insidetime the National Newspaper for Prisoners

A ‘not for profit’ publication/46,000 copies distributed monthly/ISSN 1743-7342/Issue No. 122/August 2009

Is the public being brainwashed by tabloid headlines ........ pages 30-31

ETHNIC MINORITIES COMING OUT

Parole Board shake up...

Sir David Latham, Chairman of the Parole Board.

by John O'Connor eports that a consultation paper will be released later this year on the future of the Parole Board are to be welcomed, particularly so by the many prisoners whose liberty is unnecessarily delayed because of inefficiencies by the Parole Board secretariat. Also welcomed are the views of Sir David Latham, the newly appointed Chairman of the Board, for they appear like a breath of fresh air blowing through the complacent corridors of the Board's Marsham Street London HQ. For despite its modernistic glass and steel appearance, behind this superficial edifice is an organisation so riddled with inefficiency that it has been hit with a double whammy of excoriating reports from Parliament's Public Affairs Committee and the National Audit Office to start amending its offending ways.

R

Whether Sir David Latham can indeed bring about essential change, including anything which smacks of liberal thinking, remains to be seen, for lined up against him are the usual

suspects. There's the ‘hang 'em and flog 'em' brigade (including the rabid red-top tabloid newspapers); the burgeoning 'victim' industry; commercial interests within the private security business; and, as always, opportunistic politicians looking for cheap votes at the expense of voteless prisoners. There are also the dogmatists who object to any usurpation of Parliament's role as the supreme lawmaker. In this respect Sir David, a former Lord Justice of Appeal, has 'form'. For he and his judicial colleagues stand accused of interpreting Parliament's will in ways other than intended. That the High Court is increasingly being placed in an interventionist role is more often the result of sloppy Parliamentary draftsmanship plus inadequate scrutiny at committee stages in both Houses of Parliament. But whether MPs like it or not, poorly drafted laws are having to be defined by senior judges, of which until recently Sir David was one. This means that in his new role he could be viewed with suspicion as to any interventionist tendencies. Continued page 23

Being lesbian in Palestine “ is not easy. If I stayed they would kill me. There is Hamas: where they can kill you for no reason. If you don't practice their religion or are lesbian, they can kill you and no one will ask

”

© www.sonalle.com

Coming out can be painless for some, but stressful and even traumatic for others. Through the combination of powerful imagery and text, Inside Time has been given access by Sonalle Photography to an exhibition on Ethnic Minorities Coming Out which delves into the challenges faced when ethnic minority individuals acknowledge their sexuality. Exhibitions: August 9th - September 6th First Out Cafe, St Giles High St London WC2H 8LH and September 10th - October 11th Rich Mix, Bethnal Green Rd, London E1 6LA. Further exhibition dates can be seen on the website www.sonalle.com Continued page 45

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Sciences banned from high security prisons

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the national newspaper for prisoners published by Inside Time Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of New Bridge, a charity founded in 1956 to create links between the offender and the community.

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Action for Families .....................................................

Trevor Grove - Former Editor Sunday Telegraph, Journalist, Writer and serving Magistrate. Geoff Hughes - Former Governor, Belmarsh prison. Eric McGraw - Former Director, New Bridge (1986 - 2002) and founder of Inside Time in 1990. John D Roberts - Former Company Chairman and Managing Director employing ex-offenders. Louise Shorter - Former producer, BBC Rough Justice programme. Alistair H. E. Smith B.Sc F.C.A. - Chartered Accountant, Trustee and Treasurer, New Bridge Foundation. Chris Thomas - Chief Executive, New Bridge Foundation.

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Correspondence Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. Accounts & Admin: Inside Time, P.O.Box 251, Hedge End, Hampshire SO30 4XJ. 0844 335 6483 / 01489 795945 0844 335 6484 [email protected] www.insidetime.org If you wish to reproduce or publish any of the content from any issue of Inside Time, you should first contact us for written permission. Full terms & conditions can be found on the website.

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In response to the letter by Karen Mellor in your May issue (Why Blame the System) I feel very strongly that this person has absolutely no idea what she is talking about. As the wife of a lifer, I would say that she must be very fortunate to be one of the few not in need of outside support from a prisoners' families’ charity, and I personally am indeed sorry that she finds the reading of desperate people's problems on the websites ‘arduous reading'. I have worked on a voluntary basis for the past year for a charity called AFFECT (Action for Families Enduring Criminal Trauma) working mainly in the South of England. This charity have been supporting people for the last 8 years, helping them come to terms with the guilt and shame of having a family member or close friend commit a serious offence; to come out the other side and realise that they were not the ones who did the crime, they are not to blame, and that they have the right to continue to live their lives fully. AFFECT helps them through public vilification and being ostracized by family and friends; suicidal thoughts; depression; and sometimes following mental health problems, the harsh realities of the penal and justice system, going through the trial and many months, sometimes years, of counselling, group meetings and befriending in the years following sentence. For AFFECT and the services we offer then please contact: PO Box 274, Bognor Regis, West Sussex, P022 6WY Tel: 01329 832254.

I was asked recently to choose education courses at GCSE level and opted for physics, only to be told it was ‘banned’. Further enquires revealed the reason to be that I cannot access a laboratory, yet the course states it is all paperwork and no laboratory access is required. Are physics and all the sciences banned from high security prisons? And where is the relevant Prison Service Order regarding this?

 The Ministry of Justice writes: Most prisons do not have a science curriculum because of the costs of equipment, the difficulty in finding qualified staff in this area and the security issues generated by physics and chemistry. Notwithstanding these difficulties, these subjects would not be recommended to prisoners who have not previously engaged with education above basic literacy. High security prisons do not offer physics and chemistry courses. Whitemoor prison offered a taught biology course in the nineties but it was stopped after the syllabus changed due to the difficulties in getting equipment into the prison. There is a distance learning GCSE Physics course which is available from the National Extension College, however it requires 13 assignments and coursework and no access to a laboratory. It also includes a rich variety of online resources, including presentations, simulations and interviews, which are available through the Online Study Centre. Unfortunately, Whitemoor does not provide internet access to prisoners, as is the case for all high security prisons. Prisoners are therefore unable to have the support materials for the course. PSO 4205 3.1 refers: ‘Education provision within prisons must respond to the individual needs of prisoners, paying regard to a range of needs including emotional and behavioural difficulties, learning difficulties and criminogenic factors’.

Scandalous double standards ..................................................... SALLY FOSTER - HMP DOWNVIEW Judge Gerald Price QC (pictured), suspended following allegations that he had a ninemonth relationship with Christopher Williams, a 25 year-old male prostitute, cannot and must not be allowed to return to court; unless it is to appear ‘on the other side’ to be judged in accordance with the laws of the land by us ‘mere mortals’. Judge Price is not above the law; he does not make the law, although it appears he is more than willing to break it, providing of course he does not get caught. He has ruled over vice cases and over fraud cases. It will not be good enough to suspend this individual - caught with his robes up and simply shove him quietly out to grass. He needs a good dressing down and those in power over him (not Christopher Williams) must bring themselves to stand up for integrity within our judicial system. Christopher Williams states he spent nine days sitting on the bench beside Price, but how many trials did he attend? How many days did he spend elsewhere in Price's courts - in the public or press galleries for instance? And how much information did he acquire and share with Price through conversations with witnesses both inside and outside the courtroom? What did Williams do with the information he obtained and with whom did he share these confidences, given his access to the Judge's ‘private parts’? Who else has sat with Judge Price on his bench? Previous lovers? Perhaps even his wife? The same questions must be asked, and answered. If these shocking revelations are proved, can we have some assurance that this low-life, living the high life, will be forced to take his own medicine and receive an appropriate (prison) sentence that punishes him for his crimes.

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Star Letter of the Month ........................................................... Congratulations to John Bowden who wins our £25 cash prize for this month’s Star Letter.

Abusive and degrading relationship of power .................................................... JOHN BOWDEN - HMP GLENOCHIL Paul Sullivan’s article (June issue) on the recruitment and training of prison officers suggests that an improvement in the educational quality and competence of prison staff would necessarily result in better treatment for prisoners. Unfortunately, like all well intentioned reforms of the prison system that fail to recognise the source cause of abuse in jails, the relationship of power that exists between guards and prisoners, Paul’s proposals might well result in an even greater legitimization of that abusive relationship of power. He makes reference to the 1971 Standford University experiment to validate his claim that improved recruitment procedures would

Polygraph testing ..................................................... PAT O’RIORDAN - HMP WAYLAND Polygraph testing is a subject close to my heart and, as it has been pointed out to me, including recently through the columns of Inside Time, a highly contentious issue. I took a polygraph test with a world renowned tester whilst on bail for rape. He stated that his findings suggested I was 100% innocent alas not permissible in court. I offered, through legal channels, to pay for my accuser to take a similar test. She refused point blank and the judge would not allow the jury to hear this or any other arguments regarding the polygraph test. Any evidence gained from taking these tests cannot be used in court to prove one’s innocence or otherwise, yet the psychology departments within the prison system will be able to use it to determine your future.

If you would like to contribute to Mailbag, please send your letters to ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.

significantly reduce the risk of unsuitable individuals being employed as prison guards. In fact, the Standford experiment showed that what influenced the behaviour of prison guards was not so much educational and social background but far more the role of absolute power given to them over prisoners. The experiment revealed that even apparently psychologically well adjusted and well educated middle-class students could, once given an excessive degree of power over fellow students cast in the role of completely disempowered prisoners, behave in a manner that was brutal and de-humanizing. The essential truth of the Standford experiment was that in conditions where one group of individuals are given absolute power over another group, abuse of that power is inevitable and negative behaviour patterns will emerge amongst those exercising the power, regardless of how otherwise ordinary and even banal their character might be. In the uniquely repressive environment of prison, power is rarely exercised fairly or benevolently and there is, unfortunately, an inherent tendency in such conditions to encourage an attitude of virtual megalomania amongst those charged with maintaining control and dominance over prisoners. Although improving the educational quality of prison staff may be good for the corporate and public image of the prison system, it does absolutely nothing to positively empower prisoners or structurally reform a relationship of power within prisons that is intrinsically abusive and degrading.

Seeing justice done ..................................................... JOHN JAMES BRADLEY - HMP LIVERPOOL I have read with interest recent articles by Peter Garsden from Abney Garsden McDonald Solicitors who are currently representing me regarding my time at a certain boarding school in West Yorkshire; my appreciation to them for listening, as I now feel able at long last to put my life back in order. I have spent the last twenty years of my life as a rebel, in and out of prison, and during this time I have come across so many people from residential schools it’s bordering on the unreal. I have made some terrible decisions in my life and I am now paying for them ten times over. If, twenty years ago, someone had looked at why I was being the way I was instead of just presuming I was ‘out of control’ I am sure that I would never have come to jail. And if those people, who were paid a lot of money to look after me, had done their job, I wouldn’t be the person that I am now.

Policy for the elderly .....................................................

Mailbag

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Contents

ADRIAN BURKE - HMP WAKEFIELD I have a mandatory life tariff which has now expired. Why does the prison service not have a working policy in place for the overwhelming and increasing population of elderly prisoners, myself included, many of whom are many years over tariff, which in my view is bordering on the inhumane.

 The Ministry of Justice writes: Prison Service Order (PSO) 2855 Chapter 7 - Prisoners with Disabilities, does refer to older prisoners in custody, who may not necessarily have a disability, but raises awareness to staff of the requirements presented by this specific group. Copies of all PSO’s are available in local prison libraries. Although considerable work has been undertaken around older prisoners in custody there is no national policy being developed by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) which is due to be published. NOMS is committed to treating those in their custody fairly, decently and humanely and has a duty of care towards all prisoners irrespective of age and make every effort to ensure that this duty is met in full. Should Mr Burke or any other prisoner have any specific concerns about their treatment and/or feel unfairly treated as an older prisoner they are able to raise their concern locally through the established request and complaints system available to all prisoners. Prisoners are also able to submit a complaint under confidential access to the Governing Governor, Director of Offender Management or Chairman of the Independent Monitoring Board. Complaints received under confidential access are considered appropriate where a complaint is about a serious or sensitive matter, such as bullying or treatment by staff, and would be reasonable to assume that prisoners would be apprehensive with discussing or bringing this to the attention of wing staff through the local complaints system. If a prisoner is dissatisfied with the response they receive to a complaint they are entitled to take their complaint to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, who is independent of the NOMS. All complaints are investigated fairly and impartially. In respect of prisoners being held significantly beyond their tariff, it would not be appropriate to comment on an individual’s personal circumstances. However, all life and indeterminate sentenced prisoners must serve a minimum punitive period of imprisonment (tariff ) before they can be considered for release. Prisoners are referred to the Parole Board at regular set points in their sentence and it is the offender’s responsibility to satisfy the Parole Board Panel that their risk has been reduced. The Parole Board must be satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that a prisoner should be confined in custody irrespective of their age.

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Mailbag ........................ pages 2-9 Newsround .............. pages 10-15

Telling the truth ...................................... page 14

Month by Month ............. page 16 Comment .......................... page 17 Health ....................... pages 18-19 Comment ................ pages 20-35

Facing the Future HRH The Prince of Wales page 28

Through the gates and beyond Charles Hanson ............. page 34

News from the House .................................... pages 36-37 Legal Comment ... pages 38-40

CRIMINAL DEFENCE AND PRISON LAW SPECIALIST Has the justice system let you down? Why not contact our friendly team for free and friendly advice?

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Book Reviews .................. page 44 Touring exhibition .......... page 45 Inside Poetry ............ pages 46-47

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Jailbreak .................... pages 48-52

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Changing the sentencing goalposts ......................................................................................................... MARK TODDINGTON - HMP PRESTON Do I stand alone when I express utter distain of the judicial system when it constantly changes the sentencing ‘goalposts’? I refer specifically to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill 2008 and its effect on licence recalls. Back in May 2006, I was released after serving four months of an 8 month sentence. I duly reported to the ever so useful probation service as instructed and was issued with the licence that would govern my life for the next three years. My probation officer informed me that any breach of its conditions would result in me being returned to custody to either serve the remaining four months of my custodial sentence or remain in custody until my licence expiry date, whichever occurred first. In February this year I stupidly got involved in an alcohol fuelled altercation which resulted in me being arrested and charged with a Sec 39 common assault. As a result, I was recalled to custody at HMP Preston where I was informed that due to the CJA and Immigration Bill 2008 I am now to serve until my SED, September 2009. Gone was my comforting thought of only serving the remaining two months until my LED. So now I’m serving six months – the equivalent of a 12 month sentence - for a relatively minor offence; a lengthier sentence than that of some of my fellow inmates who are charged with more severe Sec 18 and Sec 20 assaults. Would it have been too much to ask of my ever so non-judgemental probation officer to inform me in 2008 that a breach of my licence conditions would now result in a longer amount of time being spent in prison? Surely if stronger deterrents are to be used for licensees, it would help to actually inform us of these changes? I know that facing the prospect of spending six months in prison would have kicked my self control into effect on that fateful day and I would have walked away from trouble.

NOMSENSE ..........................................................................................................

Drug treatment experience ..................................................... In 2008, Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford was asked by Ministers to chair an independent review group tasked with overseeing a programme of work to consider the recommendations of the Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) report, Review of Prison-Based Drug Treatment Funding. Since being invited to Chair the Prison Drug Treatment Strategy Review Group (PDTSRG), Lord Patel has visited a number of prisons to canvas the views of staff and people in prison and to help inform the membership of the Review Group. The membership of the PDTSRG is based on the knowledge, expertise and experience that each individual can bring to the group. The PDTSRG will look at the quality, availability and fairness of drug treatment in prison. It will also look at whether the same quality of drug treatment is available in all prisons.

DAVE FERGUSON - HMP WAKEFIELD

An important part of the PDTSRG is service

A few of us were sat in my cell recently discussing the sheer ineptitude and illogical thinking of the modern prison system, including the attitudes of many of its staff (particularly the despotic psychology departments) the nature of prison requires decisions made by watchdog bodies such as the IMB and Ombudsman and the public perception of what prison life is like.

Ronnie Biggs parole denied

It was at this point that one of our group chanced upon a new and apt word that sums up the ethos used in the decisions and decision making processes of the penal system. In respect of his brainwave we would like to introduce the word NOMSENSE: ‘An illogical and non-progressive decision or response supplied by certain Prison Service, Probation Service, Ministry of Justice, Prison and Probation Ombudsman employees or IMB members. Usually elicited in response to a legitimate issue raised by a prisoner, or when something within the national prison regime is seen to benefit the prison population and is changed for the negative’. NOMS reform page 24

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users' drug treatment experience and drug treatment journey, particularly from prison into the community and between prisons. Lord Patel has written to drug treatment service user groups to ask them to hold service user forums in prison and in the community, based on a script, to find out about people's prison drug treatment experience. The views of people in prison, people who have been in prison and their families and friends will inform the work of the PDTSRG and may help shape the future of drug treatment in prison. If you are involved with a service user group that includes people in prison, people in the community who have received drug treatment in prison or families/friends of people who have received drug treatment in prison, please write to Rachael Hunter to obtain a copy of the service user forum script at: Wellington House 133-155 Waterloo Road London SE1 8UG. If you are not involved with a service user group but would like your views considered in the Lord Patel Prison Drug Treatment Strategy Review you can write to Rachael Hunter at the address above to obtain a copy of a questionnaire that you can fill out and return. The current service user consultation will continue until 10 September 2009. The PDTSRG will keep people informed of other consultation events that will occur throughout the review. People who have access to the internet can get more information from www.pdtsrg.co.uk.

..................................................... GERARD McGRATH BA HONS HMP HAVERIGG If any prisoner required further evidence that the justice system in the person of Minister of Justice Jack Straw lacks humanity and compassion where prisoners are concerned, it was provided on the 1st July 2009 when Mr Straw vetoed the recommendation of the Parole Board that 'Great Train Robber' Ronnie Biggs should be released from custody. Self-evidently, Mr Straw dismissed the fact that an aged and infirm Biggs represents no risk whatsoever to the lives and limbs of the public given that he has suffered three strokes which have left him unable to speak and to walk. Ronnie Biggs, nearing 80, is hospitalized and being treated for a fractured hip, pelvis and lower spine with the added complication of pneumonia. Simply put, Jack Straw has refused to endorse and ratify the recommendation of the Parole

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Lord Bach, Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice, told the House of Lords that the Parole Board ‘is not persuaded (about Biggs) that risk arising from association with criminal peers’ cannot be ruled out. The Minister didn’t say which criminal peers the Parole Board had in mind. Board on the grounds that Ronnie Biggs has not expressed any regret or remorse for his crime. So if Biggs dies in prison, I doubt that Jack Straw will feel anything other than that justice was served. If Biggs was a hail and hearty eighty-year old, I might find it easier to concur; as it is, I am appalled at the lack of compassion and regard the justice of the minister as an outrage.

Ross SR Samuel Solicitors Criminal Defence and Prison Law Specialists ‡ Licence & Parole Issues ‡ Categorisation ‡ Recall to Custody ‡ Ajudications ‡ Tariff & Judicial Review For Immediate Visit, Clear Advice and Effective Representation, write or call, Pedro Kika at:

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Islam is said to be a religion of tolerance, yet the way that some Muslims complain about anything and everything I am of the impression that it is anything but. If it was as tolerant as it is alleged to be then Muslims should accept the views and opinions of non-Muslims. We live in a liberal and democratic society with certain rights and freedoms under the European Convention for Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

AFRAH KHALAF - HMP GUYS MARSH Your contributor Ben Gunn (Inside Time Censored July issue) does not tell us what the problem is, exactly. The reason some Muslims might object to the publication of the cartoon should be seen in the context of on the one hand atrocities continuing to be committed by western forces and the legitimate right of these dispossessed Umma to self-determination, on the other hand, the status of Bin Laden as the undisputed face of that struggle.

Due to my lack of height I have been called a number of things, some of which I find offensive, but what do I do? I deal with them in an adult and pragmatic way, so why can’t Muslims do the same?

Now Andy's pig, though hardly original (there must be a limit to what we can do to this poor pig!) is still very creative and should be nurtured, applauded and rewarded, not censored. Undoubtedly, its intended audience will subject it to scrutiny to find meanings and motivations, and either accept or reject it. Nevertheless, the turbaned pig will be seen in the context of that ongoing struggle; interpreted not as attacking Bin Laden per se, but what he represents: a cause celebre - the defence against Zionist/ Western injustice. Since the man is synonymous with the cause, the attack will be viewed as implied justification for the death of thousands including women and children, whom the system does not mention. No annual commemoration. No minute's silence. Collateral. Insignificant. Is it not true then that Andy's pig is by extension glorifying terrorism? Changing perspective? Well, what about Andy's right to freedom of expression? Freedom is an abstract idea possible only in an ideal world and reality is but a shadow, an imitation or an aspiration to the idealised. One can never be truly free and this case proves just that. If it is any consolation this bestows on Andy the dubious honour of being the first non-Muslim to face our daily struggle. Congratulations! Let us blame it on institutional paranoia, and move on. In conclusion, I am calling upon the discerning few, to see Andy's turbaned pig in the context of a live issue: Wars on Muslims' lands that have left in their wake death, destruction and unprecedented upheaval. As well as feeling alienated, Muslims find it increasingly difficult to articulate their concerns, for fear of being labelled radicals. By the same token, whilst one may sympathise with Andy's creativity and it's inalienable right to express itself freely, yet the derisive, belittling impact intended is sure to ignite the uneasy detente in some prisons. Andy should know that wars have been fought and empires lost for a lot less than this.

........................................................................ BYRON WORTH - HMP HULL I would like to believe that as a collective group, the Inside Time editorial team are reasonably intelligent and knowledgeable. However your actions in publishing Andy Thackwray’s ‘Porky’s Revenge’ piece in your (subsequently banned) June issue seriously beings into question that belief. Your July issue front page statement concerning the withdrawal and reprinting of the ‘offending’ June issue was rather economical regarding the actual content of Mr Thackwray’s piece. And as one

........................................................................ DENNIS NILSEN - HMP FULL SUTTON I note the wonderfully informative piece on the front page of the July issue of Inside Time and would like to comment on what it reveals.

who did get to view the original June issue prior to withdrawal, what you didn’t mention were the slurs against US citizens or that a germ warfare terrorist attack against the US was also in the piece. Having lived in the US for 25 years, I know how many Americans view the term ‘yank’ or ‘yanks’. And how they, especially from the south, find the term derogatory; it is every bit as offensive to them as the term ‘nigger’ is to Blacks. The rest of the piece was about how Bin Laden had meant to attack the US with the swine flu virus as an act of war and terrorism. Most will vividly recall how Bin Laden and his henchmen flew planes into the world trade buildings and the pentagon. Were those actions a joke, humorous or a mickey-take? To all the families who lost loved ones that day, Bin Laden is most decidedly not a joke. Similarly, all the families in the UK who have lost loved ones to swine flu wouldn’t consider it a joke. I am all for freedom of the press and strongly believe in it; however you also have to be a responsible press and publishing this swine flu - Bin Laden – anti-American - pro-germ warfare pro-terrorism piece was not responsible. You got it seriously wrong and although it pains me greatly to say it, and I’m choking on my words here, the prison service got it absolutely right.

........................................................................ IAN KENNEDY - HMP WAKEFIELD The unwarranted knee jerk reaction in relation to Andy Thackwray’s satirical article defies belief. I find it totally preposterous that ‘Porky’s Revenge’ can be deemed ‘offensive’ and ‘inflammatory’.

So, we now have it confirmed ... what exactly it is that's governing the emotional-intellectual flatlands of Wheatley's (and to an apologetic degree) McGraw's operational policy; a craven fear of the activatingly reactive power of militant and aggressively organised extreme religion in all its embracing arms of censorous demands through being "deeply offended" by feverishly perceived pointed criticism by 'evil and ungodly infidels'! The fruits of aggressive reaction are made manifest in "The Director General ... instructed all prisons ... not to distribute the June issue of Inside Time" ... because an article had "over-stepped the boundary of acceptability" was "offensive and inflamatory" ... followed, we are led to believe, by the nicking of the prisoner author ... the draconian modus operandi of tyrants and dictators the world over. Mr Wheatley seems totally unaware that its actions and not words that cause actual damage, and it is his action that has actually proved to have "over-stepped the boundary of acceptability" ... in terms of his fearfully crude and dismissive censorship ... an action which is both "offensive and inflammatory" in his selective denial of freedom of expression, as well as planting the ultimatum of an uncompromising fait accompli square in the lap of Inside Time's editors. "Diversity", it seems, allows him to favour some 'enraged' opinions while dismissing others not so powerfully fortunate to have a powerbase backing them with the real potential for concerted force. Those of us of a certain age are well acquainted with the word "appeasement" and, I guess, one would have had to look very hard indeed in 1934, after the "Night of the Long Knives" in Germany ... to see a cartoon in the papers of a pig with a Hitler moustache and wearing a swastika armband ... criticising the encroaching fascism of that time. When intimidation works, then we either stand against it or meekly await its next and more exhorbitant demand!

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Are you facing serious criminal charges? Have you just received a ‘knock back’ or been nicked? We can assist you in all aspects of Criminal & Prison Law matters incl: ‡ Reprsentation in all aspects of Criminal Proceedings ‡ Appeals (conviction or sentence) ‡ Adjudications ‡ Home Detention Curfew ‡ Re-categorisation and Transfers ‡ Parole and Licence Issues ‡ Recall Community Legal Service Criminal ‡ MDT & VDT Defence Service ‡ Closed Visits ‡ Lifer Reviews Contact Ken Jokosenumi at 406 Holloway Road London N7 6PZ Tel: 0207 700 7826 Fax 020 7700 7819

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Resettlement release ..................................................... VINCENT BRADISH - HMP RYE HILL PSO 6300 states that a person is eligible for Resettlement Day Release (RDR) 24 months before their parole date. It also says their parole date will be classed as their release date. Is this only for the purpose of RDR or are we to take it that our parole date will be the day we get released? Secondly, it seems quite unfair to me that those people convicted of a drugs offence are to be released automatically halfway through their sentence; yet those convicted of a violent offence do not get released automatically at the halfway point. Can the Ministry of Justice offer enlightenment?

 The Ministry of Justice writes: For the purpose of calculating the earliest date, a prisoner may be eligible for Resettlement Day Release; this will be taken to be 24 months before the Parole Eligibility Date. Mr Bradish asks whether this was only for the purposes of calculating Resettlement Day Release or if the parole date should be taken to be the date on which release will actually take place. It is in fact the former. The PED, which applies in the case of those serving long-term sentences under the Criminal Justice Act 1991, is used to work out the earliest date on which a prisoner could be considered for Resettlement Day Release – it is not necessarily the date on which the prisoner will be released. If he is serving a longterm sentence under the Criminal Justice Act 1991 and his release still falls to be considered by the Parole Board, then the PED is the earliest date on which the Parole Board could recommend his release. But if the Board decides it is not safe to release the prisoner, he could remain in custody until he reaches the two-thirds point in the sentence, when he would then be entitled to automatic release. The second part of Mr Bradish's letter appears to refer to the changes to the release arrangements under the 1991 Act that were introduced by section 26 of the Criminal Justice

If you would like to contribute to Mailbag, please send your letters to ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.

and Immigration Act 2008. That is to say, for prisoners serving a long-term sentence under the 1991 Act whose PED falls on or after 9 June 2008 (when section 26 was brought into force) and who are not serving a sentence for a serious violent or sexual offence (as listed in Schedule 15 of the CJA 2003), they are entitled to be released automatically at the half-way point in their sentence. This change was introduced to bring the release arrangements for long-term 1991 Act prisoners more in line with 2003 Act sentences – i.e. automatic release at the half-way point and then on licence until the Sentence Expiry Date (SED), rather than until the three-quarter point as under the 1991 Act. For this reason these changes are often referred to as 'conversion' for 1991 Act prisoners. Mr Bradish appears to be complaining that some long-term 1991 Act prisoners have had their sentences 'converted' under section 26 of the 2008 Act and are now entitled to be released automatically at the half-way point in their sentence, whereas other prisoners, who have committed violent offences, are not entitled to this. As explained above, the changes introduced by section 26 were intended to bring 1991 Act prisoners more in line with those serving sentences under the 2003 Act. Only those offenders who are deemed by the courts to be 'non-dangerous' receive a Standard Custodial Sentence under the 2003 Act, which entitles the prisoner to automatic release at the half-way point. There are different sentences available for offenders who are judged by the courts to be 'dangerous' extended or indeterminate sentences for public protection. Therefore, when providing for the automatic release at the half-way point for long-term 1991 Act prisoners under section 26, Parliament decided that the most serious and high risk prisoners should not be eligible for these new automatic release arrangements but should continue to be subject to a Parole Board assessment before being released. This does not mean that those serving sentences for Schedule 15 violent or sexual offences cannot be released at the half-way point in their sentence, it just means that because of the very serious nature of these types of offences and the potential risk to the public that the release of such prisoners could pose, their release at the half-way point will only be possible if the Parole Board judges that it is safe to do so.

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Ready for a swift fall .......................................................................... JOHN GELLING - HMP WOLDS I am nearing the end of my sentence without any form of resettlement/rehabilitation. Probation has advised the prison to give me Cat D but the prison say I have to wait until I am eligible. Why are the prison service prepared to release me without any prior support; therefore setting me up to fail due to lack of any resettlement?

 The Ministry of Justice writes: Categorisation and allocation of prisoners is a critical task. Effectively assigning prisoners to the correct security category and allocating them to an appropriate prison helps to ensure that they do not escape or abscond or threaten the control of establishments. It also means that prisoners are not held in conditions of security higher than is necessary. Categorisation, re-categorisation and allocation are also vital to the sentence management of prisoners and should balance security issues with the needs of the prisoner. Prisoners are categorised according to the likelihood that they will seek to escape and the risk they pose to the public should such an escape succeed. Prisoners sentenced to terms of more than 4 years will be reviewed annually although more frequent reviews may take place if the prisoner’s circumstances indicate a potential change in the levels of security needed. In order for a prisoner’s security status to be reduced, clear evidence is needed to show that the risk they pose has been reduced. Relevant to this issue are compliance with sentence plan, successful completion of offending behaviour courses, the prisoners own behaviour and the serving of a significant portion of the custodial sentence.

.................................................................................................................. MASON STEPHENS - HMP ELMLEY Can Inside Time advise on the circumstances in which prisoners could move to open conditions? I was under the impression that providing a person was deemed ‘low risk’ they could transfer to open conditions with as much as 5 years left to serve. Can clarification be provided?

 The Ministry of Justice writes: Guidance in PSI 45/2004 was that in the majority of cases it would be inappropriate to transfer a prisoner to open conditions more than 5 years before Non Parole Date (NPD), and more than 2 years before Parole Eligibility Date (PED). This would result in a two year period in open conditions, which is considered sufficient for someone to demonstrate suitability for parole. New guidance in PSI 3/2009 is intended to reflect recent legislation which changed sentence and release arrangements. This PSI makes clear that “cases must be decided on their individual merits but to help those making the decisions the guidance is that prisoners should not normally spend any longer than 2 years in open prison before their expected release date.” Those sentenced recently will not have NPD and PED set, but will have a conditional release date (CRD). Prisoners are now eligible for open conditions two years before CRD. Effectively then there has been no change in the criteria, which remains as a general rule at two years before earliest release date.

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Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Defending DHL ..................................................... JAMES MILES - HMP THE MOUNT I really must stand up for prison canteen suppliers DHL/Booker, who have received a lot of bad press recently in Inside Time. I work for them here at The Mount and believe a lot of the problems are down to the prison sending certain inmates to work for DHL some have a job to read, write or do maths. A lot of them are foreign nationals who cannot read the canteen order picking sheets. I am a picker and a lot of the time I have to show foreign nationals what is required. When orders are checked, some of them are wrong because of lack of understanding. The prison also chooses inmates who don’t want to work and they often only last a day because they eat the stock! In the past, prisoners who worked for the canteen company had to have level one English and Maths, however now, because the prison do not vet them properly, the DHL workshop is full of totally unsatisfactory people.

An excellent service ..................................................... G REES - HMP PARC

National Product List ..................................................... CHRISTOPHER MORIN - HMP WAKEFIELD Due to the recent changeover from Aramark to DHL/Booker, we have a Local Product List and the National Product List. I wish to know what range of products is on the National Product List and might the list be published in Inside Time?

 The Ministry of Justice writes: The National Product List is produced by the Head of Retail at the Ministry of Justice. This document is considered restricted, and contains all the product lines which can be purchased as part of the national contract. As different establishments have different security requirements, not all products on this list are suitable for all prisons. For example, some allow products which are packaged in glass, and some do not. Each establishment will manage which items they are able to offer as a suitable range to choose from, and at the outset not include lines which they would later have to reject from selection on security grounds. Wakefield currently has a local product list totalling 375 items; these are discussed and agreed with wing representatives on a quarterly basis along with any requests for additional items to be added to the list.

