tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post1182598358309871178..comments2024-03-19T08:48:37.047+00:00Comments on Prison UK: An Insider's View: The Harry Roberts Saga ContinuesPrisonUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-17836615073792713452014-10-26T01:04:36.702+01:002014-10-26T01:04:36.702+01:00(Part two)...
Getting caught with a mobile phone ...(Part two)...<br /><br />Getting caught with a mobile phone or a SIM card is now a much bigger issue than it used to be. This can now result in external police charges and a Crown Court trial. However, often the sentence is made concurrent with the existing one being served, so it may not really add to the time, although sometimes it does. <br /><br />Possession of so-called 'legal' highs is problematic, mainly because it can only be dealt with internally by a charge of 'unauthorised possession' of an item, since the substance itself is not illegal to possess or use. In fact, a woman who smuggled a 'legal high' into a prison recently had her conviction quashed by the court on the grounds that she hadn't actually committed a criminal offence known in law.<br /><br />Following an internal adjudication for possession of unauthorised items (or failing a drugs test) a governor can impose 'losses' (of privileges, canteen access, gym and prison wages) for a set time, or it can end up with time down the Block (segregation unit). Most proven adjudications will also lead to a demotion in the Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) scheme, often from Enhanced to Standard, or even down onto Basic level straight away if the offence is serious.<br /><br />Being caught with illegal drugs, however, is another story because it can end up back in court, especially if there is a suspicion of any dealing to other cons. Prison security always puts pressure on suspected dealers to give up both their suppliers and their customers.<br /><br />I wouldn't say that I've been aware of prisoners bribing staff. If such activities are taking place - which they may well be - then they are done very discreetly, with any cash payments for drugs etc made well away from the jail itself. Any outward sign of special privileges for specific cons would ring alarm bells, so this wouldn't happen in my experience. Any corruption inside a nick is usually kept very low key and under the radar of the security screws.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-8263051690155524902014-10-26T00:59:48.393+01:002014-10-26T00:59:48.393+01:00Hi Tommy, thanks for your questions. I'm glad ...Hi Tommy, thanks for your questions. I'm glad you've found the post interesting.<br /><br />Bent screws and other prison staff are an acknowledged problem across the prison system. They may only represent a small percentage of the whole, but they do make prisons less safe places because of the devastating impact of smuggled drugs, as well as mobile phones that are used to facilitate the trade inside. Weapons tend to be improvised in cells using prison razor blades or sharpened pieces of metal, rather than smuggled in.<br /><br />I wouldn't say that corruption was prevalent in the prisons I was at, but it must have been going on. I saw glass bottles of spirits on wings in closed nicks and those could only have come in via staff. They couldn't have been thrown over the walls, nor 'plugged' (to use the polite term for rectal insertion). Someone who came into the prison through official channels physically brought these bottles in through the gatehouse and handed them over to cons.<br /><br />Obviously the main contraband in closed prisons is drug-related, including mobile phones and SIMs. Soft pornography ('girlie mags' or 'lads' mags') aren't actually banned as long as they aren't displayed publicly in cells. In fact some titles can be ordered via the local newsagent that the prison has its papers and magazine delivery contract with!<br /><br />I have seen 18-rated DVDs inside prisons of all categories, even though these are now banned across the prison estate. This is actually another ridiculous Chris Grayling policy, since Film 4 or other available freeview TV channels regularly shows 18 certificate films in the late evening, so why ban exactly the same film on a DVD. Just idiocy!<br /><br />Both from my own experience, as well as anecdotes from other cons, Cat-Ds are full of pretty much every type of contraband, ranging from explicit porn DVDs to drugs (hard, soft and 'legal') and alcohol. Prisoners who have Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) go into the local town or else go home and bring in a range of toiletries and other items that aren't available on the canteen sheet. Some do get caught and 'nicked' by Reception screws, but an awful lot gets through the gate and is then used or sold on. <br /><br />I had six home leaves from a Cat-D and my washbag was never, ever checked when I reported back. I had a small amount of aftershave (banned in all jails), packets of Gillette Fusion razor blades (not available on the canteen sheet), shower gel, shaving serum... loads of small items like that. No-one ever said a word to me about it.<br />PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-26506286618246760112014-10-25T14:45:17.812+01:002014-10-25T14:45:17.812+01:00Hi Alex,
