jury’s decision to convict, the appeal is very likely to succeed.”
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If you think your conviction or sentence is wrong apply to the CCRC
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where
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atter
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It won’t cost anything Your sentence can’t be increased if you apply You don't need a lawyer to apply, but a good one can help You can get some more information and a copy of the CCRC's Easy Read application form by writing to us at 5 St Philip’s Place, Birmingham, B3 2PW. or calling 0121 233 1473
Prisoners in Scotland should contact; The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, 5th Floor, Portland House, 17 Renfi eld Street, Glasgow, G2 5AH. Phone: 0141 270 7030 Email:
[email protected]
44 Jailbreak // Fitness
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to have a detoxification effect that, when activated, can protect the brain from mental illness.”
Running needs no special equipment
Runners Corner Running is free, you can do it anywhere, and it burns more calories than any other mainstream exercise
Running for a better life
breeding partner,” said the study’s lead author, Dr Danny Longman.
Runners make better partners Research suggests that men who regularly run long distances should win in the evolutionary battle to reproduce. Scientists from Cambridge University studied 542 runners at the Robin Hood marathon in Nottingham and found that those who finished faster were more likely to have stronger sex drives and higher sperm counts. They posit that the good runners are likely to have good stamina in their blood, thanks to ancestors who were excellent persistence hunters. Men who could catch dinner would also have the pick of the females, meaning that they passed down stronger genes to their progeny. “The observation that endurance running ability is connected to reproductive potential in men suggests that women in our hunter-gatherer past were able to observe running as a signal for a good
“It was thought that a better hunter would have got more meat, and had a healthier and larger - family as a consequence of providing more meat for his family.” Runners tend to be happier It’s long been the insistence of avid runners that going for a jog makes them feel better. To the uninitiated, it can sound like the pious sermon of the faintly unhinged - but there is now concrete scientific evidence to substantiate their claim. Researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden discovered that aerobic exercise like jogging purges the blood of a substance known as kynurenine, which accumulates during times of stress and is believed to be linked to depression. Dr Jorge Ruas, principal investigator at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology said: “Skeletal muscle appears
Exercise is also believed to encourage the body to release serotonin, which improves mood. Ultra-marathon runners often speak of ‘surfing a wave of serotonin’ while covering the type of distances that make non-runners cringe. Runners protect themselves from cancer It’s common sense that an act ive l i fest yle beget s a healthy body - but jogging seems to be particularly beneficial when it comes to helping ward off the evils of cancer. In a wide-ranging paper, Finnish scientists revealed their conclusions after studying the health of a group of 2,560 middle-aged men over the course of roughly 17 years. They found that the men who were physically active were the least likely to develop cancer. No surprise there. What was more interesting was that those who ran - or did exercise of a similar intensity - for 30 minutes a day were the most protected, exhibiting “a 50 percent reduction in the risk of dying prematurely from cancer.”
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The Prison Phoenix Trust This is a yoga routine designed to help you feel chilled out and safe. It is nice to give yourself a gift at this time of year, and taking 15 minutes out of your day to look after yourself can be a great one. For this routine, use your pillow and blanket, and anything soft you can find. Use them as often as you want in the poses - the aim here is to be comfortable. You might find this routine nice to do last thing at night - you should be able to do all of it in bed. Enjoy it, and best wishes from us all.
Forward Fold over Crossed Legs
Child Lie like this, with padding under your bum and head if that makes you more comfortable. Stay like this for 10 slow breaths.
Pre-Tariff Sifts
Contact our team now by calling 01865 592670 or write to us calling our Freepost address: RTXS-CHLX-SYRC - Reeds Solicitors - 403 Silbury Boulevard - MILTON KEYNES - MK9 2AH
Sit cross legged and stretch forward. Give yourself a few breaths to find the place that’s comfortable for you and then take 10 slow breaths. Cross your legs the other way and repeat.
Starting on hands and knees, reach your right arm to the left until your shoulder rests on the floor or on your pillow. Stay like this for 10 slow breaths and then repeat on the other side.
Supported Bridge Place your feet flat on the floor, as close to your bum as you can get them. Slip pillows and blankets under your bum, to raise your hips up so they are higher than your heart. Stay here for 10 slow breaths, or longer.
Seated Forward Bend
Thread the Needle Lying Twists Lie on your back and pull your knees over your chest. Swing them over to the left, keeping your shoulders flat on the floor. Stay for 10 deep breaths and repeat on the other side.
Sit on your blankets and pillows with your legs out in front of you - it is fine if your knees are bent. Drape your torso forward over your legs and nod a couple of times to relax your neck. Stay here for 10 slow breaths.
Banana
Dr. Paul Loprinzi studied 1,082 adult women and concluded that those with higher cardiorespiratory fitness had better hearing function at high and low frequencies. The women with higher aerobic fitness were six per cent more likely to have good hearing than bad hearing.
Our Prison Law Team are able to offer advice and assistance under the Legal Aid Scheme for the following issues:
Parole
All is Calm, All is Bright
Runners can hear better According to research conducted at Bellarmine University in Kentucky, US, running increases blood flow to your ea rs, which result s in improved hearing.
Our commitment and service to you, does not stop when you leave the dock. Reeds solicitors are dedicated to providing legal expertise along with unparalleled client care. This service also includes issues you may experience in custody. Determine/ IPP Recall
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Lie on your back and stretch both your arms and legs to the left, with your back still flat on the floor. You can hook the right leg over the left one, or pull gently on the right arm with the left one to increase the stretch. Stay for 5 deep breaths and repeat on the other side.
Deer Pose Sit with your legs like this and lean forwards. You might only be able to go down halfway, or you may go all the way down to the floor. Find an angle that’s comfortable for you and then stay there for 10 slow breaths. Repeat on the other side.
Goddess Sit with your feet together and knees out to the side. Lie back onto a stack of pillows and blankets so your chest gently opens. Stay like this for 10 slow breaths, or longer if you wish.
If you want a free book and CD to help you set up a regular yoga and meditation practice write to The Prison Phoenix Trust, PO Box 328, Oxford OX2 7HF.
Sitting Place your blankets and pillows so you have at least four inches under your sitting bones. Focus on your breath. Count your breaths silently to yourself: in 1, out 2, in 3, out 4 and so on, up to 10, and then start from 1 again. If you lose count, it doesn’t matter. Just come back to 1 and begin again. Even if you lose count several times, it doesn’t matter. Be gentle with yourself and know that there is nothing to “get wrong”. Do this for five minutes, setting an alarm on your watch or clock if you have one. If you practise this meditation every day, things may begin to look clearer and brighter for you. Give it a go and let us know how you get on.
Jailbreak // Fitness 45
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Cell Workout
Get the body you want Inside & Out
Lionel Messi Workout Argentina is mostly a catholic country, but football is their true religion, and they LOVE Messi. So I thought I would write a workout that delves into the technical training and moves (without a ball), that makes him the world’s greatest footballer. Hopefully this will help in your performance next time you have a game with the officers. For obvious reasons, some of these exercises need to be performed outside in the yard, or gym hall.
For explosive pace ‘W’ run 10 breaths. Lay 5 cones in a W shape, 10 metres across the top, and 5 metres deep. Start on the furthest left point, jog backwards to the second point, sprint to the third, jog backwards to fourth and sprint away to the right point. Wait 20 secs, then reverse.
LJ: Reflections from South America LJ Flanders
Anniversary On the 25th October 2012 I was released from Highpoint prison gates. There are some dates you never forget and a certain letter/number combo that is assigned personally to you, which is etched on the brain also. Five years on, I was landing in Argentina through the invitation of El Desafio, with many thanks to National Alliance of Sport (NASDC) and the amazing power of their network. I was visiting the city of Rosario in Argentina for the Happy Cities Festival organised by El Desafio, an organisation whose aim is to empower poverty-stricken children in Rosario. I met the co-founder and Executive Director Mario Raimondi when he came to England looking for ideas for new youth sport programmes. He visited me with Justin Coleman, Co-Founder, Secretariat and Head of the NASDC in HMP Wandsworth to understand about the Cell Workout Workshop. As Mario said “In Argentinian prisons, there is no such thing as rehabilitation, to see LJ working so positively with these guys was huge”. From the impact of this visit, my ticket was booked to guest alongside some very influential speakers and take part in the festival. Over the course of the 2 days I spoke to the 3,000 participants about my story, the book and Workshops and also visited the young offenders to meet and work out with the young people.
country without the possibility of a life project. Being born in a context of extreme poverty, malnutrition, health problems, lack of education, violence, social exclusion and very few possibilities of insertion in the job market does not provide many opportunities of a decent life. This scenario does not only affect those living this situation -even though they are the first and most serious victims- but they also afflict society as a whole. Socially disintegrated, a country does not have many opportunities for progress. We understand that in order to achieve a true impact our actions must be planned for the long term and framed in an integral vision in which all these factors are considered. We do not offer merely individual aid, we work together with the families, the community and society in general to create programs that promote development. Participants of our programs, children and the community are not mere receptors of services, they are agents of social change. We understand that in order to achieve a true impact our actions must be planned for the long term and framed in an integral vision in which all these factors are considered. We do not offer merely individual aid, we work together with the families, the community and society in general to create programs that promote development. Participants of our programs, children and the community are not mere receptors of services, they are agents of social change”. What an amazing festival and experience. It was an honour to take part and be inspired by the work they do.
From the El Desafio website, their vision is:
Thank you again Mario and all the organisers for the invite and for translating and looking after me so well, I couldn’t have wished for more.
“There are many persons and children in our
What a way to spend an anniversary!
Workshop
Ted Talk
For ultra-agility Get-ups This is great for leg drive. Lie on the floor (always alternate position: back, side, front, etc) count to 5, then get up as quickly as possible, then sprint 5m. Perform 3 sets of 8. This trains total-body coordination.
For ultra-agility Two-footed bounds For explosive pace Dead leg run Set 8 hurdles or cones in a straight line, with the final one 5m out from the end. Run down the cones, lifting one leg high over each. Use a good 90-degree arm drive and push your knee high. Sprint out to the last cone, repeat with opposite leg.
For ultra-agility Horizontal hops Set out 6 cones: 3 in a straight line, at a hopping distance; then from the end, one at 9 o’clock, one at 12, one at 3, all 5m away. Hop to each cone, then sprint out to one of the final cones. Walk back and alternate the hopping leg. Do 3 sets of 8 reps.
Lay out cones the same as the horizontal hops exercise, but instead of hopping, bound with two legs over the first 3, then sprint and swerve through the 9, 12 and 3 o’clock cones and back to the start. Perform 3 sets of 4.
For superior balance Alphabet drill To get superior glutes, balance on your left leg. Extend your right leg in front and draw the alphabet, then repeat on the other side, maintaining posture and balance the whole time. Repeat on other leg.
For superior balance Shelf stacker Builds core stability. Reach and lunge down with both hands to the outside of your right ankle, explode from there in a diagonal movement across the body, as if putting something from the floor onto a shelf. Do 15 reps on each side. Cell Workout by LJ Flanders
For superior balance Backward lunge with side flexion Start with feet shoulder-width apart, knees bent and core tensed. Step back into a deep lunge with right leg, extend your right arm overhead and side flex. Push back to the start with left leg. Do 8 reps of 6 each side.