Through Inside time, I would like to thank the excellent Prisoners’ Advice Service for the help they have given me. If it hadn’t been for them, I would still be serving time for a crime I did not commit; as it is my conviction was quashed and I am being held now on breach of licence for a previous conviction.

 Inside Time writes: The Prisoners’ Advice Service has stated that they only advise on prison law cases and in the above mentioned case they advised Mr Rees to contact the Bar Pro-Bono Unit, 289-293 High Holborn, London WC1V 7HZ. The Bar Pro-Bono Unit coordinates a body of volunteer barristers. The PAS office cannot provide legal help by telephone or email.

Rest in Peace ................................................... GARY CREWE - HMP PARKHURST For all who knew Paddy Holland, our friend passed away in his sleep on 19th June. He will be sorely missed as he was a kind and friendly guy and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Paddy was a popular guy here on B wing at Parkhurst and he’s going to be missed by me and many others. God be with you Paddy RIP.

PARFITT LAW SOLICIT ORS We are dynamic London based firm who believe in putting our clients first. Our dedicated team will work with you to ensure that your rights are maintained. Where appropriate we instruct specialist barristers on your behalf so that you achieve the best possible outcome according to your circumstances. We will travel to any prison in England and Wales. For Criminal Defence, Court of Appeal cases, Judicial Review, Parole, Recall, Adjudications, MDT, Transfer, Categorisation or any other aspect of your sentence, just call Parfitt Law on

.......................................................................................................... PHIL JOHNSON - HMP MAIDSTONE I write concerning the monitoring of offending behaviour programmes. Upon arrival at Maidstone we were introduced to the IMB and, following their presentation, asked if we had any questions; so I queried whether they independently monitored offending behaviour courses. The reply came as a bit of a shock! Apparently, whilst the IMB does indeed monitor the provision of courses to those that require them, it does not monitor the quality of treatment offered nor the manner in which it is administered. When I asked why, they replied that they do not have the level of expertise required to make an independent opinion. I then asked the IMB if they could tell me who does provide independent monitoring for the courses; sadly they were unable to answer but promised to ‘find out and get back to me’. As I haven’t heard anything since, can Inside Time offer enlightenment?

 The National Offender Management Service writes: NOMS provides a wide range of accredited Offending Behaviour Programmes including various Sex Offender Treatment Programmes. As part of the accreditation process, the development of programmes, their implementation processes and their audit processes must all be rigorously evaluated by an independent group of international experts - the Correctional Services Accreditation Panel (CSAP) - to ensure they are likely to reduce re-offending if delivered well. The CSAP is a non-statutory body. The panel members are independent individuals respected in a variety of fields for their experience of offending behaviour programmes, the principles of effective practice and/or accreditation. The panel includes members from the fields of criminology, psychiatry, sociology, drug and alcohol addictions, correctional services, as well as psychology. NOMS has an extensive performance management system in place that scrutinises and audits the delivery of accredited OBPs. This is comprised of a range of support, training and quality assurance services for individual prison sites, Areas and Senior Managers within the prison service. The aim is to ensure that the service maintains consistent standards and working practices, and that programmes are delivered in an effective and efficient way. In addition, the delivery of programmes is also monitored independently by Her Majesty’s Chief Inspectorate of Prisons (HMCIP), whose role includes the scrutiny of the conditions for and treatment of prisoners; the Prisons Ombudsman, whose role is to carry out independent investigations; and by Audit and Corporate Assurance, who provide the service with objective opinions on risks and management. The work of those involved with programme delivery will also be regularly monitored against a wide range of prison service policies for example, concerning issues of equality and health and safety. It is nevertheless open to offenders to utilise the judicial process if they feel their rights have been breached.

Views expressed in Inside Time are those of the authors and not necessarily representative of those held by Inside Time or the New Bridge Foundation.

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Mailbag

If you would like to contribute to Mailbag, please send your letters to ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Presence at MAPPA meetings .......................................................................................................... NAME & ADDRESS SUPPLIED I seek information on the MAPPA schemes and why offenders are not allowed/ required to be present at MAPPA meetings after release? Steven Willcox

High Court knockback ..................................................... CARLA RIOZZI - MOSS SOLICITORS Readers will recall that in the May issue of Inside Time I reported on the case of Steven Willcox who was given a 331⁄2 year sentence in Thailand for possession of his own drugs. In 2007 Steven was repatriated to England and ordered to serve the remainder of his Thai sentence. When he returned to England, Steven applied to the High Court to judicially review the decision to enforce his sentence on the basis that by doing so his rights under Articles 3, 5 & 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights were breached. Steven’s case was finally heard by the High Court on 23rd & 24th April 2009. Judgement in this case was very important, not only to Steven and his family, but also to the remaining British prisoners still detained in Thailand, who desperately hoped for a favourable outcome.

 The Ministry of Justice writes: MAPPA stands for ‘Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements’ which are set up locally by the police, prison and probation services, with other key agencies, to assess and manage offenders who pose a risk of serious harm. Offenders eligible for MAPPA are identified and information is gathered / shared about them across relevant agencies. The nature and level of the risk of harm they pose is assessed and a risk management plan is implemented to protect the public. There are three categories of offender who are managed through MAPPA: Category 1: Registered sexual offenders. Category 2: Violent offenders who have been sentenced to 12 months or more in custody or to detention in hospital. This Category also includes people who have been disqualified from working with children. Category 3: Other dangerous offenders who do not qualify under categories 1 or 2 but are considered to pose a risk of serious harm requiring a multi-agency approach. There are also three levels of MAPPA management, based upon the level of multi-agency cooperation required. Offenders will move up and down the levels as appropriate. Level 1 involves ordinary agency management (i.e. no MAPPA meetings); Level 2 is where the active involvement of more than one agency is required to manage the offender but the risk management plans do not require the attendance at MAPPA meetings and/or commitment of resources at a senior level. Where senior oversight is required, the case would be managed at Level 3. Qualification for MAPPA is based solely on offence and disposal for Categories 1 and 2, and on previous offending and current risk assessment for Category 3. And it is important to note that MAPPA does not give the supervising agencies any additional powers - it is merely a system for assessing and managing risk.

On 1st July 2009, judgement was finally given. Unfortunately, the High Court did not decide in Steven’s favour. Whilst the High Court accepted that the proceedings in Thailand had breached Articles 5 & 6, they did not accept that England by enforcing the sentence were not in breach. The Court did not feel that the enforcement of such a lengthy sentence amounted to “inhumane” or “degrading” treatment/punishment to breach Article 3.

National MAPPA Guidance makes clear that it is good practice for offenders to know that they are being managed through MAPPA, what MAPPA is and what this means for them. However, it is considered that the presence of an offender at a MAPPA meeting could significantly hinder the core business of sharing and analysing information objectively and making decisions accordingly. Offenders (and their representatives) are therefore excluded from MAPPA meetings. The offender should, however, be allowed the opportunity to present written information to the MAPPA meeting through their offender manager or to receive feedback from the meeting via this route.

The outcome of Steven’s case could have potentially been a landmark decision for many prisoners detained abroad. The judgement has come as a disappointment to many.

..........................................................................................................

The Ministry of Justice and Foreign Office have made it perfectly clear they do not propose to negotiate a change in the terms of the existing unfair Prisoner Transfer Agreement. Editorial note: Australian nationals returned from Thailand and Cambodia under a Prisoner Transfer Agreement are given parole if they have served their sentences required under Australian law. Obviously an arrangement too sensible for the UK.

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IPP worse than a life sentence DAVID BAKER - HMP GARTH I’ve served just over two and a half years of a three year three month IPP sentence. I was shocked when I got the sentence and my barrister just said ‘do your courses and you’ll get parole at the three year three month part; as the IPP structure should be set in stone so that people will be getting released faster’. I didn’t know what he was talking about and all I understood was that you have to go for parole before being released! Here I am, well into my sentence having learnt the hard way what it’s really all about; firstly, you have to have a sentence planning board before you can do any courses, which took 13 months. Then you have to do the courses, such as ETS, which took another 13 months. You have to stay drug and adjudication free while going through it all, which can be quite hard when there are certain officers who rather maliciously appear to go out of their way to make sure this doesn’t happen. Ten months before your tariff is up you get told at another sentence planning board that you have to complete CALM and Anger Management courses, which have a two-year waiting list. Finally, nine months before your Parole date and SED date, you get put ‘on hold’ at whatever jail you’re held in to do reports for the Parole Board – but there might be a delay of up to a year before they actually sit. So, even if you are a Cat C in a Cat B you cannot make the progressive move. In my view, an IPP sentence is worse than life.

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Childcare funding ..................................................... NICOLA CARROLL - ADDRESS SUPPLIED I'm team leader with a new project supporting families of offenders & ex-offenders and the prison system and visiting arrangements is all relatively new to me. I visited a family recently with a young mum who has 3 children and who really was struggling getting to see her husband in HMP Risley (with all 3 children) and was wondering if there is any childcare funding available? Is this something you would be able to advise on?

 Inside Time writes: You can get help with the general costs of visiting through the Assisted Visits Scheme; see [email protected] however this is for travel and not childcare. Most prisons have a crèche or supervised play areas. In addition, most prisons also have family friendly visit days where children are welcome and their father (or mother) can play and interact with them. We suggest her husband speaks to the Probation Officer at his prison and explains the various problems she is having. They may be able to offer help or suggest local schemes which may be of constructive assistance. If she is dealing with Social Services at home; they may be able to offer some form of help either with childcare or a grant towards the costs. The three websites listed below may also be of use: http://www.partnersofprisoners.org.uk http://www.ormiston.org/home.html http://www.prisonadvice.org.uk Nicola Carroll mentions working with ‘offenders’ and ‘ex-offenders’. Most prisoners find the term 'offender' objectionable as it is used more and more by the Prison Service in a demeaning manner. Many prisoners are not 'offenders' - 12,500 are on remand awaiting trial, so are innocent; many more maintain that they were wrongfully convicted and, in their eyes, whilst it is a fact that they are materially prisoners they would argue they are not 'offenders'. There are also people awaiting deportation. Civil prisoners would also argue that they, too, are not 'offenders'.

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Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

If you would like to contribute to Mailbag, please send your letters to ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.

Benzos withdrawal

Methadone myths

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JASON BROWN - HMP DONCASTER

STEVE THOMAS - HMP BULLINGDON

I would like to draw the attention of your readers to an issue that, if implemented, is going to have serious repercussions within the prison system. It is my understanding that the prison service plans to stop issuing Benzodiazepines (Benzos) - medication used in the treatment of those with mental health issues. I have been prescribed these drugs for three years and they control my condition, therefore to withdraw this medication is surely a breach of my human rights - I need these drugs and the doctors I have spoken to fully endorse this. The reason given by the prison service is ‘to prevent bullying for drugs and to prevent those who are prescribed them selling them instead of taking them’. Those of us who really need these drugs will not be selling them! I should not have to be going through the complaints and IMB route to maintain a basic human right – to be prescribed a drug that, for at least three years, has kept me ‘well’. If these drugs are banned how many prisoners will revert to suicide bids, self harming and even more serious psychotic episodes? This isn’t just about me, it is a cry for help for all prisoners who have mental health issues and are potentially being put at risk by the prison service’s decision.

..................................................... NAME SUPPLIED - HMP USK In reply to Steven Relf's letter in your July issue (Faith equals belief without proof ), I'm sorry, but my Oxford Dictionary doesn't give the definition of ‘faith’ he so confidently asserts; the word comes from the Latin ‘fides’, which is nearer to ‘loyalty’ and ‘trust’. You may have faith that your partner loves you, you may take it on trust but you have no absolute proof of the sort Mr Relf demands.

What does concern me, however, is the proliferation of gross factual errors and methadone myths that appear endemic from both users and staff within HMPS. For instance: ‘it makes your teeth fall out’. No, that is lifestyle choices and poor dental hygiene; ‘it was created by the Nazis to celebrate Hitler’s birthday’. No, it was discovered by I G Farben in Germany but never produced until Eli Lily, the American pharmaceutical company, patented it in 1945.

I urge people to evaluate their opinions and undoubted prejudices against maintenance prescriptions when used and prescribed responsibly. Sometimes the pressure from well meaning professionals, as well as peers, is totally misguided. People on methadone, as demonstrated by the ‘Methadone Alliance’, can lead hard working, family orientated and focused lives.

If you would like to contribute to Mailbag, please send your letters (concise and clearly marked) to ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. To avoid any possible misunderstanding, if you have a query and for whatever reason do not wish your letter to be published in Inside Time or appear on the website, or yourself to be identified, please make this clear. We advise that wherever possible, when sending original documents such as legal papers, you send photocopies as we are unable to accept liability if they are lost. We may need to forward your letter and /or documents to Prison Service HQ or another appropriate body for comment or advice, therefore only send information you are willing to have forwarded on your behalf.

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Faith nearer to loyalty and trust

Methadone maintenance treatment is an emotive and controversial subject; some are outraged that ‘work-shy and undeserving addicts’ get substitute heroin courtesy of the state - especially in our prisons - whilst others see it as a lifesaving and vital intervention in harm and crime reduction.

There needs to be a distinction between those who are dependent on a script - taking an oral drug once a day to achieve stability and focus on rebuilding positive habits, and those in active addiction (chaos cravings etc).

Mailbag

Stress levels! ..................................................... P PLASKOWSKI - HMP PRESTON As an avid reader of Inside Time, like many other people, I thoroughly enjoy the crosswords and wordsearch. However the ‘Day at the Races’ wordsearch in the July issue stated that all the hidden words are there, yet to my dismay they weren’t and trying to find the correct answer caused me so much stress that I’ve smoked all my tobacco - so could you compensate me with a voucher or goody-bag!

 Inside Time writes: A word was wrongly spelt and we are grateful to Mr P (actually ‘P’ was the letter that was missing) for drawing this error to our attention.

Where Mr Relf does make an interesting point is with regard to the problem of evil. If God is so good and powerful, why does he allow so much pain and suffering? He lists a few suitable candidates: baby Peter, natural disasters and wars. Yet one wonders why so many Jews continue to believe in God despite centuries of cruelty culminating in the Holocaust? Why Buddhist monks hold to their beliefs despite the oppression of Burmese and Chinese juntas? Why Christians in Iraq, bombed as they leave their churches, return to pray the following week? If you would find faith, look among the suffering and persecuted. As a Christian (and I can only speak as such) I suggest Mr Relf considers for a moment the idea of a God who intervenes in the way he suggests. It would be appalling. Where would it end? Stopping natural disasters here, preventing persecution there. A cross between superman and a prison diversity officer. A puppeteer with humanity as his puppets? A world in which concepts like faith, trust and loyalty have no part? No thanks.

Loss of gymnasium .......................................................................................................... DANIEL LYNCH - HMP PENTONVILLE

KEEP FIGHTING FOR

I had a disciplinary adjudication for an unauthorised article (mobile phone) and received punishment of cellular confinement, loss of canteen etc. However, one issue that has come to the surface is the loss of gymnasium. In PSO 2000 (7.21) it clearly states that statutory gym is not a privilege and must not be withdrawn as a punishment. Perhaps the Prison Service might offer comment?

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 The Ministry of Justice writes: Mr Lynch complains that following a disciplinary adjudication one of the punishments imposed was loss of gym. He quotes PSO 2000 paragraph 7.21, which states that ‘statutory gym is not a privilege and must not be withdrawn as a punishment’.

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The reference in paragraph 7.21 of the Prison Discipline Manual PSO 2000 to statutory gym means the provision in Prison Rule 29 and YOI Rule 41 for prisoners to participate in physical education, normally for one or two hours a week. This is not a privilege and cannot be removed as a punishment at adjudication. Any access to the gym which may have been allowed over and above the provisions in these rules is a privilege under the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme under Prison Rule 8 and YOI Rule 6 and may be forfeited as an adjudication punishment.

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Newsround

THE INSPECTOR CALLS... Taken from the most recent of Chief Inspector of Prisons Dame Anne Owers’ inspection reports, Inside Time highlights areas of good and bad practice, along with a summary of prisoner survey responses, at Everthorpe, Hollesley Bay and Huntercombe YOI HMP Everthorpe (Inspection 12-16 January 2009 – Report published 18 June 2009) Everthorpe had progressed in most areas, in spite of recent expansion, but some improvements were needed. Prisoners felt safe, though some procedures to support safety needed to be tightened or developed, and the prison continued to have a serious problem with illicit drugs. Staff prisoner relationships were good, and the personal officer scheme was effective. Prisoner survey responses to questionnaires returned by 139 prisoners at Everthorpe indicate that: 35% had been in prison before more than five times; 92% said when they first arrived their property arrived at the same time; 66% said that during the first 24 hours upon arrival, they had health problems; 94% were offered a smokers/ non-smokers pack in reception; 31% said staff had opened legal correspondence when they were not present: 95% said they are normally able to shower daily.

..................................................... HMP Hollesley Bay (Inspection 9-13 February 2009 - Report published 19 June 2009) Hollesley Bay was a very safe prison performing well and rising to the challenge of holding an increasingly diverse population. Early days were well managed and there was very little bullying or self-harm. Prisoners were largely well behaved and motivated. Drugs were not a major problem and there were few absconds. There were efficient application and complaint procedures.

69% said applications were dealt with promptly; 79% said complaints were dealt with fairly.

..................................................... HMYOI Huntercombe (Inspection 9-12 December 2008 - Report published 16 June 2009) Huntercombe had improved in a number of key areas, although there were concerns about aspects of safety. When the inspectors last visited, they expressed considerable concern about safety among the challenging and highly volatile population, however they found substantive progress had been made in the strategic management of safeguarding and child protection arrangements remained impressive. Incidents of self-harm had increased, despite some good care for young people at risk. Units remained too large and levels of bullying, assaults and fights were high. Use of force by staff was high, although attempts at de-escalation were more in evidence. Relationships between staff and young people were much improved, despite the lack of a functioning personal officer scheme. Prisoner survey responses to questionnaires returned by 121 prisoners at HMYOI Huntercombe indicate that: 30% were Black or Black British Caribbean; 19% said they had been in either foster care or children’s home; 79% said when they were searched it was carried out in an understanding manner; 75% said the shop/canteen does not sell a wide enough variety of products; 35% said they were receiving help with drug problems; 53% said the IEPS reward scheme made them change their behaviour; 89% had been excluded from school.

Prisoner survey responses to questionnaires returned by 109 prisoners at Hollesley Bay indicate that: 87% said most staff treated them with respect; 45% have children under the age of 18; 92% were seen by a member of heath services in reception; 97% said they felt safe on their first night; 26% said the food was bad;

Chief Inspector of Prisons inspection schedule 05/10 12/10 19/10 19/10

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Jail inspectors slam Maghaberry A damning report has said that Maghaberry Prison in Northern Island is one of the most expensive in the United Kingdom (annual cost of £81,500 per prisoner) and also one of the worst. A team of inspectors who made a surprise visit to the jail in January, six months after an inmate hanged himself while under supervision in a specialist unit, have listed 200 ways to make the jail better and called for ‘urgent action’ and ‘better safety procedures’. The jail failed to meet standards in all four of the internationally recognised tests for prisoner welfare.

Inspectors were also concerned at the lack of activity places to keep prisoners purposefully engaged which led to many men spending most of their days locked up without the opportunity to gain useful skills.

www.insidetime.org The Chief Inspector’s latest reports for all prisons are included under the ‘Regimes’ section of each prison. OFSTED and IMB reports are also being added as part of the ongoing development of the Inside Time website. Prisoners should be able to access these from the library and the website will enable those outside to monitor conditions in each establishment.

How journalism works... The Daily Mail reporting ‘a new law and order scandal’ involving almost ‘1000 criminals’ including murderers, rapists and paedophiles at large’ calculated to create the inevitable impression amongst its readers that serious crimes had just been committed and the perpetrators were roaming the streets. The Mail’s story was actually based on a briefing paper from the Ministry of Justice ‘Licence recalls and returns to custody’ (6 July) which reported that 954 ex-prisoners, going back a quarter of a century, who had served their sentences but had, in one way or another, breached their early release conditions and had not been returned to prison. The Mail added: ‘at least 59 have reoffended, including crimes of rape’ – a figure used by The Sunday Times in a feature: ‘Stats of the Week’. Inside Time asked the Ministry of Justice where the figure of ‘59 reoffenders’ had come from. ‘It didn’t come from us … they must have made it up’ a spokeswoman said. Battling against injustice and Brainwashed pages 30-31

Note: It has been confirmed by the Home Office that almost 200 of the 954 people who were freed but breached their release conditions were foreign nationals.

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Commission says cut prison numbers and reinvest money in communities A landmark report into the prison system, the product of a two-year long inquiry commissioned by the Howard League for Penal Reform, has been published. The final report of the Commission on English Prisons Today takes a radical look at the purposes and limits of a penal system and how it should sit alongside other social policies. Do Better Do Less: The report of the Commission on English Prisons Today advocates a new approach of penal moderation and fundamental reform, including: • A significant reduction in the prison population and the closure of establishments; • Investment in the localities that currently produce prisoners to reduce crime; • The replacement of short prison sentences with community-based responses; • The dismantling of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), including the break up of the centrally managed prison service; • With local authorities as partners, the Commission suggests local strategic partnerships should be formed that bring together representatives from the criminal justice, health and education sectors, with local prison and probation budgets fully devolved and made available for justice reinvestment initiatives. President of the Commission, Cherie Booth QC, said: “The Commission has undertaken a comprehensive consultation process, held seminars and made visits to investigate good practice and new ideas in Europe and the

United States of America over the past two years. “This final report should be a road-map for long term and fundamental reform. Crucially, more widespread use of effective community sentences would both allow us to reduce the use of prison and allow for reinvestment of resources into local communities to cut offending.”

Lord Chief Justice tells Jack Straw: the UK has too many crime laws The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said repeated calls for less legislation, and especially fewer crime laws, had been ignored by ministers.

Cherie Booth

David Wilson

The criticism echoes a complaint from Lord Judge's predecessor, Lord Phillips, who complained in February that sentencing criminals was becoming harder because of a "ceaseless torrent of new legislation" which was "hard to justify".

The Commission’s Chair, Professor David Wilson, said: “Since early in the 1990s, England and Wales has been set on a course towards becoming a jurisdiction which punishes excessively, harshly and with little attention paid to the relationship between legislation and the impact on prison numbers.

He said that in 2003 six major criminal statutes were passed, including the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, The Extradition Act, The Sexual Offences Act and the Courts Act.

“The result is a crisis of overcrowding which threatens to bring the penal system to its knees. We now jail more of our population than almost any other country in western Europe, despite the fact that there is no evidence to say we are any more crime-prone than our neighbouring countries”.

In addition Parliament passed "the great Daddy of them all", the Criminal Justice Act which ran to 1,169 paragraphs, he said. "My request is one which has been frequently addressed, but so far without success. Can we possibly have less legislation, particularly in the field of criminal justice?”

Request for Information Action for Prisoners' Families, which represents the needs of families affected by imprisonment, is concerned to learn that some prisoners are being asked to buy a whole book of stamps rather than being provided with the option of buying one single stamp at a time. A book of six stamps - price (first class) £2.34 - represents over half of some prisoners’ weekly wage: APF believes this may prevent prisoners writing to their family members particularly important when so many are in prisons many miles from family members. In order to take this issue further, APF needs information of cases where prisoners are struggling to meet the cost of their postage because of the demand to buy a whole book. Please contact Jessica Berens at Unit 21, Carlson Court, 116 Putney Bridge Road, London, SW15 2NQ or via Inside Time. You can write to Jessica using one of your weekly prison letters. If you haven’t got one, ask your landing staff. These don’t need a stamp.

He said constitutional changes from 2003, which removed the Lord Chancellor as head of the judiciary, were made "without so much as the courtesy of a letter or even a telephone call to the Lord Chief Justice". The decision to split the Home Office and create the Ministry of Justice in 2007 was announced by a minister "in an article in a Sunday newspaper" he complained.

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Age: ................................................. 65 Height: .................................... 4ft 111⁄2 Hair: ......................................... Brown Eyes: ......................................... Blue Complexion: ............................. Dark Born: .................................. London Married or Single: ................... Widow Trade or Occupation: .................. None Distinguishing Marks: .............. Scar on nose & chin Address at time of apprehension: 1 London Road Place & Date of Conviction: Jury trial at Central Criminal Court 9th Jan 1871 Offence for Which Convicted: Felony Stealing stolen bank notes Sentence: ............. 2 Years Hard Labour Date to be liberated: ....... 8th Jan 1873 Researched by Louise Shorter at the National Archives

INSIDE? YOU NEED A FRIEND ON THE OUTSIDE... At Keith Park Solicitors we have many years experience representing our clients, not only before sentencing but also once they are in custody. There are many ways we can help you with advice and representation once you are on the ‘inside’. Our team of Legal experts will be your friends on the outside. We specialise in: OUTSIDE ADJUDICATIONS. Have you committed an offence whilst in custody? We can provide representation for you in front of the adjudicator. PAROLE BOARD HEARINGS. We can supply written representations and attending oral hearings. CATEGORISATION. If you want us to assist by way of written representations – we can help.

PRISON RECALL. Have you been recalled and do you think the decision is justified? We can prepare written submissions and appear on your behalf before the parole board. PRISON COMPLAINTS AND REFERRALS TO THE PRISON OMBUDSMAN. If you feel you are treated badly in prison, you can make a complaint. We can help you through the procedure.

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Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Newsround Lack of clarity in sentencing policy

Recession blamed for rise in property crime Pickpocketing and bag snatches increased by 25 per cent last year amid signs that the recession is pushing up property crime. Domestic burglary, shoplifting, fraud, forgery and bicycle thefts rose. Credit and debit card fraud also rose, mainly in transactions not protected by chip-andPIN, according to the Home Office. But the number of murders in England and Wales was at its lowest for 20 years. Homocides fell by 136 to 648 in the 12 months to April and attempted murders by 46 to 575. Overall crime recorded by the 43 police forces in England and Wales fell by 5 per cent to 4.7 million offences.

Do you have a question for the panel?

The Association of Prison Lawyers (APL) Annual Conference will take place on 22 September and will be organised around the theme of risk assessment. It will be hosted by Doughty Street Chambers and chaired by APL chairman Solicitor Michael Purdon. The APL is proposing a ‘Question Time’ format with a panel of experts drawn from different

fields. Questions will be submitted in advance. Dr Ruth Mann from the Offending Behaviour Programmes Unit, who is responsible for cognitive skills and sex offender treatment programmes in prison and probation, will open the proceedings with Dr Adam Carter (head of the SOTP) by setting out the NOMS line on risk assessment and the tools they use. There will then be a panel discussion based around questions submitted in advance. The morning panel made up of psychologists and psychiatrists including Professor Don Grubin, Robert Forde and Jackie Craissati. After lunch there will be a second panel consisting of Sir David Latham, chair of the Parole Board, a representative from the Ministry of Justice, Professor Andrew Rutherford, Simon Creighton and Phillippa Kaufmann from Doughty St. Chambers. Inside Time readers are invited to submit questions for the Panels. These would need to be general and not case specific, and would need to be limited in length. Send your questions to: Andrew Sperling, c/o The Association of Prison Lawyers, Office 7, 19 Greenwood Place, London NW5 1LB.

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* Inside Time will publish a summary of the event

Continuing political debates over sentencing policy have been branded ‘counter-productive’ by a group of influential MPs. A report published by the Commons justice committee claims current sentencing policy risks being driven by a ‘misconception of what people want’ which in fact is ‘not intelligent, appropriate or sustainable’. More worryingly, the MPs warn current policy risks resources being diverted away from an effective sentencing framework and instead result in more people being victims of crime in the future and less confidence in the criminal justice system. The report states there is a lack of clarity from the outset when it comes to sentencing policy, with the five aims of sentencing set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003 ‘neither internally coherent, prioritised nor consistently applied. As a result the public, criminal justice organisations, victims, sentencers and the government all have different expectations as to what sentencing is trying to achieve, which means that someone, inevitably, will be disappointed’. In terms of political debates over sentencing, the arguments usually descend into a competition as to who can appear toughest on crime based on the length of sentences, the committee states. Chairman of the Committee, Sir Alan Beith, said: "Sentencing policy should not be determined on the presumption that the public regard longer custodial sentences as more effective. Public confidence would be better served by ensuring, and then demonstrating, that sentencing is effective in preventing people from being victims of crime in the future. "Pursuing a policy of sending more people to jail for longer is based on the misguided conception that it will increase public confidence in sentencing when in fact, paradoxically, it will only divert resources from the measures needed to prevent more crime, and therefore more people becoming victims of crime."

NEWS IN BRIEF

President Obama says that using just one photo of him appearing to be looking at a 17 year-old girl’s bottom at the G8 Summit is misleading and irresponsible.

... so here's another including Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi suffering from fatigue after searching for the G8 spot.

And the Queen listens closely to a discussion on the attraction of a ménage à trois.

Newsround

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

“

A strong demand for prostitution and the perception of a generous benefits system

”

Women custody deaths

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Did I say that…?

The Howard League for Penal Reform has released new figures which reveal that 1,668 women and girls have died in custody (prison, immigration, approved premises and detention under the Mental Health Act) between 1999 and 2008. This figure includes 72 women officially recorded as ‘self-inflicted deaths’ in prison. Another three women have died in prison and been categorised as self-inflicted deaths this year, with one woman dying categorised as natural causes.

Britain a soft touch for people-traffickers People-traffickers view Britain as a ‘soft touch’ for smuggling illegal immigrants, with big profits and low risk of being caught, according to Home Office research. Traffickers also claim that officials in the Identity and Passport Service are willing to take bribes to help illegal immigrants to enter the country. The research outlines the findings of an interview programme conducted in 2006 with 45 prisoners convicted of people-smuggling offences in 2005. The picture presented by the prisoners is that the UK is considered as an attractive destination for a number of reasons and illicit entry across UK borders is considered to be relatively easy. Prisoners interviewed by Home Office researchers believed there were a number of ‘pull factors’. They included:  Easy entry into the ‘shadow’ economy where obtaining work without papers was fairly simple, unlike places such as France and Germany.  A strong demand for prostitution and the perception of a generous benefits system.  Access to the National Health Service and other public services.  Established ethnic minority communities providing networks, contacts and obscurity, as well as previous migration of other family members.  A relaxed UK immigration policy which allows ease of entry as a temporary visitor tourist or student and there was a perception that Britain had a liberal attitude (eg Human Rights Act) towards migrants and asylum seekers.

Interviewees also revealed that there was a common belief that obtaining UK citizenship was fairly easy (marriage to a UK national could be arranged for a ‘reasonable fee’ of about £1,500) and the lack of an identity card which most EU countries have was also helpful to people-traffickers. Migrants paid from £500 to £5,000 to be smuggled from France. £10,000 to gain entry from India. Up to £12,000 from Turkey, and £25,000 to £50,000 from China. The Chinese figures included £10,000 for a false passport and £15,000 for the journey. An intermediary could be paid £4,000 for arranging a seat on a boat across the Channel. Organised immigration crime: a post-conviction study - published by the Home Office July 13 2009 Editorial note: The research project involved interviews with 45 prisoners, which took a full three years for two researchers to conduct and publish their 28 page findings.

Payout for Foreign National Prisoners Foreign National prisoners have been awarded compensation of £500,000 for being kept in custody beyond their release date. They were held while the Government considered whether to deport them. Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, told MPs that between April 2008 and June this year the UK Border Agency paid out £498,897 but did not disclose how many prisoners were involved.

Frances Crook, Director of the Howard League, told Inside Time, “The number of women dying in state custody over the last 10 years is a shaming indictment of our penal system. Judges and magistrates must not send women into our already bulging jails when effective community sentences are readily available. With the present level of overcrowding in prisons, people can be condemned to an early death, despite the best efforts of overstretched prison staff”.

Tales of the unexpected Synergy Theatre Project & Hampstead Theatre are making playwrights out of 12 ex-prisoners this autumn. If you've got a compelling story, a gift for the gab, a way with words, then you could be one of the 12. No previous writing or theatre experience is necessary, just a passion for telling stories and a commitment to developing yourself as a creative writer. If you are out by September and would like to apply to take part in this FREE project taking place at Hampstead Theatre, London between October and December, please send a 4 page scene, which can be on any subject with any number of characters, to: TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED, Synergy Theatre Project, Hyde Park House, 5 Manfred Road, London SW15 2RS by 31 August. For more information contact: [email protected] or 020 8870 2112.

