tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post2379643068292457122..comments2024-03-19T08:48:37.047+00:00Comments on Prison UK: An Insider's View: Prison Governors: a Mysterious PresencePrisonUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-71686898730332243702016-03-23T14:19:08.573+00:002016-03-23T14:19:08.573+00:00Is the Orderly Officer/Custody Manager a Governor ...Is the Orderly Officer/Custody Manager a Governor Grade?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-16158386827083958472015-01-05T11:08:52.843+00:002015-01-05T11:08:52.843+00:00Thanks for the post and the blog in general. It...Thanks for the post and the blog in general. It's been an eye opener and I'll continue to recommend it to others.Srdjan Miletichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17523457039521088008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-80151707202126969612014-11-19T22:23:00.314+00:002014-11-19T22:23:00.314+00:00Thanks for your comment and questions. I'm ver...Thanks for your comment and questions. I'm very sorry to hear of your grandson's condition and I do hope he makes a full recovery. It's at times like these that having a family member in prison can be so difficult and frustrating.<br /><br />I think that the main problem when families try to engage with prison management about operational issues - such as transfers - they are constrained in communicating with outsiders because of confidentiality issues. If your son is at Onley then he must be an adult prisoner and the Service may not be able to respond about his situation for reasons of privacy. <br /><br />My suggestion is that your son explores three issues: accumulated visits (if he isn't having visits regularly). This means that he might be able to get a temporary transfer to an establishment nearer home so he can have a number of visits. He will need to stress the urgency of his son's health problems and he might be able to get moved, at least temporarily. Sometimes, these moves can be made more permanent, but it depends on category and spaces.<br /><br />The second issue to explore is that if the little boy can't travel, your son might be able to request Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) on compassionate grounds so he can visit your grandson. This would probably only be granted if he is in a hospital and the doctors are warning of a grave risk to his life. It would also depend on your son's security classification (A-cats aren't usually eligible and B-cats will face an uphill struggle) and disciplinary record while in prison.<br /><br />The third option is for him to engage with his outside probation officer (offender manager) and his inside supervisor and enlist their support for a transfer nearer home on compassionate grounds. He will also need to get support from his personal officer and he will need copies of medical reports to back this up.<br /><br />Getting a transfer on compassionate grounds can be done, but it may take time. Your son could also put in an application to the Governor himself and make his case based on his son's health. I really wish you all the best with this process. Let me know if you need any further advice.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-14309702795183054932014-11-19T14:29:32.880+00:002014-11-19T14:29:32.880+00:00please could any one hep me i have been writing to...please could any one hep me i have been writing to the Governor at Onley in regards to my son whom is hundreds of miles away as his son has become very unwell and is but just 7 years old , we have tried everything possible for someone to listen as to trying to have him transfered closer to home but i cannot get any replies from all the correspondence that i send along with medical letters, is there anything else that i can do to help this situation we are at our witts end with knowing where to turn next as i seem to have exhausted all avenues with correspondence to the prison, any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-66294282683356049712014-10-16T15:14:44.170+01:002014-10-16T15:14:44.170+01:00Ah. That would be it! At first I thought it might ...Ah. That would be it! At first I thought it might be a new brand of Black Mamba drug... then I remembered reading something online a while ago about the Russian prison camps.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-70876275806205126042014-10-15T18:25:23.593+01:002014-10-15T18:25:23.593+01:00How right you are. There was an article about the ...How right you are. There was an article about the place in the Sunday TimesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-30937744145773925952014-10-15T12:52:02.125+01:002014-10-15T12:52:02.125+01:00Thanks for your comment. While I obviously don'...Thanks for your comment. While I obviously don't approve of any kind of animal cruelty, since I'm not a vegetarian, it would be hypocritical of me to condemn those who kill meat for us to eat. Hopefullly, as you point out above, it can be done in a humane fashion.<br /><br />In the case I refer to above, I think a custodial sentence would have been completely inappropriate. I would prefer to see some restorative justice - maybe arranging for them to meet the pet rabbit's young owner to see just how distressed see was, to have to pay for a replacement pet of her choice and maybe to then have to put in so many hours of voluntary work at a local animal shelter learning more about animals and their care in a practical way. This I think would be far more effective in reducing reoffending than banging these stupid lads up for a couple of weeks at the taxpayers' expense.. PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-23241631201983448922014-10-15T12:46:40.435+01:002014-10-15T12:46:40.435+01:00Thanks for your question. Is that a Russian prison...Thanks for your question. Is that a Russian prison camp? That's the only thing I can recall in a prison context. If so, then not much I'm afraid, beyond something I read online a while ago.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-38059311325612217472014-10-15T11:38:06.681+01:002014-10-15T11:38:06.681+01:00What do you know about Black Eagle?What do you know about Black Eagle?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-9115776589123428172014-10-15T11:29:11.074+01:002014-10-15T11:29:11.074+01:00A few years ago, I shot a wild rabbit as part of a...A few years ago, I shot a wild rabbit as part of a cull on my cousin's farm. I was supervised of course and was given instructions how to hold the weapon and where to place the crosshairs.Thankfully the bunny didnt suffer...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-60730300090695249182014-10-15T09:49:49.335+01:002014-10-15T09:49:49.335+01:00Thank you for your very interesting comments and c...Thank you for your very interesting comments and contribution to the discussion. Even before I ended up in prison myself, I wondered why Britain didn't take more from best prison practice in other Western European countries, particularly the Scandinavian models. If short sentences for first time offenders, weekend detention and intensive supervision in the community rather than custodial terms work so well there, why on earth don't we in the UK follow suit?