“The car caught fire and my brother burned to death in front of my eyes.” Will Steele
“That night was a turning “After 18 years in prison Quick reads point in my life that I being able to self-isolate Ian Rankin thriller - never thought I would ever in my own home ain’t no the National Newspaper for Prisoners & Detainees recover from.” Will Steele hardship.” Linda Calvey Reading Ahead a voice for prisoners since Comment // page 24 Comment // page 23 Comment // page 28
June 2020 / Issue No. 252 / www.insidetime.org / A ‘not for profit’ publication/ ISSN 1743-7342 VIDEO VISITS ROLLING OUT 15 // LOCKDOWN FROWNS 22 // LOCKDOWN LEARNING 37 An average of 60,000 copies distributed monthly Independently verified by the Audit Bureau of Circulations WHERE IS PRISONS EXIT STRATEGY? Keeping prisoners locked up 23 hours a day for months on end is turning prisons into “ticking time bombs”, Labour’s Shadow Justice Secretary warns
Inside Time Exclusive infection. He also urged min- controlled regimes stay in want to stay safe and healthy. isters to accelerate early re- place, the number of prisoner But … keeping prisoners in leases to cut overcrowding. deaths in England and Wales this situation for what could In an interview with Inside could be limited to 100, whereas be another year will lead to Time, David Lammy (left) said Prisons have been on lock- without them between 1,900 other problems. the lockdown in jails to curb down since March when the and 2,700 prisoners could die. coronavirus could damage res- whole nation was told to “stay “It will lead to serious issues idents’ mental health and lead at home” in the face of the Lammy welcomed the intro- around mental health and to tensions, conflict and unrest. pandemic. However, a gradual duction of video visits at some wellbeing, it could affect self- lifting of the restrictions in prisons, but said residents harm, and certainly it can He called on the Government outside society, beginning in should also be offered educa- increase tensions in our pris- to provide an “exit strategy” May, has not been reflected in tion and therapy by videolink. ons and that can lead to con- for easing the restrictions, jails. flict and to unrest.” starting with a drive to test He said: “Of course everyone more prisoners for COVID-19 Public Health England has accepts it’s exceptional times, David Lammy speaks
© Deposit Photos and trace the spread of the advised that if tightly and prisoners themselves to Inside Time page 21 CAPPTIVE! Hedgehog mania! Reform charity launches COVID Action Prisons Project: Tracking Slumping numbers of hedgehogs over recent Innovation, Valuing Experience decades have put one of our much-loved part of Britain’s native wildlife at risk. But now our spiky “The COVID-19 pandemic friends are being given a helping hand by people is the biggest thing to hap- in prison - with projects which take in injured and pen in prisons in 40 years. orphaned animals and care for them until some can But it’s mainly happening be released back into the wild. In the first of a series unnoticed by the media and the general public.” of articles for Inside Time, Bea Finch of the Ministry of Justice Ecology team looks in detail at some of Prison Reform Trust Director Peter Dawson 39 27 the schemes.
specialising in complex and high profile criminal defence and appeals.
Jeremy Moore is one He is notable for acting in numerous miscarriage of justice cases, including of the leading solicitors successfully representing Barry George in his appeal against conviction for the murder of Jill Dando and subsequent in the country, for criminal retrial. To speak with Jeremy about your case Freephone 0800 144 111 defence and miscarriages please contact us at the address or on the number below. We represent clients Mailbox 19, 275 Deansgate, of Justice throughout England and Wales. Manchester, M3 4EL 2 Mailbag ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB. Insidetime June 2020 Correct the lie insidetime Mailbites a voice for prisoners since 1990 Name supplied - HMP Winson Green Terrible waste the national newspaper for prisoners published ST - HMP Swaleside by Inside Time Limited, a wholly owned In a recent Inside Time article subsidiary of The New Bridge Foundation, Louis Burdett (Inside Time April 2020 issue) founded in 1956 to create links between the I read that the government cannot change the sentence rightly raises the issue of vapes and plastic offender and the community PUBLISHED waste that will end up in landfill. WEEKLY ONLINE AND MONTHLY IN PRINT that a judge has given. This troubled me as I know the Vapes are classified as waste electrical and government can and have electronic equipment, and along with kettles, Board of Directors done so in the past. Does toasters, televisions, computers, etc, is the anyone remember when the fastest growing waste stream in the UK. Trevor Grove - Chairman Former Editor Sunday two sides of the Irish border Outside of prison the rest of society is obliged Telegraph, Journalist, Writer and former Magistrate. Just, wow were at war? Many lives to recycle waste, so why is there no sign of it Dr Peter Bennett Trustee, New Bridge were lost, innocent people happening on the wings inside prison? Surely Foundation and former Governor of HMP Grendon Chris Hartley - HMP Wakefield who just happened to be in we have a duty, like others, to try and repair John D Roberts Company Director employing the immense damage we have done to our former prisoners the wrong place at the wrong Hope everyone reading this is okay, I’m doing fine, trying to planet. Prisons should not be exempt. Louise Shorter CEO Inside Justice and former keep my head down. The reason I’m writing is that I and time. Terrorists were tried producer BBC Rough Justice some other lads here have been doing pictures and making and convicted and sent to Alistair H E Smith BSc FCA Chartered Accountant, prison, many with sentences Thanks Captain Tom! Trustee and Treasurer, New Bridge Foundation things out of bread for the NHS workers here. The things we have been making are to say thank you for all the hard work that would see them die in JP McDonagh - HMP Onley Phil Wheatley Former Director General of Prison prison. The government of Service. they’ve been doing during these trying times. The nurses this country then decided I have spent all day thinking about the good have been putting these up on the wall of the Meds hatch for people in the world, and all it took to show me all to see. We’ve been doing this since the outbreak of the that these people had a right The insideteam to family life and under the this was the actions of one World War II virus. I wrote a thank you poem last week and it got put up veteran. Captain Thomas Moore, who has on the wall. But later that day I noticed that it had been taken Good Friday Agreement they were released. They did not raised so much money for the NHS. My down and my poem was sent to Security because someone grandfather died a long time ago, and, to my complained about us giving the staff ‘gifts’. I was told by an serve their full sentences, so the government DID change knowledge, he is the only Traveller to have left officer that the nurses are uncomfortable about receiving Ireland and joined the British Army. His name these thank-you poems and pictures. their sentences. That proves to anyone that the govern- was Shakie Pat McDonagh, and on behalf of John Roberts ment CAN change sentences my grandad and all the Travellers in prison, I Publisher I find this outrageous because a lot of lads have gone out of for all IPP prisoners. All IPPs would like to say thank you to Captain Moore and Director their way to do this for them because we recognise the hard could be released tomorrow and thanks to all the healthcare staff for their work that all NHS staff are doing. All we are doing is saying hard work. thank you, what is so wrong about that? I really do not get it if they so desired. So that at all. This has angered me as it seems they are throwing our statement in Inside Time gratitude back in our faces. I wonder if NHS staff on the other was a lie. All IPP’s should be It’s our life side of the wall are acting like this? I very much doubt it. I be- allowed the same rights as Sy - HMP Altcourse lieve it is because they think we are low life and don’t de- convicted terrorists - the right to a family life, as we are all I’ve been on my recall since May last year and Erwin James Rachel Noel Smith serve to be treated as humans. It certainly says something have been waiting for a parole date. I was Billington OBE Commissioning politically sentenced prisoners. Editor in Chief about how they view us. finally given the date of the 16th of April. But Associate Editor Editor now we are on lockdown till god knows when, so what is going to happen? Will there be a parole hearing, will they do it via video-link? Nobody seems to know anything and to top it off I can’t seem to get hold of my Probation worker. I’m stuck here and I think it’s unfair. I Ben Leapman Paul Sullivan David Roberts think they should just release me as both my Reporter and Editorial Operations inside and outside Probation are recommend- Feature Writer Assistant Manager ing release. It’s stressing me out because my mother is disabled and I’m her carer. I do Prison Law Experts / Legal 500 Recommendation nothing but worry about her. My sister is looking after her at the moment, but she has to work, so most of the day my mother is left Nationwide Coverage - in-house video link facilities available on her own. Not knowing what’s going on is Justine Best Carla Rowe Louise Van destroying us. To them it’s a long delay but to Head of Admin Assistant Mechelen us it’s our life. Administration Accounts Supervisor Specialist advice on parole reviews police interviews KEEP IN TOUCH! recalls criminal appeals Send secure emails, photos & get replies back! extradition adjudications • Fast and easy from any Colin Matthews Gary Bultitude John Bowers (mobile) device Website Design Proof Reading Layout and criminal defence • Design and Advertising con scation & Only 40p per message • Available in all *UK prisons Correspondence proceeds of crime • Receive a reply • On your phone? Use our app! Inside Time Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Members of the Association of Prison Lawyers ** Hampshire SO30 2GB. Telephone: 01489 795945 • Send photos [email protected] / www.insidetime.org *Reply Service now available Facebook: InsideTime / Twitter: @InsideTimeUK Contact our Prison Law Department in more than 60% of prisons **In selected prisons only Subscribe More info on our website. Inside Time is distributed free of charge 01904 431421 throughout the UK prison estate. It is available to emailaprisoner other readers via a postal subscription service. [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES Howard and Byrne 03333 70 65 50 £35 per annum with concessions available see Chestnut Court, 148 Lawrence Street, York YO10 3EB for further details or visit: website for details or [email protected] www.emailaprisoner.com Insidetime June 2020 ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB. Mailbag 3
Star Letter of the Month Government The poor will suffer Mailbag 2-11 Congratulations to this months winner who receives “If cell walls could our £25 prize exposed Wayne Joselyn - HMP Lincoln talk, what wisdom Name supplied - could they With everyone in lockdown due to this pandemic, I keep communicate?” HMP Birmingham Forgiveness thinking what’s going to come next and I’m sorry to say that Page 10 the people who are going to get the worst of it are the poor. Mat W - HMP/YOI Littlehey It has always been the case Newsround 12-17 that prisoners die in prison, We have seen it many times before, illness spreads through “A new junior I am writing to you about forgiveness and how useful it either through suicide, natu- sniffer has joined can be. Last September I had my Xbox and some other ral causes, murder, or plain poor areas like wildfire, job cuts and then crime will go up as people realise, they are once again neglected. You can see it the team. His possessions stolen from my cell. Unbeknown to the neglect. Don’t take my word name is Arthur.” thieves, I had a friend, who knew me quite well, and he in- for it, look it up, the facts are now from the TV advertisements. There are three main adverts Page 16 formed me who they were on the same day. that are played over and over again, and you can see that what there. Some people, the de- Comment 18-34 cent and sensible ones, they are after is making money from the poor and lonely. “However, I would like to tell the people who might think that the govern- “Prisoners must stole from me, that I forgive you.” ment and the system should The one advert we are now seeing the most of is for online be part of be held responsible for those gambling from which the message seems to be ‘Win! Win! decision-making. I forgive you for stealing from me, and why do I do this? deaths that have happened Win! We know that you’re drinking more alcohol during iso- They know most.” Well, I’ve had my share of hardship and low points in my under their watch, but they lation so you may as well try and win some money whilst out Page 18 of your nut’. Gambling firms would be the first to know that life, where I have felt desperate and hurt others. I know rarely accept responsibility. Information 35-38 how it is to be so low you do whatever you can to get your alcohol use has gone up by 36% and is being bought by a lot “This unprecedent- needs met, particularly where money is involved. I have Now, we have entered a dif- of people on the breadline, so why not take advantage? ed period is hav- empathy for you. ferent scenario, where it can be proved that the govern- Another one is cashpoint machines that charge you to access ing a signifi cant Since accepting forgiveness into my life, I have felt free ment know the risk to pris- your own money. These machines where you are forced to pay impact on the way and liberated. I do not let the negative actions of others oners from COVID-19 but are are perfectly placed in shops surrounded by council estates, Page 35 the UK drinks.” get to me. As it happens, the prison compensated me for refusing to take any real where most of our minimum-wage working-class people live. Legal 39-43 my loss, and I made a donation to a prisoner rehabilitation steps to prevent death in charity so that people such as those who stole from me prisons. Social-distancing is The other one is the charities that ask for money for sponsor- “Do prisoners can have a better chance of a good life on release. not practical in prison - that ing animals - cats, dogs, tigers, etc, which are clearly aimed have any rights much is also obvious to any- at the old and lonely. over their ‘story’ Many people have hurt me in the past, and I forgive them one with an ounce of com- appearing on tel- all. And I feel so much better for it. Next time you feel des- Page 41 evision crime doc- mon-sense. Washing your I feel the timing of all these adverts shows they are about perate - ask for help, pray or talk to your loved-ones. I wish umentaries?” hands with sanitiser is not making money from people who mostly can’t spare it. And you all the best in the future and, maybe, you might con- possible - no prison is al- then you’ve only got to look at the wages of some of the top Jailbreak 44-60 sider forgiveness yourselves. lowed alcohol sanitiser, people running these so-called charities to feel as though which is proven to be effec- “We started out you’ve been mugged. Your donations are paying their huge life on a bat We need a national policy tive, in case ‘prisoners drink salaries. the sanitiser to get high’. But jumped cos Phil Green - HMP Buckley Hall What? We are locked down we want to be Why are these people happy to target the poor and get away Page 50 for the majority of every day, free.” with it? We have been very fortunate here so far as we have not had but when opened we are just one prisoner hospitalised with COVID-19. However, if it does all mixing together as there get a grip in this prison, or any other, it is unlikely to affect is really no space to avoid one or two prisoners or staff but probably a large number in anybody. each prison. There won’t be enough staff to run the wings, Funding cuts have undermined the prison system for years and there certainly won’t be enough staff to escort prisoners The staff, on the whole, are making it more dangerous, less tolerant and poorly equipped. to hospital for Covid, or even routine, treatment. doing a good job and most of them have not just aban- We have specialist solicitors who may be able to help you with: There are a number of Category D prisoners in closed condi- doned us to our fate. But tions that could be trusted to attend hospital without cuffs there lies the rub, they are Assaults by police or prison Care in the community after and a full escort. There is also a great deal of low-risk prison- very likely unknowingly o cers release ers in the closed estate who could be trusted to attend hospi- bringing this virus into pris- tal without escort. This is permitted under the ROTL ons and helping it to spread. Excessive use of force Serious injuries, long-term framework document of 2019. In normal times prisoners High-risk/unlawful restraint health conditions and are not allowed bleach or methods terminal illness Would now be the right time to introduce a national policy disinfecting tablets, and nor which could free up vital resources by instructing every are we allowed them now. Unauthorised use of hand Discrimination based on prison to conduct pre-emptive risk assessments of all low- cu s/chains disabilities, gender, religion, I just hope that if and when risk and non-violent prisoners held in closed conditions for Restraint of ill and disabled ethnicity etc. release on Special Purpose License, in the event that a hospi- this is all over our so-called tal visit is required? government is held to account. prisoners Lack of employment and Frequently missed hospital training opportunities Contributing to Mailbag appointments Denial of risk reduction If you would like to contribute to Mailbag, please send your letters to the Care needs assessments and courses to foreign nationals address on the left. It is very important that you ensure the following details are plans Access to housing upon on all paperwork sent to Inside Time: YOUR NAME, PRISON NUMBER & PRISON. 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I fear for my son Mailbites A prisoner’s mother Now you know My son is in an open prison, and has been Shaun O’Toole - HMP Hindley identified by NHS England as being someone We now have circumstances in which the general population at severe risk if he catches COVID-19. He does have the ‘privilege’ of experiencing almost the same living not want me to identify him and I wish to re- conditions that we, as prisoners, suffer every day for months main anonymous or the prison will find a and sometimes years on end. No going out except for a short way to punish my son. He is absolutely terri- time each day (but our fresh air time is ‘weather-permitting’), fied as healthcare and prison staff are not helping shielding prisoners they have put all being locked down and not being able to see family members shielding prisoners on one billet with no one is our everyday life. Perhaps the media might now stop their helping them. They have not even been able sensationalist stories about how prisoners have it easy and how to do their laundry since being moved on to a being locked in prison is akin to partying in a holiday-camp, shielding billet. and all their other nonsense. And maybe their readers will stop believing it now that they have had a taste.
© Deposit Photos Nurses and prison staff are not regularly checking prisoners and hot food is being Doing bird Fellow stamp collector given cold and wrong meals are given, which Freddie - HMP Pentonville L Matthew - HMP Risley means my son and other prisoners are con- stantly having to walk around finding of- Within the prison estate we have many pigeons and other birds ficers or healthcare putting themselves at that come and rest on prison buildings, we see them every day. I was really glad to see Paul Sullivan’s article ‘Stamps a window to the world’ risk. They all share toilets, showers and facil- Quite often the birds are injured and are left to die, some killed in the May issue. Being a keen stamp collector or philatelist myself, I found it ities and the corridors are less than 2 metres by seagulls and crows who practically eat them alive. We view very interesting. Having collected stamps all of my life I know a fair bit. For wide. There is no social distancing. the remains, heads with eyes pecked out and it is not nice to instance, did you know that on 1st and 2nd class stamps there is a code im- see. I wonder why something cannot be done for injured birds printed into the stamp exactly by the Queen’s eyes? At the moment you’ll find Officers walk on to the shielders billet with when we find them around the prison grounds. Surely the it will say Royal Mail all over the stamp but at her eyes it will give you the no mask or PPE and cough on the billet and prisons can do something about this? code M19L, this is for 2019, so 2018 will be M18L. Sometimes there are different touch things deliberately, but the most letters at the end of the number sequence, like an N or an M. They are all worth shocking thing is my son witnessing a male collecting and can add up to a pretty penny when you are an established collector. Out and proud officer use the shielders toilets. When he Katie Matthews - HMP The Verne challenged this officer as to why he had used A penny black can be picked up on eBay for as little as £50, but some exam- these toilets and could have put us at risk, he Thanks to all staff at both HMP Dartmoor and HMP The Verne, ples can fetch £250,000, and it all depends on the printing and corner letters. was told ‘well, everybody’s going to get the for their help on my journey going through gender reassignment. The penny black was only on issue for a year before the penny red took over. virus anyway so it does not make any differ- I am out in July, and just wanted to say thank you to all of them. The reason the penny black was replaced was because it was hard to see a ence’. My son was further told ‘all you sick postmark on it. lads might as well sign the paper and come HMP Birmingham getting better off the shielding list - you’re all going to die I would love to be able to have a stamp collection in prison, but I don’t know Thomas Hodge - HMP Birmingham anyway so stop trying to delay it’. if I would be allowed them sent in. It is a great hobby and I have spent many I would just like to let people know that Birmingham is now a hours sorting out my collection, arranging sets and trying to find high-value prison that is striding forward to improve decency and integration. stamps. There are plenty of stamps to collect, in fact, millions! You can collect “Prisoners have complained many This means positive attitudes and forward-thinking, providing by themes, as Paul does, animals, butterflies, rocks and minerals, etc. I spe- times, but complaints are not being opportunities and progression for prisoners. I would like to cifically collect from Queen Victoria to George 5th stamps - 1840 to 1952. answered.” thank all staff and AMEY industry workers who are providing a safe and caring community and job opportunities for us Enjoy your collecting, it’s a great hobby! These vulnerable prisoners are not getting prisoners. In my 16 years of incarceration, I have never come any help and are being pushed into signing across such friendly members of staff who do care about us. Death penalty A serving of slop some form that takes them off the shielding list in the prison. My son and other prisoners C Gilroy - HMP Preston Social distancing failure Alan - HMP Whatton who are terrified of COVID-19 have been Flinty - HMP Holme House My letter is regarding the asked by officers to sign this form many Why does England retain the death penalty? terrible, over-cooked slop times and some prisoners have - as they get Since the outbreak of the virus, this prison has made some I refer to the practise in England and Wales that HMP Preston has the more help off other prisoners than they do changes to our regime, none of which appear to be controlling of keeping terminally ill inmates locked away gall to call food. Now, I know off officers and healthcare. said disease. As we are, after all, people who by definition have from their families, rather than release them? we are in prison to be a tendency to break rules, putting some stripy tape on the floor punished, but the ‘like-it-or- The healthcare system is absolutely shock- at 2-metre intervals has been, somewhat unsurprisingly, a In Scotland, the Lockerbie Bomber was re- lump it’ attitude is totally ing. Some prisoners were telling healthcare complete waste of time. For every one of us who obeys social leased on compassionate grounds, after he wrong. It is hard to believe they have developed COVID-19 symptoms distancing, there are ten of us that just push into the gap this had been diagnosed with a terminal illness that people are actually paid and were being told if they say that then they creates. As a result, we are all still bunching up in close and the prognosis was that he only had a few to produce this. We have no will have to go into isolation for 14 days and proximity to each other to queue up for food. As for the food, months to live. That, of course, was under a idea why they keep putting won’t be allowed out of their cells. Then they while I won’t say it is substandard, I swear that my suspiciously different, but more compassionate, legal sys- ask the prisoner ‘is that what you want to tem. In fact, under the Scottish legal system out menus as the food on the sourced kebab meat had a tattoo on it. And if the rice was menu is no relation to the do?’ Naturally the prisoner said no and cooked for any longer it might turn into Saki. Keep your a defendant is innocent until proven guilty, healthcare told him ‘right then it’s just hay as opposed to guilty by association, circum- food we actually get to eat. distance and be safe. They are always running out fever’ and sent him back. I am deeply con- stantial evidence or unless he can PROVE his cerned for my only son as well as other innocence. of our choices and the food Xbox woes is frequently changed with shielding prisoners who could die as they have been identified as being at serious risk M Beer - HMP Parc The primitive practise of revenge imprison- no warning. We do not get if they catch coronavirus and all the prison ment, that seems to be the case in England chips here, its wedges 5 or 6 I read in the April issue of Inside Time about a fellow prisoner seem to care about are them signing a form and Wales, in which OAP’s are sentenced to times a week. They cannot voicing his concerns on the Xbox situation. I am an Enhanced to stop shielding. extensive periods of imprisonment that, in even boil rice correctly prisoner, and whilst in HMP Cardiff I was allowed to purchase most cases, they are unlikely to outlive, is unless you like it brown, an Xbox, which gave me plenty of motivation to behave myself Also, they are all living in filthy conditions. disgraceful and an affront to a civilised society. lumpy and hard. Since the and become Enhanced. I then saved up my measly wages and lockdown our staple diet My son has told me how people are just spit- went without canteen for three months in order to be able to ting everywhere including officers, and why I point to the difference in life-expectancy seems to be instant noodles purchase my Xbox. Everything was then fine until I was are shielding prisoners not being given PPE. between those in prison and those on the every lunchtime. I would transferred to HMP Parc, only to be told that they do not allow The healthcare who work for CARE UK have outside. The long sentences handed out to the like to thank Inside Time for Xboxes in possession. So, basically, I saved £212 for an Xbox been labelled DON’T CARE UK by prisoners Hatton Garden burglars, for robbing rich tax- truthfully adding HMP that I cannot now have or use and will not want after I leave and some staff. Please please I beg of you - evaders who hid their gains in secret secu- Preston to the worst prison prison. This does not seem fair and I should be getting a refund. publish this. The prison have a lot to answer rity boxes, was more a backlash by the rich food list. I have been in 10 In the meantime, I would like to warn other prisoners that if for as one man has already died. I am very and powerful, upset that their hidden wealth different prisons but believe you are coming to somewhere like Parc then don’t waste your afraid I won’t see my son again. had been discovered, than a case of justice. me this is the worst for food. time and money buying an Xbox. SEAN’S STORY...