‘Prisoners need to know that the days of pursuing illegitimate and trivial claims - paid for by the taxpayer - are over. These are commonsense reforms and should see an end to prisoner exploitation of the legal aid budget.’ Justice Secretary Jack Straw unveiling proposals to prevent trivial claims against the Prison Service as part of an attempt to cap legal aid spending on prison law at £22 million a year. Mr Straw said his reforms would make prisoners exhaust internal complaints procedures before they could get their hands on legal aid to pursue claims. But an internal government report leaked to The Times newspaper showed that only 75 of 1,272 prisoners’ claims brought against the prison or probation service last year used legal aid. Critics of the Justice Secretary say that this most recent revelation is just another case of his chasing headlines.

Poor performance awarded with bonuses The current backlog of immigration cases awaiting a decision is between 200,000 and 250,000 and this backlog is not expected to be shifted until 2011 at an estimated cost of £600 million a year, Lin Homer, Chief Executive of the UK Border Agency, told the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee. Despite people paying £750 for their immigration applications there are cases going as far back as nine years. Homer told MP’s that despite an increasing backlog of outstanding immigration cases, 45 senior executives working at the UK Border Agency had been awarded bonuses. The Committee said they were ‘extremely dissatisfied’ with the way the UKBA is performing and questioned whether it was right that 45 executives should have received bonuses.

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Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Newsround Female prisoners subjected to sexual abuse

NEWS IN BRIEF

Sexual abuse is ‘part and parcel’ of prison life with staff harassing female prisoners in exchange for drugs, cigarettes and even early release, according to former prisoners. The report by The Guardian correspondent Eric Allison gives former prisoners a voice. Jade Thompson, 32, is a former drug addict who served several prison sentences for drug-related crimes. Last released in 2003, she has turned her life around, training and working as a drugs abuse support worker. She served time in four prisons - Holloway, Highpoint, Cookham Wood and Foston Hall and says she witnessed and experienced sexual approaches from staff, male and female, in every jail.

Telling the truth Rideout, one of the UK’s leading prison arts organisations, is looking for current or former prisoners to help them. Rideout has been running programmes in prisons since 1999 and has created projects like The Creative Prison, in which staff and prisoners at Gartree designed a prison from scratch with international architect Will Alsop. They also created Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy, a touring musical about the myth of Scarface, which travelled the UK. Now they want to create a touring visual arts exhibition entitled The Truth About Crime and Justice in the UK directed at the general public. They particularly want to target audiences of young people and are looking for current or former prisoners who would allow them to use their letters as part of this exhibition; letters to or from family members or friends which give a true insight into the experience of being deprived of liberty. Preferably therefore they would like you to contact your correspondent who has your letters (and presumably you have his/hers) and propose this idea. All very personal elements, names, addresses, details of offences, etc. would obviously be removed as you request. Rideout want to convey to the general public what life is like on the inside – and what it’s like on the outside for those who are waiting for that release day. They are not asking you to sit down and write to them and tell them what it’s like - they are interested in the communication between you and who you write to. And if you have no correspondence, then tell them what else you think they should include in the exhibition. Contact Chris Johnston, The Truth About, PO Box 3248, Stoke-on-Trent ST3 9EF.

Incentive scheme spur for sex offenders

following the damaging report. The report says there were not enough rehabilitation places; that many of the most serious offenders would not sign up; and there was little evidence that the scheme actually worked.

The Scottish Prison Service is drawing up a new incentive-based scheme to help rehabilitate some of the country’s most dangerous rapists, child molesters and other sexual predators. It will axe their under-fire sex offender treatment programme and replace it with the new scheme in 2010 following stinging criticism from the Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland Andrew McLellan.

Andrew McLellan, who is standing down as HM Chief Inspector after seven years, added: “Only a relatively small proportion of longterm sex offenders will have completed the programme before they are released. Equally disturbing is the fact that there is very little statistical evidence in the UK that the Sex Offender Treatment Programme makes a difference.”

The current treatment programme was once described as the ‘jewel in the crown’ of the Scottish Prison Service, however the programme has come under huge criticism

Further damage was done in June when figures revealed just a 6% difference in reoffending between sex offenders who do a treatment programme and those who do not.

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To mark the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, Britain decides to unveil plans to fly in space.

"It was part and parcel of prison life, and very intimidating. If you are not going to buy into the approaches made by staff, you will not progress, you will not get the good jobs, or get on the courses that will help you get early release." Thompson says Holloway was the worst jail she was in. Rhona (not her real name) is in her late 20s and from Leeds. She says she has "done the circuit" of women's prisons in the north of England and confirms that sexual advances from prison staff - both male and female are common. In 2005 she was in New Hall prison, near Wakefield, when a male officer "came on strong" to her. It began by him asking her if she had any burn (tobacco). When she said she had none, he gave her three Marlboro Light cigarettes. The next day, he searched her cell on his own, something officers are supposed to do in pairs; in women's jails, a female officer should always be present. He picked up an item of her underwear and rubbed it against himself. He then asked her to "bring him off" and held out a full packet of Marlboros. "That was the start of it," she says. "For the rest of my stay there" - about three months, she thinks - "I would regularly give him hand and blow jobs." Her rewards increased from cigarettes to vodka, which he would bring in plastic bottles. "I was on smack [heroin], which he wouldn't bring in, but I could swap the vodka for gear." Were other prisoners and staff aware of the relationship? "For sure. He wasn't the only one at it." And did she see the liaison as consensual? "In a way, I suppose. I knew what I was doing; but I wouldn't have looked at him on the outside and only did it for the burn and the vodka. He was a bit arrogant and there were times when I fantasised about biting his cock off." Female prisoners subjected to sexual abuse by Eric Allison July 18th 2009

Following allegations that the News of the World has been hacking into telephone calls made by celebrities, it can now be revealed that John Prescott has been found making repeated phone calls to someone called Dominos.

An MOD official leaves Downing St. after foolishly mentioning helicopters

And in Whitehall there is panic as officials search for the reason for going to war with Iraq.

beesleyandcompanysolicitors Personal Injury and Civil Action against the Police and other authorities ‡ Personal Injury (accidents both in and out of custody) ‡ Assault ‡ False imprisonment ‡ Malicious prosecution ‡ Negligence ‡ Interference with property/goods ‡ Allegations of mistreatment/injury caused by inmates or staff ‡ Opiate Dependant Detox Claims

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Newsround

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

 Do you know...? • Officials at the Department of Work and Pensions have sent out thousands of bogus job applications in an effort to uncover racist tendencies in employers. Civil servants put in two or more fake applications for each of the 1,000 job vacancies. The CVs were similar, but some were signed with foreign-sounding names. If the experiment shows that employers tend to favour CVs bearing British names, the Government may add a clause to its new Equality Bill, banning employers from asking the names of job applicants before they give them an interview. • 20% of British children aged 7-15 never pick up a book outside school, but 66% surf the Internet at least once a week. 24% do not believe there is any link between reading well and succeeding in later life. • In Britain, one private school is forced to close every fortnight, as families can no longer afford the fees. Over the past year, at least 30 fee-paying schools have shut or merged. • A hospital in Lancashire has refused to accept any more knitted woollen booties as they could harbour lethally infectious bugs.

The Royal Blackburn Hospital has also banned little woollen hats and blankets, since they can’t be washed at a high enough temperature to be sure of killing bugs such as MRSA. “All items of clothing and bedding provided by the hospital are ‘thermally disinfected’,” said Rineke Schram, director of infection prevention and control for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS trust, ”that is, washed at 71 degrees and held at that temperature for three minutes, which would clearly ruin any woollen garments.” • UK coastguards must now fill out a risk assessment before responding to emergencies, detailing “reason for journey”. • Almost half (47%) of British doctors who specialise in caring for old people think the National Health Service is “institutionally ageist”. 55% were worried about their own future welfare. • 62 % of fathers say that going to work provides them with a welcome break from their children. 65% think that stay-at-home mothers have a harder job than they do. A quarter admit to putting in longer hours than necessary in order to spend less time with their children. 40% say they get really stressed if they have to go straight from work to a house full of rowdy children. • 33% of British men are in a relationship with someone they poached from another relationship, compared with 10% of Frenchmen. • Words associated with Christianity, British history and rural life have been culled from the Oxford Junior Dictionary. The publishers, OUP, say the changes reflect a more urban, technological and multicultural society. Words that have been lost include: altar, parish, empire, acorn, starling and mistletoe. New entries include: blog, celebrity, biodegradable and endangered.

• The European Parliament have voted to allow Britain to keep its imperial measurements including pounds, ounces and miles - after years of trying to impose the metric system. • Tower Hamlets Council in London has been accused of favouring one religious group over others by withdrawing refreshments from its meetings during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. Strict Muslims fast from sunrise to sundown during Ramadan. • Over-60s figures show that record numbers of over-60’s are divorcing. A total of 13,678 people over 60 were divorced in England and Wales in 2007, up from 9,052 in 1997. Experts speculate that today’s over-60s are more independent and have higher expectations than preceding generations, and are unwilling to sit out their retirements in unhappy marriages. • Four in ten British people would intervene if they came across a group of teenagers vandalising a bus stop - the lowest proportion in Europe. In Germany, six in ten people would intervene.

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The Government - which had originally hoped to roll out a nationwide, compulsory system by 2009 – has also scaled back a trial of the cards at Britain’s airports. Instead of being obligatory for all 200,000 people working in security-sensitive airport areas, the cards will only be trialled at Manchester and London City airports, and will not be compulsory even there. • 14% of Britons – and nearly 25% of Londoners – believe in Creationism: the theory that life on earth was created by God and has always existed in its present form. One in five Londoners have never heard of Charles Darwin. • 15% of British children live in a household where no one has a job; a figure that increases to 23% in London. • There are at least 85 Sharia courts operating behind closed doors in Britain, offering arbitration on financial and family disputes.

• Three million households in Britain live entirely on benefits. That means 1.77 million children - one in seven children under 16 are growing up in welfare-dependent homes.

• A GP’s surgery in Preston, Lancashire, has been docked £375 because it hasn’t received any complaints. Under the current NHS system, surgeries are rewarded for hitting targets, one of which is to show how they deal with complaints. Since the Preston surgery didn’t get any, it lost out. A spokesman for the local NHS trust said it had to follow guidelines.

• Eleven-year-olds sitting this year’s science Sats test were asked what happens to water when it goes into a freezer, and whether a woolly hat is reflective. The pass mark was 40%.

• One in three British paratroopers is not qualified to jump out of an aeroplane. The training of 700 paratroopers has been cancelled due to a lack of suitable aircraft.

• The Government’s ID card scheme will never be made compulsory for British citizens.

• 55% of 11 to 16-year-olds (64% in poor areas) have never been to an art gallery.

• In England, 57% of children aged five to 12 have visited Spain and 54 France. But only 44% have visited Wales and 39% Scotland.

• Cambridgeshire County Council used antiterror laws to spy on paper boys suspected of working without permits. Officials were sent to stake out the Spar shop in Melbourn village and take notes on the movements of the schoolboys. The shop was later prosecuted for employing them without the correct documentation. Image courtesy The Week

Britain's Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson has been on the front pages suggesting that 65,000 people could die from Swine Flu, adding helpfully, 'it could be lower' and 'it could be higher'. He also once suggested that hundreds and thousands of British people 'could' die from SARS, adding helpfully 'the figures could be lower', as it happens it was lower ... NIL to be exact.

• A professor at Lancaster University who gave some information to a student’s concerned mother has been reprimanded for breaching data protection laws. Jackie Gardner emailed Geraint Johnes, worrying that her son, Christian, was going off the rails and not getting down to his studies. Johnes replied, saying Christian’s tuition was progressing as planned, with a few details about his course. Christian was furious - and promptly lodged a complaint with the university authorities.

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£19,000 is the amount MP Keith Vaz paid back in wrongly claimed expenses. £19,000 is the average annual salary in his Leicester East constituency. Keith Vaz is Chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee a committee reporting to Parliament on crime, police and prison etc.

Diary

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org century executions. It’s impossible to stand as I did, in the small yard, where the executions took place, and not feel the tragedy of the heroic young men who died there. A small cross marks the spot where they stood and high walls separate the yard from passers-by on the street outside. In the eighteenth century, public executions drew huge crowds. At least the men were spared that indignity.

Month by Month by Rachel Billington

Rachel Billington visits the site of 18 executions, admires the aboriginal approach to rehabilitation and joins in with a play about boxing, identity and pepper sauce

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begging. This totally swamped the already over-full prisons. The prison inspector of the time commented: Numbers of these wretched creatures are obliged to lie on straw in the passages and dayrooms of the prison without a possibility of washing or exchanging their own filthy rags for proper apparel … The committing of vagrants led to the introduction of fever and dysentery and the sacrifice of many lives.

risons have a remarkable similarity round the world, not surprising when you consider they mainly consist of small rooms where men (and women) can be securely locked away. I was in Dublin recently and decided to buy a ticket to visit the famous, actually infamous, Kilmainham Gaol, where fourteen of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed. Four years later, during the Civil War in Ireland, four Republicans were also executed within its walls.

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Such were the emotions aroused by these events that by 1924 the prison had been decommissioned and is now a museum, bearing witness to the bloody history of Irish independence. I was immediately reminded of the gaol on Robben Island, which I visited a few years ago. Nelson Mandela and others were held there for up to thirty years and it is now kept as a moving monument to the iniquities of apartheid. In fact Kilmainham Gaol was originally opened in 1796 and it’s to the remaining wings dating back over two hundred years that I was first escorted. The cells were dark, cold and damp but the worst problem was nothing changes - overcrowding; three or four men were in cells meant for one. The prison was used as a transit point for convicts being transported out of the country. The other principle problem was that lunatics (as the mentally ill were known) were imprisoned for their acts of madness and kept without distinction with the sane. Worse was to follow when the Great Famine of the 1840s was followed by the Vagrant Act which forced magistrates to imprison all those

JB WHEATLEY CRIMINAL DEFENCE

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My real destination was to discover The Meaning of Life in Canada House which also resides on Trafalgar Square - the House, that is, not the Meaning of Life. This was the name of a film made by Hugh Brody about one of the more surprising experiments in how to run a prison. Kwikwexwelhp is high up in the mountains of British Columbia, Canada and is built on aboriginal territory. Many of the inmates are themselves aboriginals, as are the people living in the villages around. The Victorian enthusiasm for new building came to the rescue in 1861 and a new and at least healthier structure was built. Kilmainham had always held men and women and, shamefully, the men were moved to the new wing while the women remained in the old part. Many of you would recognise the ‘new’ style from the Victorian prisons built in England during the same period and still in use today. Think Brixton, Manchester, Pentonville, Wandsworth, to name a few. In Ireland, politics and prison have always been intertwined. In 1881, John Stewart Parnell, the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party, was arrested and put into Kilmainham. It was strange to stand in the very room where he lived - with comforts including open fire and armchairs! - while he negotiated a deal with the British prime minister, Gladstone. This became known as the Kilmainham Treaty and determined the course of Irish constitutional history for the next thirty years.

Unfortunately, the gaol’s positive image in this case was easily wiped out by the twentieth

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Last week I took a walk through the crowds on Trafalgar Square drawn by the ‘living’ statue on one of the plinths. It was a strange sight and not totally convincing as the woman on the top seemed to want to address us about something or other but was far too far away for us to get the message. She wasn’t helped by a large screen live relay from Covent Garden Opera House of The Barber of Seville. Such is London in summer.

The Canadian Correctional Services gave permission some time ago for the prison to become a ‘healing lodge’ and allow the aboriginal approach to healing with all its ceremonies and beliefs to run inside the prison with the cooperation of ‘elders’ and families from outside. Hugh went into the prison over a three year stretch and made the film with the help of nineteen of the prisoners. The film opens with a welcome ceremony in which each new prisoner is draped in a cloak and, to the sound or ritual drumming (the heartbeat) is introduced to the prison by a female volunteer.

The most impressive ‘elder’ working inside the prison is a ‘granny’ - a truly ancient granny who gives the prisoners unconditional love and even seeks out one of her flock who has fallen by the wayside and been returned to a regular prison. The system gives much greater independence than normal prisons but prisoners are expected to sign up to the healing beliefs - although it has to be said that one or two recalcitrant souls manage to remain yet stay outside the ceremonial aspects of daily life.

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Licence & Parole Hearings HDC & Recalls Adjudications Re-categorisation & Transfers Appeals & CCRC Referrals plus all Family Law and Immigration Matters Please contact Maryam Sufi

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With the beauties of the mountains and rivers nearby, it might seem an alluring prospect but Hugh admitted the programme has problems recruiting enough men to fill the fifty available spaces and that there are also problems with some of the staff who can’t understand giving so much freedom to ‘murderers’ and ‘rapists’. One of the most unusual aspects of the prison is that there is no segregation between sex offenders and the rest of the prisoners with, according to Hugh, very little trouble. All in all, an honourable experiment which seems to work for those who can find the will to join such a special regime.

..................................................... Experiments come in all shapes and forms; Only Connect has been experimenting with the drama form. I went along to their theatre in Kings Cross, London, to watch the results of a project which got three writers, Paula B Stokes, David Watson and Ben Musgrave, to work with actors and ex-prisoners newly out of HMP Pentonville to create a forty-five minute play called Pancras Boys Club. The first surprise was to find the theatre empty of seats, setting or stage. It transpired that we, the audience, were to make the stage by clearing a space in our midst. We moved at the ring of a bell which signalled the end of one scene and the beginning of another. The story was summarised in the programme. Today is fight day. Lenny trains fighters. Samson can’t lose. But Andrew can’t win. Ray puts his hopes and dreams into a bottle. But Michael is not what he seems. And Kevin shouldn’t trust him either. Switchy is after Elias. Dwayne and Leon have their brothers’ backs. Mark has the power. But the Prime Minister of Jamaica has toothache… A play about boxing, identity, and pepper sauce.

The drama unfolded jerkily, of love and betrayal, violence and revenge. Samson Misra, Lenny Scott, Andrew Brown, Dwayne White, Vince Martin, Ray Dyer, Michael Samuel, Leon Reid, Elias Perkins, Kevin Noel, Mark Skyers and Delroy Mackensie all performed with great panache - particularly in the fight scenes. Presumably, they had more of a grip on the plot than I did!

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Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org damage the other planets - including us. In the vast chaotic zones of the sky, it’s good to know that Jupiter is looking out for us! In astrology Jupiter is associated with good fortune and optimism - so if ever you’re planning to ‘wish upon a star’ Jupiter may be a good bet.

Wheel of the Year A monthly column devised by astrologer Polly Wallace exclusively for readers of Inside Time drawing on themes from both astrology and astronomy. The intention is to provide a range of information and ideas to coincide with the International Year of Astronomy and the 400th anniversary of the birth of Astronomy (1609) celebrating Galileo’s first observation of the sky using a telescope.

A

ugust is traditionally associated with high summer. If we’re lucky, by now the power of the Sun has steadily built up to a crescendo of light and warmth that threatens to turn us all into sunworshippers. This year, several spectacular events in the sky confirm that August is, indeed, a real high point of the year. Throughout this month the night-time sky belongs to Jupiter. All night long this magnificent planet shines low in the south. Like all the planets, Jupiter has no light of his own but only shines through reflecting the light of the Sun. His visibility and his brightness depend totally on his position in relation to the Sun. Jupiter has now reached a point in his orbit around the Sun where he is right opposite the Sun - which puts him in a great position to pick up and reflect back plenty of the Sun’s light.

In mid-August a lively display of shooting stars is also on the cards. These are the Perseids - an annual meteor shower that often provides some of the sky’s best ‘special effects’. Meteor showers happen when the Earth runs into a patch of sky filled with fragments of dust from a comet. When these tiny particles of interplanetary dust make contact with the Earth’s atmosphere, instantly they burn up in a streak of light. From earth this is seen as meteorites or shooting stars. Meteor showers are one time when telescopes and high-tech gizmos have no importance - the best way to see shooting stars is with the naked eye. And for this Perseid shower, the best time lasts for several nights around 13/14 August. Soon after midnight on 23 August the Sun moves into the next sign of the zodiac. This time he’ll be leaving the dramatic zone of fire sign Leo, his home territory, and moving into Virgo. Virgo is an earth sign - realistic, practical and, literally ‘down to earth’. So perhaps for the Sun this could seem a bit like ‘the morning after…’ Each sign holds a special and unique place in the Wheel of the Year. Each sign’s meaning stems from the agricultural cycle that mankind once depended on for survival. Virgo is the sign of the harvest, the point of the year when the Earth is at its most productive and fruitful. Traditionally this links Virgo with a range of mother goddess figures, including the Virgin Mary, mother of Christ. It also set Virgo up with a reputation for being good with detail - for it was Virgo’s skill at sorting ‘the wheat from the chaff’ that decided which seeds would be selected and planted for the next year’s crops. Virgo is the second of the Earth signs, the companion to Taurus and Capricorn. Together these three represent our ability to learn practical tasks, set ourselves goals and achieve results. With intellectual Mercury as its ruling planet, Virgo approaches life in a methodical way. People with the Sun in Virgo often make great problem-solvers. They have a reputation for being perfectionists and this can make for excellent managers and editors with a sharp eye for picking out what is worthwhile. Virgo is the sign of service and its great virtue is its sheer unselfishness. If Virgo has a fault, it is its tendency to judge both itself and others too harshly.

Jupiter is a real champion of a planet. He’s big and bold and bright and has lots of moons 64 and still counting - that all circle around him like clusters of friends or admirers. Even in the cool world of science, Jupiter gains respect. This is because his gravitational field is so strong that, like a giant vacuum cleaner, it sucks up loads of debris that could otherwise

It’s interesting to see that even now our year still holds traces of ancient rhythms. In Virgo we begin the descent towards autumn and winter. And with Virgo’s ruler, clever Mercury, at the helm, life gets serious again as the first day of term in schools and colleges marks the start of a new academic year.

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0116 247 0790 Free advice & representation under legal aid

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“QUOTE OF THE MONTH”

‘... a great entertainer who did his job well’

Martin Luther King III and his sister Bernice King speak at the Michael Jackson public memorial service.

“

My father Martin Luther King once said that in life you must consider what your calling is and when you do you must do your jobs so well that the living, the dead and the unborn can do them no better. He constantly challenged us as children to do our best and said that if you can’t be a pine tree on top of the hill, just be a shrub in the valley. But be the best little shrub on the side of the road, be a bush if you cannot be a tree. If you can’t be the highway just be a trail, if you can’t be the sun just be a star for it isn’t by size that you win or you fail - you’ve got to be the best of what you are. Michael Jackson was truly the best of what he was. Finally, he said that in life if it falls on you to be a street-sweeper you must sweep streets so well, in fact you must sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry, sweep streets like Raphael painted pictures, sweep streets so well that all the hosts of the heaven and earth would have to say, ‘here lived a great street-sweeper that did his job well’ On June 25th, I believe heaven and earth paused to say of Michael Jackson ‘Here lived a great entertainer who did his job well’.

”

Martin Luther King III speaking at Michael Jackson’s Memorial Service on 7 July 2009. One billion people worldwide watched the Service on television and Internet traffic surged 33% during the event.

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Health

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Inside Health... with Dr Jonathon and Dr Shabana Providing this valuable service are Dr Jonathon Tomlinson and Dr Shabana Rauf, both GPs practising in East London. Dr Rauf is particularly interested in women’s health. If you have a question relating to your own health, write a brief letter (maximum one side A4 paper) to Inside Time (Health) Inside Time, 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.

Q Around ten months ago I found a lump on my left testicle. I went to see the doctor who said it was a cyst. Since then, three much larger lumps have appeared where the tubes meet the testicles and one on the bottom of my testicle - in all there are 5 or 6 lumps and my testicle is quite enlarged. I am very concerned about the lumps in case they turn out to be something serious.

A Testicular swellings are very common and only rarely due to cancer. Soft swellings within the squashy attachment above and to the side of the testicle called the epididymus are usually cysts. A cyst is a fluid-filled sac and epididymal cysts are so common that they are considered a normal finding. A hard, irregular lump on the firm body of the testicle is more worrying because it is more likely to be cancerous. Testicular cancer, although uncommon, is the most common cancer in young men (young men rarely get cancer of any kind) and many of us have heard of Lance Armstrong, the American cyclist who had testicular cancer in his early 20s. By the time he knew he was ill, the cancer had spread to his lungs and brain. He didn’t know anything about testicular cancer before he had it; he didn’t know how to examine his testicles or what to look for. It takes time to know your testicles, and its best that they (and your hands) are warm first; a warm bath or shower is ideal. This softens the scrotum (ball sac) making the testicles hang lower and making it easier to slide the

skin over the top of the testicles to feel them. It’s best to feel each testicle separately between your fingers and thumb and explore all around, feeling for the sensitive cord above and the squashy epidiymus above and to the side of the smooth body of the testicle. Most men find that one testicle hangs lower than the other and that they are slightly different sizes. If you find a lump and you have any doubts about it I would always recommend seeing a doctor to check you out. Doctors check dozens of testicles every year and can usually say with confidence if your testicles need to be scanned to find out exactly what the lump is. In your case, it sounds like you have developed new cysts, but because they weren’t there the last time you were checked I would recommend you see the doctor for another check up.

I I I I I

A It is unusual to wake up with headaches and

I would recommend that you do seek medical advice and are properly examined.

Access to sound legal advice in prison can be a worry.We provide a professional and sympathetic service.

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Q Over the past few months I have been waking up with bad headaches every day. Medication kicks in straight away but I don’t understand why it is happening. I ensure that I have fresh air in my cell and I know my eyes don’t need testing. I am very worried. Should I speak to the doctor and get a referral, and is there anything they can do to see what is causing the headaches?

a beta-blocker which works by slowing down your heart rate. It is one form of treatment that is given to people who suffer from anxiety or

I have a problem with my stress levels; big problems seem to go over my head but little problems drive me mad! I usually drink green tea to keep me chilled as I prefer natural remedies. Due to a recent bereavement, which is affecting my stress levels, the doctor has prescribed Propranol but will not prescribe sleeping tablets. Could you please tell me what Propranol is and what it does? Also, on my release, which would you recommend, green tea or medication?

Specialists in Prison Law & Criminal Defence work

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Other medications may be given alongside psychological treatment. Most commonly, antidepressants are prescribed. These can help reduce the symptoms associated with anxiety although they can take 4-6 weeks to take effect. Herbal treatments do help some people. St John’s Wort can be effective for mild depression.

A Propranol is a type of medication known as

Q

Prison Problems? We Care

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The good news is that there are a number of effective treatments that will help most people with anxiety. The most effective treatments are usually psychological. These can range from counselling like the support you’re getting from the psychiatric nurse, anxiety management courses, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and also self help organisations. A useful source of information is the MIND website www.mind.org.uk

it’s not likely to be due to your eyesight. If you have other symptoms, including feeling nauseous and vomiting, feeling tired and generally unwell, having worsening headaches when bending, coughing or sneezing, it may be due to raised intracranial pressure. In this case your eyes should be checked to make sure they are moving properly, the pupils are equal and the back of the eyes (the fundi) are not showing signs of raised intracranial pressure. Your pulse and blood pressure should be checked, and you should have a general neurological examination. If all these checks are normal, it is very unlikely that you have raised intracranial pressure and more likely that you have tension headaches.

Prison Law

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panic attacks. It can ease some of the physical symptoms such as palpations and trembling helping you to relax more easily. They tend to be only given for short periods of time. You asked whether you could take sleeping tablets with this. It is possible to do this, although again this is only a short term treatment.

Licence Recall & Reviews Adjudications & Prisoner’s Rights Lifer/IPP Reviews Re-categorisation & Transfers Home Detention Curfew Police Visits & Productions Criminal Defence Family Law Housing/Debt Problems c o n t a c t Paul Philpott or Julie Carr

every day family relationships run into trouble Family disputes or relationship breakdowns can result in every aspect of family life being affected, so it is essential that you find a solicitor that you can talk to easily, that understands you and your needs and that you can trust. Everys provide legal services in the South West to HMP Exeter, HMP Channings Wood and HMP Dartmoor. Everys can help with all aspects of family law including: • Divorce • Contact with Children • Care Proceedings

Please could you give me advice with regard to drug detox (smack) because I can’t seem to get one at the moment. Can a detox doctor prescribe Lofexidine as the only drug for a detox and, for pain withdrawal, paracetamol? I have been addicted to class A drugs for thirty years and it took me over three years to be put on a detox programme in prison. I was offered three month subutex but halfway through, I told them I needed longer as I had been an addict for such a long time - I was refused and as predicted I relapsed. The doctor then said that she would only prescribe Lofexidine and paracetamol - I feel that I am not getting the correct treatment and would welcome your answer.

A If drug detox was just about drugs it would be easy. After 30 years of drug abuse very few people would be able to successfully, permanently give up drugs. Of course some do, but not many. Lofexidine (Britlofex) is used to stop some of the withdrawal effects from heroin. It works by blocking the noradrenaline receptors in the brain and can reduce the nausea, sweating and diarrhoea, but not the cravings, anxiety and sleeplessness. It can cause low blood pressure and rebound high blood pressure temporarily after stopping and some people find it causes a metallic taste. It’s used for a rapid detox (usually 10 - 14 days) which is why it’s used so frequently in prison. Addiction combines physical, chemical, psychological, emotional, philosophical, social and other components all of which, to varying extents in different people in different circumstances, affect the mind and body of the user and their lives and the lives of those around them. Treatment that focuses on one part of addiction is unlikely to be successful in the long term. Almost all detox programmes combine different approaches that take into account the individual circumstances and needs of the client. In prison the short term aim is to try to alleviate some of the pain of withdrawal as quickly as possible. The CARAT service is available for ongoing care in prisons. No doubt you will need all this to help you stay off drugs.

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Health

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

What is depression? ....................................................................... Doctors generally classify depression into reactive and endogenous types. Reactive depression is the result of an obvious cause, like a bereavement. The endogenous type has no apparent cause and so often attracts less sympathy. Both forms need to be taken seriously, like any other debilitating illness.

Depression

Depression, called melancholia in ancient times, is most unpleasant. Its effects are physical as well as emotional. Some people describe it like chronic flu. Nothing seems interesting or worthwhile, sleep and appetite are poor and every task seems a heavy burden to bear.

What causes depression? .......................................................................

There are no special blood tests or X-rays that can reveal a depressive illness. The diagnosis is based on what has been happening to you and how you have been feeling, and by finding and interpreting your particular symptoms. A relative or friend can provide helpful information as depressed people find it hard to say how they feel. The particular combination of symptoms is often the key; for example, disrupted sleep pattern along with poor concentration and a sense of self-blame. As many people mask the way they feel, your doctor may ask a psychiatrist to help with the diagnosis. Up to half of all depressions are missed in a busy general practice. Symptoms are hidden or only physical ones admitted and patients tend to deny that anything is wrong with their mental state. There is a stigma attached to psychiatric disorder, so sufferers may not admit they have a problem.

Psychological:

Physical:

 Feeling low  Poor concentration  Loss of interest  Guilty thoughts  Sense of despair  No enjoyment  Suicidal ideas  Irritability

 Tiredness  Weight loss  Poor appetite  No energy  Waking early  Aches and pains  Feeling slowed down  No sex drive

Feeling worse before feeling better is quite typical with these drugs, so persisting with them is important. Of course they will not help cure life problems or poor housing, but for true depressive illness they are very helpful.

About one in five women and one in nine men suffer from it at some time in their lives and it can occur in adults at any age. It tends to run in families, and there is evidence for an inherited factor in more severe cases.

How is depression diagnosed? .......................................................................

Symptoms .......................................................................

4-6 weeks for anti-depressants to take effect though its common to see a response in 10-14 days. If there is no response after 4-6 weeks the dose may be increased. They are only effective in up to 60% of cases, so it's important to let your doctor know if they're not working.

Certain life stresses can make you vulnerable. Losing your mother when young, not having a supportive relationship when coping with young children, personal isolation,the death of your partner, losing your job or home, and various physical illnesses such as cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease can all, not surprisingly, lead to serious depression. The prevalence of depression is up to 10 times higher for prisoners.

Depression and anxiety are often related and sufferers frequently turn to alcohol and other drugs including benzodiazepines (such as valium), heroin and cannabis which in the long run make things worse. Up to 80% of people find their depression and anxiety gets a lot better after a detox, but many still need treatment and most will need some kind of support after detox.

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With Seasonal Affective Disorder a daily two-hour session beneath ultraviolet lights may suffice to deal with the condition. Sometimes depression is so severe that you cannot eat, move or care for yourself. If this is the case, electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) may be necessary, along with other help. Given under anesthetic like a minor operation, ECT is safe, highly effective and regarded with gratitude by the many patients cured by it. Feeling cut off, becoming unable to sustain eye contact and withdrawing from normal social life are common signs of depression. Tests may be carried out to exclude conditions which mimic depression, like thyroid disease.