Organisers and speakers
A bodyweight training guide designed for use in a prison cell. This 234 page book will guide you with step-by-step instructions performing 204 exercises, with photographs and sample workouts. The exercises are suitable for any age, ability and fitness level and offers progression for everyone. Price: £16.99 ISBN: 9781473656017 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton www.cell-workout.com
El Desafio celebration
46 Jailbreak
Understanding parole
The Reader I waited until the large woman with the awful hat took up her sack of groceries and went out, peering at the tomatoes and lettuce on her way. The clerk asked me what mine was. “Have you got a box,” I asked, “a large box? I want a box to hide in” “You want a box?” he asked. “I want a box to hide in,” I said. “Whatta you mean?” he said. “You mean a big box?” I said I meant a big box, big enough to hold me. “I haven’t got any boxes,” he said. “Only cartons that cans come in.” The Shared Reading Group at HMP Magilligan recently read James Thurber’s short story A Box to Hide In and were initially struck by the ‘strangeness’ of a request for a box to hide in. However, we soon began to reflect on the times when we have felt the desire to hide away from our everyday lives. We talked about the need to have our own space and also about those times when we just want to close the door and have some ‘self-time’. Some of the men mentioned how difficult it can be, when living in prison, to find that space and to ‘block out’ the noises of life going on around them 24 hours a day. They talked, too, of what it’s like to ‘double up’ in a cell and how, in those circumstances, there is never an escape. There was nothing for it but to face life out. I didn’t feel strong and I had this overpowering desire to hide in a box for a long time. We wondered about the meaning of ‘to face life out’ and M related very much with the idea of not feeling that one could cope with life on certain days and how we can want to avoid the world on those days as it seems easier than facing life. It led us on to think about the masks we use to hide behind and how we can often pretend to be happy and well when we feel anything but that in reality. “It’s a form of escape”, I told him. “Hiding in a box, it circumscribes your worries and the range of your anguish. You don’t see people, either.” We pondered over what was meant by ‘circumscribed’ and felt that the box, perhaps, would be able to contain our fears, anxieties or worries and that it would also hold us so that we felt safe and secure inside it. Thinking about the ‘range of our anguish’ we discussed how anguish seems to be a more powerful word than anxiety and is almost like a deep-seated distress or a heart-felt pain. We wondered if the box, in some way, would contain the extent of our anguish and prevent it from becoming overwhelming. S shared how he closed the door of his cell when he didn’t want to see people and related his cell to the idea of ‘a box to hide in’. We talked about how, as a prisoner, one can retain some degree of control by having the ability to choose when to open or close the cell door and, thereby, choosing when to interact with others.
like what you need to do to get parole, what the Parole Board are doing about the backlog of cases and what’s being done about IPP prisoners.
The group also thought about what ‘a box to hide in’ might look like and, although many of us thought of it in terms of a room of some sort, E shared that when he was young he would often go to a graveyard near to where he lived as that was where he felt safe - it was his place to go in order to escape or to hide. It opened our minds to the possibility that a box may not necessarily have four walls.
Alongside Martin and Sonia we’ll hear from the Prisoners Advice Service (an independent charity who offer free legal advice and support), members of the Parole Board and Simon, who has been through the process himself.
You feel better when it gets dark. E talked about how the darkness can help him feel better, when the masks of the day are removed and it’s just you alone with your thoughts. He shared how, when there is less visual stimulation, he felt that ‘more goes on in your head’ and, for him, this was a positive thing. I haven’t found one yet. But I still have this overpowering urge to hide in a box. Maybe it will go away. Maybe I’ll be all right. Maybe it will get worse. It’s hard to say. A couple of the men in the group related to the idea of a ‘box to hide in’ in terms of their personal experience of depression. For them, the box represented depression and they shared their need to hide from people and their desire to avoid daily interactions with others during this period in their lives. This allowed us a profound insight into the depth of the story and its personal relevance for the individual’s present in the group. As we contemplated this R quipped that he would ‘quite happily ditch his box’ (cell)!
Pamela Howe is Reader Leader at HMP Magilligan N. Ireland The Reader has been running Shared Reading groups in prisons, secured units and Approved Premises for nearly a decade. Each week a Reader Leader brings a short story or extract and a poem which they read aloud and invite the group to discuss. Anyone in the group is welcome to read too, some do, some don’t. Everyone is welcome to share their thoughts and feelings about what has been read although some people choose to reflect on these privately. Either way is fine, the point of Shared Reading is to come together and enjoy a great story together.
If you’re up for parole, you can find loads of useful information about it on National Prison Radio - starting this month. Parole is a complicated process. All the paperwork and legal language can be overwhelming. But it’s also really important to get your head around it. The Parole Board turns 50 this year, and to mark this anniversary National Prison Radio has teamed up with them to bring you a straightforward guide to how parole works. We’ve spoken to people who’ve been through the process and we’ll be getting their advice on what you need to know. For example from Simon, Head of Support for Coaching Inside and Out: “Going through parole was hard work and stressful - but definitely worth the effort. Having a solicitor, discussing release with my Offender Manager and family, understanding the dossier and show-
ing the board my hope and confidence for the future all helped and gave me the best chance of a positive answer.”
This special discussion prog ra m me, Underst a nd i ng Parole will also be broadcast in January and February.
Throughout the day on NPR you’ll hear information about things like: • what to do with your paperwork dossier; • preparing for an oral hearing; • what happens on the day; • how the Parole Board make decisions.
Martin Jones, Chief Executive of the Parole Board, said: “As the Parole Board turns 50 we’re asking ourselves how we can be more open and transparent. We’ve recognised that we need to keep you better informed about how the parole process works, and provide information in ways that are easier to understand. Working with National Prison Radio for this Understanding Parole project is a great opportunity for the Board to do that.”
Going through parole is not an easy process, but tune into NPR for some straightforward advice and answers. Plus you have a chance to have your say. In October we opened our freephone line to gather your questions about parole. And on Monday 11 December, you can hear these questions put to Martin Jones, CEO of the Parole Board, and Sonia Crozier, Director of Probation. They’ll be discussing things
Going through parole is not an easy process, but tune into NPR for some straightforward advice and answers. Tune into NPR from Monday 11 December for information about parole. Our special discussion programme Understanding Parole will be broadcast on Monday 11 December at 8am and 9pm, repeated at 5pm on Friday 15 December. If you miss it, catch it again on Monday 8 Januar y and Monday 12 February 2018.
Christmas on NPR Lots of activities close down over Christmas, but National Prison Radio will continue to broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week throughout the Christmas period. On Christmas Day we’ll have our traditional Christmas service, and in the final hours of 2017, we’ll have 5 straight hours of requests from 7pm as we count down to midnight, and find out which prison gets the honour of having the final request of 2017. This year we’ve received well over 10,000 letters and messages - but we want more!
© Deposit Photos
Hiding in Boxes
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So make sure you get your New Year’s Eve requests into National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF. And make NPR your home throughout the Christmas and New Year period. We’re here for you all day, every day.
Jailbreak// Inside History 47
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On this day… 17th December 1903
Behind the gate The life and infamous times of Britain’s prisons: this month HMP Cardiff Noel Smith
Cardiff prison
Flying high, free as a bird
On a wing and prayer Wright brothers make first powered flight In spite of an underwhelming audience of five people, the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made aviation history today when their aircraft Flyer 1, (or Kitty Hawk as it is more com mon ly k now n) -managed the first powered flight. Their plane made four flights in all, the longest lasting almost a minute, achieving 850ft of distance and an altitude of several feet. Orville and Wilbur Wright have been interested in aviation since 1896 when they learned of European interest in sustained flight. While running a bicycle shop they have studied aviation and built kites and gliders to learn the essentials of aircraft control before attempting powered flight. They made 900 successful glider flights in 1902 in Norht Carolina while they solved the problems of getting an engine light enough and powerful enough to lift a plane off the ground. In the end, the brothers built their own 12-16hp engine and propeller as well as the body of the aircraft. Kitty Hawk dimensions Wingspan: 40 ft 4 in Wing Area: 510 sq ft Length: 21 ft 1 in Height: 9 ft 4 in Weight: 750 lb with pilot Engine: Horizontal 4-cylinder, water-cooled, 12 horsepower Kitty Hawk weighs only 605lb and is launched off a trolley along a greased 60ft launching track. To design their first
powered airplane, which they simply called the Flyer, the Wrights returned to their wind tunnel data and the lift and drag equations. To carry the weight of an engine, propellers, and added structural reinforcement, they had to increase the wing area to more than 500 square feet. Allowing 200 pounds for the propulsion system, they estimated that the aircraft with pilot would weigh 625 pounds. Based on this estimate, they calculated power, thrust, and speed requirements and conc lu d e d t h e y n e e d e d a n 8-horsepower engine generating 90 pounds of thrust to achieve a minimum airspeed of 23 miles per hour. The Wrights used their proven canard biplane configuration, which was rooted in their initial 1899 kite design. Key to the Flyer’s success was its three-axis control system, which featured wing-warping for lateral balance, a moveable rudder, and an elevator for pitch control. The right wing was four inches longer than the left to compensate for the engine being heavier than and mounted to the right of the pilot. The wings were rigged with a slight droop to reduce the effects of crosswinds. John T Daniels, Kitty Hawk lifesaving crewman said after the first flight: “After a while they shook hands, and we couldn’t help notice how they held on to each other’s hand, sort o’like they hated to let go; like two folks parting who
weren’t sure they’d ever see each other again.” The last obstacle to powered flight was the propulsion system. The term propulsion system is important. Wilbur and Orville recognized that developing an effective propeller, and an efficient transmission linkage to the power plant, was just as crucial as building a suitable engine. Seeking a power plant for their airplane, the Wrights contacted many of the dozens of firms that by then were manufacturing gasoline engines. Ten responded, but none could me et p owe r a nd we ig ht requirements the Wrights specified, or could do so at a reasonable price. Undeterred, the brothers decided to build their own. Speaking after the f light Wilbur Wright said: “I confess that in 1901 I said to my brother Orville that man would not fly for fift y years. The fact that the great scientist believed in flying machines was the one thing that encouraged us to begin our studies. It is possible to f ly without motors, but not without knowledge and skill. The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who... looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space... on the infinite highway of the air. Men become wise just as they become rich, more by what they save than by what they receive.”
Mattan’s conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal 35 years after his execution in February 1998, his case being the fi rst to be referred to the Appeal Court by the newly formed Criminal Cases Review Commission. Following the quashing of his conviction, Mattan’s body was exhumed from the grounds of the prison and buried in consecrated ground in the Muslim Section of Cardiff cemetery. His family were awarded £725,000 in compensation. His tombstone bears the inscription ‘Killed by injustice’.
HMP Cardiff is a category B male adult prison, located in the Adamsdown area of Cardiff, South Wales, which can hold up to 784 prisoners. A local prison, it serves the courts of the surrounding area. By 1814, the existing Cardiff Gaol was deemed insufficient for coping with both the scale of demand and quality of building to cope with the quickly expanding industrial town, so the idea was to build a new county jail for Glamorgan. Building started in 1827, and the new stone building located south of Crockherbtown opened at the end of 1832, capable of housing 80 prisoners, including 20 debtors. Cardiff was an ‘execution prison’ and a total of 20 judicial executions took place there. The condemned were all hanged for the capital crime of murder, the first execution being in August 1900, when a William Lacey, aged 29-years, met his end on the Cardiff gallows. The remains of executed prisoners were buried in unmarked graves within the walls of the prison. This was standard for prison executions as the church refused to have murderers buried in consecrated ground. The last, and most contentious execution at the prison was on the 3rd of September 1952, when Mahmood Mattan, aged 28 years, was convicted of murdering Lilly Volpert on 6th of March 1952 in the Cardiff docklands. The murder was in the course of a robbery at an outfitters shop and £100 was stolen (the equivalent of £2,641 in today’s money). Mahmood was a Somali and former merchant seaman, and was convicted on the word of one witness.
Mahmood Mattan was wrongly convicted of murder
The three Victorian wings of the prison underwent a major refurbishment programme in 1996, and the prison’s capacity was extended by the commissioning of three new wings (C, D and E) with the number of places for life-sentenced prisoners also increased. In 1997, Cardiff prison was criticised for chaining sick inmates to their hospital beds after a probe into the death of a prisoner. The prison was again criticised in 2001 for its cell-share policy in the wake of another inmate’s death. In 2002 the prison was criticised yet again for its poor record in dealing with drug-abuse and providing decent recreation facilities for inmates. Today, Cardiff ’s regime includes full-time education, prison workshops and training courses. There is a resettlement unit that offers various offending behaviour courses and work-based courses, and a detox unit accommodating 50 prisoners. HMP Cardiff, like many older prisons, has a chequered history.
FIGHTING FOR THE RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUALS IN THE SOUTH EAST WE ARE A RESPECTED ‘LEGAL 500’ FIRM FRANCHISED BY THE LEGAL AID AGENCY AND OUR DEDICATED AND EXPERIENCED TEAM IS AVAILABLE TO HELP YOU IN ANY AREA OF LITIGATION
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All aspects of criminal law, including Appeals/CCRC/Confiscation Orders. All aspects of prison law, including adjudications, parole, DLP, recall, categorisation, and judicial Review Police interviews in custody ( London & South East )
Legal aid is available for housing issues if a person is at risk of losing their home or is homeless providing their case is within the provisions of LASPO 2014 and they are financially eligible. Advice can be given on what can be done to protect your home whilst you are in prison and how to apply for social housing on release.