Unfortunately inmate Sean slipped on some discarded plastic whilst breaking up window frames in the prison workshop and broke his wrist.
Sean was incorrectly dressed in both footwear and safety wear and been given no guidance prior to the task. The injury caused Sean pain and discomfort for almost 3 years. We acted on Sean’s behalf and he was awarded £5,000 compensation for a personal injury which could have been avoided.
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On the thank you Wire Cheaper calls Thanks to our Exceptional staff! L Gabriel - keyworkers Lee Diamond Dan - HMP Hewell HMP Eastwood Park Karen White - HMP Wakefield Writing this seems like a breath of fresh air, although not much I would like to thank the I would like to point out that fresh air because of the current predicament. The reason I find prison for how they are everyone seems to mention this a breath of fresh air is because it is being positive and treating us in these challeng- all other key-workers in their praising prison officers for a change. Other cons can, and will, ing times. One really good thanks, but no one seems to ridicule me, call me all of the derogatory names you can think thing to come out of this is give a thought or any kind of of - screw boy, creep, snitch, blah, blah, blah. But I am being the huge reduction in the cost mention for prison officers, released soon so there is no need for me to curry favour with of phone-calls. It really is who are also key-workers, the screws, so jog on. My first impression of the staff when I disgusting how much we were and what good work they do arrived here was that there were far too many who were young being charged in the first in these difficult times and and inexperienced, which would lead to a whole host of place. Surely, if they can what they have to deal with problems. bargain with BT to cut the on a daily basis looking after However, since the lockdown started, the officers, mailroom costs during this pandemic some of the worst prisoners staff, healthcare, admin and the governors have been nothing then they should be able to in the UK, not to mention the less than magnificent to us prisoners. This has been the do it on a permanent basis. dangerous environment prison has become in the last toughest time I’ve spent in prison, and I have 20-years under
© Deposit Photos Not all of us can afford to put my belt. It is a tremendously difficult time for staff, unlocking a great deal of money on the decade. Prison officers go to one landing at a time for phones, shower, exercise, and running Keeping us safe phone, not on the wages we work, just the same as police, after cons who don’t want to return to their cells. They are S Edwards - HMP Hindley are paid in here, so I’m very nurses, paramedics, etc, so I would like to know why the constantly answering cell bells and it is a testament to their In these terrible times of crisis, the staff are doing their utmost thankful for the £5 per week government doesn’t seem to patience and positivity in the face of adversity. to make a safer environment for us all. I witness this in all the we are given for phone-cred- recognise them in the same hard work they are doing despite their own serious worries. its whilst visits are restricted. way? I can only speak for the Some might think staff have it easy because we are locked Here at Hindley they are offering all prisoners in-cell activities And, obviously, with the prison I am in and during behind our doors, but staff seem to be busier running around packs, including maths and English Levels 1 and 2, a 30-day lowered cost of calls the organising things for us and going that extra mile. Officer exercise cell workout, and an art pack to keep us occupied. these difficult times there is credit now lasts twice as long. Collins on House-block 2 was taking care of the ones landing We cannot have visits, this is to keep both ourselves and our calm and understanding from which has been transformed into a Coronavirus wing. He loved-ones safe from this virus, so we have all been given £5 both inmates and staff. worked throughout the day wearing all the PPE, he was phone credit, funded by the Help With Prison Visits scheme, “The people who have sweating mopping the landing, cleaning cell door handles, which is helping us to keep in touch. The food is great, and all no one to call does Governors and prison officers are dedicated to their jobs attending to cell bells and feeding prisoners. I was very the staff have been very kind and caring. I had a very bad start, worry me because in my previous prison I was getting into trouble all the time, but and this is very clear when impressed with his work ethic and dedication. Thank you to here I am making progress and there is a lot of good staff here sadly there are a few.” you speak to them. Like all officer Collins, amongst others. who do want to help and rehabilitate us. I am grateful for this. I other services, prison officers have done a lot of time in prisons all across the country, but this I was very excited to hear need to be given the Also, the number one Governor Amanda Hughes, organised for prison is the best I have been in for a long time - I would like to about the possibility of recognition that they all prisoners to receive a bag of canteen and one pack of vapes thank all the governors, staff and fellow inmates for making this video-calls to family, I think rightfully deserve and be as canteen was running 2-days late due to lack of staff through a positive place. this should have been noticed for the good work illness. Some said this was done to stop a riot breaking out, but happening long before now. they do. They need to be she didn’t have to do it, so big thanks to Mrs Hughes. Healthcare were great Lucky to have you After all, it is the 21st century. included in the clapping for the respect of all key-workers. One more thing - a big thank you to the Prison Visitors Scheme T Joel - HMP Risley Aggie - HMP Risley But my excitement wasn’t to last as I spoke to the governor Prison officers are real people for donating the £5 phone credits to every prisoner per week. I just want to say a big Some of you might remem- and she said that this is not a who have families and they This is a remarkably kind gesture when you consider it means thank-you to NHS and ber that the last time I wrote priority at the moment as are having to put themselves 90,000 prisoners receiving £5 every week - you do the maths. healthcare staff here at Risley. in to the paper it was about overcrowding is the issue still and their families at risk. It’s Also, a big thank you to all the staff at Inside Time for still They are doing a great job dealing with incontinence in in some jails and that’s where nice to be nice. working and getting our monthly issue of the paper to us. looking after us during this prison and how thankful I extra money will be used first. pandemic. was to our lovely nurses and I have done a very long time Thanks, fellow prisoners very kind wing staff. in prison and it would be A.H - HMP Ashfield I had symptoms of COVID-19 great to have video contact and had to isolate myself for This time I would like to say a It almost goes without saying that I appreciate NHS staff and key workers who are risking their with my family to ease the 7 days in my cell, with no heartfelt thanks to the health and lives at this testing time in our history. But I also want to focus on how it is in UK pressure on them of the travel access to a phone or a kindest, sweetest, caring prisons. I would like to applaud all the prisoners who are putting their lives at risk, be it cleaning associated with visits as they shower. I was looked after by nurses here at Risley. They the wings, cooking the food, washing our clothes, waste management, library staff, Listeners, the healthcare team and then always make sure we are live 3-hours from the prison. Safer Custody, reps, servery workers and anyone else that I have missed out. Although govern- officers of D Wing South, and okay, whether that be sorting ment officials claim that by applying lockdown measures instead of releasing prisoners early has they were great. meds and appointments or But thanks must go to the been effective, as expected the inmate heroes, who have had to carry on working through this even just taking a few prison for all the things they were never mentioned. You guys are risking contact with staff who might bring the virus in, in order to ensure that things run smoothly. I thank you. Also respect for the staff members who are The hardest thing was not minutes to have a chat. are doing to ease this still here and recognising the work done by inmate workers. being allowed out to phone lockdown. The extra food my family, and this is why this They are heroes every one, so snack-packs are a welcome prison needs in-cell phones. please remember to say treat for a lot of prisoners. Unit 19B, Imperial House, 64 Willoughby Lane, thank you and show our The extra milk, the distrac- London N17 0SP Not only this prison, but all lovely nurses the respect they tion-packs and the waiving of Deton Solicitors Call us: 0208 8017422 DEFENDING YOUR CAUSE!!! Email: [email protected] prisons should have in-cell deserve. the £1 TV fee are very www.legalguys.co.uk phones. Nobody wants to die welcome. I’ve been taking a Experienced Representation in Prison Law, alone in a cell, we should at Thanks to the nurses and keen interest in books and Criminal Defence and Appeal & Reviews The Legal Guys least be able to talk to our prison officers for all your the library are delivering • Independent Adjudications Do you need an immigration lawyer? loved ones. Thankfully I’ve help and kindness and them to the wings in boxes. • Appeals against conviction and sentence • Challenges to sentence calculations We can help with: recovered, but others may support. 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If the prison sys- ceiving end of injustice or wrongdoing by staff. thanks to its author as he tem does reintroduce slopping out then I can I’ve also witnessed corruption at the highest highlights physical and almost guarantee that there will be riots and level over my two decades behind bars. mental abuse perpetrated by unrest across the prison estate. I can still re- women. member what slopping out was like. It is a de- However, I want to thank all the staff and governors here who, of late, have had a real meaning act that should never be allowed in One day soon I myself suffered ten-years
tough time regarding the negative reputation © Andy Aitchison/Doctored image our so-called civilised 21st century prison sys- of it at the hands of my wife. they have had. For two years running this tem. I do not wish to see us going back to the Attacking me for no reason, prison has received negative reports from days when prisoners threw shit parcels from Delay of the droids belittling me in everything I HMICP. This creates a negative psyche for their windows rather than spend 10 or 12 did or took an interest in and prisoners on arrival here and it’s like a bad Jason Adams - HMP Ashfield hours in a tiny cell with a bucket full of crap. insulting me in front of the vibe from the establishment. Nearly every fence in HMP had remnants of Trials or ‘RScrewDScrew’, the revolutionary droid introduced kids to name but a portion. thrown parcels hanging from them and it was Recently I’ve witnessed a huge refurbish- into prisons in order to save money by reducing officer num- an ungodly sight. As for ‘Character building’, I ment program developing, turning the old bers, have, according to the MoJ (Ministry of Jobseekers) “I often had to take would like to see how much character it would draconian-looking wings into modern, styl- been terminated. Technicians discovered that the droid had time off work as she had build in the guy who suggested it, squatting ish and decent accommodation. Not only are developed a split infinitive and boldly gone where no officer over a plastic bucket and then queueing up wings being brought back to life. In-cell had dared to go before: The Officer’s Mess. The rebellious scratched my face or neck. with hundreds of others to empty the bucket phones are being installed, which has had a droid had previous - an inappropriate alliance with a carpet I looked a right mess.” is no sort of character building for anyone. If huge positive impact on both prisoners and cleaner in the OMU (Officially Malfunctioning Unit) for which you want to really mess the prison system up staff. No longer will we have to stand in a he was punished by an IEP (Internal Explosive Procedure), On one occasion, we were then bring back slopping out if you dare. disorganised queue whilst waiting to grab given a PNA (Programming Needs Assessment), then booted travelling back from a New one of only four wing-phones shared be- back to Basic. Year’s Eve party at my sis- tween a minimum of 70 prisoners. ter’s, I drove along the A65, I got the joke Ironically, the Ministry’s ‘Operation Botch’ (Beginning Of The which is a country road with Tony G - HMP Long Lartin Although the new staff are still green behind Cyber Handover) continues and work is underway to build a new no street lights. It was 3am the ears, they lack experience and struggle bot called C4PO (Companion 4 Prison Officers), who will no and dark when she started I have never laughed so much as when I read to communicate effectively at times, they are doubt be quickly phased in as quickly as they are phased out. to punch me in the face. I the obvious April Fool’s joke in the last issue. still decent, hard-working people who need held my nerve and kept con- Well done for managing to brighten up our to have strong character and nerves of steel Cecil Crocus, Chief Teabag Squeezer at the Ministry’s depart- trol of the car, the kids were sad and lonely existence. But, on a serious to work in a hostile environment like Hewell ment of Cybernetics, Robotics And Programming (CRAP, for screaming (two girls aged 9 note, there are still prisons that are slopping can sometimes be. short), commented: ‘I guarantee everyone will be stunned and 12). So, yes, women can out. Some cells in certain prisons are too small and shocked by our new empire of droids, but be patient for be violent abusers, not only to fit a toilet and sink. In these cases we have I believe that as some of the ‘old-school’ staff the roll out, since, just like everything else in our justice sys- men. Nice to see some bal- ‘night san’, a computerised system for opening retire or leave the system, they must be ade- tem, it will involve a lot of time and a lot of trial and error.’ ance in the paper. cell doors one at a time after lock up, but quately replaced by those of a similar when these computers fail, which they inevita- make-up, namely, ex-forces personnel who bly must, then it’s back to slopping out. But have both discipline and the ability to work in a team. thanks for the welcome laugh. The recent introduction of prisoners being April fool, spotted allowed to send an immediate reply to emails Martin Broughton - HMP Risley received is a fantastic achievement, set up by a lovely lady who works in the Mail Room, I I received your April issue and wondered if won’t mention your name but you know who there are any prizes for spotting the April Fool you are. story? At first glance I was thinking that if they do bring back slopping out then I would be This is the way forward for prison, creating a making them wear it every single day, in order safe, comfortable environment with several to ‘build good character’ in them. But then I easy ways to contact family and friends, realised it was a joke. I wonder how many of which are important factors for reducing Fraud and Serious Crime Specialists your readers jumped straight into impulsive reoffending. protest and complaint mode. I look forward to the June issue when the complaint letters start Keep up the good work, to all the staff and Olliers is firmly established as one of the UK’s leading criminal defence law firms. cons who are helping to make it happen. rolling in. That should be fun! We have a wealth of experience in successfully defending large scale, complex and often high-profile cases including fraud, sexual offences, multi-handed drugs conspiracies, firearms offences, terrorism allegations, people smuggling and cases involving undercover operations. Known for our proactive approach, we are four times winners of the Legal Awards Crime Team of the Year and are ranked as a Top Tier Crime/Fraud firm in the Reece Thomas Watson are specialists in Prison Law, Judicial Review, Mental Health current editions of the Legal 500 and the Chambers Guide. If you would like us to conduct a free, no obligation, appraisal of your case We are based in Teesside & cover all prisons in North East. Our team are experts in: please direct your initial enquiry to either of our offices clearly marked for the attention of senior solicitor Mark Carter. Parole Boards, IPP and Lifer Reviews CSU [email protected] Pre Tari Review Cat A Reviews Manchester Office: London Office: Recalls Independent Adjudications Olliers Solicitors Olliers Solicitors Detentions under the Mental Health Act 1983 47/49 Transfer 196 Deansgate 42 Upper Berkeley Street Manchester Marble Arch, London Contact: Kathryn Reece-Thomas Phone: 01642 033440 M3 3WF W1H 5PW Write: Gloucester House, 72 Church Road TS18 1TW 0161 834 1515 020 3883 6790 Email: [email protected] 8 Mailbag ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB. Insidetime June 2020
On the PPE Wire No PPE for prisoners What a waste of resources Luke - HMP Ranby Name supplied - HMP Wandsworth I am very concerned that inmates here have I am incensed at this government’s absolute apathy surrounding the Coronavirus no access to masks, gloves or PPE of any kind. pandemic. Right from the start we have had a procession of completely out of We have asked on at least two occasions and their depth government ministers feeding us bull as they continue to pursue were informed that we did not need them. It is their policy of ‘herd immunity’. They seem only to be interested in ‘the economy’ my belief that if I decide I want to protect (for that read ‘The money’) rather than keeping the population safe and healthy. myself from this disease then it should not be One of the worst things for me as a prisoner, apart from having family and loved up to someone else to decide I can’t. Inmates ones in the outside world who are at risk, is the lack of PPE. We have hundreds of are dying from COVID-19. Prisoners are not prison workshops capable of supplying thousands of pieces of PPE for NHS and being kept two metres apart when out of their other frontline workers. We can do our bit, if only we are given the chance. This government, either through apathy or incompetence, are wasting precious cells, as the government guidelines suggest. resources by ignoring the obvious remedies. Why order PPE from countries like We are required to remain on 23-hour Turkey, when we have the means of supply sitting in our prisons. I am ashamed lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus, of this government. yet inmates are still mixing in other areas of the prison - in healthcare, the kitchens, the association areas. Ready and willing Utilise our skills Damian Duhur - HMP Liverpool Tony - HMP Birmingham “The spread of COVID-19 is not Since the lockdown I have been These are sad and scary times for
© Deposit Photos being contained in this prison.” thinking what I could do to help out. everyone at the moment and We want to help A lot of us were talking and I had a watching the news each day is a Another issue is that inmates are testing horror show. One thing that strikes Name supplied - HMP Low Newton fantastic idea that we could start positive for the disease, but staff are not making scrubs and other PPE for our me and others is how utterly unpre- Like everyone else, I am following the daily reports about how wearing any PPE on any of the wings, apart NHS. Everyone I have talked to liked pared our government has been for COVID-19 is affecting the world and I am starting to get tired of from the isolation block. This is helping to pass the idea. I have spoken to a few staff this, despite plenty of advance the issue of missing PPE. This equipment is a fundamental need the virus around the prison. One member of and tried to get in touch with a warnings. The big missing items at the to protect NHS staff and other frontline workers. Here we have staff even went to shake my hand last week. I governor or manager, but I have not moment are testing kits and PPE, and a small sewing workshop and me and other women have feel this is not being taken seriously by this received any feedback, I guess they this is where the captive workforce of offered to make some masks and gowns. All we need is the prison. I have decided to stay in my cell for the are busy. A lot of prisoners are the prison system should be utilised. patterns and we could help by doing our bit. There are probably remainder of this lockdown as I feel it is the wanting to help, and a lot have There are prison workshops lying idle a lot of empty prison workshops that could have been put to only choice I have if I want to protect myself relatives in the NHS. We have the all over the UK. There is a prisoner work making PPE if only we’d had a sensible government. We from illness. I have also stopped eating any material here already at Liverpool, so workforce ready and able to handle were thanked for our offer and were told it would be ‘looked food that is prepared in the kitchen as I don’t why not put it to good use? Also, we the making of PPE, just give us the into’. It turns out our government prefers to order its PPE from know who is preparing it and whether they are are being paid to sit in our cells when patterns and watch us churn them Turkey, which doesn’t make any sense when we have work- using PPE or even if they have tested positive some of us would rather be helping out. Prison workshops have provided shops sitting empty. This government could have PPE made for for the virus. I have no option but to go others. I think this government has sterile suits for the armed forces and next to nothing by asking us to help, but they chose to pay been slow to use all avenues to fight many items that could be used by the another country for what I’m sure will be substandard equip- hungry and get what food I can from the NHS, we are good workers and could ment. It’s crazy, as we are ready and willing to help. canteen. As an Enhanced prisoner, I have this horror and governors and the made staff aware that I have no intention of government should remember that supply PPE at minimal cost. Social breaking prison rules, but I am taking the steps though we might be criminals we are distancing in most prison workshops Use us that I feel will best protect my health and still human and want to help. would be pretty easy as there is Sailor Gerry - HMP Stafford safety, as no official safety measures are in I have a brother who works as a carer usually plenty of room. Why is the Has anyone in power thought of using prisoners to help with the place here, apart from being in lockdown, and my mum works for BUPA, and government not making use of production of PPE? I know it seems kind of obvious, but we are which is clearly not working. I have written to they are risking their lives at the already existing resources instead of going nowhere, have plenty of time, and would be glad of the governor and the local MPs to hopefully moment. This is giving me the drive to queueing (at the back of the queue) to something to do during the lockdown. Also, it would be great to kickstart some safety here, but I fear it is falling try and help the NHS. We can help, beg other countries to supply us? Pull be able to give something back. Someone should look into this. on deaf ears. please let us. your finger out, Boris.
