GIVE THUGS HARD TIME
Call to lockdown violent prisoners 23 hours a day
BRITAIN needs a US-style lockdown jail to curb brutal attacks on guards, claims the head of the Prison Officers Association.
Mark Fairhurst, an officer for 25 years, said the most violent inmates must be caged 23 hours a day – and cuffed during their one exercise hour.
He said: “It would be so tough they would be contained and controlled so much that it would be a deterrent.”
A new 1,000-capacity maximum security prison, in which convicts would wear orange overalls like in Guantanamo Bay, would restore respect after recent riots, he says.
Officers endure an average of 20 assaults every day in our jails after a 38% increase in serious assaults last year. Many victims need hospital treatment and a tough response is needed, said Mr Fairhurst.
Current measures seem insufficient to deal with gang members who have come from young offender insti- tutions, he feels. “We get young men who have bullied their parents, bullied their school teachers, bullied the probation officers and been treated with kid gloves,” he said.
“When they enter the adult system and we say ‘no’ to them, they don’t like it. They just understand violence – that’s how they get their own way.”
Mr Fairhurst is inspired by US lockdown units like one in San Quentin,
It would be so tough they would be contained and controlled, it’d be a deterrent MARK FAIRHURST HEAD OF PRISON OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
San Francisco, but he would also offer inmates a way out for agreeing to reform, with therapy. He said: “I’m offering it so they can start to conform, so they can contribute to society.
“You’d be sent to lockdown for 28 days if you are violent, but we will give you a chance to change your ways.”
Legal highs have been blamed for rising attacks, but Mr Fairhurst said riots at Aylesbury Young Offender Institution and The Mount, Herts, are due to fewer staff.
The number of frontline officers have fallen by around 30% since 2010, mainly due to Ministry of Justice cuts.
Under current rules, disruptive prisoners face sanctions including segregation and adding 42 days to a sentence. The MoJ said: “It is vital we do everything to tackle those issues that undermine security.”
WHO could blame prison officers for demanding US-style lockdown jails when 20 warders are assaulted every day.
Cutting staff as inmate numbers soared was a dangerous piece of Tory austerity that turned prisons into nightmare places to work. The people protecting the public from hardened criminals paid the price for a Conservative government’s uncaring policies.
Instead of rehabilitating inmates and tackling problems such as illiteracy, mental health issues, alcohol or drug abuse, our prisons are used to contain the challenged and violent.
We should not be surprised when these powder kegs explode.
The answers may not be found in the US, where jails are generally worse than our own, but prison officers, who have seen wages fall in value and are banned from striking, should be able to go to work without fear of harm.
How we achieve that is ripe for public debate. Because we cannot carry on as we are.