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48 Jailbreak // Inside Poetry
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Letter to Santa Charles Sharp - HMP Wakefield Hey old man, how are you doing? I’m here in this prison cell, just stewing Long time since I wrote to you Was just a kid, now I’m 32 You never listened to me before I wasn’t as good as the kid next door Mum was a slapper, Dad a loser Spent all his time on the battle cruiser
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Time
Stiff Upper Lip
Callum McAusland - HMP Birmingham
T J Withey - HMP Brixton
There is no past, the future’s a made up world There’s only the present, the moment, the here and now Don’t get lost in the dwelling or thinking what will be Don’t rob yourself of the moment this is your life, you own it But if you’re never happy and always moaning Just pick yourself up, stop groaning Let’s see if you got the nuts, prove it Time, time and time again catches up with us all Have you got time for dinner? Maybe if I got the time I’ll give you a call Can I lend some time please or have you got some time to borrow? I got loads of time it comes at a price, ah stuff it I’ll buy some tomorrow Time goes slow, time going fast I aint got time for this or I’ll have some time for that Feels like Monday but it’s Sunday, what are they talking about Uneducated children of men don’t be so dim The knowledge is present, look within Know there is no days, weeks, months or years It’s all an illusion Hold on to your fears, keep your wit sharp Hold your cards close to your chest Don’t let loved ones break your heart So don’t waste this time you’ve been given, yes given not earned Because if you fail your exam they’re gonna send you back to earth So use your time don’t abuse it and try to help every human being Try to wash away your material thinking and the substances you’re abusing It’s hard I know because I’m also one that uses So make time to cook food together, make time to share your thoughts Be honest, be open, life can be hard if you’re not coping So make time to share your feelings, those open wounds you could be healing So never forget to live in the moment and remember This is your life, you own it
Immured in a world bereft of laughter One without happily ever after Despite locked doors, some are in denial Total shock, with or without trial There are some who wear their heart on their sleeves And they’ll do so until the day they leave Others don their disguise and brave face And strut with confidence about the place My eyes again have sprung another tear A sign of being so utterly weak Or perhaps a show of some inner strength Able to express emotions at length When I reflect on my hot spring of tears Maybe it is bravery and not fear Far too often we’re told ‘stiff upper lip’ ‘Pull yourself together and get a grip’ It is good to discuss just how we feel If we don’t, we may never truly heal If we can’t talk we’re more prone to implode For without help, life’s a long lonely road There is no shame in shedding tears There’s much misplaced bravado among our peers The anonymity of publicly crying Has nothing on potentially dying
I used to envy the other kids They got toys but I never did I used to cry on Christmas morning Only gift I got was a slap for moaning
Scotland
They call me white girl
Ryan Smith - HMP Glenochil
Kisella Hillman - HMP Eastwood Park.
I hated you with a passion old lad For making me feel I had always been bad As I grew older I lost my confusion Realising you were just a consumer illusion
Haggis never sleep and Irn-Bru Hills glens and tartan too Cities and towns with history galore Whiskey, teacakes, shortbread and more Burns, Wallace and Carnegie too Festivals, parties, plenty to do Scotland also has a darker side Drug addiction and death rates high Crime ridden schemes and ned youths Buckfast, heroin, methadone too This is my Scotland, this is my home
Yet, even though I know you’re not real The idea of you causes people to feel Spreading love and unconditional joy To all the little girls and boys Through all the years the notion persists It would be great if you did exist So I’ll give you another try jolly old man Give us a hand here if you can Send me a gift to my family at home Please let them know they are never alone The love I have for them will always be They can put that under the Christmas Tree One day I’ll be going home again We will have a great time together then And, each Christmas time I’ll consider and pause To thank you for the love, the greatest gift of all Good old Santa Claus
STOP Michael Wyatt - HMP Erlestoke STOP if you’re seeing RED Shout ‘stop’ inside your head Don’t be impulsive Best to forgive Or count to ten Or go for a walk When you feel calm Then we can talk When DANGER has lost its D And ANGER removed Then you’re safe Including me GREEN light approved
Sir Mo Farah (The family man) George Fendick - HMP Forest Bank He’s the man of many “Mo”ments Who will never be “Sir”passed Training high up in the mountains To conquer the running tracks With the hard work of the winter banished Adding stamina to his body’s fuel tanks To fulfil his dreams of becoming champion And stashing more athletic glory In our nationwide memory banks From the start, the adrenaline was flowing His heart beating away Like an atomic metronome Primed to turbo-charge Down the back straight And bring his tenth Gold Medallion home Then there was a quick glance Up to the main stand To help his muscular pain That said, “I am still just Mo Farah The family man, even if I’m on top of the world again” Yet on his final international outing With his power beginning to wane He may have only taken silver But his golden legacy will Forever remain
I’m Sorry Lee Paul Bloor - HMP Stoke Heath I’m sorry mum for being bad I’m sorry for acting like ‘Jack the lad’ I’ve never meant to be a pest But I’m little different to all the rest I’m sorry for being expelled from 3 different schools I just never could follow their silly rules To obey the law and all the rest I’m sorry for always being in and out of jail My life’s become as hard as a nail I’m sorry for not trying I’m sorry for lying I’m sorry for drug dealing Both selling and buying Here I am stuck in this nick I really do feel a d**k I keep trying to change my ways To earn some of your pride and praise I really dislike them bullies in blue They always hound me for more than I’m due Early in the morning, 3-4 o’clock When they know I’m in bed That’s when they knock From this day on what I’m to do Is completely avoid them bizzys in blue
Does my voice impress you? Does my grammar please you? Does my polite persona lead you? They call me white girl I’m mellow gentle like a flower about to bloom Does my figure excite you? Does my happy persona irritate you? Does my warmth warm you? Does my faith scare you? They call me white girl My motto is to kill them with kindness Does my honesty challenge you? Does my black skin fool you? Is my laugh infectious? Would you believe me if I told you? That English is my second language? As a black British female, I have never been called white girl However in prison it is evident I am From the way I talk, walk, dress and sound That’s why they call me white girl
The Sun Sets Like Jelly Mark Wightwick - HMP Parkhurst The sun sets like jelly while the seasick sailors On a flying boat drift across the sky They drop their nets into the yoghurt sea and pull Out flying pigs from the depths The captain shouts to cast the nets again and pull out the Great white pig instead! The great white pig is a rare and tasty animal indeed “Buck up the nets” comes to the whispers “No more mouth clenchers are left in this yoghurt” So they set sail to a new land called rice office, milk, drink Stink and left a trail of blue grass in the sky
Jailbreak // Inside Poetry 49
www.insidetime.org
Insidetime December 2017
“Good morning officer”
FTS aka ‘Take the pills’
Noise of Segregation
Pearce Murray - HMP Wandsworth
James Jones - HMP Lindholme
The rattle of keys Awakes the never ending time machine Drowning my dream of Pearly white pipes Beautifully bunched bottles of beer In a smoky smelly room of an unfamiliar place Cold and wet, yet The sunshine hurts my eyes My toothpaste held curtain Laughing at my stressful state Reminding me of what a waste I tell myself I am Christ another day Grey in my eyes Much like the morning clouds Of winter rain My paralyzing fear is fading I’m comfortable with it now 7 minutes and 13 seconds From a shining smiling face
Take the pills they give you, let your mind turn to mush They will pull you from all sense of feeling if you don’t try to push Take the pills they tell you not to, feel the heavy buzz When you lie there in a catatonic heap let the bastards rush Do what they tell you to, play their silly petty game If you try to be individual you will only go insane The food is always tasteless and all the wings are fucking bleak You pray and pray all night for something oh so kind as sleep ‘The man’ is always heavy handed or just plain incompetent You want to scream your little head off but there is just no place to vent So lye back on your bed and cry until your eyes are raw Cos there’s just no way to win this fucking daft one-sided war And just take the pills they give you, close your eyes and slip away There’s just one thing they can’t control so maybe today is the day!
Noise coming from the end of the landing The noise of the morning bell chiming, then yells Of ‘get yourselves ready’, daily routines ready steady Then all goes quiet, before the noise of next door Yawning, gaping, his mouth wide open whilst fighting And arguing with his invisible forum Lines sliding up the landing. Voices shouting Tie that smoke on, so I can pull it back up the landing Toilets flushing, doors getting banged Voices of people shouting, who’s that banging? “Oi it’s me I need my flap opening” Noise in the background of radios blasting Someone else singing along, then someone shouting “Oi apply for prisons got more talent” Pitter Patter. Footsteps coming up the landing Then that dreaded noise of keys rattling Then wondering what’s going to happen Screams and shouts, yelps of someone in pain Kicking and screaming, Yep, that’s definitely someone new in segregation Dinner time boys, plates and bowls YES! As someone shouts we’ve scored a goal Dinner time for the officers. Play-time for the prisoners Oi, next door? WHAT? Fish that line and save me a smoke Noise of lags back on the landing, lots of abuse Getting spat on the landing Then shouts from the screws, do you want another hiding Teatime comes and goes, You know its nearly time to go behind doors That’s when you know it’s time for peace and quiet So all you convicts bear in mind Segregation is no place for your mind If that’s what you’re wanting, I dare you to come But the only peace and quiet I can guarantee Is when you agree to go back to the wing
Danny Thomas Farrell - HMP Risley Danny was a nice kid. We used to smoke the spice It took away the bars for us. We thought the buzz was nice He was my next door neighbour. We got on very well We’d pass each other smokes an that into each others’ cell We started to really chase the spice. We’d have some every day We’d sell some of our canteen or we’d find some other way When you’re smoking spice if you just like getting stoned It takes you back to this place to a completely different zone Sometimes you can go over and be really close to death Then when you don’t have it the rattle makes you sweat When your pulse it hits 150 that can’t be good for you Say bye bye to your telly it’s being taken by a screw One day we had no tobacco. Danny said ‘let’s have a pipe’ It was me that took the first lick. Let me tell you I was whiped I passed Danny my lighter. He licked up in his cell I couldn’t hear him dying. So I couldn’t hit the bell Now his family have lost a loved one. And me I’ve lost a friend It’s time to make my mind up. Do I want my life to end?
Luke Harlow - HMP Rye Hill
I peel my body from the bed Letting out a sickly groan Sticking, smelling and stinking Of my night of nightmares I am happy my cell-mate Still sleeps tight No one should see this sight No one will hold this tight It’s mine and mine to fight It will never see the light
Ronald Sharp - HMP Norwich
Mum
I stand by my window Gaze at what I can see My portal to the world It keeps me company
Dear almighty God above Tell my mum I send my love I miss her each and every day And in my heart is where she’ll stay When she was here I had no fear Now she’s gone it feels so wrong Often I feel like just going crazy I can’t believe cancer took my old lady I know that I am not the only one That has lost a loving, caring mum My sister and brother have also passed away I hope I see them again some day For now my angels you must lay and rest But never ever forget you were the best
Mewling like a jailhouse junkie Puking blood splattering Creating ladybird polka-dotted cell walls Spewing my way to my own destruction No time to talk or hate No time to live or love Just time enough To punch myself in the face Or bang my head against a brick stippled And magnolia painted concrete box Prostrate, kneeling, no room for feeling Smoking a ten pound rock Long ago lost its power to shock Now far too long ago to remember Pulse racing, heart pumping Migraine thumping Chuck another lump in
Hours I can spend Stood by its side Searching the distance For my life left behind The little window wide Fresh air wanders in So cool and clean Raises hairs on my skin Lets the sun reach me Even on my darkest day So warm and welcome If only it would stay Press my face to the bars Nose touches the pane Every inch closer Small freedom is gained
Nick Shreeve - HMP Wayland
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Sarah Jane Baker - HMP Lewes
My window
A splash of water A flick of the hair A smile and I’m there My everyday make-up all prepared A simple shield Yet stronger than life’s lonely sword I feel great now I swear I do, I would not lie I’m ready to be read I really hope I care Tomorrows clouds might not be there I can feel it everywhere It’s off to the yard I go I wonder who won’t be there “Good morning officer”
u We will award a prize of £25 to the entry selected as our ‘Star Poem of the Month’. To qualify for a prize, poems should not have won a prize in any other competition or been published previously. Send entries to: Inside Time, Poetry, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire, SO30 2GB.
