July 2021 / Issue No. 265 / 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 the National Newspaper for Prisoners & Detainees a voice for prisoners since 1990 NEWS FLASH! INSIDE TIME STOPS PRISONER SCAM! 36 Cool head in a crisis! Ref who took control of Eriksen emergency is former prison officer Jail drama takes no prisoners First timer gets taste of real Time in authentic prison show Continued on page 14 DECLINE IN OB PROGRAMMES Inside Time report 15 Only one in 16 prisoners takes part each year in courses de- signed to reduce their risk of reoffending. The number of “accredited programmes” completed in English and Welsh prisons has dropped steadily for the past decade. The decline has brought warnings that some prisoners may be stuck in custody be- cause they cannot gain places on courses which they must complete to show the Parole Board they can be released safely. In the year to March 2020 there were 5,068 completions of programmes in prisons, according to figures released last month by the Ministry of Justice. It marks a decline of 40 per cent from the year to March 2010, when 8,469 pro- grammes were completed. The prison population re- mained steady over the period. The figures include courses for general offending, sexual offending, violence and do- mestic violence. They exclude drug and alcohol programmes in jails, which have been handed over from the Prison Service to the NHS. Over the same 10-year period the number of prisoners com- pleting the Thinking Skills Programme, the most wide- ly-used course, has declined from more than 5,000 a year to just over 2,000. All figures relate to the pre-pandemic period. The number of prisoners taking part in programmes will be greatly reduced since March 2020, when face-to-face activ- ities in jails were suspended due to concerns about virus transmission. Evidence of a decline in the use of programmes will fuel a wider debate over whether they actually work in prevent- ing reoffending. There are 21 accredited programmes ap- proved for use in English and Welsh prisons by the Correc- tional Services Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP), an expert body appointed by the Ministry of Justice which de- cides which courses would be of benefit. It has been criti- cised for secrecy as it does not disclose who its members are, what it discusses at its meet- ings or why it reaches its decisions. Courses fall by 40% in a decade, raising fears that lifers and IPPs will miss out on parole 63 Hamilton Square, 0151 200 4071 solicitors Nationwide Prison Law Specialists • Adjudications • Parole • HDC • Cat A Reviews • Re-categorisation • Pre-tariff Reviews • Sentence Calculation • Recall Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 5JF 47 LONG WALK TO FREEDOM 21 // SCOTTISH FOCUS 30 // SENTENCE PROGRESSION 38 Comment // page 18 Comment // page 19 Comment // page 22 “One year on. Has enough been done? My honest response: I don’t think it has. ” Junior Smart OBE “I would abolish prisons as they are and make them places where people can thrive. ” Frances Crook OBE “Take a day at a time in order to face the enormity of your situation. ” Coralyn Burge
Transcript
July 2021 / Issue No. 265 / 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
the National Newspaper for Prisoners & Detainees a voice for prisoners since 1990
NEWS FLASH! INSIDE TIME STOPS PRISONER SCAM! 36
Cool head in a crisis! Ref who took control of Eriksen emergency is former prison officer
Jail drama takes no prisoners First timer gets taste of real Time in authentic prison show
Continued on page 14
DECLINE IN OB PROGRAMMES
Inside Time report
15
Only one in 16 prisoners takes part each year in courses de-signed to reduce their risk of reoffending. The number of “accredited programmes” completed in English and Welsh prisons has dropped steadily for the past decade. The decline has brought warnings that some prisoners may be stuck in custody be-cause they cannot gain places on courses which they must complete to show the Parole Board they can be released safely.
In the year to March 2020 there were 5,068 completions of programmes in prisons, according to figures released last month by the Ministry of Justice. It marks a decline of 40 per cent from the year to
March 2010, when 8,469 pro-grammes were completed. The prison population re-ma ined steady over t he period.
The figures include courses for general offending, sexual offending, violence and do-mestic violence. They exclude drug and alcohol programmes in jails, which have been handed over from the Prison Service to the NHS.
Over the same 10-year period the number of prisoners com-pleting the Thinking Skills Programme, the most wide-ly-used course, has declined from more than 5,000 a year to just over 2,000.
All f ig ures relate to the pre-pandemic period. The number of prisoners taking part in programmes will be
greatly reduced since March 2020, when face-to-face activ-ities in jails were suspended due to concerns about virus transmission.
Evidence of a decline in the use of programmes will fuel a wider debate over whether they actually work in prevent-ing reoffending. There are 21 accredited programmes ap-proved for use in English and Welsh prisons by the Correc-tional Services Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP), an expert body appointed by the Ministry of Justice which de-cides which courses would be of benefit. It has been criti-cised for secrecy as it does not disclose who its members are, what it discusses at its meet-ings or why it reaches its decisions.
Courses fall by 40% in a decade, raising fears that lifers and IPPs will miss out on parole
63 Hamilton Square,
0151 200 4071
solicitorssolicitors
Nationwide Prison Law Specialists
• Adjudications
• Parole
• HDC
• Cat A Reviews
• Re-categorisation
• Pre-tariff Reviews
• Sentence Calculation
• Recall
Birkenhead, Wirral CH41 5JF
47
LONG WALK TO FREEDOM 21 // SCOTTISH FOCUS 30 // SENTENCE PROGRESSION 38
“One year on. Has enough been done? My honest response: I don’t think it has.” Junior Smart OBE
“I would abolish prisons as they are and make them places where people can thrive.” Frances Crook OBE
“Take a day at a time in order to face the enormity of your situation.” Coralyn Burge
Insidetime July 2021Mailbag2 ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB.
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Trendy Frankland MJ Stone - HMP Frankland
I give credit to Mr McNamee for putting his name to the letter (January issue) with his view that ‘the police are great’. My own view is that Mr McNamee’s view is very naïve and the police are not so great as he thinks they are. His views are far from unique here at Frankland. Lots of inmates are on the same trend. So much so that it is common for certain inmates to enjoy more regular visits from the police than from their own families, and with no one seeming to bat an eyelid. Back in the day, these views and police visits were less common, but we are living in a new age with new trends, and, in this sense, Frankland is very trendy.
A great man Keith Rose - HMP Leyhill
I knew Eric McGraw from around 1992 and regarded him as a friend. For several decades, as editor of Inside Time, he allowed me to bang on about the ineffectiveness of psychol-ogy courses and the activities of the dreaded ‘psycho-babes’. Articles as diverse as ‘Is Your Budgie a Psychopath on the Hare PCL-R Check List?’ or ‘Scotland the Volcanic’, proving geographically that Scotland is not and never has been part of the UK, were printed with glee. R.I.P Eric, we’ll miss you.
Course licked Jason Adams - HMP Ashfield
The final question of a section of coursework asked - ‘What is the difference between a union and a direct relationship?’ As my answer I wrote - ‘A hot cup of tea and a digestive biscuit’ - simply because I had completely lost interest in what felt like a pointless time-wast-ing exercise when I could have been doing something more stimulating and meaningful, such as licking the walls of my cell. To my amazement, when the marked paper was returned, the answer I had given had a big red tick and the word ‘Excellent’ written beside it. Either this just goes to prove the common theory that the more ridiculous a question can be, the greater scope for an even more ridiculous answer, or the assessor became equally bored in marking this pointless coursework and perhaps gave in to the more appealing temptation offered by his own walls!
The Berwyn CouncilScott Bott - HMP Berwyn
I have been at HMP Berwyn for two years and have only just found out this prison has a ‘prisoner council’ that meets with the governor once a week. I asked questions about this and found out the following -
• The council is made up of two prisoners per house (each house has over 600 prisoners);• The council members are hand-selected by the governor;• No minutes are published from the weekly meetings;• No prisoners are consulted about what issues are raised;• The meetings are seen as a tick-box exercise with no real accountability.
Other prisons have an election every 12-months to select pris-oners to represent them on the council meetings with governors.
The prisoners currently on the Berwyn council are also being given employment opportunities within the prison, created for them by a governor. No other prisoners have been able to apply for these positions.
I feel it is about time the governors of Berwyn allowed us an election to select our representatives instead of keeping it to the hand-selected few, some of whom have been on the coun-cil for over 3 years.
The council should be elected by prisoners every 12 months, which would make it more transparent, accountable, and re-flective of the population (including the VP population who should also be on the council). The council should publish the minutes from ALL meetings had over the last 12-months, in full, not just the headings, and then publish all future minutes in full every week moving forward.
Out with the old and in with the new.
Degrading regime Ahmed Hussain - HMP Wakefield
To this day here at Wakefi eld we are still on a severe lockdown regime, which consists of 45 minutes exerciseper day and the rest of the day under segregation regime, waiting to be unlocked for a shower and a 10-minute phone call. We have been patient with this regime, but it has been very detrimental to our mental health. I am coping with this with prescribed meds, but every day I am having suicidal thoughts with no end in sight. In addition to this degrading regime, we are now being told by governors that they are planning to remove association from the future regime and remove our use of the kitchens. We have had almost zero face-to-face contact with other prisoners, and this has been very stressful and challenging to our mental health. Many prisoners no longer maintain eye-contact during conversation as we haven’t had that experience for 13-months. I would like to know if this removal of association from prison regimes is covered by a PSI and whether it is lawful?
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Why can’t we help?Russell L Carter - HMP Long Lartin
I’m writing this to ask a question of MPs, the Prime Minister, and the head of pris-ons in the UK. I’m hopeful that they read Inside Time and can answer my enquiry.
I heard on the news yesterday morning that there is a child in Birmingham Chil-dren’s Hospital that is in dire need of a bone marrow transplant, and that this child could die without the transplant. So, I asked the healthcare here if there was a way that I could be tested to see if I could be a match so that I could donate my marrow for this child.
I received a reply at the treatment hatch and got a written response that reads, and I quote; ‘Mr Carter, as far as I can find out you are only eligible to donate to close family and in exceptional circumstances’.
My question is, why? If I am willing to be tested to see if I am a match in order to helpsomeone and give back in some way to so-ciety and, potentially, to save a child’s life,or even the life of an adult then what is theproblem? I’m sure I am not the only prisonerwho would like to be able to give back to society in this way, even by being a blood donor from time to time. I hope those that are in charge can give a valid reason as to why prisoners cannot donate?
Dr Anton van DellenFraser Chambers
Challenge Your Sentence
Detailed knowledge of sentencing legislation and procedure
Can someone help? We here at Dovegate are having nightmarish problems with our mail. We have been told that we cannot have mail sent in to us unless it contains our name, number and date of birth, apparently due to ‘identity fraud’.
We cannot receive any cards unless they are directly from a company called Moonpig. I understand this is because some people have sent in cards sprayed with liquid drugs, but not everyone does this, so why the collective punishment?
Also, not everyone outside has access to the internet, so we are losing our vital family contacts bit by bit.
Thirdly, we’ve been told that we cannot re-ceive photos from family and friends unless they are sent via some sort of app from the internet. Again, not everyone has the inter-net or are tech savvy enough, so what do we do? What about us, the people who are not able to access the internet, where do we get our photos and cards?
Even the mail that does come into the prison goes straight into stored property, we don’t get informed who its from and we do not get photocopies of the mail even when we offer to pay for the photocopying.
This is terribly wrong, it is hard enough being in prison, but having contact from friends and family stopped and restricted is diabolical.
You are not my managerName withheld - HMP Hindley
I think it says a lot about the attitude of Probation when they just see us as a number, a case file, or a job to do. They call themselves ‘Offender Managers’, but as soon as I am judged and sentenced, I consider myself to be an ex- ‘offender’. But they keep us in the then-present tense of ‘offender’, yet we are told that we are not prisoners of our past and that we can change, but we are then stigmatised as ‘offenders’ years after our actual offence.
Also, calling themselves ‘Offender Managers’, but we are human beings who have made a mistake, we don’t need your ‘management’, we need help, support and guidance. Let’s look at the names of other public servants - the police are not called ‘criminal managers’, paramedics are not called ‘injury managers’, doctors and nurses are not called ‘patient manag-ers’, governors and staff of prisons are not called ‘prisoner managers’. People who work in business and banking and most workplaces have managers, and even ‘Offender Manag-ers’ have people above them ‘managing’ them.
“But let me point something out - we do not WORK for you; you are not my employer so how have you got the delusion that you are my ‘manager’?”
You treat us as though we were not human, just a commodity, you ‘risk assess’ us as though we are a construction job that needs a health and safety risk assessment. You make reports on us like we are just a case file, you should not view me as someone who you ’manage’, you should view me as someone who needs support.
You need a name change. I repeat - you are not my manager; I don’t work for you, and I am not your project. Your name should be Rehabilitation Support Staff.
Time to see what’s going onGuy - HMP Liverpool
Why is corruption in our prisons normalized and accepted? If the last year has shown us anything, it’s that our prisons have a serious problem. I accept that there are good prison officers, unfor-tunately I feel that all too often they’re pressured into turning a blind eye to what’s going on.
“The big question has to be: while the prisons are locked down, how drugs and other contraband are still available? ”Well, the obvious answer is prison workers bringing them in. However, the corruption does not stop there. Every 3 days the drone flies past the pad, goes to the same place, it can be seen from the pad window.
The prison management would have the public believe they are doing everything they can to stop drugs getting into our prisons. The reality is, if I can watch them coming in, going to the same place regular as clockwork, do you really expect people to believe that the prison of-ficers are unaware? It’s amazing what people cannot see when they have an incentive not to.
“It is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.”
“So my pocket watch eventually stops working. Time stands still inthe dark. The clownstarts to cry.”
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Mailbag
Newsround
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Information
Legal
Jailbreak
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“The treatment he received before passing away was truly horrendous.”
“My wife has now been released and we are not allowedany contact, or shewill be recalled.”
Probation reform: Your questions answered.
“Listen to yourself and check the tone of your own voice.”
Insidetime July 2021Mailbag4 ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB.
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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 AND DOB. 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.
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.
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Razor troublePeter Smith - HMP Frankland
I write seeking clarification regarding the use of razors in the High Security Estate. In February 2020, HMP Wakefield an-nounced they were removing all razors from the canteen sheets and were only allowing one prison-issue razor in pos-session at a time.
I wrote a 4-page letter to the governor stating that whenever there has been an attack involving razor blades, they have been the prison-issue blades or the blue Bic disposable blades, never the Mach3 blades as they are very flimsy when removed from the frame. I also suggested that Mach3 blades could be issued in the same manner as craft knives.
I then moved to Frankland, and six months later the same thing happened here. This time we are told that all blades, including prison-issue, are no longer allowed. This ‘trial’ as it is being called, is only taking place on the Westgate Unit and G Wing. To attempt to soften the process we have been given an electric shaver. Again, I have written to the gover-nor and completed two questionnaires about this ‘trial’. I suggested the same as I did at Wakefield. I am yet to receive a reply.
As far as I am aware not one person currently using the elec-tric shaver is happy with the result. Having just used the electric razor I am now sitting here with my whole neck and face stinging and covered in an angry red rash.
“So, my questions are - how can we be banned from wet shaving, is it lawful to blanket-ban everyone in the high security estate, how can one high security prison still issue razors? ”
As I said, we are told that this is only happening in the high security estate. Do the authorities really believe that blades are only used as weapons in these prisons? Finally, are there any actions we can take to challenge this rule? Any help or advice your readers can give will be greatly appreciated.
Please help the IPPsTheresa - a prisoner’s mother
Firstly, can I let my son know how very much I love him, and to beg him to please, please keep strong, as hard as it is when you keep being set up to fail, while serving year upon year, for what? To be treated with such disre-gard and disrespect is appalling. And to pass a message to the other unfairly, somehow forgotten IPP prisoners to hold on if they should really be free. There are a lot of peo-ple who are fighting really hard, especially Inside Time, for a change in the law. My son is 9 years over tariff, and heartbreakingly re-cently tried to end his life, calling his IPP sentence, “TORTURE”.
On realisation of the consequences of this move because he was mid Kaizan course, which he had waited for all through lock-downs, and had now been set up to fail, and sent to a prison still on lockdown and the fact he has parole in 9 months, it is disgust-ing. Is this rehabilitation? My son is of strong character, maybe a bit loud and animated at times but he is intelligent, sociable, hard-working - always Enhanced trusted jobs.
“It would appear that so much time is spent analysing, surmising, con-trolling these prisoners there’s no time for rehabilitation.”
My son has had to conform with each and every change but if you are due for release, and as soon as you made friends or get on with too many people, they like to sweep you away as if he’s a terrorist. Now he is com-pletely back to square one. He was so dis-traught all his hair fell out. Because IPP men are being made to become highly strung, desperate, and extremely vulnerable, and gradually causing mental health problems they never had.
Please, I plead with those who can bring about change and like the really good Inside Time who are highlighting this terrible injus-tice plight every month, please help us.
These years my son is spending in an ev-er-worsening penal system are his life. Ask yourselves, when was the last time he stroked an animal, had a bath, cuddled a loved one. No one seems to even care about positivity. Thank you, love you son, you will know who you are.
Len Tesko and me page 26
Ongoing Covid symptomsDavid Jinks - HMP Hewell
I am writing to you after reading a letter from John R Davis of HMP Liverpool about ongoing Covid symp-toms. I am 34 years old with no underlying health prob-lems and I caught Covid at the end of January 2021, and I am still not myself nearly 6 months later. When I first got it, I was really ill, I felt like I was going to die and finding it hard to breathe. Normally I can run a mile without stopping, but when I first got it, I couldn’t walk 100 yards without stopping to get my breath. It felt like someone was standing on my chest all day long, I was going hot and cold for days, I felt like I was on fire and then when I undressed it felt like I was standing in a fridge. This went on for 3 weeks.
When this pandemic started, we were being told that young people don’t get it really bad, but this is not true, I nearly died. I’ve lost 26kg in less than five months, I feel tired all the time and I have never been so ill in my life. My wife was the same, if not worse, as she got it around Christmas.
The main reason I am writing this is to let all you young people know how bad it is. If you are offered a vaccine, please take it. I never dreamed it would hit me so hard. If I had known how bad the ef-fects are I would have stayed home and never gone out. I thought that because I am young and fit, I’d be fine, but this is not the case.
I urge everybody to get the vaccine and I hope if you catch this terrible virus that you recover. Don’t get suck-er-punched by this virus.
Soften our tonguesMark Wrightwick - HMP The Verne
The way we talk to each other is really im-portant. One study I have read said that 67% of what we say is not in the actual words but in the way we say the words. The tone of voice is sometimes more important than what we say. It’s a bit like putting fabric sof-tener in with the clothes. The end result is softer and sweeter smelling clothes. We can do the same with our language. Interest-ingly, it’s obviously different with the written word. The intonation is missing so all com-munication is done with the words themselves.
Sometimes we all forget to put fabric softener into our language and come across as rude or aggressive. Some people have a natural way of talking that is monosyllabic and can come across as abrupt. The more effort we put into the way we speak, the more we will gain from our language and communicate more accurately with others.
If you put an effort into the tone of your voice and be aware of how you can come across to others, you will find you have a more posi-tive exchange of words, even with those that you don’t particularly like. Try it the next time you talk to someone. Listen to yourself and check the tone of your own voice. The way you could be coming across to the per-son that you are talking to and also to others who may be listening to you.
I certainly know that I would definitely ap-preciate being spoken to in a reasonable manner and softer tone of voice. Someone once told me, I would rather be spoken to nicely by someone who didn’t mean it, than hearing someone speaking to me aggres-sively who did mean it. So, always bear in mind that it might be the tone you are speak-ing in rather than the language you are using which can upset people. And try to modulate how you speak, it’s not hard and it can make a big difference to how you are perceived by others. It’s good to talk.
The writing is on the wall for Clinical Negligence, it is as unacceptable inside
prison as it is out.
The reported cases of clinical and dental negligence during confinement is on the
increase. Whether it is due to a lack of resources or inept practitioning there is no
excuse if your health has suffered physically or mentally, as a result you could be due
1000’s of pounds in compensation. Negligence may not just affect you now it could
have painful or expensive repercussions far into the future which is why you need
expert, experienced advice to secure the compensation which is due to YOU.
As one of the country’s leading personal injury lawyers Jefferies Solicitors have
been successfully representing prisoners in cases of clinical and dental negligence
for many years. We have won compensation from 100’s to 1000’s of pounds all
on a NO WIN NO FEE basis.
If you feel you’ve been badly treated, misdiagnosed or kept waiting for an
unacceptable amount of time contact us now and we will get the compensation
you deserve.
MEMBERS
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RISON INJURY LAWYERS ASSOCIATION
ppiillaaCall: 0161 925 4155 I Click: jefferies-solicitors.com I email: [email protected] write to us at: Jefferies Solicitors Limited I The Triangle I 8 Cross Street I Altrincham I Cheshire I WA14 1EQ
Insidetime July 2021Mailbag6 ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB.
Mailbites
Unlawful buffoonery Name withheld - HMP Oakwood
Boris Johnson has said in Parliament that IPP prisoners are in prison to protect the public and have been sentenced by a judge, even if the sentence is unlawful or not. Boris Johnson’s words on national TV, not mine. First of all, yes, IPP prisoners were sentenced by a judge, but what Johnson didn’t say was that when the IPP sentence came into effect this sentence became automatic, so the judges didn’t have a choice whether to sentence an individual to IPP or not as it was an automatic sentence for certain crimes. So, it doesn’t matter if the judge wanted to pass a different sentence. It also seems like Johnson doesn’t care that there are prisoners in this country serving unlawful sentences, some of whom are dying and have died serving this sentence. We hear MPs saying repeatedly that we have the fairest justice system in the world, but in reality the Prime Minister and the majority of MP’s are quite happy to let IPP prisoners die in prison whilst serving an unlawful sentence. How is this the best justice system in the world? Do they even know what ‘unlawful’ means?
Lego therapy Name supplied - HMP Wakefield
Currently, the television channel E4 is showing a programme called ‘Lego Masters USA’ on Tuesday nights at 9pm. It got me wondering why Lego is not available to prisoners despite the obvious mental health benefits. Lego teaches you how to build upon solid foundations, rather than destroying the tools required to create something unique and beautiful to you. Lego provides a healthy distraction from negative thoughts and emotions; it passes the time and could help us to cope with this infernal lockdown. Lego is suitable for ages 7 to 99 years. What is the official policy on Lego in prison? Why is there a bizarre ban on this product?
Secret IEPsLibick Odei - HMP Swaleside
I have been in prison for two-and-a-half years and here in Swaleside for two years. I got a job on the servery within the first 3-months of being here and thought I was doing well until my C Cat review came up. I then found out that officers had given me 5 IEPs without giving me notice or written warning on any of them. So, obviously, I did not get my C Cat. So, I waited for my next review only to find out that I had been given a further IEP for covering the cell spyhole. I then lost my job and have been unemployed since the start of the lockdown. The moral of my story is that you have no one to turn to unless you have a good solicitor and the money to pay them. How can I be given punishments without even being informed of the fact?
Fares fairT Goldman - HMP Northumberland
Here’s a question: when someone has an appointment to go and see their Probation Officer on the out, and they have to catch a bus to get to the probation office, and you give the Probation Officer your bus ticket as proof of what you paid and your PO only gives you back half the price of your ticket, what can you do?
When will they pay? Name supplied - HMP Oakwood
I am becoming very frustrated with being in prison under a segregation lockdown and watching this corrupt and bumbling government get away with actual murder. It’s pretty outrageous that the people in power have presided over a terrible sham-bles where it is looking like there will be a death toll of 150,000 citizens, to see them lying and posturing every day in the media, and for there to be no sanctions against them at all. How is this even possible in one of the oldest western democ-racies in the world? It seems as though the lunatics really have taken over the asylum and the maniacs in the media are cheering them on and helping to twist the truth like a damp pretzel. How can you expect prisoners, liars, and other wrongdoers to change their ways when we can see liars, thieves and let’s not beat around the bush here, killers running this country into the ground with no official sanctions? It’s a damn disgrace and makes me ashamed to be British.
DHL, not so fresh foodM Jams - HMP Northumberland
I recently purchased ‘fresh eggs’ from DHL as part of a canteen order. On the 28th of April I picked up my 1 dozen ‘fresh eggs’. I checked the date on the packaging only to discover the following - ‘display until 11/4/21’ and ‘Best before date 25/4/21. That means my eggs were on ‘display’ or in storage for at least a week before the dates given. Very unsettling.
I will say that the officer who was handing out the ‘fresh’ items did say I did not have to accept them, he also checked many of the eggs remaining in the box and yet to be handed out, which all had the same out of date stamps. I have had other ‘fresh’ items from DHL and noticed that they always look damaged or mouldy, and only last a few days.
So, the questions this raises are as follows - How often do DHL hand out items that are past the best before dates? Are prisoners only worth being given ‘fresh’ items that su-permarkets would have removed from their shelves?
It appears that DHL is happy to charge and make a profit from prisoners for the privilege of getting out of date stock. I believe that re-cently one of the big supermarkets was fined a huge amount for selling out of date stock. So, how do we, as prisoners, go about claim-ing from DHL? Should we, as prisoners, be informing the Prisons Minister that DHL is making profits from selling us out of date stock? Or is there anyone with power and au-thority overseeing this private contractor? Answers, please.
Reduced ROTL due to CovidName supplied - HMP Sudbury
Simply, prisoners whose re-lease is contingent upon a Parole Board’s decision that ‘he no longer poses an unac-ceptable risk’, are being de-nied release as they have not been provided with reasona-ble opportunities to meet this test.
A previous court held that the governors had breached public law duty to provide the claimant with an oppor-tunity that he could be re-leased on license. As ROTL and RDR are deemed by the Parole Board to be necessary to demonstrate that risks are manageable in the commu-nity (i.e., the behaviours ex-hibited in custodial environment translate to be-haviour in the community). Failure to provide such op-portunities may ultimately delay release.
What mechanism of prioriti-sation for access to ROTL/RDR is being used? Has any guidance or directions been issued by the Parole Board to governors?
‘It is not the role of the Pa-role Board to seek to help prisoners to progress to-wards release because of perceived shortcomings by other agencies.’
It must be logical to say that each governor holds the re-sponsibility to ‘act ration-ally’ and provide reasonable access to ROTL/RDR as it is a prerequisite to release.
Here, the governor says he stands upon a platform of openness, transparency, and honesty. Yet, he is un-willing to share with us his communications, redacted, of course, between Gold Command and Public Health England. He says he doesn’t want to provide false hope, or to fuel speculation or rumours.
‘You must place trust in me’, says the governor, ‘to make decisions on your behalf, but I’m not prepared to show you the evidence behind the decision’.
Prisoners feel they are invis-ible in the decision-making process, governors must not hide from difficult questions or when their decisions are placed under the micro-scope. Especially when the outcomes of those decisions have an impact on men’s fu-ture freedoms.
Equality for all?Simon - HMP Whatton
Those over 65 suffer additional discrimina-tory punishment amounting to a personal cost of £2,540 per year. While in lawful cus-tody prisoners lose their state pension pay-ments or, if under pension age, they lose the right to claim national insurance credits, which ultimately dictates their final state pension at pension age.
This is not part of the sentence anyone may receive, it’s not under the control of the sen-tencing judge. It is government policy oper-ated by the Department of Work and Pensions. Those under pension age effec-tively lose 3.3% (one thirtieth) of their future annual state pension amount for each year in prison. That’s a reduction of £254 per year for each year in custody.
Given present adult male longevity of 85 years and a pension age of 65, the loss over those 20 years of state pension payments amounts to £5,080. This is based on the full state pension of £7,620 per year. Over 65’s lose the full annual amount of £7,620 for each year in custody. This means that those over pension age lose an additional £2,540 for each year in custody compared to those below pension age.
This is clear discrimination of those over pension age. The equitable easy fix is allow pensioners to receive 33% of their normal pension while in custody. There is already support mandated for equality, the Equality Act 2010 is an example, this requires equal treatment of prisoners. The Inside Time arti-cle ‘Ageing Prisoners’ (Anna Walker) men-tions older prisoners suffering ‘poverty’ due to the state pension not being paid during incarceration.
The Inside Time article ‘Growing Old and Dying in Prison’ (Mary Turner - November 2019 issue) reports that ‘In 2013 the House of Commons Justice Committee…recommended ‘the growing older prisoner population re-quired a national strategy to remove ineq-uity…’ Anna Walker’s article also highlights ‘any period of incarceration adds around ten years to the physical age of a prisoner’.
Covid restrictions, typically involving 23/7 lock up have aggravated age and health is-sues. Effectively preventing maintenance of general wellbeing through adequate exer-cise, healthcare, activity, and contact. The overall effect, no doubt, the equivalent of a longer and more punitive sentence than given by the court.
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‘Gifted’ the virusName withheld - HMP Oakwood
I got a couple of ‘gifts’ from the government during this pandemic. I’d like to thank them for the shower stuff they gave us recently for us being ‘good’ during the lockdown. As an IPP prisoner, how about we get real. First of all, there were thousands of lads who couldn’t even get out of their cells in order to take a shower.
“We have all been on segregation-unit-style bang-up for over a year and had to watch as the government lied on TV about what we were getting.”
We had to witness MP Lucy Frazer lying to the Houses of Parliament that we were get-ting everything including regular showers. So, thanks for the shower stuff, a long way too late as it would have been more appreci-ated over a year ago.
The other ‘gift’ I received from the system, who were apparently so concerned about stopping the spread of Covid in prisons, was that I got a new cellmate, straight from in-duction and coughing his guts up. When I re-ported this, we were both put in isolation and, within a week, we both tested positive for the virus. So, thanks for the protection as I am on a wing with supposedly ‘protected’ people with underlying health problems.
Plus, as an IPP, the last year of lockdown with no coursework, counselling or assess-ments has cost me another 2 years in prison on this unlawful sentence. I’ve now done 16 years on this sentence. All IPP prisoners will be set back by this lockdown. This govern-ment have a lot to answer for.
They don’t care
SMC - HMP Oakwood
“As you are an offender, if you wanted to report something, firstly, we would not believe you and secondly, we would do nothing about it”. This was made quite clear to me by officers from West Mercia Police. Hardly the kind of attitude one would expect from public servants who are sup-posed to be professional and provide a service to help and protect all, not just themselves.
Lately the news has been full of stories of corrupt police officers who often get no more than a warn-ing or their situation is brushed under the car-pet. On the news tonight it was said there is to be a recruitment drive to get some 2700 new officers, one can but wonder what key qualities such appli-cants must have on their CVs.
To meet the criteria of the current set of employee skills could include words such as - good at manipulation, judgemen-tal, able to discriminate, and disrespectful, to name but a few. My ques-tion must be, are we being protected by the police or from the police?
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Strange goings onName withheld - HMP The Verne
I do not believe in the supernatural or aliens from Mars, but what we recently saw here in this prison was really very strange and still leaves me speechless.
My landing was out on exercise, all doing our own thing, some were working out and others, like me, were walking around, you get the picture. I spotted a hawk up on the bat-tlements, just hovering like it had spotted a mouse or some-thing. Suddenly a very bright light, which I first thought was the sun, appeared as the clouds opened.
“This object started to come closer and closer until it was actually hovering over our exercise area at about 100 or so feet above us. We were, by this time, all, including officers, standing with our heads tilted back and looking up at this strange thing.”
Then the object started to shrink and collapse in on itself until it sort of just dissolved into a cloud of mist. Then it started raining on us and, the next day, we all came out in a red rash.
I have heard many different explanations from different men. Some say there is a military base on Portland and that this could have been some sort of military ‘Black Project’. Others say it was ball lightening. I don’t know what it was except it was very strange. Does anyone know what it was, or has any-one seen anything like it before?
A bit over the topRichard Beattie - HMP Garth
I was escorted to hospital chained to a guard and with another guard by my side. I am 72 years of age, and I had a major operation for cancer, during which half of my bowel was removed. They did not get all of the cancer and I was in a hospital bed for 6 days. I was chained to a guard the whole time; my colos-tomy bag and urine bag were emptied as the guard sat at my side.
Over the 6 days and nights I was guarded by over 30 different officers. The guards hardly ever spoke to me or to each other, they played games on handheld devices and ate food from their bags. They told me they were protecting the public and keeping me from escaping. I was only able to stretch my legs at the side of the bed and this annoyed the guards.
After 6 days I demanded to be taken back to prison, I was under the influence of mor-phine, but I could no longer bear to be chained to another human being for much longer. I had nothing to read, no TV, no radio, very little conversation, so I signed a waiver and came back to prison.
I still have cancer, but I will never go back to hospital. I should have stayed in hospital for at least 3 weeks. But you do the math, one 72-year-old man, incapacitated, cancerous, with 6 guards a day over three weeks - that would be 126 guards. What happened to staff shortages and lack of funds? And what hap-pened to the promised special units for older prisoners?
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God strikes back Leslie Tucker - HMP Altcourse
I refer to the submission by ‘Satanic Taff’ in the May issue. I am not going to explain the passages of the Bible that you have completely taken out of context, your pen name clearly indicates your reasoning. But, remember this, God (Jesus Christ) is the God of every person he has created, and attacks by Satan, as your letter obviously is, can only subject you to the wrath of God on your day of judgement, which will surely come. Jesus Christ has given you the opportunity to evade that condemna-tion. Choose now between eternal torment and the blessings promised by God.
Jesus changed my lifeDavid Phelps - HMP Stoke Heath
I would like to respond to the letter by Satanic Taff about Biblical violence. I feel that you may be misguided in what these pieces of scripture are trying to say. I am a born-again Christian and very early in my walk with Christ. I admit that I haven’t got all the answers, but I do know how easy it is to misapply scripture. ‘A text out of context is a con’. Let me show you how the Bible teaches love and peace.
Eal 5.22 - but the fruit of the spirit is love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Matt 5.9 - blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.
Col 3.5 - put to death your members (actions/deeds) that are on earth, fornication, uncleanliness, passion, evil desire and covertness.
Cor 13.13 - and now abide, faith, hope and love but the greatest of these is love.
I assure all those out there reading this that God does not want you to commit acts of murder (Exodus 20 and 10 Commandments) or any of the acts listed by Satanic Taff. God loves us all and that won’t change. What can change is how we view and treat others as well as ourselves. It is my prayer that Jesus reveals himself to all who read this, and if you have any questions about the content or context of the Bible then speak to a chaplain.
Jesus has changed my life and I know he can change yours. Don’t be misled by the darkness in the world because one touch from the king of kings can change everything. May peace and love be upon you all.
Here come the naysayers Joe B - HMP Cardiff
Congratulations to my fellow prisoner and Welshman ‘Satanic’ Taff on a very cogent letter concerning religious violence and how the Bible advocates many heinous acts for its followers. To be perfectly honest, I don’t believe that a prison newspaper is the place for religion. There are so many religions - despite everyone who advocates one religion being certain that it’s the right one - that any inclusion of one religion will engender jealousy and bitterness from followers of the others, and this will lead to a paper full of religious advocates all trying to make a point, leaving not a lot of content for atheists like myself.
I have no doubt that Satanic Taff’s letter will lead to, shall we say - ‘dedicated followers’ (sounds far more polite than rabid god botherers) to take up the pen in defence of their - appar-ently - ‘all powerful god’, who gets seriously offended by people who exercise their right to not believe and say so in writing.
My advice would be to keep religion out of Inside Time completely, and that includes the full-page adverts for Christians who are doing nothing more than trying to recruit or convert and keep the paper as secular as it should be. That is my opinion, for what it is worth. Now let’s all brace ourselves for the denials from the ‘god squad’ that are bound to be winging their way to your offices.
On the Religious Wire Why not see the positive?Tony T - HMP Rye Hill
I am writing in response to a small column found in The Sun on the 17th of May 2021 on page 7. The heading is ‘Lags Jail Grub Rant’ and takes a mailbag from the pages of Inside Time and says that ‘lags’ are ‘moaning about crap food’ and asking to study NVQs in food preparation.
This article is typical of what is wrong with the gutter press and the oh-so-right-eous members of society today. This type of reporting and writing encourages the idea that those who go to prison should be banged up all day and count them-selves lucky to be fed at all. The same Sun readers will then moan when prisoners reoffend and spend their lives on the dole.
What this article should be about is seeing the positive side of the fact that prison-ers want to learn new skills and change their lives. The prisoner who wrote the orig-inal letter has a point, pris-ons should do NVQs in food prep, etc, as standard. It would improve the hire-abil-ity of ex-prisoners and re-duce reoffending. It would also dramatically reduce food costs. It must cost an absolute fortune just buying bread and having it deliv-ered every day, and how cheap it would be to have prisoners making the fresh bread, like they used to.
It is a win/win situation, but it isn’t being implemented because of attitudes like that in the Sun which influences public perception. Things will never change unless we change them.
Parole window closedName withheld - HMP Northumberland
During the past 6-months I have been unfortunate enough to live through a parole window in the midst of this pandemic. I am serving a 3-year EDS sentence, which means I serve two thirds before a potential release on parole, and I wonder if anyone else has experienced harsh decisions similar to myself?
From my initial incarceration I have followed all rules and complied with the regime, gaining Enhanced status within 6-months, and have completed the small number of targets on my sentence plan. Contact with OMU and Probation have been non-existent until I entered my parole window where I was told I needed to complete the Kaizen Programme. Why wait 18-months to tell me this? For this course I would have to leave behind family and a good job to move to a prison hundreds of miles away and, due to the pandemic, I have not been assessed to see if I am suitable for this course.
The Parole Board then decided to carry out their paper deci-sion days before the deadline for my solicitor’s representa-tions being submitted, which appears both unfair and unjust. They decided I was to remain in closed conditions to complete the Kaizen course, even though they stated that they were aware I had not yet been assessed. My solicitor then applied for an oral hearing based on the paper decision being made early before any representations, and with the hope that the Parole Board giving directions for the prison to carry out the assessment. This request was declined, and I was advised that my next parole was being extended to 15-months instead of 12, to allow me to complete the course. This would mean I can be released a grand total of 2-weeks before my sentence end date! They also stated that I can im-prove my prospects by ‘considering programmes’. So where is the incentive to complete this course?
“I feel that the Parole Board is punishing those who came to prison before the pandemic began. It is not our fault that progress has not been made or that things were not put into motion long before anyone had ever heard of Coronavirus.”
The Parole Board seem to be acting as their own court, hand-ing out further punishment to those who have served their sentence right through this pandemic, when the real courts are handing out much more lenient sentences to those now being sentenced due to ‘harsh and difficult prison conditions’.
Where is the fairness and consistency? Surely, I cannot be the only person to experience this? I would be interested to hear advice from others on how we can move forward in these difficult times.
The Decency Party
Paul Kane - HMP Swansea
I have just served 7 months custody at HMP Swansea, and I want to give some feedback about my experience.
I am a family man with a good work ethic, so when I was given an 8-year prison sentence for GBH, my whole life fell apart. But on arrival I was greeted by the kind warm staff at B-wing who have been amazing, giving me help and advice and the confidence that I can do this sentence without any issues.
The main turning point for myself was when I was lucky enough to gain employment with the De-cency Party, which con-sists of a small team of inmates carrying out painting works and vari-ous repairs around the jail. The Decency Party is run by Officer Mr Curran, who is a no-nonsense old-school officer with many years’ experience.
In my 7 months working for the Decency Party, I have helped to carry out lots of improvements around the jail, mainly painting various rooms, gates, the MDT centre and the Call Centre, some of which had not been painted since the 1970’s.
Officer Curran is dedi-cated to improving all as-pects of HMP Swansea and is very engaging to the workers. Being a tradesman myself this job has given me some sort of normality. I am not sure if the Decency Party scheme is run at other jails, but it is certainly making huge improve-ments here at Swansea. So, I would like to say a massive thank you to of-ficer Curran for the help and support, you will never realise how much you have helped me out and I will now look back at my time in Swansea with great memories. I would also like to thank Mrs Thomas and Mrs D for the amazing help and support. Keep up the good work.
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Homo ChavusTW - HMP Oakwood
In my experience, as a first timer in prison, one issue that irks me above all is what I call the Common Chav. An associ-ate and I recently discussed whether they could be consid-ered as a separate species - Homo Chavus, if you will.
If you look around your prison, I am sure they can be easily identified with some criteria. Do they walk around with their hands down their trousers, then touch shared surfaces like kiosks, without sanitising? Is their natural expression a snarl, are they incapable of deep contemplation, do they whine incessantly about their circumstances, without thought for anyone else? Is intelligence and education their kryptonite? Are they unfamiliar with the use of the words ‘please’ and ‘thank you’? Is their vocabulary limited to two syllable words? Do they spend more time thieving and ha-ranguing others, instead of trying to better themselves?
If you spot a Homo Chavus, please do not approach them as they are often antisocial and prone to random bouts of petty violence. That being said, if you know a Homo Chavus near you, encourage them to act like gentlemen instead and save them from the life of being a loafer.
Leave our sport alone!Thomas Hodge - HMP Berwyn
I watched BBC 2’s Question Time on the 6th of May 2021, and one of the viewer’s questions that came up was about the European Super Football League. The government minister on the panel, Robert Jenrick MP, said he would like to see the government bring in new rules to regulate football clubs. Hence, give the majority of supporters a say and ownership of their clubs. He would like to see the German model in place, where the fans have the majority say in how their clubs are run. The government should keep its nose out of sport and stop politicizing our game of football. On very few occa-sions should a democratic government get involved in any sport and how it is governed. This should be left to the nation’s governing bodies to decide the rules, laws, and its organisation, also in any other sort of sport. It is absolutely hypocritical and dangerous for any UK government to be tempted to legislate our domestic games or ownership of clubs.
