BY JAMES SIMONS
Nottingham Prison is suffering from persistent violence on inmates and guards, according to a watchdog report.
A watchdog report highlighting persistent levels of violence on inmates in Nottingham prison has blamed the systemic problem on poor governance.
Appointments by governors over the years to address the ongoing problems have failed because of a lack of leadership and consistency, according to the chief prisons inspector, Peter Clarke.
Chief prisons inspector Peter Clarke said the site had “suffered from a lack of continuity and consistency” and needed stable leadership. Over 229 assaults on staff and prisoners in the last six months makes for worrying reading in what is seen as an escalating problem in Nottingham. And the terrible state of affairs is typical of many prisons in the U.K, even if not as bad as the case in Nottingham prison. Five governors have been appointed in the past four years, but this has failed to curb the growing problem of violence there. Persistent violence on inmates and guards point to a systemic problem out of control, and one needing wider intervention.
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Prisoners are convicted criminals who should be serving time for their crimes and undergoing some sort of rehabilitation problem, not committing more offences in jail. The eye of media.com reported recently how many inmates see prison as a holiday camp where their street credentials can be solidified. Some homeless offenders even deliberately offend in order to end up in prison where they have a home at all times, and where they can mix with other criminals whom they feel will certify their criminal and unruly tendencies.
The watchdog said the next governor needs more time to build on recent progress, pointing out that there far too much violence and far too much use of drugs … and a lack of consistency in the leadership of the prison.” Regular violence and drug use in prisons is something the authorities should be able to control, considering the punitive purpose of their incarceration. Government intervention is seriously needed to effectively combat a dangerous state of affairs in need of urgent redressing. Disturbing observations that some men were being “inappropriately” held in segregation units and that some staff were “distant and somewhat dismissive” of inmates is a telling sign of an intolerable sign of negligence in prisons by the authorities. A multi-dimensional approach by the government and prison bosses to address this disastrous situation in any of UK prisons is critical and of paramount importance.
SLASHED
Ian Carson, from the Prison Officers Association, said: “Violence is on the increase in Nottingham and I would expect much of the violence is down to drugs.
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“People buy drugs in prison and can’t pay their debts and violence is used. People are slashed with blades and limbs are broken.” How this can be going on in prisons is beyond belief and calls for urgent preventative action to make it difficult for this to continue. Persistent levels of violence on inmates and guards that cannot be controlled is a bad reflection on the government. A massive overhaul of our prisons is necessary, and the public, the media, and the government should play a concerted role in addressing this. Drug dealing in jails should be impossible, and a stringent system of ruthlessly disciplining those who indulge in criminal activity should be brought to the table. As the old saying goes, ‘there are many ways to skin a cat’, but the trouble is that we are not trying hard enough. Not all people who end up in jail are as bad as others there, and those ones at least deserve greater protection. The thought that stabbings go on in jails is scary. Perhaps, hard core soldiers or former soldiers should be deployed in troublesome prisons, but it all boils down to money, doesn’t it? And in a climate of a lot of cost saving going on, it may seem an impractical recommendation for more money to be spent on making prisons safer, but it is worth the money. Otherwise, prisoner victims come back to the streets psychologically and emotionally scarred, with the tendency of them passing on their victimization to others.
A 2014 report on Nottingham prison highlighted a number of violent incidents, including one inmate biting off part of a prisoner officer’s ears, and another prisoner trying to gouge his own eyes out. A prison service spokesman added: “We are investing £1.3bn to transform the prison estate over the next five years, to better support rehabilitation and tackle bullying, violence and drugs.” It hasn’t specified exactly how the money will be used to tackle bullying, but eye of media.com is awaiting a written outline of the practical approach intended to address this effectively. The eye of media.com intend to discuss the most effective way we think the culture of violence and bullying can be tackled, and have made arrangement s to check the progress of Nottingham prison on a quarterly basis every year until we are satisfied the problem has been effectively addressed.
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Pic - Public Domain