Spice Nights
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Congratulations to this months winner who receives our £25 prize
© prisonimage.org
Star Poem of the Month
I watch the birds And the clouds too As they all float by My iron barred view I yearn to be with them Out of this cell Back to my world Away from this hell But just my window Is as far as I get My faithful companion For a long time yet
Time James White - HMP Portland You do the crime you do the time they say You’ve broke the rules and now you have to pay The clock is now your enemy The sun is a distant memory The tramp of boots, the clang of keys You’re quarantined like some disease You did the crime you do the time they said Consequence of the twisted life you led Shouts echo from behind steel doors Their boots pound unseen corridors But now it’s time for you to pause Take stock and find the get out clause You fret and scheme, yet still unseen How to redeem the man you’ve been And still you hear, amidst screams and fear Voices in your head and all too clear The reasons you ended here But now you know deep in your heart This is no end, this is the start
By submitting your poems to Inside Time you are agreeing that they can be published in any of our ‘not for profit links’, these include the newspaper, website and any forthcoming books. You are also giving permission for Inside Time to use their discretion in allowing other organisations to reproduce this work if considered appropriate, unless you have clearly stated that you do not want this to happen. Any work reproduced in other publications will be on a ‘not for profit’ basis. Please note poems for publication December be edited. When submitting your work please include the following permission: ‘This is my own work and I agree to Inside Time publishing it in all associate sites and other publications as appropriate.’
Insidetime December 2017
www.insidetime.org Carole and Jacob, Have a wonderful Christmas and new year, I will be with you on the nest one Love Andy xxx
Missing you All, Mum, Dad, Bro’s, sister, Niece, Nephew In Laws and Steps Wishing you mega Happy Christmas Lots of love, always Stephen
Jackie G. My Xmas randy reindeer. Merry Xmas baby, I miss you. Love your sexy Santa Stu xxx
To Mum and Dad, Samantha, Kim, Laura and kids and family Merry Christmas and a boss New Year Love and miss you, Love Michael xxx
Laura and kids Av a good Christmas and New Year. All my love Adam xxx
Cerys Living apart, as we do Only makes my love for you Vanquish the hear tache and pain Empowering us again Paul xxx
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To my Mum and Dad (Tracey and Andy), sister and my woman Rachel. Have a good xmas and bring on March 2018, yee boi Love always Kallum xx
Wishing you both Rebecca and Elizabeth a great Christmas. I miss you everyday, I love you both, The Smiths, A very merry Christmas. Raymond x Natalie and kids, I love you all so much, only a little while left, next Christmas we could be together. Lots of love Shaun x To Di Massive. Yeah you know who you are! Happy Christmas, we’ll have a good one! Love and respect. Zena Zee!!
To my Darling Kelly, Baby I love you so much, you are my Kas and me your Ads. I love you Kelly, Happy Christmas Adam xxx Becky Boo, I still remember the first time we met and I dream every day of the day we can spend Christmas together. Roll on Christmas 2023. Love you always and Merry Xmas. Your Pansy Bear XXX Pansy Bear. This Christmas takes us over halfway, 6 down, only 5 to go. I can’t wait to do all the things we have missed out on doing and make up for all the Christmas’s apart. Merry Christmas 2017. I love you so much. Becky xxxx Nan, Marcelle. Thank you for your love and support, Have a wonderful Christmas. Love you always Tom xxx To my besties, Mike and Lou. Thank you for our love and support, I hope you and the girls have a wonderful Christmas. Love always, Tom xxx
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Dearest mother, Joanne & B e n n y. H a v e a p r o p e r Crimbo! One loves one Glenn McGrath Love Always Tom xxx To Wendy and Sam. I would like to wish you as very merry Christmas and a good new year. All the best for 2018. Love from J.N xxxx Dear Mom, Dad, Laveena, Ronika, Janisia, Enrica and Gabrina. I love you all lots, thank you for ever ything. Happy Christmas Harvey Khatkar Enya, aka Daddies girl I hope to be spending Christmas with you, if not I wish you a very merry Christmas Daddy Loves you, James xx Laura, Hiya Sweetheart, Just wanted everyone to know how much I love you, counting the Days ‘til I see you again. Merry Christmas Laura. Stan x
To my loving Mum, Deidre. Merry Christmas to my loving mum and three children and granddaughter, Hayley, Amee, Megan and Evie. Love and miss you, Marie xxx I love all my family members. Also, I wish you all a very happy Christmas. Lots of love merry Christmas Mother, Brother, Sisters, Cousins, Granny and Uncle Singleton x
Emma. Another year closer to being back in your arms where I belong. Merry Christmas Cariad, Love you forever, Dave xxx
Happy Christmas to all the Peterborough call centre girlies Lots of Love always Zena xxx
always mum, Elaine XXXXXXXX Tanja, ‘T’, I would like to wish you a happy Christmas. I love you with all my heart P xxx D&M Thank you for your love and continued support Happy Christmas. Love to you both P XXX Hi Sean, Merry Christmas and order yourself lots of chocolate! Nearly a brand new year, keep going! Love Jules, Rob, Carole and John. Love Juliette x To my beautiful Debbie, I love you so much, can’t wait to make you my wife, merry Christmas to you, Lia and Dotty. Love xxx Nixon xxx Vicky, Merry Christmas to my beautiful family, 2018 will be great, can’t wait to be home, love you all so much, You make my world xxxxxxx Darren Happy Christmas Mum, Dad and Family. I’ve asked Santa for the release of Scottish intermittent sentence victims. Maybe he has some influence, someone must! Tiff xx To Mum, Jerry, Ellie & Archie Wishing you a ver y merr y Christmas and a happy new year. I’m sorry I’m not there. Love Daddy aka Dave xx To Our Loving Son, Colin, Have a good day with the boys Love Mam and Dad, Sue & Rob, Sarah Jason and Families xx Sh ay/Mia . Have a love l y Christmas, be thinking of you Hope to see you soon. Lots of Love G/Pete xxx
Darling Minstrel, Cat Merry Christmas Babe With lots of love now and forever Thankyou for always being by my side, not long now darling x Matthew xx
Wishing a merry Christmas with love and hugs and kisses to Mum, Dad, Toby, Grandma, G r a n d a d , T im , J o, G r e t a Grandnanna and all other chaps. Love Zanda xx
Happy Christmas and a fantastic new year to you, Yasmin, Alia, Leila, Miriam, Mohammed, Tarik and Taher Lots of Love
To my lovey Charley Pig, Happy Christmas Love forever and always. Your Maxy Pig xxx
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Is abella and Jade. Merr y Christmas 2017. I hope you both have a great time. Raymond x
Sami and Lexi Love you both with all my heart and soul, merry Christmas Hope to hear from you soon. Love Jamie xxx
Zori, Merry Christmas Princess. The moment I saw you, I fell deeply in love with you. You’re very special to me. Love you baby. Will you marry me? Bobby-Joe XXX
Mam sorry I won’t be home at Christmas but I’m always thinking of you Your ever-loving son Ryan xxxxx Harley, Luke, JJ, Teddy Merry X-mas I hope you have a great day and lots of presents Love you, Dad xxx Merry Christmas Mum, Thank you for always being there for me, all my love and hugs, your no.1 Chimp Deano
To my Family and friends, merry Christmas and happy new year. See you very soon All the best Jaylee
Dawn, Carlie, DJ, Ava, Mam and Dad, I love you so much, Happy Christmas! Be with you for the next one, All my love Paul x
Ricky, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. It’s our year, not long now Hun, then together at last. Miss you always. All my love Kimberley xxx
Luke, Merry Christmas babe, hope you have a good one. Thinking of you always, lots and lots of love babe. Love from Sarah xoxo
Happy Christmas dad Kev. Love and miss you so much, have a lovely Christmas and an even better new year. Love from your daughter Maureen xxx To my lovely son and daughter, Kallum and Natalya. Happy Christmas and Happy New Year, may all your wishes come true Love you both so much Your Mum Maureen xxx
Gaynor. Happy Christmas my Darling Gaynor, I know it can’t be happy, without each other but next year we can finally spend it together at last. Wayne xx xxx To my family, missing you all sooo much, wishing you all a happy, holy Christmas. Love and hugs to you all, Dave xx To my soul mate Becky, Merry Crimbo beautiful, many more
© Deposit Photos
50 Jailbreak // Xmas Messages
to celebrate together. All my love your soulmate Hannah, GI and your mam xox Emma, I love you with all my heart and soul. Hope you have to xmas you wish for. Love you always, Alan x Merry Christmas to my Son, Mam, Dad, Jodie and my amazing woman Joanne. Love and grace, always, Lee x To my partner Karen and children Haley, Demi and Layla, merry xmas, bring on 2018. Lots of love Dad xxx Sarah, Happy Christmas Darl, hope you have a good day, love Shelley x x To my best mate ever Debbie, happy Christmas, have a good one love Shelli x x x x x Courtney, Happy Christmas babe, hope you have a good one, Shelli x x x Grumpy pants Mum, merry Christmas. This will be the last Christmas apart. Love you millions, Nicola xxx Happy Christmas to the best daddy and husband in the world we love you lots love kelly Bill Ria and freddie xxx Hi Sean, Merry Christmas and order yourself lots of chocolate! Nearly a brand new year, keep going! Love Jules, Rob, Carole, John
Send a message to your loved one on Valentine’s Day Send your message (20 words max) to Inside Time and we will publish as many as possible in a special Valentine’s section in the February issue. All messages received will also appear on our website. Include the name and address of your loved one and they will receive a copy of the newspaper. Closing date 18th Jan and don’t forget to include your full details too! Inside Time’s Valentine’s message service is sponsored by Jailmate Cards. Why not send your loved one in prison a card ‘with a difference’. Go to www.jailmatecards.co.uk you’ll love what you see! See back page for advert.
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Jailbreak 51
www.insidetime.org
Insidetime December 2017
The spirit of Christmas
this. We are actually celebrating the birth of a man destined for crucifixion, born to a penniless single mother who (without even the pleasure of the process of conception and after a long donkey ride), begot her only nipper in a lowly stable.
How one prison family tries hard to keep the festive dream alive Josie Bevan
I am required only for the final positioning of the fairy as family tradition dictates that this job must be done by the youngest member of the tribe held precariously aloft by Dad… or, when he is unavailable, Mum. Since Dad was celebrating the festive season with Her Majesty last year, the task was left to me, which almost resulted in broken windows and surgical pine needle removal. This year therefore, (a year in which I appear to have shrunk and our youngest now takes a size 6 shoe,) I’m stuf fing tradition up the Turkey’s jacksie, breaking out the step ladder and revisiting the true spirit of Christmas.
“Loving a prisoner is like loving a ghost” If we’re honest Christmas is always a mixed bag - it virtually never snows, I am invariably seated between a wailing toddler and someone with encroaching dementia - and no one honestly really likes sprouts. But you can’t deny that Christmas is all about kith and kin which isn’t easy on a prison family. Last year was the emotional equivalent of a Yuletide power cut: all frozen turkey, frosty air and brooding silent tellys. Only months had passed since Dad’s incarceration and like
the recently bereaved we were still in shock and unable to muster cheer no matter how many glasses of sherry we left out for Santa - that bad boy… This year we’re not doing misery. I refuse. It’s so last season. Loving a prisoner is like loving a ghost. Love and longing without flesh or bone. There is always a phantom in our midst because we can’t and won’t forget him, but the spectre sitting at our crimbo table this year is going to be wearing a novelty jumper, smoking a fat cigar and will be heckling the Queen’s speech!
The Ghost of last Christmas Past is dead and buried. There will be no rattling of chains and moaning this festive season. This year I’m going with the Ghost of Christmas Present. Living in the moment is the way all prison families survive - the past is history and the future is, well if not a mystery, often too far off for comfort. Besides, what’s not to love about a present? It seems to me that the true message of the Christmas story is about making the best of things. Let’s not candy coat
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And Santa must get burns in unreachable places every year (though it doesn’t take the brightest bulb on the tree to realise that breaking and entering via a chimney won’t go well.) This year I’m all about lowering expectations and getting into the spirit. I’ll be carolling tidings of happiness and joy along with Santa’s best little helpers so help me God.
Life is never quite what you wanted. It never was and never will be. Christmas is no exception but the turning of every year delivers one thing we do want: the passing of time. One day our Ghost of Christmas Future will be present and correct at our table again. Our family back together, back from the dead, belated but reincarnated, the past behind us, the future wide open - the best and only present I have ever truly needed.
Mary cut her losses and sucked Josie Bevan is the author of the it up. Before she knew it angels hugely popular Blog, Prison Blackfords ad 24.1.14:Layout 1 s24/1/14 Page 1 Bag12:59 www.prisonbag.com and kingsnew arrived bearing gift
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The Ghost of last Christmas Past is dead and buried. There will be no rattling of chains and moaning this festive season. This year I’m going with the Ghost of Christmas Present.
There is only one present we really want. To be together, anyhow, anywhere, his place or ours - we don’t give a figgy pudding where. But Christmas isn’t about getting what you want, it’s about giving what you can and making it through the day without too many dirty jokes from Grandad about stockings. It’s about itchy jumpers and food-regret all washed down with hot toddy and spice (or… just the Spice if misfortune has it that you’re also spending the day at Her Majesty’s pleasure and you haven’t got the will to resist.)