Close the bordersMr Woolger - HMP Dartmoor
I wrote in early last year reference Covid-19. That letter, sadly, confirms what we now know to be true. Unfortunately, this pandemic is far from over. Fact. This virus is bound to mutate again if the PM and the government stay on the path that they are now on. The borders of Britain should have been closed over 12 months ago and they should still be closed now. No one in or out.
Full GB vaccination has not yet been achieved, though we are having some good results. The variant which is now on the rise has been brought into this country. Closing our borders would have prevented this from happening. Instead, we have an incompetent PM who wants to please everyone and give people holidays abroad, nobody needs to be going to another country for a ‘holiday’ during a global pandemic.
So, all the sacrifices we’ve made, all the good work done by NHS staff, drug firms, etc, will all fall by the wayside due to the stupidity of the government. Not only do we need an ur-gent inquiry on the mistakes this government made at the start of the pandemic, but we’ll also need another one to ref-erence all the mistakes that are about to be made.
Don’t forget the domesticsDarren King - HMP Whatton
We all now know about this virus and what it does, how it affects and destroys families, and I know that doctors and nurses have put their lives on the line, but isn’t that their job? My mum has been a domestic at the Derby Hospital for 35 years and she is 75 and still working.
She is at risk, much more so than the young doctors and nurses, who were covered head-to-toe in PPE, and all the domestics had was a mask and aprons. These people never get a men-tion in the papers or on the news, yet they clean hospital rooms and corridors to keep the nurses and doctors safe. They handle all the used PPE and equipment, yet she tells me that domestics do not come near to the meagre pay rise that has been suggested for nurses.
My mum and her colleagues got the virus and, whilst most of them recovered, my mum has contracted Long Covid. So when we think about and cheer for doctors and nurses, let us also think about the domestics whose work is just as, or even more important than the medical staff. A cleaner’s work may be menial to some, but who wants to go into a dirty hospital?
You are mistakenTerry Goldman - HMP Northumberland
It was very refreshing to read in the May issue of In-side Time that Parole Chief Martin Jones calls for resen-tencing of IPPs. There is just one thing that I disagree with, when Mr Jones says in the article that ‘IPPs can be lawfully kept in prison for the rest of their lives’.
Mr Jones, why do you not mention the outcome of the Supreme Court ruling on IPP which called the sentence - ‘unlawful and inhumane’? The Supreme Court ruling was that IPP was unlawful, and you cannot change that fact. You and the government know that ruling very well.
But, for sure, thousands of IPP families will be so happy with your statement, as that is why the many families and friends of IPPs are cam-paigning to get it changed and resentencing would solve some of the problems.
Thank you Mr Jones for giving us and our families stronger hope of getting rid of this cursed sentence once and for all. It is the right thing to do, in the name of justice.
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Mailbites
A prison hack J Sullivan - HMP Ranby
I have a little tip for prisoners. If you take the lid off a jelly pot and turn it upside down it is then ideal for using as a lid for your tea or coffee cup. It stops your drink from spilling and anything falling into it, but also keeps your drink hot. Just a little tip.
Sentenced to deathName withheld - HMP OakwoodI have to totally agree with the letter about the IPP being a death sentence. The only time an IPP prisoner is free from this sentence is when they are dead. We know of over 265 IPP deaths but we know that this isn’t the true number. The death rate for this particular sentence gets higher with each passing year. They might as well have brought back hanging for all IPP prisoners, because it has turned into a death sentence. And the longer the government and system defend this unlawful sentence the more IPP prisoners will die. The government’s hands are dripping with blood. To let people die while serving an unlawful sentence is quite a disgusting thing considering we are supposed to have the fairest justice system in the world.
Smile through it all… Katie Nolan - HMP Send
Why is it that when I read Mailbags most of them give off a negative energy, people seem to moan about the most trivial things. I’ve been in prison since July 2019, my mum passed away from cancer two days before I was picked up by the police, so I couldn’t grieve with my dad and five siblings, my children and wider family. But do you know what? That’s my fault. It’s shit, but I’m going to be happy to be alive, like my mum would have wanted. I treasure every day that I wake up healthy, even if I am stuck in prison, it won’t be forever. Shout out to all my friends.
Keeping us in the darkG Kenyon - HMP Wakefield
As one of the 113 people the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice heard evidence from, I was disappointed not to receive copies of their report. Instead, the report is available to all who have internet access. Surely, these people know that prisoners do not have internet access and not all prisoners have someone outside who can download it and send it in. I have no one to fight my corner as I have spent over 19 years unlawfully detained. Given the amount of money the government have dished out for fake PPE during the pandemic, the cost of supplying prisoners is a drop in the ocean. So, whilst I hope the Commission’s findings will bring about change, I am disappointed that they didn’t see fit to share their findings with prisoners.
Gaming us? David Newstead - HMP Whatton
Fellow readers, is it just me or are the ‘higher up’s’ so confused about the situation of the X-box 360? In the past I have been to four other establishments that have allowed them, even if you came in with one you were allowed to have it. Yet, here at Whatton, they say the Security Group have disallowed them. Is this now in the national framework that these are to be banned? Or any console with inbuilt Wi-Fi at factory to be banned as well? How is it that companies such as GEMA Records are looking to roll out the X-box One for prison establishments? Let alone X-box 360s. It seems like there is one rule for this prison and another for other prisons. There should be ONE rule to cover all establishments.
Covid recallJonny Hardman - HMP Lancaster Farms
I got released on the 15th of January 2020, and unfortunately the pandemic struck and there was little we could do about it except keep 6-feet away from others and wear a mask. In the hostel I was placed in, I abided by the rules. Me and my mate ended up recalled to prison for breaching these Covid rules. In the hostel my mate’s room was literally one step from mine. In my mind the rules were breached by staff for placing me so close to someone else. How can you stay 6-feet apart if the rooms are one step away from each other? How is it that people who are in the community get fines for breaching these rules, yet I have had to serve almost all of my sentence. Where is the justice?
I want punchlines!Michael Bennison - HMP Hull
Is there a Freedom of Infor-mation (FoI) reply for how much the prison estate pays for external engineers to in-stall and maintain the equipment used to ensure we only get a limited selec-tion of TV channels? Is there also any sight of a reason why they feel they need to spend this money, rather than have an easy-to-main-tain aerial that allows us to just tune in to the normal Freeview channels available to everybody else?
In this prison we have noth-ing but constant issues with the TV. The most common being the picture freezing and the channel having to reboot. This usually hap-pens just before the punch-line of a joke, or at a crucial moment in a film, or after 3 episodes of a serial just when they are about to re-veal the murderer.
As well as this, we’ve had a couple of channels go down completely and then not be restored for two or three weeks. The most recent an-noyance is that the audio de-scription has been on the channels for the last 5 weeks, which is more annoying than the picture freezing. The governor keeps telling us that they are waiting for engineers to come out and fix it…but even my 5-year-old knows how to turn off the audio description, so why does this need an out-side engineer to come out?
Which leads me to ask why all this hassle? I’ve been told that it is so we can’t watch things like the Babes Station channels, which are hardly any different to most music videos or episodes of Love Island. Most modern TV shows and films have more explicit sexual scenes, yet we can watch them. Plus, we are allowed porn magazines. Is there some sort of secret government contract costing the taxpayer thousands of pounds just to limit how many TV channels are avail-able to us prisoners?
This may seem like a petty issue to some, but when we are locked up in our cells for 23-hours-a-day, surely we can expect to have a reliable TV service, and if it is paid for by taxpayers then they should have some sort of value for money?
Flight of fancyQuinton Starling - HMP The Verne
‘What amazes you?’ I was asked by a fellow prisoner after he had just spent 5-minutes complaining about DHL, prison food, and the lockdown. I said to him - ‘What amazes me is the Painted Lady Butterfly, it travels all the way from Africa, that’s thousands of miles. It is equal to a human being walk-ing all the way to the moon. I am also amazed by starlings when they form a murmuration that looks like a cloud in the sky. I am in awe of basking sharks; their majesty is jaw-dropping.
He then turned to me and said - ‘No, what is it about prison that amazes you?’
I said - ‘I find it amazing that people go on and on about the same old complaints, food, DHL, bang up, and all the other things that prisoners go on about.’
My eminent fellow inmate then said - ‘But if we don’t point these things out nothing will change, and we will be in this situation forever.’
‘Yes’, I said, ‘in that same state of mind forever. How sad is that?’
At the moment we are all starlings flying in a cloud together, all trying to go in the same direction. One day we will be like the butterfly or the basking shark, free to go on with our lives.
Much higher infection rates Phil Green - HMP Kirkham
Until recently I was a resident of D-wing at HMP Buckley Hall. It was there, on the 15th of February 2021, I tested positive for Covid-19. I was not the only one, 26 of us out of a total of 60 tested positive on the same day. At that time, the infection rate in the community was 120 infections per 100,000 people. An infection rate of 26 out of 60 equates to the equivalent of 43,333 infec-tions per 100,000. That’s a pretty poor figure, and more to the point, it’s negligence on a grand scale. We, as prisoners, did not bring the infection into this closed world, the Prison Service brought it in with them.
I don’t agree with this compensation culture, however being banged up for almost 24-hours a day gives a man time to stew and become bitter and twisted, a cantankerous old git. So, if an ambulance-chasing solicitor with no moral standards wishes to contact me I can be as traumatised as he/she wants me to be. I could even be offended, that’s pretty popular.
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When Pete injured his knee while playing football, he was in a lot of pain and found it When Pete injured his knee while playing football, he was in a lot of pain and found it difficult to put weight on his leg.difficult to put weight on his leg.
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Newsbites
Tags for foreign national prison leaversThousands of foreign nationals will be required to wear satellite-tracking tags on release from prison. Home Secretary Priti Patel said around 4,500 people were expected to be fitted with the GPS ankle tags by the end of 2022. They will be used with people who face deportation after serving their sentences, but are allowed out of prison or detention centre on bail while they pursue legal challenges. A Home Office spokesperson said: “GPS tagging will help monitor these offenders and deter absconding, breach of bail conditions, and help prevent further crimes being committed, while we take every step to pursue their removal.” So far 250 people have been fitted with the tags under the first phase of the programme, which began earlier this year. Since the start of 2019, the UK has deported 8,000 foreign nationals at the end of jail terms.
Snapper publishes calendar of prison photosA pensioner who calls himself “the most boring man in Britain” has photographed more than 100 prisons - and plans to publish them in a 2022 calendar. Kevin Beresford, 69, from Birmingham, has previously had surprising commercial success with calendars featuring roundabouts, car parks and roadkill. Explaining his interest in prisons, he said: “I was really drawn in by prisons because of their interesting structures and all of the history and stories within the buildings … I am also really fascinated by mundane things, I like to focus on this that people wouldn’t usually think twice about.” A decade ago, Kevin blamed his hobby of photographing roundabouts for the breakdown of his marriage to his wife of 12 years, saying: “There were other reasons of course, but the roundabouts certainly didn’t help the situation. She was supportive to start with, but told me constantly I should get a proper job.”
Swaleside rioters sentencedSixteen men have been convicted for their part in a four-hour riot at HMP Swaleside. Prisoners barricaded themselves into a TV room, fires were lit, ceilings were ripped down and cameras pulled from walls, leaving damage estimated at £160,000. Staff were evacuated from the jail’s E Wing for their own safety, until the Tornado Team of anti-riot officers was sent in to restore order. Since the disturbance, in December 2017, four trials have taken place of men accused of participating. Details were only reported following the conclusion of the final trial in May.Among the 16 men, 14 were convicted of prison mutiny while many were also convicted of criminal damage. Together they were jailed for 37 years in total, to be served consecutive to any existing sentences. Prosecutor Simon Taylor QC told Maidstone Crown Court the rioters went on “a rampage of damage, disobedience and disorder”.
Staff sue Prison Service after catching CovidPrison officers who caught Covid-19 are suing the Government for compensation. Staff have been advised by their trade union, the POA, and law firm Thompsons Solicitors that they can take legal action if they caught the virus at work and their prison was negligent – for example, by failing to provide suitable personal protective equipment (PPE), or not abiding by its own policies for minimising the risk of spreading the virus. Ged Stilliard of Thompsons said: “We’ve brought claims already for a number of POA members.” Staff may lose their cases if it can be shown they may have picked up the disease away from work, for example by socialising. No prison staff are thought to have won Covid claims yet.
Prisoner died while showing signs of starvation
An inquest for a man who died after being locked up without food or medication for two days has found that his prison failed to meet his basic needs.
Winston Augustine, 43, was found hanging in his segregation cell at Wormwood Scrubs in 2018. He was showing signs of starvation.
A 10-day inquest at West London Coroner’s Court, which concluded in May, heard from prison officers that they did not consider it safe to open his cell door to provide meals or medicine because they regarded him as “non-compliant”.
The prison’s then-head of safer custody told the inquest that she had been “amazed” and “horrified” when she found out, the day after Augustine’s death, that he had been left without food. He is thought to have been in severe pain from kidney stones when he died because he had been deprived of his daily dose of the strong painkiller Tramadol.
A statement from the inquest jury read: “Winston relied on the prison service. His basic needs were not met which contributed to his death. The failure to fulfil Winston’s basic requirements while on the segregation unit of the statutory regime and provision of food and medication were contrib-uting factors towards his death.”
Coroner Dr Anton Van Dellen added: “It is concerning that in an English prison, Winston did not receive food for as long as he did.”
Deborah Coles, Director of the charity INQUEST, said: “The evidence of the inquest into Winston’s death exposes basic failures at every level. This was a healthy man who was labelled as aggressive, written off, and driven to his death. Prison staff lost sight of Winston’s humanity and of their duty to keep him safe.”
No food, no meds, no human contact… Page 23
An inquest jury has paid tribute to the victims of the Fishmongers’ Hall terrorist attack and the heroes who took on the attacker with makeshift weapons.
Cambridge graduates Jack Merritt, 25, and Saskia Jones, 23, were stabbed to death in November 2019 at an event organised by the prisoner education scheme Learning Together. Their killer Usman Khan, 28, had joined the scheme while serving a sentence at Whitemoor for terrorism offences. After his release, Khan was being supervised by Probation and was under investigation by MI5 and counter-terrorist police, yet was allowed to travel from Stafford to London unaccompanied to attend the event. He wore a fake bomb vest, and once inside he strapped knives to his hands which he used to kill his victims.
The jury at the inquest for Jack and Saskia found they were unlawfully killed. It criticised agencies involved in monitoring Khan after his release, and the organisers of the event, saying there had been “unacceptable management” and “a lack of accountability”.
Fishmongers’ Hall one year onJury’s tribute to terrorism victims
The jury sent its “heartfelt condolences” to the victims’ families, adding in a statement:
“They clearly touched the lives of so many, ours included. The world lost two bright stars that dreadful day.”
Four men at the event, including a prisoner on day release and an ex-prisoner, prevented further loss of life by tackling Khan and driving him outside onto London Bridge, where he was shot dead by police. Praising the heroes, Commodore Toby Williamson, chief executive officer of Fishmongers’ Hall, said: “Our collective fortune was there were four good men - Lukas Koczocik, John Crilly, Darryn Frost, Steve Gallant - who instinctively knew that right should prevail over wrong. Armed with fire extinguishers and narwhal tusks, but more importantly armed with selflessness and courage, they and others over-whelmed the attacker.”
The inquest jury added: “We also wanted to take this opportunity to thank the astonishing individuals who
put themselves in real danger to help and our incredible emergency services for their response both that day and every day.”
Following the inquest, the UK’s most senior counter-ter-rorism officer, Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, said he was “deeply sorry” that chances had been missed to stop Khan from killing.
Saskia’s family criticised the directors of Learning Together for failing to take account of the risk Khan posed, saying in a joint statement: “It could be said that their single-mind-ed view of the rehabilitation of offenders - using Usman Khan, in our view, as a ‘poster boy’ for their programme - significantly clouded their judgement.”
Peter Clarke, the former Chief Inspector of Prisons who previously led Scotland Yard’s Counter Terrorism Command, said failures in how Khan was managed during his eight years in custody demonstrated a need for the Home Office to take over the running of prisons from the Ministry of Justice.
In a pamphlet titled “Fishmongers’ Hall: A Preventable Tragedy”, Clarke said the Prison Service had “allowed [Khan] to spend his entire adult life in an environment where he mixed with other terrorists, was disruptive and violent, yet successfully pulled the wool over so many peoples’ eyes as to the danger he really posed”.
A separate inquest for Usman Khan found he was lawfully killed.
Day for Madiba“It is easy to break down and destroy. The heroes are those who make peace and build.” Nelson Mandela Nelson Mandela International Day (or Mandela Day) July 18. This an annual international day in honour of Nelson Mandela, celebrated each year on 18 July, Mandela’s birthday. The day was officially declared by the United Nations in November 2009, with the first UN Mandela Day held on 18 July 2010. Madiba is Mandela’s clan name.
SaskiaJack
MandelaEveryone’s hero
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Newsbites
Looking Back...through Inside Time July 2011
Homeless and hopeless “I believe that it is not the threat of a lengthy prison sentence that is the key factor in whether someone reof-fends, it is about the support people get both inside and after release. Anyone serving 12 months or under is not supported by probation and the biggest issue is that they are not entitled to immediate accommodation, and people who are homeless on leaving prison are more likely to reoffend.” Mailbag - HMP Highpoint
Old people“Having read recent statistics that 43% of convicted sex offenders walk out of court without a custodial sentence, I really wonder what the world is coming to when I see old people in prison for council tax arrears.” Mailbag - HMP Woodhill
Truth of the heart “I just want to encourage those of your readers who are Prisoners Maintaining Innocence (PMI). The system is geared up to discourage inmates who maintain their innocence. We are constantly told that we are in denial but for me this is Orwellian thinking - how can you deny what you know in your heart to be true?” Mailbag - HMP Wandsworth
No wonder we’re back in“I think it’s funny that Kenneth Clarke should say it is a national scandal that so many people reoffend after being released from prison. It should not be that surprising considering the circumstanc-es. When you leave jail you are given less than the equivalent of one week’s dole money.” Mailbag - HMP Rochester
Cost of broken teeth“I am writing to ask if it’s right to charge prisoners for eating utensils and cutlery? ” Mailbag - HMP Wealston
Trans couple win claim over separationA transgender couple who met and married in prison have won a legal case against the Ministry of Justice over their right to see one another. The two unnamed prisoners were both born male and met in 2015 at HMP Whatton, where they were serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences for sexual offences. They both remain legally male but identify as female.They married in 2017, but shortly afterwards were separated by the Prison Service, with one moved to a different jail. Contact was initially banned entirely. They have since been allowed to write to one another, but phone calls or visits remain prohibit-ed. Lawyers for the Ministry of Justice claimed the pair posed a risk to the community and each other. But Mr Justice Morris found that the restrictions were “unnecessary and dispropor-tionate”, and awarded unspecified damages for the “anxiety, frustration and distress” caused.
Busiest prisons revealedDurham is the busiest prison in England and Wales, according to Ministry of Justice figures. It had 6,372 prisoners admitted or transferred in during 2019 - a bigger total than any other jail. Durham held an average of 950 prisoners during the year, suggesting the average stay was only a couple of months. Next in the table were Wandsworth (6,155), Leeds (5,882), Hewell (5,668), Forest Bank (5,452), Nottingham (5,278) and Birmingham (5,234) - all local prisons serving urban areas. The busiest women’s prison was Bronzefield with 2,997 prisoners admitted or transferred in, despite its population being only just over 500. Across English and Welsh jails there were 203,953 admis-sions and transfers-in during 2019, with women’s prisons accounting for 13,365, or 6.6 per cent of the total. The figures were released in response to a Freedom of Information request.
Charity advises jailed dadsThe Prisoners’ Advice Service (PAS) has published a booklet advising fathers in prison on how they can remain involved in their children’s lives. The publication, called “Fathers in prison: contact with children”, includes advice on reaching agreements with the child’s mother or carer; legal rights; and family court procedure. It was written by Rose Harvey-Sullivan, a barrister at 7BR chambers. The PAS said the step came “in response to the number of queries we routinely receive from male prisoners who are unable to access assistance in understanding their options when they want to have contact with their children and/or remain involved in their children’s lives”. Prisoners can contact the PAS by phoning 020 7253 3323 or writing to: Prisoners’ Advice Service, PO Box 46199, London, EC1M 4XA. The charity cannot offer individual advice on family law.
Prison officers say their col-leagues break Covid rules
Prison officers often fail to comply with Covid safety rules - according to a survey of prison officers themselves.
In a poll carried out with the co-operation of the Prison Officers’ Association, 594 members of prison staff were asked whether their colleagues comply with Covid-19 safety measures in the workplace. Only 8 per cent said their colleagues “always” comply, while 42 per cent said they “often” comply and the remaining 50 per cent said they “sometimes” or “never” comply.
The finding reinforces complaints from prisoners, made in letters to Inside Time, that officers regularly break the rules by failing to wear masks or by chatting to one another in offices intended for single-person use.
Asked whether they thought Covid-19 safety measures in their establishment were effective, 26 per cent of staff questioned in the survey said they were “very good” or “good”; 38 per cent said they were “acceptable”; and 36 per cent said they were “poor” or “very poor”.
The survey, by researchers at the Centre for the Study of Emotion and Law at Royal Holloway University of London, also found that four out of five staff often felt “burnt out” and felt their mental and physical health had worsened during the pandemic.
Questionnaires were completed in December, January and February by staff at English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish prisons. In a commentary on the findings, Prof Nick Hardwick and Prof Amina Memon of Royal Holloway wrote: “In addition to the substantially elevated rates of anxiety in our sample, our respondents reported burnout, worry and anxiety about COVID-19. Notable was the particular concern among the majority, who live with others, of putting family members at risk.”
Prisoners are not ‘residents’, says POAPrison officers are being urged by their trade union to defy instructions from Governors to refer to prisoners as “resi-dents” and cells as “rooms”. The POA claimed some prison officers had been threatened with disciplinary action for using the traditional terms.
Many prisons nowadays refer to people in custody as “residents” and the term has been used by senior officials including Jo Farrar, Chief Executive of HM Prison and Probation Service. Supporters of the term believe it carries less stigma than “prisoners”, and encourages rehabilitation. However, Government ministers are reportedly opposed to the change in language.
Mark Fairhurst, National Chair of the POA, said in a circular to members: “The use of inappropriate terminology was recently raised with the Secretary of State for Justice Robert Buckland MP QC, who agreed that staff in prisons should refrain from using phrases like ‘residents’, ‘men’, ‘service users’ and ‘rooms’. These terms create the wrong impression and detract from the disciplined service we are and are also insulting to victims of crime.
“It has come to our attention that some Senior Management Teams (SMTs) in prisons are threatening staff with discipli-nary action if they do not use this inappropriate terminology that has somehow crept into our service. POA members are encouraged to use the correct and appropriate terminology (‘Prisoner’) when describing someone incarcerated by the state against their will. If any member feels threatened by their SMT they should submit a grievance for bullying.”
In an interview on Talk Radio, Fairhurst went further, saying it was “absolute nonsense” to refer to prisoners as “resi-dents”, and insisting: “Prisoner is not a dirty word.”
Newspapers have claimed that both Buckland and Prisons Minister Alex Chalk are opposed to the term “residents” to describe prisoners, but neither man has spoken publicly about the issue. In response to a report in The Times that Chalk had instructed prison staff not to use the term, the Ministry of Justice told Inside Time that no such instruction had been issued.
Do you want more bang-up?Prisoners will get a say on plans to reform prison regimes after coronavirus lockdown restrictions ease. The Prison Service has embarked on a three-year reform programme in English and Welsh jails aimed at learning lessons from the pandemic. Changes are expected to include a reduction in time out of cell, after Government ministers, senior officials, and staff organisations all claimed that the lockdown reduced bullying, violence and self-harm at men’s jails. However, before final decisions are reached, the Prison Service has said it will consider research by the Prison Reform Trust’s Prisoner Policy Network, which is asking prisoners to write in with their views. A report based on the submissions will be considered as part of the Future Regime Design consulta-tion. Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC has said the review will have “an open-minded spirit that actually does look at things from the point of view of the prisoner”.
See Prison Reform Trust advert page 38
Jabs target to include prisonersAll adult prisoners in England should be offered their first Covid jab by July 19, the Government has said. After NHS chief executive Sir Simon Stevens announced the target for the whole country last month, a senior official stressed it applies equally to prisoners. Dr Éamonn O’Moore, national lead for health and justice at Public Health England (PHE), said: “We have the same commitment in prisons as we do in the rest of the country - that by July 19 all people in England over the age of 18 should have been offered first dose vaccine.”
Dr O’Moore admitted progress in delivering jabs in English jails has been slower than hoped, saying: “Despite best efforts - and I know that very many of my NHS colleagues have been working day and night to deliver this - it has proven challenging to get us to the level of coverage that we would like to see.”
Addressing a Centre for Crime and Justice Studies seminar, Dr O’Moore said 38 per cent of England’s 73,000 prisoners had received a first dose by June 11, while a further 10 per cent were classed as “first dose not given with reason provided” - suggesting they refused or were unfit to have the jab. It means 38,000 jabs must be offered in jails over five weeks to meet the deadline.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, all over-18s had been offered a first dose of the vaccine by mid-June. In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon’s government was aiming to offer all over-18s a first jab by June 25.
IPP sentences. IPP and life-sentenced prisoners need to complete pro-grammes to show the Parole Board they are safe to release, but campaigners fear a shortage of places on courses means they are spending longer in custody than they need to.
Mooney, whose brother Tommy Nichol took his own life in prison after being unable to secure places on courses, said: “My brother died over five years ago and one of the main factors at play in his death was the fact he was denied access to the rehabilitation that was required in order for him to be released. Have any lessons been learned from my brothers death? My opinion is no.
“People serving an IPP sentence have always struggled to access these courses, through no fault of their own, and this is made even harder year on year, pushing them ever further past their tariff release date.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice said IPP prisoners are prioritised for programmes, adding: “We continue to support those struggling to progress.
“Lack of clarity”
Comment by Graham Towl
“On the face of it, the latest official figures for the number of programmes carried out in prisons show a disappointing decline in the level of activity. But the statistics need to come with two health warnings.
Most immediately, the figures only go up to March 2020. The reported reduction in the numbers of ‘accredited’ programmes is surely now very much worse on the ground, with the advent of Covid-related measures in prisons from March 2020 onwards. The prediction must be that the next set of published numbers for ‘programme completions’ will be far below even the latest disappointing figures.
Of the almost 17,000 people who have contracted Covid-19 in custody since the pandemic began, it is not yet known how many are suffering from long Covid.
Increased early vaccination of all those who live and work in prisons would, Sage says, “allow faster lifting of severe restrictions, reduce outbreaks and decrease mortality, and benefit the wider control of Covid-19”. We urge the government to make this measure part of its overall drive to stop the Indian strain.
Insidetime July 2021Newsround 14 www.insidetime.org
In the papers
Sir, The concerted effort to curb the rapid spread of the Indian variant of corona-virus must surely now include the vaccination of all prison staff and prisoners. In its report on prisons and virus transmission, the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) warned in March that the importation of a single case can lead to a large outbreak, with prisons acting as “amplifiers or reservoirs of infection”.
Coronavirus: Prison Timeline
In some cases, courses are approved before trials have been carried out to measure their impact on reoffending rates. In 2017 a flagship programme, the Sex Offender Treatment Programme (SOTP), was withdrawn overnight. It later emerged that research had shown as early as 2012 that people who completed the programme were more likely to reoffend than those who had not taken part, but the findings were suppressed and the programme re-mained in use.
SOTP was replaced by two new courses, Kaizen and Horizon. But the latest figures show that fewer than one in 10 men jailed for sexual offences takes part each year in programmes designed to reduce their risk of reoffend-ing. In 2019/20, out of 13,000 men serving sentences for sexual offences, only 1,154 started on sexual offending behaviour courses. With men jailed for sexual offences serving an average period in custody of two to three years, it means the majority will be released without ever having taken part in a programme.
Even at specialist prisons, participation rates are low. At HMP Littlehey, which holds 1,200 men convicted of sexual offences, only 81 started programmes in 2019 - just one in 15. The highest rate was at Whatton where one in five started programmes.
The Prison Service acknowl-edged the decline in completions. It said spending on programmes had remained stable over the past decade, but funding had been redirected from shorter courses like Thinking Skills into more in-depth courses for a smaller number of prisoners. A spokesperson said: “The effectiveness of these programmes should not be measured by overall completion numbers. We are ensuring those most at risk of reoffending get the support they need by targeting investment at longer, more intensive programmes.”
A breakdown of the headline figures was released in response to a Freedom of Information request from Donna Mooney of the campaign group UNGRIPP, which supports people still serving indefinite time in custody under now-abolished
OB Programme decline
Continued from front page
But more fundamentally, so little is known about these programmes that in one sense we simply don’t know if a reduced number of ‘comple-tions’ is good or bad news in terms of the future risk of reoffending. The programmes industry should be made to get its house in order. For example, it would not be unreasonable to expect that the evidently still much-vaunted “accreditation panel” would operate with sufficient transparency that there would be publical-ly-available minutes around decisions to “accredit” (or not to). Is there a publical-ly-available list of members of this body, where members have the opportunity to share any conflicts of interest? That would be most welcome and reassuring in terms of good governance.
There remains a lack of clarity around what is different about the Horizon and Kaizen courses in comparison with the previous failed Sex Offender Treatment Programmes. Especially in view of past ethical and empirical limitations, it is surely wise to demonstrate more openness.
These latest figures measure the volume of work done, not its quality. When trying to interpret the significance of the declining numbers for future crime rates, it is perhaps worth remembering that the managerial malaise that got us where we are now was one that focussed upon “completions” at the expense of measures of effectiveness.
But what we do know is that reduced opportunities to participate in such pro-grammes for prisoners may very well have real, and personally devastating, consequences for vulnerable groups such as lifers and those serving IPP sentences, if they are required to complete them but cannot access them.
It is interesting to note, within the figures, a reported shift with the NHS appearing to increasingly lead on more programmes in prisons. Just as prison healthcare moved from being an in-house service to the NHS, maybe it is time to consider a similar shift with “offending behav-iour programmes” too?”
Graham Towl is Professor of Forensic Psychology at Durham University and former Chief Psychologist at the Ministry of Justice.
May 14One-third of prisoners in England have now had their first dose of vaccine - compared with two-thirds of adults living in the community. Figures from the Ministry of Justice reveal the gulf, showing that 25,655 prisoners in England have so far received a first jab, while 8,544 have had two jabs. There has been no offi-cial explanation for the sharp difference in vaccination rates in-side and outside jails, but the main reason is understood to be that older people became eligible for the vaccine first, whereas more prisoners are in younger age groups. There is also thought to be a higher rate of vaccine refusal among prisoners. Official policy is that prisoners should receive the vaccine at the same time as people in their age or priority group living in the community.
May 27Children visiting parents or loved ones in prison can hug them again, after the Prison Service relaxed coronavirus restrictions on social visits. From this day, under-11s visit-ing English or Welsh jails can leave their seats and have physical contact with the per-son they are visiting. In an-other easing, people from two separate households can now take part in a visit at the same time. The rule change on children brings England and Wales into line with Scot-land, where children have been allowed to hug prison-ers ever since social visits re-sumed following the first wave of the pandemic last year.
May 28Andrea Albutt, chair of the Prison Governors’ Association, says prisoners are increasingly frustrated by the slow pace at which lockdown restrictions are being relaxed. She points out that whereas pubs reo-pened in May and people in the community can mix to-gether again, people in jail remain locked in their cells for much of the day. She tells Inside Time that “Prisoners are beginning to question the legitimacy of this very slow and controlled unlock”, add-ing: “As yet there has not been kickback, we have not seen disorder. That’s testa-ment to the prisoners and the staff.”
June 10
A quarter of prisoners in Scotland have not been convicted of a crime. The number on remand
awaiting trial has risen during the pandemic due to court closures, and in a Scottish Parliament
debate, politicians on all sides demanded action.
June 1 No prisoners died with Covid-19 during May, mark-ing the first time in eight months that no lives have been lost to the disease in UK jails. Ministry of Justice fig-ures also showed only 64 confirmed new cases during the month among prisoners in England and Wales, down by two-thirds from the previ-ous month’s total. Only 16 prisons in England and Wales recorded one or more resi-dents testing positive for the virus in May, compared with more than 100 at the peak of the second wave in January and February. Since the first outbreaks in March 2020, a total of 149 prisoners in Eng-land and Wales have died within 28 days of testing posi-tive for Covid-19, eight in Scotland and none in North-ern Ireland.
June 3After hugs with children returned to visits halls, hugs with adults may not be far behind. Six prisons are trialling a new rule by which prisoner will be al-lowed to hug their adult visitors provided both par-ties have tested negative on a rapid Covid test ad-ministered just before the visit. One of the jails is Nottingham, which an-nounces on Twitter: “Excit-ing news: we'll be piloting a 'test to contact' initiative in visits. In summary, visi-tors & prisoners take a test prior to the visit. If nega-tive, allows you to have contact regardless of age. Some logistics to work out & date to be confirmed, but wanted to let you know that it's coming.” Notting-ham was also the first Eng-lish jail to resume social visits in April following the second national lockdown.
Sage reports evidence of higher levels of infection in prison than in the general population, higher rates of hospitalisation and higher associated mortality in prisoners and prison officers. It cites the latest data on occupational risk showing that prison staff are now at highest risk of contracting the virus. According to prison service records, fewer than a quarter of frontline officers have so far been vaccinated.
The Times: Vaccinate prisoners now
Juliet Lyon, Chair, Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody; Mark Fairhurst, Chair, Prison Officers’ Association; Andrea Albutt, president, Prison Governors Association
Keeping Safe page 37
Insidetime July 2021 Newsround 15www.insidetime.org
World Prison News
Rehab for bent officialsIn Spain, bribery scandals have seen senior public figures convicted of pocketing millions of euros from the public purse. Now the country’s prisons have launched a special rehabilitation programme - intended to teach corrupt officials the error of their ways. Nine jails began run-ning the course this year. Participants attend 32 sessions over 11 months, with psychiatrists monitoring their progress as they are taught to feel humility and empathy. Those who com-plete the programme successfully may gain early parole. Sergio Ruiz, a prison psychiatrist in the city of Seville who helped design the programme, said people who commit this kind of crime are good at explaining away their actions, claiming they are acting for the benefit of others rather than themselves. Around 2,000 white-collar criminals will be eligible for the course. Those already taking part include the brother-in-law of King Felipe VI, who is serv-ing a fraud sentence of almost six years, and a businessman known as “Don Vito” who was convicted over a bribes-for-contracts scandal which toppled the Spanish government in 2018.
Prison doctor “stole vaccine”A prison doctor in Indonesia has been arrested on suspicion of stealing Covid-19 vaccine intended for prisoners. The unnamed doctor, at a jail in the city of Medan, was among four people accused in May of taking more than 1,000 doses of vaccine and selling them to the public for £12 each. Another of the accused was a local health official. If convicted, the four could face life sentences under the country’s anti-corruption laws. The Asian nation - the fourth most populous in the world - is rolling out a programme of free vaccinations for its 270 million citizens. However, many are still waiting for their jabs, with the limited supplies being targeted on high-risk, priority groups - which include healthcare workers and prisoners.
Prison island to reopen as museumAn abandoned prison island known as “Italy’s Alcatraz” is to be restored and opened as a tourist attraction. Santo Stefano, a tiny uninhabited volcanic island in the Mediterranean, was used to detain criminals or enemies of the state for 2,000 years, including opponents of the Roman emperors and of twentieth-century dictator Benito Mussolini. Its latest jail is a cliff-top fortress built in the 1700s, which held prison-ers until it finally closed in 1965. Cells in the horse-shoe-shaped building were built without windows over-looking the sea, but instead faced onto a central court-yard. In its early days, prison-ers who broke the rules could be subjected to discipline in the courtyard, ranging from whipping to being made to stand for hours in the scorch-ing sun. Punishments were watched by everyone, and prisoners from rival clans would cheer when their ene-mies screamed in pain. Meat was served once a month.Today the building stands crumbling with collapsed staircases, plants sprouting in the cells and rusty doors fall-ing off their hinges. It will be renovated in a £60 million project to create a museum telling the stories of people detained there. Only most dedicated tourists are likely to step inside. Santo Stefano, situated between Rome and Naples, has only one landing point on its rocky coast - an ancient Roman harbour with steps carved into the stone, accessible by small boats only when the sea is calm. The prison is a 40 minute climb away, up steep hillside paths.
Errors “allowed prisoner to kill cellmate”Staff at a California prison have been accused of failings which led to the gruesome murder of a prisoner by his cellmate.Jaime Osuna (above), 31, a self-styled Satanist with a heavi-ly-tattooed face, killed Luis Romero, 44, in the middle of the night at Corcoran State Prison and cut off his head using a makeshift knife. The victim is thought to have been alive during much of the attack. By the time guards realised what had hap-pened, the killer was wearing a necklace made from his victim’s body parts. Now, an investigation by prison inspectors has found that two guards who were meant to have checked the cell around the time of the attack submitted false reports that they had seen both men alive and well. Lawyers for Romero’s family say that if the checks had been done properly, he would still be alive. The inspectors also questioned why Osuna had been allowed to share a cell, when he was known to be danger-ous and had previously been in a single cell. Romero’s family have filed a lawsuit accusing the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation of putting up a “veil of secrecy” over the killing in 2019. One of the guards was dismissed fol-lowing the incident, but was later given their job back. Osuna, who was already serving life without parole for the torture and murder of a woman in 2011, has been diagnosed with multiple psychiatric conditions. He was found to be unfit to stand trial for the killing of Romero, who had served 27 years of a life sen-tence for a gang murder committed in his teens, and was near-ing his parole date.
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Ex-prison officer hailed a heroWhen Denmark midfielder and Inter Milan player Christian Eriksen jogged towards the touchline to receive the ball from a throw-in during a routine phase of play, to everyone’s horror the star stumbled and collapsed, head-first to the turf. As the Danish players ran to their stricken team-mate and Eriksen lay motionless after suffering a cardiac arrest, Ref Anthony Taylor immediately recognised something was badly wrong and without a moment’s hesitation, stopped play and waved the medical teams onto the pitch.
The former HMP Manchester prison officer managed the appalling events with a coolness and professionalism that has won him praise around the world, including from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Finland captain Tim Sparv, former referee Mark Clattenburg, as well as countless fans and pundits.
Taylor has compared his experience at Manchester Prison with refereeing - the ability to spot a problem and take decisive action is something common to both jobs, he said. “There are skills which are interchangeable between working in the prison service and refereeing”, he said, “It’s not about red and yellow cards, it’s about stopping things happening as much as you can. Trying to be proactive. Working in a prison meant I needed a lot of communication and management qualities to deal with daily situations. I spent a considerable number of years working with those who suffered severe mental health problems, a lot of attempted suicides, that kind of thing.”
Open prisons ‘most disgruntled’ over Covid-19
Residents at open prisons are “some of the most disgruntled” over coronavi-rus restrictions due to the amount of freedom they have lost, according to the Chief Inspector of Prisons.Charlie Taylor said that during the pandemic, open prisons “have been particu-larly hard hit … because they have largely been unable to fulfil their main function - preparing prisoners for release”. In particular, he said that Covid-19 restrictions had prevented prisoners from going out on Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) to work or spend time with their families in preparation for release. Writing in a blog, Taylor said some prisoners had remained in prison for longer because the pandemic had prevented them from doing rehabilita-tive work which could demonstrate to the Parole Board that they were safe to release, while in other cases releases had been delayed because suitable accommo-dation could not be found due to Covid-19.
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Prisons: The good, the bad and the ugly
Ashfield barbers are refurbishedAshfield has unveiled their refurbished barber shop (above). All barbering is done by the men and Covid guidelines are en-forced. The refurbishments were carried out and completed by men from multiple work departments including carpentry, digi-tal art, and design & print.
Children learn sign languageThe children held at Werrington have been learning sign language. Ange (pictured) was a special guest and taught them Makaton; a unique language programme that uses sym-bols, signs, and speech to enable people to communicate. It supports the development of essential communication skills such as atten-tion and listening, comprehension, memory, recall and organisation of language and expression.
Hospital ward at StaffordA special eight-bed hospital ward is to be created at Staf-ford to allow more prisoners to be treated on-site. The ward will be able to be used by 12 other prisons across the area and provide rehabilita-tion and palliative care. It is also hoped the move will cut the amount of time prison of-ficers have to spend bed watching while a prisoner is in hospital.
No wines from the vinesThe ladies at East Sutton Park have been restoring a vine-yard in the prison grounds. They will be producing grape juice to sell in the prison’s farm shop but have been warned about trying to con-vert it to wine. They have been told that being caught would see them returned to a closed prison. The vineyard dates to the prison’s former life as a stately home when the vineyard produced wine for visitors. It was turned into a prison in 1946.