How is depression treated? ....................................................................... There are a range of treatments, depending on the cause and severity of your depression. Distress caused by bereavement or other unpleasant events may be dealt with by personal counselling. With illness-type depressions this may take the form of cognitive therapy, which aims to replace pessimistic feelings with alternative, positive views that break up the habit of selfdenigration. Such treatment can be time-consuming and requires trained therapists, but research has proved it to be effective. Medication in the form of anti-depressants may also be needed. These are not addictive, like tranquilizers, antidepressants may have a sedating effect, though they don't usually. It can take

What can I do myself? ....................................................................... If you feel changed, numbed or are losing interest in life for no obvious reason then you should take action. Everything may conspire to make you feel guilty but you should consult friends, attempt to sort out your symptoms and not be afraid to acknowledge your needs.

When should I see my doctor? ....................................................................... If family and friends comment about changes, and if a low mood or other depressive symptoms just do not go away, then a consultation is essential. The sooner you go, the better.

Is depression dangerous? ....................................................................... Serious depression is the commonest cause of suicide, particularly in those who are old, lonely, impulsive by nature or dependent on drugs or alcohol. Letting things continue without help is therefore never an advisable course of action.

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Comment

often wonder what draws somebody to become a prison officer. After all, it's not the kind of job children dream of doing when they grow up, and if somebody at a party told you they were a prison officer you probably wouldn't regard them with envy and say ...'Oh you lucky sod ... I wish I had that job!'

many officers and I have seen it in the little things that mean so much; the odd encouraging word or perhaps a small thing like taking care not to bang my door wide open during unlock or going to the effort of escorting me to the library when I need to print a legal letter ... or sometimes even just a simple smile.

I

I have a dear friend here who recently lost a member of his family and officers did everything within their power to make sure he attended the funeral and in his own words ...”I couldn't have asked for better officers to escort me. The SO was a proper diamond.”

Let's face it, the hours are pretty anti-social and every day officers face the risk of physical harm. The constant routine can prove extremely stressful. It can't be pleasant unlocking cells every morning; never knowing what sights, sounds or smells might greet you. In my experience, officers fall into two categories; there are those who simply adhere to 'the rules', they lock and unlock doors (generally preferring to lock them as much as possible) and keep a careful watch for which prisoners possess an extra towel or if a prisoner has more than the arbitrary number of blankets on his bed. For such officers, their whole time and thinking at work is taken up with trying to uncover minor infractions of what they think the rules should be, instead of even once applying common sense or exercising their own judgment. For example; if a prisoner already has two blankets but is still cold, give him another one ... it's not the end of the world, right? Thankfully, in my opinion, these officers are in the minority. Most officers fall into the other category. They are human beings. They have feelings and they actually care about what they do. In short, they have some humanity. I have been in Wandsworth Prison for a number of years now (the past three or possibly a little longer spent on D wing) and trust me when I say that I have seen all manner of things during that period. Almost all the officers that were here for my first couple of years have now moved on; some are working at Belmarsh and many have moved to other non-wing based jobs within this prison. There have been a number of officers over the years that I can really say I genuinely miss. I am not going to go into the details of how I came to find myself in prison, that is not what this article is about, but it is worth mentioning that I should not be here. I was not guilty of any crime and wrongly convicted because my lawyers were the legal equivalent of the chuckle brothers.

V

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A thankless job Lewis D Wood offers a view on the role of prison officers I feel the need to point that out because perhaps it makes my view of prison different from that of many people. Of course I have endured the same regime as everyone else and been subject to the same rules and regulations, some of which seem extremely petty, but for me it has always felt like I am here just waiting for things to be sorted out and for the ‘mistake’ to be corrected. There have been some bleak times during my imprisonment. Getting a life sentence I didn't deserve was one; losing my home was another; and then after she had waited for me for three years, finally dealing with the break up of my relationship. The latest bad news came in a letter from my elderly father who, I have learned, is battling pneumonia and is wired up to machines and a drip. He may not last it out until my conviction is overturned and I am released ... whenever that may be. Now don't get me wrong, I have some very good friends among my fellow prisoners on the wing. They are there for me and I know they support me and care about how I am feeling, as I care for them. But there are also

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several prison officers who watch out for my wellbeing and many times I have been treated with such sympathy and compassion that I have found myself forgetting, just for an instant, that I am in prison. I remember when my appeal failed; I just could not comprehend the injustice. I was numb for several days. Eventually an officer came into my cell and asked me what had happened. I told him about the evidence that was put forward and the reasons the judges gave for not looking at it. He really did take the time to look at it and to actually listen to what I was saying. He put his hand on my shoulder and told me that if I was innocent, I must keep fighting, no matter what. It seemed like such an unusual gesture for an officer to make … that small act of physical contact and I the warmth transmitted through his hand replaced the cold shock and numbness I had been feeling. I suppose that is what we might call the ‘warmth’ of human kindness. Since that time, I have seen it in the eyes of

I know its not only me and I am pretty sure that all the fair, decent and caring officers don't just happen to work on D wing at Wandsworth, in fact I know they don't - I have been on other wings in the past and seen them there. I am sure they exist in every prison up and down the country; officers who take an interest in the job and always try to adopt a positive approach. This article is certainly not in any way intended to be sycophantic; it's as much a message to that minority of officers who seem to live only for the opportunity to find fault and grind us down as it is to other cons who take the decent ones for granted. As prisoners, we must remember that we actually have some responsibility in the attitude of our jailors and when an officer goes out of his or her way to get something done, or takes the time out of their day to ask you how things are going, we must give back a little gratitude and recognise the effort. It has been my experience that there are many good people in the prison service today and some of them are exceptional. We all know who they are on our particular wing, in our particular prison, and I am betting that every person reading this now has a particular officer or officers firmly in mind ... the ones who always go the extra mile to do what they said they would do, even if it means running over their shift. So perhaps when you next see him/her, take the time to thank them for the attitude they bring to the job … I am sure they will appreciate it.

Lewis D Wood is currently resident at HMP Wandsworth

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Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org material about Cousins, to which the CPS replied that, ‘We do not have such a report’. The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Taylor, dismissed Watson’s appeal, pointing out that, ‘The Crown put the case on the basis that Mr Cousins as a witness could be relied upon’.

‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ Leading investigative journalist Bob Woffinden shares a belief held by many who have become increasingly disillusioned with the performance of the CCRC in recent years he origin of the phrase “Justice delayed is justice denied” is not entirely certain. Some think it can be traced right back to Magna Carta in 1215, and its fundamental undertaking that, ‘To no one will we refuse or delay… right or justice’.

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of miscarriages of justice that concerned the British public. The Commission has lately been considering the case of Karl Watson, which I wrote about in the February 2009 issue of Inside Time.

A firm belief developed that if legal redress was too late in arriving, then that was the equivalent of having no redress at all; justice needed to be as swift as possible, otherwise it was worthless.

To recap briefly: in December 1993, Watson was convicted of the murder of John Shippey, who was stabbed to death a year earlier after being abducted. His body was found in the boot of a burned-out Ford Sierra. Virtually nothing is known of the circumstances in which he was killed.

From 1969 until 1986, Warren Burger was chief justice of the US Supreme Court. He’d been appointed by Richard Nixon, so he was hardly a raving liberal. He famously stated that, ‘Confidence in the courts is essential for a free people’. One of the key factors underpinning that confidence, he argued, was that justice needed to be timely. There would be ‘incalculable damage to society… if people come to believe that inefficiency and delay will drain even a just judgment of its value’. The phrase ‘inefficiency and delay’ naturally brings me to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. The CCRC was set up in 1997 in an effort to address the alarmingly high number

The only evidence against Watson was provided by a man named Bruce Cousins. In return for giving evidence, some outstanding charges against him were dropped and he received a suspended sentence in respect of others. Cousins’ evidence about how the murder was carried out was at odds with the account given by the pathologist, the late Dr Iain West. Cousins changed his account every time he related it and, by the end of the trial, the judge observed that he was simply assenting to whatever was put to him: ‘this is really the words of counsel which he adopts’. Even so, Watson was convicted. The defence then asked whether there was any psychiatric

Have you ever served in the Armed Forces? Do you or your partner need help? If the answer is yes, you may be entitled to assistance from The Royal British Legion and SSAFA Forces Help - two charities assisting the Service and ex-Service community, working together to reach all those eligible for assistance. Whether you are still serving your sentence or are due for release, we may be able to provide financial support to you and your family. · · · · · · · · ·

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Time passed. Watson was both tireless and ingenious in finding ways to pursue his case. He had a breakthrough. The defence got hold of documents concerning Cousins’s mental health. A psychiatrist at Belmarsh Prison had written to the CPS, in the year before the trial, that he ‘may be easily led in terms of statements’. She emphasised, as if it needed emphasis, that this would have a ‘major bearing’ on court proceedings. This led to a full report on Cousins. The clinical psychologist wrote that he was ‘abnormally susceptible to leading questions’ and that ‘his anxiety in response to negative feedback is such that he will change nearly all his answers, regardless of his memory for the facts’. Again, this was prepared before the trial. Unfortunately, the CPS had not only not disclosed this for the trial or appeal but had misled everyone in the criminal justice process - up to and including the Lord Chief Justice - by claiming that material such as this did not exist. So in July 1998 the matter was spelt out for the CCRC by the leading practice of Birnberg Peirce, who then represented Watson. The practice clearly explained that the information passed on by the CPS had been ‘false’. The solicitor wrote confidently to the CCRC that ‘the issues are not very complex’ and that ‘your investigation would probably not need to be wide-ranging’. Despite the lack of complexity, however, nothing happened. More time passed. In November 2005, Harriet Harman, who was then at the Ministry of Justice, acknowledged on behalf of the government that the CPS actually had had some of the controversial material they had claimed not to have; and that it had not been disclosed to the defence. Still more time passed. In May 2008, Mr Justice Owen, in the civil courts, ruled that on the basis of all this, Watson had seemingly not received a fair trial. In addition, he said, ‘I am going to direct that there should be a transcript of my judgment which will be at public expense. I suspect it is

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21

something which [Watson] will wish to deploy’. In other words, he naturally anticipated that his ruling would be advantageous to Watson in his continuing battle for justice in the criminal courts. Even more time passed. Then, after the intervention of Watson’s MP, Richard Ottaway, the CCRC announced that, at the end of April this year, they had put the case before their prioritisation committee and, joy of joys, the prioritisation was granted! The case was to be fast-forwarded through their system. The argument was exactly the same as it has been in 1998, but it was finally full steam ahead at the Commission. Watson was elated - who wouldn’t be? Things seemed to get even better. The CCRC said that they were arranging a committee to discuss the case ‘without further delay’. So then they had their meeting. It took place in mid-July. It was eleven years almost to the day since Birnberg Peirce had first carefully explained the matter to them. However Watson’s solicitor, Maslen Merchant, was stunned to be informed that the Commission had decided that ‘further work’ was necessary in relation to Watson’s submission; they were not able to take any decision at the present moment. They suggested that the fresh work might take about three months but, given the CCRC’s lack of understanding of the concept of time, this could mean anything. It is remarkable that, after the lifetime of cruelties that has already been inflicted on Watson, the CCRC should be prepared to add to them by giving him fleeting hope, only to snatch it away at the last moment. It seems to me that the CCRC has fewer and fewer friends left. Lawyers, campaigners and others who were originally enthusiastic about its establishment have become increasingly disillusioned with its performance in recent years. The Commissioners may argue that they are frustrated by budgetary constraints, but such protests are unlikely to attract sympathy when they are still carrying out otiose work on a case like Watson’s, which any competent commission would have resolved more than a decade ago. Certainly, in the twelve years it has been in existence, the CCRC has never even begun to grasp the age-old principle that justice delayed is justice denied.

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Comment PRISON SERVICE ORDER 2600 PSO 2600 - Legal issues relating to prisoners replaced Standing Order 16 - Litigants Hansard provides this little gem: “Lord Spens asked Her Majesty's Government whether they consider that the provision to a prison inmate of a pencil, writing paper and access to Archbold constitutes adequate legal facilities as defined by Home Office Standing Order 16 of April 1991 dealing with litigants in person; and, if not, what facilities they would consider adequate.[HL1059]”.

PSO

watch In his monthly feature exclusively for Inside Time, former prisoner John Hirst simplifies Prison Service Orders. John spent a total of 25 years in prison (his tariff was 15 years - discretionary life sentence for manslaughter) and is the author of the Jailhouse Lawyer’s blog. Prior to release in May 2004, he proved to be the most prolific prisoner litigant of modern times and, he says, unlike Perry Mason and Rumpole of the Bailey, he never lost a case against the Prison Service

There is a legal maxim “ignorance of the law is no excuse”, however, this only holds where provision is made to enable a person by appropriate inquiry to find out what “the law” is. For example, in America all the prisons have law libraries. Given that Jack Straw has recently announced he intends to put obstacles in the way of prisoners obtaining legal advice and legal representation by reducing the legal aid budget, it will mean more prisoners becoming litigants in person. In my view, the courts would look favourably upon a legal challenge by prisoners claiming that the Ministry of Justice is under a duty to provide a law library in each prison.

jurisdictions? For example, the 133 page ‘Handbook for Litigants without a Lawyer’, published free by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, might be a good model to follow in the UK? Given that PSO 2600 is supposed to cover legal issues relating to prisoners, it is woefully inadequate for the task; bearing in mind that prison law starts from the inside of the gates where the law outside in many respects stops at the other side of the prison gates. This is similar to Lord Chief Justice Woolf concluding in the Woolf Report that justice stops outside the prison gate. What is really needed is The Jailhouse Lawyers Manual. Again this is another idea from the US which can be adapted and adopted for prison law in the UK.

The Executive Summary in PSO 2600 clearly states: “It is not a substitute for advice from a solicitor or legal advisor”. And the Desired Outcome is stated thus: “Prison staff will be aware of how to deal with enquiries about private prosecutions, CICA, the Official Solicitor, outstanding fines and attendance at court as a witness”. I wouldn’t bank on staff being able to answer any questions posed by inmates on these issues.

What PSO 2600 does not inform you of in the chapter dealing with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is that Jack Straw has recently made proposals to take away any compensation paid to a prisoner to give to the offender’s victim. The whole point of a court passing a sentence is to give the victim justice, in some cases, by sentencing the offender to prison. And if the crime was of a violent nature, then the victim may be entitled to compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. What is being created is victimisation of prisoners by the MoJ supposedly on behalf of the victims. In my view, this is usurping the Judiciary’s jurisdiction in relation to sentencing. The Executive, in effect, is imposing additional sentencing. This is a constitutional issue which needs addressing by Parliament before a prisoner takes a challenge to the High Court for the Judiciary to resolve. The Human Rights Act 1998 combined with the common law and ECtHR law would, in my view, favour a prisoner victory. Because, when the Judiciary feels threatened it backs the individual against the Executive.

PSO 2600 goes on to say: “Private prosecutions brought by prisoners should be dealt with in the same way as civil litigation. Prisoners should be allowed to discuss a prospective prosecution by correspondence with (or during visits from) their legal advisor or any other person. Prisoners should be afforded such facilities as are necessary for the proceedings to be properly conducted”. Perhaps, the MoJ could see what facilities are provided in other

PSO 2600 is helpful in relation to the role of the Official Solicitor for prisoners. For example: “A majority of the work of the Official Solicitor arises in civil litigation, where one of the parties is incapable of conducting litigation properly, due to mental disorder, or because of their age. The Official Solicitor can be invited to act as “litigation friend”, either for an incapable claimant or defendant, mostly in cases involving personal injury claims, possession

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actions or applications in connection with estates … increasingly the Official Solicitor is handling challenges to decisions of public authorities by way of Judicial Review”. It may be interesting to see what the Official Solicitor’s success rate is in the courts? Cynics may feel that a government lawyer challenging the government might not show enough independence. Another problem is that Jack Straw is seeking to remove the High Court’s jurisdiction to grant legal aid in deserving cases. This would affect the Official Solicitor who sometimes makes applications on behalf of those unable to do so themselves. Unfortunately, the principle of the liberty of the subject is only covered in relation to those prisoners in custody for contempt of court. “The mandatory instruction is that: The prison must notify the Official Solicitor of the reception of all prisoners committed to custody for contempt of court (including persons committed under section 63(3) of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980). A copy of the warrant, together with the name, prison number and address of the prison”. However, the advice relating to bail appears to be sufficient for the purpose: “The Official Solicitor can become involved when a defendant who is in custody and wishes to apply to a Judge in Chambers in the High Court for bail, and cannot afford (and cannot get public funding) to instruct a solicitor. He/she may then make an application to the Judge in Chambers for the Official Solicitor to be assigned to act for them in the application. A request for the Official Solicitor to be assigned to make an application to a Judge in Chambers is made by the prisoner, either in person or through their solicitor, completing Form F1084, which should be available within the prison”. Much of PSO 2600 will soon be obsolete if Jack Straw gets his way, or alternatively prisoners take proactive measures to protect their existing rights or further them where they are particularly weak. Readers are reminded that the Prison Service Orders on this page have been summarised. The full text of the PSOs can be viewed in your library.

Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

23

Shake up for the Parole Board John O'Connor wonders whether changes at the top of the Parole Board will actually bring about essential change here is a view that few people understand sentencing and even fewer that the Board's job is to assess whether a prisoner who is eligible for release remains a risk to the public. Speaking to The Times, Sir David stated: 'We cannot live in a risk-free world and there sadly will be, and inevitably will be, some cases where release results in a serious offence being committed by a prisoner who was thought to present either no, or no significant risk. Unless we operate a system which essentially deprives prisoners of any realistic right to release at some point, release is going to have to take place and an assessment of risk has got to take place in a realistic way.'

Board to do as there are 'some fuzzy edges'. He said that some Parole Board members see their role as simply deciding whether or not a prisoner can be released but others take a more pro-active position and advise the Prison Service that certain courses should be undertaken in order that a prisoner might be released in future.

T

Sir David also expressed frustration that few people understand the role of the Board, set up over 40 years ago as a purely advisory body. 'We are not concerned with the length of sentence. This is a misunderstanding. What the Court orders to be served has been served. Our only concern is the risk of reoffending. This is not what people think.' But there's going to be much more to Sir David's new job than simply explaining the role of the Parole Board. He will need to assess the impact and effectiveness of organisational changes implemented ahead of his arrival. For it is now over a year since the National Audit Office revealed shocking data regarding inadequacies of the Parole Board as they relate specifically to lifers. Since then no update has been disclosed as to whether there has been any improvement in the way hearings are organised. But hopefully they will be an improvement on the previous period which disclosed that:  Only 32% of oral hearings for IPPs were held on time:  20% of indeterminate oral hearings were held more than 12 months after their target date;  The average time to rearrange a deferred hearing was 226 days:  That 35% of dossiers for hearings held during the sample period did not contain a life sentence plan or OASys report:  During the 2006/7 fiscal year only 38% of dossiers were received by the Parole Board during the target timescale, against a target of 80%. As for the main reasons for the parole process delays, two factors were cited as being the dominant cause of delays and deferrals:  Missing reports and incomplete dossiers;  A shortage of appropriate panel members.

The anticipated Prison Service response is characterised as that of Corporal Jones in Dad's Army: 'They don't like it up 'em'. For it believes this goes beyond the Board's mandate. It would like even less Sir David's more radical suggestion that would turn the Board into an ‘Appeal Court’ for prisoners with complaints that they have been unable to go on courses such as sex offender treatment or anger management programmes which could help them win release. Photo courtesy of the Parole Board

Other identifiable contributory factors to delays included missing witnesses, prisoners' transfers, courses not completed, missing solicitors and the panel running out of time. The National Audit office described the Parole Board as being "...heavily constrained by delays within the Ministry of Justice, HM Prison Service and the Probation Service in providing information in a timely manner."

... some Parole Board members see their role as simply deciding whether or not a prisoner can be released but others take a more pro-active position and advise the Prison Service that certain courses should be undertaken in order that a prisoner might be released in future Following publication of this damning assessment, the Parole Board has implemented a number of changes intended to increase its performance against targets across a number of areas of work. They include:

 Implementation of the Intensive Casework Management System. This ensures dossiers are checked by a Parole Board panel member ahead of an oral hearing to confirm completeness;  Restructuring the Parole Board oral hearing casework team. This process aims to allow closer liaison between prisons and the Parole Board;  Restructuring of the Public Protection Casework Section. As a result of the above, something called the Generic Parole Process went operational four months ago. From April, it standardises the system for all those involved in the parole process for both pre and post tariff indeterminate prisoners. The main improvement from a lifer's and IPP's viewpoint is one of accountability, for those responsible for delivering results during the parole process will now be able to clearly see both deadlines for completion of their own work, and the whole system target. The barely hidden message behind these changes is to be found in the following statement: ‘It is hoped that this greater degree of transparency in the targets and responsibilities involved in the parole process will encourage a greater commitment to achieving results amongst all those involved.' In other words, there's now a greater personal accountability by staff for decisions and action based on them. But this is not the end to the necessary changes in the way the Parole Board works. A consultation paper planned for later this year will provide an opportunity for greater clarity to the role of the Parole Board. Sir David is quoted as saying '...it is time that the Government decided what it is asking the

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Such radical thinking may send a shiver of foreboding down the spine of the more obstructionist diehards vehemently opposed to changing the cosy relationship which presently exists between the Board and the Prison Service. These reactionaries haven't forgotten and still rue the day Sir David (now Lord) Ramsbotham was appointed Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons. Any chance of a compliant 'yes-man' prepared to toe the party line soon went out the window. From then on it was downhill all the way for the Prison Service, for his reports pulled no punches when spelling out its appalling inadequacies. But they resulted in necessary and long overdue changes being implemented. Hopefully, the arrival of Sir David Latham as chairman of the Parole Board will result in similar changes for all concerned with public safety. John O'Connor is currently resident at HMP Whatton

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24

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Comment

NOMS reforms Journalist Michael Mann advocates the abolition of the National Offender Management Service eading campaigners are calling for the Government to reverse key probation and prison reforms. In a move that could turn the clock back, they want to scrap the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which introduced American-style probation ideas and market reforms. They want a return of oldstyle probation officers charged with helping offenders back onto their feet, and root-andbranch prison reform so that prisoners are located closer to home, those over tariff quickly released and red-tape cut so that governors can concentrate on day-to-day management.

L

Separately, a report by the Commission on English Prisons Today, backed by Tony Blair’s wife Cherie Booth QC, called for ‘wholesale change’, while the Conservatives have hinted they might scrap NOMS. Speaking to Inside Time, former Chief Inspector of Prisons Lord David Ramsbotham branded NOMS ‘chaotic’ and a ‘nonsense that was organisationally dysfunctional’. He hoped it would be ‘deceased’ by next year. ‘NOMS should never have been born - and now it should die,’ he said. Set up in 2003 as part of New Labour’s drive to get ‘tough on crime’, NOMS was supposed to make the probation and prison services more efficient. Businessman Patrick Carter, who made millions running a private health company and was a school friend of then Home Secretary Jack Straw, was asked to draw up plans. Despite warnings from the Canadian government which tried similar reforms, the prison and probation services were brought under one management, business methods introduced and traditional probation practices replaced.

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Many services, including prison education and behavioural courses, have been tendered to private companies. Meanwhile NOMS chiefs, who have been drawn from prison rather than probation backgrounds, have ordered probation officers to concentrate on monitoring offenders to make sure they adhere to their sentences rather than prioritising help finding housing, work and education.

“

Freeing up staff at NOMS HQ could put 40 front-line officers in each prison, and cutting the red-tape help governors who, Lord Ramsbotham said, complain that up to 90% of their time is taken up with form-filling

”

Probation officers have dubbed NOMS the ‘Nightmare on Marsham Street’, after the address of its plush central London HQ. While staff has swollen to 4,270, front-line probation officers complain their workload has risen sharply - an issue recently highlighted in the murders of two French students by Dano Sonnex, whose inexperienced probation officer was dealing with 127 cases. “The probation service ethos has been based on the word ‘rehabilitation’ for about 100 years,” said Lord Ramsbotham. But Straw “made

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punishment the Number One priority”, he said, and Carter brought in business methods. “Business methods are fine for business but they’re not for people,” said Lord Ramsbotham. “But that’s not how you deal with people. The best way to deal with people is with other people empowered to help.” NOMS treated purchasing services like prison education and behaviour training “like buying baked beans”. He accused NOMS of being a “hideous waste of money” that drew resources from the front-line: “In this age you cannot have 4,270 staff who are virtual noneffectives, not when you have an overcrowded prison system, an overcrowded probation service, under-resourced prisons and underresourced probation. Politicians focussed on prison, appointing senior prison service figures to NOMS’ top posts and making probation the Cinderella service”, he said. Referring to the Sonnex case, Lord Ramsbotham pointed out that until three years ago, experienced officers reckoned 30 cases were too many to handle. At the moment officers often can’t do home visits before a prisoner is released, which used to be a minimum requirement, and some people are not under probation supervision at all, he warned. Lord Ramsbotham said the “only way out of this nonsense is to go back to the old system” of prioritising rehabilitation. NOMS would have to be abolished and the prison and probation services separated; national management scrapped in favour of regional control with prisons, probation and social services collaborating so that prisoners could be close to home instead of being moved to jails up and down the country according to bed-space, complete rehabilitation courses and get help finding work in their area. A prison census should calculate how many prisoners were over tariff. As many as 60% of long-term prisoners have served at least a year over their tariff, costing taxpayers £65,000 each, he reckoned.

Britain should learn from Scandinavia where judges take account of the availability of prison courses when sentencing and prisoners who complete courses go before a judge to consider release on license. He estimated as many as 10,000 prisoners could be affected. Freeing up staff at NOMS HQ could put 40 front-line officers in each prison, and cutting the red-tape help governors who, Lord Ramsbotham said, complain that up to 90% of their time is taken up with form-filling. Richard Garside of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, which recently reported on the probation service, warned the Conservatives would not prioritise rehabilitation. He pointed out in the 1990s they put punishment first under their ‘prison works’ ethos, which Labour continued by pouring resources into criminal justice rather than social provision to deal with crime and borrowing ideas from America. He said “going to America to learn about crime control is like going to Saudi Arabia to learn about women’s rights”. NOMS’ roots are in “marketising the service” for private companies, said Garside. “Probation has been de-skilled and officers concentrate on delivering accredited programmes, many of which are American-based, instead of advising and befriending clients. The traditional probation ethos of befriending someone whose life is a bit chaotic has been lost,” said Garside. “In America it’s very difficult to distinguish probation officers from police. Our probation must re-connect with its historic roots.”

Michael Mann is a former prisoner who, prior to imprisonment, worked as a reporter for the Guardian, Sunday Times and Sunday Telegraph.

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Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

25

Why a million isn't enough David Silver believes that a radical new approach is needed when awarding compensation to miscarriages of justice hese changes will save more than £5m a year which we will plough back into improving criminal justice and support for victims of crime’, said former Home Secretary Charles Clarke in April 2006. He was talking about his plans to radically change the compensation scheme for miscarriages of justice.

Imagine the government having to pay £20 million, £30 million or even £50 million compensation. Heads would roll; urgent inquiries would be set up; and strategies and laws implemented to prevent a reoccurrence of the miscarriage. It would be extremely unlikely, faced with such penalties, that the Government would ever allow the same mistakes to happen again.

‘T

Now pause for a moment and reflect on his words. One can almost detect the vitriol and indifference with which they were espoused. He refers to the ‘savings’ being used to ‘improve the criminal justice system’ and ‘support for victims of crime’ - it’s almost as if he's actually saying, 'we'll use the savings to make sure we get rock solid convictions and help the real victims of crime. Clearly Mr Clarke had, and probably still has, no concept of the enormous impact miscarriages of justice have on people's lives. The person who suffers a miscarriage of justice is a victim of crime, albeit one perpetrated by the State. It is unrealistic and even arrogant to expect a criminal justice system never to make mistakes; by its very nature it will always be susceptible to human fallibility. However, a criminal justice system should ultimately be judged on two factors: how quickly it rectifies miscarriages and how it compensates those that are wronged. Judging the Criminal Justice System of England and Wales by these two factors, it fails miserably. Take for example the tragic story of Sean Hodgson; after 27 years of incarceration for a crime he didn't commit, his conviction was finally

Perhaps you don't want to give it all to the victim, especially to a victim who has spent so many years in jail that such a windfall might even compound his misery and suffering. But what if two-thirds went to charities for victims of miscarriages of justice such as Liberty, Innocent UK and JUSTICE? Then that really would be fulfilling Mr Clarke's pledge of 'improving criminal justice'. Banksy quashed and he is once again free. However, under the new compensation scheme, Sean Hodgson will only be entitled to one million pounds maximum in compensation. A million may sound a lot … but is it? Would you swap a million pounds for 27 years incarceration falsely accused of rape and murder? Try to imagine the life Mr Hodgson has had to survive for the past 27 years. Rapists are second only to paedophiles in the prisons’ ‘most hated’. In all probability, he faced numerous vigilante attacks by hypocritical and sanctimonious convicts over the years. Every right guaranteed to him under British and European Human Rights legislation has been, at the very least, starkly limited in his incarceration. How is a million pounds ever going to make up for that?

So what's the answer? How should the compensation scheme be set up? I have a few ideas. There is an old aphorism, 'hit 'em where it hurts' and that, I believe, should form the basis of our approach to miscarriages of justice. In these days of the government bandying about figures running into billions, what's a million? This may sound cynical but when the government pays Sean Hodgson a million pounds, as I'm sure they will, who in government is going to be overly concerned? More to the point, his million was already ring-fenced in the compensation fund. It isn't really putting any pressure on the Government to improve the criminal justice system so that it never happens again.

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Sean Hodgson is one of many recent victims of a criminal justice system in near meltdown. He follows closely on the cases of Barry George and Ian Lawless. Look closer at any one of their cases and you will see the truly ugly side of criminal justice; over zealous police officers looking for quick conclusions by any means necessary; a Crown Prosecution Service going to questionable lengths to secure convictions; and a prison system that inhibits any redress to justice for the wrongfully convicted. The compensation scheme must be revised. It is incumbent upon the Government to ensure that the criminal justice system is operated in a fair and just manner. When that system robs a man like Sean Hodgson of 27 years of his life the Government must be made to pay for its part in allowing that miscarriage to happen. David Silver is a pseudonym for a prisoner currently resident at HMP Gartree

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Comment

Andy Thackwray

Listener Screening & Selection n this final instalment of my series, I cover what will no doubt be the most controversial issue involving the Listener scheme - who exactly should apply to become a prison Listener and why they choose to do so.

I

On a more favourable light, without “ being too scathing in my defence of the Listener scheme, not all the article shows the Listeners from a negative point of view. He raises some very valid and important points. The process of selection for example, in my opinion, does need tightening up, and this would have to be a joint effort between the Samaritans and Suicide Prevention

”

Listener - HMP Acklington My original article ‘Now 'Listen' to This’ highlighted the possible implementation of a more thorough screening process of potential Listeners to prevent the morally corrupt, the predatory, repeat offenders and prisoners with sinister motives from joining the Listener ranks. Mr Thackwray is, however, right on in “ making the point that there are numerous bogus individuals who attempt to become a Listener for there own sentencing benefit

” Listener Co-ordinator - HMP Highpoint

If any Listener is one of these bogus or unsuitable individuals who manage to infiltrate the Listener ranks, especially if they’ve been convicted of a crime involving control, dominance, psychological abuse, predatory behaviour, grooming etc, then should these individuals really be allowed anywhere near the desperate, vulnerable and suicidal? Should they not be prevented from being able to enjoy the protection given them by the Listener's existing confidentiality policy? By having such individuals employed within the Listening ranks, even if only for a short time, then who knows how many prison misdemeanours these individuals could have had a hand in? Surely these cunning, devious and manipulative individuals need to be prevented from joining the Listener ranks,

Are You Still Listening?

is completely wrong and is against the contract agreed to by the Samaritans and the prison service

”

Listener - HMP Garth As I mentioned in last month's instalment, which covered Listener training, surely a more rigorous, in depth, progressive training package, which yields nationally recognised and career enhancing qualifications, could be incentive enough for the truly dedicated, genuine Listener. Here at Stocken there are no incentives “ or privileges and, as such, this helps to keep those who think it will just benefit them from joining the scheme

Such was the mixed response to Andy Thackwray's controversial article Now ‘Listen’ to This, published in the April 2009 issue of Inside Time, that together with Andy we decided to run a three-part series covering the main areas of concern the article brought to light: Listener Confidentiality, Training and Screening; with a view to improving this much needed and valued service. This month we conclude the series by looking at Listener Screening and Selection

“

It was with great interest that I read Mr Thackwray's comments on the Listener Scheme. He raised some very interesting points, with which I wholly agree. The Listener's scheme is indeed due for an overhaul Listener Co-ordinator - HMP Highpoint

”

and prevented from ever being able to join in the future. A more robust 'no exception' screening process executed collectively between the prison service and the Samaritans would achieve this.

have done nothing to address their index offence, all too willingly rush to join the Listener ranks and alarmingly be allowed to do so. Would this be allowed to happen in the real world?