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If Mary Mother of God wasn’t living the dream what makes me so special? I am not convinced the Christmas fairy really welcomes the spiky tip of our tree that close to her dainty parts.
Decorating the tree is my favourite Christmas tradition, mostly because, unlike the dinner, all present-wrapping and a sub-prime bank balance, I’m not responsible for it. Our firstborn was trained up for the decorations job many years ago. She oversees the operation with clinical precision, outlawing tinsel, resuscitating dodg y fair y lights, hiding any particularly nasty baubles in the bushy lower branches and “accidentally” euthanising the occasional preschool craft monstrosity underfoot.
and yodelling hosannas. I’ve already got my little angels - I thank heaven for them every day… so I won’t fret if it’s a no show from the kings. Frankly any kind of incense reminds me unpleasantly of my Goth days and Gold can’t buy our heart’s desire anyway.
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014723 56073 041345 5 DIGITS 58516 01777 277853 Just for Fun www.insidetime.org Insidetime December 2017 52 Jailbreak //61471 01778 411776 72558 02693 466245 74163 05051 589941 74403 Fill in the grid using the numbers below. The first number is in to start you off. Good luck! Can you name the famous ‘80s movies from a single image?
1980s movies
Number Grid
The Empire Strikes Back / Return of the Jedi
The Road Warrior / Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Goonies / Stand By Me
Fast Times at Ridgemont High/ The Breakfast Club
Airplane / This is Spinal Tap
The Shining / Poltergeist
The Lost Boys / A Nightmare on Elm Street
The Thing / E.T
Back to the Future / Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
The Elephant Man / Raging Bull
Platoon / Full Metal Jacket
Beverly Hills Cop / Coming to America
Once Upon A Time In America/ The Untouchables
Ghostbusters / Ghostbusters II
4 5 4 9
3 Digits: 070, 077, 106, 261, 466, 477, 658, 728, 734 4 Digits: 0098, 0285, 0477, 1137, 1216, 1405, 1568, 1702, 1870, 2498, 2562, 3099, 3115, 3178, 3878, 4549, 4618, 4703, 4704, 5587, 5829, 5961, 6334, 6456, 6518, 6895, 7403, 7487, 7974, 9607, 9648 5 Digits: 01777, 01778, 02693, 05051, 12621, 16566, 16854, 17689, 28252, 40227, 46024, 49707, 53617, 56073, 58516, 61471, 72558, 74163, 74403, 75477, 75814, 80372, 82348, 85567, 85904, 86565 6 Digits: 014723, 041345, 277853, 411776, 466245, 589941 7 Digits: 1685606, 2153487, 3039635, 3481886, 5825297, 6586211, 8748849
Christmas Number One’s
Christmas Crackers
1. Which UK Christmas number one has sold the most copies of all time? Band Aid - Do They Know It’s Christmas? / Mariah Carey - All I Want For Christmas Is You / Wham - Last Christmas / Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody
• How will Christmas dinner be different after Brexit? No Brussels.
2. Who has had the most Christmas hits? Band Aid / The Beatles / Cliff Richard / The Spice Girls
• How do you recognise a Christmas tree from BHS? All the branches have gone.
3. Who were the only band to have the exact same song make it to number one at Christmas twice - once in 1975 and once in 1991? Pink Floyd / Queen / Mud / Boney M
• Why is The Great British Bake-Off like the nativity? Because the Star is in the Yeast.
Fatal Attraction / Romancing the Stone
4. Mr Blobby was one of two children’s TV stars to make it into the Christmas charts. Who was the other? The Teletubbies / Noddy / Postman Pat / Bob the Builder
• What do you get if you cross Donald Trump with a Christmas Carol? O Comb Over Ye Faithful.
World’s Hardest Sudoku
5. How many times have X Factor winners made it to the Xmas number one? 6 / 8 / 4 / 10 6. Who beat X Factor star Joe McElderry to the number one spot in 2009? Susan Boyle / Robbie Williams / Leona Lewis / Rage Against the Machine 7. What film did 2003’s Christmas number one Mad World appear in? Love Actually / The Matrix Reloaded / Kill Bill: Vol. 1 / Donnie Darko 8. Based on listener reviews on rateyourmusic.com, what is the highest rated UK Christmas number one? Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody / Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody / Spice Girls - 2 Become 1 / The Beatles - Day Tripper 9. Which Christmas number one has the lowest rating of all? Military Wives - Wherever You Are / Mr Blobby - Mr Blobby / The Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir - A Bridge Over You / St Winifred’s School Choir - There’s no one quite like Grandma
• What do the royal family play at Christmas instead of musical chairs? Game of Thrones. • What’s the difference between the clementine in your Christmas stocking and Donald Trump? Nothing, they’re both a little orange.
Sudoku is easily the most played and most analysed puzzle in the world, so coming up with the hardest one is no mean feat. In 2012, Finnish mathematician Arto Inkala claimed to have created the “World’s Hardest Sudoku”. According to The Telegraph, on the difficulty scale by which most Sudoku grids are graded, with one star signifying the simplest and five stars the hardest, the above puzzle would “score an eleven”.
• What does Santa suffer from if he gets stuck in a chimney? Claustrophobia! • What does Miley Cyrus have for her Christmas dinner? Twerky
Answers to all puzzles are in the next issue. Only Puzzles on the ‘Prize Winning Puzzles’ page have prizes for completing.
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Insidetime December 2017
Can You Crack This Brain Teaser?
Brain Teasers Connect these 9 dots with 4 straight lines.
Fill In Puzzle #26
3 LETTERS
CBS IRE KIN Connect these 16 dots with 6 lines. LEA LEE MBA OER ORE PER TEL TTY YET Which number should be in the red square?
You are in prison with Barry & Albert. The 3 of you are in a line looking straight ahead. You’re in front, then Barry, then Albert. A guard has 3 black & 2 white hats. He randomly puts one on each of your heads. Albert can see your hat & Barry’s, Barry can see yours, and you can see no one’s. None of you know what colour you on your own head. The guard says, “If -- have www.bigopolis.com anyone can tell me with 100% certainty the colour of your own hat, uttering no one else’s,
you may all go free.” He tells Albert to answer first. Albert is a very honest and intelligent person, but he says, “I don’t know, there’s no way of knowing for sure.” The guard then asks Barry. Barry is also intelligent and rational, but he also cannot tell. He comes to you, and you say the colour of your hat with 100% certainty. The guard has no choice but to release all 3 of you. What colour hat were you wearing and how did you know?
Never Ending Line SERA INAPT AUNTIE LACERTA Begin wherever you want and draw one line through all of the doors, but you cannot go through Hard, but possible! CLEVER THIS the same door twice. METER LATERAL TOOT MINOR FUNNEL LEANDER TORN PERIL MUTTER MELANIN YALE QUAKE NOTION MEMENTO REPEL QUIVER NANETTE 5 LETTERS SARAN VENEER ONETIME ADORE SLEEP VARIATE 7 LETTERS AGATE VENISON SPIKY CANTEEN ALOHA TENSE CONSIGN ARENT UNTIL EMANATE BEEBE 6 LETTERS EMINENT CLOMP EERIE ARISEN GROMMET Fill in the grid using the words below. The first word is in to start you off. Good luck!
Word Grid
4 LETTERS
32 27 AGEE 48 19
AKIN ANNE 34 32 CAMP 56 ? DEAR Can you solve it? FLAM 22 ICON IDLE LAIR 17 MAST MELT 9 METE NOEL ? OLAV OPEN Place the numbers from 1 to 9 so that the sum on each side of the triangle is equivalent to 17 OSLO PEER RISE SEAN
Jailbreak // Just for Fun 53
Christmas facts 20 things yule never knew about Christmas 1. US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world’s presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second. 2. Despite the tale of three wise men paying homage to baby Jesus, the Bible never gives a number. Matthew’s Gospel refers to merely “wise men”. 3. Hanging stockings out comes from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas’s donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return. 4. There is no reference to angels singing anywhere in the Bible. 5. The word Noel derives from the French expression “les bonnes nouvelles” or “the good news”. 6. Many theologians estimate that Jesus wasn’t born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD. 7. The abbreviation Xmas isn’t irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ. 8. The chances of a white Christmas are just 1 in 10 for England and Wales, and 1 in 6 for Scotland and Northern Ireland. 9. James Pierpont’s 1857 song Jingle Bells was first called One Horse Open Sleigh and was written for Thanksgiving. 10. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm’s Christmas promotion in 1938. 11. The first Christmas celebrated in Britain is thought to have been in York in 521AD. 12. Many parts of the Christmas tree can actually be eaten, with the needles being a good source of Vitamin C. 13. In Greece, Italy, Spain and Germany, workers get a Christmas bonus of one month’s salary by law. 14. The first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned by civil servant Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. Featuring a family drinking wine, one sold for £8,469 last year. 15. Hanging presents on trees may come from the Druids who believed the tree was the giver of all good things. 16. Jingle Bells was the first song broadcast from space when Gemini 6 astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra sang it on December 16, 1965.
T
O O T
3 Letters: Cbs, Ire, Kin, Lea, Lee, Mba, Oer, Ore, Per, Tel, Tty, Yet Copyright © 2014Dear, Xephyr Systems -- www.xephyr.com 4 Letters: Agee, Akin, Anne, Camp, Flam, Icon, Idle, Lair, Mast, Melt, Mete ,Noel, Olav, Open, Oslo, Peer, Rise, Sean, Sera, This, Toot, Torn,Yale 5 Letters: Adore, Agate, Aloha, Arent, Beebe, Clomp, Eerie, Inapt, Meter, Minor, Peril, Quake, Repel, Saran, Sleep, Spiky, Tense, Until 6 Letters: Arisen, Auntie, Clever, Funnel, Mutter, Notion, Quiver, Veneer 7 Letters: Canteen, Consign, Emanate, Eminent, Grommet, Lacerta, Lateral, Leander, Melanin, Memento, Nanette, Onetime, Variate, Venison
17. The word Christmas comes from the Old English “Cristes maesse” meaning “Christ’s Mass”. 18. London sweetmaker Tom Smith created the first Christmas crackers in 1847, based on the sweet wrapper design. 19. They may date back to pagan traditions, but the earliest known reference to a Christmas tree is in a German pamphlet from 1570. 20. Robins on cards were a joke 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them.
54 Jailbreak // Prize Winning Competitions
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Read all about it!
Insidetime December 2017
Caption Competition
1. Who won X-Factor 2017?
Fonesavvy providers of ‘landline type numbers’ for mobile phones.
2. What date is Christmas Day? 3. Which former Chelsea captain has entered
Last Months £25 Winner Dean Stemp, HMP Littlehey
A £25 prize is on offer for the best caption to this month’s picture.
Proud sponsors of Inside Time’s PRIZE quiz ‘Read all about it!’
‘I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here’? 4. Which country knocked Italy out of the 5. On the tenth day of Christmas, what does
If you don’t want callers to be disadvantaged or put off by the high cost of calling your mobile - just get a landline number for it.
my true love give to me?
Calls to mobiles don’t have to be expensive!
World Cup Qualifiers, for the first since 1958?
Full details are available on our main advert in Inside Time and at www.fonesavvy.co.uk
6. Which country is holding the World Cup in 2018? 7. Which Olympic champion and world-famous boxer has entered ‘I’m A Celebrity Get
Last Months Winners Stephen Thomas HMP Rye Hill (£25) Dave Killop HMP Nottingham (£5) Paul Hanlon HMP Edinburgh (£5) See box to the right for details of how to enter
Me Out Of Here’? 8. Which family in EastEnders has loan sharks banging on their door? 9. Which 21-year-old rapper sadly died in
Answers to last months News Quiz: 1. Chelsea, 2. Girl, 3. Dogs, 4. Karen Brady and Claude Littner, 5. Carlos Takam, 6. Olly Murs, 7. April, 8. Monarch Airline, 9. Georgie Lane, 10. 33 years
November from a drug overdose? 10. Who was the star of the Christmas movie Jingle All The Way?
‘Something smells a bit dodgy about this new trade deal’ In classic Theresa May fashion, the Prime Minister’s trip to Brussels in October to push Brexit negotiations out of their current stalemate has thrown up a less-than-optimal photo opportunity, with ‘whispering’ Angela Merkel and France’s president, Emmanuel Macron. What could they be secretly talking about?