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Bournemouth beach in May Prison maths Brilliant care Please release us Dancing unicorn - K J Green - HMP/YOI Low Newton Xavier Phoenix - HMP Warren Hill HMP Full Sutton I would like to point out how brilliant this There is no way of sugar-coating the reason Wouldn’t this lockdown be a prison has become since we have had a for this letter - I am angry! In the past few days, great chance for everyone, I have learned from the news that 4,000 pris- new governing governor and new staff. particularly those who run oners - with up to 2-months left to serve - are Our healthcare has improved enormously. the prison system, to brush being released to ease the pressure on the up on our maths skills? Per- prison system during this pandemic. I do not haps those who made the Examples - HCC staff are so very caring have an issue with these men and women decision to introduce this and polite when we come for our treat- and I wish them all good luck. ‘restricted regime’ could ments. And praise has to go to our best study for their Level One ever kitchen staff, who come in to feed us “My issue is with the government’s maths and then apply what Anti-social distancing even though they couldn’t get any per- decision to once again put the boot they have learned to the fol- sonal shopping in at home for 5-days. Our Name withheld - HMP Wormwood Scrubs lowing situation: governors and staff have gone well above in to us prisoners serving IPP and beyond in providing the best possible sentences.” Personally, I am not stupid or illogical, and it’s a pity the With gym, visits, workshops same cannot be said of any government that really believes regime during these trying times. and education closed, there All of those released under this new scheme that ‘social distancing’ can be achieved in an overcrowded, are more staff than usual, or still had time to serve as punishment for under-staffed and under-funded prison system. This prison, as a whole, has come together necessary, on the wings their crimes, whereas I, like thousands of in a positive way to support one another here. And it would be possi- others, are way beyond our tariffs and still It must be hard enough to control the people who, in the out- as well as taking care of our mental health ble to run a weekend regime. having to tick generic Parole Board boxes be- side world, are stupid and arrogant enough to think it doesn’t Alas, the miracle of prison and wellbeing of both staff and inmates. fore getting a sniff at freedom.. apply to them - all these absolute numpties I keep seeing on maths has turned a glut of the news having parties and picnics or just generally hang- staff into less, not more, un- The only downside is a severe lack of PPE. I understand that the whole purpose of the ing around on the streets; so imagine how it is in these small, lock time. We need hand sanitiser, masks, eye-pro- IPP sentence was to curb automatic release dark places in our prison system. Very few people in prison tection, and gloves. I know there is a na- for those labelled as ‘dangerous’, but the are here because they like to follow rules, by our very nature Within one hour per day we sentence was abolished 8-years ago and we are risk-takers and rule-breakers. tional shortage, yet staff still come in and are expected to exercise, put their health at risk for us. Perhaps I most of us will have completed all the work shower and phone our fami- set out in our sentence plans and have been No matter how hard they try, and judging from the content of can ask why the Prime Minister has not lies. The wing is unlocked victims of the justice system’s fear of letting your paper some prisons are taking this seriously and trying praised the Prison Service for the work by different sections at a us go ‘just in case’. very hard, this virus is going to decimate the British prison time; but as staff have they are doing? system. Let’s not try kidding ourselves (leave that to the poli- pointed out - it’s the same I have only one thing to say to anyone listen- ticians), the prison system is a perfect petri dish for this people unlocking the doors. The issuing of PPE to staff is essential ing: Please stop kicking us and our families virus. We should do whatever we can to stay safe. But let the So, this is doing nothing to towards slowing the spread of this virus when we’re down. Do the honourable thing government be aware that when you put so many people in prevent the spread of the and it is not fair to expect them to put and release all IPPs who are over tariff and locked buildings with very little fresh air or natural light, virus. themselves on the front line. HMPPS need with no offence-related work left to do. This packed in tight and with daily visits of staff coming in from the to help their staff. nightmare has to end at some point. outside world it is no cliché to say that the worst is yet to come. It should also be acknowl- edged that social distancing My time Symptoms is practically impossible in a means nothing prison without a 100% lock- of lockdown down, that means cell doors N McIntosh - never being opened. And, HMP Manchester Yo Yo - HMP Littlehey unless the virus is already FREE inside, then this isn’t QUOTES I was given an IPP sentence You asked for submissions necessary. in 2005, of which I served on how we are coping with 7-years and 10-months. I was the lockdown, so here’s mine. Of course, if the virus gets released in April 2013 and inside the little bubble that have stayed out of trouble After nearly 7-weeks of is prison, it will spread like ever since. However, I was 24-hour-a-day bang up, here wildfire, and we can all un- recalled on October 27th, are my symptoms: derstand the rationale of PAY YOUR POCA 2019 for aff ray. I pleaded 1) Depression - being anx- those prisons in complete guilty in December, but the ious, epitomised by irregular lockdown where they have a Do you need money to pay for your con scation? judge refused to sentence me panting and high heart rate. confirmed outbreak. because I had a co-defend- 2) Dry, raspy throat from not ant, whom I had never met speaking to anyone, weep- However, unless or until and do not know, who ing, restless up-and-down such a situation occurs in pleaded not guilty. His trial pacing of the cell. your prison, then these re- LETS GET THE CPS was set for April 2020 and on 3) Boredom and comfort eat- strictions are just punitive the conclusion of that I ing, then concern about virtue signalling. Locking would be sentenced. I’m weight-gain and blood sugar. prisoners behind the doors sure you are aware that as whilst staff are required to OFF YOUR BACK 4) Headaches, neck ache, an IPP recalled prisoner the eye strain from too much TV. turn up to work and then ‘sit time I am serving now and reduce your sentence 5) Nightmares, loneliness, around’ all day, protects nei- counts for nothing, hence ther party. It’s simply calcu- and alienation. the reason for me to be lated to impose vindictive 6) Aching from sitting in one sentenced as soon as ‘we can’t go out so neither place for hours. possible. Now, with the can you’ policies on us. Or, 7) Concern and resentful Corona outbreak all court maybe, it’s just more poor 41 that no one from healthcare trials have been stopped, prison maths. £ which leads me to ask how or the system has enquired am I able to work towards about our mental or physical health. Though at least gym POCA cases No Upfront FIVE release when (A) I can’t get completed in 2019 Fee REQUIRED STAR REVIEWS sentenced and, (B) a Parole staff have asked us if we are Board will not see me while I still doing exercise. SEE have outstanding matters. 8) Worry about relatives ADVERT @ [email protected] 01992 676605 So, how will I ever be outside. PAGE 52 Bridge Finance Direct, Prince of Wales House, 3 Bluecoats Avenue, Hertford SG14 1PB released? This is no picnic. 10 Mailbag ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB. Insidetime June 2020 Glorified Some not so lucky JK - HMP Wymott
Category B I write in response to a letter in the April issue titled ‘Trying to make contact’. The author ar- gues in favour of in-cell cameras so that prisoners can get Skype and Facetime with family Name withheld - members. This is an idea that is to be applauded. However, I would just like to highlight that HMP Wakefield some prisons, like this one, still do not have the luxury of in-cell phones.
HMP Littlehey used to be How there is such disparity across the prison estate, I will never know. So, the next time you amongst the best Category C are complaining about the inability to expose yourself on camera to your partner, think about jails in the country. But, us lot queueing for all of our association time just to get 5-minutes on the phone. Appreciate over time, things that made what you have, some are not so lucky. it good started to be lost. Keeping schtum I was sentenced to 12-years, but this is seeming more and more like a death sentence as this Family Days curtailed, not pandemic hits the prison estate and continues to escalate. I think that when this lockdown is If these walls could talk due to lack of funds but as a over the government may reflect on how badly this has been handled in prison. We only have result of increased risk to look at the actions of other countries who have shown a liberal example by releasing pris- Steve Churchill - HMP Long Lartin aversion. oners and who have, no doubt, ultimately saved lives. I think the eventual death toll in UK prisons will highlight the Tory mantra of being ‘tough on crime’ at all costs, regardless of the Before reading any further, take a second and consider your In 2014, Littlehey saw new health of prisoners and prison staff. cell walls. What would those cell walls say about you if they fences, gates and additional The UK system only had to utilise the HDC system, which is already set up, in order to release could talk? Some of these prison walls were standing silent razor-wire added to the greater numbers and cut the death toll. Regardless of what crimes people have been convicted and solid when Queen Victoria was on the throne, when na- structure of the establish- of, no one deserves to die at the hands of the Ministry of Justice. Capital punishment is sup- ment and brand-new exer- tive Americans were fighting the railroad in the USA. posed to be long since abolished, and yet, here we are being left to die. cise yards were built to “Think about the procession of desperate humanity Category B specifications. New sterile areas over all Not so good that have been locked within their confines parts of the prison. But the This is how we live throughout those long years, the acts and range V Mohan - HMP Wormwood Scrubs governor decided to do ‘the Dave E Ferguson – HMP Wakefield of emotion they have observed, the tragedies right thing’ and insult the intelligence of everyone by I am writing regarding the article about those stoic and reinforced walls have borne final It has been interesting to see how politicians, declaring that ‘Littlehey is Wormwood Scrubs having the worst prison food in the country. I work in the kitchens here celebrities and Joe public have dealt with witness to.” still a Category C prison’. and I can tell you that their health & safety this temporary loss of certain civil liberties and hygiene are astonishingly appalling. during the Covid 19 lockdown. Imagine if those four concrete sentinels, over all that time, Other category C prisons absorbed only fractions of the emotions and feelings of all of have probably experienced 1) Staff not wearing gloves at any time, not its inmates. Despair, rage, fear, abandonment, anxiety, hope, Within two months most news reports were such negative changes. even when they are handling food. anticipation, stress and optimism. In fact, the whole cocktail urging a cessation to isolation. Politicians Years ago, C Cat prisons 2) No social distancing. of feelings and emotions that make us human. and celebrities were defying the ‘Stay at were halfway between open 3) No masks. Inmates coughing and sneezing Home’ directions within a couple of weeks. and closed conditions. Just in and around the kitchen, on packaging, When you arrived in that cell I bet that within 48-hours you We were hearing reports of how separation think of HMP Leyhill, but food and tables. will have scrubbed the place clean and made efforts to make from family and friends was causing signifi- with a typical Category C 4) The toilets are flooded with inches of this space your own, to reflect your individuality and person- water on the floor, all very unhygienic. cant increases in anxiety and stress and de- perimeter fence is how they ality by displaying photos, putting up posters or making 5) Staff draining tins of tuna into drains on pression. We have been told how the used to be. those DIY improvements we all attempt with wood-glue and the floor. Rats urinate on and run around reduced access to gyms and exercise has matchsticks. those drains. negatively impacted on people’s physical Once every ten years for 6) They have put a hand-sanitiser outside the health. It has been widely stated that the The walls have seen our like come and go a thousand times. ISP’s, you could have an es- kitchen, but it has been empty for over a loss of education will greatly impact on fu- Nothing we do, nothing we shout, nothing we think can corted town visit, spending week now. ture economic recovery and resettlement shock these four walls. In some jails it is a wonder that the up to £50 of your own back into normal life. walls do not exude poison and toxicity like a disused radio- money on clothing, toilet- I have to wear a tee-shirt around my face in order to protect me from the coughing and active rod, yet they remain passive and neutral. ries, and some authorised For those of us in prison this is our daily life food items. Now that is all in sneezing. There are no gloves, masks or sani- tiser and the canteen has run out of Dettol for years and very often decades, however, If cell walls could talk, what wisdom could they communi- the past, so anyone who is soap, no social distancing on the wings and we don’t have unrestricted telephone access, thinking of going to Little- cate? To these four sentries time itself does not have the same staff are forever in your face. Nobody seems video or facetime facilities, internet access, significance it does to us frail humans, walls are neither hey will not find a Cat C. I to care about safety here. This place is a email and messaging. We cannot choose blessed nor cursed by the changeable nature of emotions or believe this is the work of major accident waiting to happen. when to shower or when to speak to or con- feelings, and I think that their advice would be simple, yet the POA as it is now one of tact our family and friends. In fact, during reassuring, time will pass. their strongholds. There are no doctors on the wings and peo- the lockdown most prisoners will only have ple with mental health problems are getting been allowed to contact a single family mem- no help at all. It is madness in here, inmates ber for a few minutes each day. Missed opportunity? fighting and stabbing each other, inmates Carl Dyson - HMP Oakwood stressed because members of their families are sick or dying, with no one to help them All the game consoles, TVs and other me- As I write this, planes are landing in the UK bringing workers from Romania to pick fruit and and no one to talk to. dia-described ‘perks’ in the world that pris- vegetables on farms all over the UK. These are the first of many flights in the next few weeks. oners have to earn do not make up for the Any minute now COVID-19 is going to ravage loss of family contact and freedoms of choice I feel that the government has missed a huge opportunity by not offering these jobs to prison- this prison either through the kitchen or the that imprisonment incurs. Joe public, politi- ers. These jobs should have been offered to low-risk prisoners nearing their release dates as careless wing staff and it is crazy that this cians and celebrities have experienced a possibly a reward for good behaviour. The wages earned could have prevented released pris- government is putting us under this kind of small slice of what prisoners have to accept oners having to claim benefits, and all statistics show that having employment on release re- risk, especially when most inmates are two every day of their sentence, and if we are duces the chances of reoffending, surely a win-win situation? to a cell. There is no testing and we are being going to be honest most of those outside of left here to die by this government, just like prison have not handled those losses of free- Also, a percentage of earnings would go to Victim Support as a way of repaying our debt to so- doctors, nurses, bus drivers and prison dom and civil liberties very well at all, even ciety. I am approaching my release in June, having served nearly 5-years and 4-months to officers. date, and if I was asked now to go out and work on a farm picking fruit and veg I would jump though it has only been a few weeks. at the chance. I would even take the job on my release, which could even be set up as a license How many mistakes can the government condition. I ask that us prisoners are given a chance to turn our lives around for the better. make? How many lives are going to be lost Perhaps the media and public will now think This is an opportunity that should not be missed. It would be a great opportunity to reduce before they lift a finger? They should release twice before claiming that prisons are holi- the strain on the prison system and a chance at jobs and real rehabilitation for prisoners. many prisoners on tag. day camps. They are not. WHAT’S YOUR STORY?
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2596_InsideTime_FullAd_Suite.indd 6 14/05/2020 16:12 12 Newsround www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020 Number ‘Prisoners prefer a padmate’
jailed hits A Government minister has defended cell-sharing during the coronavirus pandemic by saying that many prisoners prefer a new low to have a cellmate. Lucy Frazer QC MP, the Prisons Minister, said: “There are benefits to some prisoners sharing cells for The number of people sent to the positive impact it has on mental health and stress levels, prison hit a new low last year, in addition to many prisoners preferring to share a cell.” official figures have shown. There were 72,172 individuals Public health experts have advised that getting all prisoners received into custody in 2019, into single cells would be an effective way to slow the spread a fall of 6% from the previous of COVID-19 in jails, and the Government has said it wants to year and 43% down since increase single-cell accommodation through early releases and 2009. In the 1990s and 2000s, the installation of temporary cell blocks in prison grounds. the number jailed averaged around 130,000 a year. On the question of whether prisoners prefer to share cells, Carl Cattermole, a former HMP resident and author of “Prison Falls in the number being sent - A Survival Guide”, said: “As things currently stand, the vast to prison have been put down majority of people would prefer to be in a single cell. to a decline in numbers of Pre-emptive attack policy criticised police officers and prosecu- “If you are sharing a cell with someone you are tight with and © Andy Aitchison/Library image tors following the austerity you cohabit well with, then of course that will stem loneliness cuts of the early 2010s. and some of the mental ill-health that grows from that. But Officers hit compliant prisoners the reality is that many people are paired blindly with people The figures emerged in they’ve never met. The prison system is a pressure cooker for Prison officers in English jails are assaulting non-violent annual Offender Management people with personality problems, and sharing a cell is very Statistics published by the often a nightmare. You’ve got people with violent records sharing prisoners, a report by international observers has found Ministry of Justice, which with people who talk 24/7 - that’s not going to work well.” also showed that average A delegation which visited five UK prisons At Liverpool, the CPT said, two members of sentence lengths have risen He said of Frazer’s remark: “It sounds less like someone said it saw CCTV footage of staff engaging in staff were suspended or dismissed over sharply. speaking from any type of of acquired wisdom, and more like “an informal practice of ‘preventive strikes’ separate violent incidents in 2018 and 2019, a politician proffering an excuse for their inadequacy in terms … punching compliant prisoners whom staff one of them sparked by a prisoner trying to Prisoners released from of their response to coronavirus.” perceived might, at some point in the future, take an extra chocolate biscuit. determinate sentences in become a threat”. 2019 had spent on average In a point-by-point response to the report, HM 13.7 months in custody, The observers called on the Government to Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) dismissed compared with 11.2 months Newsbites outlaw the practice. However, the call was the call for a ban on preventive strikes. for those released in 2015 rejected by HM Prison and Probation Service, - an increase of 22%. HDC extension dropped which said the “pre-emptive use of force” by It said: “HMPPS does not agree that there A plan to extend the time that prisoners can spend on Home officers was sometimes justified. should be a blanket prohibition on prison The combination of fewer officers using force pre-emptively in order to Detention Curfew (HDC) at the end of their sentences has been people being jailed, but dropped by the Government. Laws were drawn up last year to The finding came in a wide-ranging report by prevent a crime or exercise self-defence. This those jailed spending longer lengthen the maximum period of HDC from four-and-a-half the Council of Europe’s Committee for the does, as with all use of force, have to be inside, has kept the prison months to six months, bringing a reduction of around 500 in Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading within the law and policy, and subject to population roughly stable the population of English and Welsh prisons. The measure was Treatment or Punishment (CPT). It concluded rigorous governance. over the past few years. due to come before Parliament for final approval last month, that the prison system was in “deep crisis”, but some Conservative MPs threatened to rebel - saying it with violence and drug use running out of “There are a few incidents where a member The number of prisoners on would mean that offenders sentenced to two years could be control, and made a series of recommenda- of staff may find themselves in a position of recall rose to a new high of back on the streets after only six months. Explaining the U-turn, tions to improve decency and safety. imminent danger, and the use of force may 8,933 at the end of March, Lucy Frazer, the Prisons Minister, said the situation had be required as a protective measure. In those equivalent to 11% of the changed due a fall in the prison population in recent months. The report said that at Wormwood Scrubs circumstances, and as explained in law, it is overall prison population. and Liverpool, “the delegation encountered for the individual to determine whether the examples of the unprovoked and unjustified pre-emptive use of force is justified. We At the end of March there were Rise in protests infliction of violence on prisoners by staff”. would expect this to be the case in very few still 3,367 prisoners serving Protests by prisoners rose by 16% last year, official figures have situations.” Imprisonment for Public shown. There were 7,781 incidents of “protesting behaviour” in At Wormwood Scrubs, an incident took place Protection (IPP) sentences, English and Welsh jails in 2018/19, up more than 1,000 from the during the observers’ visit which led to a The CPT also visited Doncaster, HMYOI the indefinite terms that were previous year. Details emerged in the Prison Service Annual Senior Officer on secondment from another Feltham and HMYOI Cookham Wood. It abolished in 2012. Of these, Digest, which also showed: a rise in finds of drugs, phones and prison being asked by the Governor to leave. found that prisons “remained violent, unsafe 2,039 were still awaiting weapons; a one-in-six failure rate in random drug tests; and and overcrowded with many inmates their first release while 1,328 falls in escapes and absconds. The publication of the figures Describing it, the report states: “Prisoner C enduring restricted and isolating regimes were on recall. Of those still coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Strangeways riot, a was being escorted to his cell in a compliant and/or long periods of segregation”. Among awaiting their first release, 25-day protest and rooftop sit-in which was the longest manner when, without provocation or its recommendations were: 94% were post-tariff. incident of disorder in British penal history. warning, a Senior Officer … struck him on the • Prison staff should be searched daily on back of the head and then lifted him by his entry, to stop them smuggling in drugs; In prison discipline, there Prayers threatened clothing and slammed his head down on the • Prisoners should no longer be doubled-up were 210,326 adjudications Muslim prisoners are regularly threatened with being banned floor of the landing. in cells designed for one; against prisoners for alleged from Friday prayers as a form of punishment, a report has • Toilets in shared cells should be screened; breaches of prison rules in claimed. Research organisation Maslaha interviewed groups of “This officer only turned on his body-worn • All prisoners should be offered an hour’s 2019 - an increase of 3% on Muslim prisoners for a report on how they are treated. It said: video camera after he had struck the prisoner, outdoor exercise daily, even in bad weather. the previous year’s total - “Of concern are the number of conversations we had with but the incident was also partially captured and 63% of cases were upheld. Muslim men who have been banned from Friday prayers (a on CCTV, which was viewed by the delegation.” However, the authors acknowledged sacred day of worship in Islam where praying in congregation is improvements since a previous visit to the UK However, there was a encouraged if possible) for insignificant acts, or where the The prisoner suffered bruising to his in 2016, including the hiring of more than reduction in the use of added threat of not being allowed to attend Friday prayer has been forehead and neck. The officer, who was a 3,000 extra staff, better monitoring of days as punishment, after it used as a form of control.” member of the Safer Custody Team, claimed violence, the “key worker” scheme, the was revealed that more than he acted because he believed the prisoner introduction of body-worn cameras and 1,000 years’ worth of added Body-worn cameras was going to assault him. better drug testing. days were being handed out The use of body-worn video cameras by officers makes no annually. In 2019, prisoners difference to the level of violence in prisons, research has The observers said they saw documents at The CPT’s members include lawyers, doctors were awarded 337,395 added suggested. The Prison Service ordered a major study of the Wormwood Scrubs which “indicated that and prison experts from the 47 member states days, equivalent to 924 years impact of cameras in 2015, when it was considering introducing events of this nature were not likely to be of the Council of Europe, which is separate and down by 11% from the them in all prisons. In the pilot study, 600 cameras were trialled isolated incidents”. from the European Union. 2018 total. for six months at 23 jails in England and Wales. Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Newsround 13
Looking What is the Parole Board Newsbites
