News (Media Awareness Project) - UK: PUB LTE: Shambles At Private Jail |
Title: | UK: PUB LTE: Shambles At Private Jail |
Published On: | 1998-05-22 |
Source: | The Independent (UK) |
Fetched On: | 2008-09-07 09:52:49 |
LETTERS:
SHAMBLES AT PRIVATE JAIL
Sir: You report Jack Straw as having told prison officers that he is now a
convert to the idea of private prisons (20 May). Last week I had an
opportunity
of visiting one of the most recent private jails, Parc, outside Bridgend, and
my impressions may be of wider interest.
To be blunt, the prison was a shambles. Prisoners were openly
contemptuous of the abilities of staff. Perhaps as a consequence,
there has been a series of disturbances and the number of disciplinary
adjudications is running at more than twice the level of neighbouring
state-run prisons. Drug-testing procedures, suicide prevention, race
relations and the use of incentives were all in their infancy. And the
jail's use of technology - notably the electronic unlocking of gates -
was a farce, with the result that movement around the prison took an
age.
Since the prison opened six months ago, virtually the entire senior
management team has been moved on. Staff turnover has also been at a
high level, and the first thing I saw on entering was a notice
beseeching the remaining officers to work overtime.
On the plus side, the design of the prison looks promising, the staff
who had survived the first six months seemed decent and genuinely
committed to their calling, and the new director (governor) was
providing a clear sense of leadership. More staff have been recruited
and - at the Prison Service's behest - an action plan to rectify
weaknesses has been drawn up, including ambitious proposals to enhance
the regime.
Every private jail seems to have similar problems in its first year of
operation, as inexperienced staff come to terms with
all-too-experienced prisoners. After that, performance improves
markedly, as I expect it to do at Parc. But it is instructive that, at
the beginning of the month, Mr Straw's colleague Joyce Quin, the
prisons minister, was so concerned that she called for a full report
on the problems at the prison from the director general of the Prison
Service.
That report should be made public. So should the review of the
possible use of private finance to build new prisons, whilst retaining
the management function in the public sector, to which Mr Straw also
referred in his speech.
Checked-by: trikydik@inil.com (trikydik)
SHAMBLES AT PRIVATE JAIL
Sir: You report Jack Straw as having told prison officers that he is now a
convert to the idea of private prisons (20 May). Last week I had an
opportunity
of visiting one of the most recent private jails, Parc, outside Bridgend, and
my impressions may be of wider interest.
To be blunt, the prison was a shambles. Prisoners were openly
contemptuous of the abilities of staff. Perhaps as a consequence,
there has been a series of disturbances and the number of disciplinary
adjudications is running at more than twice the level of neighbouring
state-run prisons. Drug-testing procedures, suicide prevention, race
relations and the use of incentives were all in their infancy. And the
jail's use of technology - notably the electronic unlocking of gates -
was a farce, with the result that movement around the prison took an
age.
Since the prison opened six months ago, virtually the entire senior
management team has been moved on. Staff turnover has also been at a
high level, and the first thing I saw on entering was a notice
beseeching the remaining officers to work overtime.
On the plus side, the design of the prison looks promising, the staff
who had survived the first six months seemed decent and genuinely
committed to their calling, and the new director (governor) was
providing a clear sense of leadership. More staff have been recruited
and - at the Prison Service's behest - an action plan to rectify
weaknesses has been drawn up, including ambitious proposals to enhance
the regime.
Every private jail seems to have similar problems in its first year of
operation, as inexperienced staff come to terms with
all-too-experienced prisoners. After that, performance improves
markedly, as I expect it to do at Parc. But it is instructive that, at
the beginning of the month, Mr Straw's colleague Joyce Quin, the
prisons minister, was so concerned that she called for a full report
on the problems at the prison from the director general of the Prison
Service.
That report should be made public. So should the review of the
possible use of private finance to build new prisons, whilst retaining
the management function in the public sector, to which Mr Straw also
referred in his speech.
Checked-by: trikydik@inil.com (trikydik)
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