Paula Williamson leaves Wakefield prison covered with blankets after marrying Charles Bronson
Closing date for all competitions is 18/12/17
Inside Knowledge // All the answers are within this issue of Inside Time - all you have to do is find them! The first three names to be drawn with all-correct answers (or nearest) will receive a £25 cash prize. There will also be two £5 runner up prizes. The winners’ names will appear in next month’s issue. 1. Which prisoner has donated his £100 Pinter Poem prize money to Children in Need? 2. During the last 12 months, who has sent out 3,341 packs of books and CDs? 3. Who is determined to get to grips with the harm done by Spice and reduce drugs, debt and violence in prison? 4. Who is Chair of Progressing Prisoners Maintaining Innocence? 5. Louise Shorter and her team of experts have been looking at whose case for a while? 6. What seems to be particularly beneficial when it comes to helping ward off cancer? 7. Who said ‘look your mother in the eyes and ask yourself, do I really want to put her through hell’? 8. Which establishment has been labelled ‘the world’s most humane prison’? 9. How many men have contacted the inquiry team at Operation Seabrook? 10. Whose motto is to ‘kill them with kindness’? 11. Who considers ‘some should remember that those who shout loudest usually have the most to hide’?
How to enter
12. Who says that ‘loving a prisoner is like loving a ghost’? 13. Which comedian asks ‘who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time’? 14. Who hates Christmas and can’t wait for lock-up? 15. The number of IPP prisoners yet to be released is down from 6,080 in 2012 to what figure now?
Answers to Last Month’s Inside Knowledge Prize Quiz , 1. David Lammy MP, 2. Dale Brendan Hyde, 3. Bartle Frere, 4. Reform Scotland, 5. Time, 6. Jack Peters, 7. Jacquie Cattanach, 8. Eric McGraw, 9. 19 years old, 10. HMCIP Peter Clarke, 11. Glen Skerritt, 12. £3,400, 13. Terry Cadman, 14. Jason Edward Adams, 15. Around 9 million The three £25 Prize winners are: Ryan Madden HMP Stoke Heath Donna Kellaway HMP Eastwood Park Tiffany Scott HMP Edinburgh
The £5 runner up prizes go to: Sarah Connor HMP Newhall Billy-Joe Cunningham HMP Holme House
Send your entry on a separate sheet of paper. Make sure your NAME, NUMBER & PRISON is on all sheets. Failure to do so will invalidate your entry. We will be using the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize money so include your DOB on your entries. Post to: ‘jailbreak’. Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.
Answers to last months quizzes QUICK CROSSWORD
CRYPTIC CROSSWORD
Across 1 Soldier on. 6 Owl. 8 Herbal. 9 Sting. 10 Salami. 11 Lancets. 13 Twofold. 16 Davina. 18 Tacit. 19 Enrage. 21 Sol. 22 Transient. Down 1 Sue. 2 Libra. 3 III will. 4 Raisin. 5 Novice. 7 Legislate. 8 Hesitates. 12 Address. 14 Occult. 15 Ottawa. 17 Verge. 20 Get.
GEFBADCHI
CATCHPHRASE
WORD MORPH
1. A tune up 2. For rent 3. Looking high and low 4. Merry go round 5. Four square 6. Three little pigs
2
pole pose post past fast
3 7
8
6
3 1 4
7 6 8
5 9 3 9
4 4 3 9
2
SPEAK TO STAFF, A PEER MENTOR, A LISTENER OR CALL SAMARITANS ON 0845 450 7797.
2
1 6 2
6 8
Daily Sudoku: Tue 3-Oct-2017
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1 5 8 2 3 9 4 7 6
4 9 3 6 7 1 5 2 8
6 2 7 8 5 4 9 1 3
8 7 6 3 2 5 1 4 9
2 1 9 4 6 7 8 3 5
Daily Sudoku: Tue 3-Oct-2017
3 4 5 1 9 8 2 6 7
7 6 1 9 8 2 3 5 4
5 8 4 7 1 3 6 9 2
9 3 2 5 4 6 7 8 1
(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.
SUDOKU
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4
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• Accidents at work • Injured by someone else’s mistake, at work or elsewhere
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This month's challenge 4 3 6 1
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Send your: Name, Prison Number and Claim Type to FREEPOST RSSU-GCXH-SJLG Attwood Solicitors, 5-7 Hartshill Road, Stoke on Trent, ST4 1QH
www.attwoodsolicitors.co.uk
[email protected]
3
3
6 2 5
4
1 5 7 9 5
2
7 2 3 5 8 4
Slip and Trip
Here is the solution to last months challenge. Did you manage to solve it? 5 1 6 3 2 4 7 9 8
2 3 9 5 7 8 4 6 1
7 4 8 1 9 6 5 2 3
4 8 1 6 5 9 2 3 7
3 9 5 2 1 7 6 8 4
6 2 7 4 8 3 1 5 9
1 6 3 8 4 2 9 7 5
9 5 2 7 3 1 8 4 6
8 7 4 9 6 5 3 1 2
56 Jailbreak // Just for Fun
Cryptic Crossword
Across
Down
1. Sweet bishop facing total ruin (12) 9. Female performance conveying reality (4) 10. Meeting bridge opponents at the table (9) 12. Fashionable codes for members of extended family (2-4) 13. What upsets me in a pot? Nastysmelling chemical (8) 15. Gangster embraced by European - e.g. Ned Kelly (10) 16. Midge attracted to a chemical (4) 18. Quiet set having fun? (4) 20. In which some serve aboard ship (4,6) 23. How tea may be secured (2,3,3) 24. Some brigand hired to get national leader (6) 26. Witness can be more bad-tempered if trapped (9) 27. Rich drunkard in America? (4) 28. Purification process that could be organised by Ionian Sea Ltd? (12)
2. Inconvenient to old part of the hospital (8) 3. Scottish island dismissing one elder? (4) 4. Such may produce racket with cars (10) 5. Friendly little child and parent heading off (6) 6. Row about a loveless kid becoming grubbier (7) 7. Hampshire son trained in skilled riding (12) 8. US lawyer’s nabbing everyone in American city (6) 11. ‘Do it!’ I snapped, terribly frustrated? (12) 14. Isolation of a country admitting deception (10) 17. Naughty ogler is hanging around a harem (8) 19. Demonstrates outside Lord’s and Edgbaston, say? (7) 21. Girl’s entering into union with a preference for no clothes! (6) 22. Refusal to be crooked in deal (6) 25. Be anxious in search when important lady has gone missing (4)
The Joke’s on You • A man walks into a pet shop and says to the owner. “Ok I want to buy a pet, but I don’t want a boring or normal pet - no cats, dogs, or birds - I want something different.” The pet shop owner informs him that he has a talking centipede. “Really?,” the man replied, “How much?” The owner informs him that the talking centipede is £50. Happy with the unusual offering, the man pays the money and takes his new pet home. On getting home he lays the matchbox with the centipede in it on the table, opens it and says “Hello Mr. Centipede, fancy going to the pub for a few drinks?” The centipede says nothing. Figuring it must be tired from the journey, he decides to leave it for an hour and try again later. An hour later he opens the matchbox and says “Hello Mr centipede, fancy going to the pub for a few drinks?” The centipede again says
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nothing. Starting to get suspicious the man decides he will give it one more hour, and if the centipede doesn’t talk, he will take it back to the shop for a refund. An hour later the man opens the matchbox and says “Hello mr centipede, fancy going to the pub for a few drinks!?” The centipede says “I heard you the first time!!! I’m putting my shoes on!” • A pirate walks into a bar with a steering wheel hanging out of his trousers. Bartender looks up and says, “Hey pal, you’ve got a steering wheel hanging out of your trousers.” The pirate replies, “Arrrrrrr, it be drivin’ me nuts!” • My grandfather told me that he saw The Titanic, and that from the beginning he warned all the people that the boat would sink, but they ignored him. However, they were warned again on several occasions, until they kicked him out the cinema.
Do you know?
Santa Claus gets the boot Britain’s National Trust has told Santa Claus to get back on his sleigh and get out of town, or at least out of the organization’s famous estates and homes. He’s too American. But the agency, which runs more than 300 historic buildings including homes, castles and forts, is keeping the jolly elf. They just want its events to use the proper British name of Father Christmas instead. Some U.K. media outlets called it a “Santa ban,” but the organization said that’s not the case at all. “We recognize the gift-giving, jolly man with the beard goes by many names all over the world, but we try to stick to one, and for many years that has been Father Christmas”, a National Trust spokesperson said. Etiquette expert William Hanson said that it’s “lower class to call him Santa. If you’re British or have Anglo-Saxon aspirations, then it’s Father Christmas and never Santa or Santa Claus.” While Santa is an Americanization, the origin of the name is actually from the Dutch term, Sinterklaas. Huffington Post Why is yawning contagious? Yawning is contagious for both children and adults. Even certain animals, such as dogs, can catch a yawn! One study of adults showed that yawning becomes less contagious with age. Furthermore, children under the age of four and children with autism spectrum disorders may be less likely to yawn when they see others doing so. There are many theories as to why yawning is contagious. One possibility is that it helps synchronise people within a group, by signifying that it is bedtime, for example. Another suggests that it helps regulate our brain temperature. It may also be a sign of empathy - although not all studies support this idea.
How many species have yet to be discovered? You can estimate the total number of species in the world by graphing the decreasing number of new species discovered each year to predict the end point. Or you can extrapolate the number of new species found per hectare of rainforest, to the number of hectares that haven’t been studied. Or you can graph the body size of each new species found, on the assumption that larger species tend to be discovered sooner, and extrapolate that. The different statistical models over the years have been gradually homing in on a figure of 8.7 million total species. Currently, 1.64 million have been named, so that’s 81 per cent left to find (the 86 per cent figure was based on 2011 totals). This only covers eukaryotes (animals, plants and fungi) though. A 2016 study estimated that bacteria could add almost another trillion species.
‘On the head son’ The world’s first human head transplant has been carried out on a corpse in China, according to an Italian Professor Sergio Canavero. Dr Xiaoping Ren. The professor said: “A full head swap between brain dead organ donors is the next stage and that is the final step for the formal head transplant for a medical condition which is imminent.” It had previously been hoped that 30-year-old Valery Spiridonov who suffers from Werdnig-Hoffmann disease would be the first human to undergo the operation but the Russian decided he did not want to experience the surgery. Spiridonov was fully prepared for the body to reject his head but it was also possible that fusing his head with another body - including the spinal cord and jugular vein - might result in never-before experienced levels of insanity. In 1970, a head transplant was successfully performed on a monkey. Well, it was sort of successful. The monkey lived, but only for eight days. The body rejected the new head and the monkey was left unable to breathe or move because the spinal cord of the head and body weren’t properly connected. Hopefully, technology has advanced enough in the past 45 years.
‘Cure for baldness’ For many men, going bald is just about the worst thing they can imagine happening to them. South Korean scientists have cooked up a chemical that’s been shown to promote hair growth in mice. This game-changing substance has the snappy name ‘CXXC-type zinc finger protein 5’ and disrupts a process within cells which controls the development of hair follicles and also the healing of wounds. Hair was also found to grow at a faster rate when applied to mice along with a chemical called valproic acid. Professor Kang-Yell Choi of Yonsei University, who lead the research, said: ‘We have found a protein that controls the hair growth and developed a new substance that promotes hair regeneration by controlling the function of the protein. ‘We expect that the newly developed substance will contribute to the development of a drug that not only treats hair loss but also regenerate damaged skin tissues.’
A real emergency West Ham fans have been warned by police not to call 999 over their team’s poor performance. The club’s latest defeat was too much for one supporter, who rang the emergency services because they “weren’t sure what to do”. Essex Police made the plea on Twitter after The Hammers lost 2-0 at Watford in November in new manager David Moyes’ first match in charge. “Ringing 999 because @WestHamUtd have lost again and you aren’t sure what to do is not acceptable! It is a complete waste of our time. #999foremergenciesonly,” the force said.
Anagram Square Rearrange the letters in each row to form a word. Write your answers into the blank grid. The first letter from each word, reading down, will spell the mystery keyword.
1 A
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2 N
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4 V
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1 2 3 4 5 Thanks to Laura Mace, HMP Peterborough. If you fancy compiling an Anagram Square for us please just send it in 5 x 5 squares, complete with answers shown on a grid. If we use it we will send you £5 as a thank you! Remember to include your name, number, prison. We will be using the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize money so include your DOB on your entries.