Prison officer suspended over cocaine claimA prison officer has been suspended after se-cretly-filmed footage apparently showed him snorting cocaine while in his work uniform.The man was reported to work at HMP Hewell.The footage was passed to the Sun on Sunday, which alerted the authorities. A Prison Service spokesperson told the newspaper: “An officer has been suspended and a police investigation is ongoing.” In the video clip, which the news-paper published online, a man in a prison of-ficer’s uniform is shown behind the steering wheel of a parked car, inhaling a white powder from a plastic CD case through rolled-up paper. Another man in the car, said by the newspaper to be an ex-prisoner, offers to sup-ply the prison officer with more drugs, and discusses prices with him.
Facelift will make The Ville “more welcoming”For 170 years its imposing main gate has been a grim sight for newly-arrived residents - and made passers-by feel thankful that they are only passing by. But now the Victorian frontage of Pentonville prison is to get a facelift - which the Ministry of Jus-tice says will create a “more welcoming entrance”. Officials have applied for planning permission to redevelop the Gatehouse of the north London jail, which serves as the staff and visitors’ en-trance, giving it a modern-looking glass frontage. According to planning documents submitted by the MoJ to Islington Council, “The external public face of the Gatehouse and adjoining visitor building will be fully renovated … The proposed replacement of the central utilitarian infill with new semi-transparent curtain walling and new signage will create a more welcoming entrance to the prison and enhance the prison’s presence in the local street-scene.”
Warren Hill weldersThis amazing 6ft tall mural (above) at the entrance to the welding shop is another example of the amazing talent in our prisons. But more is to come because this amazing crocodile was made over the course of several months by one of the men.
Community workMen from Haverigg are refur-bishing local bush shelters in partnership with Millom Without Parish Council. Councilclerk Lesley Cooper praised the prison’s community out-reach team; she said: “It is a really good programme - it’s a community project where prisoners do community work as part of the rehabilita-tion process. It has helped the area before when the team cleared brambles and did lit-ter picks at Kirksanton.”
New life at Warren HillThere was joy for the men who work with the birds of prey at Warren Hill last month with the birth of two Peri-Lanner falcons (above).
Call for inquiry after Swansea officer stabbedThree MPs are calling for an inquiry after a prison officer was stabbed in an unprovoked attack in Swansea last month. The attacker was moved to Swansea in April after stabbing a fellow prisoner in Berwyn and, at Swansea, had already threatened to slice a female officer’s face open. The Prison Officers’ Associa-tion is unhappy that the Prison Service said the officer’s injuries were not ‘life-threatening’ and are calling for him to be charged with attempted murder. In a letter to Secretary of State for Jus-tice Robert Buckland the MPs say: “We are calling for a full in-quiry and for procedures to be put in place to ensure that in future very violent prisoners, in particular those who attack prison officers and fellow inmates in custody, are placed in the appropriate category of prison to ensure the safety of all those involved.”
HIGH DOWN CLARIFICATION
From the Gov: “We remain committed to High Down becoming a Category C reset-tlement/training prison as soon as possi-ble. The process was paused to ensure staff could fully focus on managing the pandemic. HMP High Down has contin-ued to run key programmes, for all cate-gories of prisoner, based on their needs. We are also increasing employment op-portunities and have received funding to help prisoners boost their transferable skills for employment on release.”
Welsh women’s centre still has no homeA location in Newport, Wales, originally earmarked for Wales’ first women’s rehabilitation centre will not now be used. More than 30 local residents signed a petition opposing the plans to use the site, saying it would “only add to our ongoing problems” and that it was “the wrong place to put a support infrastructure in place for vulnerable women and their families”. The MoJ has now confirmed Willow House on Stow Park Circle is off the market.
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Restorative Justice award for PeterboroughPeterborough has been awarded RegisteredStatus by the Restorative Justice Council for work that has been done within the prison to use the restorative approach to resolve con-flicts and repair relationships from previous conflicts. Whether the conflict is between prisoners or between prisoners and staff, both staff and trained prisoners bring together the parties to resolve the issues. The Restorative Prison model is now being implemented across all Sodexo-run prisons in England and Scotland.
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ExeterThe staff of HMP Exeter generally do their best to ensure that prisoners are treated in ways which are humane, just and fair. Throughout lockdown, Exeter continued to receive prisoners from local courts. The impact on prisoners at Exeter is likely to have been particularly severe because most cells are shared by two people, which not only makes them cramped, but limits opportunity for privacy.
HumberThe Board has been impressed with the professionalism of the Governor and senior management team and commends them on the speed at which revised and very restricted systems of working were implemented. A number of prisoners and staff have said to the Board that they feel safer and happier in the very restricted and more controlled environment.
LeyhillIn a year dominated by the pandemic, Leyhill has responded swiftly and positively in order to implement the required protocols and to take its own initiatives. In keeping with its emphasis on community, a spirit of inclusivity has characterised the Leyhill regime. Fairness is much in evidence at Leyhill and humane treatment of the prisoners is a noticeable characteris-tic of the regime. It is exemplified in the prison’s response to the challenge of the pandemic.
NorthumberlandThe management of COVID-19 in the prison has possibly been the most impressive act taken to support prisoners. The prison’s close working relationship with Public Health England and its capacity to act quickly on advice, enables us to report that there have been no deaths solely related to COVID-19 amongst prisoners in the reporting year: The decisive leadership at the prison should be com-mended for this.
IMB Watch
Swaleside conference centreAn abandoned building has been completely renovated. Gov-ernment Facility Services Limited (GFSL) worked with prisoners to transform the derelict structure into a posh new conference suite which is equipped with facilities to host groups up to twelve. Ian Morgan from GFSL said: “We put prisoners’ valuable skills to good use, such as electrical works, painting, and car-pentry, which benefits all parties. This is important as prisoners increase their employability when their sentence is served. We’ve also been allowed to pair up GFSL tradespeople with prisoners, so their experience can be passed on.”
10 years for attack on cellmateA remand prisoner poured boiling water over the face and chest of his sleeping cellmate because he was angry about the crime the man was accused of. The attack occurred on the victim’s first night in Exeter prison. He arrived in the cell at 9.30pm and the two men watched the TV news, which featured a report about the crime - the murder of an elderly person. The murder defend-ant went to bed around 10.30pm. At 2am his cellmate boiled the kettle and tipped the contents onto the sleeping man’s face and chest, before battering him with the TV and a can of tuna in a sock. The victim, 35, suffered serious burns to 15 per cent of his body during the assault in January, as well as a broken rib and two cracked vertebrae. The attacker, 33, was last month handed an extra 10-and-a-half years for GBH with intent.
A buzz for Warren Hill woodworkersThings are buzzing with the beekeepers at Warren Hill. The woodwork shop has been hard at work building beehives for other pris-ons. The prison itself now has five thriving hives to keep the men busy.
Dogs go to jailThe lockdowns and associated problems for prisoners has caused understandable tensions; however, at Parc the prison officers have been taking their dogs into work with them. The staff say it lightens the atmosphere. The scheme, run by charity Pets as Therapy, is being used in 24 prisons across the UK, and was introduced at the privately-run prison at the start of the pandemic. Shirley-Ann Gates, a complex needs support worker, helps men whohave mental health issues, autism, learning dif-ficulties and dementia and takes her dog Bella in to meet prisoners in their cells, for exercise and even to parole hearings. She says that a lot of the prisoners opened up about trauma and past issues they had never spoken about be-fore when Bella was with them. Matthew Rob-inson, from Pets as Therapy, said “Dogs are non-judgemental, they're great listeners, and they reduce stress levels, so they bring a lot of joy to the people interacting with them.”
Kirkham springs into bloomSummer is really blooming at Kirkham where the Farms and Gardens team have been show-ing off their work. Staff and prisoners worked side by side to raise these plants. One pris-oner, who had never had a garden of his own, explained how therapeutic he found it; and the new skills will help him on release. How-ever, the men at Kirkham are not resting on their begonias, the PE instructors organised a 5Km charity run around the prison conserva-tion area and raised £846 for Counselling in the Community, which aims to offer adult, children & young persons’ counselling services to the Blackpool & the Fylde area.
Maghaberry mud-kitchensMen at Maghaberry have been busy building ‘mud-kitchens’ for children at a local school which teaches children with profound learning difficulties (above). The wooden, weather re-sistant playground workbenches, which en-courage sensory development in children, were designed and constructed by the prison-ers. Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long, joining governor David Savage for the handover, said: “I know many projects com-pleted by prisoners have benefitted numerous charities, schools and community groups. It is an absolute delight to see how this simple idea brings so much joy to the children.”
Picture: Naomi Long with Maghaberry Governor David Savage, school principal Claire Breen, andpupils from the school: Credit: Michael Cooper
Garth and Wymott to get new prisonThe Ministry of Justice has laid out plans for a new C-Cat prison on land next to Garth and Wymott. Alex Chalk, minister for prisons, said: “Our plans, if successful, would bring many bene-fits to the local community, such as hundreds of jobs during construction, careers within the prison sector and an increased spend in local businesses. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have been looking at where best we can develop new prisons, and where there is likely to be most demand for prison places. We believe that, following detailed feasibility work, land next to HMP Garth and HMP Wymott is a good location for one of these prisons. We expect there will be an increase in demand for prison places as the activity of our courts system continues to ramp up to full operating capacity following the national restrictions due to the COVID 19 pandemic. The increasing numbers of police, in line with the Prime Minister’s commitment to recruit 20,000 addi-tional officers, is also likely to contribute to a higher prison population, and we therefore believe that creating 18,000 addi-tional prison places will help to mitigate pressure on prison places in England and Wales in the coming years.”
New prison academies createdInfrastructure company Amey, has teamed up with Bell Group and Futures Network (the specialist part of HMPPS that brokers partnerships between prisons and employ-ers) to create a series of academies within the prison environment to help transform lives and reduce reoffending. The partner-ship builds on the successful Amey CRED (Clean, Rehabilitative, Enabling, Decent) programme, which currently runs in 24 prisons and provides prisoners with the op-portunity to learn new skills and gain valua-ble work experience. The new academy will provide prisoners with the opportunity to gain an industry-recognised vocational qualification in painting and decorating and a Construction Skills Certification Scheme card to help them move straight into em-ployment when back in the community. The new academies will be at Featherstone and Hewell.
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Gyms come back to lifeThe gym is a popular place for many prisoners and the lockdowns have been very difficult for those honing their abs. As things relaxed out-door exercise has spread now to indoor gym sessions at most prisons. At Doncaster the gyms were put on readiness for a resumption of activities last month.
Expensive Grampian gull measuresThere has been consternation in the tabloid press after it was revealed that the Scottish Prison Service spent £234,000 install-ing netting at Grampian to deter gulls from nesting on the roofs.
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like other people, ‘inferior’, check out the way your family are treated on visits. Worse still, you know that ‘at the root of it you’ve let people down’ and you’re having to ‘confront your own betrayals and lies.’
This makes any change what CJ describes as ‘a long painful journey’. She should know. In her early twenties she was arrested in Japan for importa-tion of drugs. When I ask her for her lowest moment, she answers that there were two but that this first period of arrest, when she was held in solitary confinement in what amounted to a cage, with con-stant light 24 hours, was the first. After two weeks she spent another nine months in prison before conviction, dur-ing which she was informed that her sentence would be between ten and twent y yea rs. She was a lso si x months pregnant and knew
Insidetime July 2021Comment18 www.insidetime.org
No imposter!
Rachel Billington
Month by Month
‘In the voluntary sector, I come to work as my full self’
Coralyn Burge - CJ to her friends - has a first class de-gree in law, works for the St. Giles Trust as a National Ser-vice Manager, is a trustee for the Criminal Justice Alliance and, just recently, has been made a trustee for the Long-ford Trust. Over the last years she has gathered a list of awards which would make anyone proud. Yet CJ admits to suffering from ‘imposter syndrome’.
Imposter syndrome is her definition of what happens when a person goes through the prison experience. The process, she told me when I talked to her over Zoom last week, ‘destroys self-esteem,’ makes you feel like ‘a second class citizen’, voting rights taken away, of course, not
that her baby would be re-moved at birth.
Eventually she received nine and a half years of which she served six, over two years in a Japanese prison where she worked in a prison factory. But before that there was two weeks in a training factory where she was given fifty pieces of string and told to tie them, hand them to the guard for checking, and then untie them again. This was her
second lowest moment. How-ever, she understood that it was a test to see if she could be trusted to work on a sew-ing machine, and stuck with it. Nevertheless, she was still held in solitary confinement, with a guard on constant pa-trol outside. The shower room was made for 100 and all the women were told to strip off as they entered. It was, she told me, more like a military establishment than what we understand of a civilian prison.
When she was released to Holloway Prison and then HMP Send, her hardest job was relating once more to those in charge in an ordinary human way. I asked how she managed to survive her Japa-nese experience. She an-swered, ‘I realised I must focus on the positive. In the morning I did a gratitude ex-ercise: I have a family, who still want to look after me and want to look after my child, I still have a husband, even on just being alive.’ On the rare occasions a guard smiled, it would set her up for days. She points out that some people had worse to face. Once, dur-ing a court appearance, she was in the same holding cell as a 19 year-old Colombian woman whose boyfriend had set her up to carry drugs. She was looking at twenty years and was entirely on her own.
Denial, anger, grief, accept-ance, motivation, is how CJ sees the journey to a better future. ‘I wanted to make sure I could right all the wrongs.’ Her advice for others: ‘Take a day at a time in order to face the enormity of your situation.’By the time she left Japan, she’d read the entire bible and the Koran, not because she was strongly religious but to try and work out why she had got herself into this situation. By the time she arrived in England, she knew she had to work hard to achieve her goals and focussed on educa-tion and voluntary work as the way forward.
Before her conviction, CJ had already started a law degree, so it was obvious to try and pick it up. However the time
lapse made that impossible, so she began again with the Open University and she now believes that was a good thing as ‘I was a completely different person.’ After a year full-time and four years part-time; as she focussed on the needs of her family and child, including childcare resettle-ment leave. It was during this time that she received help from the Longford Trust and started volunteering for the St. Giles Trust. The result of determination was her first class honours degree and a real future ahead. She sur-prises me by saying, ‘I’m glad of the route my life took. It brought a lot to my life.’
Now that CJ is on the outside of prison looking in, she is very clear about the problems facing those trying to change
things for the better. She says, ‘The majority of people have been through immense trau-mas. Many suffer from mental depression, some an abusive parent. Probably those people have been wearing a mask for a long time, perhaps taking drugs and not working. The stats show that 60% of the prison population truanted when at school and 40% were expelled. In the general pop-ulation the figure is 1%. One quarter of the prison popula-tion were taken into care.’
The answer, CJ believes, for men and women and young-sters already so damaged by life, is more support from whenthey arrive through the gates to when they leave. Although courses can be good, they can also be superficial and unpro-ductive where there is no trust between staff and the people in their care. Her over-riding concern is that learned experience, such as she and others have, is used at plan-ning level in Prison Policy Teams. So what advice would her learned experience sug-gest for those about to come out and start a new life? ‘Be as proactive as you can. Chal-lenge yourself. Volunteer. Go for job interviews. Be brave.’
CJ herself, through the Long-ford Trust, went on placement to the Cabinet Office in White-hall, which makes her defi-nitely brave. I asked her what she learnt from that and she answered firmly, ‘It made me realise they are human be-ings like me. It showed me how day to day things hap-pen. It got rid of any naivety and showed me that even there, things can get blocked. And I saw the traditions first-hand, like the red box.’ She also got to do some network-ing, including an interesting d ay at t he M i n i s t r y of Justice.
Listening to CJ, I couldn’t help asking whether politics could be an ambition for her. She wasn’t at all sure about that. She suggested the media could make it a poisoned
chalice. Then she answered simply: ‘In the voluntary sec-tor, I come to work as my full self.’ Her days are spent with young people, often involved in gang-related crime. She uses her own experiences to talk in schools and group ses-sions. But then she began to list the things that should be improved in the prison estate, ‘Abolish six month sentences, stop sentences getting longer, stop using recall excessively, support community sen-tences…’ It all sounded quite political to me.
Instead we switched to a word or two about her appreciation of Inside Time, her interest in other peoples’ experiences, her enjoyment in coverage of the arts and poetry, her close reading of the legal pages and the essential prison radio timetable.
Finally, she wants me to re-mind our readers of the or-ganisations who are ready to help people in prison who may be struggling to find a point to their lives. The Long-ford Trust and the St. Giles Trust have been her way through, but there are many others if you search for them. She says, ‘Think of the oppor-tunities out there. Never give up hope.’
CJ: Opening big doors
Winning smiles
High achieving
Insidetime July 2021 Comment 19www.insidetime.org
Working with the police, we have stopped hundreds of thousands, and I’m not kidding, over ten years - we’ve stopped hundreds of thousands of children from com-ing into the system by them not get-ting arrested.
Time to go…Doyenne of the UK prison reform movement, Frances Crook OBE, steps down this month as CEO of the Howard League for Penal Reform after thirty-five years in post. She spoke exclusively to Inside Time about her reasons for leaving, the challenges she faced in post and her triumphs
A socialist at heart, “from a family of left wing dissent-ers”, Frances Crook OBE grad-uated in history from LiverpoolUniversity. Afterwards she qualified as a teacher, work-ing in secondary schools in Liverpool and London, until 1980 when she became cam-paigns co-coordinator at the British Section of Amnesty International. Twice elected as a Labour Councillor for East Finchley in the London Borough of Barnet, serving from 1982 to 1990, she led on housing and planning and held weekly surgeries. In 1986 she took the helm at the How-ard League and has been a prominent and highly vocal critic of Government penal policy ever since.
Our paths have crossed a number of times over the years, but only ever briefly. Until now we had never sat and had a proper conversa-tion. But the first thing I want
to know is how it feels to be leaving such an involved and leading position in our soci-ety after half a lifetime in the public eye? “It’s really weird,” she says. “I’m slightly in denial.”
Still a youthful sixty-some-thing I wondered if it was full retirement, or just retirement from the Howard League? “Well I’m stepping down from the Howard League,” she says, “but I’ve got one or two bits and pieces lined up. I’m not sure. I’m still thinking. There are some possibilities,” she says coyly. “I’m a grand-mother, with two little grand-children. My daughter works full time, she’s an academic in South Wales, so I was fully intending to interfere in their l ives - I ’m not sure how pleased she is about that, but we’ll see...”
The prisons debate has prob-ably never been so important. Despite a slight fall in the prisoner population during the pandemic, overcrowding is still the big issue, self-harm is still prevalent, re-offending rates a re st i l l h igh a nd
conditions in most prisons are still pretty grim. Will she still want to have a voice in the debate? Perhaps from the sidelines? “I will walk away from Criminal Justice issues,” she says. “I think it would be wrong to be involved… you know, like a ghost in the background. I may comment on social media, because,” she says smiling, “I have opinions that I think the world benefits from…”
This year the Howard League celebrates 100 years since its formation after merging with the Penal Reform League in 1921. Initially the Howard As-sociation, it was formed in 1866 and named after the first real penal reformer in this country, John Howard. Pay-ing his own way, between 1775 and 1790 Howard made a n u m b e r o f j o u r n e y s throughout Europe looking for a humane prison system that English gaols might em-ulate. The Association was formed almost eighty years after his death and modelled their independence on his style and values. In its first annual report the Association stated that its efforts were fo-cused on “the promotion of reformatory and remunera-tive prison labour, and the a b o l i t i o n o f c a p i t a l punishment.”
I put it to her that those who carry the cudgels for people in prison are not generally popular, even with their own families. How does her family view her work? “My father was a prison visitor to prison-ers in Brixton. My mother’s second husband was an alco-holic and ended up in prison - he took his own life in Bed-ford prison. So across the family no one has ever que-ried what I do.” Is that where her sense of social justice comes from? “Yes I think so, and also I have a tendency when everyone else is going in one direction I go in the other, as a kind of matter of principle. Just because the majority are doing some-thing, or believe something, that doesn’t mean it’s right.”
The other major penal reform organisation in the UK is the Prison Reform Trust. I was pleased to hear that the How-ard League and the PRT are working together on two re-ally important issues for pris-oners. “We’re working to try and get an amendment to the Police, Crime and Sentencing Bill,” she says. “Actually two amendments - one, which we stand maybe, a chance, is to get rid of the life licence, which is the worst, because once you get out they keep
putting you back in again. If you get rid of the life licence, and have a certified period of supervision, with no possibil-ity of recall unless it goes to court - well that’s one we might get. The other one, which sadly we don’t think we’ll get, is to have everyone on IPP resentenced. But it’s worth a try.”
The Howard League have run many campaigns and projects over the years. For ten years they had a project going into around 300 schools across the country to talk about citi-zenship and crime which helped to develop citizenship on the national curriculum. “It was all done with volun-teers,” she explains. “We would take the whole of year 10 (14 year-olds) off timetable for two days and did a whole structured programme, on what is crime? How do you deal with it? What is the crim-inal justice system? We had thousands of volunteers in-cluding police officers, mag-istrates, former prisoners doing it with us. It was all well-funded, because (she smiles) I’m ver y good at fund-raising… We now have our legal side, we take legal cases. We’ve got a big project at the moment looking at gambling and crime. Nobody else seems to be looking at it. We’ve been taking a lot of
evidence from people who have ended up in prison with gambling related employer fraud, family fraud and do-mestic violence too. Gambling is an addiction as much as drugs or drink. We asked magistrates what they knew about gambling and crime, they all know about problem gambling, but they don’t see it linked to criminality, be-cause the person coming be-fore them is to do with fraud, or domestic violence - and they never ask, whereas they would if drugs or alcohol was involved.”
The big question is, I guess, how do we change the sys-tem? For all the work of the Howard League, the PRT and myriad other non-govern-ment organisations who work tirelessly in order to improve the lives of people in prison, our prisons are still pretty much where they were dec-ades ago in terms of condi-t i o n s , t r e a t m e n t a n d attitudes. “It’s just too big a thing,” she says. “It’s too big to change. It’s the last unre-formed public service, but I think things would probably be much worse if we hadn’t been there. We helped to set up the ministerial board on deaths in custody, we put the pressure on so the systems are better. Deaths have actu-ally gone down during the lockdown, but I think it’s a huge indictment of how vio-lent and frightening prisons can be, that people feel safer locked in their cells all day rather than being out on the landings.”
Memorably she campaigned to overturn the prison book ban brought in by then Justice Secretary Chris Grayling “Oh what an idiot, what an idiot. He brought in changes to the IEP and I was reading through it when I realised books were no longer to be sent it. So I wrote a blog about it on a small website on a Sunday - by the following Friday we
had a host of top authors led by the Poet Laureate, (Carol Ann Duffy) outside Penton-ville prison. We supported the court case that got the ban overturned. That was fun.”
What’s the single most effec-tive thing she would do to make a real difference in our prisons? “I would abolish prisons as they are and make them places where people can thrive,” she says. “Where peo-ple are safe but above all where they can thrive. Work would be the best remedy. It’s what we all do. We gain social contacts, friendships, social interaction, money obviously from work - we pay tax so we feel we are contributing. That’s why I wanted to set up the possibility of people in prison having proper work. You can save for when you get out, help your family.” She explains that she actually set up a real work programme in HMP Coldingley, but it failed in the end when the Prison Service argued that as the prisoners were paying tax, they were entitled to employ-ment rights and that was not possible in the prison setting.
Finally, I ask her what she thought was her greatest achievement during her ten-ure. “The thing I’m most proud of,” she says without hesitating, “is keeping chil-dren out of the system com-pletely. I reckon, working with the police, who are very receptive, we have stopped hundreds of thousands, and I’m not kidding, over ten years - we’ve stopped hun-dreds of thousands of chil-dren from coming into the system by them not getting arrested. The arrest is the gateway, the door to the sys-tem. When we started this campaign there were a third of a million child arrests, last year there were 70,000. The result of that, there used to be three and a half thousand children in prison, now there are 500.”
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Frances: “I’m walking away”
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Pardon me Your Majesty!Violent life turned good recognised with Royal gesture of time back
Almost anyone who walked the landings of top security prisons in the 80s and 90s will have heard of the leg-end that was Yammy B, a
dangerous and violent her-oin addict who would stop at nothing in his endeavours to feed his habit. Yammy B was known and feared, mainly by drug dealers whom he vi-olently robbed on many oc-casions and was a pain in the neck for the system who had to move him between
prisons constantly. But that is not his whole story. Inside Time was lucky enough to get an interview with Sam-son ‘Yammy’ Bee and this is what he told us.
Hi Samson, or should I call you ‘Yammy’?
Yeah, that nickname has stuck with me. My real name is Samson Bee but when I was younger, I was quite a lucky thief so I got the nickname ‘Jammy Sammy’, but that sounds a bit childish when you get older. It became ‘Yammy’ because in patois, to ‘yam’ something is to grab it and eat it, and when it came to class A drugs that’s basi-cally what I did. So, yeah, call me whatever you feel comfort-able with.
So, where did you grow up?
Mainly around East London, Bow Road, then Ladbroke Grove, Harrow area. My dad was in the navy when he met my mum. My mum was Welsh, and my dad was Indian, but he wasn’t one of those meek Indian immigrants that you would see in the 1970’s, he was loud and didn’t take any nonsense. To be honest, I didn’t really have a happy childhood, there was a lot of domestic violence, I was in foster care aged 2, and when I was 10 my dad had a stroke, and I was taken into care.
Is that when you started get-ting into trouble?
Yeah, there was an abusive
member of staff in the kid’s home and I made a complaint about him, and nothing was done so in the heat of the mo-ment I stabbed the manager of the home with a compass. I got done for ABH, strangely because by rights it should have been GBH, and got taken to Stanford House Juvenile Remand Centre. I was there for 6-months. I was only 13 and when it got to court, I was g iven a condit ional dis-charge. At age 14, I was hang-ing around with the local street kids who were a bit older than me and seemed to have it all sussed, we were committing burglaries all over the place. I ended up nicked and got sent to an Ap-proved School, which was a very violent place, so I ab-sconded and committed more burglaries. In the end I was caught and ended up being sentenced to 3 months in Send Detention Centre.
How was that?
It was a bit frightening; I was only a kid and there was g row n men slapping us about, quite a shock. But I’ve always been a bit of a show-off, I liked to make people laugh, I like to play up to the crowd. Send was hard work; I got gate-arrested at the end of the sentence and ended up doing two lots of DC back-to-back. Then, when I got out, I basically went straight back to crime and ended up getting a 4-year detention sentence
Noel Smith
under Section 53. I done a lot of that sentence in Aylesbury and was fighting non-stop. After I got out from that one, I met a girl and tried to settle down, but it wasn’t for me. I was back in prison, starred up in Wandsworth, just as my son was about to be born.
It was in Wandsworth Prison that your life took a strange turn…
Yeah, I got a slip under my door telling me I was being shipped to Camp Hill on the Isle of Wight the next day, so I inveigled my way up to the Probation office to plead my case for why I shouldn’t go there. There were a few guys waiting, so I pushed in front of everyone and gave a quick knock on the door and opened it. I was confronted by a pris-oner who had his hands around the female Probation Officer’s neck and she was struggling to get away from him; his grip around her throat was stopping her screams. I did what any man would do, it was pure in-stinct, I rushed into the room and dragged him off her. Once free she managed to press the panic alarm and I’m rolling around the floor with the other fella. The screws came piling in, truncheons out, and started giving it to both of us. They started to drag me off to the block until the Probation Officer, who was very distraught, begged them not to take me.
Wow, so what happened?
The governor came to see me and said that this was the bravest act he had seen from a prisoner and said I could go to any prison I chose. About 6 months later I was going about my business in HMP Downview when I got called up to the office. There was a couple of official-looking guys from the Home Office who told me that by Royal Warrant I was to have 290 days knocked off my sen-tence! They handed me a cer-tificate, which I gave to my mum. I was out a month later, but it didn’t stop me going back to crime because by then I was addicted to heroin. There’s a lot more to my story, but the main point is that I have now finally changed my l i fe. I a m a much more spiritual person; I’m into giv-ing something back to society and helping kids who might be going down the wrong road. I have a YouTube chan-nel where I talk about the dangers of drugs and a crim-inal lifestyle.
What would be your message for people still in prison?
Learn from my story and from the stories of others. There’s always hope, no matter how bad things look. Recognise your own feelings and if things don’t feel right then err on the side of caution. Try to get yourself into a new envi-ronment and learn something every day.
Thank you, Yammy.
“Travels in my head…”
Yammy done good
Insidetime July 2021 Comment 21www.insidetime.org
around me, the conversation turns to England’s qualifier for the Euros against Poland last night. As per normal, the usual consensus of every would-be England manager (who always knows better than the actual man in charge of course) was ranging from ‘they were shit’ and ‘are going to get stuffed’ to ‘they look like something tasty’. They’ll win you know! Opinions hey; we’ve all got them and we love sharing them.
Before I know it, it’s been 40 minutes of walking around this 85’ square concrete box and time for my daily shower. Water is cold again and as an added bonus our 2’s landing showers are today locked, so I have to traipse either over to the 1’s landing or go upstairs to the 3’s or 4’s landings. Up-stairs are normally hot but it’s warm enough so I’ll use the 1’s today. I get all the usual
Leonard O’Groats, a nom de plume, is resident at HMP Wakefield
Long walk to freedom‘The walk is hard work, but the mind is so powerful and when I’m on this journey I’m not behind the door’
Spring 2021 - am I the actual fool that today is about? I am starting one of the most mad-cap experiences of my life on the silliest day of the year. I’m intending to walk nearly 873 miles - the length of the UK from Land’s End to John O’Groats - whilst in prison. I’m in my cell, a 6’ by 8’ room, on the two’s landing, with only a sink, toilet, bed and table for permanent company. I’ve got a TV and radio as well b ut , d e p e n d i ng o n m y
behaviour, they may be here one day and gone the next.
The thought of walking that distance is so daunting that taking the very first of over 1.8 million steps is overwhelming - what if I don’t make it? Is it an impossibly stupid thing to want to do? Will people give a damn that all I can manage is 6 steps before I turn around and do another 6 steps? All I see is 4 brick walls and a win-dow (plastic of course) with 4 bars 2” by 2” in front and a steel door confining me in here 221/2 hours a day.
Leonard O’Groats
Walk of a LifetimeWith Public Health Eng-land recommending peo-ple with convictions be encouraged to increase their walking to help re-gain health and wellbeing during the restrictions placed on them by COVID-19 and beyond, Recoop, the charity which has been pioneering new and effec-tive ways to support older prisoners (50+) since 2010, have developed a Land’s End to John O’Groats Vir-tual Walk. ‘On Track’ maps 27 stages along the 873 mile journey, giving walk-ers a realistic target to reach as they make their way up the country. There is a map for each stage, to-gether with an insight into the towns they visit, in-cluding photographs to help them take in some of the glorious virtual scen-ery along the way. Each walker has been given an ‘On Track ’ booklet, to-gether with a pedometer to enable and encourage them to complete their journey. For more infor-mation: www.recoop.org.uk
I am one lucky convict though - my windows actually open so I can let some air in. Some prisons I’ve been in on my journey through HMPPS only have vented windows, small blessings hey! Anyhow I di-gress. Here goes.
It’s 08.30 and exercise time in the yard; my one-and-a-half hours out of cell time today, so the first steps of this walk will actually be done in the fresh air. An 85’ perimeter concrete yard, fenced in by what is about a 15’ wire fence with razor wire adorning it. It’s what keeps me and the other 30-35 people socially distanced from each other - you people out there aren’t the only ones who have to socially distance you know. You can’t have the face masks all to yourselves - we have to wear them as well!
So my socially distanced trek from Cornwall to Scotland has begun. God above has given me sunshine to begin my journey today and even though it’s all grey concrete
The thought of walking that distance is so daunting that taking the very first of over 1.8 million steps is overwhelming.
‘oi, what you doing in the 1’s showers, you’ve got your own on the 2’s landing, use them’. Oh the people that I’m in a bubble with! Something else you people on the out thought that you had an exclusive right to as well … bubbles, who’d have believed it a year ago? We all thought bubbles were something we blew out of a bit of plastic dipped into washing-up liquid to try to keep the grandchildren quiet as they tried to catch them in their hands… simpler times eh?
Well that’s the first hour and a half done outside, now it’s back into my little concrete box to carry on this trek of all treks.17.00 hrs day 1, and though it’s been hellish I’ve m a nage d 14,11 2 s tep s - roughly 7 miles! 7 miles out of a total of 873, so only 866 left. I won’t bore you every day with the totals but suffice to say I’m still going after day 1 - so far so good. I’ll catch up with you soon when I’ve put my feet into a bowl of luke-warm water and restored some sensation back into them!
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STRIVE BETTER!George Floyd - reflections one year on from murder
So much has happened that it seems almost incredible to believe that one year has al-ready passed since the day that George Floyd was mur-dered. Since the day when another person of colour died at the hands of the law. The very same law that is known internationally to protect the weak and uphold justice. The same day which arguably was an inst igator for people around the world to unite in disgust over the horror and injustice, and to shout with one voice “enough w a s enough”. Their voices didn’t stop.
Winston Churchill is cited as saying: “The truth is incontro-vertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” And that is exactly what hap-pened; across the different discussions, people tried to come up with all sorts of rea-sons why Derek Michael Chauvin; the Minneapolis Police Officer later found guilty of his murder, was not criminally responsible. But every single source of video footage showed the undisput-able truth.
Now here we are a year on, George Floyd’s killer was found guilty by his peers and a new civil rights and police reform bill drafted by Demo-crats in the United States Con-gress. Former president of the United States Obama writes: “Hundreds more Americans have died in encounters with police; parents, sons, daugh-ters, friends taken from us far too soon. But the last year has also given us reasons to hope.
Today, more people in more places are seeing the world more clearly than they did a year ago. It’s a tribute to all those who decided that this time would be different; and that they, in their own ways, w o u l d h e l p m a k e i t different.”
In a recent publication, Civil Rights Activist Jesse Jackson remarked: “The outrage at the murder of George Floyd breaks open doors that have been locked for decades and opens new possibilities. The justified rage, the expression of despair, opens the possibil-ity of hope”.
Both these articulations are correct in the fact that around the world, people are talking in ways that they were per-haps not before. One positive thing social media has cre-ated, especially in this era of COVID, are spaces where peo-ple can communicate quickly. I remember talking with my friends a few days after the video went viral and all of us
were talking about instances of racism we had faced. In the workplaces, in our upbring-ing and in our social circles. I remember one of my friends starkly saying, “Why did I put up with it?” and all of us in response reaching out in some kind of solidarity of sadness.
You’d think most people would respond with empathy, or at least listen to what was being said, but the sheer neg-ative response shown in re-turn was heartbreaking: “If you don’t like it go back to where you came from” was a common retort …“Talking about it makes it worse” was another and I personally have been told by white counter-parts (some of whom I have known for many, many years) that what I have experienced wasn’t racism, like they are some sort of experts on the subject.
The question is: One year on. Has enough been done? My honest response: I don’t think it has.
I want to evidence my posi-tion and bring to light a few different examples. The first is the discussion about Black Lives Matter on the football pitch, with players ‘taking the knee’. Let’s leave aside the debate on what core ideals BLM stands for (its opponents continually try to condemn it as Marxist and extreme left ideals) and instead let’s look at what’s actually happening. In a recent BBC report, John Barnes said: “There’s this whole thing about players taking the knee, there are dis-cussions on whether this should stop - for many players
they were saying like, you know, we’re going to continue taking the knee because we need to keep the discussion going, and then some players are saying: ‘Well, no, I don’t want to take the knee any-more, okay?’ Now the discus-sion is about why these players don’t want to take the knee”.
Do you see my point? This whole thing is staying at dis-cussion level to keep the ‘con-versation going’ but what conversat ion is actually translating into action? I think about it, over the past year, what action has actually occurred? Have we started to see more equality at senior positions within the work-forces? Have more offensive statues been removed? Has there been more positive ac-tion for minoritized groups in terms of their recognition? Has there been any changes within Criminal Justice you can think of? Sure, there has been lots of talk and lots of posts and lots of marches - b u t w h a t h a s a c t u a l l y changed? Instead, happened? The Sewell Report, which rather than acknowledging an intergenerational pain, many thought minimised it.
There was the case regarding
Junior Smart
Junior Smart OBE is Business Development Manager at St Giles Trust: www.stgilestrust.org.uk
football legend Ian Wright where he was racially abused online (Guardian, 2021). The person concerned pleaded guilty but actually escaped conviction, arguably evading any punishment and sending out in my opinion all the wrong messages. If you think Ian Wright is the only person who gets racially abused on-line think again; there is feed upon feed for which racial hat red is d isplayed f re -quently. It’s almost the de-fault position and it is hard to think that it is not a mountain that needs to be climbed in order to make changes and it is difficult to know where to start.
I was privileged to hear Mar-tin Luther King’s son speak in an online debate. Truly it was amazing to see. He said: “You know, my father would not be happy. We haven’t done enough. My father was pro-gressive so by now, if he was alive, this whole thing about racism should have been long done and dusted and actually we should be talking about the financial inequality. We should be attacking things like poverty and world hun-ger, because he said once you tackle that, all the violence would simmer down…we ha-ven’t even begun to start with
that by now because we are nowhere near.”
This was so powerful for me; what happened when they took out the leader who used the right means of non-vio-lence? I honestly think his followers were shocked and didn’t know where to go next, and ultimately in the absence of a leader of that kind of magnitude people ended up making settlements and they said what we have is enough for now. Well, this is my fear. A year on, the settlement will be once Chauvin gets sent down people will be satisfied. The truth is no leaders or change arise through times of satisfaction or happiness. For my peers and the generation before me, hearing offensive words and laughing off jokes that hurt them inside hap-pened so often that it just be-came the norm to accept it. It became their socialization. Acceptance of that kind can never be good. We need to strive for better selves, better ideals, and better purpose if we want a better society in every aspect.
The outrage at the murder of George Floyd breaks open doors that have been locked for decades and opens new possi-bilities. The justi-fied rage, the expression of despair, opens the possibili-ty of hope. Jesse Jackson
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No food, no meds, no human contact…Basic needs of prisoner found dead in cell, ‘not met’
Gus was my friend and colleague. When I re-ceived a call from his auntie telling me his body had been found in a segregation cell the previous night, I was totally unprepared for the searing sense of absolute and total sorrow I still feel, two and a half years later.
For the past 11 years I have run Safe Ground, a charity which works with prisoners and their families. Gus became involved with the organ-isation even before I did. In around 2008, he took part in our Family Man project - the first parenting programme ever designed and run in UK prisons. He was in Wandsworth and already a seasoned prisoner with years of ex-perience of the justice system.
Gus credited Family Man as having an im-mense impact on his attitudes and capacity for communicating with his family - he told me how he was able to rebuild and reconfigure many of his important family relationships.
In 2011 he signed up for a film project we were running in HMP Wandsworth. My colleague Obinna told me there was a participant who was particularly engaged, but quite critical and cynical. I first met Gus at the film screen-ing inside the prison. He admitted to having doubts about the project, but was impressed by the integrity of our organisation.
The following year, Safe Ground returned to HMP Wandsworth to trial our pilot Man Up programme. We spent a week working with a group of 10 men in a portable building and Gus was the first to arrive. He came in with his obviously thinning hair in plaits, carrying a pillowcase from which he would produce bis-cuits, teabags, sugar, pens, pencils and all kinds of useful, surprising and coveted items. On the last afternoon, when we were present-ing our collective work to an invited audience, I arrived to find he had single-handedly swept and mopped the floor. Such was his care, com-mitment and pride in our work.
Gus stayed in touch with Safe Ground and be-came a constant part of our charity’s develop-ment, despite a return to prison on remand (he was found not guilty of this charge). “No dra-mas,” he used to say.
The first time Gus was released from prison after a 10 year sentence - of which he served the entire length - I remember him seeing me at an event and giving me one of the biggest hugs I’ve ever had in public. I was aware how many people would think it was unprofes-sional of me, but I was very happy to see him free and I was moved by his excitement, energy and joy. I shared it.
His probation officer asked me to go on a visit with her and Gus was adamant he wouldn’t go into a hostel place she had found him. We spent an hour arguing and he did go into that hostel. Needless to say, he was evicted shortly after.
It wasn’t easy to help Gus find housing, but it was odyssey. On one occasion, his housing officer was late to a meeting and Gus, having travelled a long way to get there, at financial cost and in great pain from his significant illness, wanted an apology. He didn’t get one - but amid raised tempers, he did get banned from the housing office and had his housing support from the council withdrawn.
In 2018, at the age of 43, Gus had just success-fully spent his first full year out of prison as an adult - but then found himself back in Wormwood Scrubs on remand for a horrible offence, possibly facing a long sentence. Fol-lowing a confrontation with a prison officer he
was taken to the Segregation Unit, where he was found dead. Last month, his inquest at last demonstrated that Winston Augustine - his full name - had been left without food, medication or any human contact (including having his door or hatch opened) for at least the final 48 hours of his life. Prison officers told the inquest that they did not consider it safe to open his cell door because he was regarded as “non-compliant”. The jury said in a statement: “Winston relied on the prison service. His basic needs were not met, which contributed to his death.” It could not determine whether he had intended to take his own life.