“

Not long after joining the Listener “ scheme here at HMP Hull, I felt like I’d

Do not get me wrong, I am not disagreeing with everything he is saying; there is a lot of truth in the fact some Listeners are only doing it for their own benefit and that they do not comply with the strict codes of confidentiality, which a Listener must abide to

”

Listener - HMP Stocken

To help eradicate bogus applicants, would it not be a good idea for all potential Listeners to have addressed their index offence first before ever being allowed to be considered for selection onto the Listener Scheme? Could a referral from the programme department (who would have worked closely with the applicant) be used to pass on any supporting, as well as any detrimental information about the applicant's suitability for the role of a Listener onto the prison's security and suicide prevention team to see if the applicant is suitable to proceed? Implementing this precaution would not only prevent rogue membership from happening, but also eradicate what could be argued as the ‘dangerous practice' of employing prisoners maintaining their innocence onto the Listener scheme. I have personally witnessed convicted killers, paedophiles and rapists, who

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joined a paedophile ring and not a peer support group – so I left the scheme Former Listener - HMP Hull

”

Implementing the above will stop these manipulative deviants from getting anywhere near the prison's vulnerable and suicidal, which incidentally the prison service has a duty to protect. This may hurt the genuine appellants who are on the Listener Scheme … but is there an alternative? I did not become a Listener until I “ knew I had dealt with my own issues and could be of benefit to others ” Listener - HMP Stocken Another problem your letters confirmed was the fact that some prisons offer incentives to prisoners to become Listeners, just as I highlighted in my article. Surely this practice attracts the wrong sort of candidate and needs abolishing throughout the estate immediately.

“

The fact that in some prisons there is incentives and privileges given to a listener

Listener - HMP Stocken

”

So there you have it; that just about concludes the series. I hope its publication makes all concerned sit up and have a rethink regarding the future of the Listener scheme because I would strongly argue that, far from reducing the high rate of prison suicides and serious cases of self-harm, the Listener scheme, in its current format, could be seen as being partly responsible for them. Helping inmates with the basic practicalities of prison life is a good thing and something we should see more of throughout the prison estate, especially on first night and induction wings. However, the complex psychological problems associated with the suicidal and selfharmers should be left to adequately trained professionals, which sadly the Listeners are not and therefore should leave well alone. If the problems and discrepancies my series has brought to the surface are properly addressed, especially the three listed below, then would this not be a step in the right direction towards professional compatibility and also give the Listener scheme the overhaul it so desperately needs? In my view, the three main areas of change needed are as follows:

 Changing the existing Listener confidentiality policy so that it includes the compulsory disclosure by Listeners to prison staff of any suicidal intentions, harm to self or others disclosed by contact to Listener.  Providing better, adequate, progressive training which will yield nationally recognized, career-enhancing qualifications at all levels for every Listener.  Making sure any potential Listener has addressed their index offence via the programmes department before being allowed to participate on the Listener Scheme, with no exceptions. * Inside Time writes: In our September issue we shall be publishing a view from the Samaritans on the Listener series of articles Andy Thackwray is currently resident at HMP Doncaster

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Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

But are YOU listening Andy? Keith Rose resents the suggestion that his motivation for becoming a Listener is anything other than voyeuristic s recently advertised in the News of the World, I am a Listener. I became a Listener because I have had friends who have committed suicide in jail. They were Andy Biernacky, Dessie Cunningham, John Davies and latterly Ronnie Easterbrook. I have also lost three friends through ‘natural causes’. I qualify natural causes, as I am doubtful that the death of Robert (Monty) Mongomery in a strip cell in Parkhurst block for daring to have a heart attack should be classed as 'natural causes'.

A

When I read the original Andy Thackwray article, my initial impression was, ‘how could somebody get so much wrong in so few words’? Like most Listeners, I felt that Andy should be shaken warmly by the throat before being staked out on the nearest anthill. However, in spite of constant urging of other Listeners to put on a pair of hobnail boots, and stamp all over Andy and his article, I resisted, I didn't want to get involved. When Andy proved to be a serial offender, I repeated ‘I don't want to get involved’ … ‘I don't want to get involved’ … ‘I don't want to get involved’! Then, Andy, why did you have to involve me with the utterly inane and insane suggestion that my ‘psycho-babes’ were somehow connected with mental health teams, and could offer counselling? Andy, you've not been listening! Back to basics. As an erstwhile trainer of both staff and prisoners in the Listeners responsibilities, and currently lumbered with a co-ordinator’s duties, I will explain a few basic facts.

Listeners are not counsellors. They are not trained as counsellors, in fact are specifically forbidden to offer counselling. I don't know where you got the idea that Listeners were offering bereavement counselling, but it is verbotten in the National Unified Training Package. Yes, we do have one. Similarly, Listeners cannot offer advice, except in very exceptional circumstances where, when asked, they can point out avenues of help. For example, bereavement counsellors can be sought through Chaplaincy or Health Care departments. So, to repeat, Listeners are not taught counselling skills, and do not study counselling.

still alive simply through talking to a Listener.

Listeners have to maintain confidentiality. The reason for this is quite simple, if a Listener were to blab anything they were told by a caller then the label, Listener, no longer applies, the prison term is ‘Grass’. For Listeners to be able to operate, then the confidentiality requirement must remain absolute. Yes, that includes remaining silent even if a caller discloses suicidal intentions. In the event of a caller committing suicide, that confidentiality remains, even after death. Even if questioned by the Ombudsman (surely just a Public Relations exercise?) or a Coroner. Only a court order can force a Listener to break confidentiality, and even that court order would be opposed by Samaritans lawyers.

We will never know how many probable suicides the Listener scheme has prevented, by permitting a prisoner to simply talk through their problems with someone who will neither judge them, nor belittle them or their problems

We will never know how many probable suicides the Listener scheme has prevented, by permitting a prisoner to simply talk through their problems with someone who will neither judge them, nor belittle them or their problems. Talking through a problem can often unload tension and despair. I know of two prisoners who are

Another problem with your articles, Andy, is the talking down of the Listeners role. One of the most difficult tasks facing a Listener is dealing with a self-harmer. I have seen some horrendous injuries, caused by prisoners who self-harm to relieve tension. Believe me when I say it is not an experience I wish on anyone, yet Listeners have to deal with self-harm, daily.

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A typical profile of a psycho-babe is: the life experience of a day-old chick, the conscience of a Great White Shark, the intellect of an amoeba, and the compassion of a vulture stood on a fresh corpse demanding first dibs on the eyeballs. These qualities are combined with the towering arrogance of Alan Sugar, the self-satisfied smirk of Richard Branson, the charisma of David Blunkett, the honesty of Tony Blair and the leadership skills of Gordon Brown. Due to the fact that these psycho-babes are clutching a diploma obtained in the communal toilets of a student hall of residence, (perforated, supersoft and absorbent for your convenience), they think they have the right to judge you. Psycho-babes do belittle you, they call it treating 'cognitive skills deficiency'. As for confidentiality, well, they are compulsive report writers, and that report is going to be plagiarised by successive generations of psycho-babes, until it is presented to your parole and/or probation officer, whereupon you may be surprised to learn you eat babies.

Moving on to your suggestion that psycho-babes should have anything to do with mental health issues. Regular readers will be aware that very occasionally, I have been mildly critical of trainee psychologists, so let's examine your

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theory, Andy, of psycho-psyrens counselling. The psyrens of the psychology department are programmed by the Offending Behaviour Programmes Unit (OBPU).

So, Andy, to conclude, Listener confidentiality remains, counselling is a no-no, and I hope you do better at the screening and selection article. Show some consideration! Do you realise how difficult it is to get blood off these hobnail boots? Keith Rose BA (Hons) is currently resident at HMP Long Lartin

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28

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Comment acceptable way of thinking was a mechanistic way of thinking; that the Earth’s natural resources were just that - resources - to be plundered because they were there for our use, without limit. It was on such terms that we founded our present “Age of Convenience,” a way of living that is now spreading around the world. But for all its achievements, our consumerist society comes at an enormous cost to the Earth and we must face up to the fact that the Earth cannot afford to support it. Just as our banking sector is struggling with its debts - and paradoxically also facing calls for a return to so-called “old-fashioned,” traditional banking - so Nature’s life-support systems are failing to cope with the debts we have built up there too. So, if we don’t face up to this, then Nature, the biggest bank of all, could go bust. And no amount of quantitative easing will revive it.

Facing the Future by HRH The Prince of Wales Towards the end of his reign King Henry the Eighth showed an interest in sustainability. Perhaps it is not so well known that he instigated the very first piece of green legislation in this country. In ordering the building of a great many ships, King Henry the Eighth effectively founded the Royal Navy. But shipbuilding needed vast amounts of wood and there came a moment when Henry realized that creating his new fleet was putting too much strain on the natural supply of wood, particularly oak, and if something was not done, the country would run out of timber. And so, in 1543, he created a law, “the Preservation of Woods,” which stated that if any number of mature oak trees was cut down, twelve had to be left standing in the same acre, and none could be touched until each of them was of a certain maturity. It was a simple and rather elegant piece of long-term thinking. What was instinctively understood by many in King Henry’s time was the importance of working with the grain of Nature to maintain the balance between keeping the Earth’s natural capital intact and sustaining humanity on its renewable income. It is this knowledge that I fear we have lost in our rush to pursue unlimited economic growth and material wealth - a loss that was never more rapid than during the 1960’s and at that time a frenzy of change swept the world in the wave of post-war “Modernism.” There was an eagerness to embark upon a new age of radical experimentation in every area of human experience, which caused

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many traditional ideas to be discarded in a fit of uncontrollable enthusiasm - ideas that will always be of timeless value for every generation confronting the realities of life on this Earth. Of course, we have achieved extraordinary prosperity since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. People live longer, have access to universal education, better healthcare and the promise of pensions. We also have more leisure time; opportunities to travel - the list is endless. But on the debit side, we in the industrialized world have increased our consumption of the Earth’s resources in the last thirty years to such an extent that, as a result, our collective demands on Nature’s capacity for renewal are being exceeded annually by some twenty-five per cent. On this basis, last year we had used up what we can safely take from Nature before the end of September. Between then and the New Year we were consuming capital as if it was income. And, as any investment advisor will tell you, confusing capital for income is simply not sustainable in the long-term. What is more, countries that are undergoing rapid development are all assuming Western consumption patterns. By 2050 not only will there be nine billion people on the planet, but a far higher proportion than now will presumably have Western levels of consumption. These are facts, Ladies and Gentlemen, which we really cannot ignore any longer. But we do so because we hang onto values and a perception of things that had developed before we realized the consequences of our actions. Back in the 1950’s and right up to the 1990’s it seemed credible to argue that the human will was the master of creation; that the only

We know, for example, that already the thickness of the Arctic sea ice has reduced by forty per cent in the last fifty years. The major ice caps on Greenland and Antarctica could soon begin a rapid melt as well, and this may cause sea levels to rise, thereby swamping some of the world’s most heavily populated regions, instigating mass migrations. We also know that global warming is thawing perma-frosted ground where the release of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas indeed, has already gone up by seventy per cent in the last half century. Since the 1950’s, we have also reduced the size of the world’s rainforests by a third and we continue to do so at the rate of an area the size of a football pitch every four seconds. And, as the trees fall, we irretrievably lose species of plants and animals that may well prove essential to our survival. Hugging the equator, these rainforests are literally - literally - the planet’s lifebelt. The Amazonian forests alone release twenty billion tonnes of water vapour into the air every day. This keeps the climate cool and makes rain that falls over vast areas of farmland. The trees also store colossal amounts of carbon, so their destruction releases yet more CO2 into the atmosphere more than the entire global transport sector. So we depend upon them for our water, our food and the stability of our climate. The myriad, invisible functions performed by these threatened ecosystems, operating in all their harmonious complexity, are a central element in the Earth’s life-support system and yet we ignore the fact that without them we cannot survive - both physically and spiritually, for, with the rampant removal of biodiversity in all its forms, we also destroy the reflection of Nature’s miraculous balance within ourselves.

* This is an extract from the Richard Dimbleby Lecture delivered by Prince Charles on 8th July 2009

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Did I say that…?

‘There is no reason why Africa can’t feed itself … it has enough arable land’ Barack Obama speaking at the G8 Summit in Italy before making his first visit to Africa as US President.

The continent of Africa has 158 million hectares (or 390 million acres) of arable and permanent cropland at its disposal to feed its present population of almost 1000 million people. (Eric McGraw writes) In the last 30 years the population of Africa has increased on average by more that 17 million every year or by almost 50,000 a day. In the next 40 years the United Nations forecast that the population of Africa will increase by a further 23 million a year or to put it another way, Africa will have to make room for some 63,000 new faces at the breakfast table every day. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the UN report that one acre of good soil should be able to sustain one person but as the population of Africa has increased by 100 per cent in the last 30 years, and is now on course to increase by another 100 per cent in the next 40 years, this one-man-one-acre has already diminished to nearly a third of an acre per person as more people share the continent’s limited arable and permanent crop land. So Africa may have had, in theory, enough arable land some 30 years ago to sustain its population comfortably but not anymore. The only hope for the future is to increase food production by intensifying the cultivation of existing cropland. But even here it is essential to distinguish between technical possibilities of increasing the output of a particular area and the cost of doing so - even a desert can be made productive with the necessary levels of irrigation, fossil fuel and fertilizers. Failure to make the distinction has often resulted in unrealistic estimates of potential food production. Barack Obama and other world leaders are at present producing reports - the size of telephone directories - on global warming but at the same time ignoring the equally important and related dilemma of the one million additional global warmers arriving on Earth every five days.

Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Nice work if you can get it David Greaves examines the astonishing number of people employed within the criminal justice system and who make a living out of prisoners ave you ever stopped to wonder about the amount, the numbers of people involved, who make up the criminal justice system? I think you’d be surprised, as I was, at the sheer volume of people who make a good living, indirectly, out of prisoners. So how many personnel does it take to arrest, prosecute, detain and then keep tabs on the 83,000 prisoners in England and Wales?

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Starting with the police; there are 43 police forces in England and Wales. These comprise almost 150,000 men and women. There is approximately an equal number of salaried community police and an unknown number of special constables who are not; as the specials are a volunteer force, their numbers will vary from season to season. However, as a calculated guess let’s say there is one ‘special’ for every five paid PCs. This would mean there are approximately 30,000 of them, thus giving a total of 330,000 police officers, and this number does not allow any figures for the numerous front desk; call centre; forensics; ballistics and various other civilians who work in the police employ.

of all the criminal cases in England and Wales. If you ever happen to have the misfortune, again, of being in the dock and a white, elderly, Tory, middle-class man is glaring down at you through shaggy eyebrows, looking over reading glasses with a ridiculous brillo pad perched on his head; he’s metaphorically bearing down on you with all the overpowering presence he can muster; and he’s telling you what a terrible, despicable little man you are … you should say quietly to yourself, ‘Yes, but I’m helping to pay your extremely generous wages. My offences ensure your future. You need me!’ There are also 136 District judges (£105,400), who work full-time in some of the busier magistrates’ courts. Currently there are 29,500 Justices of the Peace. These magistrates are effectively a voluntary body but they do receive expenses. Why do they do the job for nothing? Well, I guess everybody needs a hobby don’t they? HM Court Services employ a total of 21,535 persons in the various court centres. These are clerks, ushers, security, office staff, stenographers etc.

What about the Justice department? Starting at the top, there are over 3,000 judges involved in the system. Not all are full-time nor are they dedicated solely to criminal law, but most have some dealings with criminal cases. The Lord Chief Justice earns £236,000 per annum (as of 13 June 2008). The Supreme Court Judges, of which there are over 40, earn £193,000. These salaries are protected by statute and cannot be reduced. They also carry a very generous pension scheme. Judges in the High Court can only be dismissed by the Queen, though none ever have been. There are 92 Crown Court centres presided over by a High Court Judge (£170,000), a circuit judge (£126,000) or a recorder (part-time circuit judge). A jury is present at all trials that are contested. Last year this represented about 200,000 people acting as jurors; although rather surprisingly this represented only 2%

The Crown Prosecution Service operates in 43 different areas, coinciding with the police district. The service is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and has headquarters in London and York. There are 8,770 people directly employed by the CPS, although this figure does not include the many self-employed barristers who perform as advocates on their behalf.

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The Legal Services Commission was established in April 2000 and is responsible for Legal Aid. It assists people who are under police investigation or facing criminal charges. The Duty Solicitor Scheme is a part of this service. It provides free advice for those under arrest or just helping the police with their enquiries. In 2003 it was estimated that there were 90,000 solicitors and 10,000 barristers practising law. Those figures have increased by about 20% since that time.

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The natural progression from the courtroom is to the prison cell. There are currently 142 prisons in England and Wales. These comprise of men’s prisons, women’s prisons, YOI, remand centres and Immigration Detainee Centres. In February 2009, there were almost 30,000 members of the Prison Officers Association and another 6,000 members of the alternative – the Prison Service Union. Added to these, we have 7,480 Operational Support Grades. These are either lower waged prison officers or they work as stores personnel, night patrol staff and auxiliaries. In addition to the officers there are several grades of manager; from Grade A through to Grade G. There are 1,464 of these governors. According to the Prisons Handbook, in 2007 the Prison Service employed 50,367 people in England and Wales. This figure does not include Reliance (sweatbox) deliveries nor others working for the private sector. As an approximate yardstick for prison staffing there are roughly two prisoners to every member of staff - right across the board. This brings us finally to Probation; the bear that jumps out on us should we dare to walk on the cracks in the pavement! The National Probation Service is a Law Enforcement Agency which boasts that each year they commence the supervision of some 175,000 offenders, and that their case load is in excess of 200,000 on any given day. It is difficult to gather accurate figures for the NPS - if you consider that every large town and city has a probation office, and every prison and every large police station has its own probation department. Then there are the probation hostels. I would estimate, very conservatively, that there are twice as many NPS staff as there are CPS; approximately 17,540 persons. So it’s time to get out the calculator and if we total up the numbers this makes in excess of 580,000 persons.

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By numbers 330,000 Police Officers

...................................................

3,000 Judges

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136 District Judges

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29,500 Justices of the Peace

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21,535 HM Court Services Employees

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8,770 Employed by the CPS

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90,000 Solicitors

................................................... Of course we’re not allowing for the many building workers who are nationwide constructing new prisons. Nor have I made allowance for those who work diligently behind the scenes for the police forces. As a result of this, I feel it’s reasonable to state that there are in excess of 600,000 people who work within the Criminal Justice ‘industry’. Each year, according to Jonathan Aitken (Inside Time - April 2009), the prison system costs the taxpayer £16 billion. If this system, of which most readers of this paper are part, is in fact an industry, what then are the ‘finished’ goods? Rehabilitated prisoners?

David Greaves is currently resident at HMP Littlehey

10,000 Barristers

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50,367 Prison Service people in England and Wales

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17,540 National Probation Service staff 600,000 people work within the Criminal Justice ‘industry’

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Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Comment

Battling against injustice Former lifer John Hirst explores how the media consistently use lurid and sensationalist headlines that are generally biased against prisoners rendan Behan, the famous poet and playwright and former Borstal boy and ex-prisoner, is quoted as saying: “There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary”. I was pleased to read about recently released Charles Hanson’s legal victory in relation to getting financially reimbursed for paying for his own haircuts, when the cost should have been met by the Ministry of Justice. Even the so-called liberal Guardian newspaper headline screamed: “Murderer wins fight to get state to pay for his haircuts”. What his offence had to do with the issue is beyond me.

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Similarly, in another case the Independent reports: “Rapist wins human rights claim”. On my blog I recently reported: “Prisoner victim in votes challenge against MoJ”, but the Yorkshire Post went with the headline: “Monster who raped and killed a child uses public funds to sue the government because they won't let him vote”. Unusually, the Daily Mail was slightly milder, reporting: “Child killer gets legal aid to launch bid for right to vote (and you're paying)”. It was followed by 18 rabid comments, all supporting the Daily Mail. When I submitted a comment which attempted to address the imbalance, it failed to get through the Mailonline’s comment moderation policy! Thankfully, this bias against prisoners in the UK’s media is not going unnoticed by others. For example, Paul Mason is director of postgraduate research at Cardiff University and his research focuses on the relationships between the criminal justice system, public opinion and the media. The Prison Media Monitoring Unit (PMMU) scrutinizes British media coverage of prison and prisoners. Its monthly bulletins highlight errors, misinformation and distortion about prison issues which, the Unit believes, may have a significant effect on government policy and public attitudes towards prison, Painting by Dean Stalham of the Koestler Trust.

punishment and social control. Bulletins are based upon data collected from the UK's national daily newspapers. Columnist Erwin James nicknamed the Minister of Justice “Knee-jerk Jack”. It is easy to see why, the Sun and/or Daily Mail headlines lash out at criminals or prisoners and Straw’s immediate response is to knee-jerk into action. The MoJ website carries a media statement: “Jack Straw cracks down on trivial prisoner legal claims”, and goes on to say: “Jack Straw has announced proposals to crack down on nuisance legal claims and new powers to seize money from prisoners”. Recently, the Daily Mail headline read: “Compensation floodgates may open after judge rules prison unlawfully destroyed inmate's smuggled mobile phone”. The MoJ then published a consultation document “Legal Aid: Refocusing on Priority Cases”. On page 8 it states: “A number of cases with limited benefits or public interest have been funded under the present criteria and procedures that we would not consider appropriate. An example is a recent case in relation to the destruction of a prisoner’s mobile telephone. This case had limited benefit to the individual, and a limited wider interest to other prisoners”. The Guardian commissioned me to write an article in response to the MoJ’s proposals, it was called: “Don't deny justice to prisoners”. In said article, I posed the following question: “Surely if the problem is that the Ministry of Justice is breaking the law, then the solution to the problem is to stop breaking the law rather than to change the law to deny prisoners access to the courts to air their legitimate grievances?” It is said that reputation is every thing. According to Total Politics, on the internet, the top 7 results are what counts on the Google search engine. Another authority states: “The real competition is in the top 10 of Google or even the top 5 so largely the rest

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of them are irrelevant”. I was pleased to see that “Don't deny justice to prisoners” had the top 5 places and also the 7th place out of the top 10 on Google Search. It is a small victory for the prisoners’ voice to be heard outside of prison. Given that the government employs 10 staff to monitor the internet to see what is being said about the government, I think we can safely say that they got the message. It is free to subscribe to Google Alerts. Google emails you whenever anyone writes anything about you on the internet. Perhaps, the money wasted on ten civil servants’ salaries would be better spent on the legal aid budget for prisoners’ legal claims? I have a grudging admiration for the genius who came up with the doublespeak Access to Justice Act 1999. Prior to this being passed by Parliament, poor people only had to look out for the legal aid sticker in solicitors’ office windows. Nowadays, the same people are being turned away by solicitors who claim that they can no longer afford to give advice or representation because the legal aid fees are too small. This amounts to a denial of access to justice. The government argues that unless a custodial sentence may be imposed, or someone’s reputation is in danger of being destroyed, then legal aid should not be granted. Lawyers no longer able to get money from outside work turned to the prison law funding

because it was not capped by the government. Costs have risen from £1 million in 2001 to £22 million in 2009. The government is seeking to limit prisoners’ legal aid only to cover adjudications and Parole Board hearings. In the UK, prisoners are not a popular group in society. This makes them particularly vulnerable to abuse of power by the authorities. The Minister legally responsible for such abuse is also the Minister who is seeking to prevent prisoners getting access to justice by denying them legal aid. However, as penologists observe: “The prisoner has realised that the two most important sources of relief are primarily prisoners’ revolt and then successful litigation”. Lord Chief Justice Woolf in his Report following the Strangeways Prison riot concluded that there was a lack of justice in prisons. Prisoners have a strong sense of injustice. Blowing the light out at the end of the tunnel would only confirm that prisoners are up against the Ministry of Injustice.

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Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Brainwashed Former prisoner Paul Sullivan challenges vote-seeking rhetoric from politicians and considers the public are brainwashed by tabloid scaremongers he public must decide’. ‘We will consult with victims’. ‘We will follow the public’s wishes’. Aren’t you becoming utterly sick and tired of that wimpish, vote-seeking rhetoric from our politicians?

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client’s hand 24 hours a day. Is it only me who can see, in the real world: of course there are going to be occasional failures? Yes, you learn from them; but why is nobody from the Probation Service standing up and fighting their corner?

‘The public are sick of prisoners living a life of Reilly’, shout the tabloids. Tell me; how many members of the public, who are supposed to hold this view, have any idea of what really goes on in a prison? I would suggest the answer is very few; watching a few episodes of ‘Porridge’ or ‘Bad Girls’ is hardly qualification.

Another recent change which Labour must think will win them some votes, because I cannot see any other reason why supposedly sane people would suggest it, is the allowing of alleged victims to present a ‘victim statement’ to parole hearings. The Parole Board themselves told me that they are irrelevant because a decision to release or not is based solely on considered risk and not whether the alleged victim was upset at being mugged. It is not disingenuous and demeaning of alleged victims to make them think they can extract that last bit of revenge when they are, in fact, superfluous to the decision.

In June, the tabloids were full of the story of a terrible paedophile (why are they always paedophiles - are there any other prisoners?) who got legal aid to argue against his denial of proper toilet facilities at Albany. The public can leave their comments on-line and one poor lady asked why prisoners should have a right to toilets. One really does wonder what type of mushroom people like this eat? The public are brainwashed by tabloid scaremongering to believe certain things and then the self-same tabloids rely on the opinions of their brainwashed readers to demand, sometimes insane, changes. Recently, figures came out showing that prisoners released on parole had committed a few murders and rapes. I do not say ‘a few’ to demean the seriousness of the crimes but because it was, literally, a few. We have headlines an inch high proclaiming the failures of the system, demanding prisoners aren’t ‘released early’ (ie given parole or released at their LDR). Of course, what these articles don’t point out is that these crimes were committed by a very small number of the tens of thousands released - so are, technically, insignificant. A person under the supervision of the London Probation Service committed a terrible murder. The news is full of it, heads are hung, and a senior official resigns. Why? They supervise thousands of people every week; they are hopelessly overworked because of funding cuts and targets: they cannot hold every

We can all recount the horrified articles that surface every Christmas declaring prisoners to be getting a sumptuous feast of turkey and the rest; and how it is disgraceful that pensioners are starving. Yes it is awful that the government wastes millions jailing a large number of people unnecessarily, to try to win the Justice Vote, whilst depriving pensioners of sufficient funds to eat and keep warm. We all know, of course, that the turkey feast is actually one slice or reconstituted foul (not fowl), that is nearly as transparent as the cell windows: and most prisoners know exactly who the ‘inside-source’ is. In my view, the way to stop people committing further crime is by allowing them to maintain family contact and settle into a steady job and home life on release. Yet, as part of the ‘Justice Vote’ the Government has changed the law, including the Disclosure Rule, to guarantee very few released prisoners can find employment. If I were a thief or a robber, I would need money to live on; if I was prevented from getting a job and earning it I would have no alternative but to go back to my old ways of raising funds. Now they want some of the country’s greatest

child fiction writers to be vetted before they visit schools in case they are paedophiles. Fortunately, these people are fighting back and arguing it to be the nonsense that it really is. The whole idea puts children at greater risk because once someone has ‘passed’ the vetting they are considered 100% safe. Since 99% of all abusers are never caught and have

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murderers and paedophiles lurking on every corner - only we can save you - vote for us! At the end of the day, you get out what you put in. Research shows that children put into YOIs are more likely to go into a life of crime than those who are kept out of the detention industry. It’s great misleading the public and

The Daily Mail (28th July) featuring the views of a former YOI prison officer who sold her story no criminal record, the whole thing is really yet another farcical attempt to win votes. It goes like this: “We are winning the fight against crime because, although you all know it is not true, the statistics prove crime is falling”. However, out there, in the real world, it is very dangerous. There are muggers,

playing with statistics to make it look like you are tough and mean but isn’t less crime what the public really want? I would suggest that the public are not the ones best qualified to come up with solutions that might achieve that end. Paul Sullivan formerly HMP Wakefield

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‘The second sentence’ I Lifer Ben Gunn believes the families of prisoners get a raw deal and are often viewed with suspicion and benign indifference

mprisonment in the UK just doesn't affect in excess of 80,000 inmates. I realise this is a statement of the glaringly obvious, yet the hundreds of thousands of people that comprise our families and friends are also dragged into the mess that we created. But whilst prisoners get a lot of attention, a lot of column inches, those serving 'the second sentence' seem to get little or no public recognition whatsoever.

Perhaps this reflects the ambiguity that our families are viewed with. This is brought into focus by the way they are treated when they visit - the screws know that they are not criminals, they are members of the public, and yet there is a broad attitude that merely being associated with us cons places them on very uncertain moral ground. It's as if criminality is infectious, and our friends and families are contaminated. This puts society in an awkward position; should they sympathise and support, or should they condemn? In a fit of paralysing indecision, the default state seems to be to opt for wilfully ignoring them instead. Of course, the prison service has policies and statements of aspiration relating to families. These are not born out of any sense of decency or humanity you understand, they reflect the known truth that those of us released into settled home circumstances are far less likely to re-offend. It's in society’s interests to try to mitigate the worst effects of imprisonment on our relationships. Even in the face of this self-interest, society just can't bring itself to deliver. The practical effects of prison service policies have seen the number of visitors drop by half just when the

invites to meetings and forums. If there isn't a resettlement forum, ask why not? And with a foot through the door, awkward questions about the lack of support for relationships can be raised. Remember, having a settled home to return to is worth a thousand dodgy education certificates in the re-offending stakes, even if the nick doesn't like to face that truth. And then there is involvement in Sentence Planning. Not many people realise that you can have a member of family or a friend at that conflab, and people who have one tell me that having an 'outsider' at the table tends to make the staff cut out a fair bit of their crap.

prison population has been doubling. That is a result of either very careful planning, or gross stupidity on a scale that is remarkable even for prison service managers. Regardless of the hype, the best our families can hope for from society and the State is benign indifference and that tends to be the best they ever get. Actually, it’s usually worse. Just like cons, families also have a clutter of charities that exist to support them and lobby policy makers. And just like the penal reform charities, there can be problems with this - the tendency to ignore and marginalise the very people they claim to represent. Our families, like ourselves, get to play a very marginal role in the operations of these charities. The result is a mass of resentment and isolation. Just like prisoners, our families are treated

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with suspicion and assumed to be a collection of incapable, wayward halfwits. They are another group who is "done to" rather than "done with", viewed as clients rather than capable individuals. This attitude is expected from the prison service, but it shouldn't be expected from families’ charity groups. What a mess to find ourselves in. It needn’t be this way, and it shouldn’t be allowed to continue. Families could assert themselves in precise ways, all based on the solid ground that happy families lead to cuts in future offending. Charities that deal with families could be asked the simple question: how many of their employees have a relative inside? I'd guess that number is very, very low. They could start changing that situation by advertising jobs in Inside Time, where we could see potential matches with our families and encourage them to apply. There are some remarkably capable people amongst our families and there should be no reason why families’ charities are not directed, run and operated by those with a direct stake in the business. As it stands, these operations function like Victorian charities - the great and the good making occasional tours of the estates to dispense tea and sympathy to the unfortunates. If necessary, families themselves could gird their loins and begin a new charity, one that gives them a direct voice. I'd like to see some Governor or Minister face down that collective of disgruntled wives and mothers! Women on a mission are a force to be heard. As each Governor has a Resettlement Pathway (who comes up with this nonsense?), families should drop the Governor a line and ask what involvement families have in this? Don't let him fob you off with waffle about a visiting allowance that was set 40 years ago; press for

Families deserve to be involved in the course of our sentence, and we owe them a place in the decisions we make as to how we serve our sentence. And while families can develop new ways to make their voices heard, we shouldn't take them for granted. When we reappear out of the gate it's not unreasonable for them to expect that we have spent our time sorting ourselves out and to be ready to offer them the quality of life they deserve. This is especially true for partners with children. And while families themselves can become more assertive, we can play our part. It is all too easy to fall into a dependency trap, expecting private cash and goodies on demand. Been there, done that, and it's like being treated like a kid again, only reinforcing the system's view of us as being incapable and dependent. Our families didn't ask for this burden and we could try harder to be supportive of them, as they are of us. I know this won't be a popular view amongst some of my peers, but there you go. We could also be more assertive on our families’ behalf, chipping away at management for them to be more involved in our lives. We should challenge stupid, harmful restrictions such as the need to be enhanced to get extra or family day visits. Why do they need to be earned, exactly? It is all in the cause of reducing future offending; funny how we don't have to 'earn' a place on some psychology course. This inequality, this inconsistent vindictive stupidity, lies with us to challenge. With our families and friends, our prisonaffected community comprises hundreds of thousands of people, and if all those voices, all those votes and all that energy could be channeled; then at long last our families could take their rightful place in the public and political consciousness. Ben Gunn is currently resident at HMP Shepton Mallet

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s my friends are apt to point out, Ombudsman is an odd job title to have. It is actually a Swedish word meaning representative or agent of the people. And it is a venerable term. This year actually marks the bicentenary of the establishment of the world’s first Ombudsman in Sweden in 1809.