<br /><br />I think you are quite right when you highlight the British obsession with 19th century penology. I was reminded of this when I read the case of a couple of daft lads who killed someone else's pet rabbit. It was a horrible thing to do - I'm an animal lover myself who supports the Dogs Trust - but given that rabbits are killed (hopefully humanely) and eaten for food everyday, it was hardly worthy of a prison sentence. <br /><br />Rightly, in my view, the magistrate handed down community penalties and fines. However, the local media in the North East has now launched a campaign for prison sentences... evidence of our completely pointless obsession with banging people up, especially for very short sentences. Yet this Victorian stupidity rolls on year after year, failing to deliver rehabilitation as it goes! PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-374243630287576862014-10-15T02:26:28.024+01:002014-10-15T02:26:28.024+01:00I thank you for your eloquence, Alex. I have lear...I thank you for your eloquence, Alex. I have learned much from your piece.<br /><br />I lived in Denmark for a number of years and the Danes are truly scathing of our penal system (as well they might).<br /><br />The Danes (right or wrong) believe that a three week term, for a first offence and for all but the most dangerous offenders is sufficient. <br /><br />As I am led to believe, the howling, banging and sobbing and general outrage and consternation in that time frame is so disorientating it is hard to become accustomed to. And that is the whole idea. <br /><br />Don't get used to it. Make it uncomfortable and make it memorable and cut it short before people (somehow) learn to make the internal adjustments required to survive, if called to for any longer than the three weeks.<br /><br />Denmark does of course have real bad guys too - they get long sentences. But (and the fourth estate does seem to have free access to prisoners) all are treated first as people and second as prisoners - an important distinction. <br /><br />The Danish system is fit for the 21st century - why is ours still stuck in the 19th?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-69342789042577000122014-10-13T23:39:45.166+01:002014-10-13T23:39:45.166+01:00Thanks for your question. I have to confess that I...Thanks for your question. I have to confess that I really don't have a clue. Maybe one of our readers who is in the system can answer that one! It is a good question.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-77386453708650183882014-10-13T23:38:27.718+01:002014-10-13T23:38:27.718+01:00Thanks for your comments. I think pretty much ever...Thanks for your comments. I think pretty much everyone who knows anything has warned him: governors, screws, civilian staff, ex-cons... but it just goes over his head. Total lack of experience of the system means that he just makes it up as he goes along.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-2217989961779381532014-10-13T18:46:43.313+01:002014-10-13T18:46:43.313+01:00Do governors of privatised prisons mix with those ...Do governors of privatised prisons mix with those of public ones? And does the governor of a G4S prison co-operate with his competitor in a Serco prison?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-35490694588533918482014-10-13T14:42:09.660+01:002014-10-13T14:42:09.660+01:00Thanks for your contribution, Paul. It's great...Thanks for your contribution, Paul. It's great to have your input.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-4830718840894482982014-10-13T14:32:57.478+01:002014-10-13T14:32:57.478+01:00We do at regular conferences, regional meetings, a...We do at regular conferences, regional meetings, and we often do business across neighbouring prisonsPaul Crosseynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-995102603788248292014-10-13T13:05:24.671+01:002014-10-13T13:05:24.671+01:00Thanks for your question, Vas. Well, like so much ...Thanks for your question, Vas. Well, like so much nonsense that Mr Grayling comes out with I think it was all about getting a PR sound-bite for the Ministry of (In)Justice and then it was quickly forgotten about. <br /><br />Very few nicks - even Cat-Ds with farms - can really employ all cons for 40 hours a week. I was lucky if I managed 4-5 hours a day most of the time, and that was only if work wasn't cancelled for 'operational reasons'. In fact the 'core day' in many nicks doesn't allow for more than about five or six hours of work or education. Chronic staff shortages and overcrowding in closed prisons mean that even this is ambitious.<br /><br />A mate of mine who is still in a Cat-B is working as a shower cleaner and he reckons he can stretch it out to two hours per day (and that's doing a proper job, like polishing taps and emptying bins twice a day).PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-3301165654335116602014-10-13T13:00:10.408+01:002014-10-13T13:00:10.408+01:00Thanks for your question. Probably not, because of...Thanks for your question. Probably not, because of the technical editing involved (and the time this would take up in addition to the blog - and my real professional work!) However, Jack and I are in discussion about some joint projects for the future, so a collaboration is definitely on the cards. PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-19234713140003311902014-10-13T11:41:41.108+01:002014-10-13T11:41:41.108+01:00What happened to grayling forty hr wk for cons. Va...What happened to grayling forty hr wk for cons. VasAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-20651319305830334562014-10-13T11:41:39.807+01:002014-10-13T11:41:39.807+01:00Are you going to make a series of vlogs like Jack ...Are you going to make a series of vlogs like Jack Hill? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-88797271661449011182014-10-12T23:40:27.949+01:002014-10-12T23:40:27.949+01:00Thanks for your question. I'm not really in mu...Thanks for your question. I'm not really in much of a position to answer that one, although I imagine that they do meet up with other governors at regional meetings and maybe at sessions of the Prison Governors Association. <br /><br />What I do know is that we did have various visits from governors in the various prisons I was in, so I suppose they must meet up on these occasions. Perhaps one of our readers who is a governor could contribute a comment!PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-4176871632326339412014-10-12T23:34:57.807+01:002014-10-12T23:34:57.807+01:00Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you found th...Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you found the post interesting.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-89085642845159297572014-10-12T18:54:40.699+01:002014-10-12T18:54:40.699+01:00Do Governing Governors network much with each othe...Do Governing Governors network much with each other? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-70865885152912931572014-10-12T18:11:31.140+01:002014-10-12T18:11:31.140+01:00As usual, very interesting, thanks. As usual, very interesting, thanks. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com