Gus was very used to prison life, rhythms and routines and would never have said he didn’t ‘deserve’ to be in prison for any crime he com-mitted. He never argued with the system if and when it was ‘correct’; he would always chal-lenge it if and when it was in any way incorrect or poorly followed. He was very clever, very astute, very aware of the importance of policy and procedure, and he was a stickler for au-thority figures being accurate, fair and relia-ble. Doing their job, you could say.
His death, like that of the many other men, women, children and babies that have died in UK prisons in the last two and a half years, is not only a tragedy, it is a travesty.
Hearing your loved one has died is horren-dous; hearing that he died as a direct conse-quence of individual and systemic failings is unbearable. Winston’s family continues to bear the pain of his imprisonment and will continue to grieve, mourn and fight to chal-lenge the idea that once in prison people cease to be human.
Gus’s partner Kim told me: “Nearly three years later and we still can’t come to terms with what
has happened to Winston. I cannot put into words how much of an amazing family-ori-ented man he was. Those who were lucky to know Winston knew he would do absolutely anything for you, there were no limits to what he’d do for his loved ones.
“Although throughout his life he had been in prison, it broke our hearts knowing he had passed away there. The treatment he received before passing away was truly horrendous. Having no human contact, being starved and not having his medication for the last 48 hours of his life is completely inhumane and haunts us as a family to this day. The system is meant to rehabilitate and meet the needs of prisoners, not treat them like wild animals.”
Prison has often been said to kill people’s spirit, hope and family ties. However, the pub-lic and politicians appear to believe in it de-spite evidence for alternatives. If prisons are to exist, they must be made safe. There is re-search going into how to improve prison sui-cide prevention and create ‘trauma informed’ prison environments. Many argue this is a contradiction in terms.
In Gus’s name and memory, Safe Ground con-tinues to champion the importance of high quality therapeutic group work, clear and con-sistent relationships and boundaries, and the possibilities of people being more than any single aspect of themselves. We’re all messy and complex and capable of doing and saying harmful, hurtful and spiteful things. When that hurt, hate and spite get embedded in sys-tems and institutions, however, we all suffer the dreadf ul, lethal and unavoidable consequences.
Charlie Weinberg
Charlie Weinberg is the Executive Director of Safe Ground
Thousands of people have now been heard.
If you were sexually abused as a child in England or Walesand would like to tell the Truth Project, you can share whathappened by writing to us. We encourage you to take partbefore the Truth Project concludes in October 2021.
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Winston’s family continues to bear the pain of his impris-onment and will continue to grieve, mourn and fight to challenge the idea that once in prison people cease to be human.
Gus when he was winning - flanked by Charlie Weinberg and film director Ken Loach
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Insidetime July 2021Comment24 www.insidetime.org
Tales of Wisdom
Sid Arter is a teacher and entertainer
The worry tree
One day I hired a carpenter to help me on a house renovation project that I was undertak-ing. We had worked hard all day on the old farmhouse and I had been impressed with his workmanship. He had got a puncture in his van that made him late arriving, his electric saw stopped working during the afternoon and he had to
Sid Arter saw the timber by hand and now his old van would not start; leaving him stranded miles from his home. As he lived on my route home, I gave him a lift and he sat in stony silence as if all the cares of the world were on his shoulders.
On arriving at his house, he invited me in to meet his fam-ily. As we walked towards the front door, he stopped briefly at a small tree in his front gar-den and stroked the tips of the branches with both hands.
After he opened the front door he underwent an amazing transformation. His face lit up and a big smile spread over it - he hugged his two small chil-dren and gave his wife a kiss. Afterwards, he walked with me back to my car and I offered to pick him up the following morning. As we passed the tree my curiosity got the better of me and I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
“Ah, that’s my worry tree”, he replied. “I know I can’t help having difficulties and chal-lenges during the day at work, but I am sure of one thing - troubles don’t belong in the house with my wife and chil-dren. So, I just hang my wor-ries up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning I go and pick them up again. Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come out in the morning to pick them up, there aren’t nearly as many there as I remember h a n g i n g u p t h e n i g h t before.”
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Have you ever wondered why people are so often at variance as to the truth about a given situation? If someone starts off a statement with ‘the fact is…’ or ‘to tell the truth…’ the chances are that what you are about to hear is anything but the truth. And even if that some-one was to be absolutely convinced that they were giving a true account, it must be remem-bered that human memory can be very unreliable.
The human brain, when fed with stimuli, strives to make sense of what it ‘sees’ and ‘hears’. It loves to fit the input into its own ideas of how things should be. That is why an ‘eyewitness’ is usually more of an ‘eye-worth-less’ and when there are several eyewitnesses to the same event, they seldom agree on what they have seen - even the most seemingly ob-vious points. What colour was the car? How many people did you see? Were they wearing hats? What about the gorilla that rode past on a bicycle?
Even if a witness’s brain records a true account in its memory, there is no guarantee that, over time, the memory will be preserved without alteration, adulteration, or modification. Mark Twain (as usual) put it beautifully - ‘When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my facul-ties are decaying now, and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the latter’.
Human memory is exceedingly fallible. Fac-tual information entering the brain can be interpreted (modified) before it is committed to memory. Once there, it becomes vulnerable to further adaption as a result of 1) extra infor-mation that may arrive, 2) the prejudices and vulnerabilities of the brain’s owner, and 3) the ravages of time and old age. All this means that memory cannot be relied upon and, as time passes, it becomes less and less reliable. This has far-reaching implications when judg-ing ‘historic events’ that may not have hap-pened at all.
What is more, memories can be adapted, mod-ified, or completely changed by suggestion from a dishonest or biased source. As the late author and broadcaster Ludovic Kennedy wrote - ‘people everywhere and at all times are notoriously gullible. Provided a thing is said with sufficient conviction and authority, there is almost nothing that men and women cannot be persuaded to believe and act upon’. Taking all of this into consideration, how on earth are we to believe anything we hear, or to be sure when we are hearing the truth?
The truth is…There are several ways of arriving at a conclu-sion, but only one way of arriving at what is most likely the truth: start with an idea of what the truth might be, then, if sufficiently com-pelling evidence to disprove the conjecture cannot be found, you can assume for the mo-ment that your conjecture may well be the truth. Only someone intent on confirming a foregone conclusion, rather than finding the truth, would try to prove a conjecture by look-ing only for evidence that supports it and dis-carding any that doesn’t. Other methods of getting to the truth have been tried, but to say that they have been proved less than reliable would be an understatement.
For instance, it has been claimed that hypno-tism can reveal otherwise forgotten memories - sometimes decades old - and some remarka-ble results seem to have been obtained but, on closer examination, it turns out that imagina-tion has played a larger part in the enterprise than memory has. Research also now shows that the much-vaunted ability to read ‘body language’ as an indication of veracity is based more upon wishful thinking and self-delusion than on reality. In any case, how can an inter-rogator be sure that a liar does not know the right signals to send in order to appear to be telling the truth?
Which brings us to the device known as the polygraph, or lie-detector, which, assumed by most people to be dead, persists in refusing to lie down. This particular piece of science mumbo-jumbo (the ‘results’ of which have, quite rightly, never been accepted as evidence in British courts) has been entirely discredited by proper research, and thanks to the igno-minious demise of the Jeremy Kyle Show, has now been discarded even as a dubious means of ‘entertainment’.
Research has found the polygraph to be worse than useless because it is based upon miscon-ception and is entirely subject to interpreta-tion. There is not one scrap of scientific evidence that this device has any value (see ‘The Truth About Lie Detectors’: New Scientist - May 25th 2019, and ‘Lies, Damned Lies and Polygraphs’: Inside Time - August 2020 issue). You are as likely to discover the truth with a polygraph as you are by examining the entrails of a goat. This seems to have been accepted by everyone except those who know they are on to a good thing with a device that can confirm exactly what it is that they want to confirm.
In ‘Predicting the Future’ (page 4 - Inside Time May 2021), C Broughton writes that ‘…lie detec-tors are not 100% accurate’. That is a massive understatement, unless of course you are the one wielding the device, in which case it is as accurate as you want it to be.
I don’t know where all this leaves us, but I find it rather unsettling given that our justice sys-tem relies so heavily on accusations or on wit-ness statements which may or may not be true reflections of events that may or may not have happened, whilst continuing to use a discred-ited device in order to decide between freedom and custody: and that is the truth.
When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now, and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the latter’. Mark Twain
Insidetime July 2021 Comment 25www.insidetime.org
Doctor Anna Schliehe - on behalf of the COMPEN research team Ben Crewe, Alice Levins, Julie Laursen, Kristian Mjåland
Anna Schliehe
Norway v England and WalesFeeding back research on comparing the imprisonment of men convicted of sex offences in England & Wales and Norway
Following on from the article published in Inside Time last month about research find-ings from the COMPEN (The Comparative Pe-nology Group) project, this piece expands on one of the four sub-studies of the project on the experiences of people convicted of sex offences in both Norway and England & Wales. These jurisdictions were chosen as examples of different kinds of societies, with Norway seen as more ‘inclusionary’ and England & Wales as more ‘exclusionary’. Societies which are inclusionary deal with crime as a social problem and ensure that people who have been punished can return to a meaningful life; exclusionary societies are built on ‘othering’ the punished and insist that wrongdoers are fundamentally different.
The two jurisdictions have drastically different rates of imprisonment: in 2018, England & Wales had a prison population rate of 142.4 prisoners per 100,000 people in the overall population; the rate in Norway is 65.4 per 100,000. However, prisoners convicted of sex offences make up a similar proportion (around 18%) of the prison population in both jurisdic-tions. Generally, people convicted of sex of-fences experience multiple exclusions - from wider society by virtue of their incarceration, and from other prisoners by virtue of their conviction. This study is based on 85 inter-views in England & Wales and 44 in Norway, within 13 prisons overall and post-release.
FindingsOur interview participants in England & Wales described their punishment as marked by a highly authoritarian form of exclusion, which saw them as risky and in need to be controlled to protect the public. They were understood as permanently and uniquely dangerous, as if their risk could be reduced but never removed. Kyle, a life-sentenced prisoner, encapsulated this as follows:
‘Sex offenders are never ever cured. Right? All that happens is they are taught how to manage their risk. How to recognise when situations are becoming dangerous, like who to go to and see for help’.
This sense of enduring and extreme danger was reflected in the tight legal restrictions which were placed on our interviewees in Eng-land & Wales, both within and beyond the prison, which were much stricter than for peo-ple with other convictions. Indeed, the nature of these restrictions meant that it was common for people who had been released to say that they still felt like they were in prison. Joel, for example, said that he refused to let himself feel like his sentence was over or that he was free. Otherwise, he risked breaking a rule and being recalled into custody:
‘Complacency sets in, and it’s very easy then to do something which may then go against a SOPO or a licence condition, even a minor thing, that’s still a recall [to custody], you’re back in-side. I don’t let myself feel that I’m… I’m still on my sentence; I’m still in prison; I’m just in a different prison. I’m in a very, very, very open prison’.
Interview participants in England & Wales argued that these restrictions showed the legal system operating on the presumption that they were not able to change, and they also argued that the prison showed very little interest in encouraging them to change. Many com-plained about the low availability of courses, and struggles to get a place on programmes. Overall, then, the form of rehabilitation to which these men were exposed can be de-scribed as ‘authoritarian’ but inconsistent, offering a path to change which was narrow and laden with obstacles which also made it harder for prisoners to engage in serious moral reflection about what they had done.
Hopeful Our participants in Norway described their relationship to the state differently, in a way that suggested they continued to be seen as citizens during and after their incarceration. The discourse of risk was significantly less pronounced, and they also faced very few re-strictions. Many prisoners in Norway de-scribed the primary purpose of their sentence as censure, that is, as expressing the wrong-ness of the offence. Bertram captured this well when he said that his sentence said to him and the community ‘that this is not acceptable be-haviour…that this is not okay, this is not ac-cepted’. The majority of our interviewees in Norway were hopeful about their lives after release and about their ability to rejoin society. Almost everyone reported receiving some form of help with accommodation and employment from the welfare services. However, those who had not been able to maintain social and fam-ily networks experienced or anticipated a fu-gitive and fragile inclusion in Norwegian society. Ole-Jørgen, for example, described this:
‘And it is funny when you got out for permission [leave], you have this phone, but nobody is call-ing, you have nobody to call, and this is hard. You have bad days, and you have... I always had somebody to lean on - you can call a friend or a cousin or whatever. Now I have nobody to lean on, you know, empty... And the other way when the few times you feel a little bit of happiness that is a long time ago, and you have nobody to tell, that is hard too’.
Here, we see the limits of the state’s capacity to ‘include’ people, in situations where it can-not counteract processes of exclusion within
society. For many men convicted of sex of-fences, imprisonment in Norway represented a sort of ‘benign storage’: the prisons in which they were held were relatively safe, decent and harmless, but their sentences were often ex-perienced as empty and meaningless.
The overall findings that emerged from the comparative analysis are presented in con-densed form in the above table.
DiscussionOur findings indicate that the Norwegian state intervened relatively little in the lives of men
convicted of sex offences during and after their imprisonment. Punishment operated to cen-sure people for wrongdoing - when their prison sentence was over, their punishment was more likely to officially end. However, punishment was not necessarily experienced as morally meaningful or ‘inclusionary’. This liberal ap-proach meant that the state was reluctant to intervene in social spaces after release, where the community was the main driver of inclu-sion and exclusion. While rehabilitative op-portunities were sometimes available, many prisoners described their sentence as an empty ritual. We therefore describe the Norwegian approach as representing ‘laissez-faire inclu-sion’, using this ambiguous term in a way which reflects both negligence and a liberal respect for individual autonomy.
In England & Wales, the state intervened much more in the lives of men convicted of sex of-fences, and punishment primarily involved the management of risk. This led to people con-victed of sex offences being deprived of many rights and saddled with many burdens, and this resulted in an enduring exclusion from the citizenry. Capturing the coercive and invasive nature of these interventions, we describe the English and Welsh approach as ‘authoritarian exclusion’. The state intervened ‘tightly’ in people’s lives in prison and after release, im-posing rigid burdens and restrictions which limited people’s ability to rejoin their communities.
Aim of penal system
Who are men convicted ofsex offences to the state?
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Insidetime July 2021Comment26 www.insidetime.org
Inside Voices
Phil – HMP Littlehey
For many years now I’ve been reading about the plight of IPP prisoners, many of whom are way over tariff and who remain the wrong side of the wall - I’m one myself, and for many years I’ve seen the same tired old words and phrases used when trying to convey our sad situation to whose who would listen. But up until now I’ve never seen anything visual used to high-light what must surely be one of the most deplorable pieces of legislation ever passed into law.
I’m sure you must have heard the saying before: ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’,
so not having a thousand words that haven’t already been used, I give you my in-terpretation of an IPP pris-oner, a visual experience. Meet ‘LEN TESKO’ (an ana-gram of skeleton), my new pad-mate, he has an ID card complete with photo and p r i s o n n o . A 2 0 0 5 E G (A-2005-example). He has a complete parole dossier in his right hand, full of all the usua l recom mendat ions thrown in for good measure - without the word ‘RELEASE’ being used once. He has the ever-present Parkhurst Pana-tela (cigarette), his guitar, and sports an off icial COVID mask. God forbid he should contract the dreaded disease and pass away whilst still serving what is now, I believe,
an illegal sentence. Can you imagine the red faces and the paperwork?
On his brighter days his eyes light up, courtesy of a doc-tored printed circuit board and light diodes from a can-teen reading light, the batter-ies being housed in his skull in a battery holder cut from a broken TV remote with the on/off switch being about where his ear would be, they glow red. His hat? Well, he has to have something to raise in gratitude when the Gover-nor comes on the wing, albeit with two extended fingers under the brim!
So, there he is, my vision of the IPP prisoner, Len, in all his glory, for all to see. A con-sistent visual reminder that we’re all still here, some-where, not quite the men we used to be, with many fast fading into the oblivion of prison routine, not forgetting of course the three score or more that were pushed be-yond the point of no return - words fail me. He stands there every day, patiently, in the corner, a gentle reminder that he is still here! That he won’t slip away quietly into the night, tucked away in some forgotten folder or tiredly dis-missed by turning a page or clicking a button, he’s real, we all are, life is only on loan, it’s not forever, and words are no longer enough, its action we need and soon or I can see many more ‘Lens’ appearing in the system.
As for the reactions of others around the wing, including staff: “That’s sic Bruv”, “Nail on the head mate”, “Bang-ing”, “I want one”, “I totally get it”, “I love him, you should take him to a wing meeting” and so on. It’s even been sug-gested that he applies for a job as Listener.
It would seem that what started out as a time-killer and a bit of a laugh has be-come something that others can relate to whilst having a chuckle themselves. What do you think? I’d be interested to hear any feedback from your good selves or others.
PS. He’s completely made of wood (painted) with his gui-tar being shaped from MDF and pine strips overlaid with veneer, the frets are paper-clips. Hates cardboard and felts. There’s also a wheelbar-row load of patience in there somewhere … approx. 3 months’ worth!
Contrary to popular belief, defendants in crim-inal trials can come from all walks of life. Some people accused of crimes might have grown up in poverty or spent their childhood years rotating around the country’s conveyor belt care system; however, others will have a uni-versity degree under their belt and may, though it is rarer to see, have enjoyed the priv-ilege of a private education. In the UK’s crim-inal courts, you can expect to see both men and women in the dock, and they will be white, black, young, elderly. As long as you’re an adult, you may stand in those courts and be tried by your peers. It therefore seems logical that the judge sitting directly opposite you could be any regular person with a law degree. Alas, it doesn’t really work like that; it’s unfor-tunately a more predictable situation.
Do right to allI recently read the end-of-year appointments list for High Court judges, and to say it was repetitive would be quite the understatement. Six of the newly appointed judges went to Cam-bridge, eight went to Oxford, and one studied at the University of London. Considering that less than 1% of the adult population attended either Oxford or Cambridge, it might be worth asking why 71% of senior judges went to the colloquial Oxbridge. A disproportionate amount of those judges had also attended in-dependent schools. While some of the new judges were state educated, none were from a Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic background, despite pledges previously made by the Judi-cial Appointments Commission to increase diversity. But why is this a problem? To figure that out, you first have to consider the 2008 ‘job description’ of a judge - as given by the former Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge.
A judge must do right to all manner of people without fear, favour, affection or ill-will, the definition given by Lord Judge reads and many qualities are required for that. He or she must know the law and know how to apply it, and the judge must also be wise to ‘the ways of the world’. Judges must have moral courage to make unpopular decisions and to defend the right to equal treatment before the law.
Really though, it would be rare to find an Ox-bridge graduate who knows what struggles are, given the pampered environment they will be familiar with - and their immunity from proper punishment. Perhaps we should look to the late judge James Pickles for an honest comment; after all, his relentless description of one senior legal figure as a ‘dinosaur’ and another as a ‘pompous, toffee-nosed Etonian’ will surely be remembered throughout history.
No sympathy for wrongful convictionsA judge will need to demonstrate objectivity,
The judiciary is afraid of diversity‘It would be rare to find an Oxbridge graduate who knows what struggles are, given the pampered environment they will be familiar with’
but that isn’t always easy due to the deep-rooted human response known as affinity bias. It means, in essence, to prefer people similar to ourselves. By that logic, judges will be more inclined to sympathize with those coming from a ‘fiefdom of entrenched privi-lege’; whereas, if a judiciary is fairly diverse, affinity bias and lack of objectiveness will be less of a problem. As a result, no sympathy can be found from the judiciary for high-profile victims of miscarriages of justice. Lord Den-ning, the Master of the Rolls who attended Magdalen College, Oxford, can be quoted as saying that ‘the whole community would have been satisfied’ if a wrongful execution had occurred in the case of the Birmingham Six, and that the ‘appalling vista’ that was inves-tigations into police corruption ‘should not go any further’. During his lengthy career he also described homosexuality as a ‘cult’ and said that Black people were not ‘sufficiently quali-fied’ to serve on juries.
The situation is still far from perfect when you consider that the Conservative Party and La-bour Party, as well as the Liberal Democrats, are led by white men in their late fifties who all attended fee-paying independent schools and graduated from Oxford, the elitist ‘Bulling-don Club’ university, in the 1980s. It is life experience that enables a person to relate to another; a judge could visualize an offence in their head, thus allowing them to accurately determine a crime’s seriousness - and to un-derstand why a person turned to crime and whether there is any hope for rehabilitation.
No faithFurthermore, there is a risk that public confi-dence in the justice system could be eroded. If somebody is the victim of a misdeed but has no faith in the process, they may choose not to report that misdeed, negatively affecting the administration of justice. It is also worrying because potential law students may be prompted to question their chances of success in the industry. According to Lord Neuberger, former President of the Supreme Court, the statistics suggest that ‘we do not have the best people’.
The two universities have produced 42 out of 55 Prime Ministers and can boast alumni such as Prince Charles, who was famously accepted into Trinity College, Cambridge, with two un-impressive A-levels (the minimum is supposed to be four). Perhaps it has something to do with the questionable admission procedures found at Oxbridge, described by David Lammy MP, Shadow Justice Secretary, as ‘the bastion of the old school tie’. In 2009, it was revealed that the inner-city London Metropolitan University had more Black students than every Russell Group university put together. The judiciary is very similar to Oxbridge in that it is afraid of diversity - and, as a result, the underprivileged suffer.
Elliot Tyler
Elliot Tyler is a former prisoner and under-graduate at Portsmouth University
Len Tesko and me “I’m IPP me”
Insidetime July 2021 Comment 27www.insidetime.org
Prison of the futureA glimpse of incarcerated life to come
Construction of HMP Five Wells is almost com-plete, as the photos on this page show. When it opens early next year it will be one of the UK’s biggest jails, holding 1,680 men. Billed as the first purpose-built resettlement prison, it includes new design features intended to make it a place where prisoners can turn their lives around.
Its seven cross-shaped house blocks will be constructed on four separate floors, rather than traditional galleried walkways. When prisoners come out of their cells to mix, it will be on a landing with only 60 men - in line with current Prison Service thinking that associat-ing in smaller groups reduces opportunities for bullying and violence. The space can be further sub-divided into three spurs of 20 men, if needed.
A Prison Service spokesman said the “smaller
prisoner communities” would be one of the measures intended to give Five Wells an “at-mosphere conducive to rehabilitation.”
Almost all cells will be single-occupancy. Ex-cept on the ground floor, windows in cells and communal areas will be constructed without bars. They will be made of secure, toughened glass, and they will not open - to prevent the
passing of items between cells, and to reduce littering. Mesh grills will allow ventilation.
House blocks will feature kitchenette areas and association spaces. Each house block will have two medical cells on its ground floor; double-sized cells with a wet-room shower and single central bed to allow a hoist to be used.
The jail will feature 24 workshops providing jobs for 500 men, as well as 16 classrooms, four football pitches and a multi-faith centre able to hold 240 people for a religious service. Solar panels and heat pumps will reduce energy consumption. It is being built by construction giant Kier Group, at a cost of £253 million, on the site of the former HMP Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire. Prisoners on day release from Sudbury open prison have helped with the construction.
The first prisoners are expected to be admitted early next year, and it is set to reach full capac-ity by the end of the year. Five Wells will be the first of six new prisons scheduled to open as part of a £4 billion building programme from the Ministry of Justice. Together with expansion at existing prisons, the aim is to provide 18,000 extra places to cope with an expected surge in prisoner numbers over the next five years.
Some of the design features being pioneered at Five Wells will also feature in the other new
prisons. A Prison Service spokesman said: “HMP Five Wells’ primary purpose is to create spaces that reduce reoffending, resulting in safer communities, and it is the first in a series of new build prisons that will transform the MoJ’s existing prison estate.”
The jail will be run by private operator G4S as a category C prison, the lowest security cate-gory in the male closed prison estate in Eng-land and Wales. It will be the third-biggest establishment after Oakwood and Berwyn. Throughout 2022, the Prison Service will work with G4S to identify prisoners in a “resettle-ment window” - often those approaching the end of their sentences - who are suitable for transfer to the new jail.
A spokesperson for G4S said: “As the UK’s first purpose-built resettlement prison, HMP Five Wells will foster a purposeful environment that aims to prepare its residents for their tran-sition back into society. This means providing them with skills and qualifications so they have the best chance to secure employment and turn away from crime.”
Inside Time report
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We understand that this is a natural element of living in the country, but we really thought that the ducks were clever enough to remain in the water overnight, resting on a fallen tree branch for cover.
However, at the beginning of May we were thrilled to see Dilly making plans to build a nest and laying eggs. Francis had been the dutiful partner and kept a close eye on her.
We had a sma ll unused chicken coop that she found as an ideal nesting box and we helped by putting it in the middle of a wire surround, with the only entrance and exit through the water edge. Enough to thwart a fox or even a badger.
What we didn’t anticipate were the magpies, who had found a way of getting in and stealing the eggs. Eventually we managed to g ive her
Insidetime July 2021 Comment 29www.insidetime.org
regime in a prison is as incon-gruous as Greta Thunberg giv-ing a lecture on fragile eco-sys-tems whilst manning the harpoon on a Japanese whal-ing ship.
So, how the hell has Grendon pulled off the prison/therapy dichotomy for so long? From what I can gather, they have done so by forging their own path and by, historically, doing things differently from the rest of the estate. This has been its saving grace: they ha-ven’t kowtowed to the media driven lust for ever more dra-conian measures; they have held on to experienced staff; encouraged multiple outside agencies to get involved; sup-ported personal growth with events; created a semblance of democratic engagement; provided safety and consisten-cy . Above all they have, col-lectively, reduced the harms of incarceration to a bare min-imum by actually caring. By doing this they have, some-how, created a nurturing space w i t h i n a n i n d i f f e r e n t institution.
And then the pandemic struck.
In a worldwide existential cri-sis, no-one and nothing is ex-empt from its ill-effects. Grendon is no exception. In fact, I’ll go one further. Of all the prisons, Grendon has per-haps had to travel the farthest away from its normal operat-ing parameters. A full lock-down in any other prison just means it’s canteen day. Not only has Grendon had to mas-sively restrict its regime, they have had to halt the vast ma-jority of those things that form the very core of this place’s long success.
As one example, the operation-al staff have had to go back to the banality of opening doors, locking doors, feeding time, shower management and ex-ercise. For those who’ve been here for years, that way of doing the job is as anathema to them as doing anything other than that would be for the rest of the prison estate. These are the same people who, in normal times, are sat with us in group therapy. These are the people who we have learnt to trust so implic-itly that we are prepared to share with them our deepest f e a r s , t r a u m a s a n d vulnerabilities.
Power dynamics and roles are paramount in all relationships. Add into that the complexity of that relationship being with someone who, in any other
Despite the incessant and an-noying sharing of vanilla me-diocrity masquerading as universal wisdom on facetwit-tertockagram, I’m still partial to a decent quote. I came across one a couple of months ago and it has been percolating around my head ever since. It’s by George Bernard Shaw and reads: ‘If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries.’ What I mainly take from this is that there are some things that are simply incompatible and should therefore never be mixed: red wine and fish; hedgehogs and motorways; Donald Trump and breathable air. So what about prison and therapy? Well, there is no de-nying that prison is injurious, or that therapy is rehabilita-tive. On the face of it then, how could they ever work in unison when, as working practices, they are so diametrically opposed?
The benefits of therapy are wide-reaching and well-known. Yet, like any progres-sive intervention, the environ-ment in which it is enacted is essential to its efficacy and integrity. Unless your idea of therapy is smoking drugs and getting stabbed, a therapeutic
prison, you would identify as the curators of your misery and you have a delicately balanced situation. Anyone in here who suggests that this past year hasn’t thrown this dynamic into sharp relief is, quite frank-ly, having themselves on. Although a full reckoning of the harm caused is still some way off, it would be easy to create a narrative in which Grendon has been irreparably damaged over this long year.
However, Grendon has in its arsenal a mechanism that reg-ular prisons don’t have: the community meeting. Sounds exciting, right? Well, though exciting may be a comical over-statement, the overwhelming feeling here is one of urgency to get back to them. The beauty of the twice weekly community meeting is that the whole com-munity piles into a big room, with members of the staff team, and has a big row. Errr, I mean diligently and con-structively discusses matters essential to the health of the community. Sometimes this takes the form of a big row! And you know what? That’s fine. We are all, staff and res-idents, frustrated at a whole host of things. Is working through them all going to be easy? Not likely.
The biggest problem we’ve had is the lack of an arena in which to air them. Think of each in-dividual frustration as a brick. Now, in normal times the wall of bricks would never get above knee height before it gets kicked down in a commu-nity meeting. However, keep piling those bricks up for a year and you end up with a wall so big that we can no longer see or hear one another. And the last thing you need in prison is more sodding walls!
I kind of think Grendon is too unique and precious not to fight for its resurgence and, all being well, we will soon be back in the big room chiselling down the walls.
It’s hammer time, folks!
Nick London, a nom de plume, is resident at HMP Grendon
Keep piling those bricks up for a year and you end up with a wall so big that we can no longer see or hear one another.
They have, collectively, reduced the harms of incarceration to a bare minimum by actually caring. By doing this they have, somehow, created a nurturing space within an indiffer-ent institution.
What we didn’t anticipate were the magpies, who had found a way of getting in and stealing the eggs.
Just eggsThis month has been a mix-ture of anticipation and ex-citement but ending with sadness and disappointment. I hadn’t mentioned that a cou-ple of months ago two of our beautiful ducks, Molly and Daffy were snatched during the night by what we think was a fox. We had searched everywhere for them with Francis the drake following us round the perimeter fence try-ing to figure out where his two girls had gone.
Eventually we saw white feathers belonging to Daffy, caught up in the barbed wire, and it could only have been a fox that had killed her and pulled her over to the neigh-bouring field. Although we were devastated we had high hopes that Molly had man-aged to escape.
For several days after that we wandered around the field calling her name and looking in any places where she could have hidden. But to no avail. The fox must have taken them both.
Jenny Greengrass
Jenny Greengrass is a keen amateur horticulturist
enough of a safe cover to allowher to continue to lay eggs and then she began to sit.
She was a very caring Mum-to-be and only came out to preen and clean and play with Francis on the odd occa-sion, but being very careful not to leave her nest for too long.
The Internet told us that incu-bation was around 32 days, so we entered that in the diary and kept a close eye on what we hoped would be a brood of ducklings emerging from the nest.
Thirty-two days passed and then into forty days and even-tually it was obvious that there would be no ducklings. The local farmer confirmed this and with reluctance we had to remove the eggs. Some had duckling embryos, but too undeveloped to make it to hatching.
Poor Dilly, in her instinctive mind she had thought she was protecting and incubat-i n g a b r o o d o f l i t t l e ducklings.
She kept going back to the coop time after time, but fi-nally gave up. Francis is pleased to see his special girl back with him but I am sure this must have affected him in a way we could never imagine.
We aren’t sure if we would like to go through that again and I am sure Dilly wouldn’t want that too. We will just have to enjoy our drake and duck couple for a while longer and keep them as safe as pos-sible. Neither of us wants to experience that again.
“So glad you’re off the nest Dilly!”
Margaret Malloch and Sarah Armstrong
Rachelle CobainFrancesca Soliman
Insidetime July 2021Comment30 www.insidetime.org
Inside ScotlandA selection of news and features relating to prisons and justice for our friends and colleagues north of the border.
Campaign launched to demand less remandConcern about the number of people held on remand in Scotland was the focus of a recent campaign to raise awareness of the harms of remand.
Scottish Prison Service figures for 4 June 2021 show that of a prison population totalling 7373, 1,955 people were on remand, of whom 1,752 were untried. This means that more than a quarter (27%) of the Scottish prison popula-tion has not been sentenced.
Scottish Government figures for 2019-20 indi-cate that 57% of people on remand do not go on to receive a prison sentence. They are either found innocent, get a community sentence or have been on remand so long that they’ve al-ready served (often more than) their actual sentence. Even before COVID, remand times have been increasing, with the Government’s own analysis showing stays on remand of more than 120 days have almost tripled over the past decade to around 17% in 2019-20, with most of that increase happening since 2017.
Scottish courts have a shocking record of re-manding people to custody. The numbers have increased recently, with worsening conditions for prisoners who may face lengthy delays and ongoing uncertainty about court cases. Mat-thew McGovern, defence solicitor and partner of a law firm says: ‘Even clients who have been to prison before are finding the current situa-tion distressing. Many have reported getting out of cells for a maximum of 2 hours a day. That’s a harsh penalty for anyone, let alone those not convicted of any crime.’
He went on to say COVID rules mean those on remand are effectively serving a significant sentence: ‘With the 6-month suspension to the time limits, 140 days awaiting trial has be-come 140 plus 6 months, which is roughly a 20-month sentence for those who are re-manded awaiting trial, many of whom would likely receive a lesser sentence if they plead at an early stage.’ This is a best case scenario, as cases with multiple accused are currently en-tirely suspended, so accused will be remanded for longer than this.
The campaign to highlight the harmful rates of remand in Scotland was organised by a collective of concerned individuals and groups who took to social media to show solidarity with people affected by remand. The cam-paign was supported by the publication of a report by Howard League Scotland (The Scan-dal of Remand in Scotland).
The action lasted for a week across social media sites. It targeted the general public, politicians, the Court (COPFS) and Scottish Prison Services. The posts were widely shared by concerned individuals, families of
prisoners and groups working with people affected by the criminal legal system. Defence lawyers report that while Sheriffs can be sym-pathetic, the Crown seems to take no notice of the pandemic in its opposition to bail prac-tices. This may explain why the typical of-fences driving remand in pre-pandemic times remain unchanged: breach of the peace, com-mon assault, and for women, shoplifting.
Each day of the campaign highlighted differ-ent issues, including the impact on the lives of individuals and families and the lack of sup-port available for people when their lives are seriously disrupted by time on remand. It drew attention to the effects of uncertainty about visits, the lack of support for families and the challenges they face on the outside.
The video quality in virtual hearings can be highly variable, and people report difficulties hearing and following proceedings. Lawyer Matthew McGovern said that in one case, ‘A client thought he was being bailed when the Sheriff announced this but did not hear the Crown say they would appeal. It meant he was remanded, lost his benefits, crushed his fam-ily’s hopes and has put him in a very dark place.’ He continued, ‘Parliamentary conven-ience appears to be trumping the rights of accused.’
The desperation experienced by people on remand was also highlighted. This is evident from the higher rates of suicide among remand prisoners. In the last 10 years, four young peo-ple (under 21) committed suicide while on re-mand in Scotland.
The campaign highlighted how the conditions inside prison and the impacts of remand out-side are felt by all - children and adults, men and women - and demanded action that went beyond the prison system. McGovern gave the example of a client who had been scheduled for major surgery when remanded. ‘There was no word on how this would be re-scheduled, and I was quite taken aback at how visibly distressed my client was and, it’s not often I have to say this, but I have serious concerns for his wellbeing.”
Cabinet Secretary for Justice Keith Brown was contacted for comment on the campaign issues and Scotland’s high use of remand but had not replied at the time of going to press.
Consultation on Police Scotland use of body cameras now open
Police Scotland has recently launched a national public consultation on the use of body worn video cameras by police officers. Members of the public are being asked for their views on this issue and have until 20 August 2021 to respond.
In February 2021, around 9,000 people responded to a survey that asked for public views on use of body worn video cameras by armed police. This seemed to suggest general public support. Armed officers are likely to use cameras at the United Nations COP26 climate change conference in Glasgow later this year, and other UK armed police units already use cameras.
The latest consultation seeks views on the wider use of this technology across Police Scotland. Human rights advocates have expressed concerns about the ongoing development of body cameras and their potential use with facial-recognition systems, where footage could be cross-referenced in real time against a database of suspects.
Arguments in favour suggest that body cameras are a positive way to increase the safety of the public and police officers.
Have your say: Tell us your views on body cameras by writing to the Inside Time mailbag section and mark it SCOTLAND TEAM. We will ensure your views are included in the consultation if received before 20/8/2021.
Still looking for pen pals in pris-on in Scotland
Glasgow Prisoner Solidarity is a communi-ty-based group formed to offer non-judgmental support, solidarity and friendship to people in any prison in Scotland. Its launch of a pen pal project in April has successfully connected a number of people in prison to those outside. It continues to invite new pen pals, so get in touch if interested. You can write to them simply saying you are interested or would like to know more at: GPS Pen Pals, c/o Category Is Books, 34 Allison St, Glasgow G42 8NN. Include your name, address and prisoner number.
EU citizens leaving jail can still apply for Settled Status
Have you had experiences of isolation during your time in custody? If so, we are looking for your views!
A PhD project at the University of Edinburgh will be exploring experiences of prison isolation in Scotland - for any reason; segregation, discipline, COVID-19, request, crowding etc. If you are interested in taking part it would involve communicating by post with PhD researcher Deborah Russo. Men and women serving any length of sentence (and remand) in Scotland welcome. Postal costs can be covered. Write to: Deborah Russo (PhD student), c/o School of Law, University of Edinburgh, South Bridge, Edinburgh EH8 9YL and you will be contacted with further information and details about taking part.
Post Office scandal continues in Scotland
The deadline to apply to the post-Brexit EU Settlement Scheme for Europeans in the UK expired on 30 June. Settled Status is necessary for EU, EEA, or Swiss nationals and their family members to live lawfully in the UK. Late applications to the scheme are still possible for those released from prison or detention after 1 July 2021. Other circumstances such as homeless-ness can also support a late application, but you will need supporting evidence (for example, a letter from a homelessness charity). You must have lived in the UK for at least 5 consecutive years before going to prison to be able to apply.
If you are currently in prison you can get a paper application form for Settled Status by calling the EU Settlement Resolution Centre on 0300 123 7379. You can ask the prison to share your ID documents with the Home Office. However, you may also need to provide evidence to explain why you could not apply before the deadline passed. Alternatively, another person can submit an online application on your behalf.
The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) has confirmed it is reviewing five potential miscarriages of justice cases in relation to sub-postmasters and postmistresses prosecuted by the Post Office.
In addition, they have received one further application which is currently being consid-ered by their investigations team as to whether it should be moved to a full review.
In September, the Commission wrote to 73 individuals with criminal convictions potentially affected by the issues arising from the Post Office’s Horizon computer system.
In what is thought to have been the largest miscarriage of justice in British criminal history, the Post Office prosecuted 736 sub-postmasters and postmistresses in the UK, wrongly blaming them for a series of thefts, fraudulent activity and false accounting.
After 20 years, campaigners won a legal battle to have their cases reconsidered after claiming that the computer system was flawed and in 2019 the Post Office settled a civil claim brought by more than 550 claimants.
In April, 39 convictions were overturned at the Court of Appeal in London.
Insidetime July 2021 Comment 31www.insidetime.org
The Olympic GamesOutside View
Paul Sullivan
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be a year late when they start on 23 July, 57 years aft er the Games were last held in the city. The modern Olympic Games are generally consid-ered to be the premier sport-ing event with around 200 nations taking part, many of whom will never win a medal but believe it is about the ‘tak-ing part’. The Olympic Creed states: “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
The original Games were held in Greece from about the 8th Century BC to around the 4th AD at the Sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia; they featured many athletic events but also wrestling and chariot racing. In those days it was about men showing their masculin-ity in a limited number of out-door events. No Nike or Adidas then - most competi-tors took part naked and were proud to display their honed physiques.
The modern, four yearly, summer Olympics started with the foundation of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l O l y m p i c Committee by Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1894, with the fi rst modern Olympic Games taking place in Athens in 1896. Since then, Winter Olympics have been added a nd, more recent ly, t he Paralympic Games and a Youth Olympic Games for ath-letes aged from 14 to 18.
A major change for competi-tors was the abolition of the
a mateu r r u le. T h is w a s brought about by the abuse of the rules by Eastern Bloc nations. As the mass media got more involved, so the Games have become more commercialised with corpo-rate sponsorship.
The Games have not been without controversy; more recently problems with drug abuse, doping and bribery. There were large scale boy-cotts in 1980 and 1984 due to the Cold War. There was a tragic terrorist attack at the1972 Munich Games by Palestinian terrorists on Israeli athletes. Despite all the problems, only three Games have ever been can-celled: 1916, 1940 and 1944, due to the World Wars.
The 1936 Games in Berlin were controversial because of the Nazi regime in place and accusations that the Games promoted the Nazis where Hitler emphasized racial puri-ty and the superiority of the ‘Germanic race’; the so-called Aryan blonde and blue-eyed ‘master race’. This view was somewhat damaged by the wins of Jesse Owens, a black A merican super-athlete. 22-year-old Owens won gold medals in the long jump, the 100 and 200 metres and the 4 x 100-metre relay. He became the fi rst American track and fi eld athlete to win four gold
medals at a single Olympic Games. Hit ler refused to shake his hand and left the stadium before other black gold medal winners came before him.
Originally, American and European countries consid-ered pulling out after the Nazis ordered that all public sports organisations should implement an ‘Aryan only’ policy - in particular, Jewish athletes were persecuted - but changed their minds rather than miss out.
As host countries compete to make every Olympic Games more fabulous than the last, the cost of hosting has been d r iven up d ra mat ica l ly, meaning only a small group of more affl uent nations can consider bidding to host the Games. The 2012 London Olympics cost over £9billion with a promise of lots of low-cost housing and other bene-fits to the East End. Most of the promised benefits have not been seen. As well as infrastructure such as build-ing stadia and accommoda-tion for the athletes and offi -cials, the opening and closing ceremonies have become big-ger and more expensive events.