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every death in custody. But perhaps the most interesting change is in the type of issue which is brought to my door. There are far more complaints about the content of reports, about access to regimes and programmes, and about sentence planning, than was the case when I was first appointed a decade ago.

It was many years before the idea spread. Indeed, you could say it is only in the last forty years or so that the institution of the Ombudsman - a representative of the people taking up their complaints against powerful public and private interests - has really taken off. There are now Ombudsmen in many countries around the globe, and their interests include the protection of human rights and anti-corruption as well as the more mainstream investigation of complaints.

I welcome this shift in emphasis. We will of course still work hard to find your lost property (assuming it is not some cock-and-bull story about thousand pound watches you left behind when you absconded), or to quash a dodgy adjudication (assuming you are not telling us that the drugs were put in your roll-up without your knowledge). But as Ombudsman I am frankly more interested in helping ensure that the Prison Service provides prisoners with the opportunity to put their lives straight and to steer clear of crime on release. There is no point having a sentence plan unless you can be in a prison that provides the courses and training you need. There is no point in ‘offender management’ without a link between what programmes you can follow in prison and what is available in the community. My office can help in both these areas.

Specialist Ombudsmen have also spread both in the public and private sectors. If you like messing about on boats, there is a Waterways Ombudsman to look after your affairs. Have a problem with the NHS, and the Health Service Ombudsman is at your command. And if you are lucky enough to have personal investments, then the Financial Services Ombudsman is the chap to turn to.

This focus on the rehabilitative purpose is not just for your benefit, dear reader. Every ex-prisoner who returns to jail represents an extra member of the public who has become a victim. ‘Preventing the next victim’ used to be the slogan of one of the YOIs. It is not a bad slogan for the work of my office either if it means prisoners use complaints to enhance regimes and thus to change the direction of their lives.

My own office (then simply known as Prisons Ombudsman) - a specialist Ombudsman for prisoners - dates back to just 1994. But if those 15 years pale in comparison with Sweden’s two centuries, there have been plenty of changes in that time. We now serve those on probation supervision, and immigration detainees, as well as prisoners. We have a standing commission to investigate

It would be a good party game: can you list ten good things to have come out of Sweden? Abba, Ikea, and Absolut vodka would be on my list. Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman. Henrik Larsson and Freddie Ljungberg. And thanks to the foresight shown in 1809, the whole concept of the Ombudsman - the representative or agent of the people - should be high up on that list too.

Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s Annual Report In the 2008/09 Prisons & Probation Ombudsman’s Annual Report, which covers his responsibilities for both complaints investigations and the investigation of fatal incidents, Ombudsman Stephen Shaw highlights how the main goal of his office during the past year has been to create a more professional and businesslike organisation. The way complaints are investigated has changed this past year, therefore the year’s figures cannot be compared with those in past reports, however the number of complaints the Ombudsman could actually investigate has once more increased (1,828) an increase of 10%. Of the total number of complaints received (4,288) 3,818 were prison complaints, 388 probation and 99 immigration, although far too many complaints received are not eligible for investigation as they had not followed the necessary procedures. 800 600 400 200 0 G en er a Pr l co op n er dit io ty Pr Pr ob ean ns re a d t le ca as ion sh e an com d p la po in st t re s le as e Re Li gi nk m e s ac tiv iti e Se s cu M rit isc y el la ne ou Tr s an Ad sf er ju s di ca Im tio m n ig ra M s tio e di n ca co l m pl ai nt As s sa ul ts Ra ce F oo Se gr d eg at io n

Two hundred years of Ombudsman history Stephen Shaw, Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, writes exclusively for Inside Time

33

Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

The total number of deaths investigated was 181, compared with 204 in 2007/08.The number of apparently self-inflicted deaths in prison fell by 24% from 83 in 2007/08 to 63 in 2008/09. Cause of death

Male prison

Female prison

Self-inflicted

56

2

Natural causes

93

Homicide or attack

2

Illicit drug overdose

YOI Approved premises

Court

5

2

0

0

3

0

7

0

0

0

0

0

1

0

0

0

Unclassified

2

0

0

Accidental

0

0

154

5

TOTAL

IRC Discretionary

Secure Training Centre

Total

0

0

65

1

3

0

107

0

0

0

2

0

0

0

0

1

1

1

0

1

0

5

0

1

0

0

0

0

1

5

11

1

1

4

0

181

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Comment

Through the gates and beyond

rent book for council temporary accommodation. I had landed … and with my belongings I was taken by Everton Blake to the accommodation and left to settle in.

Recently released lifer Charles Hanson reflects on the valuable accommodation support given by the St Giles Trust, who now face an uncertain future

The temporary accommodation, which includes all mod cons and where I am able to come and go without restrictions, is a start whilst the council identifies more permanent one bedroom accommodation for me that might have to be privately rented because of the shortage of council housing stock. The council have undertaken to pay all rent charges in that event.

Charles Hanson lmost without exception, most life sentence prisoners released on life licence will be expected to reside in supervised, hostel type accommodation. Or in what is known as ‘approved premises’ as they make the transition from custody to community. For some lifers who might have spent many years in prison, they could be forgiven for believing that they have exchanged one prison for another, given the stringent rules under which such premises are managed; which might include regular drug and alcohol testing, room searches, curfews, surrendering authorised medication to hostel staff, attending meetings and courses, and other stringent measures more in keeping with high risk offenders than someone who has been tried and tested in open conditions.

Starting out as a pilot project in September 2007, the St Giles Trust Through the Gates Project, headed by manager Bernie Kastner, was instrumental every step of the way in easing my way from custody to independent living and managed to secure funding in July 2008 to continue its work for the next twelve months, which fortunately for me meant that I fell within that time-scale. That funding was extended by the Ministry of Justice for a further two months in July 2009 so the project is likely to come to an end in September unless further funding is secured.

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Foreseeing such an eventuality, and having undertaken well over 1,000 absences from HMP Blantyre House over a period of four years, my real adjustment to life after eventual release could, in my view, only be accomplished and tested through independent living free from the daily restraints of hostel type accommodation.

Through the Gates, a successful project for people leaving prison run by the St Giles Trust evident that I was able to deal with what in effect was homelessness. The Probation Service, which is neither a social service or housing agency, not only supported my plans but made their own referral on my behalf to both the council and Colin Lambert, the South London Team Leader of St Giles Trust’s Through the Gates Project, which triggered a case conference involving various agencies on the best way forward to house me upon release.

And so, without any assistance from the Prison Service or those whose remit is to advise and assist offenders to prepare for release, which should include areas of housing and accommodation, I approached the local council of the area to which I intended to return and quickly registered my name and details on the housing waiting list. This was accompanied by a letter outlining my links to the area and personal circumstances … so far so good!

For many lifers, approaching a Parole Board review to consider release, there will always be the Catch-22 situation in that the Parole Board will not order release unless a robust release plan exists which necessarily includes accommodation approved by the Probation Service. The ‘catch’ is that housing departments of local councils are not able to consider housing applications unless one has already been released from prison and in a position to take up any offer which the council might present.

I followed this through with an approach to the St Giles Trust for support to bolster my application for housing; keeping my probation officer informed every step of the way as to what I was doing, and it must have seemed

The outcome of the case conference was that a member the St Giles ‘Through the Gates Project’ would collect me from the prison on the day of my release and take me directly to the housing department of the local council.

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They in turn would assign me temporary accommodation whilst the paperwork for more permanent housing would be completed the following day. The project would also continue to support me for a couple of months after my release. In effect, although I had a release plan, I was unable to offer the Parole Board an address which of course wouldn’t be known until after I was released, which must have been a first, for here I was virtually asking for release after 14 years in prison without an address or accommodation or being able to offer any details of my future whereabouts which would have been avoided had I chosen to leave it to others to steer me into the certainty of an hostel address. My release plan and argument must have been compelling enough for the Parole Board to order my release and on 1st July 2009, I walked out of prison on life licence to be met by Everton Blake, a member of the St Giles Through the Gate Project, who took me directly to the housing department of the local council where, after completing the necessary paperwork, I was handed the keys and a

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Perhaps the Government ought to be reminded that it costs over £30,000 a year to keep an offender in prison, which is arguably not cost effective if homelessness has been a contributory factor. It is not only in the area of accommodation that Through the Gates has an impact; it also ensures that clients have the best possible opportunity of remaining offence free with ongoing support in areas such as obtaining welfare benefits, training, education and employment which fully complements the Through the Gates package. As to the success of the project, which is supported by the Probation Service, in the nine months from July 2008 until the end of April 2009 it received some 1,100 referrals of which it managed to find temporary accommodation for 382 offenders and permanent accommodation for 448 with outstanding casework to secure housing for others still in custody. This surely speaks volumes about its effectives but then when it’s ex-offenders themselves employed by the St Giles Trust who are a driving force behind the project, it is easy to understand their passion for meeting the housing needs of other ex-offenders; having been there themselves and managed to turn their own lives around … need one say more?

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Manners maketh man Gerard McGrath maintains that common courtesy costs nothing and if applied could well improve the quality of life for prisoners iven the plethora of serious issues there are where prisons and prisoners are concerned, some might regard the subject matter of this article as trite and spurious. In fact those people are the intended target readers.

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The finer things in life are rarely experienced in prison. Certainly, finer feelings are at a premium; genuine sympathy, compassion, common courtesy, respect and good manners prisoner to prisoner are a rarity. Perhaps as a means of survival and self preservation, many shroud themselves with an aura of ‘mess with me at your peril’. Others manifest the strong, silent, slightly sinister image. Yet others seek ‘safety in numbers’ and prowess in preying upon their fellow prisoners. Gym sessions are overly subscribed not so much by those who subscribe to the philosophy of ‘a healthy mind in a healthy body’, but by those to whom muscle tone, how many kilos they can bench press, defines their manhood. One does not need a degree in psychology to have an understanding of the psyche of those to whom I allude, as it is all too evident. To be kind, I guess we all seek to survive prison existence in our own way and I am the last person who has any right to judge others. What I do feel I have every right to judge and express an opinion about is the aforementioned ill manners, lack of courtesy and respect I observe and experience on a daily basis from my fellow prisoners. I could write a tome regaling you with anecdotal evidence but suffice a couple of examples by way of making my point and inviting your opinions. The unit on which I am based is rooms as opposed to cells. We enjoy 24 hour access to the telephone should we wish to avail of it. Inter room association is also open to us should we so choose. An enjoyable privilege, but one that sees certain inconsiderate souls literally slamming doors shut when they eventually decide to retire for the night, often at midnight and beyond. Then there are the decibel belchers and expellers of flatulence who, in the way of 6 to 10 year-old children, find such behaviour funny and impose such infantile behaviour on all around them. The above are but two examples of the lack of consideration, courtesy and manners I seek to highlight herein. I could cite those to whom ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ need to be included in their lexicon, not to mention the queue jumpers, those who interrupt conversations and those who speak over others. In seeking to defend the indefensible I have heard it said that, ‘we’re in prison, what do you expect?!’ To those who seek to justify ill

manners, lack of courtesy and respect with such a lame defence I say that even in the most dire circumstances, one can still be possessed of good manners and courtesy. Our prisons are certainly not on a par with Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp. I suggest that all prisoners would experience an exponential increase in the quality of our existence in prison if good manners, courtesy, respect and a measure of mutual consideration were given greater prominence. Would one belch as loudly and frequently as possible if out for a meal with family or friends? Would one show them such lack of manners and courtesy? Would one ‘slam’ a door as loudly as possible at midnight and beyond at home, or as a guest in the home of a friend? Which of course begs the question: ‘Why is such behaviour seemingly acceptable in prison?’ To say it is ‘acceptable’ simply because one is in prison is not a satisfactory answer in my book. The behaviour I have criticised above is not confined to prisons and prisoners, I am all too aware of that sad fact. I do not suggest the behaviour is malicious, wittingly intended to cause offence, calculated to anger and provoke. Essentially, I like to believe it is due to thoughtlessness and perhaps perverse coping strategies and ‘gallows’ and ‘toilet humour’ might also play a part. That stated, it seems unlikely that some are wittingly other than disdainful of fellow prisoners and hold the view that they can behave just as they choose. Such crass ignorance might be beyond educating to the contra but one lives in hope. name of which one eludes me at this writing, but the motto of one of the illustrious public schools is: ‘Manners Maketh Man’. One does not need a public school education to be compelled to concur with the veracity of the motto. Manners, courtesy, being polite to all, costs nothing save a minimum of thought; they are the keys to many doors. They are part of what makes us the primary primates. If we allow manners, courtesy etc to be abandoned we will be the poorer for it and all our lives will be the lesser. Nothing of what I have written should be regarded as my presuming to lecture anyone. My criticism could have been far more acerbic, such is the anger I have felt at times when subjected to the bad manners I have experienced from my peers and others. I have sought herein to express an opinion as much to vent my spleen. In conclusion, should the editorial team of Inside Time publish this piece then I extend to them the good manners of saying ‘thank you’ for allowing me the forum. Gerard McGrath BA Hons is currently resident at HMP Haverigg

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35

Transfers

Francesca Cooney, Advice and Information Manager for the Prison Reform Trust, advises on prisoner transfers

PRISON REFORM TRUST

H

ow many people move from one prison to another in a month? Figures we have for April 2007 to February 2008 show that (on average) there were more than 6,000 people being moved from one prison to another every month. This is over seven percent of the prison population as a whole. PRT’s advice and information service receives more queries about transfers than any other matter. Sometimes these can be from people desperate to be near their family so they can receive visits. Other people contact us because they want to move to a prison to do a course that might give them a better chance of release. A transfer to a different prison is not an automatic right and it can be very difficult to get a transfer. However prison service policy says that both the prisoners’ circumstances and their family circumstances should be considered when allocating someone to a prison.

being held over 100 miles away from their local area. This obviously has an impact on the family and friends of the person inside who will find visiting even more difficult if not impossible. However, there have been some situations where people have got the transfer they needed. In a case in 2006, the prison service agreed to transfer a prisoner closer to his family home. His wife had very serious health problems and was unable to visit him where he was located. There was a large amount of evidence from medical professionals that showed she was unable to visit heår husband on the Isle of Wight. There was also evidence that the health of both the prisoner and his wife were being affected by not seeing each other and that both would benefit from a transfer closer to home. In this situation, the prison service agreed to transfer the prisoner shortly before the court case was heard. In another case last year, the prison service moved someone with disabilities to a prison suitable for his needs. Following this case the prison service reviewed their allocation policy for people with disabilities and this is now in PSI 31/2008. The prison service has a duty to find people with disabilities somewhere suitable. People should not be held in a higher security category prison or a prison that does not do the right offending behaviour courses because of their disability. If the prison staff cannot find a suitable prison for someone they should contact the area office, who can help them find a prison. If you would like advice on getting a transfer and you have already put in an application for one, please write to us at Prison Reform Trust Freepost ND6125 London EC1B 1PN. Please note, we cannot guarantee that you will be moved but we will do our best to assist.

PRISON REFORM TRUST has opened a free 'phone line for prisoners who need advice and information. The hours are Monday (3.30-7.30pm) Tuesdays and Thursdays (3.30-5.30pm) The number is 0808 802 0060

The prison system has been overcrowded every year for the last 15 years. This can make it even harder for prisoners to get to the prison they want to. The last figures we have (from 2007) showed that around one in eight men and one in five women were

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News from the House

harmful first. We have met the Prime Minister’s commitment to remove those that come to the UK and use guns or sell drugs. All Foreign Nationals who are sentenced to 12 months or more for offences relating to violence, sex or drugs are considered for deportation by UKBA. Foreign criminals from outside the EEA found guilty of serious drug and gun offences who receive a custodial sentence will also now be considered for deportation, regardless of length of sentence. Non-EEA nationals sentenced to 12 months or more will now be automatically considered for deportation.

Prisons: Mental Health Services Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what evaluation has been made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) cost-effectiveness of the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme in (i) enhancing public safety and (ii) improving the health of people subject to it. Maria Eagle: The Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) programme has two linked evaluations. The first, focusing on treatment offered and responses to treatment, is being carried out by the University of Oxford. It is due to report to the stakeholder Departments, the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health, by the end of this year. The second, concerned with staffing and organisation, is by Imperial College. It is due to report in the first quarter of 2010. These two studies will provide a preliminary assessment of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the DSPD programme, including the health of those subject to the programme and the potential implications for public safety.

Prisons: Operating Costs

An holistic toolkit for beacon stakeholders “Perhaps I could say, by way of introduction, welcome to our stakeholders. We look forward to our engagement, as we roll out our dialogue on a level playing field, so that, going forward in the public domain, we have a win-win step change that is fit for purpose across the piece.” Dr Tony Wright (pictured) Chairman of the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee on 9 July asked if it matters that much of today’s political language is drivel or is it just irritating.

Young Offenders: Restraint Techniques David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions (a) nose, rib and thumb distraction and (b) pain compliant techniques were used on those in the juvenile secure estate in each month between January 2007 and the most recent month for which figures are available. Maria Eagle: The following tables provide data supplied by the Youth Justice Board (YJB) which relate to secure training centres. Data for young offender institutions and secure children's homes are not collected centrally and cannot be provided without disproportionate cost.

News from the House of Commons Foreign Prisoners Andrew Selous (South-West Bedfordshire) (Con): The 12,000 or so foreign prisoners in United Kingdom jails were recently costing the taxpayer around £400 million a year. Will the Secretary of State change the law so that many more of them can serve their sentences in their home countries?

Summarised by Inside Time

Use of distraction techniques in secure training centres by technique used, January 2007 to March 2009 Nose distraction: 12 cases reported (although OAKHILL STC Records 14 cases) no cases reported (2008-09) Rib distraction: 7 cases reported (2007-08) 10 cases (2008-09) Thumb distraction: 40 cases reported (2007-08) 6 cases (2008-09) Nose distraction: No cases reported Rib distraction: 10 cases reported. Editorial Note: Hansard reported in 2008 that there were 1683 restrictive physical interventions in secure childrens homes and 2921 in Young Offender Institutions. Or a total of 4604 across the under 18 secure estate. These are strangely different figures from those given in this PQ!

Mr. Straw: The law itself does not really need to be changed. There are clear prisoner transfer agreements. However, the agreement of the receiving state as well as that of the sentencing state is required. The proportion of our prisoners who are foreign nationals is low compared with those elsewhere in Europe. It is about 14 per cent., which compares extremely well with 60 per cent. in Austria and well over 30 per cent. in most other major European countries. Editorial Note: The number of foreign nationals in prison has increased by 144% between 1997 and 2005 and according to the European Sourcebook of Crime and Criminal Justice Statistics (2006), Austria has 38% of foreign nationals in its prisons not 60%. And

11 EU countries have less FNPs than England and Wales.

Reparation by Offenders Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the use of mechanisms for restorative justice. Claire Ward: Following the final report of the evaluation of the crime reduction programme restorative justice pilots, our assessment of the effectiveness of restorative justice for adults is that it can deliver high levels of victim satisfaction and can be a positive service for victims if delivered appropriately and sensitively. It may also help to reduce reoffending.

Offenders: Deportation Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the automatic deportation of foreign prisoners convicted of (a) illegal gun possession and (b) drug dealing.

Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much was spent on the running costs of each (a) private and (b) public sector prison in England and Wales in each year since 1990. Maria Eagle: The information requested spans a period of 19 years and requires information on over 130 prisons, which due to changes in structures, funding sources and accounting principles over this time is neither straightforward to produce nor comparable. These data are not held centrally. However some information can be found in the Prison Service annual report and accounts which shows direct spend at prisons each year back to 1994-95 and copies of which are available in the Library of both Houses of Parliament. Current budgets for each prison in 2008-09 is shown in the table. Summarised by Inside Time

Number of establishments: 129 Total operating costs: £2,003,841,931 Average operating costs £15,533,658 per prison TOP TEN PRISONS: COSTING THE MOST Belmarsh: £41,046,600 Average cost per prisoner: £51,372 Frankland: £39,259,000 Average cost per prisoner £53 559 Wandsworth: £35,191,544 Average cost per prisoner: £30,259 Woodhill: £32,056,999 Average cost per prisoner: £27,564 Whitemoor: £31,487,000 Average cost per prisoner £62,974 Birmingham: £30,566,795 Average cost per prisoner £27,267 Hewell: £20,530,076 Average cost per prisoner £14,310 Full Sutton: £29,808,000 Average cost per prisoner: £48,945 Wormwood scrubs: £28,315,606 Average cost per prisoner: £24,180 Wakefield: £29,550,400 Average cost per prisoner: £51,752 Based on CNA

Alan Johnson: We are targeting the most

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Legal Aid Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population who will be eligible for legally-aided representation in the Crown Court once means-testing is re-introduced; (2) what estimate he has made of the proportion of the population eligible for legallyaided representation in magistrates' courts. Mr. Straw: Every defendant appearing before the Crown court for trial once the new means testing scheme is introduced will be granted a representation order, subject to the submission of a completed application form. We estimate that just over three-quarters of defendants will receive legal aid without needing to make any contribution. Further information is available in the “Impact Assessment”, published alongside the Government's response to the consultation on the principle of Crown court means testing. Defendants in the magistrates court need to pass both the Interests of Justice test and the means test to qualify for legal aid. Recent estimates suggest that around half of the population of England and Wales would be financially eligible to receive legal aid in the magistrates courts if they were charged with an offence that satisfied the Interests of Justice test. The majority of defendants who are not legally-aided in the magistrates courts are ineligible because their cases do not meet the Interests of Justice criteria.

Prisoners: Personal Property Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the equivalent figures for 2008-09 are. Mr. Straw: A breakdown of the compensation the National Offender Management Service has paid, during 2008-09, to prisoners for damaged or lost property is set out as follows. In obtaining the information the National Offender Management Service does not distinguish between prisoners’ lost or stolen property. 2008-09 No. of cases Compensation Lost property 1,876 £106,570.76 Damaged property 255 £13,727.89

Prisons: Mental Health Services Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many psychologists were

employed by (a) HM Prison Service in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2004 and (b) the National Offender Management Service in 2008. Maria Eagle: There were 343 full-time equivalent psychologists employed in the Prison Service on 31 March 2001, 518 in 2004 and 653 across the National Offender Management Service in 2008. These figures include associated workers, who are involved with programmes but are not psychologists. Psychological assistants are not included. Editorial note: In April 2008 Inside Time featured Parliamentary Q&A which said there were 350 trainee psychologists at any one time over the 10 year period 1997-2007. And 325 chartered psychologists working in prison at any one time over the same 10 year period. It also noted that six psychologists in training had successfully completed the British Psychological Societies Diploma in Forensic Psychology (not all HM prison service staff) in May 2001. 'A high failure rate', the Ministry of Justice noted. It is not entirely clear what an 'equivalent psychologist' is but whatever they are, the number reported in April 2008 to be working in prisons is vastly different to the number reported in this PQ.

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also issues of debt welfare benefits community care mental health employment

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on the adequacy of legislation on the trafficking of babies into the UK.

Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number of first releases from prison on life licence in 2007, and the average time served at time of release.

Mr. Alan Campbell: Following discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service we have introduced a clause in the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Bill to amend Section 4 of the Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants etc.) Act 2004. This amendment will allow for the prosecution, under trafficking legislation, of those who bring small children or vulnerable adults into the country for the purpose of obtaining benefits, and where the role of the child or vulnerable adult is entirely passive.

Number released

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Average time served

Mandatory lifers 90 Other lifers 56

16yrs 9yrs

Prisoners Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners aged (i) between 60 and 65 years, (ii) between 66 and 70 years, (iii) between 71 and 75 years, (iv) between 76 and 80 years and (v) over 80 years there were in April of each year since 1997. Maria Eagle: The following table shows the information requested for prison population in England and Wales as at 30 June in each year from 2002 to 2008. The data to provide figures for earlier years are not available centrally.

Editorial note: The National Offender Management Service was created to provide a bridge and continuity between the prison and the community. The Minister must know that it is essential to know the answers to this question otherwise NOMS can’t do its job properly.

criminal defence

All Housing Matters including Homelessness Repossession Mortgage Arrears Possession, Eviction & Disrepair

Human Trafficking

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how long on average offenders with a minimum sentence of life spent in prison in the latest period for which figures are available.

Maria Eagle: Figures regarding the substance misuse and mental health needs of people subject to parole supervision are not routinely collected centrally and so are unavailable in the form requested.

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John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the number of people who are subject to parole supervision in England and Wales who have (a) a drug addiction, (b) an alcohol addiction and (c) a mental health condition; and what funding he has allocated to services for such people in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10.

prison law

37

Age bands 60-65 66-70 71-75 76-80

over 80

Female 2002 17 2003 22 2004 13 2005 21 2006 38 2007 44 2008 48

4 7 6 4 7 9 11

2 4 3 1 2 4 4

0 0 1 1 2 1 1

0 1 3 1 0 0 1

Male 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

370 373 431 435 478 549 607

151 170 184 204 241 236 254

40 46 62 62 77 78 102

17 19 19 17 19 23 25

910 922 934 1,030 1,090 1,269 1,341

Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of human trafficking have been recorded in the UK since 1997. Mr. Alan Campbell: Figures provided by the UK Human Trafficking Centre indicate that within the UK there have been a total of 384 people dealt with by the criminal justice system on arrest for human trafficking. A total of 106 people have been arrested for trafficking for sexual exploitation, three for conspiracy to traffic and seven for trafficking for forced labour. Editorial note: A previous PQ this month stated there were 452 arrests for human trafficking over the last 5 years involving people from 34 different countries resulting in 110 convictions. These figures are strangely different from the answer given here!

Reoffenders Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offences were committed by offenders recalled from release on licence but not yet returned to custody in each of the last 12 years; and what offences were committed in such circumstances in each such year. Maria Eagle: The number of offences committed by offenders who have been recalled to prison and who have yet to be apprehended is not recorded centrally. Between 1 January 1999 and 30 June 2008, 81,743 offenders were recalled to custody.

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38

Legal Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

'Here’s your money - now get out and get on with life!' Sean Hodgson's Lawyer Julian Young is concerned at how miscarriage of justice cases are financially left to fend for themselves

Julian Young n 18th March 2009 Sean Hodgson, like so many other people, was released from prison custody by a Court. The difference in his case was that his conviction for murder was quashed by the Lord Chief Justice in the Court of Appeal [Criminal Division] some 27 years after conviction; most other people leave a prison at the end of a sentence or after a successful Appeal Against Conviction or Appeal Against Sentence when the time spent in custody is normally so much shorter.

O

When an inmate leaves prison he is normally entitled to a release grant of about £46.00! That sum is intended to help until a job is found or benefits are calculated. Anyone who knows the Social Security and Benefits system knows that assessing benefits by the Department of Work and Pensions takes a considerable period of time, and a crisis loan, if granted, gives rise to an immediate debt which the Government is always anxious to have repaid as soon as possible. The Government position is that the Benefits

Agencies are supposed to assess entitlements and arrange payments as soon as possible. However, a person released after a custodial sentence frequently will not be near the place where a bank account is held, the account may have been closed or dormant for a number of years, let alone months, and advising the agencies of rent etc. takes time! This, in itself, delays the assessment whilst the claimant has to exist on £46.00! A convicted person is released on licence with a Probation officer assigned to him or her and the proper and reasonable expectation that Probation staff will help in sorting out accommodation, benefits, job interviews, access to a GP, hospital, Community Mental Health Team etc. The [fortunately] few who are released as a result of a quashed conviction or sentence are normally left effectively to fend for themselves. At the High Court, where all of the most important Appeal Against Conviction/Appeal Against Sentence hearings take place, there is a small unit, the *Miscarriages of Justice Support Unit, which works heroically with a small budget and staff and has to deal with inmates released, as was Sean Hodgson, without any support network or statutory body to ensure that help and guidance is available. At any Crown Court there is no such assistance other than Probation staff who can

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give a small grant and a train or bus ticket to an area - with the [former] inmate left to make arrangements as best he or she can and with no right to claim statutory guidance, assistance or support from the Probation Service. The system in the High Court really is not acceptable in this day and age. This is, in this sophisticated country, an unfortunate [I use that word instead of a much stronger one] and unacceptable state of affairs. This latter comment is not intended as any criticism whatsoever towards the Miscarriages of Justice Support Unit to whom I made reference above, their budget is small and they are doing the very best that they can within that budget especially when faced with an inmate whose needs may be considerable. Surely there should be put in place a detailed plan and fully supported system to deal with those few unfortunate prison inmates who are released after many years in custody and who will not be supervised in the community, and give them support as good as, if not better than, the system available to convicted prisoners upon their release. It is not beyond the wit of any administrator to work out such a system indeed, if approached, I could help. For Sean Hodgson and others there has been a need to seek guidance from a Solicitor and, especially in his case, assistance from Members of Parliament. To their considerable credit Hilary Armstrong [Labour] and Mark Field [Conservative] have both gone out of their way to help Sean and cut through administrative red tape - and he is a constituent of neither of them. But the point I make is that it should not be for our elected representatives to deal with such issues in this way. And as for the £46.00? In London, or in any town, let alone in a small village, that sum would not last long taking into account bed and board, food, clothing, the ordinary necessaries of life and so on. It almost seems as if those responsible for such a paltry payment want a released

If we can afford to keep an innocent man in custody for 27 years, we can, as a society, afford to look after him properly, at least in the short and medium term, when it is found that the system made an error. Perhaps that is one of the tests of a fair society.

Julian Young, Solicitor Advocate and Senior Partner of Julian Young & Co. London

*The Miscarriages of Justice Support Unit employs Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) Specialist Advisers to provide advice tailored to the client’s individual needs. CASE STUDY: The client applied for a discretionary award from the social fund known as Community Care Grant, which would offer him financial assistance in resettling. The application was for about £300 however the client received an award of £60 to help him resettle back into the community. This was confirmed in writing and the client was given a breakdown of how the award was worked out. He was given: £20 for a jacket; £8 for jeans; socks for £2; t-shirt for £5; underpants for £5; trainers for £20. The Benefits Agency awarded the client this amount of money despite knowing that the client had had his conviction quashed after being in prison for 15 years. The whole situation distressed the client as he could not believe this was how he was being treated after years of being wrongfully convicted. The way he found himself being treated further compounded the mental trauma he was experiencing as a result of the last 15 years. We requested a review of this decision and represented him at a review interview. Following this interview the original decision was overturned and he was awarded a further £160.

We can fight your corner We have a dedicated and specialist team. We offer nothing but honest and professional advice. We aim to deal with your case speedily and efficiently. We aim to provide a quick response to all initial contacts. We regularly attend prisons throughout Northern England but do offer nationwide service in particular: Categorisation / Progression Parole & Licence Issues Lifer & IPP cases Adjudications Appeals / CCRC cases Recall HDC Judicial Review

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inmate to commit crime simply to live. Perhaps more structure and a system of vouchers is one way forward - with other payments made according to need.

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Legal Comment

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Poca for ever and ever and ever after … till death do us part Shahreen Khatana highlights her experiences following the implementation of the Proceeds of Crime Act

Shahreen Khatana or those of you who read the July issue article, there we were, Cinderella happily chillin’ with her Prince Charming who had recently given up all the gold, silver and creature comforts that come with ruling a kingdom and instead taken up a job with SOCA specialising in the asset forfeiture cases under POCA. We can’t really blame him, there’s much more money and Bling to be made there than the whole of his magical kingdom, and not just that but it’s much easier to get hold of, than trying to persuade all the peasants in his kingdom to pay their taxes and keep prince charming in the comforts he is accustomed to. It’s not all doom and gloom though, in those days the peasants would be hanged or stoned to death but it’s now just repossessions and default sentences, so it’s long lasting torture for ever and ever and ever rather than just sudden death. Having said that, I’m sure those amongst you that have faced the wrath of POCA would consider the opposition more as the ugly sisters than Prince Charming.

