Say cheese... murderers get photobooth for family snaps
JAIL chiefs have installed a photobooth so prisoners can pose for snaps with their families during visits.
Killers, rapists and violent thugs are among those using it with partners and children to strengthen family ties as part of their rehabilitation.
Jails watchdogs described the booth as a ‘good innovation’ – but critics said the scheme, understood to be the first in England and Wales, was fresh evidence that jails are too soft.
The policy will raise eyebrows at a time when drugs and weapons are regularly being smuggled behind bars and violence is hitting record levels.
Details of the photobooth emerged in a report yesterday by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) into privately run HMP Lowdham Grange, near Nottingham, which holds up to 920 male Category B convicts. Former inmates include murderer Luke Toner, jailed for life in 2013 for a fatal shooting.
Tory MP Philip Davies, a former member of the Commons’ justice select committee, said yesterday: ‘This beggars belief. Will they be able to use them to get a passport photo for a holiday when they are released?’
Private firm Serco, which runs the prison, said the booth – which charges inmates in cash – was introduced in March and has been used 2,200 times. It is looking at introducing similar booths to five other jails it runs in the UK.