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»202 prisoners in protective custody Gang feud fears stalking the wings Officers battle to keep factions apart
Prison officers said they’ve had to take extreme measures to keep 14 separate warring factions apart inside the country’s biggest jail.
Warders have revealed the escalation in gang violence – including the bloody Hutch-kinahan feud – means some inmates are in fear for their lives.
RTE has taken cameras back inside the prison 22 years after ground-breaking documentary The Joy shocked the nation to revisit how the facility has changed since 1996.
The programme reveals that despite a halt to the practice of slopping out, the introduction of single cells and CCTV, there are more issues to be tackled. Chief
We’ve 14 different factions that need let out separately.. and only so many exercise yards CHIEF OFFICER PAUL BURKE SPEAKING ON BACK TO THE JOY
officer Paul Burke said one of the biggest changes he has seen is the rise of the “protection prisoner” as gang warfare escalates both inside and outside the jail.
On the morning of filming for Back To The Joy he revealed there were 652 inmates – with 202 on protection.
He said: “We have factions from most of the different gangs spread around the country at the moment.
“There are numerous smaller gangs around the place, generally they’ll be affiliated to one of the bigger groupings. But there are many factions out there.”
Two landings at the Dublin lock-up are now entirely populated by protection prisoners and staff schedule their activities on a rota to keep feuding gangs apart.
Mr Burke added: “There are different issues, issues on the outside, drug issues. Even within the protection element there is a requirement for segregation.
“We had 14 different factions here this morning who had to be let out separately. We only have so many exercise yards and recreation halls we can put them in.
“If they want to go out and make a phone call that is another issue. So they have to be timetabled.” Prison officers are regularly briefed on the bloody Hutchkinahan feud and are given a full profile of any new inmate’s background or gang affiliation. Mr Burke said: “We have to be cognisant of what is going on in the community. Any issue that kicks off outside could have ramifications for us inside the prison as well.” Governor Brian Murphy added overcrowding has eased and conditions have improved greatly since in-cell sanitation replaced slopping out in 2014. And he said the introduction of single cells with TVS has helped tackle issues including self-harming. He added: “From the officer’s point of view, they’ve been a great asset.
“A lot of prisoners can’t read or write. When they go into their cell at night they’ve nothing to do but stare at four walls. Their mind would go astray. A lot of them would self-harm.”
He told how officers have “in some respects” been replaced by closed circuit TV. Mr Murphy said: “On campus there are close to 850 cameras which both we and the Garda depend on as they have to investigate crimes in prison.
“We’ve had serious incidents where staff have been slashed and seriously assaulted and we come down hard on prisoners who do that.”
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