F

An interesting point was brought to my attention recently, courtesy of Mr Isaac Mirza of JMW solicitors. Too many defence lawyers seem to just advise their clients to accept a deal, and the normally high and over-inflated benefit figure suggested by the CPS, rather than putting up a fight. The logic they often put forward is that it doesn’t matter, for example, if the benefit happens to be, let’s say, one million pounds or two million since it is unlikely

that it will ever be paid off. In my view first of all I believe it’s wrong in principle to accept a figure suggested by the CPS and just give up the fight if you believe the figure is wrong; regardless of the actual amount. Secondly, it’s important to reduce that figure if at all possible (and usually it is possible) because that figure stays with you ‘forever and ever and ever until your dying day’, if it’s not paid off. Common sense would normally dictate that you wouldn’t agree to owing someone £20 if you actually only owed them £10. So why do it with POCA just so the ugly sisters can go away and impress the politicians with statistics relating to all the Bling they’ve accumulated courtesy of POCA. All that achieves is to endorse the belief that is commonly held by most politicians that POCA is a wonderful invention bringing in loads of dosh. I was recently asked to offer my view on a case by the defendant’s solicitors (after being pressurised by the defendant), where the solicitors and counsel both advised the defendant to just accept a benefit figure, but luckily for this defendant he insisted on a second opinion. By simply using a calculator, in five minutes it could be demonstrated that even the simple adding up was wrong…to the tune of about half a million! This related to a drugs case and they had been adding up kilograms instead of grams! Elvis was a wonderful man with great insight and ability to predict the future, and particularly the year 2002 when POCA was to arrive. When in 1957 he recorded his classic ‘Hound Dog’ that of course was aimed at future POCA defence teams. “You aint nothin’ but a hound dog, talking all the time ... you aint never

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caught a rabbit (or won a POCA case) and you aint no friend of mine”! In fact speaking of wonderful songs, I often advise my clients to remember the words of a track by REO Speedwagon (an American soft rock band of the early 80’s) before they walk into court to face their demons dressed up as the CPS, “You tend to play dead; but you never bled; instead you lay still in the grass all coiled up and hissing ...” Ignore that at your peril - and never underestimate the wrath of POCA. I was invited to a party a couple of weeks ago by a very prominent set of chambers in London and I must admit they are about as good as you can get with POCA and certainly not the ones Elvis was singing about. I was amazed because normally, due to my very strong and defence orientated views, I don’t often get invited to such glitzy parties, especially ones that are organised by leading members of the establishment. As well as many prominent lawyers attending, I was introduced to a few ugly sisters representing the opposition and particularly a few financial investigators working for SOCA. Yes, all being pleasant and friendly but still “laying still in the grass all coiled up and hissing”. This particular senior member of SOCA was introduced to me and with their usual patronising style made a light-hearted comment saying “they would eat most of the defence lawyers in this room for breakfast”. The interesting point is the fact that they believe that even though some of the best lawyers in the country were there and probably because one day they act as counsel for the defence and the next day they may be prosecuting. Anyway, my comment to my new best friend from SOCA was that “if he tried eating me for breakfast I’d make sure he threw up and

PROBLEMS WITH THE PRISON? YOU NEED

39

had the runs for the rest of his life and then died from food poisoning”! He quickly departed and didn’t speak to me again all evening! In fact another reason was probably the story I told him about a particular client of mine who was in front of the judge facing a large confiscation order and I asked the defence barrister to especially have a good shot at mitigation for my client. Although he didn’t use my advice (since it wasn’t actually true) I suggested that he should ask the judge to show particular leniency and maybe suggest the defendant had a particularly harsh time in his life due to his upbringing, and this was not his fault but a twist of fate and he just drew the short straw in life because his mother worked for the CPS and his father was in SOCA. After that, maybe I should expect my door to be kicked in at 6 in the morning, so if you notice I haven’t written another article in Inside Time for a while then do come looking for me in Guantanamo Bay or Belmarsh maybe! Yes I know Belmarsh is a male prison but they can change the rules to suit themselves whenever they wish, can’t they? A final couple of thoughts for you to ponder whilst chewing through the rubber chicken and roast potatoes of Her Majesty’s Sunday lunch menu: firstly, remember the secret of success is in constancy of purpose. That of course applies to court cases or anything else in life. Focus totally on the task at hand (and that means eat, breath and sleep it), and “never, ever, ever, for ever”, take your eyes off the ball …till death you do part! The second point is a quote by the comedian Spike Milligan who once said … “money can’t buy you happiness but it can buy you a better class of misery”. So fight it and don’t let ‘em take it all off you! In real life there is no ‘happily ever after’ only POCA ever after, ever, ever and for ever after. For any questions or advice on POCA, please contact us at POCA Consulting Ltd. See advert page 27. Shahreen Khatana is Director and the ‘Princess Charming’ of POCA Consulting Ltd

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Legal Comment

40

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Errors and Omissions by Stanley Best he author (David Anderson) of the article 'Barrister or Solicitor what's the difference?' (Inside Time, July 2009) offers a timely attempt to explain matters to readers for whom the distinction might have become blurred. I fear that some misunderstandings may increase rather than decrease. The difference is in fact very much more substantial than the author allows.

T

Laymen - and David Anderson is, it seems, neither a barrister nor a solicitor - are not the ideal teachers in legal affairs and the first thing one notes is the bold statement that 'since 1994 and the Access to Justice Act, solicitors have been granted what are called Higher Courts Rights of Audience which allow them to present cases in court as well as to prepare cases'. That is true only so far as it goes, for thus far only 4,000 to 5,000 solicitors have gained Higher Courts Certificates, although the Solicitors Regulation Authority proposed, a short time ago, that henceforth solicitors would not have to satisfy any set standards, but should be granted the right by way of what they called 'self certification', a dangerous move, you may think. Can you imagine Junior House Physicians in their first post after qualifying becoming selfcertificated Consultant Physicians? Not too far-fetched, you may think, in some cases. David Anderson seems to suggest that prior to 1994 solicitors could not appear as advocates at a jury trial in a Crown Court. In that, he is wrong. There were, in fact, some five Crown Courts in England and Wales - from memory, Bodmin,

Barnstaple, Doncaster, Lincoln and Caernarfon - where solicitors had for many years (because of difficulties in transport, I believe) been able to practice as jury advocates. Only a handful did, since the vast majority of solicitors recognised their shortcomings or looked with scorn upon such work, finding richer pickings in conveyancing probate and civil litigation. I knew the situation well because, as a solicitor in the 1980s, I was one of the few who undertook Crown Court advocacy before a jury until a judge before whom I had often appeared said that I was ‘wasting (my) time as a solicitor. Go to the Bar!' I heeded that advice and the rest is, as they say, history. Perhaps those solicitors who like to flaunt a wig as though they were in fact barristers - sailing under false colours, I suggest - should consider accepting the risk of life at the Bar, if they have the aptitude for it. Confirmation that so few solicitors felt able or willing to undertake jury trials as advocates even at those five courts came to me from an old friend who practised in Wales. He had not known that he had such a right and when, out of curiosity more than anything else, he telephoned the then (now deceased) Chief Clerk at the Welsh Crown Court in question, he confirmed that in his memory, no solicitor had exercised his right there. There are some oddballs amongst solicitors, not all of them young. One wrote to me saying ‘I am running this case. I am instructing you’, seemingly forgetful of the fact that instructing Counsel means, in legal terminology, informing but not ordering. Another, asked by me to explain delay in applying for judicial review (the

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normal period being three months which the courts will only extend for very good reasons) refused to tell me, albeit asking me to advise on the merits of the lay client's claim. Why, one wonders? When this sort of thing occurs, Counsel has to try to bring about a happy outcome, for retaining a new solicitor close to the date for hearing - a tempting remedy - is not always the best thing for the client to do.

“

I knew the situation well because, as a solicitor in the 1980s, I was one of the few who undertook Crown Court advocacy before a jury until a judge before whom I had often appeared said that I was ‘wasting (my) time as a solicitor. Go to the Bar!' I heeded that advice and the rest is, as they say, history

”

Another approach by, one hopes, a rare solicitor who would rather instruct a ‘tame’ barrister (of his own, not the client’s choosing) is to refuse to co-operate in the hope that the lay client will agree to abandonment of Counsel of his choice. Counsel will try to navigate a path which takes full account of the needs of the lay client, but very occasionally he may have to write direct to the lay client explaining that, in his own best interest, he should find another solicitor, although this is not always easy. Why then the pressure these days from more and more solicitors for extended rights? It started at the time of a shortage of conveyancing and probate coinciding with a flood of new entrants to the solicitors’ profession. Rich pickings, thought the Law Society. Until recently when a Judge roundly criticised several solicitors for their inadequacy, little note has been taken of the decline in standards which affects some holders of Higher Court certificates. One did not know, it seems, of the requirement to advise a convicted man within 14 days as to appeal, while another

abandoned a client effectively 2 days before the hearing with the client in prison. David Anderson is also wrong when, trying to keep his explanation simple, he says of barristers that 'they only come into case once a solicitor instructs them as a specialist advocate'. That is not so, for whether in crime, civil litigation or Parole Board reviews, Counsel will advise on evidence long before the case gets to hearing by a court or a Parole Board panel. Pity the accused/prisoner whose solicitor does not seek such advice believing wrongly, as some do, that they know it all already. As David Anderson says, a barrister with ‘constant experience of representing clients in court …’ is able to focus his skills on the case. Who, the author of the article asks, is entitled to have a barrister to represent him? Answer, not merely everyone on trial in a Crown Court who has been granted legal aid (or, in rare cases, can afford to pay for himself), but also prisoners who are before the Parole Board for sentence review or appealing recall to prison whilst the prisoner was out on licence. Most solicitors recognise the good sense of instructing Counsel, but if yours does not you will have to dig your heels in and insist. The solicitor who resents a request to brief Counsel and who says 'we keep it in house' is best avoided. The independent and fresh eye which a barrister can bring to a case should lead, for example, to better preparation and can lead to the uncovering of witness evidence which may prove vital. So far as it is sensible to do so, Counsel will leave no stone unturned in endeavouring to obtain a just outcome. There is a duty upon solicitors not only to advise as to the availability of legal aid (public funding), but also as to instructing and briefing Counsel where this will assist the client, as it almost always will. If you know which Counsel you prefer to be represented by, you should tell your solicitor. Don't believe everything you see on the Internet. Self advertisement, as has often been said, is, in truth, no advertisement at all. If a solicitor says: 'We always instruct Mr X of Counsel' be aware that that fact alone is not sufficient to guarantee you the result you want. Miracles cannot be conjured out of thin air; a great deal of hard work is involved in preparing and presenting a case to a jury or the Parole Board. When you are asked for your help by your lawyers, give it freely and fully to them. Thus is a successful outcome made the more likely.

Stanley Best is a practising barrister at Barnstaple Chambers Tel/Fax/Answerphone: 01837 83763

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Legal Advice

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

41

Trafficking … strategy & tactics in defending in trafficking cases

Aziz Rahman and Jonathan Lennon Whether the ‘commodity’ is drugs, contraband, guns or people, trafficking offences share some similar characteristics. Police operations are invariably intelligence led with the usual concerns for defenders that association alone, e.g. telephone links and so on, can make an innocent associate look guilty. Here we outline some of the practical issues we have come across in tackling trafficking allegations. Overseas Element Of course trafficking necessarily means that the alleged offence has an overseas element. This will not usually raise any particular challenges of itself, although it is worth considering where the actual offence (if any) was committed. The starting point in English law is that the Court’s jurisdiction is territorial. However, certain acts committed abroad will be triable here, including a conspiracy abroad to commit an offence here. Modern British policing recognises the transnational nature of serious crime. According to the UK Threat Assessment of Organised Crime 2009/10, much of the most serious trafficking is undertaken by organised criminal gangs, thus trafficking receives the attention of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) - which has been up and running since 2006 and whose stated aim is to target those at the top of criminal conspiracies. The world is becoming a smaller place in terns of law enforcement. E.U. states are now well used to the European Arrest Warrant for example – this was implemented here in 2004 and essentially does away with the old and lengthy extradition procedures, at least between E.U. states. There is also undoubtedly increasing co-operation between worldwide law-enforcement agencies such as the American D.E.A., Interpol and European police forces, and now especially financial watchdogs such as the Financial Services Authority, the Serious Fraud Office and the American Securities & Exchange Commission. This reliance on overseas law-enforcement forces will sometimes provide some leverage for defenders to enquire into whether any foreign agency has conducted surveillance on a suspect and, if so, how far that surveillance is compatible with what we would recognise as proper human rights protection. It will also present an opportunity for the prosecution to use as evidence phone calls intercepted overseas - this is still not possible in domestic cases under s17 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Conspiracy Invariably, a trafficking offence will be charged as a conspiracy to commit a certain offence. Conspiracies are technically difficult to defend because the Crown does not have to prove a particular act. It does not need to be actually proven that X was an organiser or a courier; the evidence will be presented by the Crown and if enough mud sticks the jury will convict – even if it’s just on the basis that ‘he was definitely involved.’ But conspiracy charges also present problems for the Crown as well as solutions. It is always worthwhile going back to basics and understanding that conspiracy allegations necessarily mean the Crown proving that a suspect was a party to an agreement and he knew that if the agreement were carried out a course of conduct would be pursued which would result in the commission of an offence.

But what if, for example, A, B and C agree to import cannabis (a Category B drug - again) where C provides a car but in fact A and B import cocaine (still a Category A drug)? In that situation, C would in fact be acquitted (see R v Taylor [2002] Crim LR 205). The point is that it is always worth going back to basics in trafficking conspiracy cases and considering whether the Crown have created problems for themselves. Again, what if, for example, A and B agree with C to commit an offence but C, in reality, had no intention to go through with it, or if B later changed his mind? What if A, B and C agreed with D to commit a trafficking offence and D turned out to be an undercover officer? What if A agreed with B but did not meet C or even know D? It would take a book to explain all the many variables of the law on conspiracy. The essential thing to remember is that conspiracy really means ‘agreement’ - the Crown must always prove a suspect’s agreement to be involved in a trafficking offence. Police Intelligence Trafficking charges may well follow from long and complex investigations. Often it is undeniable that an offence has been committed; the concern being; what is the case against a particular defendant? The evidence might show that a suspect has no more than a few suspicious meetings and lots of telephone calls between others who have much more evidence against them – yet this same suspect is portrayed as ‘Mr. Big’. Why is this? Very often it is down to police intelligence where the Crown’s ‘theory of the case’ is presented without any firm evidence of the number one status given to the Defendant. For prosecutors, that is the beauty of a conspiracy charge. Defenders, on the other hand, will often try to pressurise the Crown in disclosure arguments, hoping that the Judge will

make a disclosure order that the prosecution don’t want. The Courts are well used to these arguments - in fact they require very careful thought and precise drafting. All too often such arguments fail as there is a lack of detail about why police intelligence must be disclosed in order to assist the defence case. Prosecutor’s will simply say to the Judge in a private hearing (Public Interest Immunity or PII hearings) that the identity of the informant - or whatever is the disclosure sought - should not be revealed as the defence are only asserting that they are not involved in the conspiracy and have done nothing to show how such disclosure might assist their defence or undermine the prosecution case. Informants, ‘supergrasses’ and agents provocateurs Traffickers move in treacherous circles; the police and the Courts recognise the vital importance of keeping the informant system going by using material gathered straight from the front-line. In trafficking cases, this can cause an over confident informant with an agenda (officer or civilian) to overstep the mark and start creating crime; the classic case of entrapment. Such dangers are bound to increase with the importance attached to trafficking investigations and the fairly new provisions allowing ‘immunity notices’ to be issued to a suspect prepared to turn Queen’s Evidence; s71, Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. The same legislation also introduces incentives for informants to come forward from prison and receive often substantial discounts in their sentences after entering written agreements with the prosecution - see e.g. R v P; R v Blackburn [2008] 2 Cr. App. R (S). The problems with these sorts of witnesses are obvious – they may be telling the truth but are equally highly motivated to lie. The authors have been involved in several cases

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involving examination of the police handling of these sorts of witnesses which can be crucial to preserve, or undermine, the credibility of these inherently flawed witnesses. Disclosure and Public Interest Immunity In a drugs trafficking conspiracy allegation that the authors were involved in some years ago the Defence Statement actually went as far as naming an individual as an informant and provided some reasoning for making this allegation. The Crown was then forced into serving a very lengthy statement from the named informant who then had to come out of the shadows and become a prosecution witness. The advantage for defenders of this sort of tactic is that the issue may be about the credibility of the ‘outed’ informant, rather than of the Defendant. But such tactics will not be appropriate in all cases, and careful judgements have to be made about what is pleaded in the Defence Statement. But it can be seen that in trafficking cases, perhaps more strikingly than in other cases, it is important to properly prepare for disclosure arguments and not just make bald assertions on a piece of paper headed ‘Defence Statement’ - see comments of the House of Lords in R v H & C [2004] 2 AC 134. We have already mentioned entrapment, which is often the issue in participating informant cases. In trafficking cases this issue arises again and again. An undercover police officer, or a criminal used by the police to get close to suspects, can provide very valuable material to the police. But the Court’s recognise that the temptation for those involved to cross the line and ‘create an offence’ is very real, see test in R v Loosely; A.G.’s ref (No. 2 of 2000) [2002] 1 Cr. App. R 29. The arguments on entrapment may also include not just the informant’s actions but the lawfulness of the police operation and whether it was properly authorised under RIPA. An informant feeding material back to his handler for reward is undoubtedly a ‘covert human intelligence source’ or ‘CHIS’ in ‘police speak’ under RIPA, and thus proper authorisations must be provided, otherwise the Crown could face a submission that the suspect’s right to privacy under Article 8 of the European Convention has been breached; demanding the exclusion of that unlawfully obtained evidence. Conclusion Criminal cases centring on trafficking are bound to take up more and more court time. The cases will become increasingly complex as the facilities of the State to battle trafficking increase, e.g. the use of immunity notices and so on. However, we predict that the central issues will not change, namely; entrapment, innocent association and disclosure and PII arguments. Also, as ever, early and proper preparation, particularly of Defence Statements, will be the key in defending trafficking allegations.

Aziz Rahman is a Solicitor-Advocate and Partner at the leading Criminal Defence firm Rahman Ravelli Solicitors, specialising in Human Rights, Financial Crime and Large Scale Conspiracies/Serious crime and was acting Solicitor for H in R v H & C Rahman Ravelli are members of the Specialist Fraud Panel Jonathan Lennon is a Barrister specialising in criminal defence, human rights and Prison Law at 23 Essex Street Chambers in London. He was junior Counsel in R v H (C.A.) and is contributing author to ‘Covert Human Intelligence Sources’ 2009 Waterside Press.

Legal Q&A

42

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Inside Time Legal Forum 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. Replies for the Legal Forum kindly provided by: ABM Solicitors; Chivers Solicitors; de Maids; Frank Brazell & Partners; Henry Hyams; Hine & Associates; Levys Solicitors; Morgans; Oliver & Co; Parlby Calder; Petherbridge Bassara Solicitors; Stephensons Solicitors LLP; Stevens Solicitors; Switalskis Solicitors and WBW Solicitors see individual advertisements for full details. Send your legal queries (concise and clearly marked ‘legal’) to our editorial assistant Lucy Forde at Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. For a prompt response, readers are reminded to send their queries on white paper using black ink or typed if possible. Use a first or second class stamp. I have had and been turned down at two paper reviews and am waiting for an oral hearing. Is there anything else I can do?

Is it legal to do this after this material was withdrawn at trial as I now find myself being accused of multiple offences I have never been charged with or convicted for and admissions I have never made which have nothing to do with the conviction. My offender manager has told me it is tough as she can’t get any material from my trial.

A It is not uncommon for incorrect details from your trial to appear in Parole reports. It is advisable that you contact a prison law specialist to assist you with your Parole and to clearly outline the issues that are incorrect by way of representations to the Parole Board. You could also contact your Trial Solicitors who may still have a record of the agreed facts at the time of your conviction.

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While I have been here I have been bullied. I showed the officer my bruising and he gave ME a bully warning. I think this is out of order as it is me that is being bullied not the one doing the bullying - what do you advise?

SH - HMP Liverpool Q I would like some clarification regarding my parole hearing. I was sentenced to seven years in January 2005, plus three years extended licence. My first parole eligibility date fell in June 2008, I was refused. Liverpool prison’s parole department state that my next PED falls one year from the last, my solicitor says six months from last parole date and I have received a letter from outside probation stating my next review would be at the six month interval. Please could you give me some advice?

A Please note that we are presuming from the information provided that you fall under the Criminal Justice Act 1991. The Criminal Justice Act 1991 provides that in the case of long term prisoners (4 years or more) second or subsequent reviews must commence 26 weeks before the anniversary of the Parole Eligibility Date (PED).

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PH - HMP Littlehey Q I was recalled in November 2008 for something that was not given on my licence conditions.

A In relation to the issue of your release, there is very little that can be done before the oral hearing takes place. You may however wish to contact a prison law solicitor to represent you at the oral hearing. In relation to the issue of bullying, your first avenue would be to write an internal complaint concerning the decision of the officer to give you a warning. Failing that you could pursue the matter with the Prisons Ombudsman.

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AF - HMP Cardiff Q I am 14 years into a 15 year mandatory life sentence. I have progressed well and have been a Cat C prisoner for the last 8 years. My parole was due last year at HMP Haverigg but I had to defer the hearing after I found out all reports were based on material from the pre case summary and police station statement. My trial, which led to this conviction, differed totally to the police station statements with most disproved. All apparent ‘confessions’ struck from the record and the pre-case summary withdrawn by the CPS and struck from the record by the judge because it was factually incorrect. It details evidence that never took place. To my dismay, I have found my whole sentence is now being based on these reports and probation and the prison service only have this material and nothing from the trial.

MH - HMP Holme House Q I am currently on licence recall. My probation officer says that I am not entitled to a review; I wrote to my solicitor who told me I had a good case for review and he wrote to recall appeals section to ask for a review of the decision. My solicitor has had no response from the appeals section. I would like to know where I stand as I feel that I am only in this position due to unprofessionalism and ignorance on the part of my probation officer.

A You state that you were recalled to prison in January 2009 and your case at the time of writing was yet to be reviewed. To answer your question regarding review the procedure is as follows: When a person is recalled to prison, the prison will inform the Post-Release team at the Ministry of Justice that you have been recalled. They then prepare a dossier of papers which must be disclosed to you. The dossier will give you the opportunity of indicating whether you challenge the recall or not. If you indicated that you wished to challenge your recall then you would have been given the opportunity of submitting representations, either directly or through a solicitor. I am unaware whether this has taken place in your case. The Parole Board would then assess your case, ideally within 20 days of recall, and decide on one of four things: 1. Direct immediate release. 2. Refuse to release you but direct a date for future release. 3. Refuse to release you but set a date for

future review. 4. Refuse to release you or direct a further review (where there is less than 12 months to serve). You indicated in your letter that your solicitor had requested details concerning your next review and I hope that by now you have been told the position in your case.

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RH - HMP Channings Wood Q I was charged with four counts of indecent assault under SOA 1965. I was of the understanding that the maximum sentence was five years. I was mistakenly sentenced under the SOA 2003, the maximum sentence being ten years. Taking into consideration a 25% reduction for early plea I was sentenced to eight years on each count to run concurrent (10 - 25% = 7½). I was re-sentenced under the ‘slip rule’ to two years on each count to run consecutively, again totalling eight years. There was no mention of discount for early plea and the judge changed the sentence from concurrent to consecutive. I was informed that there were no grounds for appeal, is this correct?

A When an offender is sentenced, the maximum sentence for the crime is limited to the maximum penalty at that time the offence was committed. Here the court failed to do that and you were sentenced under the SOA 2003 rather than the relevant legislation (SOA 1956). The maximum sentence however remained 10 years (as from the 1956 Act to the 2003 Act). In your case the Judge, when re-sentencing you, is also limited by law to not impose a harsher penalty than he had on the first occasion. The practice of imposing consecutive sentences instead of concurrent sentences could have easily applied when you were sentenced originally. The important principle is the 'totality principle'. The judge in twice imposing an 8 year sentence did so with the same 'totality principle' in mind. It was really only the way 8 were reached that is different. I regret to say the advice you had already received was correct.

>> Please note our new address for all PRISONER correspondence: Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.

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Legal Q&A

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Banks on Sentence Answers by Robert Banks, a barrister who writes Banks on Sentence, the book the Judges use for sentencing more than any other.

www.banksr.com Q I await sentence for street robbery. I was led into it by my older brother and have never been to court before. He had a knife and the woman was badly injured when she fell. I am 17, I have heard about courts showing mercy. How does that work? A The task of the judge is to pass the right sentence. They need to consider all the relevant factors. With adults, a relevant consideration is often to pass a sentence which will deter the defendant and others from committing crime. For youth justice the principle aim is to prevent offending. There is also a need to consider the welfare of defendants under 18. The court will balance all the factors. The exercise of mercy has a long and important history. The principles enable those with exceptional mitigation to be given a sentence lower than one which would normally be passed. Mercy is often shown to pregnant women and young offenders. It gives the court the leeway to pass a lower than usual sentence. Your solicitor should collect all the evidence which can help in reducing the sentence such as references. I hope your hearing goes well for you.

Q I was convicted of manslaughter. The attack was before the Criminal Justice Act 2003 came into force. The victim was kept alive for nearly 3 years and

died after the Act came into force. The judge gave me an IPP. I looked in the prison library and saw that under Article 7 of the European Convention on Human Rights, “nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the criminal offence was committed”. As IPPs were not in force at the time of the blows that killed him, surely I can’t be given it?

A The Sentencing Guidance Council guideline says that where a defendant is caught red-handed, the recommended reduction for a plea of guilty made at the earliest moment should be 20% and not one third. The fact there was a long delay before sentence was not your fault and should not count against you. Q

A

The offence of manslaughter was not committed when the victim was attacked because he was then still alive. The offence only occurred when the victim died which was after the IPP provisions came into force. However even if one was to assume the relevant date is the date of the attack, the European Court has decided that Article 7 is only infringed if the sentence imposed constituted a heavier penalty than could be imposed at the time the offence was committed. The UK court has decided that to answer that question one looks at the maximum penalty when the offence was committed. The maximum sentence for manslaughter at the time of the attack was life so the court would say you did not receive a heavier penalty than life. As has often happened since the Human Rights Act 1998 came into force, the way the articles have been interpreted means the defendant is no better off than he was before the Act.

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Q I pleaded guilty at the earliest moment to possession with intent to supply 200 kilos of cannabis. I was caught red-handed with it. The prosecution claimed there was 250 kilos of cannabis that was not seized. After 10 months there was a Newton hearing and the judge ruled in my favour. (A Newton hearing is where the judge considers evidence and hears arguments to determine the facts for sentencing.)The judge said I was not entitled to full credit as I was caught red-handed and sentenced me to 5½ years. I don’t think this is fair. Should I have received full credit?

I was convicted of murder. The police lied and the main prosecution witness was caught out lying. I was sentenced to 33 years minimum rec. on the basis the man was shot. There was no gun residue found anywhere near the body. The head and hands had been cut off and have not been found. There was no evidence he was shot, except his girlfriend had heard he was going to get a lump of lead in the head. How can this be right? Can you give me some advice?

43

A The 2003 Act determines that a case of murder involving the use of a firearm will normally fall within the category of cases with a 30 year starting point. If the judge was to conclude that this was a gang killing that would increase the minimum term. Also the removal of the head and hands would be an aggravating factor. Your case in other respects is the same as all sentencing cases. The judge has to make findings of fact about the key elements of the case. The findings have to be to the “criminal standard” i.e. if they are adverse to the defendant the judge must be satisfied so s/he is sure. The Court of Appeal will not interfere with a judge's findings unless they consider those findings could not properly be made. Normally whether the victim was shot would be determined by looking at the body. Here, on the information you provided I do not consider the judge could be sure the deceased was shot. Firstly, the judge is not just relying on the girlfriend to honestly and accurately report what she was told but also on the person who provided her with that information. This type of hearsay can be extremely unreliable. Secondly, the fact there may be a plan does not mean it was carried out in that manner. Plans are often adapted and discarded. Good luck with your appeal against conviction and sentence.

>> Please note our new address for all PRISONER correspondence: Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.

Please make sure questions relate to sentences and not conviction or release. Unless you say you don’t want your question and answer published it will be assumed you don’t have an objection to publication. No-one will have their identity revealed. Facts which indicate who you are will not be printed. Letters without an address cannot be answered. It is usually not possible to determine whether a particular defendant has grounds of appeal without seeing all the paperwork. Going through all the paperwork is normally not an option. The column is designed for simple questions and answers. Please address your questions to Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, SO30 2GB (and mark the letter for Robert Banks). Please use black ink and ensure that your name, prison number and prison are clearly stated on your letter.

44

Book Reviews

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Befriend and Betray The Thoughtful Dresser Infiltrating the Hells Angels, Bandidos and Other Criminal Brotherhoods

by Linda Grant Jane Andrews looks at a book that examines how most people ‘dress to impress’

by Alex Caine ‘Do not look upon all this that I am telling about the clothes as uncalled for or spun out, for they have a great deal to do with the story'.

Gerard McGrath is suitably impressed by a book that highlights the dangerous undercover world of a freelance infiltration agent spanning 25 years In the autumn of my life I have learned the inherent wisdom of the adage: 'Never judge a book by the cover.' The same sage counsel applies to forming a judgement based upon what the publisher of any given book leads one to believe in their marketing prowess. Publishers are unlikely to acknowledge that the paper used to print the book constitutes a shameful waste of the rain forests in terms of the wood-pulp used to manufacture the paper. So, though I acknowledge that ‘Befriend and Betray’ is not the first choice of book that I would have selected and paid for by way of wiling away an evening, I read it with an open mind. Despite the exponential increase in my cynicism regarding autobiographical tales of derring-do as I inexorably advance further into my dotage, I am compelled to state that Mr Caine, or his ghost-writer, has penned quite a good read of its genre. Canadian born Alex Caine describes himself as having been a freelance contracted infiltration agent over a period of 25 years. He worked undercover for and with diverse law enforcement bodies, including the Canadian Police, the American FBI, DEA and ATF, the Royal Hong Kong Police and RNC to gather evidence against serious felons and bring them to book – pun intended. In chapter-after-chapter one reads how he risked life and limb infiltrating the rapacious Hell's Angels, the rabid Ku Klux Klan, murderous Triads, Russian gangsters, Asian drug smugglers, corrupt police and sundry other villainous antinomians. Any Hollywood studio has a ready-made action adventure movie a la Bruce Willis should they purchase the book option. By its very nature the work that Mr Caine did avers to him being a versatile, plausible, consummate actor. Of necessity, he tells us, he was compelled to practice duplicity and caprice,

be a con-artist, a human chameleon. The intrepid Alex appears an exemplar of the ‘join them to beat them' philosophy. However, one could be forgiven for thinking he also personifies 'set a thief to catch a thief' given that his CV shows he did a stint in prison for drugs possession. The dubious legality and morality of some of his documented actions in gaining evidence against the aforementioned villains re-poses the age old question: 'Do the means justify the end?' Be that as it may, if one accepts the veracity of his story and given that he has lived to tell the tale, he is undoubtedly more deserving of an Oscar than some of the hams who get them. I have to admit that by chapter five I had decided that I had not warmed to Mr Caine as a character, a personality. I have no criticism of him being a self-evident thrill seeker - the ennui engendered by my own prison existence makes that trait easy to understand. However, I am inherently contemptuous of informers and poachersturned-gamekeepers; none more so than those who have turned for money, as I believe was in large measure the motivation of Mr Caine. I do not regard the pseudomorph Mr Caine as a bold crusader in the cause of justice per se. Though he contradicts himself more than once, I do not think he does either. Indeed in the epilogue of the book he reprises, reflects and questions with quite a touching pathos and poignancy. To his credit, he acknowledges that his personal relationships suffered as a result of his essentially egocentric lifestyle. In conclusion, my subjective opinions aside, 'Befriend and Betray' is worth the read if for no other reason than it reinforces just how squalid criminal sub-culture is on a universal basis. Befriend and Betray by Alex Caine is published by Mainstream price: £9.99 ISBN 978-1-84596-532-7 Gerard McGrath is currently resident at HMP Haverigg

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You may be wondering what this quote means, or even what the title of this book is all about? In fact the title in itself speaks volumes, as author Linda Grant takes us on a journey which, by the end of this book, will make the reader look at the times in their lives when they may have chosen a particular item of clothing to wear. However, this quote is from the legendary Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes who, whilst in prison in 1605 for unexplainable taxcollecting activities, wrote the book 'Don Quixote'. It relates to the principal character of the book being a modest, elderly, village gentleman who dresses as a 'knight' of the time! And so this takes me onto the principle reason for this book and to ask, ‘How many of us dress to impress in one way or another at some point in our lives?’ No, this isn't just a book about 'fashion’, it is a book that will most probably make you think more about the clothes you put on your back every day. And again no, this isn't a gimmicky 'Trinny and Susannah' … ’What Not to Wear’ spin-off! The term 'fashion' is not only used for describing fashion, because fashionable clothing can usually be said to have some significance, usually dictated by social, gender and other conventions in society. And so Linda Grant takes us on a journey of self-discovery and at the same time introduces us to amazing people such as Catherine Hill, a remarkable lady who is a survivor of the dreaded Auschwitz Concentration Camp. This has been a cathartic book in many ways for me to read and reflect on, and is why I particularly chose the first quote, because that is very poignant.