I am not a sports fan, although I do enjoy the fi eld sports such as the various jumping and throwing events. I have to admit at being disappointed at the lack of British medals but it is very easy to forget that all the athletes are at the top of their form and the best in the world, so even to get to a fi nal is an amazing achieve-ment, especially with the under-funding and lack of support for our men and women. New to the Olympics this year is karate.
Faces from the past who spent time in the United Kingdom’s historically most notorious prison
Joseph Denny‘The man who broke into Dartmoor prison’
Joseph ‘Joe’ Denny (aka. George Adolphus Gordon) was born in Barbados in the West Indies sometime between 1846 and 1851.
Denny served in a number of prisons before his stay at Dartmoor; including Carmarthen, Liverpool (to where he was sentenced to 7 years penal servitude for burglary on 10th September 1873) and Pentonville; this was as a result of his trial at The Old Bailey on 31st January 1881 when he was sentenced to 8 years penal servi-tude for burglary. From Pentonville it is as-sumed that he was transferred to Dartmoor - from where he was released on 8th January 1889.
Following his release it is reported that he spent 9 months at sea before returning to England. In the early hours of 17th August 1890 the alarm bells at Dartmoor Prison were triggered by someone walking into an alarm wire which was mounted on the prison walls. These were to detect prisoners trying to break out - it was never considered that they could be used to detect anyone attempting to break in!
A search of the prison grounds was conducted
Paul Finegan
Dartmoor remembered...
Paul Finegan is a curator at Dartmoor Prison Museum
and Denny was found hiding in a toilet adjacent to the carpenters shop. As he could offer no explanation as to his presence, Denny was handcuffed and taken to the local lock-up in Princetown. Whilst in the lock-up, Denny re-vealed to the constable his reasons for breaking into the prison. He stated that he had come to set fire to the prison and murder ‘Flash Hardy’ referring to Chief Warder Augustus Hardy.
On Tuesday 19th August 1890 he appeared before Tavistock Magistrates Court charged with:• Breaking into Dartmoor Prison for an unlaw-ful purpose;• Being on prison premises with the intention of setting fire to the building;• Stealing and killing a sheep, property of the prison authorities.
During his trial, Denny revealed a number of grievances relating to his time at Dartmoor and in particular why his ire was directed at Hardy. He stated he had been ‘put in irons and confined to a dark cell’ and treated ‘worse than a dog’. His idea was to set fire to the prison and when the Chief Warder arrived, declaring ‘I could not leave until I put him in his grave’.
Denny was sent to Exeter Assizes under the Larceny Act where he was sentenced on 29th November 1890 to 12 month’s hard labour. He was admitted to Broadmoor on 23rd March 1891 and released on 28th August 1891 as he was deemed to have ‘recovered’. Denny found him-self in trouble again; as on 18th December 1891 he was sentenced to 9 months for Larceny at Winchester Court.
It is not known what happened to Denny after this, or when he died. Many accounts state he died in prison but no evidence has been found to support this claim.
Denny stated that he had come to set fire to the prison and murder ‘Flash Hardy’ referring to Chief Warder Augustus Hardy.
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Insidetime July 2021Information32 www.insidetime.org
Inside Health
Q I take pain relief for my period but is there anything else I can do to try to help?
A Painful periods can really get you down, can’t they! There are things you can try to help, other than taking pain relief, and there are also some things you should watch out for, because you will need to get them checked out with a GP.
Firstly, just to say that if you are taking only paracetamol for the pain (and you don’t have asthma or another problem that stops you from taking ibuprofen), then switch to taking ibu-profen for your period pain, as it’s shown to be more effective than paracetamol. Remember to take ibuprofen with or after food to avoid getting indigestion from it - you don’t want to
solve one problem and create another!
Apart from pain relief, here are some other things you could try: put a hot water bottle, wrapped in a towel, on your tummy; take a warm shower when you are allowed; lightly massage (rub and press) your lower belly when you get the pain, and go out on exercise when-ever you are allowed, even if you don’t feel like it - the gentle walking and the company on the yard may help you feel a bit better. Learn some relaxation techniques and try out some yoga - they can really help you cope, not only with your period pain but also with the many other stresses of being in prison. The Prison Phoenix Trust (PPT) has some great (free) handouts on meditation and yoga. You can either ask an officer if they will download and print some off for you or you can write to the PPT (The Prison Phoenix Trust, PO Box 328, Oxford, OX2 7HF).
If none of that helps, or if you get very bad pain, the pattern of your periods changes, you
Dr Caroline Watson and Dr Alex Bunn
If you have a question relating to your own health, write a brief letter to Inside Time (Health), Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. Everyone will receive a reply, however only a selection will be published each month and no names will be disclosed.
Dr Caroline Watson and Dr Alex Bunn are lead prison GPs. Both are members of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Healthcare in Secure Environments Group.
get any bleeding between periods or you get a thick or foul-smelling discharge, you will need to go to see the prison GP. They may want to feel your tummy and do an internal examina-tion, and they may want to arrange some tests. If those are all clear, they may prescribe you some slightly stronger pain relief or they might recommend Transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation (TENS). You would need special security permission for this and only if that was agreed, you would need to pay for the machine yourself.
Be kind to yourself and remember; get checked out if you have any of the symptoms listed or other symptoms that you are worried about.
Q I keep getting a burning pain in my chest when I am eating. My mate said to drink milk, but it doesn’t help much. Is it heart-burn and if so what can I do to help it?
A Heartburn is mostly diagnosed from the symptoms. A burning pain behind the chest bones (hence ‘heartburn’, because it is felt near the heart) which is brought on by eating, lying down and spicy foods is quite typical. If there are any worrying symptoms such as food getting stuck, vomiting or weight loss, you would need an endoscopy. This is to rule out cancer and pick up any anatomical abnormal-ities such as hiatus hernia, which causes stom-ach acid to spill into the oesophagus. The mainstay of treatment is to address common causes. Excess weight pushes stomach acid into the oesophagus, fatty foods delay acid flow out of the stomach, spicy foods and an-ti-inflammatory medications such as ibupro-fen irritate the stomach. If managing these
triggers fails, you can try antacids such as Gaviscon or a short trial of medications that stop the stomach producing acid, such as ome-prazole. But prevention is always better than a medication that will also have its downsides.
Q My wee has a strong smell and is dark yellow. Do I need to see the doctor, or can I sort this myself?
A Strong dark urine is a sign of dehydration. It can be difficult to take in adequate fluids especially in a hot cell or after exercise. In it-self it’s not a worrying sign, but long-term de-hydration can cause kidney strain, kidney stones and constipation. The kidneys do an incredible job of cleaning up the blood, just like a high-performance oil filter. So, we need to look after them, as it’s much harder to get new kidneys. The general advice is to drink at least two litres of fluid per day and pee at least one litre. But the best way to know your kid-neys are not being overworked is to drink enough that your wee runs clear.
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The road to eliminationHepatitis C is a blood borne virus that has affected more than 100,000 people in Eng-land. Untreated, it can cause liver cancer and liver failure which are life-threatening. The good news is that today, hepatitis C is preventable, treatable and for most peo-ple, curable. But this was not always the case.
Before the 1980s very little was known about hepatitis C which meant that when it was first discovered in 1989 there was a lot of work to do to find a treatment. Whilst the first treatment for hepatitis C was approved in 1991, it only cured around 6% of people.
In the following decade, sci-entists worked hard to de-velop several, more effective treatments. By 2014, new drugs called direct-acting antivirals had been devel-oped which can cure more than 98% of people, with minimal side effects. That makes hepatitis C the fastest viral disease ever to be iden-
tified and cured.
England was one of the first countries to introduce these highly effective and trans-formative treatments for pa-tients with advanced liver disease. Since then, the NHS has made these treatments available to everyone with hepatitis C. These modern medicines are much easier to take than older treatments and have a lready cured
Governor Neil Thomas(left) with members of the Hep C HITT team having his test as part of the programme.
Join the millions already vaccinated
We’ll let you know when yourCovid-19 vaccine is ready for you.
EVERY VACCINATION GIVES US
60,000 people of hepatitis C in England. As a result, 20% less people have died from the virus since 2018 and the number of liver transplants has halved.
With a cure available, the main barrier preventing peo-ple from accessing life-saving treatment is the fact they do not know they have the virus. Hepatitis C usually displays no symptoms until the virus damages the liver enough to cause liver disease. This means only around half of the people living with hepatitis C in England have been diag-nosed, and without a test the other half will not know they have it.
As hepatitis C is a blood borne virus, it is caught when a per-son comes into contact with the blood from another per-son who is infected with the virus. This means it can be caught by sharing equipment used to inject drugs, give tat-toos, body piercings and medical equipment.
If you feel that you may have been at r isk, t hen it is
sensible to take a hepatitis C test. In England, quick and free confidential testing and treatment is available to everyone, including people in prison. Testing can give you peace of mind, help you pro-tect others and enable you to get treatment, if you need it. Everyone entering prison should be offered a test for hepatitis C. If you were of-fered the test and declined it, or if you were not offered the test on reception, you can re-quest a test at any time from the healthcare staff. Plus, if you had a test a while ago but would like to do another one, to know your current status, then you can request it again. The test results are confiden-tial between you and those involved in your healthcare.
As well as being able to take effective treatments, it is im-portant that everyone who tests positive for hepatitis C receives the support they need. Being diagnosed with hepatitis C can be scary and daunting. The Hep C Trust has a dedicated Prison Helpline,
which is a free telephone ser-vice staffed by people who have, or have had hepatitis C. They can provide support and information on any issues re-lating to hepatitis C. You can contact the helpline from Monday - Sunday 08.00-20.00 on 0800 999 2052.
With life-changing hepatitis C medicines offered by the NHS, there is an opportunity for every person with hepati-tis C to be cured, therefore eliminating the virus alto-gether. By everyone getting tested and treated, it is hoped
we will be able to make his-tory and declare the end of hepatitis C in England before 2030.
Wednesday 28th July is World Hepatitis Day. To mark this occasion, NHS England and Improvement is inviting you to get tested, get treated and get cured.
Insidetime July 2021Information34 www.insidetime.org
Paul Retout is a tax specialist and tax author and founder of The Tax Academy.Tel: 01824 704535Mobile: 07833 [email protected] are also proud to be included in the 2020/21 Hardman Directory.
FREE completion and filing of Tax Returns (including multiple years) FREE appeals against Tax Penalties. FREE Tax Debt resolution.
T H E L E A D I N G T A X S U P P O R T S E R V I C E I N P R I S O N S
DO YOU HAVE...TAX DEBT?TAX PENALTIES?TAX RETURNS OUTSTANDING?
DOES THE TAXMAN OWE YOU MONEY?Free Four Year Tax ReviewInclude as much information as possible:• Prison/Prison number• Your full name including middle name• Your date of birth• National Insurance number• Employment history • Contact address/number on the outside
Please advise if you change Prisons after responding.
WORKED IN THE CONSTRUCTIONINDUSTRY?Do you need to file a TaX Return? CIS (tax deducted 20%/30%) work including:• Dry lining• Labouring• • Bricklaying• Painting
THE TAX ACADEMY CICUnit 4, Ffordd yr Onnen, Lon Parcwr Business ParkRuthin, Denbighshire LL15 1NJ
The Criminal Justice System impacts financially on every taxpayer in this country as each one of us contributes on average £600 to the public purse to cover the cost of re-offending (MOJ - Economic and Social Cost of Reoffend-ing 2019).
Taxpayers entering prison will also be impacted in some way by HMRC, whether it be their PAYE record showing that they have left employ-me nt or t ho s e t hat a re self-employed (particularly those in the construction sec-tor) required to file a self-as-sessment tax return. HMRC are not informed when a tax-payer enters prison and so letters that remain unan-swered sent to a previous ad-dress leads them to assume a prisoner is a non-compliant t a x p a y e r a n d a c t s accordingly.
The Tax Academy CIC (‘The Tax Academy’) provides tax support to those that lack the support and expertise within prison to deal with their tax affairs including, but not ex-clusively, those with mental illness, learning difficulties, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress, anxiety, drug and alcohol addictions.
The Tax Academy works both in prison and in the commu-nit y w it h t he Probat ion Service.
The work of the Tax Academy we believe complements work already being undertaken in the reduction of reoffending within prisons and removes a further barrier a prisoner can face when leaving prison.
The problemPrisoners often believe that being in the ‘prison bubble’ they are somehow sheltered from their taxpayer obliga-tions. It is only after release, when the prisoner is most vulnerable to reoffending, they find that is not the case and that outstanding tax, in-terest and penalties will be pursued by HMRC. Without specialist help, the tax prob-lem will escalate, with their assets ultimately being seized by third-party debt collectors often followed swiftly by bankruptcy.
No matter what the crime is, taxpayers still have a legal obligation to deal with their tax affairs whilst in prison or
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Paul Retout on licence. Many self-em-ployed taxpayers will also simply be abandoned by their accountants and advisors as there is little chance of being remunerated. The net result of this is that tax affairs can ult imately spira l out of control.
Organisations within prison often lack the tax technical expertise to deal with a pris-oner’s tax affairs, and the latter are left to fester - accu-mulating unnecessary tax charges including tax penal-ties and interest.
The move by HMRC into the digital world only exacer-bates the issue that prisoners face in dealing with their tax affairs and the frustrations they encounter trying to be compliant.
Although much is undertaken in prisons to help prisoners find jobs or go self-employed there is little or no support in constructively assisting them with their historic tax affairs or their future requirement to be compliant with HMRC.
In order to reduce reoffend-ing, and to help prisoner tax-p aye r s re i nteg rate i nto society, we must be serious in helping them whilst in prison with their tax affairs rather than ‘hoping for the best’ with them on their release.
The solutionThe Tax Academy prepares prisoners by undertaking a detailed tax review, register-ing them for self-employment and CIS where necessary, and the provision of free account-ing software.
The Tax Academy CIC now works in conjunction with HMRC in bringing prisoner tax affairs up to date and is the only prison organisation that sits on the HMRC Individ-uals Stakeholder Forum rep-resenting the prisoner sector and is also a member of the HMRC Voluntary Sector Tax Resolution Service (VSTRS).
For the first time, prisoners have a ‘voice’ within HMRC and have an opportunity whilst in prison to resolve their tax issues in a fair and equitable way.
Once HMRC are made aware that a taxpayer is in prison
their approach is sympa-thetic, compassionate, under-sta nding a nd ext remely helpful; particularly in their approach to tax debt.
What we doThe Tax Academy undertakes the following activities daily with prisoners with the assis-tance of the HMRC Voluntary S e c t o r Ta x R e s o l u t i o n Service.
• Undertake a tax review with the prisoner to ensure their tax affairs are up to date prior to release;
• Preparation of outstanding self-assessment tax returns, particularly for those in the Construction Industry under the CIS Scheme;
• Dealing with self-assess-ment penalty appeals for late submission or late payment of tax;
• Working with the prisoner with their tax debt and ar-ranging a payment plan with HMRC - including personal clinics within prison (where possible);
• Where a determination has been made by HMRC, The Tax Academy CIC is able to pro-vide assistance/undertake the Special Relief Claim on behalf of the prisoner;
• Prepares the prisoner for self-employment by register-ing them with HMRC;
• We can trace lost National Insurance numbers;
• We provide ongoing tax sup-port once that prisoner leaves prison.
We also provide a credit checking facility through Checkmyfile on our website.Please contact us for further information and to get your tax affairs in order prior to release.
Prison and Tax - The forgotten issue
Insidetime July 2021 Information 35www.insidetime.org
PET’s new Course Prospectus 2021-2022 ex-plores all the subject areas we offer, helping you to choose your course and answering your questions about distance learning with PET.
Based on feedback from current and former learners, we’ve improved and refreshed our prospectus and now offer over 120 courses.
New courses include Understanding Coaching and Mentoring, An Introduction to Warehous-ing and Logistics, and the AAT Foundation Certificate in Accounting. We now offer a range
of health and social care courses too, as well as several focusing on Islamic finance.
Whether it’s been a while since you last stud-ied or you’re now looking to step up a gear, we offer courses at a range of lengths and levels.
Short coursesPET’s short courses are a great place to start. They will help build your study skills and give you a taste of distance learning, so that you can hit the ground running when you start a full course.
GCSEs and A-levelsOpening the door to further study or to a new job, you can work towards these widely-recog-nised qualifications in a range of subjects with PET.
Open University Access modulesIf you don’t feel ready to dive straight into an Open University degree, these popular Access modules can give you a gentler start and also help you discover which subjects interest you most.
Professional coursesWith PET, you can choose from accredited courses in a range of sectors - from construc-tion and health and safety to horticulture and animal care - as well as a wide selection of business enterprise, arts and language courses.
In our new prospectus, you’ll also get help choosing the course and level that’s right for you and find a step-by-step guide to making your course application.
Speak to your education department to see a copy of the Prisoners’ Education Trust Course Prospectus 2021-2022. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Take your pick from over 120 courses in PET’s new prospectus
Get help to fund your Open University degree
Run together by the Longford Trust and Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET), the Frank Awards could help you pay for your Open University (OU) degree module if you already have a conditional offer of a place.
The Awards are a financial contribution given to applicants who can show that, without such support, they would miss out on the opportunity to study towards a degree-level qualification while in prison.
Open University Access modules: the perfect introduction to university-level study The Open University (OU) is the UK’s largest university and many of its students study while in prison.
The OU offers qualifications in a broad range of subjects - from short introductory mod-u le s to longer, broader modules leading to certifi-cates, degrees and diplomas.
The idea of university-level study can be quite daunting if you have not studied at this level before. For this reason, the OU offers introductory Access modules that have been specially designed to help you find out what it’s like to study with the OU, get a taste of a subject area, de-velop your study skills, and build your confidence.
Starting an OU Access module with PET is the perfect oppor-tunity to try out degree-level study without taking out a student loan. Research has also shown that learners who take Access modules are
significantly more likely to succeed in their university studies than those who don’t.
There are three Access mod-ules to choose from:
Arts and languages Access module (Y031)You will explore a range of subjects in this module - in-cluding art history, English language, English literature and creative writing. The module touches on modern languages, history, religious studies, classical studies and music too. It will help you to explore your creative side and hone your study skills.
People, work and society Ac-cess module (Y032)In this multi-disciplinary module you’ll gain insights into a wide range of areas, including business and law, childhood and youth studies, health, psychology, and so-cial science. While improving your subject knowledge in those areas in particular, this
module also prepares you for further study in a wide vari-ety of qualifications.
Science, technology and maths Access module (Y033)This module introduces you to a range of technical sub-jects, including computing and IT, engineering and de-sign, environment, mathe-matics, and science. As the foundation for further studies in these fields, this is the ideal module to build your confidence and prepare you for your next steps.
OU Access modules start in February, May and October each year. If you plan to start your studies this October, you have until September to send off your application.
To find out how to apply or if you’d like any advice about which module to choose, please get in touch with us - you can find our contact de-tails in the ‘Start a course with PET’ box on this page.
Prisoners’ Education Trust funds a wide range of distance-learning courses. To apply, you need to:
• Be serving your sentence in a prison in England or Wales;
• Have at least six months left to serve;
• Have gained Level 2 English (literacy). Some courses also require Level 2 Maths (numeracy);
• Be over 18 years old.
If you’d like any advice about which course to study or how to apply, you can speak to a member of our team for free on 0800 048 7520 on: Tuesdays: 10am-12pm and 2pm-4 p m . T h u r s d a y s : 1 0 a m - 1 2 p m & 2pm-6pm
You can also write to us at FREEPOST, Prisoners’ Education Trust or speak to your prison’s Education Department.
Start a course with PET
PET is now accepting applications for the Frank Awards to help pay for OU degree modules starting in October this year. You can apply for up to £3,168 to cover the cost of one 60 points module or two 30 points modules.
In order to be eligible to apply for the Frank Awards, you must meet one or more of the following criteria:1. You have been refused a student loan;2. You are able to present evidence why you cannot, in any circum-stances, take on the debt involved in a student loan;3. You have already received a first degree and used up your entitlement to a student loan but, as a result of your conviction, now need to retrain to improve your employment prospects on release.
There are two rounds of Frank Awards each academic year. For OU modules starting in October 2021, the deadline for applying for the Awards is Monday 16 August. For OU modules starting in February 2022, the deadline is Friday 7 January.
Interested in applying? Ask your education department for the Frank Awards application form. If you have any questions, get in touch with PET - you can find our contact details in the ‘Start a course with PET’ box on this page.
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We’ve improved and re-freshed our prospectus and now offer over 120 courses.
Learn and join
Insidetime July 2021Information36 www.insidetime.org
Inside Time report
Inside Time thwarts scam on prisoners!Fraudsters targeting people in prison uncovered and reported to police by this newspaper - Advice if you have been targeted
Inside Time has uncovered a suspected attempt to mislead or defraud prisoners.
Action was swiftly taken after we discovered an advertise-ment for legal services, pub-lished in this newspaper, turned out to include bogus contact details.
The advert, offering help with compensation claims and pris-on law problems, used a name similar to that of a respected national law firm and their contact details which we checked and approved. However, the address and phone number included in the final artwork submitted for the advert had been changed and were nothing to do with the genuine firm.
Inside Time, acting as a wit-ness, has reported the appar-ent scam to the police Action Fraud unit, who are investi-g a t i n g . H M P r i s o n a n d Probation Service have also been advised and will circulate these details to staff handling mail.
The address given in the ad - 63-66 Hatton Garden, London
EC1 8LE - is in fact a “virtual office” which offers mail for-warding. The operators of the service have been alerted to its apparent misuse and can block it.
The bogus names used were Novum Law Solicitors and Novum Claims. The genuine firm of solicitors, Novum Law, confirmed they had nothing to do with placing the ad. They have seven offices across the south of England and Wales - but do not have one in London. They have notified the Solicitors Regulation Authority of the scam.
The fake advert ran in the March and April issues of Inside Time. One prisoner who responded to it was asked to continue the correspondence by writing to a different ad-dress in Willow Tree Close, London, SW18 3EL - a flat in a c o u n c i l b l o c k n e a r Wandsworth prison. He was also asked to provide his National Insurance number and details of former address-es - raising fears that con artists could be planning to use the information to carry out iden-tity fraud.
Anyone who fears their
Have you been injured or feel you have had excessive force used against you? If yes then we can help you.We have successfully secured £££ thousands of pounds for prisoners in compensation payments.
We have a dedicated team thatspecialise in all prison matters.If you have any prison issues then please get in touch.AdjudicationsAll prison law Adjudication appeals Prison medical issues
NOVUM LAW SOLICITORS63-66 Hatton Gardens, London EC1 8LECall our team: 02071579954
Compensation claims Mental health lawAll prison law Guaranteed payouts
GUARANTEED COMPENSATION personal details may have fall-en into the hands of any fraud-sters is advised to:
• Write to the Department for Work and Pensions at Caxton House, Tothill Street, London SW1H 9NA if you think your National Insurance number may be misused. Officials there can “flag” the report on their system and carry out extra checks.
• Regularly monitor your cred-it history to see if bad debts you were unaware of have been taken out in your name. A credit report can be obtained by writing to: The Experian Team, Customer Support Centre, Nottingham, NG80 7WF; or a friend or family member outside can email [email protected]
We advise readers to always be careful about who they dis-close personal details to. Our team carry out numerous checks before accepting ad-vertisements, but it appears on this occasion a determined fraudster managed to slip through. Had we been operat-ing from our offices in normal conditions instead of working remotely, it is quite likely this would have been spotted but this was not the case. It is wor-rying to see the number of attempted scams we all see on a daily basis; it seems every-body is being targeted by someone trying to take advan-tage. As somebody once said, “It is only a fool or possibly another ‘con artist’ who would assume that it will never hap-pen to them.” Sadly, they are probably right!
It is worrying to see the number of attempted scams we all see on a daily basis; it seems everybody is being targeted by someone trying to take advantage.
There have been a number of updates to Policy Frameworks.
Generic Parole ProcessA re-issue of the 2020 Policy Framework - Cancels: • PSI 2015-022/2015 - Generic Parole Process for indeterminate and determinate sentenced prisoners (GPP);• PSI 2012-018 - Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS);• PSI 2016-012 - Writing Healthcare Reports for the Parole and Recall process; • PSI 2013-036 - Transcripts of Sentencing Re-marks (Court Transcripts).
The revised version of the Framework includes a number of changes to policy and process, the main changes are:
A presumption that any prisoner serving a custodial sentence, whether determinate or indeterminate, for terrorist and terrorist-con-nected offences listed in section 247A(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is unsuitable for open conditions, unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Changes to the tariff review process for those young offenders subject to a sentence of De-tention at Her Majesty’s Pleasure (HMP).
Confirmation of the new process for referring requests for additional licence conditions to the Parole Board for Extended Determinate Sentence (EDS) and Special Custodial Sentence for Offenders of Particular Concern (SOPC) prisoners, subject to automatic release from prison.
Changes to arrangements for a transfer during the parole process.
A new requirement for prisons to notify the Public Protection Casework Section (PPCS) of prisoners who are transferred to England and Wales from another UK jurisdiction.
Recall, Review and re-Release of Recalled Prisoners - Cancels:• PSI 2014-030 - Recall, Review and re-Release of Recalled Prisoners on licence;• PSI 2015-028 - Unlawfully at Large after Re-call Offence Protocols.
A number of changes made to coincide with the amendments to the Generic Parole Process Policy Framework and ensure consistency across the parole and recall processes. The revised version of the Framework also includes the following amendments: • Changes to the representations process for the Day 28, Ongoing Review and Annual Re-view processes;• Minor changes to the guidance section cov-ering executive release, clarifying the process where an Oral Hearing is due to take place within three weeks.
Security Classification - Cancels:• PSI 2011-040 - Categorisation and Re-catego-risation of Adult Male Prisoners;• PSI 2011-041 - Categorisation and Re-catego-risation of Young Adult Male Prisoners.
Introduces a presumption that prisoners who have been convicted of specified terrorist of-fences will not be suitable for Category D/Open unless there are ‘exceptional circumstances’.
Introduces a requirement, when categorising terrorist prisoners, to obtain and use input to the categorisation assessment from the Re-gional Counter-Terrorism Team.
Clarifies existing policy on eligibility for con-sideration for Category D/Open for prisoners serving a determinate sentence with a Parole Eligibility Date, including Extended Determi-nate Sentences (EDS), sentences for prisoners convicted under the Terrorist Prisoners (Re-striction of Early Release) Act 2020 (TORERA), and Sentence for Prisoners of Particular Con-cern (SOPC) under s236A of the Criminal Jus-tice Act 2003.
Also includes other minor changes to clarify existing policy.
Release on Temporary LicenceReplaces and cancels PSI 2015-013 - Release on Temporary Licence.
Adds specified terrorist and terrorist con-nected prisoners to the Restricted ROTL cohort.
Clarifies the purpose of ROTL work placements.
Adds clarification of ViSOR recording require-ments for ROTL information.
Progression RegimesThere are no policy changes in this updated Policy Framework but clarifications have been added to highlight the presumption that any individual serving a custodial sentence for an offence listed in section 247A(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 is (unless exceptional circum-s t a nc e s ap pl y) u n s u it a ble fo r op e n conditions.
Categorising Women Prisoners (PSI 2011-039)This update reflects changes to categorisation policy that require to be given in respect of terrorist and terrorist connected prisoners. A review of the policy relating to the security categorisation of female prisoners is expected to be completed in 2021, replacing and cancel-ling this PSI. The sections within this PSI de-tailing procedures for categorisation and re-categorisation of female prisoners have not been amended but should be taken to incor-porate the following requirements.
There is a presumption that an individual serv-ing any custodial sentence, whether determi-nate or indeterminate, for an offence described in section 247A(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 will not be suitable for Category D/Open unless there are exceptional circumstances and the categorisation decision is approved by the Governing Governor of the establishment in which the individual is held. If approved, the date the approval was given and the rea-sons and justification for the decision must be recorded on the DCS. This presumption of un-suitability for Category D/Open will apply from the date on which the section 247A(2) offence sentence is imposed until the date on which it would be served in full (the sentence and li-cence expiry date). For prisoners serving con-secutive or concurrent sentences where one of the offences falls within section 247A(2), a prisoner is presumed unsuitable for open con-ditions if any sentence forming part of the overall sentence envelope falls within 247A(2). These prisoners are ineligible for the duration of the sentence envelope (including whilst released or recalled during that envelope). If a prisoner is released on licence, sentences imposed subsequently to this won’t form part of this envelope. After the original envelope passes, the presumed unsuitability will no longer apply to the prisoner unless the new sentence is for an offence under section 247A(2).
The Rule Book
PPUURRCCEELLLL PPAARRKKEERRSolicitors
BIRMINGHAM’S TOPPRISON LAWYERS
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Call now to speak with:Tiernan Davis, Sadie Rice or Jan Arkwright
PPuurrcceellll PPaarrkkeerr SSoolliicciittoorrss204 - 206 Corporation Street Birmingham B4 6QB
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Insidetime July 2021 Information 37www.insidetime.org
Our team of more than 40 Experts are here to help you, with a wealth of experience specialising in all areas of Prison and Criminal Law• Parole Board Reviews & Hearings• Independent Adjudications• Minimum Term Reviews• Close Supervision Centre Reviews• Transfer• Criminal Defence
• Recall to Prison• Category A Review• Re-Categorisation• Sentence Calculation• HDC “Tagging”• Police Interviews
For FREE Expert advice call us today
08454 750 650or 0115 986 0983
www.carringtons-solicitors.co.uk
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The National Prison Law SpecialistsTrusted by more prisoners in England and Wales than any other Solicitors.With Experts across the Country,we can represent you in ANY PRISON.
Write to us today for FREE Expert advice at the following address:
Members of the Association of Prison Lawyers and Howard League for Penal Reform
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Carrington Advert 155x130 Oct 2019.indd 1 21/10/2019 16:24
Listen up! The PPO has a new National Prison Radio advert
Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Sue McAllister is Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
Sue McAllister
The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) has con-tinued our partnership with National Prison Radio this year,and we will be broadcasting 5 adverts which will be on air for up to 6 months each.
In our first 2-minute advert of 2021, we explain what we ac-tually do and how we might be able to help you. We inves-tigate complaints on your be-half, and we are completely independent from the Prison Service.
Listen out for this advert, as two PPO staff share their first-hand experience of making complaints from their time in prison. In our other adverts, you can expect to be re-minded of everything you need to do before we can con-sider your complaint, and we will share more details on our most common complaints, i nclud i ng prop er t y a nd regime.
To submit an eligible com-plaint, you need to send us your Comp1, 1A, and covering letter, including a copy of the prison’s response to your ini-tial appeal. Send your com-plaint to us within 3 months
of the appeal response, and don’t send us original copies as we can’t return them.
Remember, you can photo-copy complaint forms for the PPO free of charge. We don’t investigate healthcare mat-ters, issues related to sentenc-ing, or decisions made by Ministers, Police, the CPS or the Parole Board.
We are here to help you. Write to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, Third Floor, 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU or call 0845 010 7938.
Safe
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NPR
Keeping Safe
Juliet Lyon
You can write in to FREEPOST IAP - that’s it, nothing else on the envelope unless you want to write ‘Confidential Access’ which has been granted by the Prison Service for all letters to the IAP. The Freepost bit is important because we are consulting you - we want to gather your views and make sure that they reach Ministers and officials - you are providing a service and we are grateful, so the least we can do is save you the expense of a stamp as well as doing our best to write back in good time to everyone who writes to us.
Juliet Lyon CBE is Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAP)
Legal Aid Available for Criminal Matters
0207 842 1995Write to Lucinda at:Freepost LAWYERS
www.nicholls-nicholls.com
MoneyLaundering
CriminalAppeals
Proceedsof Crime
Lucinda Nicholls
The mental health charity MIND is asking everyone in the community: ‘How are you feel-ing about coming out of lockdown?’ It says: ‘Lockdown has been difficult for many of us, for lots of different reasons…But now that lock-down restrictions are easing, things may feel less clear and there may be new challenges. It can feel stressful when things are changing.’
MIND says that people may be feeling low, hopeless or tired; angry or frustrated; con-flicted or confused; stressed or unprepared; lonely or isolated; distrustful; powerless and under pressure. MIND thinks these things could help: talk to someone you trust; get prac-tical support; give yourself time; express your feelings creatively; or make choices to control the things you can.
Slowly, slowly, prisons are starting to move out of lockdown too. Inside Time readers will know only too well that people in custody have ex-perienced, and many are still under, the most severe restrictions; saved from a frighteningly high predicted death toll yes, but held in a prison within a prison for an exceptionally long time.
At long last the offer of vaccination for every-one over 18 paves the way towards safer pris-ons and begins to free things up, so that there is a bit more time out of cell, a few work oppor-tunities, some more regime activity. Much-missed visits are restarting in some places. Threats from the Delta variant of coronavirus, and other possible variants of concern, re-main. Risks to weigh up and a difficult balance to strike.
In June, the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody, IAP, began a new series with Prison Radio. Called ‘Safe’, this mini-se-ries, broadcast on Fridays, is about the best next steps you can take out of lockdown. Billa, its presenter, spent the first lockdown in cus-tody. He says that to start with, as news crept through about a global pandemic, ‘I thought I was in the best place ever.’ Then, as everything closed, no gym, no chaplaincy, no work, no room for manoeuvre … ‘It dawned on me that I was trapped’ and ‘lockdown was a daily struggle’.
You may have heard Billa talking to Sol on Prison Radio about ways they found to survive: ‘exercise was my salvation’. Sol agreed … ‘without my training I don’t know what would have happened to me. What would have hap-pened to my mental health.’ Sol gave this ad-vice: ‘Support each other. Don’t try and pop each other down. Support each other.’
This article links with ‘Safe’, the mini-series that’s been running on Prison Radio. Listeners have been leaving phone messages with their
thoughts and advice on next steps. Now Inside Time readers are invited to join the conversa-tion. Write into Freepost IAP. We want to hear your ideas and opinions on how to stay safe now, what you want to see change, what addi-tional support could, and should, be offered to everyone emerging from such extreme im-prisonment. We will make sure that your views reach Ministers and officials.
You may have concerns you want to share. There are still so many unknowns. The Prison Service knows that over 17,000 prisoners and 13,000 staff have had coronavirus since Au-gust 2020. No one knows yet how many people are suffering from long COVID; much less how to offer them the treatment and support they need.
There are few choices in prison. But there are some ways that you can follow what the char-ity MIND says about making choices to control what you can. If you’re not yet vaccinated, you can take the offer of a jab. You can start putting in apps about courses and jobs and release on temporary license, ROTL, and making plans with your keyworker. Samaritans are recruit-ing for more Listeners and offering training and support to take on this vital role. As Prison Radio presenter Billa says: ‘Time for a reset.’
Above all, take time and be kind to yourself and others. If you feel unwell, ask to see healthcare. The IAP wants to see physical and mental health check-ups offered to everyone. We want additional mental health support offered, like in schools and colleges, in recog-nition of what people have been going through. It’s been tough times and we want you to be safe.
Insidetime July 2021Information38 www.insidetime.org
Sentence Progression
One of the themes which have emerged from our contact with people in prison over the last 18 months - including through our CAPPTIVE project which sought prisoners’ views and ex-periences of prison during the pandemic - is an understandable concern about the potential long-term impact of public health restrictions on sentence progression. We have been in con-tact with HMPPS and the Parole Board to get some information about the approaches being taken to address this problem.
The prison service has been keen to emphasise the need for prisons to move at a more cautious pace compared to the community. The Scien-tific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) advise that prisons are highly prone to out-breaks of COVID-19 and consequently there is a higher risk of hospitalisations and deaths. Whilst staff within the prison service are keen to get things back to normal, they have high-lighted the need for this to be done safely, and in line with Public Health guidance.
Prisons are currently still following the regime stages outlined in COVID-19: National Frame-work for Prison Regimes and Services and this will impact what can be delivered in relation to sentence progression. At time of writing, the majority of prisons are in Stage 3, but a few have recently progressed to Stage 2.
At stage 3 there is still a significant element of central oversight as governors have to adhere to Exceptional Delivery Models (EDMs) for dif-ferent elements of the regime. Offender Man-agement work and Offending Behaviour
Programmes (OBPs) should be taking place at this stage, though delivery will be limited by restrictions. Inter-prison transfers still require central oversight and agreement at this stage.
Stage 2 means more local discretion and so activities that assist sentence progression are more likely to be delivered. This includes in-dustries reopening and more options for deliv-ering OBPs are possible, depending on each prison. At Stage 2, transfers should also be able to happen more readily, particularly between prisons which are identified as ‘green sites’ - which means that local infection rates are low both in the prison and in the community.
It is worth being aware that although moving back to Stage 1 could still take some time, there is an ongoing conversation about what this will look like. This work is being led by the Future Regimes Design project within HMPPS - there is more information about this and how you could contribute through our Pris-oner Policy Network (PPN) advert below.
We understand that OBPs are currently run-ning in the majority of sites which deliver them, with a mix of formats depending on the local circumstances. Alternative Delivery For-mats (ADF) were launched last year to ensure continuity of delivery of accredited pro-grammes during the pandemic. This means
PRISONREFORMTRUST
Ryan HarmanAdvice and InformationService Manager
We are currently running our freephone, on 0808 802 0060, on Monday 3pm - 5pm, and Wednesday and Thursday 10.30am - 12.30pm. When we are not taking calls, you can still leave a short voicemail which will be checked on working days. Alternatively, you can write to us at: Prison Reform Trust, FREEPOST ND 6125, London EC1B 1PN. We will respond to all enquiries as quickly as we can, by post or email a prisoner.
Prison Reform Trust delivery in small groups, and one-to-one de-livery both face-to-face and remotely. Al-though the ADF format will be reviewed to make sure any lessons are learnt, they con-tinue to be available at this time. Normal de-livery formats remain the preferred option where possible, but it will be up to staff to de-termine what is best in each prison.
In terms of waiting lists, the aim is to offer an OBP to those assessed as suitable and waiting prior to their parole or release date, prioritising those with dates in 2021/2022. HMPPS are also in the process of reviewing what delivery dif-ferent prisons are planning and are working to map provision to demand as much as pos-sible. This process will be kept regularly under review as regime access and wider safety ad-vice in relation to Covid changes.
From 17 May, establishments that are approved to offer ROTL were permitted to expand their ROTL offer to include releases to private ad-dresses, including overnight release. Progres-sion to overnight release should generally be incremental and must be underpinned by a full risk assessment.
HMPPS also have a central team focussing on the recovery of services as restrictions ease. The Prison Recovery team has included sen-tence progression as one of their 4 key priori-ties. They have issued guidance to governors ‘to support prisoners to progress through their sentence plan with the right interventions and support for their needs’. At Stage 2, governors are expected to:
• Ensure prisoners are re-enrolled in education or employment in a Covid-19 secure manner.• Address waiting lists for OBPs, as well as the referral lists for those awaiting an assessment. Governors should consider whether reconfig-uring staff resources can speed up delivery of this.• Address the backlog in OASys assessments.• Address the backlog in recategorisation de-cisions and associated activity such as ROTL. This includes using varied forms of evidence beyond accredited programmes especially where these have been impacted by regime restrictions.• Ensure support for completion of Parole Board dossiers and facilitate other parole re-lated activities.
Martin Jones, chief executive of the Parole Board has provided us with the following in-formation about the approach taken by panels on the issue:
“Parole Board panels are very mindful of the
challenges and restrictions brought in during the coronavirus pandemic and that many sen-tence plans have been delayed and courses postponed due to restrictions. They also appre-ciate the anxiety and distress this may cause prisoners as parole reviews approach.
“Panels will take account of this, and they un-derstand that traditional options have been severely curtailed. However, panels will look for other ways to evidence a reduction in risk and will expect both prison and probation staff to provide evidence of this. This could include where perhaps some ‘one to one’ work has been completed rather than group work; arrange-ments have been put in place within the prison to replicate testing that would normally be evi-denced through ROTL; or some interventions being delivered by telephone. We would strongly recommend that prisoners talk to their Key Worker and POMs and COMs about what may be possible. It is acknowledged that these op-tions may not be available for all prisoners.
“However, Panels are bound by law to assess the case on the facts before them. They must apply the statutory test, which focuses on risk and protection of the public.
“If it is the case that courses and ROTLs have not been undertaken as a result of coronavirus restrictions, they have no option but to take that into account when assessing risk. They are also obliged by law to carry out a speedy review, and so do not have the option of delaying reviews until restrictions have been lifted. The Parole Board is aware that a case can be referred back to them swiftly if restrictions are lifted and courses/ROTLs completed, and hope that this will happen, where appropriate.”
There is more information about how the Pa-role Board have been operating during the pandemic in Parole Board: Covid-19 Member Guidance.
If you are having difficulty progressing through your sentence, or have concerns about any of the above, please feel free to contact our service using the details below to see if there is any information or advice we can give you.
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The Inspector Calls - Scrutiny Inspections
Fourteen months after HM Inspectorate of Prisons suspended its pro-gramme of full inspections as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chief Inspector of Prisons has announced that full inspection visits have now resumed. Below are four recent scrutiny visits.