Just for laughs “I don’t get why aeroplane toilets don’t f****g have windows. I mean it’s not as if anyone can f*****g see in” Billy Connolly “When I was younger I felt like a man trapped inside a woman’s body. Then I was born.” Yianni “My friend got a personal trainer a year before his wedding. I thought: ‘Bloody hell, how long is the aisle going to be’.” Paul McCaffrey “Maybe Hitler wouldn’t have been so grumpy if people hadn’t left him hanging for high fives all the time.” Rhys James “If you don’t know what Morris dancing is, imagine eight guys from the KKK got lost, ended up at gay pride and just tried to style it out.” Fin Taylor “I used to be addicted to swimming but I’m very proud to say I’ve been dry for six years.” Alfie Moore “Who discovered we could get milk from cows, and what did he think he was doing at the time?” Billy Connolly
Disorder in the courts The quotes below are from a book called Disorder in the Courts and are things people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and published by court reporters that had the torment of staying calm while the exchanges were taking place. Witness: He was about medium Lawyer: So the date of concepheight and had a beard tion (of the baby) was August 8th? Lawyer: Was this a male or a Witness: Yes. female? Lawyer: And what were you Witness: Unless the Circus was doing at that time? in town I’m going with male. Witness: Getting laid Lawyer: How was your first marriage terminated? Witness: By death... Lawyer: And by whose death was it terminated? Witness: Take a guess. Lawyer: Can you describe the individual?
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Lawyer: She had three children, right? Witness: Yes. Lawyer: How many were boys? Witness: None. Lawyer: Were there any girls? Witness: Your Honour, I think I need a different Lawyer. Can I get a new Lawyer?
GEF BAD CHI Using the letters G,E,F,B,A,D,C,H & I fill in the blank squares. Each letter A-I must appear only once in each line column and 3x3 grid.
Did I say that?
10 top facts... Science facts we didn’t know at the start of 2017
Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me “old,” when I would NEVER call him “short and fat?” The Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un tit for tat continues “The same discrimination that I’m being subjected to, is the same discrimination that the NWA boys had from the police when they were just minding their own business. You can turn it round. People want to take a jibe at me, saying ‘you’re stealing this from black culture’, when it’s actually discriminating against me.” Honey G hits back at critics over ‘cultural appropriation’ accusations
“You drive one of your driverless cars over the Death Road in Bolivia and I’ll buy one.” Jeremy Clarkson after saying he was ‘almost killed’ at the wheel of a driverless car
Amazing Maze
1. Lungs don’t just facilitate respiration - they also make blood. Mammalian lungs produce more than 10 million platelets (tiny blood cells) per hour, which equates to the majority of platelets circulating the body.
“If I had managed to get him, I would have drop-kicked him over the fence” England women’s rugby star Ceri Large who chased a burglar who broke into her parents’ home.
Almost as hard to get out of as an IPP sentence!
5. A single giant neuron that wraps around the entire circumference of a mouse’s brain has been identified, and it appears to be linked to mammalian consciousness. 6. Your appendix might not be the useless evolutionary byproduct after all. Unlike your wisdom teeth, your appendix might actually be serving an important biological function - and one that our species isn’t ready to give up just yet.
Catchphrase The object is to try to figure out the well-known saying, person, place, or thing that each square is meant to represent.
“Lion tamers. Add extra excitement to placing your head in a lion’s mouth by first putting a Fruit Pastel on its tongue”. Michelle Peters “Zookeepers. Provide added entertainment for your visitors by running round with a rifle and a panicked expression, asking people if they saw ‘which way it went’”. Mike
MERRY XMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2018—THANK YOU
“My heart goes out to Alan Sugar. The poor man advertises for an exclusive job in his company, and all that show
up for the interview are a bunch of idiots”. Stan Ender
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MERRY XMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2018 FROM ALL THE TEAM @ GEMA RECORDS
Dear Editor...
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MERRY XMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2018—THANK YOU
MERRY XMAS & A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR 2018 FROM ALL THE TEAM @ GEMA RECORDS
“Make sure your girlfriend apologises first after an argument by tightening all the jars in the kitchen”. Peter Baton
3. Siberia has a colossal crater called the ‘doorway to the underworld’, and its permafrost is melting so fast, ancient forests are being exposed for the first time in 200,000 years. 4. A brand new human organ has been classified, and it’s been hiding in plain sight this whole time. Everyone, meet your mesentery.
Neil Speed is a former prisoner who came up with the concept of GEF BAD CHI whilst in prison. GEF BAD CHI by Neil Speed is published by Xlibris. £12.35
“Our Wi-Fi wasn’t working last night so I sat and chatted to the Mrs for a change. I’m surprised to hear she no longer works at Woolworths”. Ben Turner
2. It is mathematically possible to build an actual time machine - what’s holding us back is finding materials that can physically bend the fabric of space-time.
7. Earth appears to have a whole new continent called Zealandia, which would wreak havoc on all those textbooks and atlases we’ve got lying around. 8. Humans have had a bigger impact on Earth’s geology than the infamous Great Oxidation Event 2.3 billion years ago, and now scientists are calling for a new geological epoch - the Anthropocene - to be officially recognised. 9. Human activity has literally changed the space surrounding our planet - decades of Very Low Frequency (VLF) radio communications have accidentally formed a protective, human-made bubble around Earth. 10. Farmers routinely feed red Skittles to their cattle, because it’s a cheap alternative to corn.
L S
58 Jailbreak // Just for Fun
E K
V I
E L
L L
Insidetime December 2017
www.insidetime.org
In this month...
Number Search 9 1 1 2 1 2 6 1 2 1
4 December 1977 Malaysian Airline System Flight 653, flying from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, was hijacked and crashed at Tanjung Kupang. All 100 people on board were killed. The circumstances of the hijacking and crash, and the identities and motives of the hijackers, are unknown.
5 December 1952 The Great Smog of London. Dense, cold, smoke-filled fog descended upon London, bringing the city to a standstill for 4 days. Over 4,000 people died.
6 December 1917
0 3 8 2 1 1 5 8 9 2
4 3 8 2 7 8 0 8 5 9
6 0 9 4 4 7 3 0 2 8
4 5 5 2 7 2 0 6 1 7
Numbersearch: Scott Wareing, HMP Garth
6 0 1 4 7 8 9 0 9 5
7 7 5 4 5 0 6 9 0 7
1 8 6 6 7 5 8 2 1 9
6 4 8 2 5 6 4 1 6 8
4 1 2 0 6 0 8 1 8 2
Halifax Explosion, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Norwegian steamship SS Imo collided with the French munitions ship SS Mont-Blanc which was loaded with explosives to be transported to the war in Europe. The collision caused a fire on board the Mont-Blanc, which ignited its cargo. The massive explosion destroyed the Richmond District of Halifax, killed nearly 2,000 and injured 9,000.
93847, 050784, 6681,56410, 120608,54770, 56410, 54770, 110 93847, 050784, 6681, 120608, 1101, 1983, 2190, 030968 030968
7 December 1977
Sudoku // Very Hard
Death of Peter Carl Goldmark. Best known for developing the 33 1/3 rpm long playing record (LP), which revolutionised the recording industry. He also developed a colour television system - it was not adopted commercially as it was incompatible with existing black-and-white broadcasts, but it was used for closed-circuit, scientific and educational purposes. He also developed an early home video recorder, and a scanning system for NASA which allowed it to send back images from the Moon.
2
1 9 5 6
23 December 1992 British tabloid newspaper The Sun published the Queen’s Christmas speech two days early. (Its future availability to the press was restricted.)
6
4
4
7 4
3
2 8 3
6 3
7
5
2
2 1
5
3
4 2 1 9
6
(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.
Thanks to Scott Wareing, HMP Garth for compiling this Number Search. If you fancy compiling one please send in max 10 x 10 grid complete with answers shown on a grid. If we use it we will send you £5 as a thank you! Remember to include your name, number and prison. We will be using the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize money so include your DOB on your entries.
Daily Sudoku: Tue 7-Nov-2017
23 December 2002
Word Morph
The first time a manned conventional aircraft and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV/drone) engaged in combat. An Iraqi MiG-25 shot down a U.S. MQ-1 Predator UAV that was performing reconnaissance over Iraq’s no fly zone. The Predator fired an air-to-air heat-seeking missile at the MiG, but the missile became distracted when the MiG fired a missile of its own. The Predator was destroyed when the MiG’s missile hit it.
25 December 1987 In the British television soap opera Coronation Street Hilda Ogden left the street to become her doctor’s housekeeper in the country. It was one of the most-watched episodes in the show’s history.
27 December 2002 The chief executive of Clonaid announced that the first human clone, a girl named Eve, had been born. The announcement sparked worldwide media attention, but the company has never provided any verifiable evidence that the birth happened. Neither the mother nor the baby has ever been seen.
31 December 1997 Quaker Oats and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) agreed to pay $1.85 million (£1.18 million) to the former residents of a state school in Massachusetts, USA who were used in radioactivity and nutrition experiments in the 1940s and 50s. As students they were fed radiationlaced breakfast cereal without their knowledge or consent. © www.ideas4writers.co.uk
© MW Released life sentenced prisoner
FREE PRIZE DRAW
Ten lucky readers can select one of these gifts to be sent to a loved one Choose from - a beautiful bouquet of flowers, a personalised Bear (with a max 30 character message on its shirt), bottle of Champagne or luxury chocolates!
To be a winner just send your request, with a short message (20 words max please), and the full delivery address (incl postcode). Hurry, the closing date is 15th December. Please note it will be necessary for us to obtain confirmation that the person you nominate is approved to receive mail from you so please include your full details and send your entry to: Inside Time “GIFT ” Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB
3 8 7 1 9 5 6 4
5 9 4 8 3 7 2 1
7 4 5 2 6 3 9 8
2 1 9 4 8 6 3 7
9 3 2 6 7 1 bowl 8 5 cost
6 7 3 5 1 9 4 2
No Left Turn Maze Daily Sudoku: Tue 7-Nov-2017
8 5 6 3 4 2 1 9
1 6 8 7 2 4 5 3
4 2 1 9 5 8 7 6
(c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2017. All rights reserved.
Can you morph one word into another by just changing one letter at a time? It isn’t quite as 2 6 1 5 4 8 7 9 3 easy as you think!
very hard
http://www.dailysu
Without turning left can you find your way out?
Jailbreak // Just for Fun 59
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Insidetime December 2017
Inside Chess
Would you believe it?
Bomb fears squashed Police in Germany were relieved when a call about a potential unexploded Second World War bomb turned out to actually be a monster courgette. A worried 81-year-old called police when he spotted the 16inch (40cm) vegetable in his garden. Police rushed to the scene in Bretten and quickly established it was nothing to be afraid of. Officers who responded to the callout said the summer squash “really did look very like a bomb”. The offending vegetable, which was very dark in colour, weighed about 11lb (5kg). Police believe someone threw it over a hedge into the garden. “A homeowner excitedly rang Bretten police station and said that he had found a World War II bomb in his garden,” police said. “As it turned out to be a vegetable, the bomb disposal unit did not have to be called. The courgette must have been thrown by an unknown person over the garden hedge of the ultimately relieved man, who took care of their disposal himself.” The Telegraph
Our Lord and Savoury Greggs has apologised for replacing the baby Jesus with a sausage roll in the launch of its advent calendar. Photos promoting the baker’s new Advent calendar showed three wise men gathered round a manger in the traditional fashion but, rather than gazing in wonder at the son of God, their eyes fall upon a Greggs pastry. But it was met with serious backlash online as offended fans accused the budget chain of religious insensitivity and vowed to boycott it. Twitter users said that replacing Jesus, who was Jewish, with a pork product was “inappropriate”. Greggs said in a statement: “We’re really sorry to have caused any offence, this was never our intention.”
Jailbreak December 2017
Wordsearch: Christmas will soon be present – Robbie Ellis, HMP Littlehey
by Carl Portman
Pic: German police
The offending courgette discovered in the man's garden.