Back... Trans prisoners attacks through Inside Time doing during the lockdown? Seven sexual assaults have been carried out by transgender June 2007 prisoners in women’s jails, the Ministry of Justice has disclosed. It is just over a month since the Parole Board A spokesman said that between 2010 and 2018, “out of the 124 Below is a breakdown of some key figures was forced to pause all face-to-face oral sexual assaults that occurred in the female estate a total of amid the lockdown (up to 24th April): hearings as the UK went into effective seven were against females in custody perpetrated by trans- lockdown which followed government advice gender individuals”. There were attacks at Bronzefield, Foston l 2,618 decisions have been made at the Hall, Low Newton, New Hall and Peterborough. It was not said and was done to ensure the safety of every- initial paper assessment stage; one involved in the parole process. The Board whether the assaults were proven or the attackers punished. Nor was it disclosed whether the attackers were male-to-fe- had to act extremely quickly to rethink how it l 1,499 hearings need to be reviewed to would progress cases and find new and decide whether a paper assessment or a male transgender or, like the majority of trans prisoners in the innovative ways to keep the system moving remote hearing is appropriate - a women’s estate, female-to-male. Since 2016, prisoners who are as efficiently as possible. The Parole Board is reduction of 1,000 since March 23; transitioning gender have been able to apply to move to a continuing to progress a significant number prison of their preferred gender. Applications are risk-assessed. of cases every day through remote telephone l 360 people have been directed for Last year seven male-born transitioning prisoners were and video hearings and their new intensive IPP bang release so far; admitted to female jails. paper process, whilst ensuring the protection “An explosion in the use by of the public. courts of the new indetermi- l 1,781 people have been refused release First women’s centre nate sentence is predicted to for the protection of the public; The first “residential women’s centre” as an alternative to prison Martin Jones, Chief Executive of the Parole nearly treble the number of is to open next year, providing accommodation for women Board, writing for Russell Webster says: “Our l 38 hearings have been cancelled due to prisoners serving an indefinite convicted of low-level offences who would otherwise have principles of fairness, protection of the public COVID-19; term in jail to a ‘crisis level’ of been jailed. The centre will open in Wales, which has no and the test for release have not and will not 25,000 in five years. The rapid women’s prison - meaning that all Welsh women prisoners are change. But I know this is an anxious time for l 88 oral hearings have been adjourned growth in the number given everyone. Prisoners are entitled to have their due to COVID-19. currently detained in England. the sentence is a key part of cases reviewed in a timely fashion. I am glad the overcrowding crisis facing to say that far from grinding to a halt, we Video increases jail chances the new Ministry of Justice.” continue to make decisions. Provisional average month would see 240 releases, 810 Defendants who appear in court via video-link are more likely Newsround figures indicate that well over 3,000 parole refusals and 660 oral hearings. To be clear, to be jailed, a study has suggested. Researchers examined more Paying for a privilege? decisions have been made since the corona- no parole review has been forgotten or than 600 magistrates’ hearings in south-east England, half “Prisoners currently pay either virus situation began to escalate. 360 overlooked; we are doing everything possible conducted “virtually” by video-link and half where the defend- a pound or fifty pence per prisoners have been directed for release, to get through our caseload in a timely ant appeared in person. They concluded: “There was a concern week for in-cell TV, depending which is on a par with what I would expect, a fashion despite the current restrictions. We that appearing over the video link could make defence on whether they share a cell. further 1,781 people have had their detention will ensure we provide regular communica- advocates less effective, particularly in relation to bail applica- However can somebody tell reviewed and have been ordered to remain in tion to people as the situation develops.” tions … Virtual court cases were more likely to receive a me exactly what this charge is custody for the protection of the public.” custodial sentence and less likely to receive a community for? Is it for electricity? For the Acknowledgements: Martin Jones, Chief sentence.” TV licence? It can’t be rental Jones says: “To put that in context, according Executive of the Parole Board. as I haven’t signed any kind of to Parole Board figures for 2018/19, an Russell Webster: www.russellwebster.com Defendants without lawyers “like rabbits in headlights” agreement and in your April Legal Aid cuts have caused a growing problem of defendants issue PSHQ says it is a appearing in court without lawyers, a leaked Government privilege and not a right, so BEING ON YOUR We can help you with all report has found. One judge said: “Some of them just sit there am I paying for a privilege?” Criminal and Prison Law cases like a rabbit in the headlights and haven’t got a clue what’s Mailbag - HMP Wealstun SIDE IS ONE THING. going on.” Many fail to understand key aspects of law. Those FIGHTING YOUR CRIMINAL LAW with mental health problems face particular difficulties. One Pay down CORNER IS ANOTHER. defendant with no lawyer was assessed as fit to stand trial but “When I first came into prison • Police Interview Assistance kept turning up at court with a suitcase full of nappies. The as a lifer 14 years ago, I was in WE DO BOTH. • Magistrates Court researchers interviewed 15 Crown Court judges and five the high security estate and can prosecutors to review the impact of Legal Aid cuts made in remember prisoners being • Crown Court Advocacy 2012. Figures from magistrates’ courts showed that 13% of paid £50 a week in certain defendants had no lawyer. The report was completed in 2016 workshops. Now, 14 years • Defending false allegations but the Ministry of Justice, which commissioned it, never down the road in a category C • Miscarriage of Justice published it. A copy was obtained by BuzzFeed News. prison, you go to work from 8.30am until noon and from • Court of Appeal Applications 1.30pm until 5pm for £4 to £6 Killers were assessed as “low risk” per week on some jobs. Am I • CCRC Applications Most people who commit murders whilst on probation had missing something?” been judged to pose a “low” or “medium” risk of serious harm, a Mailbag – HMP Erlestoke We will always assess if you are eligible PRISON LAW watchdog has found. The finding, which highlights the difficulty for legal aid. If you are not eligible for of assessing risk accurately, emerged in a report by HM legal aid we o er a ordable xed prices. • Independent Adjudications Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) on serious further offences committed by ex-prisoners on licence or by people serving Mark Newby, Hollie Alcock and Nick • Parole Board Hearings community sentences. In 2018/19, 143 people were charged Hayles are all Solicitor Advocates and • IPP and Lifer reviews with murder while under probation supervision. Of these, 20 will always reply to your letters and calls. • Pre Tari and Guittard Applications (14%) had their “highest risk of serious harm level” assessed as “low”, 75 (52%) as “medium”, 38 (27%) as “high” and only two • Cat A reviews (1%) as “very high”. In eight cases the risk level was not speci- Skip money • HDC applications fied. The figures were provided to HMIP by the Ministry of “Three prisoners from HMP QualitySolicitors Justice. Altcourse, Barry Guy Senior Jordans • Sentence Calculation and Planning (left), Barry Guy Junior (right) and Craig Winter (second Keeping Safe alert! right) all with boxing back- Freepost IAP is back and up and running. Write in with confi- grounds, pictured with gym dential access to Freepost IAP - that’s all you need to put on officer Robbi Biddulph after For Life’s Important Moments the envelope, nothing else. Write and tell us how best to keep taking part in a sponsored Led by Mark Newby, Solicitor Advocate with a strong record for quashing convictions people in prison safe. We will reply. We look forward to skip for Comic Relief when Doncaster offi ce: 01302 365 374 4 Priory Place, Doncaster, DN1 1BP hearing from you! their three and a half hour www.qualitysolicitors.com/jordans Juliet Lyon, Chair of Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths skip raised the sum of £779. ” in Custody Newsround 14 Newsround www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
May 12 The Government abandons a long-planned move to extend Home Detention Curfew from four-and-a-half months to six months, which would have reduced the prison pop- ulation by 500, after Conservative MPs threaten to rebel against it.
May 12 An update from the MoJ says 21 prisoners and May 11 seven prison staff have Robert Buckland QC MP (above), the Justice Secretary, now died with COVID-19 announces the restart of jury trials, with social distancing, at the in England and Wales. Old Bailey and other selected courts. © Deposit Photos
May 13 MoJ says it has signed con- How the virus crept tracts with two suppliers, Buddi and Attenti, to provide 2,000 electronic tags for pris- oners freed early on the End over our lives of Custody Temporary Release (ECTR) scheme. With fewer than 100 released so far, it adds: April 29 - Two charities, the “We are considering alterna- Howard League for Penal tive uses for tags not required Reform and Prison Reform for the ECTR scheme.” The Trust, shelve plans to take the contracts are for six months Government to court over with the option to extend for the slow pace of its COVID-19 18 months if needed. The MoJ early release scheme. said both companies had “extensive UK and interna- May 12 Lucy Frazer QC MP (above), the Prisons Minister, says only 81 May 1 tional experience in providing prisoners have so far been granted early release - and hints Guard of honour outside Usk electronic monitoring tech- that plans to let out 4,000 have been shelved. for the funeral of 33-year-old nology.” prison officer Rachael Yates, May 14 the first female staff member May 15 April 29 MoJ says it has agreed to install 699 temporary single cells in to die with COVID-19. Her MoJ announces the start The former Medway Secure Training Centre in Kent (above), portable buildings at 18 prisons in England and Wales: Askham mother Julie Jacques criticises of video visits at 10 English which closed earlier this year, reopens to hold 70 men as part the lack of protective equip- Grange (48), Coldingley (48), Foston Hall (34), Guys Marsh (24), sites - five men’s prisons, of efforts to ease prison overcrowding. ment employees were given. Hatfield (36), Highpoint (24), Hollesley Bay (24), Kirkham (86), three women’s prisons and Kirklevington Grange (24), Lindholme (24), Littlehey (24), May 4 two young offenders’ May 1 Moorland (48), North Sea Camp (48), Prescoed (40), Stafford Independent Monitoring Boards, unable to carry out their nor- institutions. More are to MoJ publishes new advice (15), Sudbury (80), The Verne (24), Wymott (48). It hopes to mal visits due to the virus, launch a telephone helpline for resi- follow. from Public Health install 2,000 eventually. dents at Immigration Removal Centres to lodge complaints. It England. In March it said follows a similar IMB initiative at 13 English prisons. May 18 2,500 to 3,500 prisoners May 15 could die with coronavirus, HMIP report on three English men’s prisons finds Wandsworth but now it thinks the total May 6 May 7 Reported coronavirus residents with COVID-19 symptoms were kept in their cells for 14 could be only 100 - pro- The two charities which had In its first report on coronavi- death toll among prison- days, without even showers or outdoor exercise. The inspectors, rus regimes, HM Inspectorate who also visited Elmley and Altcourse, said the jails were “sta- vided the 23-hour lock- threatened the Government ers in Scotland rises to six. down remains in place. with court action publish a of Prisons (HMIP) says chil- ble” and residents were “largely supportive” of the restrictions. dren at Cookham Wood and raft of official documents May 4 Wetherby are locked up 23 May 18 which were disclosed in legal Scottish Parliament gives final hours a day - but those at Scottish Human Rights Commission warns that approval to an early release correspondence. They show Parc get three hours out of scheme to limit the spread of how prisons are tackling the their cells, including one-to- the coronavirus lockdown in jails could be coronavirus in jails. Releases virus and how Public Health one education (at a two-me- “inhuman or degrading” and a breach of pris- begin straight away. England changed its advice. tre distance). oners’ human rights. It highlights cases of pris- oners being locked in their cells for 24 hours a May 10 day with no access to showers, and criticises The Prison Officers’ May 20 Association says prisoners the Scottish Government for temporarily sus- Some of the temporary single cells being who spit at staff must be pending prisoners’ rights to daily showers and installed at jails across England and Wales will be purpose-built en-suite cabins from hire prosecuted - and threatens regular clean socks and underwear. legal action against police company Bunkabin (above). The firm’s bot- forces which fail to do so. tom-of-the-range cabin, the Junior Deluxe May 19 The trade union complained Sleeper, measures 2.9 metres by 3.4 metres that “several incidents of POA general secretary Steve Gillan says he and is fitted with a toilet, shower and even a heated towel rail. The Press and Journal in spitting at our members in has been briefed by the Prison Service that prisons have been reject- Aberdeen reported that 80 Bunkabins were ed for prosecution”. It it will take a ‘recovery period’ of 12 to 18 removed in May from the Dounreay nuclear comes after a railway months to lift the lockdown in prisons. He plant, where they had been used as temporary worker died from COVID- accommodation for workers decommissioning adds: “I do not expect to see an increase in 19 after she was spat at May 10 the site, and driven to English prisons. The MoJ while on duty by a man Boris Johnson (above) changes nationwide message from ‘Stay regime delivery straight away but gradually has said the temporary cells at men’s jails will Home’ to ‘Stay Alert’ - but his 60-page report on the easing of be only for category C and D prisoners, follow- claiming to be infected. only when safe to do so.” restrictions makes clear that it does not yet apply in prisons. ing risk assessments. Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Newsround 15
Bonjour! Visits restart World Prison - Virus Focus at French prisons Video visits rolling out The return of social visits in French jails has sparked a row Inside Time Reports over kissing. A new system of Austria - Since 28th April, visits have visits was getting underway been allowed again but with just one visi- last month, two months after Inside Time have been investigating the use tor per prisoner. Children under-14 can ac- they were banned due to the of video call visits (often called virtual visits) company an adult. coronavirus pandemic. In while, in general, all personal visits have normal times, visitors to French been suspended during the current crisis. Belgium - The first video visit was set up prisons are often allowed in On 15th May the Ministry of Justice an- on 29th April and similar facilities were to an enclosed area with the nounced that family video calls would be in- set up at every Belgian prison within the prisoner they are visiting, troduced across prisons and YOIs throughout following days. offering a degree of privacy.
England and Wales, with Berwyn and Weth- (Image: EL SALVADOR’S PRESIDENCY PRESS O However, under temporary erby amongst the first ten. There would be a Catalonia - While visits are suspended, Cell windows boarded up in El Salvador clampdown rules, multiple visits will take restriction of just four people to make the prisoners can make 20 eight-minute calls Cell windows have been boarded up at prisons in the Central place in a large open visits calls to, and all calls will be recorded. per week, paid for from prison budgets if American country of El Salvador to prevent gang members hall, allowing staff to keep an prisoners cannot afford it. Also, video from sending hand signals. Security minister Osiris Luna said eye on proceedings. Visitors conference calls can be made from pris- A trial at Berwyn was successful, so the that “no ray of sunlight” would enter the cells. The move was and prisoners are forbidden ons’ computer rooms and smartphones technology is being installed immediately at part of a clampdown on gang activities after 77 murders were from physical contact, and have been purchased so video calls can ten establishments and a promised wider recorded in the country in the last weekend of April. must stay at least a metre be made through WhatsApp. roll-out in the coming weeks. The MoJ say apart. Children and the that safeguards are in place to prevent mis- The country’s government released photos of metal plates elderly will not be allowed to Croatia - In order to mitigate the adverse use, with all participants vetted in advance being welded over windows, while cell doors were being visit. Alain Chevallier of the psychological effects of the suspension of and calls monitored by prison staff. The calls barricaded with plywood and sheet metal. Further pictures trade union UFAP UNSA told visits, and to allow contacts between pris- will be time-limited, and restrictions have showed thousands of detainees, all with shaved heads and the France Bleu website: oners and their families, especially chil- been built into the software to ensure safe stripped to their underwear, seated closely-packed on prison “When we haven’t been able dren, prisoners were offered more use. An MoJ spokesperson said: “The intro- floors while police searched their cells. Many of the men in the to meet the person we love frequent and longer telephone calls, and duction of video calls reflects the Govern- images wore facemasks, but human rights campaigns said that for more than two months, with the support of UNICEF, video visits ment’s recognition of the importance of their treatment risked spreading coronavirus and the publica- we only want to touch hands, were expanded and gradually enabled to tion of the photos by officials appeared designed to humiliate. to kiss - that’s understanda- maintaining family ties, particularly at wom- all prisoners. en’s prisons, young offender institutions and ble. In prison, we are already The government of El Salvador claimed that the restrictions on in an environment which jails without in-cell telephones. The first Finland - As prison visits are generally prisons to begin video calls are: Berwyn, gang members in prison were essential to stop them communi- generates frustration. We will suspended, prisoners are allowed to com- cating with the outside world about who they want killed - in add frustration to frustration Bronzefield, Downview, Eastwood Park, municate with friends and family via Skype. Garth, High Down, Hull, Wayland, Werring- particular, by sending hand signals through the bars of their cell by depriving couples of being windows. To avoid communication between fellow gang able to kiss.” He warned that ton and Wetherby. Video calls will be pro- Georgia - As visits have been suspended, members, individuals from different gangs were placed in some would inevitably break vided through secure laptops in a designated since March 16th all prisoners have shared cells. The sealing of the windows was done on the the rules, leading to punish- room in each prison. Time-limited calls will 15-minute free phone calls. Special visits orders of the President, who said he wanted the prisoners left ment which might provoke be made either by prisoners making a call re- can be organised but behind glass, simi- “inside, in the dark, with their friends from the other gang”. “violent collective actions”. quest to their designated contact or by fami- lar to UK closed visits. lies who can request a time slot through a mobile app or directly with the establishment.” Hungary - Visits are still going ahead but “Free my son’s killer” Prisoners killed in coronavirus riots isolated with communication via in- A mother has called for the Jails around the world have been hit by riots amid the corona- Prisons and Probation Minister Lucy Frazer side-telephones, with a maximum of two man who murdered her son virus crisis as prisoners have protested against poor conditions said: “The introduction of video calls has visitors plus children and relatives over in 2004 to be released from or restricted regimes. In the worst incident, in Venezuela, 47 shown that even in times of adversity it is 60. Much like UK closed visits. prison due to the coronavirus prisoners were reported killed at the Los Llanos penitentiary in possible to develop new and innovative ways pandemic. Silvia Ontivero Portuguesa state. The jail’s director was injured. The country’s of supporting those in our care. This technol- Italy - Whilst visits are suspended, pris- said the killer was at risk of government said trouble broke out last month following a ogy will support resettlement planning and oners can either use email or Skype as well catching the disease and thwarted escape attempt. However, prisoners’ rights cam- is a positive step to improve relations with as normal phone calls. Maximum security dying in Argentina’s over- paigners said residents had been unhappy that their families staff and reduce the strain introduced by some prisoners can still have visits, but behind crowded jails. She said: “I were banned from bringing them food during visits - a of the current, but necessary, restrictions.” glass screens, similar to UK closed visits. have had rage. I have had restriction imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus. Photos hate. But I have never wished emerged which appeared to show the prisoners’ bodies laid Asked about video visits which started in Latvia - With the permission of prison him dead.” out in rows. The United Nations High Commissioner for Northern Ireland prisons on April 13th, heads, prisoners can have additional tele- Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, said she was “gravely Naomi Long, the Northern Irish Justice Min- phone and video calls. Earlier this year the mother concerned” and urged governments around the world “not to ister said: “We recognise the importance of asked magistrates to block forget those behind bars” during the pandemic. visits and the importance of family contact Norway - All visits are cancelled. The Diego Arduino’s parole bid, both to the prisoners themselves, their well- Norwegian Prison Service has made no arguing that he needed to In Peru, nine prisoners were killed at Miguel Castro Castro jail special arrangements for prisoner contact being and state of mind, and their families spend more time in custody. in the capital, Lima, where two prisoners had died with with families, but the Red Cross is provid- who, particularly at a time of crisis, will be But she said the circumstanc- COVID-19. Officials said the trouble began when residents tried ing digital visits; though this is agreed at really concerned about them, so we’ve es had changed, in particular to “facilitate a mass breakout” from the jail, which holds 5,500, each local level. worked over that period to develop a better because Arduino suffers from and police were called in to assist. Prisoners’ families claimed system so people will be able to do face-to- asthma which would make that officers had opened fire on the prisoners. Poland - Possibilities for instant messag- face visits, and we hope the use of technol- him especially vulnerable to ing has been increased and prisoners are ogy will be able to help us a little bit”. COVID-19. She said keeping In Colombia, guards caught 7 prisoners trying to tunnel out of encouraged to make more phone calls and him detained in the current a cell at a jail which has more than 300 coronavirus cases, and write letters. The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) are also circumstances could amount where prisoners had previously protested about the risk they to the death penalty, which face. The worst trouble in the country’s prisons came in March setting up virtual video visits. Visiting areas Romania - To keep prisoners in close con- are being revamped and fitted with broad- she opposes. when 23 prisoners were killed protesting against poor health tact with their families and provide them services and overcrowding at La Modelo jail in the capital, Bogata. band and computer screens so families can with alternative means whilst visits are see each other as they talk together. Ontivero herself spent seven suspended, prisoners have been given the years in prison under her There were further reported virus-related disturbances at jails right to online communications and in- country’s military dictator- in Brazil, Russia and Sierra Leone. Allan Hogarth, head of Looking around Europe, what are the prison creased duration and number of tele- ship from 1976 to 1983. She advocacy at Amnesty International, said: “Conditions in many services in those countries doing to mitigate phone calls. has said that her incarcera- of these prisons were never acceptable anyway, but then add a against the lack of face-to-face visits? The tion gave her time to reflect, deadly virus to the mix and you have a recipe for disaster.” lack of contact with parents and siblings in Sweden - Free calls are offered nationally and she wanted to be sure prison is known to have a serious impact on but international calls are now half the her son’s killer had enough Europe’s worst disturbances were in Italy, where 12 prisoners died young children’s wellbeing. We do not have normal price. In addition, prisoners can time to do the same and to in a wave of rioting which swept the country’s jails in early March room for every country, so we have selected contact their children by using a tablet. make himself a better man. following a ban on family visits due to coronavirus restrictions. a random sample. 16 Newsround // Local www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
Haverigg prisoners to help save trees Prisons: The good, the bad and the ugly There is exciting news for Haverigg. It is in the process of NHS treats becoming a category D open prison, and as soon as the The men in HMP Durham Super-sanitiser may be coronavirus crisis is over, men from the prison will be part of a have been donating Covid game-changer project to safeguard some of Britain’s rarest trees. Working with money from their prison earnings to buy treats for The problem of prisons being the University of Cumbria and Morecambe Bay Partnership, medical staff at local wary of giving alcohol-based Haverigg will become host to a special tree nursery where men hospitals. The chair of the sanitisers to prisoners, because approaching the end of their sentences can help an ambitious prisons IMB spoke out they say they may drink it, may project to restore endangered fauna and flora. Industrial saying it was touching to at last be solved. Laboratory manager Stuart Jeynes said: “We are looking forward to see how even those who tests on a special plant-based working with the team and for our men to make an invaluable sanitiser made in Northern contribution to improving wildlife across the area.” have lived on the wrong Ireland by a company called side of the law had been Aktivora has shown that it is moved by the frontline Credit: HMP Wandsworth 99.9999% certain to kill the workers’ brave sacrifices. Wandsworth He said: “This was a prisoner Rather than remain idle, the men at Wandsworth decided that coronavirus. Because it is made from totally plant based led initiative and the money the lockdown was a good time to give the Visits Hall a makeo- raised has been used to ver (above), while it wasn’t being used. ingredients it is not harsh on the skin, is not flammable and provide a sweet treat, a can be used as a hand sanitiser luxury muffin for all Hospital trusts told not to healthcare staff in the accept PPE made in prisons or diluted for cleaning floors and other surfaces including prison and the A&E staff at The men at Northumberland clothes and uniforms and can the University Hospital of were excited that they would be used in washing machines. North Durham. They
be making Personal Protection Credit: HMP Drake Hall As a natural product it is donated what was their Equipment (PPE) for local biodegradable and eco-friendly. own earnings which they hospitals but now Department Drake Hall It is being exported to 32 As all the women at Drake Hall remained on lockdown, staff get when they are in prison. of Health officials have told countries and the Prison Service from all parts of the prison donned kitchen whites (above) to It’s not a huge sum of trusts they cannot accept is said to be ‘looking at it’. keep the food coming. money, but it’s really nice.” donated PPE or make their own arrangements for Low Newton residents boost fundraising for NHS making it. Labour MP Ian Following a TiKTok video made by staff at HMP Low Newton in “Not pleased to meet me?” Lavery is furious. He says “The which staff/friends/family members donated to NHS Charities Credit: HMP Lincoln Department for Health says Together via Just Giving, the residents at Low Newton also Lincoln gets new drug all offers to supply PPE must wanted to show appreciation for the NHS and specifically the be managed centrally, so the team member NHS staff who are looking after them whilst in custody. The gear can be quality checked Lincoln employ a number of prison wrote to each resident asking if they would like to donate and distributed across the dogs who help detect drugs to the cause and they rose to the occasion with generous dona- UK. This means trusts are not at the prison. Despite the tions. Low Newton’s WAY out TV system was used to let them allowed to make their own current crisis a new junior know how generous they are and that their efforts were greatly deals with local suppliers to sniffer has joined the team. appreciated. The total amount the residents raised was £439.25. His name is Arthur. address dangerous shortages. “
Drug switch for Scottish prisoners Askham Grange Because of the Covid situation and the need to aid social The women have been isolation in Scottish prisons, prisoners are to be switched from Parc/PhilHMP Forder creating pieces of art daily methadone treatment to a seven or 28-day injection of Parc (left) in honour of Key the substitute Buvidal. The Scottish government said the move The men at Parc have spent time finishing a mural (above) Workers. So far they would reduce the need for daily contact and reduce pressure designed by art teacher Sarah Manley. The mural was finished have made poems, on prison officers and the NHS. 25% of Scottish prisoners are by prisoners and staff working together. The picture shows just posters, jewellery and on methadone. part of the extensive artwork. Credit: HMP Askham Grange origami. M c. IVOR . FARRELL The Johnson Partnership Northern Irish Solicitors Our dedicatedSolicitors prison law team have years of experience representing prisoners and fighting for their rights. • Criminal Appeals against Sentence or Conviction Our team ensure all prisoners nationwide can have the • Parole Hearings best representation available. Specialists in Crime, Prison law, Criminal • Proceeds of Crime/Confiscation Hearings We have specialist and expert knowledge in the areas of Appeals, and Claims against the Police, • Police Interviews under PACE throughout NI and in Prisons parole board proceedings, adjudications and other areas Prisons or Local Authorities as well as • All Criminal Defence Cases such as HDC and re-categorisation. Housing, Family and Mental Health advice • Judicial Review & Human Rights Cases On a legal aid basis we can represent clients for: Adjudication Before The Judge Licence Recalls CONTACT US NOW • Family Law Lifer/IPP Reviews Judicial Reviews Cat A Reviews 020 8299 6000 • Injury Claims within the Prison Pre Tarriff Reviews Oral Hearings • Welfare Issues We are also able to represent prison law clients on a Central Admin Team • Prison Visits Arranged within 24hrs number of other prisons law matters for which 158-162 London Road legal aid is not available which include: Croydon, CR0 2TD Challenging License Conditions WE’RE HERE TO HELP Adjudications Before The Governor [email protected] Please call us on 028 9023 7053 or 028 9032 4565 Contact Us For A Quote or write to us at Prison Law Department 129 Springfield Road Belfast BT 12 7AE Call 0115 9419141 24 Hours a day IT’S THAT SIMPLE!! [email protected] 7 days a week Nottingham Office J www.mcivorfarrell.co.uk Cannon Courtyeard P Off Long Row ASHFORD BIRMINGHAM CROYDON DARTFORD Nottingham, NG1 6JE LEEDS LONDON MANCHESTER PETERBOROUGH [email protected] OFFICES NATIONWIDE Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Newsround // Local 17
Gloucester Growl IMB watch Did you know Gloucestershire has its own ‘Ghostbusters’ team? They decided to visit the old IMB banned Gloucester Prison. Investigator The Independent Paul, said: “Throughout the Monitoring Board at investigation we heard several Wayland says it is “very cell doors slamming with force, concerned” that is has heard other unexplained been banned from noises, saw the occasional healthcare meetings that shadow move, always had a it has a right to attend. feeling of being watched and Wayland IMB chairman followed. We experienced Credit: HMP Guys Marsh Mike Gander told the BBC: random temperature drops, “We are very concerned at Guys Marsh feelings of static energy Credit: HMP Downview our exclusion and we are The men in Guys Marsh have been making scrubs (above) to around us. The best bit for Downview lady’s dream home thinking of taking this to donate to Bath Royal United Hospital. me though would have to be One lady at Downview has been looking past the current a high level within the growl in the kitchen, it was COVID crisis and her time locked down in the prison and spent HMPPS.” He pointed out right next to us. It was a very her time making architect’s design drawings of the house she that all IMB members sign intense and active investigation.” aspires to, and hopes to build, after her release (above). The the Official Secrets Act, so Were you ever in Gloucester, prison says: “Incredible detail, all to scale, 4 sheets worth. could not share if so, did you experience any Hopes, dreams and ambitions, just like everyone else, and unusual goings-on? seeing a future beyond her current situation. So positive!” information.