North Sea Camp Date of visit: 19 and 27–28 April 2021: Published: 2nd June 2021
“Overly restrictive regime during the pandemic”
At the time of the inspection the prison had a reduced population of 336. Although this open prison held some high-risk prisoners, it was found by inspectors to have operated a “very limited” daily regime during the COVID-19 pandemic. Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “A very limited regime had been in place for most of the last year. In comparison with other open prisons we have visited recently the arrange-ments at North Sea Camp had seemed overly restrictive, particularly in the months either side of the outbreak.
“For example, prisoners had been required to confine themselves to their rooms and their unit which meant that they were only allowed outside in the fresh air for a desig-nated exercise period each day.”
For two weeks before the announced visit the men were allowed more time in the open air in the areas around the house units.
The pandemic had resulted in the suspension of all release on temporary licence (ROTL) other than for those needing to go to hospital and for those in jobs in the community designated as essential. This meant, Mr Taylor said, “that for most prisoners, one of the key incentives of being in open condi-tions had been lost and the impact of this on their progression had been significant. Many of the peer-led initiatives within the prison had also stopped, and much of the support from partner agencies remained suspended. As a result, the prison had been unable to fulfil much of its rehabilitative function throughout the last year”.
Taylor says that opportunities to reinstate support services had been grasped too slowly. “There was a sense of frustration among prisoners and some staff that the restrictions applied to prisons generally did not take account of the unique environment of an open prison.”
Summing up, Taylor said: “North Sea Camp, like many other open prisons, had been hit hard by the restrictions imposed nationally throughout much of the last year. However, the pace of recovery at the establishment needed review, to make sure that every possible step was being taken, at the earliest opportunity, to reinstate its focus on progression, engagement and rehabilitation.”
East Sutton ParkDate of visit: 12-13 and 20-21 April 2021: published: 27 May 2021
Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said that at the last full inspection, in 2016, inspectors found East Sutton Park to be an ex-cellent prison, where very strong staff-prisoner relationships underpinned safety and where there was a respectful and purposeful approach to preparing women for release. He says: “The prison had largely maintained its strong reha-bilitative function despite the pandemic. Women continued working both in and outside the prison during the national restrictions. Almost a third of the population was released on temporary licence (ROTL) every day to carry out essential work in the community, which was impressive.”
Women had access to the open air for up to 14 hours a day. Despite many measures introduced in 2020 to keep women safe from the Covid-19 virus, there were 34 confirmed cases - more than 40% of the population - during an outbreak starting in December 2020.
None of the showers in the main house (apart from one in the area used as the reverse cohort unit RCU), were in use during the inspection because they were being refurbished. Portable shower units had been placed in the courtyard near the main building and were reasonably convenient, but they were very near to the kitch-en, also being refurbished, and contractors’ employees were constantly close to the tempo-rary showers during the working day. Women found this difficult.
Taylor said that prisoner-staff relationships were generally good. Women spoke very highly of some staff but identified a small number as ‘unhelpful’. Opportunities for women to leave the prison temporarily to see their children and families had been suspended, in line with COVID-19 restrictions, but the prison had promptly introduced mobile phone FaceTime sessions with families and friends on a weekly basis, which was greatly appreciated by the women.
Summing up, he said: “The prison had contin-ued to be a safe and purposeful place during the pandemic. Opening new accommodation to minimise the risk of virus transmission had brought considerable improvements, and living conditions were better in the former dormitory accommodation, which had housed up to six women in a room.”
Full report: https://tinyurl.com/86kwnc5w
Ford Date of visit: 29-30 March and 13-14 April 2021: published: 19 May 2021
“Urgent need to improve rehabilitation work”
Ford was found by inspectors to be falling short in its work to support prisoners’ rehabilitation and preparation for release into the community. Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor said: “Covid-19 restrictions over the last year had had a significant impact on many prisoners who had worked hard to progress to open con-ditions, only for further potential progress to be frustrated by a national ban on temporary release. Prisoners who had expected to be work-ing in the community and rebuilding family ties on resettlement licence instead found them-selves, literally, confined to barracks.
“There were few prisoners in education, voca-tional training or community placements, which indicated weaknesses in the planning for recovery. Release on temporary licence had started to ramp up, but ultimately there were too many unemployed and unoccupied prison-ers who were bored, demotivated and unable to progress in the way they had expected.”
However, it remained safe although some staff expressed low expectations of prisoners. Taylor says: “Ford had one of the highest rates of return to closed conditions in the open estate, which supported the view of many prisoners who said the threat of re-categorisation was used unfairly to control their behaviour and sometimes de-terred them from speaking out about issues affecting them. All of this was contributing to a culture that felt far from rehabilitative.
“While we acknowledge the inherent limitations of the old and worn accommodation at Ford, this did not excuse the poor cleanliness and shabby conditions we found. It was clear that there had been little oversight of standards in the residential accommodation. It was unac-ceptable that, during a pandemic, access to laundry facilities and the provision of soap was so poor. We saw prisoners cleaning their un-derwear and dishes in buckets in shared toilet areas, which we would not expect to see in a modern Prison Service, let alone in an open prison that should be promoting and supporting independent living skills.
“This was a disappointing visit and we urge leaders at national and local levels to address the concerns we have highlighted with urgency.”
Full report: https://tinyurl.com/2phuu6ku
Thorn CrossDate of visit: 13 and 20-21 April 2021: published 25 May 2021
“Impressive prison needing to restore release support disrupted by Covid-19”
This report says the prison generally coped well with Covid-19 but restrictions as a result of the pandemic meant it struggled to maintain its high standard of work to prepare men for re-lease. Charlie Taylor, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: “The fundamental purpose of Thorn Cross is to prepare prisoners for their return to the community and previous full in-spections found that it had performed this role consistently well. However, the pandemic had severely and understandably disrupted the prison’s ability to sustain previous levels of pre-release preparation and support. While much resettlement provision remained in place, and key tasks such as parole assessments were being completed, there was far less release on temporary licence (ROTL) for the purposes of work or training than in the past.”
Inspectors also found that face-to-face contact between prisoners and offender managers and resettlement support services had also been very limited, and prisoners were often frustrated about their inability to obtain information from the offender management unit. Prison leaders had not done enough to address this problem. In most other respects, however, Thorn Cross remained an impressive establishment with a culture and physical environment that support-ed rehabilitative endeavour and delivered pos-itive outcomes for prisoners.
Relationships between staff and prisoners were mature and respectful. Complaints were man-aged well, and leaders had continued to under-take a good level of prisoner consultation. Social visits had resumed and were popular, and there had been encouraging early progress towards increasing the number of prisoners able to ben-efit from ROTL. The vast majority of prisoners were engaged in some form of work, training or education, and much of it was good quality. Healthcare provision was also impressive.
Summing up, Taylor said: “Prison leaders had realistic plans to improve the currently insuf-ficient rehabilitative provision, which were supported by a positive staff culture, a good physical environment and generally good safety outcomes. An immediate challenge was to im-prove communication and dialogue between prisoners and their offender managers.”
Full report: https://tinyurl.com/byc2nwnd
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‘What do you want …?’‘What do you want …?’
Questions Jesus asked:
BeaconLight Trust, PO Box 91, Banstead, Surrey, SM7 9BA
1 Mark 10:46-52 2 John 3:16
New Life
A look at the New Life
that Jesus offers
Do you recognise that you need God to forgive you? Will you ask Him? If so, please get in touch. We would love to send you a copy of Prayers From Inside and our booklet, New Life.
Prayersfrom Inside
in association with John PhillipsPhillips
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from Inside
Following an insurance career in the City of London,
John Phillips is now actively engaged in Christian ministry
in Banstead, Surrey. He is a Director of BeaconLight Trust
and a volunteer with Prison Fellowship.
During a prison sentence, many men and women
take time to reflect on a whole range of life issues.
“Is there a God?” and “How can I pray to God?” are
questions which will often be thought about, if not
openly asked.
Prayers from Inside has been written for all who
believe that God does exist and want to pray but
who need some help.
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Jesus asked this question of Bartimaeus, after he had shouted out to Jesus and got his attention. Being blind, his need was obvious to everyone. Yet Jesus still asked the question, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He wanted Bartimaeus to spell out what he wanted. And when he did, Jesus restored his sight.1
God wants us to bring our needs to Him in prayer even though He already knows them. He also knows what is best for us and so He will not give us everything we ask for.
But He longs to meet our greatest need - to have our sins forgiven. He has promised to forgive everyone who asks Him. Jesus came into the world for that very reason. Everyone who believes that Jesus died for their sins – and who repents – will be forgiven; they will not have to face God’s wrath when Jesus returns to judge us.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.2
Probation reform: Your questions answered
What is changing in Proba-tion and when?
Until 26th June 2021, proba-tion services were divided between Community Rehabil-itation Companies (CRCs) which were privately run and the National Probation Ser-vice (NPS) which was run by the public sector. On the 26th June, CRCs and the NPS came together to become one new public organisation called the Probation Service.
This means that the Probation Service now has responsibil-ity for the supervision of all people on probation in Eng-land and Wales who are on l i c e n c e o r c o m m u n i t y
sentences. This also includes the delivery of Unpaid Work, Accred ited P rog ra m mes (Thinking Skills, Building Better Relationships, Horizon etc), Structured Interventions a nd S e n ior At te nd a nce Centres.
Will any of the changes benefit me?
As a part of the changes, we have invested in improving the support resources you can access for:• Getting and keeping accommodation;• Employment, training & education;• Improving the social sup-port you have in the community;• Your personal wellbeing;• Finances, benefits and managing debt;• Drug & alcohol issues.
These services will be availa-ble to help you both before you are released and when you are living in the commu-nity. This support will also be available to you no matter which prison you are in.
Will I get a new probation worker?
Most of your community pro-bation workers will stay the same. If you are given a new probation worker, you will be informed as soon as possible, and you will have the oppor-tunity to start getting to know t h e m b e f o r e y o u a r e released.
Will my probation office be in a different town?
A small number of probation offices are changing which means that some of you will report to a different building when you are released. You will be informed if this affects you. The full address and con-tact details of the office you will report to will be on your
pre-release paperwork. You will also have the opportu-nity to talk with your commu-nity probation worker and prison OMU (Offender Man-agement Unit) worker before you are released if you have any questions.
Will my licence conditions change?
The conditions of your super-vision and licence in the com-munity will remain exactly the same. It is very important that you understand and com-ply with your licence condi-tions when you are released and talk to your probation worker i f you have a ny concerns.
I was already supervised by the National Probation Ser-vice. Does that mean I’m not affected?
If you were supervised by the National Probation Service, you will be managed exactly as before by the new Proba-t i o n S e r v i c e . Yo u w i l l
Last month, probation underwent a major shake-up with the scrapping of 21 regional Community Rehabilitation Companies and the launch of a new national Probation Service covering the whole of England and Wales. It marks a reversal of the Government’s decision in 2013 to split and part-privatise probation. With 16,000 staff, the new organisation will be charged with supervising 223,000 people including those released from prison on licence and those given non-custodial sentences. MPs on the Commons Justice Committee have welcomed the reform and called for a commitment that the new structure should stay in place for decades, not years. On this page, the Probation Service answers questions you might have about how the changes will affect you.
My name is Amy Rees and I am responsible for the deliv-ery of probation services in England and Wales, and for prisons in Wales. I am very pleased to have this oppor-tunity to answer some ques-tions you may have about the changes we are making to the Probation Service and what they mean for you. These include our plans to ensure a larger range of ser-vices are available to en-c o u r a g e y o u t o l e a d crime-free lives when you leave prison. I hope this in-formation will reassure you that the changes are a posi-tive thing and they will also benefit you.
however have access to a va-riety of different support ser-v ices to prepare you for release and support you in the community.
What else might I notice?
Along with our name change to the Probation Service, and some new services, you may also notice other things in the coming months. For example, a ‘resettlement pack’ is being put together for everyone who leaves prison, including peo-ple released without a convic-tion. It will contain information that will help you find support in your local area and adjust to life in the community. It will cover things like accom-modation, education, work, health, substance misuse and budgeting.
Who shall I speak to if I have any questions?
If you have any questions about these changes, please do speak with your prison or community probation worker.
HM Prison & Probation Service
Amy Rees Director General of Probation for England and Wales
l Are you about to be interviewed by the Police?
l Facing the prospect of fresh charges?
l Want to avoid an additional sentence?
l Waiting for the Police to make a decision on potential fresh charges?
l Concerned over Police delays in making a decision?
l Had no update from your Solicitor?
l Been recalled and worried about being charged with new offences?
l Do you feel your sentence is too long?
l Do you disagree with your Lawyers about not lodging an appeal?
l Wrongly convicted?
l Concerned about disclosure failures?
l Let down at trial by your legal team?
l Do you feel you have grounds to appeal?
l Have you received a postal requisition?
l Have you been charged with new offences?
l Do you have a hearing coming up and need representation?
l Are your current lawyers doing enough to help?
l Do you face POCA proceedings?
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Our Prison Law Team are able to offer advice and assistance under the Legal Aid Scheme for the following issues:
Our experienced Solicitors also offer competitive fixed fees for general Prison Law matters including:
With our team of Prison Law specialists we can provide assistance Nationwide.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.
Contact our team now by calling 01865 592670 or write to us using our Freepost Suite 358, First Floor, Silbury Court 358 Silbury Boulevar, Milton Keynes MK9 2AF
Insidetime July 2021 Legal 41‘Legal’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.
After serving the custodial part of your sen-tence you will either be released automatically or deemed suitable for release by the Parole Board. However, regardless of the type of sen-tence you are serving you will be subject to licence conditions and supervision by your probation officer. The world has turned upside down during the pandemic and it was not easy to face day-to-day challenges of the outside world. If you do not comply with your licence conditions, you could be subject to recall. Re-call could be triggered by one of the following:-
• Breach of any licence condition; • If a further offence is committed/or arrested on suspicion;• If is believed that you are/have behaved in such a way that their Offender Manager rea-sonably believes you will go on to commit a further offence or that raises risk.
If it is felt there is not an escalation of risk, probation can decide whether to issue a warn-ing first.
It is important to remember that if arrested on suspicion of a further offence you can be re-called just for being arrested or even if the police decide to take no further action. It should also be noted that if you are aware of your recall and fail to hand yourself in, this is called being ‘unlawfully at large’. This can lead to a further conviction and the days at large can be added to the end of your sentence, it is therefore important to hand yourself in as soon as you are aware of the recall, then con-tact a Prison Law Solicitor to provide assis-tance with your re-release.
If you have been recalled, your probation of-ficer will complete a recall report which is then submitted to the Secretary of State requesting that your licence is revoked. Once your licence is revoked, a warrant for your arrest will nor-mally be issued - you will be arrested and then returned to prison.
Once you are back in prison, the Public Pro-tection Casework Section will establish
whether you are suitable for a fixed-term recall or a standard recall. A fixed-term recall means that you could be released automatically after 28 days; it should be noted that if you are deemed ‘high risk’ you will not be eligible for a fixed-term recall. If you are deemed unsuit-able for a fixed-term recall, you are technically in custody until your licence expiry date (standard recall) or until the Parole Board deem your risks manageable in the commu-nity. A standard recall can then be appealed through the Parole Board and re-release ar-gued. You will then receive your recall pack, and probation will prepare a further risk report within 14 days of your recall, which will com-ment on suitability for re-release. At this point you can make written representations submit-ting why it is safe to release you back into the community, prior to the dossier being referred to the Parole Board.
There are time limits involved in serving rep-resentations and so it is very important that you act quickly if recalled. The Parole Board will consider the matter on the papers initially and make a decision as to whether a release on the papers is possible, whether you must remain in custody or whether a hearing is di-rected. If the paper decision is received with-out representations being submitted, the first chance for release on the papers is missed.
If you find yourself in custody as a result of further allegations that remain outstanding the Parole Board may not consider your release until these matters have been resolved. They will consider whether the allegations ‘go to risk’ and this is another important reason why you should seek the assistance of a solicitor. The solicitor will be able to argue re-release and make representations on the relevance of any outstanding allegation.
At Reeds, our team of prison law solicitors are able to provide expert assistance in these mat-ters and all aspects of Prison Law. Contact us today to speak to one of our experts and find out how we can help.
Monika Zuziak-Shackleton
Monika Zuziak-Shackleton is a trainee solicitor at Reeds
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.
Prison Law & Compensation
BT - HMP The Mount
QI’m having problems being allowed to receive property as a gift from another prison-er. I have repeatedly brought the establishment’s attention to the case of Leonard Cartell v the Home Office and the law around gifting property to another person, yet the pris-on are still denying my right to the item. What is the best way to handle this problem when they won’t listen to a legal judgement?
A PSI 12/2011 is the Ministry of Justice’s policy setting out the guidelines that must be followed when it comes to pris-oner’s property. It has been updated three times since it came into practice, with the last update being in January 2020.
Section 2.9 of the PSI, at page 6, states the following:
“Prisoners must not be allowed to transfer ‘in possession prop-erty’ to the ownership of other prisoners, unless the Governor is satisfied that such transfers are voluntary and for accept-able reasons (e.g., not the result of bullying or taxing, or in ex-change for illicit items), and that they will not undermine the incentives scheme or good
order or discipline. Authorised transfers of property must be recorded on all the appropriate property record cards.”
This section makes use of a negative to confirm that pris-oners are authorised to trans-fer property, but this cannot be done without the authori-sation of a governor who is satisfied that such a transfer is voluntary and for acceptable reasons. In addition, the trans-fer does not undermine the incentives scheme or good order or discipline of the es-tablishment. More important-ly, once the transfer is done, it must be recorded on the relevant property card of the receiving individual.
You are correct in your asser-tion that Leonard Cartell v the Home Office sets out the rele-vant law on the transfer of gifts b e t w e e n i n m a t e s . Unfortunately, this judgement must be read in line with sec-tion 2.9, in that the law does allow an individual to gift property to another, but that the transfer must meet the fol-lowing criteria:
i) Done voluntarily; ii) For acceptable reasons; iii) Does not undermine the establishment’s incentive
scheme or good order or dis-cipline; andiv) It must also be recorded on your property card.
With regards to the gift you have received, if you can prove that the above elements are met then the establishment have an obligation to allow you to have it or place it in your storage. The prison is obligat-ed to provide you with an ex-planation as to why they are not letting you receive your gift. A blanket ban is unlawful. My recommendation is to sub-mit an application explaining why you should be allowed to have this gift. If this is refused, then go through the com-plaint’s procedure. Once you have gone through this line of action, you may be able to pro-ceed to taking Judicial Review action against the relevant establishment. This work can be done through a solicitor’s firm who have a public law contract.
I hope that the above is of assistance.
Response provided by Kesar & Co Solicitors
MR - HMP Berwyn
QDuring the first part of my sentence I was not allowed any contact with my wife, but
this was resolved by a solic-itor and we were then allowed to write, call and video. My wife has now been released and has been told by her pro-bation officer that we are not allowed any contact, or she will be recalled. Under Article 8, about having the right to a private and family life, how can this be right?
A You do not specify the of-fences for which you were both convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment. The nature of those offences will be crucial to any risk assess-ment and consequently upon any advice that can be given as to how it might be possible to challenge the decisions. I can therefore only provide you with general advice as to the principles involved.
The right to family life is a basic human right but it is not an unconditional right and has to be balanced against other interests, which in this case would primarily be manage-ment of risk in the community and the maintenance of good order and discipline within the jail.
Your wife is now on licence and any condition imposed must be necessary and propor-t i on a te t o ma na ge an d
safeguard risk. She can make a complaint to her Community Offender Manager’s senior and thereafter to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. The Probation Service will supply details of the complaint’s procedure.
Initially, you should make ei-ther an application or com-plaint to have sight of the documentation that author-ised the restriction. You can then proceed to use the inter-nal complaints procedure which may then lead to a com-plaint to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman.
I note that you have previously sought legal advice which re-sulted in you having contact with your wife whilst she was serving her sentence. I would suggest that you contact those solicitors again, because their correspondence with the pris-on may well be relevant to any action you now wish to take.
You will probably be aware that the Legal Aid scheme will not cover advice and assis-tance for this problem. Legal Aid may be available should the matter proceed to an ap-plication for Judicial Review.
Response provided by Stevens Solicitors
‘We are “The people’s firm”. We serve thepeople we represent and do our utmost tolisten to you and speak out on your behalf.’0808 196 8212
www.proctorhobbs.com
Write to us: Unit 1 Campus Road, Listerhills Science Park, Bradford BD7 1HR
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Call: 0161 925 4155 I Click: jefferiessolicitors.com I Email: [email protected]
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Jefferies Solicitors is a specialist Jefferies Solicitors is a specialist
personal injury law firm dedicated personal injury law firm dedicated
to helping you with accident to helping you with accident
claims, personal injury, industrial claims, personal injury, industrial
diseases and medical negligence diseases and medical negligence
compensation claims, including compensation claims, including
claims that have arisen from an claims that have arisen from an
incident in prison. incident in prison.
If you have suffered an accident or If you have suffered an accident or
injury on the road, had an accident or injury on the road, had an accident or
injury in a public place, been injured injury in a public place, been injured
as a result of medical malpractice as a result of medical malpractice
or negligence or had work-related or negligence or had work-related
accident while in prison, the expert accident while in prison, the expert
solicitors at Jefferies can help you.solicitors at Jefferies can help you.
If you have been injured while in If you have been injured while in
Q. I was involved in an accident before I came to prison. Can I still pursue a claim and how do I go about it?
A. Yes, provided your accident occurred within the last three years you may still be able to make a claim. You should contact a Solicitor who specialises in Personal Injury and they will take all the relevant information from you and provide you with advice regarding pursuing a claim. It is important that you contact a solicitor as soon as possible, do not leave it until the last minute as the longer you leave it the more difficult it becomes to make
a claim as records and important evidence may go missing and it may not be possible to obtain all of the relevant evidence before the three year time limit expires. If your accident occurred more than three years ago, it is unlikely that a solicitor would be able to help.
Q. I hurt my ankle when playing football. I’ve put in an app to see the doctor. I’ve waited for 2 weeks and have still heard nothing despite me following it up at the hatch. I can hardly walk and am worried that walking around on it is making it worse. Can I claim for the delay in treatment?
A. You must always be able to prove the chain of events that lead to an injury. In this case, you already had the injury. However, it is not uncommon for an injury to be made worse by a lack of appropriate treatment. If this happens and you can prove this, you can claim for the injury being made worse. The only way you can do this in prison is by keeping copies of your attempts to show you have tried to obtain medical help, yet have been ignored. Putting in complaints (COMP1s) to healthcare is not enough; you must also keep copies of these complaints. If the healthcare department does not respond to your application for an appointment within the usual protocol time period, put in a complaint. Keep copies of them both. If you can, speak with healthcare at the hatch or their offices and write down the names of the staff who you speak to and what they say. If you still get nowhere, write to the NHS Trust that the healthcare belongs to, send a copy of your applications, complaints and conversations and ask them to
get involved so that you can get the treatment you need.
Ultimately, you want treatment as soon as possible and hopefully, the delay in treatment will not make your injury worse. However, if you later discover that it has been made worse (by walking around on a fractured ankle, for example), then you will be entitled to claim and will have the evidence needed to support your claim.
Q. I have been taking lifelong prescription medication for a pre-existing condition. I have been incarcerated now for a number of years and I recently moved prison. Since being at the new establishment they have stopped dispensing my medication to the treatment hatch. Can I make a claim?
A. Whether or not you can claim will depend on how long you have been without your medication and what effect this has had on you. If you have been without your medication for a short period of time, for example, a couple of days due to a mix-up, it is unlikely you will have a successful claim. If you have been without your medication for more than 2 months and, as a result, have been in severe pain or required urgent medical treatment, you will have a claim worth investigating.
It would be tricky to predict the amount of compensation you could receive without knowing more about your circumstances. The experts at Jefferies would be happy to investigate your case and if you make a claim will work hard to get you the compensation you’re entitled to.
Q. I was in a prison van being transported to another prison when the van reversed and hit a bollard in the secure reception area for prisoners. I was thrown back against the cubicle, but the drivers weren’t interested when another prisoner and I told them we were injured. I reported it upon arrival at HMP Oakwood and they noted it down. I have been having shooting pains down my back for over 5 weeks now. I don’t know exactly what happened or the details of the van and don’t know if I can claim or not but have been going to healthcare for painkillers.
A. You can claim for any injury as long as you can prove that the accident occurred and your injury is down to the accident. It is good that you reported the injury upon arrival at your new prison because this means there is a log of the accident. You should continue to obtain medical treatment if you feel you need it, but it is important to obtain as much evidence as possible now in relation to the incident itself. Speak to the other inmate who was injured if you know where he is. Obtain his details for your solicitors to write to. Put your claim in as soon as possible once you realise you’ve been injured so that CCTV can be requested of the accident area (it may already be too late for this). Ultimately, the prison van driver should have logged the accident, but they may not have. If they did not, you will need as much evidence as possible to prove the accident occurred. Write down all the information and descriptions of the driver and guard that you remember and send this to your solicitors to help with their investigations.
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CrosswordAcross
1. Which team was the first from the UK to win the European Cup in1966-67?
3. Which company supplied the Euro 2012 matchball?
4. The Panenka penalty originated at the 1976 European Championships, but what team did Antonin Panenka score the first against?
6. First name of the player who scored the only goal in the Euro 2004 final between Portugal and Greece? .
8. The break in the middle is called _____time
10. Rangers tried to sign which superstar after Alex McLeish was alerted to his ability
11. A goal keeper (only the goal keeper) can always use his feet and what during game play?
Down
1. Surname of the player who scored the only goal in the Euro 2004 final between Portugal and Greece? .
2. How many goals has Alan Shearer scored in European Championship tournaments in total?
5. First name of England’s all-time leading European Championship goalscorer has a tally of seven goals. Can you name the player?
7. How many soccer balls are used in a regular game of soccer?
9. What is the place where soccer is played called?
11. A goal keeper (only the goal keeper) can always use his feet and what during game play?
The prison was designed to house 2,100 men and be the cheapest to run Category C prison in the country, with a projected cost of £14,000 per prisoner. However, up until 2019 (the latest figures) the prison was only 60% occu-pied and the cost per prisoner had gone up to £36,000 per year.
One of the unique things about HMP Berwyn is that all staff are expected to stick to a set of values, which are - value each other and cele-brate achievements, act with integrity, and always speak the truth, look to the future with ambition and hope, uphold fairness and justice in all they do, embrace the Welsh language, and culture, and stick at it.
In June 2018, 16 months after it opened, the prison was still only half full. It has been sug-gested that this is due to the design of the prison, conten-tious in the planning stages, which requires a high propor-tion of prisoners to share cells in order to cut costs. Prior to the design of Berwyn, the Prison Service worked on the basis that one person to a cell was the norm; though in real-ity some prisons cram three men into a cell designed for one.
The first governor of Berwyn,
Troubled new prison
HMP Berwyn is one of the newest prisons in the UK, having opened its gates to prisoners on the 28th of February 2017. It is the largest operational prison in the UK. Situated on the Wrexham Industrial Estate, in North Wales, the prison is a male, adult Category C prison with a 2,106 capacity.
The name ‘Berwyn’ comes from the Welsh language and means barr (summit or peak) and gwyn (white) and was named after a Welsh moun-tain range. The name was one of a shortlist that was sug-gested by local schools, com-munities, and local historical societies. It was announced by then-governor Russ Trent on the 17th of February 2016.
The prison consists of three ‘houses’, with the first of these, Bala, being opened in February 2017. The other two, Alwen and Ceiriog, were opened that same autumn. Each house can hold different communities, including one for armed forces veterans. In 2017 residents of the town of Bala, which is in Gwynedd, protested against the use of their town’s name as one of the prison’s houses. A peti-tion, which gained over 400 signatures, was set up but
Pitch darkness and unbeara-ble heat are a good recipe to turn the inhabitants of a major city into a wild looting and violent mob, and this is exactly what happened on the night of the 13th to 14th of July 1977 in New York. Two light-ening strikes were enough to knock out the power grid that fed the city its electricity in the middle of a heatwave and the resulting darkness led to a night that has gone down in history.
There had been a similar set of circumstances in the city in 1965, when the grid failed and New York lost its electricity, b u t o n t h a t o c c a s i o n everything turned out fine and the inhabitants of the city had been very good natured about the loss of power. The 1977 blackout occurred when the city was facing a severe financial crisis and its resi-dents were terrified by the Son of Sam murders. David Berkowitz was eventually identified as the Son of Sam serial killer who had been shooting courting couples with a .44 calibre pistol (he had originally been called the ’44 calibre killer’) in the city of New York.
The nation as a whole, espe-cially New York City, was suf-fer ing from a protracted economic downturn, and some pointed to the financial crisis as a root cause of the disorder; others noted the hot July weather, as the East Coast was in the middle of a brutal heatwave. Still others pointed out that the 1977 blackout came after busi-nesses had closed and their owners had gone home, while
On this day… 13th-14th July 1977
Inside Insight
Inside Insight
in 1965 the blackout occurred during the day and many mer-chants were still at their prop-erties. However, the 1977 looters continued their illegal activities into the daylight hours of the next day, with police on alert.
Looting and vandalism were widespread in New York City, hitting 31 different neighbour-hoods. Possibly the hardest hit was Crown Heights, where 75 shops on a five-block stretch were looted and damaged, and Bushwick, where arson was rampant, with some 25 fires still burning the next morning. At one point, two blocks of Broadway in Brook-lyn, which separates Bushwick from Bedford Stuyvesant, were on f ire. Thirt y-f ive blocks of Broadway were de-stroyed: 134 stores looted, 45 of them also set ablaze. Thieves stole 50 new Pontiacs from a Bronx car dealership. In Brooklyn, youths were seen backing up cars to stores, tying ropes around the stores’ grates, and using their cars to pull the grates away, then looting the stores. There were 550 police officers injured in the mayhem, and 4,500 loot-ers were arrested.
Mayor Abe Beame spoke dur-ing the blackout about what citizens were up against dur-ing the blackout and what the costs would be. ‘We’ve seen our citizens subjected to vio-lence, vandalism, theft, and discomfort. The blackout has threatened our safety and has seriously impacted our econ-omy. We’ve been needlessly subjected to a night of terror in many communities that have been wantonly looted and burned. The costs when f i n a l l y t a l l i e d w i l l b e enormous.’
Because of the power failure, LaGuardia and Kennedy air-ports were closed down for about eight hours, automo-bile tunnels were closed be-cause of lack of ventilation, and 4,000 people had to be evacuated from the subway system. ConEd called the shutdown an “act of God,” enraging Mayor Beame, who charged that the utility was guilty of “gross negligence.”
In all, 1,616 stores were dam-aged in looting and rioting. A total of 1,037 fires were re-sponded to, including 14 mul-t iple-alarm f ires. In the largest mass arrest in city history, 3,776 people were ar-rested. Many had to be stuffed into overcrowded cells, pre-cinct basements and other makeshift holding pens. A congressional study esti-mated that the cost of dam-ages amounted to a little over $300 million (equivalent to $1.29 billion in 2020).
In addition to the massive looting and violence that had accompanied it, there was also one homicide. Dominick Ciscone, a Brooklyn teenager and aspiring mobster, was shot in the neighbourhood of Carroll Gardens while in the company of some friends. He died at the scene. Police in-vestigated several people with whom he had ongoing disputes, but never identified any suspects. In 1997, they received tips from individuals who did not identify them-selves, but whom they be-lieved genuinely might know who committed the crime; they did not respond to re-quests to identify themselves. As of today, the killing re-mains unsolved.
Behind the Gate - HMP Berwyn
Russ Trent, who had also served as project director of the prison, was suspended on the 21st of August 2018, fol-lowing unspecified allega-tions. Nick Leader assumed the role of governor in April 2019.
HMP Berwyn gained some-thing of a reputation for vio-lence and homemade weap-ons. In September 2020, BBC News reported that the prison had seen an increase in vio-lence during the previous year despite falls in incident rates at other prisons in Wales. Prisoner attacks at Berwyn jumped 143% in 2019, a c c o r d i ng to a C a r d i f f U n i v e r s i t y r e s e a r c h e r . Assaults on staff were also up to 257, more than all other Welsh prisons combined. MoJ figures reveal around 70% of prisoners at Berwyn come from outside of Wales. The prison also topped the table for weapons seized, account-ing for just under half the 572 weapons found in all Welsh prisons.
Andrew Neilson from the campaign group the Howard League for Penal Reform said: “Berwyn is a very troubled prison. This is clearly a prison that is under a lot of stress and strain, and that is show-ing in the violence and those self-harm figures. All of this shows that building these very large prisons is a mis-take.”
The Ministry of Justice said assaults in prisons had fallen by 8% in all UK jails for the year ending in March 2020. An official added: “Tough new security measures are making it harder than ever to bring drugs into jails and this is one of the reasons assaults have fallen 8% in the past year.”
New York blackout!‘The blackout has threatened our safety and has seriously impacted our economy’
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Lawless darkness
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Josie tells it like it is!Blogger and podcaster gets to the nub of prison issues in groundbreaking series on life for a family left behind
Prison Break - the short series of five half-hour radio programmes broadcast on Radio 4 earlier this year - is a revelation of the obvious. In the UK the majority of offenders become reoffend-ers, nearly half of those have been excluded from school and many have had very tough childhoods. Those in prison are much more likely to have dyslexia, autism and suffer with mental illness. With any generalisation this doesn’t show the full picture, but the connec-tions are there and should be taken seriously if anything is going to change.
Former ‘prison wife’ Josie Bevan, who became known for her podcast and blog Prison Bag, investigates how and why the prison system is failing in the UK. She documented both her and her family’s experience of waiting four and a half years for husband, father and film-maker Rob, to emerge from a nine-year sen-tence for fraud. Whilst he was in there she began to question and take stock of how the prison system worked or didn’t work. This is what she found.
The first episode, ‘We’ve survived, haven’t we?’ looks at what prisons are for and is told by Peter Dawson, a former prison governor and now director of the Prison Reform Trust, that they are essentially for ‘retribution’ rather than ‘rehabilitation’. This depressing take on humanity’s need for revenge is echoed by for-mer prisoner and author of ‘Prison: A Survival Guide’, Carl Cattermole. Whilst this approach satisfies a basic need most victims or victims’ families will feel, the argument here is that it does nothing to stop more people becoming victims. The statistics back that with an in-credible half of all former inmates reoffending within a year, with that rising to 75% a year or two after that.
This isn’t a cold, analytical news programme but instead mixes Josie’s own build-up to Rob’s release, chats between prisoners, rock music and extracts from interviews. The seamless, laid-back interaction between these elements can’t disguise the infuriating and upsetting facts though. Perhaps the worst example being the quote from the UK Minister responsible for sentencing, Chris Philp, who said that: “There’s little evidence that longer jail times stop crime.” He said this the day after his de-partment introduced laws to increase jail terms.
The second episode, ‘Who is prison for?’ goes more deeply into crime being a society, oppor-tunity and even class issue, rather than the idea of individuals as evil. It looks at the dev-astating impact on prisoners and their families facing long or even indefinite prison sentences that, not surprisingly, lead to much higher rates of suicide in prisons. How to hang your-self, even in suicide proof cells, is one of the first things you learn on the yard.
Decriminalisation concentrates on one family in particular, who lost their sixteen-year-old to an overdose on drugs and their friendship with the older boy who sold him those drugs. The responsibility of the victims’ families to decide the fate of offenders demands a whole programme in itself but what you come away from here, apart from that, is that deciding what is an offence in the first place is going to make a huge difference to reducing victim and prisoner numbers. The example of Holland and its legalisation of drugs, along with a rapidly decreased prison community and re-offending rate, is an example of where we could find helpful policies here in the UK, if only there was the political will to do so.
Josie works hard to keep the programme polit-ically neutral with contributions from those who consider themselves right-wing but see the need to change the system radically, to those demanding the defunding of the police such as Black Lives Matter and Abolitionist Futures. In the last couple of episodes though she can’t help but draw attention to the reality of the chasm between the top of the two main political parties. Episode 4 opens with Keir Starmer - leader of the Labour Party and former head of the Crown Prosecution Service - say-ing: “I saw those coming through the criminal justice system daily, who, for a bit of support earlier in life, would not have been there.”
Then in Episode 5 she interviews Prisons Min-ister Alex Chalk, who says: “We want courts only to send people to prison when there is no reasonable alternative and I want to be clear they do this already.” He must have known this was not true as he was saying it and he does come across as the only person to appear on this series who isn’t taking the issue seriously. As Josie so tellingly points out, in her 18 minute conversation with the Minister he stresses the phrase: ‘public confidence in the justice sys-tem’ five times, so it is clearly the most impor-tant thing to government; the appearance of things working well. The idea that prison of-ficers, for example, can ‘get under the bonnet’ of prisoners’ problems and help them reform will seem laughable to anyone who has had direct experience of how prisons are run or what prison officers are qualified for or have time to do.
This is both an inspiration for what could be done to make society a better place but also a depressing trope of the wilful ignorance of those in power - more eager to win easy votes than work for the good of their constituents. It is however a great place for anyone to start who wants to understand what prisons are really all about.
Ale Malick
Guvna B talks to NPR
New Chapters is a weekly show on National Prison Radio where writers pres-ent their books and talk about their work. This month we’re listening to Unspoken by author and rapper Guvna B. The book deals with the themes of manhood, fatherhood, success and toxic mascu-linity. National Prison Radio presenter Jerelle sat down with Guvna B recently to find out more.
Your dad features a lot in the book. What did he teach you about being a man?
We never had the kind of re-lationship where we would talk. But I never doubted that he loved me and wanted the best for me. Coming from Ghana and being a typical ‘man’s man’, he didn’t really communicate his feelings. He taught me to work hard. He used to say, ‘your hands are made for working’. That’s the main thing I took away.
Do you think it’s affected the way you bring up your son?
I think it definitely has. When my dad passed, I tried to have a stiff upper lip but it didn’t really work. I feel like my mind and body were telling me I needed to be vulnerable. T h re e mont h s a f te r he
passed, I had a breakdown and cried. After that I real-ised, I’m never going to put pressure on my son to always have it together. I think when you feel vulnerable it’s impor-tant you let it out otherwise it can be dangerous for your mental health.
Can you explain what ‘toxic masculinity’ is and the effect it had on you?
My definition of toxic mascu-linity is a set of ideas that so-ciety has conditioned us to believe. For example, men can only be strong and they can never cry. I was condi-tioned from a young age about what makes a man. I think growing up on a council estate has a part to play as well as being a first-genera-tion Brit.
What does it mean to be a man in 2021?
I think in 2021 being a man means trying your best to em-brace everything. I think we’ve just got to try our best to not supress emotions. If you wake up feeling good, embrace that. But if you wake up feeling like you can’t face the day, try and deal with that and don’t push it away. I al-ways say, ‘we’ve got to look after the puddles before they turn into floods’. If you push stuff to the back of your mind, by the time you come to deal with it, it’s much harder.
Do you think there is extra
pressure on young black men to live up to a certain image?
Yeah definitely. I think the pressure comes from different places for different people though. We’ve got to put our finger on where that pressure is coming from and ask our-selves questions.
Do you think there are enough male role models out there?
No, I don’t think there are. We need more role models that look like us and understand where we’re coming from and the things we’re struggling with. On the other hand, I think we need to redefine what success looks like. It’s obviously easy to say that when you’ve been successful or earned a bit of money, but the older I get I realise money and possessions don’t make you happy. Friends and fam-ily and the stuff in life that’s free is what I get most joy from. My version of success now is being the best friend, husband and dad I can be.
Are you still figuring out what sort of man you want to be?
I think I am, and I think I al-ways will be. I used to view my manhood as a destination but I’ve realised life is about the journey. We’ve always got to be exploring how we can get better. The day you think you’ve made it and know everything, that’s the day you’ve lost.
Family values on air
Guvna B: “ life is about the journey”
You can request a free copy of Unspoken or the previous fea-tured title Soldier by Jay Mor-ton. Write to: National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF
To hear more from Unspoken, tune into New Chapters on National Prison Radio every Thursday at 12pm and 6pm.
New Chapters is produced in partnership with the National Literacy Trust with support from the Heathrow Commu-nity Trust.
I think when you feel vulnerable it’s important you let it out otherwise it can be dangerous for your mental health.
Insidetime July 2021Jailbreak 46 www.insidetime.org
Promoting reading and reading groups in prisons
Reading Group Round-Up
Prison Reading Groups (PRG) was created in 1999 to set up, support and fund informal reading groups in prisons. We now support more than 60 groups in over 45 prisons nationwide. PRG is part of Give a Book.
Finding a Good Read
A regular column to help you find a good read even if you can’t get to the library yet
PRG groups report on World Book Night and a Quick Read by Stephen King
Sarah Turvey
Books into films
Is it better to start with the book or the film? Some people like the control that reading offers: the freedom to imagine for yourself what characters look like; what the land-scapes look and feel like; how fast or slow you want to expe-rience the story.
‘I love Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels but I don’t want to see the films. I have a clear picture of Reacher in my head and I’d rather not have it nudged aside by Tom Cruise.’
Books also let us get inside characters so we know what they’re thinking and feeling rather than having to guess at it from what they say or how they look and move.
But other people want the im-mediacy and punch of film, the whole experience in a sin-gle sitting.