Wordsearch // Christmas
Having a gay old time Tortoises have extraordinary long lives, during which they have the chance to copulate, reproduce and keep their species alive. For one fella though, called Jonathan, (believed to be the oldest living creature on the planet, at 186-years-old) he never once reproduced, which mystified his keepers. He spent most of his long life with Frederica, his female companion, but it turns out he’s gay. He recently ‘came out’ after it was discovered that Frederica is actually a bloke, now called Frederic, and for obvious reason that’s why the two never had any kids. The pair met in 1991 when Frederic arrived as a gift for the governor of St Helena. However, whoever had previously handled Frederic and whoever examined him, clearly weren’t that good at their jobs. A recent examination revealed the tortoise’s actual gender, which explained the mystery behind Jonathan not laying his seed around properly. People then labelled this as him ‘coming out as gay’. According to The Times the pair regularly mated on Sunday mornings throughout the 90s, which led their owners and vets to believe that there’d be babies soon. It wasn’t to be, and no one thought to check if Frederica actually had a penis. Lad Bible
It is time to dip into the Yule mailbag. Tony from HMP Stafford asks if I have any puzzles or chess news to send him. Many inmates ask me this question understandably because of the lack of information about chess. I wish I could help everyone on an individual level, but that is just not feasible on my limited voluntary time. I can only hope that my puzzles in this newspaper are of some help. I must recommend you to see what you can obtain from your prison library or family and friends. Davide from HMP Winchester asks for suggestions on how to open a chess game. In very general terms (there are always exceptions to rules in chess) you should begin by getting your central pawns out, then develop your knights and bishops (the minor pieces) and castle early. Get your queen out (not too far initially) then bring your rooks to the centre. After this you need your plan - and of course that is all down to you. All of the above depend upon what moves your opponent plays but playing logical moves giving yourself space and scope should see you have a good game. My new book ‘Chess Behind Bars’ has everything a chess fan would want. It includes the history of the game and the rules; there is advice on how to study and motivate yourself. There is a selection of games and many puzzles to solve at different levels. Basically - a smorgasbord of chess. If Santa does not visit your prison then you can obtain a copy direct from the publishers at Quality Chess.
Oh, my cod! Police were called to a Manchester takeaway after staff poured gravy on a man’s fish and chips. Local accounts say that the disagreement began when staff handed him his chips, only to then take them away again to apply a generous covering of gravy. By the time police arrived, the chippy had closed. Officers recorded a public order offence. A tweet from the Greater Manchester Police city centre account said: “999 from fish & chip shop earlier this week - customer kicking off, apparently because they put gravy on his chips. Shop was closed when we got there later, and in the absence of any other calls, we’ve assumed no-one got battered.” However, not everyone found the Manchester police tweet funny with people complaining about its funny nature. GMP replied: ‘Our occasional irreverence not to everyone’s liking but has bought us a huge platform for the serious stuff like wanted and missing appeals.’
A S A N T A C L A U S A G N O L S A N P
S I T S O T T A S P E I O T B K L T E P
C P Y G S H I T Y R E K C A R C E S E Y
I O E I N R C L M E T L U D E O I A Y W
T B D F M I L A O S H E R V Y I G S A L
O A X A Y O G I S E G V I E O R H E R L
P M A O H N E N S N O A K N R E I C T U
E G P T B O V E I T P R L T A B Y H O R
A I O A I P I D X S U E I O N M O R E X
C O D G T A D O I T L R K D G E P I A F
E D I O A U X C T I P O L I A C A S D Z
T E K H P L O D U R E Y R L B E S T R Q
A L S S A R P U F F O I X A O D R M S U
R I A I H O I P E A L O U P C D Y A S P
I M L R J L B D O Q A B A E L V E S K M
X N I O T E O Y R I L A N A O A T O I K
O F C Z I T R U Y E N M I H C R I T G H
I V E M I C O O A N D R R O N D I A V B
L O C H A E L P E R H A I S E D E L S O
ADVENT, BAUBLE, CAROL CHIMNEY, CHRISTMAS, ADVENT, BAUBLE, CAROL SINGING,SINGING, CHIMNEY, CHRISTMAS, DECEMBER, ELVES, HOLLY, HYMNES PEACE, PRESENTS, REINDEER, RUDOLPH, SANTA CLAUS, STAR, SLEIGH, TOYS, DECEMBER, ELVES, HOLLY, HYMNES, PEACE, PRESENTS, TURKEY, XMAS PUDDING REINDEER, RUDOLPH, SANTA CLAUS, STAR, SLEIGH, TOYS, TURKEY, XMAS PUDDING Thanks to Robbie Ellis, HMP Littlehey for compiling this Wordsearch. If you fancy compiling one for us please send in max 20 x 20 grid complete with answers shown on a grid. If we use it we will send you £5 as a thank you! Remember to include your name, number, prison. We will be using the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize money so include your DOB on your entries.
Quick Crossword
Today’s puzzle is fairly easy in order to give everyone the opportunity to enter as the prize will be different since it is Christmas (see below). Black just played his knight to d7 after it was attacked by the pawn on e5. Was this the correct move? If not, why not?
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
‘Jedi’ attacked by Jesus The Force was not so strong with a ‘Jedi’ who broke his ankle after an assault by a fellow Halloween party-goer dressed as Jesus. The man dressed as Jesus is understood to have punched the Star Wars Jedi in the face, causing him to fall to the ground and break his ankle. The victim was left needing hospital treatment. A police spokesman said: “Officers would like to trace a man described as in his mid 20s, about 5ft 10 and medium build, with long brown hair, a beard, and wearing long robes.”
Y E S S I P O R E E D N I E R I A R H A
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
A chess book is the prize if you are first out of the hat. Write to me with your answer, care of The English Chess Federation at The Watch Oak, Chain Lane, Battle, East Sussex TN33 OYD. Please note that you should always write to me at the ECF not via InsideTime. Also please include your prison number and if you can, the date. The answer to November’s puzzle was 1.Qxh7+ Nxh7 2.Ng6+ Kg8 3.Bd5 # winner to be announced. The winner of October’s puzzle was Rob from HMP Stafford.
Across
Down
1. Turn turtle (7) 5. Coffee bar (4) 7. By way of (3) 8. Heavy fall of rain (8) 9. Female relative (5) 10. Spool (4) 13. Prevalent (4) 14. A complete defeat (4) 18. Long bounding stride (4) 19. Bode (5) 21. Mortgage, informally (4,4) 22. Rend (3) 23. Poses a question (4) 24. Remark (7)
1. English city (8) 2. Tranquil (8) 3. Certainly (6) 4. ______ Woodward, actor (6) 5. Base metal (6) 6. Revolting (4) 11. Women’s underwear (8) 12. Dilapidated (8) 15. Vouchers (6) 16. Of or befitting a hero (6) 17. Large wine bottle (6) 20. Chuck (4)
The last word... “The way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure” Lao-Tzu 6th century BC
60 Jailbreak // National Prison Radio
Insidetime December 2017
www.insidetime.org
December 2017 What’s on National Prison Radio // December 2017
National Prison Radio is currently available in prisons across England and Wales.
We broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, into your cell.into If your National Prison Radio is currently available in prisons across England and Wales. We broadcast 24-hours a day, seven days a week, yourprison cell. has National Prison Radio, you can listen through your TV by using the tuning buttons on If your prison has National Prison Radio, you can listen through your TV by using the tuning buttons on your remote control. your remote control.
What’s on National Prison Radio?
Day
Mon
Tue
Wed
07:00
Porridge
Thur
Fri
The world’s first national breakfast show made by and for prisoners. Includes the quiz, 7:40 Shout Out and the Work Out Song. Listen out for... Friday – the famous Porridge Music Special
08:00
(or local shows made in your prison)
09:00
NPR Specials See the orange box below for details of shows.
Love Bug Write to the ones you love
Hot 20 The famous UK chart rundown.
Dance music and upbeat sounds. Repeat from Friday night.
Igloo Handpicked dance music from NPR’s finest presenters.
The Urban Show Hip-Hop, R&B and dancehall.
The Two hours of new British music from DJ Goldierocks.
10:00
Desi Drop
11:00
Porridge
Request Show Shout out your lovedones on the outside!
NPR Friday Sport, chat and ents. Your start to the weekend. The Rock Show The very best in loud guitar music from our expert presenters
Another chance to hear this morning’s show
12:00
Past Present & Future
13:00
The Request Show
(or local shows)
14:00
Roll Call See 18:00 for details
Sound Women See 18:00 for details
Freedom Inside In-cell yoga
Requests and shout-outs from prisons across England and Wales Want to hear your favourite song on National Prison Radio? To hear your song, message or poem on the radio, write to us at National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF
All Music Daytime
15:00 16:00
NPR Takeover See 18:00 for details
New British music with DJ Goldierocks.
Music and information designed to help you make the most of your time inside.
Hot 20 UK chart rundown. NPR Friday Your start to the weekend.
Sat
Sun
All Request Saturday
Freedom Inside In-cell yoga with Prison Phoenix Trust
The week’s Request Shows back to back through the day. Write to us at: National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF
Bob and Beyond A solid hour of reggae classics.
Eve
Mon
17:00
Bob and Beyond Reggae classics.
(or local shows)
Tue
Wed
Red Bull Music Academy Radio
Mixes, interviews, hot artists.
18:00
19:00
Deja Vu Classic tracks.
20:00
Past Present & Future
21:00
Fri
Sat
Sun
Brixton Calling News and requests from HMP Brixton.
NPR Specials See orange box below for details of shows.
Deja Vu From the 60s, 70s and 80s.
The Gospel Show Uplifting music for a Sunday evening.
NPR Talk Making the most of your time Past Present & Future Inspiring stories from inspirational people.
The Gospel Show Uplifting sounds.
Thur
NPR Takeover Real voices from jails around the country.
Roll Call Stories and crucial information for exservice personnel.
Sound Women Must-listen radio for women in jail. Issues that matter.
Love Bug Write to the ones you love
The Request Show
Want to hear your favourite song on National Prison Radio? To hear your song, message or poem on the radio, write to us at:
National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF Get your loved-ones to request tracks for Thursday’s show at:
www.nationalprisonradio.com NPR Specials See below for details.
The Request Show Shout out your lovedones on the outside!
Igloo Handpicked dance music.
The Urban Show Hip-Hop and R&B.
Desi Drop An hour of Asian music.
Inside Music Real music stories.
NPR Takeover
22:00
Hot 20 The famous UK chart rundown.
Roll Call
23:00
Books Unlocked
The best dance music in the world, direct to your ears.
Inside Music The real stories behind the music you love. The Rock Show The very best in loud guitar music.
Two hours of brand new British music.
Freedom Inside In-cell yoga with the Prison Phoenix Trust
The Request Show Shout out your lovedones on the outside! Bob and Beyond Reggae classics. Love Bug Write to the ones you love.
This month’s book is Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman.
Write to National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF for a free copy.
Sound Women Books Unlocked A repeat of the week’s book readings
23:30 – 07:00
Dream Time
Music and advice to help you sleep safe and sound through the night.
NPR Specials: Real talk from across England and Wales. Monday 4 December - Outside In: former prisoners look at how you can prepare for life on the out. Monday 11 December - Understanding Parole: the information you need to get through parole. Monday 25 December - The YO Takeover: every month we cross to the lads at HMYOI Isis.
Greetings Cards A perfect solution for mobile phone users wishing to reduce costs for those who call them.
All packages are Pay-As-You-Go. • No minimum term or hidden charges! • No mystifying bundles! • No catches or gimmicks!
***Try trialmembership membershipfor forjust just£1 £1--no noobligation! obligation! **Try aatrial Enter the the code code ‘itlovefonesavvy’ ‘itlovefonesavvy’when when you you sign sign up up Enter
Simple solutions tailored to the individual requirements of our customers.
Step 1 Step 2
They need to write a personalised message
Step 3
Hi Son, How are you doing. We really miss you and can't wait for you to be home soon. Stay strong. Lots of Love, Mum and Dad
Your loved one pays just 99p and we will print and post your photo as a postcard to any prison in the UK.
Please note restrictions may apply in some geographical areas.
Competition Time!
Upon his release, what started as a business plan created in a prison cell became a reality - the only service of its kind. Now Fonesavvy customers throughout the UK receive calls from people in prisons, hospitals and many other situations where keeping the callers’ call charge to a minimum is vital. Perfect for self employed people who are out and about all day
Calling all poets, rappers & lyric lovers. We want to hear your BEST rhymes, jiggles, poems or raps to feature on your very own published greetings card! The competition winner also Wins a £100 voucher for a loved one to spend at www.jailmatecards.co.uk.
Fonesavvy - the brainchild of a former prisoner.
Get your loved one to upload a photo from their phone or PC
To: Joe Smith
A1234AB HMPS DOVEGATE Uttoxeter, Staffordshire ST14 8XR From: Mum and Dad
www.fonesavvy.co.uk for more info.....
Greetings cards for prisoners & their loved ones. Choose from 100s of cards to send direct to any prison. Upload your own photos letters and messages!
Competition closing date 17th January 2018 Send you entry to Inside Time ‘Jailmate comp’ Botley Mills, Southampton Hampshire S030 2GB Winner will be announced in the February issue. GOOD LUCK