Durham Officer suspended Credit: HMP Warren Hill over stolen loo roll The chair of the IMB at The year’s first chick Durham has said that A male prison officer from at Warren Hill Bronzefield has been accused quarantining prisoners to Amidst all the bad news,
Credit: HMP Low Newton of stealing a toilet roll from St. stop the spread of there was good news for the coronavirus ‘physically Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, residents at Warren Hill as the Low Newton Surrey, whilst taking a prisoner can’t be done’ at the first new chick of the year The women at Low Newton there for a pre-natal check. It prison. Keith Young, chair Credit: HMP Exeter (above), in their raptor project, have been busy sending is claimed CCTV shows the Exeter of the board says that Credit: HMP Parc/Phil Forder was born, early in May. They family and friends personal- theft. The man has been Staff and prisoners at Exeter quarantining cannot be also report many tadpoles in ised cards (above) after the suspended and Surrey police took part in a ‘Take5’ event Parc done because the prison their wildlife pond and the prison bought special card are investigating. A ‘source’ (above) in which they ran, The young men in Parc’s is too full and, with 100 new beehives are now on-line. making activity packs. told The Sun: “He should have walked and stumbled five Young Persons Unit have new men arriving each been keeping his eye on her, kilometres each to raise over been working hard in their week, the guidelines from but he has seemingly taken £500 for the City Community kitchen to make home-made Public Health England the opportunity to nab some Trust which delivers Sport, dinner and cakes for every- (PHE) to isolate new toilet roll. It would be laughable Education, Social Inclusion, one on the unit (above). arrivals in single cells for but, given the circumstances of Disability and Health & Allyson and Mark, the catering 14 days cannot be coronavirus, it is being treated Wellbeing projects across the assistants, have three young achieved. He told of the seriously. It’s a breach of trust.” South West. people to help every day. concerns that the prison is an environment where infection could spread Coaching continues quickly, but there is a Charity Spark Inside, which limit to what social has been stopped by the distancing can be coronavirus lockdown achieved. from providing life Credit: HMP Downview Gartree coaching to prisoners, says The Board is dismayed at Downview it is teaching prison officers Downview decided to run an internal art competition with a the deterioration of the instead. Staff at three jails fabric of the prison and different theme each week. The painting above, called ‘Spring’ are being offered the seeks to ensure Gartree is won its artist a bag of Avon goodies.
Credit: HMP Wakefield course to help them given enough budget to New arrivals isolated Wakefield prevent such basic New arrivals at the Isle of become “leaders of their Prisoners from across Wakefield Prison donated items from problems as leaking roofs Man prison at Jurby are being own lives”. Coach Dorottya their canteen purchases (above) to support people locally who and insanitary showers. confined to their cells all day have to rely on food banks. Many Wakefield prisoners are older Szuk said helping staff The Board continues to be for two weeks during the concerned at the long- and on very limited funds; the prison said: “We’re really proud would indirectly benefit coronavirus. Everyone that they are doing their bit to help others in the current crisis.” term segregation of starting a sentence or being the prisoners they come prisoners with complex Meanwhile staff from the prison’s PE department did a 24-hour held on remand is now bike and row marathon to raise funds for the MY Hospitals Charity. into contact with. mental health needs. housed on the prison’s There has been poor isolation wing for 14 days handling of prisoner Ashfield men support after arrival. The measures, complaints and those local foodbank which have been described complaints that concern Demand from foodbanks has as ‘oppressive’, have been in lost property. IMB Chair increased tremendously force since the start of April Tim Norman says “Whilst during the current crisis and and only allow the men two the Board welcomes the prisoners from every corner showers a week and they are improvements the new of the estate have been doing given packs to show them NHS Healthcare provider their bit to collect money or how to exercise in their cells. has delivered, and the Credit: HMP Warren Hill arrange to donate canteen Prison Governor Bob efforts that have been Warren Hill food items. A collection was
McColm said the measure Credit: HMP Camphill made to improve the daily The residents of Warren Hill set up at Serco managed, was designed to stop the regime, we remain have been busy stitching Ashfield to support the local Hospital gets prison beds some impressive items from spread of the virus into the concerned about the level Fishponds Foodbank. The Extra capacity at St. Mary’s hospital on the Isle of Wight has the contents of their art packs rest of the prison where there of violence shown prison say they have seen a been created using beds (above) from the now closed HMP and making amazing craft are men aged over 70 with “generously high number of Camphill, which was part of the Isle of Wight Cluster until it towards staff (up 30%).” works (above). underlying health conditions. donations from prisoners”. closed in 2013. 18 Comment www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
he told me, possibly with ShakeItUp, RADA, Guildhall) as all his behaviour, based on Corona world? ‘Physical dis- pride. He began as a busi- to projects delivered along- his belief in social justice. As tancing in prisons is almost nessman, but became inter- side with the Prisoners’ Edu- he points out, ‘Prisoners lose impossible, so it has led to ested in education, did his cation Trust, the Prison Reform their liberty but not their cit- prisoners being behind the teacher training in Northern Trust, Anne Frank Trust and izenship.’ This reminds him doors most of the day. Also, Ireland, moved to England Learning Skills Network, to of a project he ran in Feltham the number of prison staff af- and found himself placed by name a few.’ which created a DVD called fected by Covid-19 has created Nescot College in Feltham ‘The Right to Vote’ which, in- extra challenges and when Young Offenders. This brief indication of Jose’s cidentally, is the right of all non-essential workers were work emphasises how impor- prisoners on remand. stopped entering prisons, it Jose had grown up in a large, tant co-operation is to anyone put education activities and loving family who supported hoping to make progress in I was interested to hear his projects on hold.’ In fact Jose his mother when his father prison. And that means views on changes, for better is going into Pentonville for died leaving three young co-operation with prison staff or worse, in his fifteen years three hours once a week to sons. This had not prepared as well as outside organisa- prison experience. He an- provide some educational him for the deprivation that tions. Jose is very aware of swers, ‘Sometimes it is diffi- support and, as Inside Time he saw among the teenagers have reported, PET and other in Feltham. ‘It was a surreal educational providers are world … people had been doing everything they can to kicked out of school from an make sure that work doesn’t early age and had issues with stop altogether. their families … I’d never seen anything like it.’ Instead of Pentonville is doing its bit by heading off elsewhere, Jose getting books from the library drew on his strong belief in onto the wing. Ironically, says social justice and has worked Jose, relationships between Jose receiving the Inspirational Educator Award in prisons ever since. He says, staff and prisoner is better 2018 from The Worshipful Company of Educators with a mixture of quiet mod- than usual because the prison esty and confidence that ‘the officers have more time for education there was not par- the men – at the cost of most ticularly adapted to their of the usual activities, of Major impact! needs and I started to create course. Happily, just before new projects…’ the start of the epidemic, Jose had sent me a pdf of the excel- Voicing positive messages It is exactly fifteen years this lent Pentonville magazine, month since Jose had this re- Voice of the Ville, from which during challenging times alisation and, as a freelancer an example of artwork is pic- and consultant, can now list tured here. There are innova- educational projects he has tions which some hope might Month by Month inspired or helped to set up in last after the pandemic has forty prisons all over the passed, for example medicine D. Garland- “Get Britain Talkin” that bit of guidance and en- country. He tells me, ‘My aim is now distributed on the couragement. One person I’ve has always been to make wing rather than the men learnt to recognise and appre- prison life more bearable and this and told me, ‘Developing cult to implement and sustain joining a queue. Rachel Billington ciate is Jose Aguiar. Perhaps with more purpose.’ He has relationships with prison activities in a rapidly chang- his story can stand for others been most involved with Lon- staff is key to success. For the ing system. A long term strat- like him whose dedication I don prisons and since 2012, last few months I have been egy for prisons and prison Before the lockdown brought admire every time I stare up particularly with HMP developing projects and pro- education would enable a everything to an abrupt halt, at stone walls and barbed Pentonville. grammes with Unlock Gradu- major impact.’ He added to me I’d been going in and out of wire and wonder why anyone ates (Drama courses and later, ‘There is no concerted prison for nearly thirty years. would choose to spend years When I pressed him he admits, workshops) and Governors strategy. Each prison is differ- Usually, I was reporting for within their unfriendly grip. ‘I’m very proud of educational and Prison Officers (Interven- ent. The various parties Inside Time on a programme Not that anybody’s life is the projects and courses set up … tion for 18-21 year-old prison- should come together and that I’d heard about and same as anyone else’s and From partnerships with uni- ers).’ He comments further, plan for a ten year strategy.’ thought worth bringing to the Jose’s is certainly unusual. versities (University of West- ‘Prison staff need social skills Jose believes that if this hap- notice of a wider audience. minster and London so as not to infantilise prison- pened it would be easier to This was partly to show how Jose is Portuguese, born in a Southbank University), music ers’ and then adds, ‘Prisoners make ‘more links with com- the men and women inside small town near Porto - Car- and drama schools, (London must be part of decision-mak- munities, local colleges and were stepping up and trying men Miranda’s home town, as Shakespeare Workout, ing. They know most.’ local employers.’ Which is to improve their prospects, essential to break down stere- partly to give a bit of thanks ‘One person otypical views of prisoners. to the organisers, whether the It is an illustration of Jose’s prison itself or a charity, and can change socie- In terms of education, like commitment to those choos- partly to spread the word to ty. I’ve seen people many working in the area, he ing to work in prison during others who might be looking believes that it should not be this time that he, with Jo Lear, for new ideas to make prison released, changed, based, as it is at the moment, has set up a new charity, a more positive experience. looking after their on Level 2, equivalent to pu- MealsBehindtheWire, a free pils aged 11 years, but be tai- meals service for staff and Whether it was making art out families, their lor-made for each prisoner. As health workers in Penton- of soap, teaching football, children… Even if it he says, ‘Sometimes working ville, Wormwood Scrubs, growing vegetables, writing in prison is like pushing a Feltham and Isis. He says that stories, doing drama therapy, is only one individ- rock up a hill but people can they are working under pres- learning every kind of skill, find skills they never thought sure, often cut off from their there was always something ual, it will change they had, given the opportu- families and with limited ac- interesting going on the lives of two or nity’. He continues passion- cess to healthy food. His ex- somewhere. ately, ‘One person can change periences is echoed by the three.’ society. I’ve seen people re- many poems and letters In- Over all those years I met many leased, changed, looking side Time have been receiving amazing people who were It is Jose’s balanced and fair after their families, their chil- from prisoners wanting to working inside prison with approach to the strengths and dren… Even if it is only one thank those staff who are very little financial reward weaknesses of both those individual, it will change the going that extra mile to help but very high hopes of what locked inside and those who lives of two or three.’ them. Nobody wants Corona the people they were working Free food for going the extra mile look after them that I have but it’s good to report one pos- with could achieve, given just always found noticeable. It is, So how is he managing in the itive outcome. Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Comment 19
'electric ghost'. It was so funny, but it did not take long Prison championing art to realise the story was based on Yvvette's childhood. explore our potential in all Again, this was something areas and to get genuine feed- that most of us could relate to. back on what we do. Another of the prisoners displaying his art on the day commented There was a that: “Being able to interact funny moment with people from outside of our usual environment, who when a bell rang have no need to blow smoke, and Yvvette paused and to hear their opinions and see their reactions to our … you could tell In safe hands work is where the real therapy Credit: HMP Leicester she thought, just is.” One prisoner, who was displaying a portrait of Ma- for a second, ‘Oh Material success rie-Louise von Motesiczky in shit! What’s going celebration of all that her leg- Electric Ghost acy has done for us at Gren- on? Am I safe?’ Adam Mac entirely by the Marie-Louise don said: “Having the chance Booker Prize nominated author von Motesiczky Charitable to exhibit my work whilst Trust. Without this we would Yvvette Edwards (above) ran a crea- The group then had the paying homage to the person Whilst funding for the arts is struggle to obtain suitable chance to write a short story that made it possible left me tive writing workshop as part of the being consistently cut at a materials for even the most together. The story we wrote feeling elated. It is an oppor- national level, and prisons basic of artworks. Thanks to writer-in-residence’s project at HMP with Yvvette's help was about tunity I have never known in a boy, 'Henry' who was in a around the country are with- her and those working in her any other jail.” Leicester to bring artists with a work- 'sweatbox' on his way to drawing the provision of art name, the prisoners here pro- prison. The whole group classes and even making the duce a monumental body of ing-class background into the prison The exhibition also saw the added something. As you can procedure for prisoners to work every year, much of inclusion of a small body of community imagine, it made an interest- purchase their own art mate- which is entered into the an- work by some of the prisoners ing story! I think our input rials more difficult, HMP Gren- nual Koestler Awards with a here at Grendon who recently gave Yvvette a real insight don is doing things differently fantastic record of success. Aaron and Peter massive smile on her face. We took part in the first of a series into prison life, considering once again. In a collaboration could tell from that second on of workshops introduced by we were going to have a fab she probably thought, as most between Grendon, the Ma- Dean and James as part of the The day started like any other day! From the moment we met people do, that prison and rie-Louise von Motesiczky new residency. The workshop dreary day at Leicester prison, her, Yvvette was so open and inmates are like what you see Charitable Trust and Ikon ran across four weeks in the but after Alistair (resident honest about her life - a life on the TV - riots and god Gallery (an internationally evenings and focused upon writer) came and reminded us where she was raised by a sin- knows what else! There was a acclaimed contemporary gal- printmaking, including two about the workshop, the day gle mum in London trying to funny moment when a bell lery located in Birmingham), soon turned into what we can sessions exploring dry-point make ends meet, a life that so rang and Yvvette paused … the art of prisoners is being only describe as one of the you could tell she thought, etching under the tuition of many of us can relate to. championed from the front. best days we have ever had in just for a second, 'Oh shit! master printmaker, Simon prison. What's going on? Am I safe?' Harris. Dean and James plan Yvvette wrote a short story 2019 saw a big change for the But she soon carried on, and to continue with further especially for us, a privilege arts at Grendon with the Art- When we were first invited to she was great! workshops throughout their considering she is a pub- ist in Residence, Edmund take part in the workshop, residency, including one lished author. The story, ‘The Clark, completing his resi- like most of the other lads we Many thanks to Alistair for workshop focusing on book- Dead Ghost of an Electric dency and departing with Paying homage thought, 'Here we go again. arranging the event, and a binding and another on Man’, was about a single mum warm thanks from everyone Here comes another person to with two kids who had not massive heartfelt ‘thank you’ screen-printing techniques, he has helped during his time view us, the way you view a been putting money in the to Yvvette for a brilliant day with more tabled for later in here. He has been succeeded Grendon’s annual exhibition caged animal at the zoo.' But electric meter, so the Electric and coming with an open the year. In addition to these by Dean Kelland, an artist took place in January and was boy we were so wrong! That Board came round and cut it mind! If anyone ever gets the workshops, an upcoming view was so far removed from and senior lecturer at the Uni- attended by a number of off. But the young boy in the chance to do a workshop with screening of Samuel Beckett’s the reality. From the second Yvvette, then go. You will have versity of Wolverhampton high-profile guests from story found a new way of get- Film (1965) will also introduce we walked into the room a great day. We enjoyed it so with the residency managed around the country and from ting it back on. They stole dif- prisoners at Grendon to con- where the event was held we much; we even went back in the by James Latunji-Cockbill, a within Grendon itself. In par- ferent fuses from the cepts of filmmaking, with a were treated like any member afternoon for a repeat session! producer from Ikon Gallery. ticular Sally Taylor, CEO of neighbours, thinking there view to exploring this further of the public, not like inmates. Both are similarly welcomed Koestler Arts, Jonathan Wat- was some kind of fuse-box, with the Artist in Residence into their roles and our com- kins, Director of Ikon Gallery and put them into theirs; Aaron and Peter are later this year. We were greeted by a short, leaving the neighbours think- munity. This residency will and Frances Carey, Chair of mixed-race lady with a residents of HMP Leicester last until 2022 and has begun the Marie-Louise von Mo- ing there was some kind of The future of funding for the with a flying start. Dean and tesiczky Charitable Trust arts may well be in question, James have already intro- were in attendance to witness and the arts in prison may be duced an open-door policy the product of their collabo- in particular difficulty, but at PURCELL PARKER Dedicated Prison Lawyers For You whereby, when they are in ration with Grendon and to Grendon the artistic endeav- Solicitors Over 60 years’ combined experience the establishment, prisoners present those who won in last ours of prisoners continues in are welcome to drop by for year’s Koestler Awards with BIRMINGHAM’S TOP full strength. We are now IPP & Lifer Parole Reviews arts advice, to place an order their certificates. The day was PRISON LAWYERS planning our next exhibition, for materials, or to simply a huge success and gave all Licence Recalls Licence Recalls currently scheduled for late talk through our work over a who attended a sense of just Prisoner Adjudications autumn, and we cordially in- Independent Adjudications coffee, and they are now in how much we can achieve IPP & Lifer Parole vite anyone working in the the process of opening a when those inside and out- HDC arts or in criminal justice who Sentence Calculations workshop and gallery within side of prison work in collab- Sentence Calculations would like to attend to contact the prison as a space for pris- oration. One of the prisoners Re - Categorisation Criminal Defence Work James Latunji-Cockbill at oners to work on and exhibit exhibiting his work said: Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, Call now to speak with: Call Stephanie Brownlees today on their art. “Days like this are what for more details (ikon-gallery. Tiernan Davis, Sadie Rice or Jan Arkwright makes Grendon what it is.” 01902 275 042 org). Purcell Parker Solicitors Dean Kelland’s residency, 204 - 206 Corporation Street Birmingham B4 6QB and the provision of materi- We are presented with a fan- Adam Mac is resident at West Midlands House, Gipsy Lane, als for prisoners, is funded tastic opportunity here to HMP Grendon 0121 236 9781 Willenhall WV13 2HA 20 Comment www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
people in the UK criminal jus- tice system, run by the charity Garden Chronicles Koestler Awards Koestler Arts, and it has been going for over 55 years. Every year over 3,500 people in se- New Deadline cure settings and probation send their creative entries to for entries will be Tuesday 7 the Koestler Arts Centre to be July 2020. Koestler Arts has seen by prestigious judges. made the new deadline as late, Entrants benefit from feed- and with as much notice as back, awards, cash prizes, possible, to enable people to exhibition and sales opportu- still share their creativity this nities, and everyone who year. takes part receives a certifi- cate in recognition of their Your entries should be sent achievements. alongside a completed entry form to ‘Freepost KOESTLER You can enter anything crea- ARTS’ free of charge; a pull- tive. You may have limited out entry form, and more guid- “Let us at the veg you scoundrel!” access to materials or educa- ance on entering, is included tion right now, but even small in this issue of Inside Time. artworks made in-cell can be You can also request further great submissions. Reduced entry forms by writing to materials can also challenge Barking at the fence? ‘Freepost KOESTLER ARTS’, your creativity and enable you and they can be found online Credit: Koestler Arts to produce some truly inspir- at www.koestlerarts.org.uk. Jenny Greengrass with great interest; he loves onions too. He is ing work. Pen/pencil draw- a regular visitor to my garden and is always ings, song lyrics, poems, sto- Submit your creative work as telling me that chickens and garden pride do ries, collages, greetings cards, early as you can before 7 July Things in the garden are coming on a treat. At not mix. Well, now I know what he means. calligraphy, soap carvings, to be in with the chance of least the Coronavirus lockdown has given me paper models can all be made winning a Koestler Award, the chance to work in the garden with little or My chickens are free range and we have the with materials that you may receiving feedback, applying no distractions. luxury of eggs with beautiful golden yolks. have access to on a daily basis. for mentoring and getting your However they do not know that there are areas Many of these ‘simple’ art- artwork experienced. The I know some of your prisons may have gar- where they are not wanted - my vegetable works have received top The Koestler Awards 2020 team at Koestler are still work- dens, and I hope some of you have also had patch for example. They have not gone for eat- Koestler Awards or have been deadline for submissions was ing to make sure as much of the opportunity to work outside maintaining ing the leaves of the vegetables but they love selected for Koestler postponed this year due to the their regular work goes ahead them. Recently the weather has been wonder- scratching about in the soil looking for worms. exhibitions. huge challenges faced by en- as possible. ful and has allowed the plants to thrive. I hope My peas have been dug up numerous times trants, and the staff who sup- Image: Origami Officer, HM your interest in gardening has also grown, and have had to be replanted and my poor port them, during the pan- About the Koestler Awards Prison and Young Offender In- albeit in confined conditions. broad beans look like a small tornado has gone demic. It has now been The Koestler Awards is an an- stitution Parc, Craft, folded over them. So it is with reluctance that we have announced that the last date nual arts programme for paper and tin foil I am an amateur gardener with a keen interest had to fence off this area of the garden. As yet in growing vegetables all year round. My only it has not occurred to the chickens that the problem is that I probably grow too much! fence is permanent and every day they troop There is only so much spinach one family can up to see if it’s still in place. I swear I can see eat (unless of course one member of the family a look of disappointment over their faces. But is Popeye). I hate pulling up young plants in we make up for their disappointment with a order that the remainder can be allowed to daily diet of layers pellets, continuous treats grow bigger. So in the end I have plants that of sweet corn and would you believe we have Shaw and Co jostle for space in order to survive. discovered they like dog food! We are keenly Specialist Accident Compensation Solicitors looking for a change in the egg laying to see if I have added two more raised beds in order to this will have any effect on production (or even OVER 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS grow the main crops that we eat at almost if Cocky will now bark instead of crow…) every meal. I planted 200 onions in March and they are now showing great promise. I know Jenny Greengrass is a keen amateur Dental Treatment the local farmer will be watching these onions horticulturist Medical Care NEW 2020 CATALOGUE #126 OUT NOW! NEW 2020 CATALOGUE #126 OUT NOW! CATALOGUE 2020 NEW NOW! OUT #126 CATALOGUE 2020 NEW General Accident Claims COVID-19 UPDATE - WE ARE OPEN
