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Big Wullie · Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 1149 Location: Glasgow

It was called Shanghaied in my days when without warning prisoners would get their door opened at all hours and dragged away without any proper explanation.

Now we know what they were playing at:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8315551.stm

Jail staff accused over transfers

Six prisoners are said to have been moved from Pentonville
Five senior prison managers are to face disciplinary charges after being accused of moving vulnerable inmates between jails ahead of inspections.
The gross misconduct charges come after prisons inspectors found staff at Wandsworth and Pentonville, in London, had worked together to switch inmates.
The Prison Service, which said the aim had been to "manipulate" inspections, is also probing Brixton jail transfers.
Union representatives said the claims were overshadowing "enormous progress".
The governors of both jails at the time, who have since moved to new positions, and three other senior staff have been charged.
News of the disciplinary charges comes as details of the incidents are published in two reports by chief prisons inspector Dame Anne Owers, who acts as the prisons' watchdog.
Dame Anne said she had come across "irresponsible, pointless and potentially dangerous" prisoner swaps conducted earlier this year, shortly before teams from the Prisons Inspectorate arrived at the jails.
Five prisoners were moved from Wandsworth and six from Pentonville before the inspections in May and June respectively.
Two of the vulnerable inmates were so distressed they harmed themselves, she reports.
Injured inmate
The prisons ombudsman is separately investigating the apparent suicide at Wandsworth of another prisoner, Christopher Wardally.
Prison Service chiefs say his temporary move to Pentonville was not part of the swaps, but the timing of Wandsworth's inspection may have been a factor in his delayed return.
Dame Anne said the moves at the two prisons led to:
• Six Pentonville prisoners being taken from the vulnerable inmate unit
• Two swapped Wandsworth inmates missing medical appointments for serious conditions
• One bloody inmate, injured from a self-inflicted ligature wound on his neck, being taken from his cell in just his underwear
• The same prisoner attempting to harm himself three more times at Pentonville
• Moves being sanctioned despite risks of suicide
"Sadly for the many staff and managers who had worked hard to improve the two prisons, their efforts will inevitably be overshadowed by these events," she said.
"The inspections will be remembered for the unacceptable attempts, at managerial level, to subvert the inspection process at the expense of prisoners' well-being.
"This is deplorable, not only because of the effects on individuals, but because of the underlying mind-set that prisoners are merely pieces to be moved around the board to meet performance targets or burnish the reputation of the prison."
'Excessive pressure'
Justice Secretary Jack Straw is expected to make a Commons statement on Dame Anne's reports later.
He said the "self-defeating" transfers had ignored one of the Prison Service's primary responsibilities - to treat inmates with decency and care.
A departmental investigator was now looking at all transfer logs between prisons classified as local, he said.

That the purpose of this practice was to seek to manipulate the... inspection process is reprehensible
Phil Wheatley, Prison Service head
"This data should give a clear indication of any short-term transfers out and back to prisons around the time of inspections," Mr Straw said.
"The chief inspector of prison's research department will be able to comment on and examine the process and findings."
Phil Wheatley, head of the Prison Service, said the transfers had been completely unacceptable and without any legitimate reason.
"That the purpose of this practice was to seek to manipulate the... inspection process is reprehensible," said Mr Wheatley.
"As soon as I learned of this issue, I initiated a full investigation into what happened at Wandsworth and Pentonville, as a result of which a number of staff now face disciplinary proceedings under the Prison Service's Code of Conduct."
The Prison Governors Association, which represents senior managers within the service, said it was regrettable the story was eclipsing "enormous progress" that had been made at the two sites.
It said: "Whilst fully supporting our members in addressing any charges that they face, we will make no further comment at this time which may prejudice formal proceedings.
"The association believes that, in common with other senior public servants, the current target culture places excessive pressure on prison governors at a time when budgets are being cut."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8312878.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8224675.stm

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Lydia · Joined: 06 Nov 2008 Posts: 82

Quote "The Prison Governors Association, which represents senior managers within the service, said it was regrettable the story was eclipsing "enormous progress" that had been made at the two sites. unquote.

With this attitude from the people at the top it is no wonder we have behaviour like this.

Another case of people who decide they are judge and jury and will decide the punishment.

I am sure each prison has a system of punishment for unruly prisoners.

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We are the parents in Scotland denied justice for our children who had illegal post mortem's or had organs removed illegally at post mortem.