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It has equally taken me the longest time to write this review, as I want to give this book the justice it deserves, particularly after reading a damning review in the Sunday Times earlier in the year, which led me to read it! Linda Grant started a fashion blog in 2007, a way of thinking aloud about this book and as she says herself, '...this book’s modest intent is to liberate its readers from the doubts and uncertainties that beset them when they start thinking about clothes or, worse, talking about them, and someone pipes up that they should concern themselves with matters more significant, such as the fate of the planet'. In other words: "Fashion must be the intoxicating release from the banality of the world!" The most memorable parts of this entire book for me have been the chapters about Catherine Hill and her remarkable survival from Auschwitz, and how even after a few hours of her mother being taken to the gas chamber she ripped a section of the blue and white stripe fabric from her dress to tie around her head in a bow. 'All I could think about was, I'm so cold and I'm missing my hair, but my ears, I'm going to have to do something about this ... I made a ribbon and I tied it, and I said “that's beautiful". And I felt my mother was tying my ribbons and it gave me a moment of content... ' How many times have we put on our 'armour' to cover up what is really going on inside our minds? This is a truly fantastic book which has left quite a 'mark' on me, especially with another quote by Catherine Hill: 'People will say, well, you could have made different choices, you could have handled it differently. But you are shooting for the stars, shooting for the moon and something happens... ' And finally, as Linda Grant said in writing this book: 'Take pleasure: take it while you can'.

The Thoughtful Dresser by Linda Grant is published by Virago Press - price £7.99 ISBN 978-1-84408-556-9 Jane Andrews is currently resident at HMP Send

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45

ETHNIC MINORITIES COMING OUT

www.sonalle.com “

© www.sonalle.com

“

I didn't actually tell my parents. It's a very strange situation simply because it's decades later and after being married for just over ten years to my partner, I can't really remember the exact nature of what happened but it was in a conversation with my father. It was a line that my father said. I didn't even say that I was coming out. My father simply said that he understood. By that he mean't that he understood that I was gay. He said that he couldn't understand earlier but he now understood and that was it. That was all that's ever been said. A majority of the extended family are also aware; we may not talk about it openly and broadly over dinner but they do accept my partner as my partner. We are seen as any other couple

© www.sonalle.com

I wasn't feeling too good about myself and I was down all the time. I started self harming. Mum came into my room and she said, ‘What's the matter with you? I try to make you happy but you are always so miserable.’ ‘Mum, I like girls.’ She looked really confused. She's a proper Asian housewife. She just couldn't understand it. I said it again. ‘I love girls.’ She looked at me as if she was about to throw up. I'll never forget that face she made. It’s really painful when 1 think about it. She looked really scared, disgusted and confused

”

”

I didn’t tell my parents. They just came “ to find out. It was in a social network. I left

© www.sonalle.com

a photo comment that said that I loved my partner. My brother saw it, called my parents and the secret came out. My dad wrote me an email saying that he'd just come back tired from work and disgusted to see all this lesbianism and that from now on I'm on my own. I went to Ray's (my girlfriend’s) place. After a week or so, the police turned up to take me away and put me in a mental hospital. They locked me up for 3 days. I had to lie to my parents. "I'm gonna change my way to what you say". When I said that they finally let me out and brought me back home. At home for about a month: I wasn’t allowed my laptop. I wasn't allowed my phone. My door had to be open, it couldn't be locked. Then I just ran away. I jumped over the wall at night-time with nothing but a bag full of knickers, my passport, my birth certificate and my bank cards. Now they don't know that I'm still with Ray. They know I'm a lesbian but I don't think they've accepted it or they ever will accept it

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”

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My brother and sister were fine with it but my mum and dad were very pissed off. “ I was going out and I wanted to use my mum’s stud earring, this was after I told her that I was gay over the phone while she was at work. She turns arounds and goes into the kitchen and gets the meat cleaver. Luckily my uncles and aunts were in the house and were able to prize it off her. My aunt was like, how could you be gay and bring shame upon the family. Then my uncle decided to chase me out the house. I jumped onto the bus and told the driver to drive off. It was just horrible, but I survived and I dealt with it

”

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46

Inside Poetry

ST A R P O E M O F T H E M O N T H Congratulations to Brian Franklin Thames - Centinela State Prison USA - who wins our £25 prize for ‘Star Poem of the Month'.

Whiteboy Freddy Brian Franklin Thames – Centinela State Prison USA I knew whiteboy Freddy before he got smeared all over highway 680 like mayonnaise on an artichoke leaf mixed with a little hot sauce I knew whiteboy Freddy when his life was much bigger than he was and when gettin’ high made more sense than gettin’ a high school diploma I knew whiteboy Freddy when a $5.00 dollar bag of weed was enough to bring out the ‘real you’ and keep you from dancing on the freeway at midnight But, whiteboy Freddy must’ve known something that I never knew; God will forgive any dumbass for committing suicide as long as they do it to stop the pain I never fully understand God but I understand that whiteboy Brian has very kindly asked that we donate his prize to Prisoners Abroad

insidepoetry Attention all librarians and contributors. Copies are available at a special discount price of £7.50 for Inside Time readers, family and friends. Inside Time, P.O.Box 251, Hedge End, Hampshire SO30 4XJ. Telephone: 0844 335 6483 ISBN 978-0-9562855-0-8

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

If you would like to contribute to the Poetry section, please send your poems to ‘Poetry’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.

Life’s lessons

And screaming go on?

Scott Hanlon - HMP Peterhead

“You are what you are And it’s all up to you” Well this is a statement I don’t think is true

Life can be heaven Or life can be hell It depends where you’re born It depends where you dwell It depends on your family If they’re good or they’re bad If they love you or hate you Your dear old mum and dad It depends if they’re living Or dead as a nail Were they sharp as a fox Or slow as a snail? It depends on your city Your village or town Is it pleasant and peaceful Or shit and run down? Are your neighbours the sort That say ‘how do you do?’ Or the sort that say ‘F*** you and f*** your maw too?’ Does the man down the street Bake cakes for a sale Or just cut bags of kit For the junkies that dwell? Do your friends go to school Get good grades and have fun Or do they burn down buildings Then go on the run? When you lie down in bed Is it peaceful and calm Or does ranting and raving

For the sights and the sounds That you see and you hear Can calm and relax you Or surround you with fear The things that you’re taught And the things that you know Can make you rise high Or can make you sink low It’s the way that it is It’s the way the wind blows And for most of your life It’s the way that it goes But you shouldn’t despair If you’re stuck in a slum And you shouldn’t regret The life’s path you’ve run The past is the past The present is now And the future is yours Use it as you will Open your eyes And broaden your mind Then a world of darkness Will slowly subside New paths will open But walk them with care Because some lead to joy And some to despair.

I am me Graham Webb - HMP Edmunds Hill Prison, is this a place for me? Sent into obscurity, Here with the living dead, Just a memory, In other peoples’ heads. Courses to make a better person, They try to make another version, You tick the boxes, You keep them sweet, A better person, When jail’s complete. But I am me, Am I better, Done my courses, To the letter. Prison has taught me, Many things, Just play along, To pull some strings. Prison don’t work, Well not for me, It only took my liberty, When I’m free, We shall see, But I tell you now, I am me.

Can you read this? Toe by Toe enables learners to learn to read from the beginning with one to one support.

We can look again

It is for anyone who wants to learn how to read whilst in prison. Toe by Toe Mentors help others learn to read. Train to be a Toe by Toe mentor and develop skills in supporting others. It is a positive and highly rewarding way to spend your time in prison. For more information write to: Shannon Trust Freepost RLZZ-UTGG-ET-JS 38 Ebury Street London SW1W 0LU

The Criminal Cases Review Commission is the independent public body which investigates possible miscarriages of justice in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. For an information pack and application form, please phone us on 0121 633 1800 or write to Criminal Cases Review Commission, Alpha Tower, Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham B1 1TT. www.ccrc.gov.uk

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Inside Poetry

If you would like to contribute to the Poetry section, please send your poems to ‘Poetry’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB.

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Getting through it!!!

Prison’s no place

Leanne Greaves - HMP Styal

Michael Kane - HMP Woodhill

Sat in my pad all alone, On suicide watch, ‘cos ‘o’ wot I done. Every half hour they switch on the light, The days not so bad, it’s all through the night. The shakes, the sweats, anxiety’s kicked in, Life at the moment is pretty damn grim! They open the hatch, ‘you alright my girl?’ I just turn over, my head’s in a whirl. It’s seven o clock, ‘behind your doors it’s time,’ In another 14 hours we’ll be stood in line. Some for their problems, some for their meds, One thing’s for sure, we’re all f***ed in the head. In this place, for crime ‘n’ shit, What I’d do for one more hit!!! You know it’s not happening, not in here, ‘Just gotta get on with it’, they say ‘my dear’, Lights out at 10 o’clock, All I can think about is gear ‘n’ rock!!! The same old shit night after night, But with a lot of willpower, things start to go right. Nightmares so bad, you weep ‘n’ weep, If there’s someone watchin’ over me, PLEASE help me to sleep. Emotions are high, been numb for years, I try so hard, just can’t stop these tears. Your past comes back, so powerful you can’t cope, Sleep, you’re jokin’, it’s a downward slope. The rattles gone, insomnia’s kicked in, First time I saw that brown shit, wish I’d thrown it in the bin!!! I wish to God I could turn back time, There’s no way I’d be writing this heartbreakin’ rhyme. As time goes on I’m gettin’ stronger ‘n’ stronger, Few weeks ‘av’ gone, don’t think about the gear any longer. I’ve beaten the DEVIL after all this time, Can’t believe lookin’ back the gear was divine. It messed up my life, my loved ones too, I’m ever so sorry I did this to you!!! I’ve learned my lesson after years of abuse, And now I can finally put myself to good use. So sack the drugs, don’t need ‘em anymore, Don’t even feel like I wonna score. Gonna get the job I want, gonna sort myself out, Have the perfect live I’ve dreamed about, With my kids ‘n’ my spouse.

Domestic Daddy Steve Fethon - HMP Lindholme ‘Ere pal give us a few smokes All I want is a few chokes. I’ve got none mate only a few Even this won’t see me through Listen pal just sort us one out You ever need out, give us a shout. ‘Ere mate this’ll run out by tomorrow, And I don’t wanna end up having to borrow. Do you take gear, subbie or dope, ‘Cos I should be coppin on a visit, Soon I hope. I don’t take none of that, just a bit of hash, But I can’t afford nothing, I don’t get private cash. Don’t worry I will see you right, No-one will pick on you or start a fight. I’ve just come in mate, I’ll show you what I’ve got, Look there you go mate, that’s not a lot. Listen you little div, I’ll put you under your bed, Soon as this door’s open you’re dead. Are you winding me up or taking the piss? Don’t be out of order, I’ll save you some of this, Do I look as though I’m taking the piss you little freak? Watch out now you geek. Sorry mate, I’ll make one and save you a bit, Then after that, is that it? No pass me all your bacca or I’ll beat you black n blue, I’ll hit you so hard, you’ll think you’ve got the flu. I just wanna do my time, with the least trouble, Can’t you just leave me alone in my bubble. I’ll pop that bubble, you gormless crank, Wait till association and I’ve got my shank. Look mate here’s a smoke just leave me alone, I wanna do my time easy and then go home. Time easy you bloody whoppa, I’m the daddy and go by the name: CHOPPER.

COMPENSATION FOR VICTIMS OF CHILDHOOD ABUSE We specialise in helping adults who were abused as children in the care system. If you suffered abuse in care and want our team to help you achieve justice call David Greenwood or Michael Thomas confidentially on 0800 542 3586 or write to:-

T h e G r a i n s t o r e , Wo o l pa c k s Ya r d , Wa k e f i e l d W F 1 2 S G

Prison’s no place to feel down With bang up the only sound Nothing to do but wait The occasional clang of the gate Someone screams in the night You wake up with a fright Cold sweat running down your spine This place f***s with your mind The lost childhood I never had Is this because I am bad? It’s your fault they said If you tell you’ll be dead So you put up with all the shit Until you get your next hit The drugs push my pain to one side The demons in me I must hide For if I let them all out I’d scream and I’d shout And I know I’d hit out No - prison’s no place to feel down.

Cheats! The poem that should have appeared here was entitled ‘Miss Heroin’ sent in by Harry Chappell at HMP Moorland. However, because Jacky Titterton of HMP Foston Hall had a poem published in our latest supplement called ‘Heroin’ which turned out to be an exact copy of a poem we found on a number of websites and, in turn, using lyrics from the song ‘King Heroin’ by James Brown - kindly pointed out to us by Royden Davies at HMP Brixton, we now check every poem selected before going to print. ‘Miss Heroin’ is a copy of a poem originally called ‘Take me in your arms’ and attributed to a number of writers. It was used on a poster in the 1970s and can also be found on any number of websites and in publications used in drug awareness courses. We only want to publish original pieces of work written by serving prisoners. By cheating you are spoiling it for those that submit genuine pieces of poetry, not only that you are laying yourselves and Inside Time open to possible law suits. This would ultimately finish the poetry pages, one of the most popular sections of the paper.

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, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. By submitting your poems to Inside Time for publication you are agreeing that they can be published in any of Inside Time’s ‘not for profit’ links, including the website, supplements and books. We will not permit any other publication to reproduce your contribution without first seeking your written permission. Please put your name, number and prison on the same sheet of paper as your poem. If you win we can’t send your money if we don’t know who or where you are!

HENRY HYAMS

NIKOLICH & CAR TER •

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Jailbreak

PROVERBS AND SAYINGS QUIZ Match the proverbs to the meanings - for example: Meaning: You say this when you are away from someone you love. Proverb or saying: “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

now see how you get on with these ...

1. People should enjoy themselves now while they are young.  Clue: Only

...................................................

2. You need to suffer if you want to achieve something.  Clue: Pain

...................................................

3. People who write books, poems, etc have a greater effect on history than soldiers and wars.  Clue: Pen

...................................................

4. You should not criticize other people because they will easily find ways to criticize you.  Clue: People

...................................................

5. You don't believe something will ever happen.  Clue: Pig

6. You should not criticize somebody for a fault that you have yourself.  Clue: Pot

...................................................

7. If you do something regularly and try to improve you will become very good at it.  Clue: Practice

...................................................

The Stupid News

8. It is better to stop something bad happening rather than try to deal with the problems after it has happened.  Clue: Prevention

...................................................

9. You can only judge if something is good or bad when you have tried it.  Clue: Proof

...................................................

10. When one bad thing happens to you other bad things happen soon after.  Clue: Rain

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11. You have to deal with the bad effects of something that you originally started.  Clue: Reap

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12. A completed task will take a long time and needs patience.  Clue: Rome

...................................................

13. It's wiser to be too careful than to act too quickly and do something you may later regret.  Clue: Safe

................................................... 14. Don't stop hoping. Clue: Never

Need Inside Advice? David Phillips and Partners can help out. We offer legal advice and representation on:· ‡ CAT A Reviews ‡ Independent Adjudications ‡ IPP and extended sentences ‡ Lifer hearings and Paper Reviews ‡ Parole Reviews ‡ Recall Reviews ‡ Tariff/ Minimum Term Reviews

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Jailbreak

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

TWENTY QUESTIONS TO TEST YOUR GENERAL KNOWLEDGE 1. Who was the eldest son of Indira Gandhi and her successor as Indian prime minister in 1984?

11. Which place near Marble arch in London was the site of public hangings until the eighteenth century?

2. In 1960, which dance-craze was kicked off by a Chubby Checker hit record of the same name?

12. In British place names, to what does the Latin word ‘regis’ refer?

3. In the title of a 1915 novel by John Buchan, how many steps are there?

13. What colour is the centre scoring zone of an archery target?

4. Eric Arthur Blair is the real name of which twentieth-century English author?

14. Which sauce is traditionally served in England with roast lamb?

5. Who is the youngest daughter of the Duke of York?

15. What does the ‘L’ stand for in the abbreviation RNLI?

IQ 1. Which letter completes the puzzle?

?

6. Peachick is the name given to the young of which bird? 7. In 1958, which Welsh singer had her first UK number one hit with the single ‘As I love You’?

8. In the 1940s, Aneurin Bevan presided over the creation of which national institution?

Challenge 2.

Which number goes in the bottom circle?

3.

Which letter goes in the empty segment?

4.

Which number fits in this triangle to comlpete the puzzle?

16. Of which country was Jean Chrétien prime minister from 1993 to 2003? 17. Buck is the adult male of which animal that is more often known as a ‘billy’? 18. What was the name of the black cartoon cat created and animated by Otto Messmer in 1919?

9. In Italian cuisine, what type of foodstuff is ‘tagliatelle’?

19. Which famously witty playwright and poet once said,’ Life imitates art far more than art imitates life’?

10. Which Japanese word is used for a high sea wave capable of inflicting great damage?

20. In 2006, Lisa Butcher and Mica Paris became the new presenters of which BBC TV makeover show?

5.

Which number is missing?

7. What is missing from the bottom right square?

ANSWERS CAN BE FOUND ON THE BACK PAGE

It's a Con

6.

Which number comlpetes the puzzle?

8. Which number goes in the bottom square? MW HMP DOVEGATE

Answers on the back page

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‡ Recall ‡ Parole Applications ‡ Licence Conditions ‡ Criminal Defence ‡ Adjudications ‡ Judicial Reviews ‡ Lifer Panels ALP/DLP ‡ Cat ‘A’ Reviews ‡ Categorisation & Transfers ‡ HDC ‡ Tariff Reviews ‡ Lifer Issues Contact Kate Clark or Carroll Slaney

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Jailbreak Gema Music Quiz

CAPTION COMPETITION

The new Gema Records catalogue is out now! (Spring 2009 No 112) It is packed with over 9000 new releases as well as a back catalogue of 20,000+ music titles covering all genres over the last 5 decades together with a Games section where many titles have been reduced in price since the last catalogue.

Identify the following Michael Jackson song titles from these anagrams:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.

HREEBLELIT H I U N O E N S N N I AT S R Y N I YA D E O F E N O U I L THTOOTBGEREE Y I LT F O S E S H U O F E M L D O E A LT H W R E H N LT H O M R O S A I M C I E J I E L L I B NA OUYHIWTKOCR GSIHEENIMTRIL TTIAEB RRRNINAEIMHTMO

He’s always all over me when he’s had one too many Robinson’s Barley Waters

For your own personal copy, please send a cheque or PO for £2 and we will send you a copy along with a £2 voucher to use against your first order Suppliers of Music CD’s & Computer Games, both new & pre-owned. Catalogues cost £2 (postal order payable to ‘Gema’) but this is refunded with first order.

PROBABLY THE UK’s LARGEST MUSIC BACK CATALOGUE

Another £25 prize is on offer for the best caption to this month’s picture. What do you think is being thought or said here?

Gema sponsors of Jailbreak LAST MONTH’S WINNERS

insideknowledge The prize quiz where we give you the Questions and the Answers! All the answers are within this issue of Inside Time - all you have to do is find them!!

Paul Casier - HMP Maidstone Mark Lewis - HMP Gartree Horace Greaves - HMP Wayland See below for details of how to enter. The first three names to be drawn with all correct answers (or nearest) will each receive a £15 Gema Record Voucher & a free catalogue

?

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 consolation prizes. The winners’ names will appear in next month’s issue. Who was given a 33 and a half year sentence for possession of his own drugs? Who represents a ‘cause celebre – the defence against Zionist/Western injustice’? Wakefield Prison currently has a local product list totalling how many items? What was patented by Eli Lily in 1945? Where were 14 of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising executed? Internet traffic surged 33% during what event? Who felt the ‘warmth’ of human kindness? What percentage of Parole Board oral hearings for IPPs were held on time?

>> To enter any of the above prize competitions Please do not cut out any of these panels. Just send your entry to one or all of these competitions on a separate sheet of paper.

EP D

CRIMINAL DEFENCE & PRISON LAW SPECIALISTS

ERICA PEAT & DIABLE N AT I O N W I D E A D V I C E & R E P R E S E N TAT I O N O N SOLICITORS A L L A S P E C T S O F P R I S O N L AW I N C L U D I N G : For a fast, experienced and professional service ‡ Adjudications ‡ Judicial Review ‡ Categorisation ‡ Parole Review ‡ Licence Recalls ‡ Tarrif/Minimum Term Reviews please contact: ‡ Criminal Appeals & CCRC Cases ‡ HDC Applications

Simon Diable 020 8533 7999 SERIOUS CRIME SPECIALISTS WITH A TRACK 24hr Emergency RECORD OF SUCCESS IN CASES INCLUDING: 07968 358 509 write to:Erica Peat & Diable Solicitors 314 Mare Street Hackney London E8 1HA

Paul McAndrew HMP Everthorpe Well done, £25 prize is in the post

Gema PO Box 54, Reading, RG1 3SD.

David Beckham gives Ronaldinho a warm welcome before the match in Los Angeles between LA Galaxy and AC Milan. Beckham, who spent five months on loan at Milan last season, was booed by many fans waving signs saying “Go Home Fraud".

Answers to last month’s quiz: 1. Goldie Looking Chain, 2. Vengaboys, 3. Nitin Sawhney, 4. Kenny Rogers, 5. Depeche Mode6. Fairport Convention, 7. Crystal Gayle, 8. Dexys Midnight Runners, 9. Black Eyed Peas, 10. Linda Ronstadt, 11. Right Said Fred, 12. Tangerine Dream

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

LAST MONTH’S WINNER

‡ Murder/Attempted Murder ‡ Rape/Serious Sexual Assault ‡ Serious Fraud ‡ Drugs Importation & All Drugs Offences ‡ Blackmail ‡ False Imprisonment ‡ Armed Robbery

9. The probation service ethos has been based on what word for about 100 years? 10. Who has seen some horrendous injuries, caused by prisoners who self-harm to relieve tension? 11. How many people work within the criminal justice ‘industry’? 12. Who feels that prisoners’ families are treated with suspicion? 13. 2009 marks the bicentenary of the establishment of the world’s first what? 14. What started out as a pilot project in September 2007? 15. What is the average cost per prisoner per year at Full Sutton?

Answers to Last Month’s Inside Knowledge Prize Quiz 1. Symon Bain, 2. The Smoke Free Legislation (Health Act 2006), 3. Ian Lawless 4. 8,500, 5. Ronnie Easterbrook, 6. Shahid Malik MP, 7. Alcoholics Anonymous, 8. Charles Hanson, 9. Terry Brown, 10. Samuel Cant, 11. Zollinger Ellison Syndrome, 12. John Hirst, 13. 7,048, 14. Ben Gunn, 15. Total eclipse of the Sun LAST MONTH’S WINNERS

Our three £25 Prize winners are: Thomas McAloney - HMYOI Portland, Patricia Ollivierre - HMP Bronzefield, Darren Downie - Rampton Hospital Plus our £5 Consolation prizes go to: James Hockley - HMP Chelmesford, K Moore - HMP Peterhead

Make sure your name, number and prison is on all sheets. Post your entry to: Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. You can use one envelope to enter more than one competition just mark it ‘jailbreak’. A 1st or 2nd class stamp is required on your envelope.

CLOSING DATE FOR ALL IS 25/08/2009

Ansah Solicitors Specialist in... Adjudications

Licence Recalls

Judicial Reviews

Parole Hearings

Recategorisation

Appeals

Confiscation Proceedings

Police Station Attendance 24/7

Please contact us now for expert advice & representation Hilda Amoo-Gottfried 2nd Floor, 537 Norwood Road London SE27 9DL

020 8766 5836

Coomber Rich Access to Justice

• Criminal Defence • Criminal Appeals • Police Interviews • MDT/VDT • Licence Recall/Revocation • Categorisation • Parole • Adjudications • Life Panel Representations • Judicial Reviews Contact Caroline Howell

Coomber Rich Solicitors Yard House, May Place, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 7NX 0 1 2 5 6 8 1 2 2 0 2 [email protected]

“QUOTES”

Comedy Corner Send in your jokes, you will receive £5 for every one we print!  There has been some interest in

 What do you call a prison officer

recruiting Polish men to work in the pits at international F1 races. It is thought that many are able to change a set of wheels in under five seconds. In fact in not much longer many are able to fully prepare a car and sell it! Emilis Rogozinas - HMP Blundeston ...........................................................  A woman hearing the doorbell leaps out of the shower, wraps a towel around herself and rushes to answer the door. She opens the door to find her husband’s friend Barry, who blushes and says, “I’ll give you £500 to drop the towel”. She stops for a moment thinking about what she could do with £500? Why not she thinks and promptly lets the towel drop to the floor. With a smile on his face Barry takes £500 out of his pocket and gives it to her. After getting dressed and going back downstairs her husband comes in from the garden and says’ Barry hasn’t been round yet with that £500 he owes me has he?” Mr D J Clarke - HMP Littlehey ............................................................  Patient: “I have a problem with my hearing doctor”. Doctor: “Describe the symptoms to me”. Patient: “Well they’re all yellow. Homer is fat and bald and Marge has blue hair.” Norman Saunders - HMP Albany

who sits in the office drinking tea, eating biscuits and watching TV? Working too hard! Robert Bradley - HMP Wealstun ...........................................................  I looked up ‘Paranoid’ in my dictionary and it says ‘what do you want to know for?’ Pete Price - HMP Wymott ...........................................................  Manchester Council have just given permission for a Safari Park to be built near Moss Side. A local resident group campaigning against the proposal asked ‘what will happen if a lion escapes?’ A council spokesman responded saying that the lion would just have to fend for itself. Pete Price - HMP Wymott ...........................................................  I went on holiday to Jerusalem and thought I’d have a look at the ‘Wailing Wall’ – I couldn’t get near it for Newcastle and West Brom supporters! Pete Price - HMP Wymott

Serving the South East

All aspects of prison law covered Please contact Catherine Bond 16 Mill Street, Maidstone, Kent, ME15 6XT Tel: 01622 678341 [email protected]

Experts in your interest

www.gullands.com

Match the following quotes to the pictures below, answers on the back page

“

(A) The greatest gift a politician can possess is the gift of being forgiven

NOBLE SOLICITORS Specialising in Criminal Defence and all aspects of Prison Law Offering advice and assistance covering:‡ Appeals against Sentence & Conviction ‡ Adjudications ‡ Lifer panel Representation ‡ Licence Recall & Parole Reviews ‡ Request and Complaints For an immediate visit, advice and Representation call:-

Noble Solicitors 21 High Street Shefford Bedfordshire SG17 5DD 01462 814055

”

“If you cannot catch a bird of paradise, better take a wet hen” (C) The advantage of taking an instant dislike to somebody is “ that it saves time ” (D) The secret of a good dinner party is too much to drink – “ and a chocolate pudding ” (E) “If you’re calling Paddy Ashdown please leave a message after the high moral tone ” (F) History is the tale of man, an animal, trying to convince “ himself that he isn’t an animal ” (G) It’s useless to hold a person to anything he says while “ he’s in love, drunk or running for office ” (H) He has the judgement of King Lear, the decisiveness of “ Hamlet, the paranoia of Othello, and the loyalty of Brutus. But at least we’ve got rid of Lady Macbeth ” (I) Personally, I know nothing about sex because I have “ always been married ” (J) “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and those are the ones you want to concentrate on ” (B)

1. Kingsley Amis

Do you have any jokes (printable) that you would like to share with our readers? If so, send them in to: Inside Time (Jokes), Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. If you do not want your name or prison to appear please make it clear. You will receive £5 for every one we print so don’t forget to include your details even if you don’t want them printed.

CRIMINAL & PRISON LAW EXPERTS

51

Jailbreak

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

6. Lady Diana Cooper

2.

George W. Bush

7. Charles Kennedy

3. John F.

8. Nikita Khrushchev

Advice and assistance in relation to all aspects of prison law. Contact Robert Twell or Shevette Adams - Rose

01983 539 999

5. Shirley MacLaine

Kennedy

Twell & Co

Twell & Co 3rd Floor, 48 Lugley Street Newport Isle of Wight PO30 5HD

4. Zsa Zsa Gabor

9. Bob MarshallAndrews MP on Gordon Brown

10.

Spike Milligan

52

Insidetime August 2009 www.insidetime.org

Jailbreak

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General Knowledge Crossword

Across

Down

Check forward, backward and diagonally, they are all there!

Thanks to Keith Baker - HMP HOLME HOUSE for compiling this wordsearch for us. If you fancy compiling one for us please just send it in max 20x20 grid & complete with answers shown on a grid. If we use it we will send you £5 as a thank you!

I T SUDOKU

FIND THE HIDDEN ROCK STARS MICHAEL JACKSON - KURT COBAIN - ELVIS PRESLEY - MARC BOLAN FRANK SINATRA - JIMI HENDRIX - JOHN DENVER - BUDDY HOLLY JOHN LENNON - GEORGE HARRISON - JANIS JOPLIN - KEITH MOON FREDDIE MERCURY - BRIAN JONES - SID VICIOUS - MARVIN GAYE JAMES BROWN - JIM MORRISON - BOBBY DARIN - RICHIE VALENCE

 Answers to the crossword and sudoku below  > NEXT ISSUE Week commencing 31st August 2009

Don’tt Rot On Re Don ecall! ecall! Specialists in Serious Crime with a track record of success in: Murder - Attempted Murder- Robbery - Armed Robbery Commercial Burglary - Blackmail Drug Importation & all Drugs Offences All serious offences Offices in London and Manchester, clients accepted in all prisons throughout England and Wales. Our Prison Law department welcomes clients for: Ajudications, Parole / Recall and Lifer Issues. ‘ We d o t h e w o r k t o g e t t h e r e s uy l ts ’ y ɭ We speak: Po-Polsku, ýesky, Slovensky, ɉo-Ɋɭɫɫɤɢ, Guajarati, Urdu, Hindi, Español, Français

87 Chorley Road Swinton Manchester M27 4AA 0161 794 0088

Serving England & Wales over four decades

STOKOE PARTNERSHIP STOKOE PARTNERSHIP UNDER ARREST? SOLICITORS S O L I C I T O R S

The specialist in Criminal and Prison Law

The Specialist in Criminal Law 
Serious Crime 
Adjudications 
Appeals/CRCC Parole/Disciplinary • SERIOUS
CRIME • TERRORISM 
Prisoner Rights 
Tariff • DRUG TRAFFICKING • SERIOUS FRAUD 
Licence/Recall 
All other matters • CASH SEIZURES • Prison MONEYrelated LAUNDERING

1. (J), 2. (9), 3. (A), 4. (3), 5. (2), 6. (40), 7. (H), 8. (62)

IQ Challenge

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

General Knowledge Crossword

The Stokoe Partnership is a franchised

Our business is to provide expert, rapid

advice, assistance representation firm of independent solictorsfor with including All languages catered Greek,andFrench, in all aspects of criminal investigation. branches in Manchester and London in criminal law. Spanish,specialising Urdu,only Panjabi, Bengali, Hindi and Chinese.

0161 237 5755

0161 237 5755 AVAILABLE – 24 HOURS

MANCHESTER OFFICE: MANCHESTER OFFICE LONDON OFFICE: The 4040 City Road, Deansgate, Manchester,M15 M154QF 4QF TheBoatmans, Boatmans, City Road East, Manchester MANCHESTER OFFICE: The Boatmans, 40 City Road, Deansgate, Manchester, M15 4QF 646-648 High Road Leytonstone, London, E11 3AA

Quotes (A)3 (B)8 (C)10 (D)6 (E)7 (F)1 (G)5 (H)9 (I)4 (J)2

I T SUDOKU

Jailbreak Answers

Elgin House 106 St Mary Street CARD DIFF CF10 1DX

LONDON OFFICE LONDON OFFICE:

You’re Not Alone

646-648 High RoadLeytonstone, Leytonstone, London, E11E11 3AA 3AA 646-648 High Road London, This Firm is aThis Member THE SPECIALIST FRAUD PANEL Firm is aofMember of THE SPECIALIST FRAUD PANEL Regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority Authority

1. Rajiv Gandhi 2. Twist 3. Thirty-nine 4. George Orwell 5. Princess Eugenie of York 6. Peacock

7. Shirley Bassey 8. National Health Service 9. Pasta 10.Tsunami 11.Tybum 12.King 13.Gold

14.Mint sauce 15.Lifeboat 16.Canada 17.Goat 18.Felix 19.Oscar Wilde 20.What Not To Wear