Call Chris or Sharon about your claim on: We hope everyone is well and is staying safe. Thankfully, we remain open during these testing times, albeit with a much scaled back workforce. This does however enable us to keep our staff safe FREEPHONE 0800 389 1590 and follow the government's social distancing instructions whilst maintaining the supply of Music, Films Or you can email us at: and Gaming - something we know is very important to our customers. Our supply chain is also coping which means delays in fulfilling our customers' orders hasn't been as bad as we had originally anticipat- ed. Hopefully this continues to be the case, however, as you're aware, the future of the Coronavirus [email protected] Covid-19 outbreak remains uncertain and this will unfortunately continue to impact our ability to Shaw and Co Solicitors Ltd process your order in our usual timeframes. Please do bear with us during this time whilst we work as Three Indian Kings House quickly as possible to keep any delays to a minimum. Best wishes from everyone at Gema Records. 31 The Quayside Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3DE + 2 FREE GAMES! + 2 FREE GAMES! [from a specific list] [from a specific list] All calls are confidential. Your claim will be represented on a No Win No Fee basis. 4GB £169.95 4GB £159.95 250GB £184.95
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NO WIN NO FEE 500GB £199.95 NEW 2020 CATALOGUE #126 OUT NOW! NEW 2020 CATALOGUE #126 OUT NOW! OUT #126 CATALOGUE 2020 NEW NOW! OUT #126 CATALOGUE 2020 NEW NEW2020 CATALOGUE #126 OUT NOW! NEW2020 CATALOGUE Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Comment 21 Exceptional measures required You said in the Commons that Prosecution Service (CPS). I was disappointed to see the reforming the estate we’ve keeping prisoners locked in They might not think of him as Conservatives under Boris currently got. There was an their cells for 23 hours a day is their friend! Do you think that Johnson move away from a objective under the New potentially breaching their because of his experience as a cross-party consensus that Labour government to reduce human rights. But these are prosecutor, he’ll be tough on short sentences don’t work - all the number of young people exceptional times. What can be offenders if he becomes Prime you do is introduce people to in prison, and that was done? Minister? dangerous and sometimes achieved. I think there should more criminal ways. I don’t be a new objective to reduce What the Government has got I would think that most pris- agree with sending people to the number of women in pris- is a very, very tough lockdown oners recognise that they were prison for short amounts of on, that’s where I would start. regime where prisoners are not arrested for their crimes by the time. getting access to exercise, police, and then charging de- It has been three years now training, Release on Temporary cisions were made by the CPS, There are areas, I think in re- since the Lammy Review on Licence or employment oppor- most of which I’m not sure Keir lation to terrorist offences, that race and the justice system. Has tunities they might have had. would have had a direct rela- understandably the public are it produced real change? tionship with. But he is re- very anxious about - but broad- Of course everyone accepts it’s spected as someone who did ly speaking I think the sentenc- I’m pleased that there’s been exceptional times, and prison- a great job as Director of Public es we have are about right. some progress on recruitment ers themselves want to stay Prosecutions and a very effec- of prison staff, but I think dis- safe and healthy, but I think tive job on the front bench, The main Conservative policy on proportionality is still signifi- people also accept that keep- leading Labour’s Brexit prisons is to build 10,000 more cant. In our youth prison pop- ing prisoners in this situation policy. places. Do you agree with it? ulation, 51% are now ethnic for what could be another year will lead to other problems. It There’s lots I’d like to see hap- We’ve gone up from a prison minorities, when black and will lead to serious issues pen in the criminal justice population of about 45,000 in ethnic minorities make up around mental health and system. Most of it won’t hap- 1995 to over 80,000 now. We about 20% of young people in wellbeing, it could affect self- pen unless Labour is in power, are locking a lot of people up. our country. There remain © Deposit Photos harm, and certainly it can in- so we need an effective leader I have a feeling that big pro- some significant issues, not David Lammy (above) has been the Labour MP crease tensions in our prisons and I think Keir has got off to jects to build prisons will not just in relation to prison but for Tottenham for 20 years and served as a and that can lead to conflict a great start. go ahead quite as the also how the courts work. minister for eight years. In 2017 his report on and to unrest. Government intended it now The Conservatives had tough that we’re heading into a re- My Review is a template for racial bias in the justice system recommended So you need to have an exit law and order policies at the cession. Let’s see. reform and I intend to pick up major reforms. strategy, and the only way that last election, talking about these issues in this job as works is by testing aggressive- longer sentences. Do you think I don’t believe we should be Shadow Justice Secretary, and In April, at the peak of the coronavirus pan- ly across the estate, and iso- sentences at the moment are building more prisons, I think of course I hope one day as lating and tracing where nec- too long, too short or about right? we should be looking at Justice Secretary. demic, the Labour Party elected Sir Keir Starmer essary. I’m clear that that is as its new leader. One of his first moves was to not going on currently in the appoint Lammy as Shadow Justice Secretary, prison estate, not nearly to the making him the party’s spokesman on prisons. extent that we’d need to. In a In his first House of Commons appearance in way it’s a sort of ticking time- bomb, because the situation his new role, Lammy challenged Justice in terms of lockdown is not Secretary Robert Buckland on the slow pace of sustainable over the long term. the Covid-19 early release scheme and the hard- ship suffered by prisoners being kept in their So far, prisoners mostly seem to have accepted the lockdown. cells for 23 hours a day without an apparent Do you think tensions will grow ‘exit strategy’ for easing the lockdown in jails. as they see society outside re- He spoke to Inside Time. laxing its restrictions?
Prisoners and their families It’s true that because of the have raised issues with me - reduction in crime, and the particularly around visits. courts being unable to perform Our open, friendly solicitors working Ben Leapman Robert Buckland has said vir- at their usual level, there have tual visits are beginning. in Criminal Defence will help you with all been less people arriving in That’s progress. But he’s not The Government was initially prison, so numbers at the mo- said anything about virtual aspects of Prison Law including: advised by its experts to release ment are a good 2,500 less than training, virtual therapy, and lots of prisoners to make pris- at the beginning of this crisis. all these things are also impor- Licence recall • Adjudications ons safer during the pandemic, But nevertheless it’s my view tant for prisoners’ wellbeing. but this hasn’t happened. What that many more prisoners Parole hearings • IPP queries needs to be done? could be released and proba- The whole point of prison is bly should be released. rehabilitation. Access to ther- Judicial review • Sentence planning issues We have to be guided by the apy, skills and training is ab- science. Public Health England The reason the Government has solutely key if we’re in the were very clear to the given for releasing fewer than business of rehabilitating pris- Call us on 0121 752 9350 Government as this crisis 100 prisoners by mid-May is oners, not just locking them up. began to unfold back in March that they need to vet them care- We can’t just pause the things or visit www.hinesolicitors.com they would need to release fully. Do you think that’s the which enable that to happen between 10,000 and 15,000 real reason? for the next year. That would prisoners, and then Robert be a catastrophic mistake. Prison Law department Buckland brought forward his The suspicion is that Number FREEPOST RTZU–GXKA–KSXG scheme to release 4,000. Then 10 has leant on Robert Many Inside Time readers will he managed to release a mi- Buckland quite a lot, and that’s know Sir Keir Starmer as the Hine Solicitors | 558 Walsall Road nuscule amount of that 4,000, why the figures are nowhere man who got them sent down Great Barr | Birmingham | B42 1LR so he has been incredibly near the 4,000 they when he was head of the Crown cautious. indicated. 22 Comment www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
people jump on the nets and disrupt the sys- That was weeks ago. Well the bad news came tem. There is never a week without an emer- true, no question about that. Moved almost gency lockdown when no one gets out of the immediately into a cell with someone I didn’t cells. We moan. We understand. know and who looked at me as if I was a piece of dirt. He had been in an individual cell and There are far too many people here who cannot that concerned me because you don’t get one read and write, and you wonder why this was of them as a reward but because there is a rea- allowed to happen in our wonderful education son. I listen as does everyone to coughing peo- system outside and how they could survive ple being removed from their cells and moved without turning to crime in this complex to isolation and fear for them. It is hell; just as world. No one really discusses why they are in it is for those poor souls in Care Homes watch- unless they choose to, sex criminals have their ing their friends being taken out to the death own wing. It is a mix. And in many ways dur- ambulance. But last night I was psychologi- ing the days it has moments that are superb, cally walloped. and you meet people you like. But the nights are long and dark. We have a TV and limited I was told that of the 4,000 prisoners to be channels so there are so many repeats I know released, all ready to roll according to my pro- the words of programmes off by heart now. bation officer last time we spoke two weeks Your cell-mate is important; mine was tolera- ago, only 33 have been let out across the coun- ble. His latest joke was to tell me that whenever try. The Secretary of State seems to be sitting he was going to fart, he used to cough to cover on this volcano, hoping it will not erupt and Hoping to survive the sound. Now when he needs to cough, he that only a few deaths will happen. What are © Andy Aitchison/Library image makes sure he farts even louder to hide that. a few prisoners or a handful of officers’ lives I suppose? Instead they are putting shipping containers in some prisons and moving people I am stuck here, disrupted, to them. What the hell sort of idea is that? At Lockdown frowns frankly scared, with a suspicious least they have cut call charges and increased the canteen allowance but small mercies As reported to Raymond Smith by serving prisoners brooding and also frightened really. man clearly on the edge of So, I am stuck here, disrupted, frankly scared, It gets me, it really does. Watching people on door banging for the carers and we cheer for reason, as terrified of me as I am with a suspicious brooding and also a fright- the news and reading in the papers about how the staff here. There is often door banging in ened man clearly on the edge of reason, as people in their homes are moaning about prison, mainly at 3 a.m. which is aggravating, of him, waiting for what? terrified of me as I am of him, waiting for what? struggling through the lockdown. Oh, I know but now that’s stopped, and all join in on I certainly do not want to end my life with my it can be stressful, I know it can be upsetting, Thursday evening. I guess it gets the need to Then the virus crisis came. “Good news and own body choking me, feeling strangled by my I know it can harm people. But for a real lock- make noise out of the way for everyone for the bad news” my Key Worker told me. “The bad own lungs lying on a solid blue mattress cov- down, come in here. week, and we genuinely mean respect. news is that you will be moved from that cell ered by an orange blanket in a cement case as we are shuffling around to make space for with walls closing in. It is who knows what time in the morning, still isolations. No choice; and a new cell-mate too. dark, and I am in a cramped cell. Not much fun I listen as does everyone Be doing that in a few days. The good news is Some places apparently report things are eas- any time, but now it is hell. The walls close in to coughing people being that it looks like 4,000 people will be given ing. I hope so. I hope we all get through, staff and crush me, the fear that is running through early release on licence, and you meet the cri- and prisoners, but please Mr Buckland start everyone is tangible. removed from their cells and teria. Not a danger to the public, coming to the that early release. And give us hope so that we moved to isolation and fear end of the sentence, somewhere to go and good can survive. Otherwise, as has been sug- People top themselves in prison. Self-harm is reports.” He said the safety recommendation gested, this could last for 12 months and that frighteningly common. I swore I would never for them. It is hell. was that far more should be released on licence is surely inhumane. do that. But as I lie down on this bizarre blue but 4,000 could at least make some difference mattress that is part solid and yet bends into Life inside is always hell. Boredom broken by from the 80,000 behind bars. strange shapes, and never returns to flat, cov- education classes, work, exercise, and possi- Raymond Smith is a former resident of HMPPS ered by an orange blanket that is now stinking bly if you are lucky, gym. Occasional visits to from my sweat - it is hard to cope. My family the library once a fortnight, medical appoint- are outside, difficult to contact, I have only two ments plus what passes as food. Locked up at months to go and have only been here four, but 5 pm. In the cell probably 17 hours a day apart See our time does not count here. It didn’t before the from at weekends or holidays, when it is 20 page in the total lockdown, it certainly doesn’t now. I hours. That is bad, but 23 hours, with just a ‘Jailbreak’ section think of Hamlet when he said, “Tomorrow and walk on the landing, lightning fast shower, tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty then locked up again is impossible. And even pace from day to day”. Here, yesterday, today, this exercise does not always happen. THE PRISON tomorrow, the day after, merge into one mass of tedium and delirium. Then there is the disruption. When you come PHOENIX TRUST into prison you get shunted around from cell Dillex Solicitors Let me count the positives, for there are some. to cell scared half to death about who you will Specialist in Prison Law Head doing you in? First, the relationship between staff and fellow meet and what will happen, finally getting into & prisoners is stronger. We are all in this, we are a routine in a shared cell with someone you at Stressed out? all going to have to co-operate to get through least tolerate and who tolerates you. Sharing a Criminal Defence it. I feel sorry for the officers, because those loo, one sink, a tiny space, with piles of clothes Matters Can’t sleep? for whom this is unbearable, and many in here all around it is unreal; but soon becomes your Appeals (All convictions & Sentences) perhaps with mental health issues, take it out reality because you have no bloody choice. 12 Simple yoga and CCRC & Judicial Reviews on the only people they can see in front of months - should be out in 6 but that 6 drags meditation practice, them. But overall, we recognise that these peo- on. If you fight in your mind against accepting Parole, Adjudication working with silence and the ple are doing their best. And when we heard this hell as in any way normality, the depres- Recall & Re-categorisation that two staff in this very prison died recently, sion sets in. You must live in this parallel breath, might just transform Police Station/Crown/ within days of each other, everyone, and I world. You get a new routine. your life in more ways than Magistrate Court Representations mean everyone respected the minute silence you think ... Interested? for them. Died trying to do their best to keep Separated from family, sketchy phone calls if Confiscation/Forfeiture us safe with little or no PPE and no option but you can find a phone that works and are lucky Write to The Prison Phoenix Trust to risk their very lives. However, when we hear that the queue is not too long. Trying to eke out Do Not Hesitate To Contact Lucy Today P.O. Box 328, Oxford, OX2 7HF. that a fellow prisoner dies, the tension rises your weekly “wages” on a couple of phone Dillex Solicitors and we all get bitter. Locked up to die on a solid talks. No control over anything, go here, go 107b Ripple Rd, Barking IG11 7NY We’d love to hear from you anytime and have blue mattress. there, do this, don’t go there. Walking past TEL: 02085913351 several free books and CDs, which could people with severe mental health issues or who (24H) 07572086247 help you build and maintain a daily practice. Last night was positive. Thursday, 8 pm, mass are high on Spice. Fights break the tedium; Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Comment 23
know it, a virus I say to myself never before has a medical How we handle isolation condition changed my way of Prison is probably the most isolated place to be during the COVID-19 thinking forever. pandemic. But the virus crisis has given most people across the world Day after day the death toll a flavour of what it is like to have your freedom suddenly removed. rises and you feel for the fam- We have all now had our choices limited and much of our personal ilies and want to put your arm control taken away. In this series, people from across various sections around strangers, this is not a rehearsal - we all need to of our society on the outside share their experience of being in lockdown Johnny Earle take a good look at ourselves Linda Calvey and realise how fragile life is Linda, known as ‘The Black for. I’m consciously not giving with, the faster the time goes. Johnny is a rock n roll singer and treat one another as Widow’, served 18-years in more than about 5 minutes a who starred in the Elvis stage human beings. Mother Earth prison for armed-robbery and day to listening to news media For every negative thought show, was a ‘Page 7 fella’ in murder. She was known as that’s for sure. I feel for people you have - acknowledge it and The Sun, and has performed has breathing space - no The Black Widow because all that are having a rough time then immediately think of and recorded with Elvis Pres- plane fumes, no car fumes … of her lovers either ended up and hope they reach a place something good. The aim is to ley’s original band and back- will the human race heed the dead or in prison. Her book of calm and comfort asap. Es- think more good thoughts ing-singers The Jordanaires, warning? Everyone now has ‘The Black Widow’ was re- sentially, I think it’s impor- he has also performed with a choice to become a better than bad thoughts per day. leased this year to much tant to stay busy creatively, to Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Per- self. I pick up my guitar and Over the space of a couple of acclaim and was voted True try and be helpful to others kins. His autobiography ‘Blue switch off to the sci-fi pan- days of doing this, and being Crime Book of The Year. and find humour wherever aware of doing this, you will Suede Dreams’ is out now. demic outside my window - possible in these difficult blanking out the virus which Ray Gange find that you start feeling I have to be honest, after Ray is a former actor who times: be excellent to each The world we once knew, lighter, a lot more positive and has become the new blitz and 18 years in prison being able won acclaim for his starring other. that is the stark reality of the happier; so although you may for a while melodies, chords, to self-isolate in my own home role in the film ‘Rude Boy’. In blanket that has been spread think this positive mental at- and a new song will be born ain’t no hardship - sitting on 2009 he toured with The over man and womankind, titude is all bullshit it really and breathe a rock n roll a comfy sofa and being able Alarm, Los Mondo Bongo me and my mum. Staying in does work, trust me! rhythm into my room. Thank to cook when I like; I feel a bit and the Mahones as DJ. is the new going out, the god for rock ‘n’ roll - Johnny of a fraud. But I do know the world still turns but in a dif- If you can be happy now as Earle has performed another harsh realities of prison at the ferent direction and it takes a To be honest, as someone you are then whatever hap- show, takes a bow with my all best of times ain’t good but that has never really been deadly virus to indent to the pens won’t change you new invisible audience, but this bloody virus is making troubled from not seeing peo- nation the importance of the whether you’re rich, poor or hey it’s time to make my mum life 100 times harder for you. ple very much, I’m not really NHS and frontline heroes - in the middle and whatever is a cup of tea and get in touch All I can say is stay strong and out of my comfort zone. Of doctors and nurses the world happening in your life that is with friends across the world under very trying conditions course, the fact that nobody over, the injustice of millions shit, you can guarantee that praying they are all well. I that you all come through. I close to me has yet to have there will always be other earned by footballers etc. re- Terry Stone pray for a cure for coronavirus feel for the people with kids any health issues is a big help people that are a lot worse off ally hits home. I personally Terry is a British actor and hourly; the stark reality of in tower blocks and the old in that regard, as is having and having an even shittier have lost a good friend to a and vulnerable. The world is film producer. Before a career The World We Once Knew. internet access. I feel blessed time. This doesn’t make you virus that has been unleashed a very strange place right now that I live somewhere that has in film, Stone was a rave pro- Another cup of tea Mum! moter and is the founder of feel any better, but at least that has halted life as we - take care, best wishes. a roof terrace looking out at you know everyone is going the English Channel where I One Nation, Garage Nation through something. can sit quietly drinking coffee and Rave Nation. His films and meditating. My place is include ‘Rise of The Foot sol- There is no such thing as a located very close to anything dier’, ‘Rise of The Foot soldier perfect happy life with no I need to go out for. Groceries, 3 - The Pat Tate Story’, ‘Rise of The Foot soldier 4 - Mar- problems and once you accept WILSONS AUCTIONS pharmacy, post office etc. are this, I find that things are eas- all within a few minutes’ bella’, and ‘Once Upon A ier to deal with. Always look walk, as is the beach for some Time in London’. 