‘I like seeing it come to life in front of me on the screen.’
Faithful adaptation or looser influence?
Close matches
S i le nc e of t he L a m b s:Thomas Harris’ novel was re-leased as a film in 1991. It’s the story of Clarice Starling, a young FBI trainee (Jodie Fos-ter) who is hunting a serial killer, ‘Buffalo Bill’, who skins his female victims. She seeks advice from Dr Hanni-bal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins),an imprisoned psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer. Both book and film are about the deadly power struggle be-tween them.
No Country for Old Men: a novel by Cormac McCarthy, made into a film by the Coen brothers in 2007; a modern Western about drugs and vio-
lence on the Mexican border.
Shawshank Redemption: A 1994 film with Morgan Free-man and Tim Robbins, based on a Stephen King book, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: John Le Carre’s classic spy novel adapted for television in 1979 and then made into a brilliant film in 2011 with Gary Oldman.
Kes: a 1969 film based on Barry Hines’ novel A Kestrel for a Knave, about a troubled Northern boy who finds and trains a kestrel.
Looser connections
Apocalypse Now: the 1979 film by Francis Ford Coppola is set during the Vietnam War and follows a river journey into Cambodia by Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) who is on a secret mission to assas-sinate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a renegade soldier who has disappeared into the jungle and gone insane. The film was inspired by Joseph’s Conrad’s 1899 novel Heart of Darkness, about a similar journey up the Congo River to find an ivory trader whose mad viciousness shows the horrors of European imperial-ism in Africa.
Bridget Jones’s Diary: the 2001 film (and the 1996 book) are modern takes on Jane Austen’s 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice.
O Brother, Where Art Thou?: a 2001 film, based loosely on Homer’s Odyssey, about the adventures of three convicts who have escaped from a Mis-sissippi prison farm and are trying to get back home.
Distinctive voicesOne of the big challenges for film adaptations can be trans-lating onto screen a distinc-tive first person voice.
Trainspotting: Irvine Welsh’s 1993 novel about a bunch of wild young Scots opens like this: ‘The sweat was lashing oafay Sick Boy; he was trem-bling. Ah wis jist sitting their, focusing on the telly, tryin no tae notice the c**t. He wis bringing me doon. Ah tried tae keep ma attention oan the Jean-Claude Van Damme video.’
True Grit: for many readers the voice of 14-year old Mattie Ross is at the heart of Charles Portis’s 1968 novel: ‘People do not give it credence that a four-teen-year-old girl could leave home and go off in the winter-time to avenge her father’s blood but it did not seem so strange then, although I will sayit did not happen every day.’
A few more great books into great films• One Flew over the Cuck-oo’s Nest, Ken Kesey• The Shining, Stephen King• The Godfather, Mario Puzo• A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess• To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee• The Talented Mr Ripley, Patricia Highsmith• Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn.
Calling book reviewersIf you’ve read a good book recently, send a review in - no more than 100 words and mark it ‘Finding a Good Read’. We’ll print the best ones.
S t e p h e n K i n g i s known to many as the father of modern horror, having made his name as the au-thor of cult book and film classics includ-ing Carrie, The Shin-ing, IT, The Stand and Pet Sematary. He has written 62 novels a nd hu nd re d s of short stories. For a generation of read-
ers, King is also the explorer of small-town America and its underbelly.
World Book Night is an annual celebration of books and reading. It is organised by The Read-ing Agency and brings together people from all backgrounds for just one reason - to inspire others to read more.
King’s book Elevation was specially commis-sioned as one of this year’s WBN titles and PRG included it as a Book Talk choice for our read-ing groups. The groups still can’t meet face to face, but many are going strong with members reading the book on their own and then shar-ing written responses through a newsletter so there’s a feeling of connection and conversa-tion with other readers.
In the small town of Castle Rock word gets around quickly. That’s why Scott Carey only
confides in his friend Dr Bob Ellis about his strange condition. Every day he’s losing weight - but without getting thinner.
His new next-door neighbours have opened a ‘fine dining experience’ but Deidre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don’t exactly fit with community expectations. To make matters worse, their dog is also busy fouling Scott’s lawn.
It all seems like a recipe for bad relations or worse.
But the theme of this year’s World Book Night was ‘Books to make you smile’ so maybe not…
Six PRG groups chose the novel through Book Talk and we’ve been getting some great feed-back. At Rye Hill, eighteen members read it and shared responses.
‘Stephen, ye canna change the laws of physics! But it drew me in’
‘It deserves to be read at one sitting…I was cap-tivated straightaway and was scratching my head all the way through’
‘An emotional rollercoaster with hearts and minds opening up’
‘Nothing was scary. On the contrary, it was uplifting!’
‘Stephen King writes a great story that reels you in.’
‘I loved this book’
Quick Reads are short books with great stories by best-selling authors. They are especially aimed at less confident readers who want to get stuck into the pleasures of reading. This year’s new titles include Khurrum Rahman (The Motive), Oyinkan Braithwaite (The Baby is Mine) and Louise Candlish (The Skylight). Check to see if any of these are in your library or just ask for a Quick Read through request and delivery. Your library is bound to have lots.
‘The most treasured moments of my career have been when someone tells me they hadn’t read anything for years, often since their school days, but are back into reading via my books. What more could an author hope for?’Peter James, author of Quick Read title Wish You Were Dead.
If you’d like to join a reading group ask around at your prison. Maybe send a message to the library and if there isn’t a group already, it might help get one going.
King’s book Elevation was specially commissioned as one of this year’s WBN titles and PRG included it as a Book Talk choice for our reading groups.
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Book Reviews
Chris Atkins is a documentarymaker responsible for the BAFTA nominated media cri-tique Starsuckers, who was jailed for four years in 2016 for defrauding the government of £200,000 in order to make a film.
Early on in A Bit of a Stretch he outs himself as a privately educated urban ‘lefty’, and throughout, his activist in-stincts to polemicise shine through in anti-establish-ment bias. It is clear that as with most investigative, dia-ristic books published these days, genuine objectivity will be largely off the table. Jour-nalism used to be an objec-tive, dispassionate discipline; now it seems to be more inter-ested in social change via manipulated emotioneering.
In his ‘soapbox’ instruction at the end, Atkins lists things HMPPS should do - although none of it much of a revelation
to the dinosaurs on the wrong side of postmodern justice languishing up and down the land. That said, the first half of the book has some laugh out loud moments, which is fun in itself when being read from (relatively) incarcerated circumstances. Atkins’ sur-prised responses when ask-ing about otherwise perfectly normal processes ‘on the out’ - like guitar strings or shoe-laces being seen as nostalgi-cally domestic items viewed sentimentally as opposed to as a suicide risk - is hilarious, his rabbit-in-the-headlights privilege exposed in the Sa-maritans Listeners’ suite where he and his co-dwellers live.
He’s somewhat dismissive of the majority of prison of-ficers, calling them ‘screws’, which they don’t tend to like much, in an ‘us-and-them’ manner which betrays his activist bias, and dismissing any governmental rehabilita-tion scheme as ‘nonsense’ while simultaneously recog-nising the good work they can do when some repeat of-fenders have genuinely had enough of so-called ‘revolv-ing-door’ prisons.
While luxuriating in the spa-cious Listeners’ suite he re-marks about a whole section of residents supposed behav-iour as ‘vile’, without bother-ing with the complexities of their cases, again calling into question the impartiality of the narrator. Still, he does de-scribe himself as having been ‘a judgemental p____’ in the epilogue, presumably after realising the book’s main rela-tionship would be with those same ‘vile’ people.
It is interesting when Atkins notes that his early cellmate Ted, who brilliantly once looked at him ‘as if he’d just proposed to him’ in response to a perfectly innocuous question, is seen as an extreme right-winger for shouting at the television - as Atkins finds himself quickly slipping in the same direction, indicating that his leftist prin-ciples were in fact a luxury forbidden to the vast majority of Sun/Mirror readers in Wandsworth. ‘A Bit of a Stretch’ is an enjoyable and amusing page-turner nevertheless, at least successful in semi-cover-ing its reforming message in humour.
See Recall Stories page 57
Book Review ApologyThe May issue of Inside Time contained a review
of a self-published book by Kevin Lane ‘Fitted up and fighting back’.
In this review we claimed falsely that
‘the individuals responsible for the crime were police informants.’
We wish to clarify that we neither endorse nor accept
any such claims made in the self-published book by Mr Lane.
We apologise unreservedly for any distress
and offence this may have caused to any third parties.
Hit Time on the tellyBean and Graham show the public the reality of life in a British prison - ‘might help to provoke public debate’
Noel Smith
It’s not very often that I watch any film or drama on TV about prison and think - ‘Wow! They actually got it right’. But the new BBC three-part series ‘Time’ was very satisfying when it came to atmosphere and detail. Star-ring Sean Bean and Stephen Graham, and written by acclaimed writer Jimmy McGovern, Time was always going to have a head start. Though set in a fictional prison called HMP Craigmore, the filming was actually done in the real decommissioned prison of HMP Shrewsbury (The Dana), which only adds to the depressing realism.
For someone who has been through the expe-rience of a prison journey, the small details were very evocative. From the confusion, fear and noise of the prison transport, the ‘sweat-box’, on the way to prison, to the moment when you are placed in an already occupied cell and all of your feelings of trepidation about that. There are characters that I recognised from my own prison time, the bully, the indifferent reception and medical staff, the decent officer just trying to do a job, the neutral prisoner who will offer advice, the terrified first timer, and
the slightly odd cellmate.
The story revolves around the two main char-acters - Sean Bean, as Mark Cobden, the first-time prisoner serving 4 years for death by dangerous driving; and Stephen Graham as prison officer Eric McNally, who is trying his best but is vulnerable to corruption due to his son being in prison. It follows both characters through the common, and not so common, trials and tribulations of the British prison system. Though Time is obviously a work of fiction, its real impact is in the fact that everything that happens in the story can, and does, happen in real life in prison. In prison there are a million stories, and this is just one of them.
A series like Time might help to provoke a pub-lic debate about our prison system that is long overdue. It is good that the public get a chance to see what British prisons are really like, the everyday life for thousands of men, women and children, in a broken system that the pub-lic are paying for. Prisons are not nice places, and they are not meant to be, they are where lawbreakers are sent as punishment, but they should be places of redemption and change as well, otherwise we are just taking up time and money purely for society’s revenge.
For me, Time is a definite hit.
A Bit of a Stretch: the diaries of a prisoner by Chris AtkinsReview by Sean Parker - HMP Leyhill
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Insidetime July 2021Jailbreak 48 www.insidetime.org
Cell Workout
Outside and fit in!Trainers around the country share a taste of their training workouts - tips and tricks in abundance!
Camilla Connolly @WarriorYogaLiverpool
Robert Cobbina - @join_us_at_templ
My name is Camilla, founder of Warrior Yoga Liverpool. My business is responsible for de-livering Yoga, creative health and wellbeing intervention programmes within the criminal justice system and prisons across the North West region.
My work involves trying to prevent violence and stress on the inside and helping to reduce reoffending on the outside.
I have long had an interest in movement be-yond the yoga mat, completing a BA (Hons) in Dance and Drama (LJMU) and an MA in Per-forming Arts Education (LIPA). My research focused specifically in exploring how the arts can be used for social change and rehabilita-tion. It was during my studies where I had my first encounter with yoga.
After two years of regular yoga classes, I knew I wanted to learn more. I then undertook a one year British Wheel of Yoga Foundation course before continuing onto BWY Level 4 teacher training course for a further 3 years. I regularly deliver group and one-to-one sessions to a va-riety of specialised groups including football-ers, dancers, boxers, challenging young people, specific disability schools, respite homes, drug and alcohol recovery centres and have led workshops in drama, movement, voice and yoga in HMP Liverpool.
In 2014, I decided to move out of formal edu-cation and undertook the week-long yoga course with the Prison Phoenix Trust in Oxford that specialises in yoga in prisons.
For the last five years I have piloted my own projects of introducing yoga into the prison system as a mental health, physical wellbeing and therapeutic intervention across the North West. I am based in HMP Liverpool, run weekly classes in HMP Preston and have delivered intense short courses at HMP Lancaster Farms. I also run singing groups at HMP Liverpool and support the men in their performances that are regularly showcased to the rest of the prison.
I am proud to be part of the reducing re-offend-ing and reducing violence teams in all of these
EMOM (Every minute on the minute) set the clock for 20minutes.
• All of these exercises performed slow, controlled, perfect form. • One exercise per minute.• Enjoy a rest until the next minute comes around.
• 15x Strict Squats (squeeze glutes at the top, breathe out)
• 15x Press Ups (elbows tucked)
• 15x Leg raises (elevate feet just off the floor, move up to 6 inches, back down, never touching the floor)
• 15 x Jump lunges (use arms in a driving motion like a sprinter, pause for a beat each time, strong core)
• 15 x Twist thrusts (Like a squat thrust - bring your knees up with a twist to one side, then the other)
(4 times)Sit and breath mindfully for 1 minute, I would say a quick prayer at the end.
Breathing to the Front• Sitting tall (on a chair if you wish).• Clasp the hands behind your back and extend the arms down towards the heels.• As you inhale, lift and open/expand the chest, and let your chin lower towards the chest. • Feel the front lungs and chest rising, in-flating and filling with oxygen.• Exhale…and release coming back to a neutral sitting position.
Breathing to the Back• Again, sitting tall (on a chair if you wish).• Clasp your left wrist with your right hand and extend the arms forwards in front of the body (shoulder height).• As you inhale, round the back, contract the spine into a curve like a ‘C’ shape.• Feel the back lungs inflating with air.• Exhale…and release, coming back to a comfortable, elongated seating position.
Breathing to the Sides• Finally, sitting tall (on a chair if you wish).• Bring your right hand to rest in the right side of the rib cage (just underneath the armpit).• Extend the left arm down to the outside of the left thigh.• As you inhale, bend to the left side. Press your right hand firmly into the ribs and direct the breath to expand into the right side of the rib cage.• Feel the side lungs inflating with air.• Exhale…and release, coming back to a comfortable, elongated seating position and repeat on the other side.
Workout
Breathwork exercises
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establishments. I support prisoners, uni-formed and civilian staff in their spiritual lives - encouraging them to use yoga and meditation techniques to help manage their physical well-being, mood, stress, anxiety, addiction and insomnia.
I have had the pleasure of teaming up with LJ @ Cell Workout to deliver a yoga session as part of the 2 week Fitness Course provided by Prince’s Trust Midlands and the Unlocked Graduates Training Programme.
My sessions focus on breath awareness, mind-ful movement, balances, meditation and re-laxation, and highlight the importance of looking after our emotional & mental health alongside our physical wellbeing, and how it is imperative to surround ourselves with the right people that help to inspire and encourage us to be better versions of ourselves.
I am a firm believer that you cannot complain about the society we live in unless you actively get out to help and try to instigate change … one person at a time. And I believe more needs to be done to help and support the most vul-nerable in our society and hope this comes across in the work I do and love.Namaste
Hi, my name is Robert Cobbina, it’s a real priv-ilege to write this piece for Inside Time and my friend LJ of Cell Workout.
In my career I’ve worked with boys in South London at a pupil referral unit, a variety of secondary and primary schools supporting those who find the classroom difficult and now I work for a youth charity (The Prince’s Trust) check out the courses when you get a chance.
My Dad, who passed away suddenly 2 years ago, got me interested in sport – football, ten-nis, karate, boxing, athletics; you name it, he would be watching it! I always have to give him a shout out for that. Like a lot of people, in my teenage years and early twenties living a healthy life was not top of my priorities, I messed around a lot. At 25 I saw myself in the background of a music video and was a bit heavier than I wanted to be so I started exer-cising and it changed my life. In the last 10 years I have barely gone a day without at least doing a few press-ups or squats and it helps
me to stay positive more often than not.
Last year I started an online chat-show, inter-viewing different coaches like LJ @cellwork-out, mainly about how they use sport, movement and learning to move in a positive direction. I called it TEMPLE because I wanted to create a safe, calm space for people to reflect (and ‘your body is a temple’ Corinthians 6:19). For me, a temple can be anywhere, a chapel or even a boxing gym!
Personally, I like to keep my workouts simple, I don’t want to think too much! Just let your body do the work and enjoy it.
Insidetime July 2021 Jailbreak 49www.insidetime.org
The Prison Phoenix Trust
In yoga philosophy there’s a saying: ‘if you wait for the perfect conditions to practice then you might only practise once or twice in a lifetime’. One of the many benefits of yoga is its adaptability. Yoga practitioners of the past didn’t have specialist yoga equipment - they used whatever they had around them, like a fireside rug and a clay house-brick, and it worked perfectly. This sequence uses items in your room to help you stretch and relax.
Caution: Place your chair against a wall or on a non-slip surface to prevent it from sliding or tipping. Check that your feet won’t slide if practising on a hard surface.
1. Mountain Stand with feet hip-width
apart, steady and strong like a mountain. Bring your left hand to the centre of your chest and cover it with your right hand. Close or lower your eyes and take 5 slow, deep breaths.
2. Side stretchHold the towel above your head, keep shoulders relaxed and move to the left and right on each out breath. Try 5 times each side.
3. Warrior 2Check your feet don’t slide in this wider stance. Knee stays above or behind the ankle on the bent leg. Take 5 breaths on each side.
Patrick - HMP Moorland
Since the gyms closed and there has been a lack of physical exercise available, e.g. no work and a lot of bang-up, I am sure you will have noticed, like me, that many of us have developed a ‘lockdown bulge’. Clothes don’t seem to fit properly; you have a lack of en-ergy; and a bulge where your belly is.
Recently I went to healthcare for a check-up and when I stood on the scales, I discovered that since February 2020 I have added 2 stone, or 12 kilos, to my weight. I have always been a big lad but I was 93 kg when I came to prison and I am now 105.3 kg. So, I decided to try and get rid some of it. I am sure that many of you are in a similar situation, and after trying lots of different ways to lose it, including crash dieting and a protein diet, I have finally found one that works well. In fact it works so well that I have lost 3 kg in 3 weeks; so I thought I would share this win-ning formula with you.
Before you start, only attempt it if you want
The ‘lockdown bulge’to lose weight, as like most things unless you are 100% committed to change then it won’t work. Also, set a realistic goal that you want to achieve.
Step one - do a food diary, just an A4 piece of paper with a 7-day grid and sections for break-fast, dinner, tea and ‘other’.
Step two - make one day a week a ‘treat day’. Canteen day is generally a good one for this - reward yourself for the hard work during the week. But remember that it’s a treat day and not a binge day!
Step three - your body needs three meals a day and if it doesn’t get them your body will start to shock itself and store fat. So, 8am, 12pm and 5pm are good times to eat.
Step four - water. It’s free and your body loves it. It not only hydrates you but also gets rid of impurities in your system. Two litres a day is perfect, and you will notice the colour of your urine will be clear, and this is good.
Step five - no eating after 6pm. Your body
Part of the Furniture
4. Triangle with chair Rest your hand on the seat of the chair to stay balanced and open in the upper chest. Look to the top hand or gaze straight ahead. Stay for 5 breaths on the right and re-peat on the left side.
5. Hip circlesStand with feet apart, make circles with your hips. Rotate 5 times in one direction, pause, then 5 times the other way. Use this as often as you like between the different poses.
6. Diver’s stretchHold the towel behind you, hands apart. Breathe out and bend forward halfway. Breathe in and lift your arms up. Take 5 breaths, lower your arms then unroll to standing.
7. Rag dollRelease into this gentle for-ward bend. Let your arms hang, your head and neck relax and your knees slightly bend. Take 5 deep breaths then come up slowly.
8. Tree (below)Choose a variation that you can do for 5 breaths on each side. Use a wall or chair to build stability.
9. Standing twist with chair Place your right foot on the chair seat. Breathe in, raising your arms to shoulder level. Breathe out and rotate your upper body to the right side, resting your left hand on your right thigh. Turn your head to the outstretched arm. Take 5 breaths, release, then repeat on left side.
10. Downward dog with chair Check your chair won’t slide or tip. Bend forward and place your hands on the front corners of the seat. Take 5 deep breaths. To come out, slowly walk toward the chair, gently uncurling to standing.
11. RelaxLie back on your bed with legs outstretched and arms resting by your sides. Take 10 to 30 breaths. With each out breath, invite tension in your body and mind to release. Be patient, take your time - try to stay awake but resting.
12. SittingFor meditation, sit on the edge of your bed or use your chair. Both feet rest securely on the floor. Sit up tall, away from the chair back, and rest your hands on your legs. Breathe normally and begin to count your out breath. Count 10 out breaths, starting again at 1 when you get to 10. Do this 3 times. If your mind wanders, bring it back to the count starting at 1. Sit and breathe without any need for a particular result or effect.
needs about 4 to 6 hours to process food. When you lie on your bed doing nothing, you are not burning any energy, so it is stored up as fat. If you are hungry after 6pm, drink a glass of water or two. After about four days your body will get used to this and you will stop feeling peckish at night.
Step six - portion control, this is really impor-tant. It doesn’t really matter what you eat (within reason) just not too much. Your stom-ach is around the size of a clenched fist, that’s all it can deal with without expanding. So, think about that when you are piling food on your plate. Don’t take the bread, and do you really need extra chips?
A typical day for me - wake up at 7.30am. Have coffee with milk and sugar, and some cereal. I have half a bowl of bran-flakes with banana or kiwi. You can also have Weetabix - I would stay away from cornflakes and coco-pops, and no sugar on your cereal. At lunch I take my meal without potatoes, chips or rice; just the main meal and a spoonful of veg. - no gravy, no pudding, just fruit. I eat that with two glasses of water.
At tea - I don’t take my servery meal unless it is tuna - if not then I will have a tin of tuna, drained, or a tin of pineapple. If you insist on
having your servery sandwich, throw the top slice of bread away and have two glasses of water with it. Finally, about 5.30 I’ll have another bowl of cereal with fruit, followed by two glasses of water.
The best part about this diet is that there is no exercise involved - dieting is 70% food and 30% exercise. By all means if you want to do some exercise then go ahead, it won’t hurt. But even just by sticking to the above steps and plan you will lose weight and feel better, and you will have more energy. This has worked for me and the few others I have passed it on to.
As an extra boost for your body, cut a lemon in half, slice it up and pop it in a jug and pour hot water over it. Leave it on your win-dow-sill overnight and the following morn-ing you have a very tasty and vitamin full lemon drink. Also, if you can, grab a copy of ‘The calorie, carb and fat bible 2021’ (£15.99 from all good book suppliers). It’s full of great tips and shows you exactly what is in every meal.
Please share any other tips or ideas you have and let’s all help each other back to fitness.
Write and tell us and if you’d like to try more, we will send you a free book and CD about yoga and meditation at - The PPT, PO Box 328, Oxford OX2 7HF. You can also listen to our show, Free-dom Inside, on National Prison Radio at 3pm on Fri-days and 8am and 5pm on Sundays, to practice along to and hear how it helps others with difficulty.
Insidetime July 2021Jailbreak 50 www.insidetime.org
Frank Cotton
Looking Up
Step On
‘Jason, are you ever going to tell me the whole story?’‘No.’Sue sighed, slapping the local news-paper on the kitchen table. The headline read;‘EX-CON COMES CLEAN’, with an awkward photo of Jason handing a cheque to a bemused Police Ser-geant. Sue rattled her teacup. ‘Some sort of payoff, I assume. Funny way to do it though, Jay, I thought bribes were done with twenty pound notes
in briefcases…’‘Please, Sue, leave it. It’s nowt to do with you.’‘You borrowed three thousand quid off me, Jason.’‘Jason bristled. ‘Aye… and you know I’ll pay it back with work.’‘It’s not the money… I just need to know we’re safe…’‘We are… now. That trouble I had is all over.’Sue nodded, jamming the paper into the bin.
Jason sloped out, walking the long way back to Overcourt Probation Hostel, stepping into his garden work-shed by the back alley. New
residents had arrived from Cat C pris-ons following COVID laws relaxing. A few of them sprawled on the lawn he’d mowed recently, music blaring, men and women excited to simply be in the presence of the opposite sex again.
Jason poured a coffee from his old prison flask, sullenly mulling his hu-miliating defeat once more. Years ago he would have battled his ‘stalker’ tooth and nail, regardless of casual-ties, but he dared not risk his daugh-ter Sally’s involvement, and either his death or life imprisonment.
Kill or be killed… that was a style of thinking for young men.
There was an ancient poster of ‘The Happy Mondays’ still pinned inside the shed locker, the band members raving carefree for the camera. He’d seen the pair of them recently on Gogglebox- grey, fat, washed-up trav-esties of what they’d been. Maybe dying in a hail of bullets wasn’t so bad?
There was a crunch of footsteps on gravel, and a hesitant knock at the shed door, Jason opening up, curi-ous, one of the new residents smiling uncertainly.
‘Owdo pal, can I help yer?’‘Hello Jason, lad, they said you’d be here.’Jason frowned. The man was old, crooked, shrivelled, sparse grey hair and beard, head and hands shaking slightly, like with Alzheimers, a faint medical smell coming with every breath.The old man shrugged. ‘It’s Ken. We were in Frankland a while back, on Big John’s food boat.’
Frank Cotton, a nom de plume, is a former resident of HMPPS
The ups, downs, challenges and triumphs of a prison leaver’s journey
Jason gasped. Jesus Christ…. It was Ken Ramsden… ‘Ken… wow… I… come in, come in…’Ken shuffled in and sat awkwardly, backbone curved oddly to his right. ‘You’re looking well Jason, lad.’‘You too, Ken…’Ken laughed. ‘Hardly. How’s tricks, marra?’
Jason shrugged, stumped for words. Ken was one of the Tyneside firm’s most feared blaggers, clever, su-per-fit, staunch as they come, an alleged enforcer for ‘The Firm’, re-spected by all and idolised by many. Last time Jason had seen him he’d been running a half-marathon for charity round the prison grounds, lappi ng t he g y m screws a nd laughing.
Jason handed him a coffee. ‘I thought you were out years ago Ken.’‘Aye. Had some bother with a radged gadgie, got recalled. Then I got sick… cancer, like, runs in the fam-ily.’ He shrugged. ‘Got me compas-sionate release though, so can’t complain.’‘Jesus… Ken … I’m sorry…’‘Nay bother Jason. I’m hoping to go back to Tyneside soon, once a local hostel is available. Sammy told me you were working here, part of your probation conditions.’Jason nodded. The suddenness of Ken’s arrival, diminished by his cruel illness, was shocking. ‘Aye… it’s not so bad. I use all their tools at the weekend for my own jobs.’Ken laughed, his eyes glazed. Jason recognised the look- doped heavily on morphine, which meant Ken hadn’t got long left.
‘Listen, lad, d’you know of any dodgy birds about? I could do with
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a service. Nay expense spared.’Jason smiled, thinking of Erhan’s prostitution racket. ‘Aye, as it hap-pens… very discreet, Eastern Euro-pean, all that.’‘Magic - give us the details, eh?’‘A n y t h i n g y o u w a n t , K e n , anything.’
Ken sipped from Jason’s cup, and the shed was like a cell, the pair of them just waiting for time to be called and bang-up for another night. Music drifted in from the Hostel garden, and the delicious aroma from a dis-posable barbecue.
‘You busy, Jason?’‘Not really… just had to get out of the house.’‘Come and have a burger. Michael sent us some cash - I’m doing my best to waste it.’
They left the shed, following the burger smells to a small gathering on the lawn, a middle-aged woman just released from Styal laughing as she prodded sausages, a comedy nude pinny round her neck. Nearby, a wheelchair for Ken, tucked just out of sight. The Hostel staff were lying low, turning a blind eye to the San-gria, passed round former inmates, littered like shell-shocked castaways on a burning beach. Jason helped Ken sit on the grass, the old man drinking in the sun and sizzling smoke, eyes closed, a glass in his left hand, his right in the hand of Mor-pheus. Jason looked up through the summer sky, cloudless and clear, his spine shivering with feelings he couldn’t name.
Recent Cases dealt with by MKS LAW“ “CROWN COURT
R v S and Others – Charged with Murder. All defen-dants found Not Guilty.
R v W and Others – Charged with supply of drugs. Hung Jury. Discharged.
R v B - Charged with Attempted Murder. Reduced to GBH following negotiation with CPS.
PAROLE HEARINGS LICENCE RECALLJM, BH, AL, AM, DC
Clients all released following Parole hearings.
ADJUDICATIONSFA - Client found Not Guilty following positive MTD.
Murder, Drugs, Fraud? Facing serious criminal charges? Face them with the Legal Team that is right for you.
MKS LAW SolicitorsCriminal Defence LawyersLegal Aid & Private Client
MKS LAW - Suite 19, Unit 9 LibertyCentre, Wembley, HA0 1TXTel: 020 8123 3404 Fax: 020 8181 6512
1st stage appeals undertaken on private client basis only.APPEALS AGAINST CONVICTION/ SENTENCE
CCRC REFERRALS2nd appeal attempts undertaken privately and some
Legal Aid.
Insidetime July 2021 Jailbreak 51www.insidetime.org
u We will award a prize of £25 to the entry selected as our ‘Rap Star of the Month’. An extra £10 bonus is now available, see page 54 for details. Send entries to: Inside Time, Rap, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire, SO30 2GB. Try to keep rhymes under 300 words. 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.’ By submitting your rhymes to Inside Time you are agreeing to our terms, to read them in full see the Inside Poetry pages in this issue.
Rap Star of the MonthCongratulations to this months winner who receives our £25 prize.
Lockdown stress Travis Aldred - HMP Leicester
2 man deep in a 12 x 8Weekly canteen always lateTension bubbling, so much hateBetter yourself but never clean your slateWhat can you do but sit and waitHoping tomorrow will be your dayClocks keep ticking, so much at stakeJust for the judge to seal your fateScrews sat watching, looking so baitStep back Gov, you’re not my mateCounting weeks and circling datesForgotten inmates stuck behind the gatesMaking a living off interest ratesAnd gaining status by collecting vapesMixed up chemicals putting men in a stateOr sealed behind a door with Covid tape!
Six years to go!Paul Marshall - HMP Frankland
So you’ve been to jailI’ve been to hell and backMessed around with drugsLike dope and crack!
Found myself creeping through an open windowSelling goods on the black market Just so I could have another go!
Life aint no game its whatever you make of itSo don’t mess around and act like a dumb sh*t!
Or you’ll be stuck in a circle of prison, then streetsThen end up in the gutterSo I beg and I plead!
Just sort your sh*t out! Please don’t make me shout!Do it for yourself, f*ck everyone elseWhen you're good and you're ready, let the world see you shine!
Now this is the end of my true jailhouse rhymeCanteens on the landing and half of it’s mine!
Your own timeShaggy - HMP Birmingham
Enter jail a boy and leave a manThey got you on tour like your fireman SamGot people telling jokes deliver it dead panThe best way to do jail is on your ownDon’t get in debt no smoking that homegrownNo one on your back no need to moan. Best way is to leave violence at the front gateYou’ll meet racists and fanatics teaching hateIgnore it and do your own timeCause one day you’ll leave, it will all be fine.
My Opinion Aaron Clarke - HMP Guys Marsh
In my dreams I’m haunted by powerful apparitionsI live inside unholy conditions with people who abuse their powerTrying to beat me into submissionWell my tale of the tape isn’t fictionAnd I couldn’t give a f*ck if it causes friction inside a prisonToo many people drift away from realityAnd claim their wicked deeds is through insanityA place like this is run so frantically by Dick DastardlyTheir duty of care runs on minimal capacityI hate them all, but I appreciate you having me And when I walk out those gates to freedomI’ll say thank you for your hospitalityYou’ll have to dig deep to beat me on an emotional levelI’ve wrestled with the devil inside my temple a wise lady taught me the flower isn’t dead till it loses its last petalwhat these guys bring to the table is nothing significantjust know you’ll never match my level of commitment and that’s my opinionyou can’t speak for yourself so yours is non existentI’ve seen too many people who passionately watch the clock handsSo many come back coz they can’t apply the actions to match their plansSo they sink into the system like a plane that lands on quicksandFind your voice be heard and make a stand Or face another charge and be placed on remand
The TimesKim Hodgkins - HMP Peterborough
Sitting locked up in this cellGetting through my sentence tryna do wellWe’ll all be out of here one dayThen it’s all about tryna stay away
Some days drag and some fly byTrust me that sh*t aint no lieThe system is a joke and the restMan trust me I’ve always tried to do my f*ckin best
Reading a book watching telly f*ck all newEveryday tryna get throughSo here it is to the Inside TimesA set of freshly written rhymes
Stand Up to Suicide, TalkAlex- HMP Armley
You are beautiful…You are beautiful…You’re everything to meI just wish god could have set you freeInstead your crying on your kneesBegging, begging please
Sometimes you can be your own worst enemyThinking friends and family don’t care if you leave
If only you could see the grief suicidedoes to your friends and familyRIP to anyone trapped into that mentallyWhat hurts more, you couldn’t talk to meI can’t believe God just watched you leave
You are beautiful…You are beautiful…You’re everything to meI just wish God could of set you freeInstead your crying on your kneesBegging, begging please
I wish you could of got out of that mentalityAnd said you was going to leaveMy hand would have been pulling on your sleeveBegging, begging please
No note hinting why you leftMust have had a lot to get off your chestDid you think maybe it’s for the best?No words are ever left
You are beautiful…You are beautiful…You’re everything to meI just wish god could of set you freeInstead your crying on your kneesBegging, begging please
Idealist Abdullah Yusuf - HMP Wandsworth
Take a moment to reflect inspired by dreams are they possible to reachFiending for that feeling of pure ecstasy Finding companionship with fantasyRaised out of the physical observing vividly
Escaping frustrations out from imaginationsWith begotten adventures that reunite nationsA hero amongst men leading the revolutionCompletely immersed in a romantic occupation
Upfront looking forward, the futures in the pastIt’s already been written, take a picture make it lastCreating a new chapter so roll your sleeves upThe path of honour beckons designed from above
From subjugation to liberationFulfilling all your aspirationsChildren’s laughter no longer an illusionThe prevalence of justice is truths infusion
The magnitude of conscience compelling all your mightTruths beautiful aroma obliterates pungent liesEvil cannot flourish where good exists no matter how hard it triesSouls fly endlessly where there’s no such thing as time.
Through the storm I prevail D O Rackz’ - HMYOI Polmont
Stuck in jail with no bailFeel like I’m living in HellDidn’t wanna be a burden so I broke up with my girlAnd lately I’ve been hurtin but if you ask meI’m all wellTake a L but we won’t failThrough the storm we prevail19, had me in a cell applying for bailMy mama feel this pain for realMy family feel this pain for realBlind eyes could look at me and see this painI spent more time in jail than I did in 2020I was in jail, I left my teens and turned 20They tryna take my dignity, deprive me of my libertyDo me like I’m guiltyWhat more they want from meFrom young my mum been telling me my future is brightBut messing with these skeasers gonna turn off my lightThey fabricating accusations like I aint got younger sistersThat I love with all my lifeMay those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismayTake a couple L’s but I won’t failWith God through the storm I prevailLet them hate I still wish em well
Insidetime July 2021Jailbreak // Inside Poetry52 www.insidetime.org
Star Poem of the MonthCongratulations to this months winner who receives our £25 prize.
Post Traumatic Libation Disorder Nicholas Ferguson - HMP Inverness
Please feed me emotional dampenersVoices come and my mind goes fasterShooting my maniacal blastersDestroy everything in sightThoughts turn to the hyper speed functionTears or whisky at the next junctionWhy was I the logical victimSpace boy brain takes off again.
Don’t want to throw it backWant to throw it back until the endDon’t want to throw it backWant to throw it back until I mend.
Don’t want the memories in hereOrderlies come, comeDon’t want the memories in hereOrderlies come, comeDon’t want the memories in hereOrderlies come, comeOrderlies come, come‘Til I’m fixed into one.
Store my mind inside the glass bottlesSave it ‘til the mania’s throttledLove myself in cerebral heavenAbsolution always waitsGrip steel bars and scream to the heavensThat I’m thankful voices have deadenedLove myself in cerebral heavenReminders can always wait.
Don’t want to throw it backWant to throw it back until the endDon’t want to throw it backWant to throw it back until I mend.
Don’t want the memories in hereOrderlies come, comeDon’t want the memories in hereOrderlies come, comeDon’t want the memories in hereOrderlies come, comeOrderlies come, comeAnd help my brain go numb.
Africa Danny - HMP Full Sutton
Beautiful AfricaMount Kilimanjaro and Lake TanganyikaGlittering examples from the cradle of civilizationThe serene Serengeti roared with Allah’s wonderful creationsEurope and America, greedy continents, eyed the abundant horizonThey came in their slavers to outgun ill-equipped tribesmenStinging lashes and tears from eyelashes mimicked Victoria FallsFamilies were shattered with swinging fists and arcing sicklesFreedom! Through the pyramids the message thunderedStatesmen puzzled while lives were squanderedPeople smugglers smashed any attempt of attitudeAbraham Lincoln waged war to end the servitudeFamine and conflict followed emancipationVile hostility of nation versus nationYet, the splendour will return to the NileBeware the teeth of the riled crocodile!Poachers with their ivory gunsHave had their day in the sunThere will be no stoppingFuture zebra crossingsThe law of the jungleBelongs to AfricaRainbows needSun and rainFreedom!
No Clue Abdullah Yusuf - HMP Wandsworth
I save my tears for when it’s raining, so you can’t see me when I cryYou don’t have a clue what I’m going through, just another day in the lifeI save my cries for the storm, so you can’t hear any of my woesYou don’t have a clue what I’m going through, that’s how the story goesConveniently distanced, so you can’t feel my touchYou don’t have a clue what I’m going through, that my heart has been crushedWhen you left I was lost, didn’t wanna be foundYou don’t have a clue what I’m going through, don’t want anyone aroundMy mum was a rock, always holding everyone downAlways there when you needed her, to turn that frown upside downShe absorbed all your worries; she took away your woesAlways gave a shoulder to cry on, that’s how the story goesYou could feel her heartbeat when she hugged you, so much love in her hugsDidn’t have a clue what she was going through, didn’t know her mind was messed upYou could hear the pain in her laughter, you could hear her laughter all the timeDidn’t have a clue what she was going through, thought that everything was all fineYou could smell the booze when she breathes, she used to like to drink red wineDidn’t have a clue what she was going through, she used to party all the timeShe liked to drink a bottle or two, but kept everything bottled upDidn’t have a clue what she was going through, until she had enoughYou could see the pain in her tears, you could see the tears in her eyesDidn’t have a clue what she was going through, until she took her own lifeImagined I bought you a dress, it was all whiteMum, I can picture you wearing it, shining so brightIf only I’d asked you if everything was alrightDidn’t have a clue what you was going through, would have told you everything will be fineWould have told you I’ve got you, so you didn’t have to worryDidn’t have a clue what you was going through, you wouldn’t have left in a hurryYou had been through a lot, in your time on this earthI just want to thank you because it’s you that gave me birthYou gave me kisses and cuddles, you put that plaster on my kneeSchool of hard knocks, you made a man out of me.
An ode to books John Harris - HMP Wakefield
You are my best friend in the darkest hour of the darkest nightSomething about you allows me to surviveI’ve been to enchanted worlds, lush green lands as old as timeAs I hold you close, you keep me from losing my mind
There is an unmistakable fresh new book scentIt is a fulfilling warmth, a feeling of absolute contentWrapped up in a book, all my worries fade to nothingYou teach me new things, sharpen my mind, allow me to forget my sufferings
On a cold winter’s night, a mist forms on my cell windowI’m at a banquet with notable characters I come to knowI’ve met Copperfield, come forward in time and met the Eloi, as wellAnd stumbled upon the shire and before me Tolkien’s world casts its epic spellI still love you.
A year of change Bryan Carter - HMP Wakefield
A year of COVID has been a painTV repeats have fried my brainI’ve eaten more than a rabid dogAnd sat for hours upon the bog
The books I’ve read have passed some timeAlthough I’ve wished for cheese and wineMy daydreams have been rather oddFrom painting cats to smoking frogs
I’ve watched the news about the jabAnd how the deaths have got so badThey’ve changed the way we liveAnd how the caring nurses give
The different strains have caused concernsBut why it’s here, we’re yet to learnThey say the world will never beA place where we are COVID freeSo who’s to blame for all this strife?The pain, the grief, the loss of life
You weren’t there man Karl Pemberton - HMP Oakwood
You weren’t thereMortar rounds and IDF, enough to make anyone deafContact front, contact rear,Shots fired hereShots fired thereShots fired everywhereSafety off, safety onThe enemy have flapped it, and already gone5s & 20s that’s what we doIEDs are no good for youStand toStand fast“STOP”I’m just filling my car with gasWhen will these memories ever pass
I am Michael Leightley - HMP Moorland
I am a man with a wonderful wifeI am a woman with a wonderful husbandI am a man and my wonderful partner is also a manI am a woman and my wonderful partner is also a womanAccept me for who I am, as I accept you for who you areRespect me as I respect youI am disabled, yet I have achieved so muchI am blind, yet I can see the troubled worldI am deaf, yet hear prejudiceI am all the above, I am who I am and love who I loveThere are many different religions in the world and yet they all preachLove and peaceSo let our words communicateLet us see beyond genderLet us work together in harmonyLet us learn culture and not condemn or persecuteMy eyes see colours the same as you seeI don’t live to exist; I live to be free.With all the colours in the world, this you should knowThe most beautiful colour is togetherTo make a rainbowWe have come together with a common causeSo stand tall and shout it out so everybody knowsI am who I am and I’m so proud I’ ll sing it out loudTHIS IS ME
Retrospective
Sam Sturnham - HMP Guys Marsh
Red and silver slideShining in the sunYou offer so much joyTo the kids having fun
Red and silver slideReflecting stormy cloudsYou have a little shelterFor adolescent crowds
Red and silver slideI’m wasting in the canI was just a boy thenNow I’m just a man.