thanks for another interesting post. My ...Hi Alex,<br /><br />thanks for another interesting post. My next question in my ongoing quest to pick your brains on life inside:<br /><br />Today I'll like to ask you about Prison Corruption?<br /><br />1) In the Wandsworth prison link you sent me, the former prisoner references the fact that some people were "rich" inside prison and seemed to hint that they were being brought items in by bent screws. Did you ever notice anything like this and did you think it was prevalent in the prisons you were in?<br /><br />2) How easy was it to get contraband items inside prison? I'm not just talking about highly illegal items like drugs and weapons. But day-to-day items that perhaps weren't on the canteen or catalogue sheets. E.g. pornographic magazines/DVDs, art supplies etc. ?<br /><br />3) Did you ever get the feeling that some prisoners had "earned" special privileges because they had corrupted or bribed any guards?<br /><br />4) What were the punishments for people who were caught in possession of contraband items like mobiles, drugs, alcohol?<br /><br />Thank you<br /><br />TommyTommynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-18810195838543159962014-10-25T13:53:06.914+01:002014-10-25T13:53:06.914+01:00Indeed there was! And of course we've even had...Indeed there was! And of course we've even had a change in the decimal coinage since 1971 with new coins coming in and the old, larger ones phased out. <br /><br />A couple of the main things that people who have served very long sentences can find astonishing are the massive rise in prices (on paper a mobile phone can now cost almost as much as a small house or a new car did 50 years ago) and the incredible increase in the amount and speed of traffic on our roads. <br /><br />When I was an Insider (peer mentor) I accompanied a lifer on his first town visit when he was unescorted by a member of the prison staff, just to offer some moral support. It was his first independent day out of the nick for 30+ years, although he'd had a few escorted trips. We went to an internet cafe and I helped him get online and even set up his first internet account. He actually coped very well with all the novelties of modern life, including seeing me use a cash machine outside a bank and trying out his first mobile phone, but it was still the vast increase in traffic around the town that surprised and even scared him a little. PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-5594647437816088902014-10-25T12:12:23.339+01:002014-10-25T12:12:23.339+01:00Oh yes, there was a different currency in the UK p...Oh yes, there was a different currency in the UK pre 1971! Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-15331522874100063882014-10-25T12:02:34.462+01:002014-10-25T12:02:34.462+01:00Thanks for your comment. I suppose that it will la...Thanks for your comment. I suppose that it will largely depend on the amount of Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) that he has had prior to release. If he has been out in town or even staying in a hostel for some nights on ROTL, then he will probably have handled our current money, used a mobile phone, explored the internet and been shopping. If so, then the outside world probably won't come as such a great shock, even after 48 years in prison. That's one of the important roles that Cat-D (open) prisons can play in preparing lifers and long-termers for eventual release on licence.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-39058905527645545022014-10-25T11:51:45.580+01:002014-10-25T11:51:45.580+01:00I guess this man will not cope with modern life!I guess this man will not cope with modern life!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-13240794577098928272014-10-25T11:02:55.569+01:002014-10-25T11:02:55.569+01:00Thank your for your interesting comments on this c...Thank your for your interesting comments on this controversial case. It does raise a number of critical issues. Ironically, even back in the days when the UK had capital punishment on the statute books, many convicts were reprieved. In those cases they were not handed 'whole-life' tariffs as such and many whose death sentences had been commuted were eventually released after some years spent in prison.<br /><br />I think that there is always a danger when specific crimes, which cause - quite rightly - public revulsion, become politicised. This often leads to knee-jerk legislation and the passing of what can amount to bad law. I would argue that the Dangerous Dogs Act is a prime example of how not to draw up proper legislation that is workable and enforceable. <br /><br />The Parole Board was established by Parliament in 1968 under the Criminal Justice Act (1967) and it has clearly defined functions. It operates under the Parole Board Rules and is an integral part of the criminal justice system in this country. Its panels reach decisions based on the evidence before them (expert reports, reports from prison staff and Probation), as well as on oral evidence called during hearings. <br /><br />In my opinion, it is entirely inappropriate for other segments of the criminal justice system to make public criticism of the way in which the courts or the Parole Board operate. To do so risks undermining public confidence in the whole criminal justice system.