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would ever recover from. Book Review After that night I quickly got heavily involved in more seri- ous offences and eventually ended up getting a consider- Battle for justice able sentence for being in- volved in ATM robberies Jogee book seeks to clarify the law on joint enterprise using oxyacetylene. What was prison like for you? Nicole Gilmer various ideas, arguments and solutions to the question of what Jogee means for the future of Prison life for me was easier secondary liability. Its aim is to encourage than I thought it would be and Earlier this year, at Carmelite Chambers in dialogue between different groups of profes- I’ve come to the conclusion London, people from all areas of the criminal sionals, and demonstrates the importance of that had it not been for the justice system gathered together to celebrate a multidisciplinary approach when attempting brutal life I had already expe- the book launch of ‘Accessorial Liability After to make a legal wrong, right. ‘At the heart of rienced then it would have Jogee’. Coincidentally, and completely unin- legal change are fearless advocates prepared been a cold, lonely experi- tentionally, the date of the launch fell upon to work with brilliant academics and take on ence. The isolation gave me the fourth anniversary of the successful R v the establishment’. Against all odds the opportunity to teach my- Jogee [2016] Supreme Court hearing, which Felicity Gerry QC was lead counsel in Jogee, self to read and learn about corrected a 30 year-old misinterpretation of Will Steele (above) survived a brutal and violent law and injustice. I discov- joint enterprise law. and the final chapter of the book shares her personal account of the experience. Her chap- childhood and, almost inevitably, he ended up spend- ered myself in prison and vowed to make a difference ‘Joint enterprise over-criminalizes secondary ter also explains how the Supreme Court deci- ing time in prison in his later life. Finally coming to sion came about and where the law went wrong terms with how his life had turned out, he decided when I was eventually parties’. This argument was the driving force released. behind the Supreme Court action of Jogee and in the first place. Despite the correction in the to change things for the better. Now he is free and law, however, change has not followed so eas- it had a major effect on how secondary parties working to help others in similar seemingly hopeless You are now a Director with would be treated in criminal cases; namely, ily for those affected in prison. All future ap- peals have to satisfy a ‘substantial injustice’ situations. Despite never having served an IPP sen- IPPs And Families Support, that accessories should not be treated the same what got you interested in IPPs? as principal offenders. test imposed by the Court of Appeal, meaning tence himself, he met many who are stuck in the appellants have to show that they would not system and over tariff, and this made him want to Coming towards the end of have been convicted of murder if the jury had help. He is now a Director at IPPs And Families Sup- Accessorial been properly instructed on the basis of the my sentence I met several IPP Liability After law in Jogee. port, and involved with Miscarriages of Justice and prisoners who were over their Jogee by Beatrice Unsolved UK. Inside Time spoke to Will about his life. tariffs by double figures and Krebs Nevertheless, at the end of the book launch I this saddened me. I made a embarrassment. promise to them as I was leav- Hart Publishing spoke to Felicity Gerry QC and editor of the book, Beatrice Krebs, who said that prisoners ing to do something. I didn’t ISBN: How did you get into crime? are not to be put off by slow progress and that Noel Smith at that point know what I 9781509918898 what the book really shows is that ‘people are would do but knew I needed Price: £60 still working towards what the right idea of At thirteen my father decided to do something. I was re- justice is’. Gerry said: “It’s really important Tell us about your early life. to kick me out onto the streets leased in April 2016 and im- they don’t just sit there thinking they’re stuck. and make me homeless. Luck- mediately started working Even though there was a lot of talk about how I grew up in South London. ily for me, I was a streetwise with a psychologist to address Jogee brought an end to parasitic accessorial Jogee was not the solution, there are people My father was a career crimi- kid and managed to steal to my childhood trauma. This liability (PAL), meaning that criminal liability still working around how to do things prop- nal and my mother was a stay survive but whilst doing this process took a while, but I would no longer apply to those secondary par- erly.” Krebs added: “Jogee isn’t the last word. at home parent. My mother it dawned on me that the only came through it all a new ties who embark on one crime, and then by Practitioners and academics are working was suffering from severe way I could change my cir- man. I now have a family of solely foreseeing what someone else in the hand-in-hand to make the law better.” mental health issues and my cumstances was by making my own to protect and teach group might do, become liable for any further father was violent and con- profit from crime. I got in with about the perils of life. I was crime committed by someone else in the group. This book is intended for academics and prac- trolling. Very quickly the vio- some mates of my older made a Director of a charity Now, it must be proved by means of evidence titioners alike, but it’s also for the prisoner: For lence went from them fighting brother who stole vehicles to called IPPs And Families Sup- that the secondary party intended to assist and ‘all those people still in prison who might have each other to against me and order and my career in crime port who offer support to IPP encourage that type of crime. foreseen a friend getting into trouble but would my brothers. Of me and my began. One night in Novem- prisoners and their families. never have intended to join in and hoping their two brothers, I received the ber when I was fifteen, me, I run campaigns helping to This book explores a range of answers to the injustices’ might be ‘rectified too’. This book worst of these assaults and my brother and two other lads highlight miscarriages of jus- question: ‘Where do we go with accessorial explains the what, when, why, how and where before the age of three, I had were in a stolen car when we tice and I work with families liability after Jogee?’ It is the first comprehen- of secondary liability, and it is a significant been hospitalised 189 times got engaged in a chase with of unsolved murders in this sive critical analysis of the impact of Jogee of stepping stone in the battle, as Felicity Gerry with non-accidental injuries. the police. As we were trying country. its kind. The authors consist of practitioners says, ‘to make our criminal justice system bal- I realised from an early age to escape them, we flew and academics, some of whom were involved anced and fair’. that the system in place to across a busy intersection and Is there any message you in the case. Each contributes a chapter to the protect children like myself were hit in the side by a deliv- would give to those who are book, exploring issues raised and addressing Nicole Gilmer is a freelance journalist and my brothers was mas- ery lorry and rolled several still in prison? sively flawed, which led me to times along the carriageway. mistrust any form of author- When the vehicle stopped, we I would like to take this op- ity. On top of the physical as- clambered out and ran in dif- portunity to say to anyone saults, my father would force ferent directions with the po- reading this, no matter what Important Parole Case Coming Up? me to stand in stress positions lice chasing us. As I got near adversity or trauma you have Get Someone for hour upon hour and would to the hedgerow, I could hear faced in your life, you can even on occasion douse me in my brother screaming in achieve anything if you block Who Gives a $@*#! agony and turned round to out the negativity and set “I can’t believe how fortunate we were in choosing petrol and tell me he would 99% of Clients happy with the Emmersons. You were amazing, I would recommend torch me. Growing up, I be- see he was stuck within the yourself targets. This road we outcome of their case Emmersons to anyone looking for an approachable and lieved this level of brutality car. I immediately started to have all travelled is filled reliable firm of Solicitors.” was normal within any run back to free him but was with potholes, so learn how 52 John Street, 137A Back High Street, Gosforth, household and this was re- rugby tackled to the tarmac to avoid them. Never be Nearly all clients achieved release or Sunderland SR1 1QN Newcastle NE3 4ET by the police. They pinned me scared to ask for help or be open conditions flected in my behaviour 0191 567 6667 0191 284 6989 whilst at school. I would fight down and wouldn’t let me get put off by failure. Take time to to him. The car caught fire listen to stories like mine and Freephone anyone to release my frustra- We are experts in category A reviews tion at my father and this and my brother burned to learn from them. Inside Time and independent adjudications 0800 193 0146 quickly led to my education death in front of my eyes. His played a massive part in my emmersons-solicitors.co.uk suffering. I couldn’t read or screams still haunt my decision to turn my life dreams every night and that Parole Hearings • Adjudications • Recalls • Category A Reviews write and when anyone would around; so thank you Inside EMAP night was a turning point in Registered with try to help me, I would ex- Time and to anyone reading Members of the Association of Prison Lawyers plode in fits of rage out of pure my life that I never thought I this… stay safe. Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Comment 25
window. I could smell the toast from about that - but that’s for another feel great - why he didn’t get out of the morning’s breakfast, and hot cof- time!). What I mean is, HOW we see bed in the morning with a smile on fee we had provided for the group. the world is being created in our own his face! Life just wasn’t feeling minds from moment to moment, and right; he was beginning to question DS sat at the back of the room rocking THAT is the thing that can change. everything. on his chair. Long jeaned legs Thought is a power that we all have. stretched out in front of him, big A Superpower. One that can make us Within days of this encounter I am hands holding onto the chair legs as feel all the emotions and feelings sitting in a prison working with a he had his realisation. I felt the flush that it’s possible for a human being group of men who are on a drug and of excitement hearing his insight. to have. But we don’t realise that we alcohol rehabilitation programme. “Tell us more” I said. have this Superpower, so we let it What struck me was the similarity have its wicked way with us. between the executive and the in- He told us how he had lived a life tor- mates. What I found fascinating was mented by his own negative thoughts, For example, if you feel lonely it’s how they shared a common dissatis- by trauma and by PTSD. How he had because you are having a lonely faction and confusion about life and caused a lot of pain to others. How he thought, in that moment. Think themselves. had believed himself to have no em- about when you’ve felt lonely and pathy, he’d believed the labels he had then something on the TV made you Do our circumstances and environ- worn inwardly and outwardly (he did laugh. You may have forgotten the ment have anything to do with our
© Deposit Photos like a good Armani outfit!). Then one lonely feeling for a minute, and you happiness? day he’d had a new thought, something may have gone straight back to it that hadn’t occurred to him before. after the laugh. Move forward a few weeks and after spending time with both the execu- Everyone gets fresh thought; we call So, what’s all this got to do with tive and the prison residents, they Mind Power it insight. So why do we ignore it? freedom even when you’re in prison? have changed profoundly. They are happy, light-hearted and engaged. Changing the way we think can change Everyone can see something new Here’s a snippet from a blog that one Yet the only thing that has changed about their situation in any moment. of our facilitators, Paul Lock, wrote is their appreciation of their mind the way we see our circumstances Because situations are not fixed, they after his first group: “Walking into a and an understanding of how it can be viewed differently depending prison environment is eye-opening works, with absolutely no change in me that we all want peace, happi- on the perspective we have. in many ways. But more than any- circumstances. ness and security. thing, I have found it to be a hum- Have you ever thought about some- bling and profound experience. Big It is clear that the circumstances and Jacqueline Hollows MSc Sometimes, the harder we try, the thing one way and then had a men with even bigger hearts. I have environment we find ourselves in further away the goal gets. Why is change of mind when you got a new come to realise that whether we are has simply nothing to do with how Are you a prisoner of your own mind? that? perspective? free or incarcerated behind fences happy we are. Our happiness is de- with razor wire, walls with iron termined by how we view and under- When I first started working in “I feel freer now than I’ve ever felt in “I realised I had a choice” DS said. In gates, we are all up against the same stand ourselves moment by moment. prison running groups, I would ask my life, and I’ve still got three years a single moment, DS realised that he thing - the confines and trickery of As our thoughts change so do our the men what their challenges were. to serve” DS said. We were sitting in had a choice and he saw this from our minds!” feelings, and as our feelings change There were many - finding housing, a circle on hard-backed black chairs within his own mind. We’re all walk- so do our circumstances. It is this finding jobs, staying on the right in the group room on K Wing at HMP ing around thinking that we are liv- During the same week as this prison simplicity that is all too easy to path, reconnecting with their chil- Onley. A big map of the world on one ing in and coping with a reality that session, I had been working with a overlook. dren, finding peace of mind. It didn’t wall. The warm summer sunshine is ‘out there’, when in fact we are cre- senior executive. He is extremely matter how many people I asked, a sliding through the razor wire and ating a reality in each moment, from successful and respected. He has a Jacqueline Hollows MSc is the common theme was ‘finding peace tiny slits of the barred window on within our own minds. beautiful home in a beautiful area, founder of Beyond Recovery - For of mind’. It’s what we all want isn’t the other. I could hear the cooing of a great social life and a wonderful more information or how to get a it? No matter how we try to get it. No the pigeons and feel the soft wel- Now I don’t mean the paper that you wife, soon to be starting a family. He Beyond Pack ask a friend or matter what life has thrown at us. No come breeze squeezing its way are looking at right now doesn’t exist couldn’t fathom why, with all his relative to contact info@be- matter what we’ve done. It seems to through the tiny slat of the open (well we could have a conversation success and achievements, he didn’t yond-recovery.co.uk
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exhibited or published that Tales of Wisdom you give permission for your first name to appear along- Paperchains side it. We will at this time also strug- Multi-virals gle to make sense of everything When the history of the 2020 lockdown Send entries to - and our lack of knowledge is written we want your voice to be Paperchains, PO Box 7482, will lead to frustration and Stourbridge DY8 9HH. confusion. In custody, access part of it - Paperchains will connect us to knowledge is limited and Only send copies. If the work Alan Smith Paperchains is open to all but even the library might be is accepted we will get in con- we are primarily focussed on closed temporarily. There is tact for the original if those with experience of no access to the internet and When the history of the 2020 necessary. prison, armed forces, or lockdown is written we want we may have to rely on what homelessness and their fam- your voice to be part of it - Pa- What you can expect we already know. There is a ilies. These are the voices we perchains will connect us. • Professional artists and saying by Nicholas Ling that feel are often less heard. writers will look at your work. is hundreds of years old; The idea is a simple one. We form a chain of words, poetry, • There will be a Bronze/Sil-
© Deposit Photos For each category there will art and lyrics that binds us all ‘Ignorance is voluntary be Bronze/Silver/Gold ver/Gold certificate for each together. A chain that will Sid Arter The speaker suggested we all awards. Those who are se- category. misfortune’ survive beyond this turbulent are affected by three viruses: lected to be a part of the exhi- • All entrants included in the time and stand as a testament greed, ignorance and anger! bition will receive a exhibition will be sent the Of course, this ignorance in- of who we were during it. A multitude We all go through life full of commemorative Paperchains limited edition Paperchains cludes ignorance that greed is What we were thinking, feel- desires and demands; we all wristband. Entry deadline: 5 wristband. at the root of much of our dif- ing, striving and surviving of viruses want many things we do not July 2020 (the date NHS was ficulties; and that we all need for. When we remember the have and indeed want to be established in 1948). to explore and let go of our 2020 lockdown, we want all We live in very unusual times; rid of some of the things we personal viruses to be well. voices to be heard. a once in our lifetime event, do have. We are all unhappy Entry requirements let’s hope! The world’s popu- 1. Participant must be 16+; because we want, want and Paperchains will be created lation has previously been hit That said our third virus, want even more. Being in cus- from your responses to the 2. One entry per participant; anger, might also be standing by diseases such as plague and tody brings even very simple lockdown, be it a journal entry, 3. No direct copes of existing art; flu that killed many people ‘wants’ to the surface to eat in the way of our wellbeing. short story, a poem, a drawing, 5. Copyright remains with art- and before we see the end of We may be angry with so many away at us, such as: wanting sketch or painting. Send it to ist but Paperchains can pub- this coronavirus many thou- people: prison staff, the po- Paperchains logo: Alan Birch a better mattress, better food, us and it will become part of lish in book/exhibition; sands of people are likely to more time out of the cell, more lice, the judge, solicitors and an exhibition that shows some 6. Deadline 5 July 2020; die. This virus kills indiscrim- phone credit - the list is end- barrister, friends, god, cell- measure of what we were feel- Alan Smith is an author inately; although it seems the less. And at this time of isola- mates, family and even our- ing and thinking during this 7. Title of entry/category; working in prison libraries elderly and the chronically tion, because of this corona- selves! But do remember no most peculiar time. 8. Confirm if your entry is across Staffordshire sick are at greater risk. virus we might want even one can make you angry - you Tragically, frontline health- more as the library might be choose to be angry at what care staff have died and whilst shut, there are no gym ses- they say or do - but no one can it does seem men and people sions and no family visits, no make you angry! Offi cially from Black and Ethnic collective worship and limited the LARGEST phone credit - making family Minorities are at greater risk, So, as well as worrying about Prison Law contact difficult. Many pris- anyone may catch the virus the coronavirus that is ram- Practice in oners and prison staff will lose and die. It also seems true that paging the world, we all have the Country loved ones and be unable to The National Prison Law Specialists many people will catch the support or help their family these three personal viruses virus and not be affected at all and friends at a most difficult to address and the coronavi- Trusted by more prisoners in England and by it - but so far nothing is cer- time - which again increases rus might create additional Wales than any other Solicitors. tain and at the time of writing our desires. Greed is not the time and space to start looking no treatment or inoculation With Experts across the Country, same as need and wishes; at the other three! So, let’s try has been developed to prevent which might include needing and see the current situation we can represent you in ANY PRISON. it affecting people. Not wish- a shower, needing to feel safe, of increased lockdown and ing to make light of this terrible wishing others and ourselves restrictions as an opportunity Write to us today for FREE Expert virus, I would like to reflect to stay well. But much of our to explore and address our advice at the following address: upon a comment I heard this lives and to an extent the world own viruses. week on the radio. The speaker we live in is overwhelmed by FREEPOST RTAB-BATB-HGAU suggested this lockdown gives greed - ‘what do we want - Carringtons Solicitors, us a chance to look at our own Sid Arter is a teacher and more; and when do we want Nottingham NG2 2JR viruses! it - now!’ entertainer www.carringtons-solicitors.co.uk Members of the Association of Prison Lawyers and Howard League for Penal Reform GRAHAM & CO Forensic Accountants with over Our team of more than 40 Experts are here to help CRIMINAL SOLICITORS 20 Years Experience PRISON LAW you, with a wealth of experience specialising in all Adjudications • Proceeds of Crime & Confiscation Home Detention Curfew • Money Laundering areas of Prison and Criminal Law Oral Hearings • Tax Investigations CRIMINAL DEFENCE Recall • Fees with Legal Aid Funding • Parole Board Reviews & Hearings • Recall to Prison Confiscation • Ex-Serious Fraud Office Forensic Accountant Crown Court Representation “The case settled very favourably thanks in large • Independent Adjudications • Category A Review measure to your report. 