Insidetime July 2021 Jailbreak // Inside Poetry 53www.insidetime.org
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. An extra £10 bonus is now available, see page 54 for details.
It is very important that you ensure the following details are on all paperwork sent to Inside Time: YOUR NAME, PRISON NUMBER, PRISON AND DOB. Failure to do so will prevent us responding to you and your submission being withheld from publication.
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 may 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.’
Immortalised Joseph Brown - HMP Dovegate
A plethora of references facts and fableLike a child’s initials scratched into a tableAnd usually accompanied with a where when and why?As if to prove that we were thereIn case we need an alibi
Our sentiments may change as we grow oldAnd remind us of the stories that were toldIn those days before the riotsStrangeways bread and water dietsAnd a crazy little thing they called parole
Uninvited echoes of a temperamental youthThe papers blamed our parents, but there wasn’t any proofWe didn’t need excuses to cover up the bruisesAs those photographs immortalised usDancing on the roof
It woz then we held the future in our handsAnd we did our bit of porridge in the knowledgeThat we’d get a second chance.
Together with a chatterbox SMC - HMP Oakwood
A chatterbox, a chatterbox, I’m sharing with a chatterboxThere is not a point throughout the day when he has not some-thing to sayHe talks through films and advert breaksHe speaks of food and weekend breaksOf chatting he is resoluteI’ve looked but I cannot find his mute
Some cellmates you never hear a peepThis chatterbox even talks while asleepA sponsored silence he should tryOne million tickets I would buyIt is quite loud locked in this boxAnd I’m sharing with a chatterbox
Reviving
Emil Gruia - HMP Littlehey
It’s morning againIt’s a new dayIt’s still here, between these grey stained wallsOnce, they were white Open my eyes, curtains are closedMy cellmate snores like a tractorSleeps like a log, andSmells like a boar, dirtySoon, I’ ll put all this time in the ‘lost’ drawer From the window, I feel the heatOpen the curtainsThe morning sun is blindingOpen the windowThe smell of freedom is reviving! I close my eyes and feel the breezeFresh air, sunshine and birds singingThe smell and feel of freedom is revivingThe feel of freedom is reviving!
Thank you for the days Tony Joyce - HMP Littlehey
Those endless days of 24 hour lockdownThe days you turned my smile into a frownThrew the food resentfully outside my doorRinging my bell for help for you to ignoreThank you for treating me like a pariahWhen you were the one leaving to retire
Thanks for leaving us short-staffedWhen we needed compassion you just laughedThanks for segregating us into an eight-man bubbleFor your benefit to control any troubleThanks for wearing a different maskThought you’ve always worn them, depending on the task
Thank you for the yearOf alienation, deprivation, and fearThanks to the NHS for giving us the ‘ jab’ firstThough it only made resentment worseThanks to the Governors for keeping us out of discussionsWe’re only now seeing the mental health repercussions.
If you were younger, prison life continued the formatBut over 60’s were treated like a doormatDon’t think coming out of lockdown will make a differenceYou’ll still treat the aged with any significanceSo thanks in advance for the coming daysCan’t see the prison system ever changing its ways.
A poem from the circus ring Mark Wightwick - The Verne
I look into the face of my pocket watch and see a reflection of the things around me.
A spotlight shines, curtains open, performers parade and acrobats create stunts in mid-air without a safety net.
The nebula shaped pocket performs fire-eating stunts when the spotlight shines.
I know when I put my pocket watch away all goes quiet and the lights go out. The clowns stop smiling. The-fire eater sits in the devil.
No one cares because no one can see the performers. Some even say that’s the way it is. No one needs to shine a light on the things we don’t care about.
So my pocket watch eventually stops working. Time stands still in the dark. The clown starts to cry.
My Dad’s Cortina Dean Lowe - HMP Long Lartin
My dad drove a Ford Cortina thinking he was the donRallying round the B roads, the thing only did a hundred and one
No seat-belts in the back seatUsed to look forward to him picking me up each week
We’d drive all daySinging sort of in a way
Screeching away from the lightsThe bloody heater never worked on those cold nights
But still my dad thought he was the donMost dads in the 80’s did - he wasn’t the only one
He used to let me drive on his lapAnd the back seat was big enough for me to have a quick nap
A few years on I’d change gear from the passenger sideOh I’d wish one day he’d let me drive
After it was rotten and stuck on my nan’s driveThe bees took over and built their hive
We used to avoid it for fear of being stungNever got round to fixing it or finding out what was wrong
It sat on that drive for years and yearsHolding the memories of me at 6, changing gears
To me my dad was always the oneAnd from me, I love you, R.I.P you’ll always be the don.
Dark fields Leigh Kent - HMP Rye Hill
Dandelion seeds pirouette, a kiss from the windFoxes corner the rabbit, its position is pinnedGrass blades stab and sway, cutting the air to ribbonsBadgers huddle to pray and share of their misgivingsClouds honour their duty and hide the moon’s modestyAnts were bombarded but decry and dews apologyShadow betrays the field mouse, owl presumes victoryBlackbird feels unwell, breath swells with fumes of industry
Barn harbours stress yet still allows for visitorsAdder lusts for blood and hopes to drown its inhibitorsAttention seeking trees are always waving to each otherWorm raises its head and is afraid to breech the coverSuicidal moth has found a source of luminescenceWooden branches calls are caused by unruly tenantsStars wink at what’s below, suggesting time eternalWhat once was, has to go, life resides inside the kernel.
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. Extra £10 bonus available, see advert below for details
1. Which organisation has continued their partnership with National Prison Radio this year? 2. Who stated that he had come to set fire to the prison and murder Chief Warder ‘Flash Hardy’? 3. Who says research has found the polygraph to be worse than useless because it is based upon misconception and subject to interpretation? 4. Who was privileged to hear Martin Luther King’s son speak in an online debate?5. Hitler refused to shake whose hand and left the stadium before other black gold medal winners came before him? 6. Who is quoted as saying: ‘If you are to punish a man retributively you must injure him. If you are to reform him you must improve him. And men are not improved by injuries’? 7. Which will be the first of six new prisons scheduled to open as part of a £4 billion building programme?8. Who is Executive Director of Safe Ground?
How to enter: Send your
entry on a separate sheet
of paper. Make sure your
NAME, NUMBER,
PRISON AND DOB is on
all sheets. Failure to do so
will invalidate your entry.
Post to: ‘Jailbreak’. Inside
Time, Botley Mills, Botley,
Southampton, Hampshire
SO30 2GB.
The three £25 Prize winners are: Phillipa Hart HMP Send, N Cheasley HMP Stafford, M Williams HMP Isle of Wight The £5 runner up prizes go to: Lindsey Gabriel HMP Eastwood Park, Satyasinh Thankor HMP Dovegate
Last Months WinnersAdian Beecher HMP Moorland (£25)Kelly Harker HMP Drake Hall (£5) Delina Connor HMP Downview (£5) See box to the right for details of how to enter
Last Months £25 WinnerSpencer HMP Dovegate
Read all about it!
Inside Knowledge // All the answers are within this issue of Inside Time - all you have to do is find them!
Caption Competition
Closing date for all competitions is 23/7/21
A £25 prize is on offer for the best caption or speech bubble to this month’s picture. 1. Which stadium will host the Euros final?
2. What channel is Celebrity Gogglebox on?
3. What is July’s birthstone?
4. How many vowels are there in the alphabet?
5. Where is this year’s Love Island villa?
6. How many grams are in a kilogram?
7. What colours are on the United Kingdom’s
flag?
8. Who are the new owners of EastEnders
laundrette?
9. Who is England’s football manager?
10. What number issue is this month’s copy of
Inside Time?
Insidetime July 2021Jailbreak // Prize Winning Competitions54 www.insidetime.org
LETTERBOX
Answers to last months News Quiz: 1. Ben Shephard, 2. John Bishop, 3. Euro2020, 4. Isaac, 5. 264, 6. Unicorn, 7. A search engine, 8. Harry Kane, 9. Sunday 20th June, 10. Cardiff
We have over 3000 members using Prison Chat UK (PCUK) who offer support and advice to those outside prison.
The online support community for family & friends who have a loved one in prison
Proud sponsors of Inside Time’s PRIZE quiz ‘Read all about it!’
To find out more...see our advert on the back page
Answers to Last Month’s Inside Knowledge Prize Quiz 1. Nick London, 2. Keith Fraser, 3. Howard Marks, 4. Andy Mouncey, 5. Seven, 6. George Bidwell, 7. £3,000, 8. Durham, 9. Marianne Quick, 10. Rachel Billington, 11. HMP Kirkham, 12. 525, 13. Week commencing 28 June, 14. Graham Towl, 15. Violette Szabo,
9. To help pay for OU degree modules you can apply for up to what amount to cover the cost?10. 0800 999 2052 is the free dedicated prison helpline number for who?11. The next issue of Inside Time is due in the week commencing what date?12. Which late judge described one senior legal figure as a ‘dinosaur’ and another as a ‘pompous, toffee-nosed Etonian’?13. What would a fool or a con artist assume?14. It takes how many bees their entire life to make a teaspoon of honey?15. Talking about her son, an IPP prisoner, who says: ‘When was the last time he stroked an animal, had a bath, cuddled a loved one’?
Answers to last months quizzes
WORD MORPH
ANAGRAM SQUARE
QUICK CROSSWORD
CATCHPHRASE GEFBADCHI
SUDOKU
1. I See You Understand2. Did it Cross Your Mind?3. All in All4. Little House on the Prairie5. Incomplete Sentence6. Count Dracula
A charity providing expert and legal advice to prisoners who claim they are innocent.
If that’s you, please write to us at:One Business Village, West Dock Street,
Kingston upon Hull, East Yorkshire HU3 4HHor email: [email protected]
www.insidejustice.co.uk Reg Charity No: 1178336
Extra £10 bonus available for the Star Letter, Star Poem and Star Rap plus the outright winners of the Inside Knowledge quiz. Just for helping us to monitor our service.
To qualify you must add to the bottom of your entry: 1. The date this month’s copy of Inside Time was available on the wings or in the library.2. Tell us if there was an advertising leaflet enclosed. Not all prisons will have leaflets but we need to confirm which ones did. If there was, give the name of the firm(s) if not, write ‘NO LEAFLETS’.
As a thank you for your help these winners will receive a £10 bonus prize.
“NO WIN - NO FEE”PERSONAL INJURYRecent changes in the law now mean that the Prison has more responsibility than ever to ensure your safety whilst under their care. We are happy to consider all injury claims that occurred within the last three years.
• Accidents at work• Injured by someone else’s mistake, at work or elsewhere• Falls from bunks• Assaults following threats that have been ignored• Slip & Trips• Faulty equipment, furniture or fittings
If you have suffered and you are not sure whetheryou should claim, then contact us by phone orfreepost and we will advise you on the best wayforward - all “no win, no fee”.
Formerly Attwood Solicitors
CONTACT US TODAY!You may be entitled to compensation!
0800 145 5105Request a Claim formSend your: Name, Prison Number and Claim Type toFREEPOST RSSU-GCXH-SJLGBrayford Solicitors, 5-7 Hartshill Road,Stoke on Trent, ST4 1QH
Brayford Solicitors is a Trading Name of Brayford Solicitors Limited, Company Number 08270337 registeredin England and Wales. The registered office is 5-7 Harsthill Road, Stoke, Stoke on Trent Staffordshire ST4 1QH. Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Registration Number 654627.
You may be entitled to claim compensation
Last Months Answer
Glass.
A man stands on one side of a river, his dog on the other. The man calls his dog, who immediately crosses the river without getting wet and without using a bridge or a boat. How did the dog do it?
This month’s challenge
Injuries suffered due to negligence
Medical Negligence (Delayed / Wrong Treatment)
Dental Negligence
Insidetime July 2021Jailbreak // Just for Fun56 www.insidetime.org
Write the six-letter answers to these clues around their cluenumbers in the grid, reading clockwise or anti-clockwise, starting from the hexagon above the clue number. You’ll need to decide which direction they travel.
Honeycomb
1
2
3
4
5
Thanks to Rob Evans HMP Stafford. If you fancy compil-ing 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 and DOB.
Anagram Square
Rearrange the letters in each row to form a word. The first letter from each word, reading down, will spell the mystery keyword.
B A L E L
O I M I D
C T X O I
E S R I N
R E N E T
1
2
3
4
5
Criss Cross
3 LETTERAIMASKASSBOOIVYKEYKIDODE
PEPURNUSEVET
4 LETTERABUTAEONDEAL
FOODLAMBMILKSEEPTIME
5 LETTERANNULASKEW
BUYERCOYPUEQUALERICAETUDEEXUDEFLUSHIDOLSISSUE
OVERT
6 LETTERAMOEBAANSWEREXCESSHATRED
9 LETTERSUBSIDISE
Do you know?
Discover as many words as possible in the box. A word can only be formed if each letter is side-by-side, above or below, or on the diagonal with the next, and no letter position can be used more than once in any given word. Write your words on a piece of paper and try to beat your cell mate!
Boggle
F
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J
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U
Q
Z
E
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Q
R
I
N
Y
F
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Find as many words as possible using the letters in the wheel. Each word must use the hub letter and at least 2 others.
Word Wheel
A
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YI
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C
Never burp in space
Going to space, the final fron-
tier, is incredible, and for
most people, unknowable.
Former Commander, astro-
naut, and fighter pilot Chris
Hadfield offered up an inter-
esting tidbit about life in
space; “You can’t burp in
space because the air, food
and liquids in your stomach
are all floating together like
chunky bubbles. If you burp,
you throw up into your
mouth. So guess where the
trapped air goes?” So, yes, it’s
true that you can’t burp in
space, at least not in the same
way that you can on Earth,
and it’s all thanks to gravity -
or the lack of. On Earth, grav-
ity helps keep the food and
juices in your stomach stay
where they are. If gas gets
trapped there too, it just rises
as it’s lighter than solids and
liquids, and comes out of
your mouth as a burp. In
space, there’s no gravity to
keep anything in its place, so
if you burp, the air will indeed
come out of your mouth, but
so will everything else in your
stomach. The National Space
Centre christened this
“bomit” back in 2012. IFL
Science
Religion, the butt of jokesIn 2019, archaelogists studying an “ancient” stone circle in Aber-deenshire, Scotland, were surprised to discover that it had actu-ally been constructed in the mid-1990s. Though the Macarena may seem a long time ago now, this was a lot less ancient than had previously been believed, by several thousand years. In this case, the stone circle turned out to be a replica put in place by a diligent farmer and former owner of the land with an interest in the Recumbent Stone Circles of the region. The farmer con-tacted archaeologists when he realized they had mistaken his replica for the real deal. Folklore researcher Ian Powell shared on Twitter that he had spoken to a farmer who claimed exactly that happened. Cows love to scratch themselves but are cursed with legs that are unable to get a really good scratch on. So for many years, nice farmers have placed stone monoliths in their fields for their cattle to scratch themselves against, wherever actual ancient stone circles are unavailable. Apparently, if it’s good enough for a cow’s butt, it’s good enough for New Age types, who set about “worshipping” one butt-scratcher in a farmer’s field, according to Powell. They may have stumbled across the butt stone while looking for a “holed stone”. “Holed stones” are rocks with natural holes in, which in the Middle Ages were believed to be charms that could repel witchcraft and nightmares. In this case, the people had found a scratching post for cows rather than a holed stone, and refused to budge when the farmer told them it wasn’t an ancient relic. Not that it mattered to the farmer. “In the end, the farmer asked them to leave his field,” Powell wrote. “They would not budge so he de-cided to bring in the herd. They soon left.” IFL Science
How do bees make honey? 1. Honey begins as nectar. This is a sugary liquid produced by flowers to encourage insect pollinators to visit. Nectar is 70-80 per cent water with a mixture of three different sugars: sucrose, glucose and fructose, plus some scent chemicals to help draw bees to the flower .
2. Honeybees suck nectar through their hollow proboscis (a straw-like tongue) and store it in the first chamber of their stomach, called the proventriculus. An enzyme called invertase breaks the sucrose down into a simpler glucose and fructose molecules. Other enzymes raise the acidity of the nectar, which helps kill bacteria.
3. Bees can carry up to half their body weight and have one of the highest power output rates in the animal kingdom. This lets them forage up to 5km from the hive.
4. Back at the hive, forager bees regurgitate the nectar. It’s then passed between worker bees, mouth-to-mouth, to reduce its water levels. Once the water content drops to 18 per cent, mould and bacteria can’t grow and the nectar becomes honey, which the worker bees push into wax chambers. but at this range most of the nectar payload is used for the flight home.
5. In spring and early summer, the bee colony uses all its honey to feed the larvae, building its workforce to a summer peak of 50,000 bees. These workers then spend two to three weeks madly gathering nectar to last the winter. It takes 12 bees their entire life to make a teaspoon of honey. Science Focus
Why does my belly button smells like a rubbish tip? Your belly button has its own tiny, thriving ecosystem that may be home to more than 100 types of bacteria, accord-ing to one major analysis. Why so many? Well, if you think about it, your navel is an attractive place for bacte-ria to hang out: comfortable folds of skin, not much air to whip them away - and they’re often undisturbed because we don’t always clean inside it regularly. Most of the time they stay in low numbers. But if the bacteria are given a chance to multiply, they can get out of control. This is even more likely to happen if you have an ‘innie’, or if you have a piercing. It’s the abun-dance of bacteria, along with the sweat, grime and fluff that can collect there, that could give your belly button a bit of a whiff. But don’t worry - it’s easy to sort. A quick clean with soap during your normal shower can usu-ally eliminate any odours. Next time you’re navel-gaz-ing, imagine all the little or-ganisms feasting in there and take a moment to send them packing. Science Focus
Vintage Corner
The iconic Sony Walkman first released in 1979 and had kids everywhere bugging their parents to buy one. The ability to listen to cassette tapes on the move with something that could fit in your pocket or on your waist-band was a thrilling concept. Sony went on to sell over 200 million of these little magical
marvels in the years that fol-lowed.
1 Head count2 Swordsman3 Less biased4 Large country5 Relic repository6 Filched7 Elected8 Large Greek island9 Extra parts10 Snare
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GEF BAD CHI
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
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.
Catchphrase
The object is to try to figure out the well-known saying, person, place, or thing that each square is meant to represent.
The path to success
7
5
1
7
6 8
5
7
1
1
5
5
1 4
3
2
8
9
4
3
8
6
4
2 2
Start at the bottom left square and move up, down, left or right until you reach the finish. Add the numbers as you go. Can you make exactly 31?
July Births
1 July 1961Diana Spencer - Princess of Wales. Died: August 31, 1997 (aged 36)
5 July 1996Dolly the Sheep - Died: February 14, 2003 (aged 6)
28 July 1866Beatrix Potter - Children’s Author. Died: December 22, 1943 (aged 77)
30 July 1863Henry Ford - Ford Motor Company Founder. Died: April 7, 1947 (aged 83)
working with silence and the breath, might just transform your life in more ways than
you think ... Interested?
Write to The Prison Phoenix TrustP.O. Box 328, Oxford, OX2 7HF.
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.
• In 2019, climbers left an estimated 8,000 kg of poo at a single camp on Mount Everest.
• Plennie L. Wingo is the Guinness World Record holder for “greatest extent of reverse pedestrianism” after he walked backwards from California to Turkey in the 1930s. He set out to make money by sign-ing postcards on the way, but returned to America with only $4 in profit.
• A marine worm called Ramisyllis multicaudata has a single head and hundreds of bums. Its body branches off in all directions and each branch has its own butthole.
• Being in love makes food taste sweeter.
• Isaac Newton defined seven colours in the rainbow, but medieval scientists perceived five, and Aristotle thought there were only three.
• When jelly babies first grew popular in the Victorian era, they were marketed as ‘unclaimed babies’.
• In England in the 1700s, 90% of men had one of these eight names: John, Edward, William, Henry, Charles, James, Richard, Robert.
• “Fart” is one of the oldest words in the English language.
• The oldest recorded joke (from 1900 BC) was a fart joke. It is a saying of the Sumerians, who lived in what is now southern Iraq and goes: “Something which has never occurred since time imme-morial; a young woman did not fart in her husband’s lap.”
A 1600 BC gag about a phar-aoh, said to be King Snofru, comes second - “How do you entertain a bored pharaoh? You sail a boatload of young women dressed only in fish-ing nets down the Nile and urge the pharaoh to go catch a fish.”
The oldest British joke dates back to the 10th Century and reveals the bawdy face of the Anglo-Saxons - “What hangs at a man’s thigh and wants to poke the hole that it’s often poked before? Answer: A key.”
• A 2012 study suggested that men who wear pink earn more than those who are not willing to wear pink.
• Out of 145 murders record-ed in London for the year 1278, two resulted from a quarrel over a game of chess.
Quotes
“Every actor has to make ter-rible films from time to time, but the trick is never to be terrible in them.” CHRISTOPHER LEE (1922-2015)
“Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely point-less.” BILL WATTERSON
“Wagner’s music is better than it sounds.” BILL NYE
“An ignorant person is one
who doesn’t know what you have just found out.” WILL ROGERS
“Nobody hates tourists more than a fellow tourist. Running into a compatriot abroad is an acutely painful experience. It’s a bit like hearing your own voice.” TOM JENKINS (CEO OF THE EUROPEAN TOURISM ASSOCIATION)
“Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activi-ties.” ALDOUS HUXLEY
Recall storiesAcclaimed author calls for evidence
Chris Atkins
In 2016 I was given a five-year sentence for tax fraud, and I spent my first nine months in HMP Wandsworth. I kept a diary inside, which has since been published as a book called A Bit of a Stretch. I tried to show how badly prisons are run and expose the terri-ble conditions in British jails. I’ve now been out for a couple of years, and sadly several friends I made on my sentence have re-turned to prison. So, I’m writing a follow up book about why so many people end up back inside. I want to hear stories about the revolving door that traps so many people in the system. I’m particularly interested in talking to anyone who has been unfairly recalled while on license and has had prob-lems with probation and parole. Offenders on license can be sent back inside for “bad behaviour” which is a really broad term, so I’d like to hear from people who’ve been recalled for very minor or non-existent breaches. I will keep everyone completely anonymous, so I will change your name and identifying details in the book. To get in touch please write to me at: Chris Atkins, Unit 75970, PO Box 6945, London, W1A 6US
Insidetime July 2021Jailbreak // Just for Fun58 www.insidetime.org
Can you morph one word into another by just changing one letter at a time? It isn’t quite as easy as you think!
DRINK
TRUCE
Number Search
Thanks to JAFFA S HMP Northumberland 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, prison and DOB.
“Why are there no stand up tribute acts? I would love to go and see someone telling that Michael McIntyre joke about cutting wrapping paper with scissors for half the price of the real one.” Doug, Donegal
“I bet all these environmentalists who rattle on about glaciers melting still have ice cubes in their drinks. Try explaining that to anyone with an ounce of common sense. Absolute mad-ness if you ask me.” Colin, Cardiff
“Why don’t they make bog seats open like pedal bins? It’s obvious if you ask me.” Alex, Newcastle
“Stop fire walkers being so smug by mixing drawing pins in with the hot coals.” Mike, Upton
In the merry month of May I was honoured to be asked to give a presentation about chess in prisons by the World Chess Federation, FIDE. This was the first ever online chess conference, as the Federation has now set up a ‘Chess for Freedom’ initiative which puts chess in prisons on the agenda around the world. Speakers from many countries participated and one thing is for sure - we have many things in common. When I say ‘we’ I actually mean you, dear reader. Prisoners are faced with similar issues around the world, from loneliness in confinement to frustration and lack of opportunity. We do know that chess helps to pass the time, but it offers so much more. Friendships are built, personal health and goals can be improved as well as developing thinking skills. Some reports coming out of coun-tries such as Brazil, Norway and Canada have shown prisons that play chess have reduced reoffending rates against the national average. One prisoner wrote to me saying that before he found chess, he would go out at night at around 7pm and commit burglary; but now (pre-COVID) he would go to the chess club. This is heartening news, as I am very interested to know not just how chess helps in prison but how it helps upon release. Now that COVID lockdown is easing it is my sincere wish that prisons everywhere will start up or revive chess clubs, and I hope to get out and about once more to visit. I want to thank you all for your wonderful letters, which inspire and motivate me to continue volunteering my time for chess in prisons.
The position this month shows White to play and checkmate Black in three moves. The Black king has been exposed and there are too many holes around his position. How does White
Inside Chessby Carl Portman
secure victory? The first correct answer drawn wins a back copy of ‘Chess Monthly’ magazine donated by Chess of London.
Write to me with your answer, care of The English Chess Federation (ECF) 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 Inside Time. Bear in mind that with Covid-19 restrictions, mail may take longer. Also, please include your prison number and if you can the date and what month’s puz zle you are entering.
The answer to June’s puzzle was 1.Qg4-e6+ Kg8-h7 2.Rf6xh6+ g7xh6 3.Qe6-f7 checkmate. This is a form of mate known as the ‘epaulette mate.’ The perceived visual similarity between the rooks and epaulettes, ornamental shoulder pieces worn on military uniforms, gives the checkmate its name.
The winner will be announced. May’s winner was ‘The Learner’ from HMP Stocken.
Did I say that?
“Totally f****** hopeless!” PM Boris Johnson’s descrip-tion of Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s slow roll out at start of the Pandemic.
“Yes I’m back with you.
For F***’s sake, I’m only
29 years old.”
Christian Eriksen’s first
words after medics brought
him back from the dead.
A B C D E F G H
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“I’m like Kirstie Allsopp, but with more tattoos.” Former rap star Vanilla Ice who is now a TV property guru.
“Football ain’t coming
home with that team.”
Ex-Scotland Captain Graeme
Souness gives his verdict on
England’s performance
against Scotland.
“Three girls do Countdown. Who wouldn’t want to watch?” Anne Robinson as she prepares to join Rachel Riley and Susie Dent on the game show.
“I try to sing but she says ‘No! No! Daddy stop!’” Singer Ricky Martin admits his two-year-old daughter is not his biggest fan.
1 July 1908“SOS” (· · · - - - · · ·) distress signal becomes the worldwide standard for help.
1 July 19161st of 4 fatal Jersey Shore shark attacks occur at Beach Haven when Charles Vansant (25) bled to death, challenging previous scientific belief that sharks never hurt humans, and sparking popular fear over sharks which persists today.
2 July 1816French frigate “La Méduse” runs aground under incompetent leadership of aristocrat Viscount of Chaumareys, forcing evacuation of 400 passengers. 150 men, 1 woman are left on “la Machine,” a poorly provisioned raft. 13 days later only 15 survivors remain due to starva-tion, riots, madness, suicide, and cannibalism.
4 July 1941Howard Florey and Norman Heatley meet for 1st time, 11 days later they successfully recreate penicillin.
5 July 1994Amazon.com founded in Bellevue, Washington by Jeff Bezos.
5 July 1946Louis Reard’s design for a bikini swimsuit debuts at the Paris fashion show.
5 July 2017Followers of Indian spiritual leader Ashutosh Mahara win a court case, 3 years after his death, to keep his body in a freezer in case he should return to life.
7 July 1928Sliced bread sold for the first time by the Chillicothe Baking Company, Missouri, using a machine invented by Otto Frederick Rohwedder. Described as the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped.
10 July 1913World’s official highest recorded temperature at Greenland Ranch, Death Valley, California at 134 °F (56.7 °C).
13 July 1568Dean of St. Paul’s London, Alexander Nowell perfects a way to bottle beer.
16 July 1439Kissing is banned in England (to stop the Black Death from spreading).
21 July 1983World’s lowest-ever natural temperature recorded - 89.2 °C (-128.6 °F; 184.0 K) at Soviet Vostok Station, Antarctica.
22 July 1898Crew of Belgium RV Belgica see 1st sunrise in 1,600 hrs - 1st expedition to endure Antarctic winter.
28 July 1945“Elevator girl” Betty Lou Oliver survives falling 75 stories after fog causes a US bomber plane to crash into the Empire State Building, breaking the cables supporting the elevator she was operating. This remains a world record for the longest survived elevator fall.
29 July 1921Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
31 July 1703Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
Words of the Month
• FRÜHJAHRSMÜDIGKEIT - (German) - literally “spring fatigue”, exhaustion felt in spring, possibly from allergies or the changing weather.
• CONFELICITY - joy in the happiness of others.
• WHEEPLE - an ineffectual attempt to whistle loudly..
• URTICATION - the deliber-ate flogging and stinging of
the skin with nettles for medicinal purposes.
• HALLOCK - to wander about in a desultory fashion. An East Yorkshire term perhaps derived from the Old Norse hal-leikr meaning ‘slipperiness’.
of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes...” Mahatma Ghandi
Insidetime July 2021 Jailbreak // Just for Fun 59www.insidetime.org
Wordsearch // Fruit and Nut
Thanks to Steven Brown HMP High Down 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 and DOB.
1 Gymnast’s costume (7)7 Heavily decorated (6)8 Of glaciers or ice (7)9 Dutch cheese (4)10 Too (4) 12 Word for word (7)14 Issue (7)16 Skinny (4)18 Resound (4)20 Newspaper or periodical (7)21 Turkish capital (6)22 Horse opera (7)
1 Suitcases and bags (7)2 Gemstones (5)3 Corrosive substance (4) 4 Marine mammal (7)5 Borrowing charge (8)6 Plural form of stratum (6)11 Open to choice (8)12 Tetanus (7)13 Wool fat (7)15 Polite and respectable (6)17 Therefore (5)19 Lather (4)
• An elderly man is stopped by the police at 2am and is asked where he is going at this time of night. The man replies, “I am on my way to a lecture about alcohol abuse and the effects it has on the human body, as well as smoking and staying out late.” The officer then asks, “Really? Who is giving that lecture at this time of night?” The man replies, “That would be my wife.”
• President Joe Biden announced that he would give a free bottle of Bud Light to anyone who got a vaccine. Not to be outdone, the next day, President Obrador of Mexico announced that he would give a bottle of Corona to anyone who got a vaccine. The day after, President Higgins of Ireland announced that he’d be giv-ing out free bottles of water. Biden and Obrador were confused and gave the Irish President a Zoom call. “We kinda expected you to give out free Guinness, being from Ireland and all.” The Irish President replied: “Well, if you guys aren’t giving out beer, then neither am I.”
• A 92 year old man is walking through a park and sees a talking frog. He picks up the frog and the frog says, “If you kiss me, I will turn into a beautiful princess and be yours for a week.” The old man puts the frog in his pocket. The frog screams, “Hey if you kiss me, I will turn into a beautiful princess and make love to you for a whole month.” The old man looks at the frog and says, “At my age I’d rather have a talking frog.”
• An American woman goes into the Bass Pro Shop to buy a rod and reel for her grandson’s birthday. She doesn’t know which one to get so she just grabs one and goes over to the counter. A Bass Pro Shop associate is standing there wearing dark shades. She says, “Excuse me, sir. Can you tell me anything about this rod and reel?” He says, “Ma’am, I’m completely blind; but if you’ll drop it on the counter, I can tell you everything from the sound it makes.” She doesn’t believe him but drops it on the counter anyway. He says, “That’s a six-foot Shakespeare graphite rod with a Zebco 404 reel and 10-LB test line. It’s a good all-around combination and it’s on sale this week for only $20.00.” She says, “It’s amazing that you can tell all that just by the sound of it dropping on the counter. I’ll take it!” As she opens her purse, her credit card drops on the floor. “Oh, that sounds like a Master Card,” he says. She bends down to pick it up and accidentally farts. At first she is really embarrassed, but then realizes there is no way the blind clerk could tell it was she who farted. Being blind, he wouldn’t know that she was the only per-son around. The man rings up the sale and says, “That’ll be $34.50 please.” The woman is totally confused by this and asks, “Didn’t you tell me the rod and reel was on sale for $20.00? How did you get $34.50?” He replies, “Yes, Ma’am. The rod and reel is $20.00, but the Duck Call is $11.00 and the Bear Repellent is $3.50.”
• Last night at the pub my friend told me he doesn’t trust doctors. When I asked why he said, “About ten years ago I developed a limp and a pain in my leg. I went to the doctor and he told me that the problem was that one of my legs was shorter than the other, and that I would need to wear special shoe inserts to even them out.” I replied, “That doesn’t sound crazy. Why would that make you distrust doc-tors?” He said, “Well, I wanted a second opin-ion, so I went to another doctor and wouldn’t you know it, he told me I had the exact oppo-site problem! That proves that you can’t trust ‘em, they’re just making wild stabs in the dark.” “So what did the second doctor tell you the problem was?” “He said that one of my legs was longer than the other!”
Jurassic wormsSeveral nematodes unearthed in the perma-frost of northeastern Siberia are wriggling around and eating, just as normal nematodes do, in Petri dishes at the Russian Academy of Sciences. This is an astounding feat considering that the tiny organisms, also known as roundworms, had previously been frozen since the Pleistocene (42,000 years ago). One group of nematodes were found in a glacial core sample taken from 30 meters below the surface of a permafrost deposit near the banks of the Kolyma River. Radiocarbon dating shows that the compacted soil and plant remains within the sample are 32,000 years old. A second group of worms was isolated from a 3.5-me-ter-deep sample of a deposit near the Alazeya River, dated to 41,700 years - give or take 1,400 - before present.
Laboratory experiments had also proved that nematodes can recover from frozen dormancy periods lasting up to 39 years. Yet until now, no one had ever isolated ancient specimens and revived them. After removing the worms from the glacial samples, they were brought back to the Academy and placed in 20°C culture with agar and E. coli bacteria as food.
“After being defrosted, the nematodes showed signs of life,” said a report from the area where the worms were found, according to the Siberian Times. “They started moving and eating.” IFL Science
Noah’s Ark impoundedAn international incident of biblical propor-tions has kicked off on Ipswich’s waterfront. A replica of Noah’s Ark is currently stuck there because it doesn’t have the correct paperwork to say that it is seaworthy. The vessel arrived at Orwell Quay in November 2019 and has been detained there for 18 months by the Coastguard. The owners of the Dutch-flagged ark are locked in an ‘impossible stalemate’ with the agency and now transport secretary Grant Shapps is being asked to get involved. The £2.6 million biblical museum is owned by Dutch TV producer Aad Peters, who could apply for an exemption to be allowed to return to Holland. But the Coastguard has serious concerns and insist that it is not safe. They found a range of issues, including overdue services for life-sav-ing equipment such as life jackets, fire kit and life boats. They said they could not ‘rely on the grace of God’ to let the boat leave. Metro
Back from the deadFrankie, a 16-year-old tabby, failed to return home in Cheshire, on 19 May. His owners launched a search and a few days later spotted a dead cat on the M6 motorway that looked similar. Highways England were able to retrieve the animal and gave it to the family to be cremated. But Frankie returned home a few days later. His owner, Rachel Fitzsimons, told the BBC: “Then he came back, frail and hungry but alive. So we cremated someone else’s cat.”When Frankie reappeared, her son, Remy, seven, said: “It’s a miracle. We thought he had died.” In February, a pet cat in Australia was dubbed a “four-legged hero” after it died fighting a venomous snake while protecting young children. The animal, Arthur, was following the two children when a highly venomous eastern brown snake slithered right up to them. Arthur immedi-ately jumped on the snake to protect the children, but died the next day from the snake’s venomous bite. Independent
Next issue week commencing 2nd August
Cheers!We have all been there, rolling over in the morning and thinking how you would rather be enjoying the sun in a beer garden somewhere. For most of us, the angel wins, and the devil remains silent, but the same cannot be said for 66-year-old Colin Kane. Mr Kane has suffered from chronic obstructive pulmo-nary disease for several years. On March 9th of last year, Mr Kane phoned in sick to work but was later seen smoking outside a pub near work. He was later fired for a “breach of trust and dishonesty”. “Surely, if you had been unfit for work and on antibiotics, you shouldn’t be in the pub?” they asked at the disciplinary meeting. Mr Kane insisted that he saw no issue with it, to which a Director said: “I am not comfortable that you think it is OK to go to the pub when not fit for work.” Mr Kane decided to take the matter to court. Judge Pitt had the following to say: “It was also put to the claimant he should not be in a public house because he was absent through ill health. There is nothing in the disciplinary procedure prohibiting an employee from acting in this way.” She ruled in Mr Kane’s favour and stated that the claimant was unfairly dismissed. Lad Bible
Jailbreak – July 2021
Fruit and Nut – Steven Brown HMP Highdown
P D E E R A E P X S A C C P U P H M Y T E P N P R U N E A P G C I C O C J Y N O A W I T Y W O T R R R S Q M A G I F X Y N B R N T Q S I A A T N E E A X N C V V U L A O E U C P N A I G P G U A V A E N T A T M M O E B C S R B R A Z I L S M N M C C A T C E H I A C N O M E L P H W R E K E E H R I A N A A O R A N G E E E T L C N E R O R A Y Y N D U M Q U T W E X O U R Y U Q T J A R H A Z E L N U T B C N R Y R R E B P S A R T N J N N N A D E Y R R E B W A R T S F E O A S A N E U V Z A T G A P M A N G O T B R B C S G H I E N O B L A C K B E R R Y E O E E E D D M T M G M P N I R A D N A M S P H L G S I W A Y O P E N I R E G N A T O C O O B L R T U N L A W G Z N M U L P Z O I L K B M O M D E V I L O A N A T L U S G M D A U D W T L Q W X B C D E G H A S D E E S V N U V O X Y T A B N E Y D Z I V E Y
Insidetime July 2021Jailbreak // National Prison Radio60 www.insidetime.org
What’s on National Prison Radio // July 2021National Prison Radio is currently available in prisons across England and Wales. We broadcast 24-hours a day, seven days a week, into your cell. If your prison has National Prison Radio, you can listen through your TV by using the tuning buttons on your remote control.
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NPR Rap ShowThe best hip-hop, grime and R&B with Jerelle.
The Rock ShowTurn it up loud. Join the Rock Show Family.
09:00 Love Bug
10:00 Sunday ServicePrayers for all Christians
11:00 PorridgeAnother chance to hear this morning’s show.
New Chapters
12:00(or local shows)
NPR SpecialSee 18:00
Thinking MattersSee 18:00
NPR TalkSee 18:00
New ChaptersSee 18:00
NPR Friday
NPR Talk
13:00 The Request ShowTo hear your song on NPR, write to us at:
Friday Reflection
Write to us at: National Prison Radio,HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF
14:00 NPR Friday
15:00 NPR FreshTwo hours of the freshest music.
Books UnlockedA repeat of the week’s book readings16:00 Thinking
Matters
What’s on National Prison Radio?July 2021 National Prison Radio is available in prisons across
England and Wales, and HMP Grampian in Scotland.
We broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, into your cell. If your prison has National Prison Radio, you can listen through your TV by using the tuning buttons on your remote control.
Eve Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun
17:00(or local shows)
Deja VuClassic tracks and oldies
InsideMusicArtist profiles from HMP Peterborough
Love BugWrite to the ones you love
18:00 NPR Talk Make the most of your time. Brixton CallingNews and requests from HMP Brixton.
NPR SpecialReal talk. Don’t just do your time, use your time.
Thinking MattersHelping you find the right headspace.
NPR TalkMake the most of your time behind bars.
New ChaptersUnspoken by Guvna B
NPR FridaySophie kicks off the weekend.
19:00 The Request ShowTo hear your song, message or poem on the radio, write to us at:National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XFFamily and Friends Request Show every Wednesday and Thursday:www.nationalprisonradio.com
The Rock ShowJoin theRock Show family.
Bob and BeyondReggae and dancehall classics.20:00
21:00 NPR FreshTwo hours of the freshest new music. If it’s fresh, we’ve got it.
NPR Rap ShowThe best hip-hop, grime and R&B with Jerelle.
DecibelThe finest dance music from around the world, direct to your ears.
Two hoursof new British music from Jamz Supernova
Inside Music
22:00 Deja VuClassic tracks and oldies
Love BugWrite to the ones you love.
23:00 Books UnlockedWrite to National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF for a free copy.
23:30 Dream TimeNational Prison Radio is your place for information and inspiration to help you in prison. Hourly news, and updates from prisons across the country.
Music and advice to help you sleepsafe and sound through the night.
This month: Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Th
e R
eq
uest
Sh
ow
Freedom Inside
Freedom InsideYoga and meditation
Freedom Inside
National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XFYour loved-ones can send shouts at nationalprisonradio.com
FreeFlowLady Unchained brings the inspiration.
You bring the flow.
FreeFlow
With Lady Unchained
Street Heat
The best rap, hip-hop, grime, R&B with Jerelle.
Street Heat
The best hip-hop, rap, grime and R&B with Jerelle.