<br /><br />I think that the reaction of the leaders of police institutions (and the Police Federation is in all but name a trades union) demonstrates the dangers of politicisation of such emotive issues. Could you imagine serving members our armed forces behaving in such a way? When ex-servicemen speak out its usually after they have retired... it's all about not challenging the chain of command, at least in public, or bringing the service into disrepute.<br /><br />This is all the more ironic, given that the Police Federation itself is an organisation that has many identified deficiencies which it is currently supposed to be addressing. Frankly, based on the findings of the Normington Review, the Federation could be regarded as being 'unfit for purpose' and both its leadership and most rank and file members appear to have acknowledged the urgent need for radical reform. Getting publicly embroiled in this sort of mud-slinging at specific decisions of the Parole Board really doesn't reflect well on the Federation. PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-59834730819579416192014-10-25T01:28:27.771+01:002014-10-25T01:28:27.771+01:00The crimes this man has committed cannot be simply...The crimes this man has committed cannot be simply ignored, he committed horrible acts which cannot be excused.<br /><br />The judge gave him a 30 year minimum sentence, he served 48 years. I suggest he's served his time. Not a death sentence, not a whole live sentence.<br /><br />It is a very strange response from the various police associations that this man should remain in prison until he dies. We do have a very well established parole system that can, and does, recommend release where it's suitable. All too often we hear of cases referred by the police to courts for sentencing. Often the police, quite rightly, agree with the decision of the courts, in this case they don't. The police forward criminals to the courts to be dealt with, that's where their duties end. It is shameful that such authorities fail to accept the decisions of courts and parole boards.<br /><br />I don't feel any sympathy whatsoever towards Mr Roberts for the crimes he has committed. However, he's served 18 years over his minimum time and is being releases as a 78 year old man.<br /><br />No doubt the press will hound him, probation will watch his ever move and the police will be keeping a very close eye on him. Living on a state pension with little or no family or friends after 48 years of incarceration will be very tough on the outside. As you, Alex, state maybe his release is the final cruel punishment at the end of his sentence. I can only think of the character Brooks in the film the Shawshank Redemption who took his own life after release from 50 years inside = unable to cope with the outside world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-62075062580138155902014-10-24T16:38:12.503+01:002014-10-24T16:38:12.503+01:00Thanks for your comment. It's difficult to say...Thanks for your comment. It's difficult to say at this stage. If the media hounds Mr Roberts then I suspect he'll end up being relocated and perhaps even be given a new identity. Hostels really aren't keen on high profile ex-cons on licence owing to all the potential disruption, including fellow residents selling gossip and stories to the tabloids, reporters camped out on the doorstep etc.<br /><br />If there are any credible threats to his personal safety then measures may have to be taken. All of this costs money and takes resources, as will intensive supervision from the Probation Service and MAPPA arrangements, so it may not turn out to be all that much cheaper, at least to start with until the media loses interest and moves on.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-62667816450353682842014-10-24T16:31:54.838+01:002014-10-24T16:31:54.838+01:00At least 'on the out' hopefully he'll ...At least 'on the out' hopefully he'll be less of a drain on the public purse. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-53076475188752210372014-10-24T16:02:47.919+01:002014-10-24T16:02:47.919+01:00Thanks for your comment. It is possible, but I thi...Thanks for your comment. It is possible, but I think that would have been dealt with as more of a compassionate release This looks to me like a standard lifer parole decision based on an oral hearing and reports received by the Parole Board, as well as representations from Mr Roberts via his solicitors. <br /><br />Lifers do get parole regularly and this would all be pretty routine were it not for his notoriety and the consequent media interest. PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-8328550664527600612014-10-24T13:42:57.422+01:002014-10-24T13:42:57.422+01:00Maybe his release is due to a terminal illnessMaybe his release is due to a terminal illnessAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com