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of each member of staff, none This will be- HMPPS Ecology team for their of this would have been pos- on-going support and guid- sible. Hopefully this shows come a learning ance. Teamwork!” other prisons around the experience in country what is possible One of the prisoners who within prison walls. preparation for work in the gardens and are release regarding looking forward to the arrival Prisoners who have been in- of the hedgehogs, Rob, said: volved with the project say it how to properly “I am an animal lover and I has been a fulfilling experi- care for animals. have never previously had the ence and given them a new opportunity to care for ani- outlook on life. One said: “It mals, so I jumped at the gives me a sense of purpose, their concern, but the rescue chance to look after disabled knowing they rely on me ladies smiled and said: and abandoned hedgehogs. whilst they are here.” Another “Hedgehogs can swim”. Well, said: “On release I will en- who knew? So the team built “This will become a learning deavour to keep up with the little ramps around the pond work and help out in wildlife experience in preparation for edge to allow the animals to wherever I can.” release regarding how to get out of the water easily. properly care for animals. My They are also going to build HMP The Verne garden at home is large and I the hedgehogs their own would love to turn part of it Helping hogs A winter project in 2018 found shallower pond to drink from. into a safe haven for animals Credit: HMP Doncaster staff and prisoners at HMP The Verne recovering an old and insects of all types.” The Verne’s wood-mill de- forward to over-winter more wildlife pond, overgrown partment kindly produced hedgehogs in their own with reeds. Having cleaned it HMP Dovegate two hedgehog houses that homes. out, and discovering that Another prison that has cre- Hog Havens! have now been put into posi- wildlife had started to return, ated a wildlife haven within tion, at a sheltered south-fac- They are a much-loved part of Britain’s native In 2019, further hedgehogs the ground maintenance its grounds to encourage ing spot. wildlife, but their numbers have slumped over were sent in to the prison pro- manager realised that she had hedgehogs is Dovegate, in ject as a pre-release area. a team of workers that were Staffordshire. The sanctuary, recent decades. Now hedgehogs are being Due to the current COVID-19 They were cared for by the keen to learn more about the dubbed “HMP Hog Gate”, was restrictions the project has given a helping hand by prisoners, with pro- prisoners, who were by now natural world. This is when home to 12 animals - but it also allowed to treat minor The Verne’s biodiversity ad- been put on hold. However, jects which take in injured and orphaned ani- this delay has allowed the made national news in recent health problems that needed venture began! weeks when it was reported mals and care for them until some can be attention though the applica- that all its residents had es- tion of antiseptic spray, band- released back into the wild. In the first of a se- caped. The jail’s Independent ages or oral medicine as ries of articles for Inside Time, Bea Finch of Monitoring Board noted in its required. A new wild meadow the Ministry of Justice Ecology team looks in area was created, that in- annual report that the crea- detail at some of the schemes cluded shallow ponds for the tures were missing, and hedgehogs to drink from. claimed that the prisoners Inside Time report who had been caring for them Since its launch the project were dismayed. has looked after almost 100 HMP Doncaster through the cold months. animals, and each has been Wanted - a The project at Doncaster runs given a name. Some were group of prison in partnership with the Hog- Each year, hedgehogs are called after prison staff. A warts Hedgehog Hospital in finding it harder to naturally three-legged specimen was inmates with long Barnsley. It provides a perma- forage for food. They struggle dubbed Tripod. The only ones noses and spiky nent home for disabled with things like garden fences not named by the prisoners hedgehogs in a near-natural and new roads, making their were those already named by hair who complet- habitat, breeds hedgehogs, range smaller and reducing staff at Hogwarts - including ed a daring and nurtures orphaned their food intake. Many do not Huff, Puff and Hermione. “Much more to gardening than cutting grass” hedgehogs until they are big make it to the correct weight Credit: HMP Doncaster jailbreak. and strong enough to be re- ready for hibernation and The winter hedgehogs are leased back into the wild. need looking after over the now waking up ready to be In 2019, the prison entered the team more time to create a The story provided amuse- winter. returned to the wild. Unfortu- HM Prison & Probation Ser- fantastic home for the new ment for journalists. A report It started in 2017 when the nately, due to COVID-19, strict vice Wildlife Awards and arrivals when they eventually in The Times said: “Wanted - prison’s horticulture co-ordi- rules have had to be followed came runners up in our cate- On release I come. The rescue ladies will a group of prison inmates nator, Tony Johnson, had the and the prison will continue gory for closed and high secu- will endeavour to return and give a hedgehog with long noses and spiky idea to turn a green space within to house a small number of rity prisons. It was at the biodiversity talk to the whole the prison into an enclosed hedgehogs until further no- award ceremony that the hair who completed a daring keep up with the gardens group, as well as jailbreak”. The Sun reported area for hedgehogs. He ap- tice. This is simply to reduce ground maintenance man- more detailed tuition to three that the hedgehogs had “leg- proached Janet Mason at Hog- work and help out contact between people; ager was approached by Janet of the hedgehog volunteers. ged it” and were now “on the warts to see if they could work hedgehogs are not known to Mason from the Doncaster As an added bonus, everyone in wildlife wherever run”. together to create suitable transmit the virus. hedgehog project. It seemed will receive a certificate. habitat within the prison walls. I can. that The Verne, in Dorset, However, the story is not as it Over two years the team at could be a perfect place for a The ground maintenance The first of the animals to be In the summer of 2018, the first appears. Unlike the pro- Doncaster has won five hedgehog rescue site, as the manager said: “Something I released into the area were prison project started breed- jects at Doncaster and The awards for the project. The creatures would be safe from have come to realise is that three disabled males which ing hedgehogs so prisoners wood workshop in the prison predators such as foxes and there is much more to garden- Verne, which provide secure had been found and brought could experience the full life has chipped in, collaborating badgers. It was agreed that ing than just cutting grass. enclosures for injured hedge- into the sanctuary by mem- cycle. Females have around with the rescue centre to the team would be able to re- My team are very keen to hogs, the nature area at Dove- bers of the public. They could four to five young in one litter, make bug hotels, bird tables ceive disabled hedgehogs learn and work alongside na- gate has small gates in its not be released back into the and these were successfully and bird boxes for sale to form a local sanctuary, Hay- ture. I couldn’t have achieved surrounding fence to let ani- wild due to their injuries. reared inside the prison. The prison staff in order to raise ley’s Hedgehog Rescue, and so much without them - it’s mals pass in and out. Ian Tay- juveniles were looked after extra funds. No money has safely release them into a them and their enthusiasm lor, Industries Manager at Later that year, the prison until they reached an ideal been needed from the prison semi-wild environment. that make this project and Dovegate, explains that this started an over-wintering pro- size and were then fully re- or government to pay for the many other projects a huge is to allow hedgehogs living gramme where it would house leased into the wild. project. One potential problem arose: wild in the prison grounds to hedgehogs that were too the enclosed area set aside for success. come and go as they please … small to hibernate success- Over the winter of 2018, Without the full support of the hedgehogs had a large so no “escaping” here! fully and look after them prison staff put themselves the prison and the dedication duck pond in it. Staff raised “A massive thanks to the 28 Comment www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
he’d said, patting her stomach. ‘A - and maybe a few holes of golf be- baby does terrible things to a wom- fore dinner. His new phone had a an’s body, and you’ve got a great really good sat nav. He would fix it Keep on reading on… body. Why spoil that?’ Yes, why spoil to the car windscreen and they things? wouldn’t get lost. He loved his new Reading Ahead still available with an intro to Quick Reads phone. ‘Great camera, great video,’ She walks out of the bedroom. She he had told Liz; ‘Even in low light.’ knows she has kept him waiting too And yes, he had packed a small tri- Louisa Steel dimly lit hallway she closes her eyes to the kitchen. Everything is neat and long, but so what? The holiday had pod in his overnight bag. She had for a moment and takes a few deep tidy. Craig doesn’t like mess, except been his idea - a hotel on the south seen that, too. Easy to set the phone breaths. Her heart is pounding. She in his office. The office is always kept coast, famous for its food. There was up on a bedside table and press re- Have you picked up a book re- doesn’t need the toilet. What she locked when he’s not at home. ‘The a spa and, yes, a golf course. His set cord. ‘It’s going to be good,’ he had cently? Access to the library needs is a minute, or maybe two, and filing cabinet,’ he told Liz, ‘contains of clubs took up most of the space in said. ‘Better than good - I promise.’ may not be possible at the cur- if she keeps Craig waiting, so what? information about my clients. It the boot. ‘I need to do something rent time but hopefully you can She needs this time and this space. needs to be kept safe.’ She under- while you’re getting a massage,’ he Walking towards the car, she sees still get hold of some books and ‘Me time’, she says to herself, quietly. stood, but she knew that wasn’t the had said. ‘Just pack a small bag.’ She the outline of his head and shoul- magazines. The Reading Agency whole reason the room was kept had done as she was told. It was eas- ders through the passenger side continues to work hard to make The holiday had been Craig’s idea of locked. There was porn on his com- ier that way. Several years back he window. ‘Sorry,’ she says, opening sure everyone has access to the course. If she had suggested a holi- puter - she knew there was. He wore had convinced her to quit her office the driver’s side door and getting in. proven power of reading. If your day, he would have made his usual headphones, but she could still hear job. He was making enough money, His seat belt is already fastened. His library is involved in the Read- complaints: ‘I’m too busy with some of the sounds. And in bed, he she didn’t need to work. ‘Easy Street,’ head has flopped forwards a bit, but ing Agency’s challenge, Read- work’… ‘It’s just money down the had tried to get her to do things he he called it. He wanted her to live her that’s okay. It makes him look like ing Ahead and you’ve been drain’… ‘I’ll miss my golf day with must have seen in those films. Things whole life on Easy Street. But most of he’s sleeping. One push at the top of taking part, this is the perfect the lads’. The lads were all in their she wouldn’t do. time to complete your reading thirties and forties. The lads spent her female neighbours went out to the stairs was all it took. She reaches diary. The challenge has been more time in the clubhouse than work, just as their husbands did. into her jacket pocket and pulls out extended into the autumn so they did on the golf course. The lads She looks around Easy Street became Silent Street, De- her own phone. It isn’t shiny and there’s plenty of time to finish were mostly accountants like Craig. the hallway one last serted Street, Dead Street. She would new but it’s good enough. The forest what you’ve started and get Wives were never included, though drive to the supermarket and back is halfway between their house and your certificate of completion. Liz was sure they were talked about. time. For a long time and never see anyone. The phone the hotel. She had looked at images Once, in bed, Craig had tried taking she’s been planning her never rang. She stopped inviting fe- of it on her computer. It was perfect. If you haven’t taken part now is photos of her on his phone. She male friends round for coffee - Craig ‘Now, what might I have forgotten?’ a good time to start; you just wouldn’t let him. ‘This is private,’ getaway. She can’t live didn’t like to come home and find she asks, turning towards Craig as other people there. ‘You’re the only if he might know the answer. She need to choose 6 reads - so it she told him. Very little was truly like this. She can hardly could be books, but also articles private these days. People posted one I want to see,’ he said, kissing the turns the key in the ignition. Her or poems, whatever appeals to their whole lives on the internet. The breathe. top of her head. eyes widen a little and she makes a you. Just make a note of what spare bedroom in the house had tutting sound. She gets out of the car Walking down the stairs she realises again and opens the garage. The you’ve read, and what you been turned into Craig’s office. She climbs the stairs and enters their she has never liked this house. It has spade is sitting there, shiny and thought of it, and when you next When she got up to use the loo in the bedroom. The bed has been made. no life, no character. The front gar- new. She had bought it from a gar- have the chance, let your library middle of the night, she often found There is no clutter. Nothing on his den is just a small piece of lawn with den centre a few days ago. She car- team know. They can give you a him there, sitting in the dark, his bedside table except the clock-radio a driveway and garage to one side. ries it to the boot of the car. But when reading diary to record your face lit by the glow of his computer and a lamp; her side there’s just an- The back garden is a larger lawn with she opens the boot, there isn’t really reads and your certificate when screen. He would say he couldn’t other lamp. They had moved into this a patio, table and chairs. Neither of space. And it can’t sit on the back you’ve completed the sleep. He was on Facebook, or Twit- house soon after the wedding. That them liked gardening. Once, Liz seat, people might see it. People challenge. ter, or e-mailing some client on the was nine years ago. She’d met him on bought a few large flowerpots and might wonder why it was there. So other side of the world. Liz worked a night out. One of her friends had tried planting seeds, but with no suc- she lifts Craig’s golf clubs and puts You may not have much choice out eventually that he was up to pointed towards the bar where a clus- cess. After a few months, Craig had them back in the garage, closing the of reading material at the mo- something. She confronted him - told ter of men stood. ‘He keeps staring at taken the flowerpots to the dump. door after her. She slides the spade ment, but if there are books him to tell her the truth. ‘I don’t you.’ ‘Which one?’ Liz had asked. Then he had poured water on the inside the boot and shuts it. ‘Per- available why not give one a go? know what you’re talking about,’ he ‘The good-looking one. If you’re not patio, so they would leave no trace. fect,’ she says to herself. She gets Even if you think reading isn’t had muttered. But she knew. interested, I am.’ They had laughed, ‘No trace,’ Liz says to herself as she back into the driver’s seat, closes the for you, you might be surprised! but then Liz had looked at Craig. He stands in the hallway, surrounded by door and buckles her seat belt. She’s It’s a great way to pass the time She looks around her now at the hall- had smiled back at her and made a Craig’s trophies and photos. ‘No not sure about Craig’s head, but and gives you something to talk way. Craig had let her choose the gesture to suggest he refill her glass. trace,’ she says again, her voice a when she tries lifting it, it flops for- to others about. If you’re a bit carpet. He wasn’t interested in car- She had shaken her head. Twenty whisper. She remembers him zipping ward again. She pushes it to one side unsure of getting into a book, pets. There was a trophy cabinet. It minutes later, it was her turn to get up his overnight bag. He gave it a pat so it is resting against the passen- then ‘Quick Reads’ are the per- faced the front door so that it was the the drinks, and she had stood next to and winked at her. ‘Little surprise for ger-side window. People sleep like fect solution. Your library will first thing visitors saw. The cups and him at the bar. ‘Hello,’ he’d said, you in here,’ he’d said. ‘Oh?’ He’d that on car journeys, don’t they? She have copies but we’ve also in- statuettes dated back as far as Craig’s holding out his hand. ‘I’m Craig.’ She chuckled and winked again. She grips the steering wheel with both cluded an extract from ‘A Fresh schooldays. He had been captain of put her hand in his. ‘Liz,’ she said. knew, though, because she had hands. Her lips are pressed together. Start’, a collection of short sto- the football team. At college he’d And they shook hands and laughed… looked while he was in the bathroom. Yes, she could have done a runner, ries by bestselling authors such played five-a-side. Since then, he’d Lacy black underwear and some but then she would have to keep run- as Mike Gayle, Mari Hannah mostly played golf. He blamed a Liz stands in the bedroom and looks leather straps, the kind that could tie ning forever. He would always be and Jojo Moyes. We hope you knee injury for the fact he had never at herself in the large mirror; the wrists to bedposts. There was a four- there, just out of sight, hunting her. enjoy this story by bestselling become a professional footballer. large mirror facing the bed. Craig had poster bed in their room at the hotel. This was easier. So Liz starts the car crime writer Ian Rankin. When Either side of the trophy cabinet were brought it home a year ago and fixed ‘You’ll feel like a queen,’ Craig had and begins her journey away from you have read it, write in to In- photographs of him collecting his it to the wall. It had been waiting for said. But she knew what he wanted, the house on Easy Street. side Time with your review! prizes or with his five-a-side team. A her when she got home from a trip to and it wasn’t a queen. few photos showed him in action, the supermarket. She had carried the thumping the ball or tackling an op- heavy bags from the car to the Easy Street She looks around the hallway one posing player or standing ready at kitchen. She had put everything by Ian Rankin last time. For a long time she’s been Louisa Steel is Head of Engagement the tee or preparing to putt. Any new away. She had tapped on Craig’s of- planning her getaway. She can’t live (adults) at The Reading Agency visitor to the house would be given fice door, but he wasn’t there. He was Liz locks the door of her house and like this. She can hardly breathe. She www.readingagency.org.uk a tour by Craig and he would list his lying on the bed. ‘Surprise !’ he said walks to the car, looking to left and places her hand to her chest, feeling successes, trying to sound casual as she walked in. The surprise was right. There is no sign of life. She her heartbeat. It feels slow and Ian Rankin is a number one bestseller about them. Liz remembered a party the large mirror. Looking at her re- opens the driver’s side door and gets steady, unlike earlier. Whether she in the UK. He has received four Crime where he had done this. It turned out flection now, she knows she looks in. Her husband Craig is in the pas- likes it or not, it’s time to go. She Writers’ Association Dagger Awards one of the guests had played profes- good for her age; not that thirty-four senger seat, waiting. She glances at closes the door behind her. The sun including the prestigious Diamond sional football - and had a lower is old, except that it is old if you’re him and smiles. ‘You’re right,’ she is just coming up. They have a long Dagger in 2005 and has received the handicap at golf than Craig. Liz had thinking of having a baby. Her says. ‘It’s a long drive. Better to be drive. Craig knew the best route, the OBE for services to literature. made the mistake of laughing. Later, friends had told her the clock was safe than sorry. I’ll only be a minute.’ places to stop for fuel and something Liz had paid for that mistake. ticking. Yes, but Craig had had the She gets out of the car again and to eat. Leaving at seven in the morn- This story was first published as part snip. He’d done it one day without walks back to the house, unlocking ing meant they would arrive at the of the Quick Reads Collection, A Fresh Now she moves from the hallway telling her. ‘I was thinking of you,’ the door and stepping inside. In the into the living room, and from there hotel in time for an afternoon drink Start (Orion). Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Comment 29
No more anger Smile maker
A wise move
Out of the blues... Deep thinker Back on the straight and narrow All images Credit: HMP Altcourse Birds help ease mental health struggles at Altcourse of prisoners who have been the falconers who now have a activities involving animals those who sometimes strug- down. It has helped me un- selected for good behaviour. better understanding and re- as a way of facilitating pris- gle to cope. The birds of prey derstand other issues that Six of the men work as full- spect for ecology and nature. oner rehabilitation, they said, bring companionship and other lads have and made me Paul Sullivan time falconers and support The prison has seen a reduc- in their 2017/18 report, that light relief to those who need have empathy. I have some- other men struggling with tion in self-harm and in- “The birds of prey continue to it the most, whilst the men thing to be responsible for, for mental health issues. The creases in self-confidence be popular and prisoners gain who care for them have the first time in my life. They Since 2012, prisoners at Alt- birds are handled every day and respect. On selected fam- insight from caring for them”. learned new skills and devel- rely on me”. course, managed by G4S, and need to be cleaned, ily days, the visitors can also oped confidence.” have been caring for birds of health checked, fed and handle the birds and learn Dave McAlley, Prison Custody Earlier this year (Jan 2020), prey inside the prison walls. exercised. about falconry. Officer (PCO) and Local Infor- A prisoner who helps care for Altcourse’s birds of prey Most of the birds have been mation Manager at Altcourse, the birds said: “Working with found fame featuring on tele- donated by a Warring- Since the introduction of the The Independent Monitoring said: “The therapeutic activi- the birds has helped me deal vision in the BBC One docu- ton-based charity and they scheme, the prison has re- Board (IMB) has also praised ties offered at Altcourse pro- with my anger problems be- mentary series “Crime - Are are cared for by a small team ceived positive feedback from the prison’s therapeutic vide support and relief to cause the birds calm me We Tough Enough?”
W Dear God, I am like that lost son. I thought I would have a Lost? E better life if You were not a part of it. How wrong I was. I now realise I do need You. I am very sorry. Amen the words of a loving father... S ‘... But we had to celebrate and be Eventually, his thoughts turn to home. glad, because this brother of yours
Reluctantly (and ashamed), he decides to
STRUGGLES INNER was dead and is alive again; he was INNER return, just hoping that his father might STRUGGLES JOHN PHILLIPS Life is a mixture of happiness and pain; of laughter and tears; of celebration and grief; of soaring and crawling. lost and is found.’ For some, life brings more joy than sorrow; for others, life is hard with only rare moments of real joy. For us all there are times when we struggle. INNER show mercy. All he wants is to be hired This book uses verses from the Bible as a means of offering hope and comfort to those who recognise their Luke 15:32 Inner Struggles uses verses needfrom of God’s help in their struggles. the STRUGGLES
Following an insurance career in the City of London, as a servant. John Phillips is now actively engaged in Christian ministry in Banstead, Surrey. He is a Director of
Bible to offer hope and comfortBeaconLight Trust. to JOHN PHILLIPS JOHN This verse comes at the end of the He need not have feared. His father is those who want God to help them in parable which Jesus told of The Prodigal so thrilled when he sees his son in the their struggles. (or Lost) Son. In the story, the younger of distance that he runs to meet him and two sons asks his father for his share of embraces him. The father then lays on the inheritance and then leaves home. a feast to celebrate the lost son’s return. Time With God is our new book of devotionals using Bible verses to The inheritance is soon squandered. That is a wonderful picture of God, our encourage (and challenge) Christians. Without any friends and barely able to Heavenly Father, who longs to welcome get enough food to survive, he is lost to back all who recognise that they are lost. Both books should be available from your chaplain. know what to do. Are you?
If you would like to know how you can enjoy a personal relationship with God, please write to us: BeaconLight Trust, PO Box 91, Banstead, Surrey, SM7 9BA 30 Comment www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
prisoner, but it was not un- common for 10 or more sus- pects to be thrown in the back and conveyed to the lock-up.
In the late 19th century, the train was the main transport hub and prisoners who had to be taken long distances were conveyed by train. Sometimes the prisoners, if there was more than one, would be locked into a reinforced space at the back of the train, guarded by officers of the Cons in transit Prison Service. If it was one prisoner, then he would be to transport high-risk prison- vehicles, 14 cells on wheels manacled and escorted by at ers. Sometimes these are es- which convey most people least two officials. Think of corted by police cars and into incarceration. These the first episode of BBC prison motorcycle outriders, and days the journey via a sweat- Queuing for a cubicle
© Andy Aitchison/Library image sitcom ‘Porridge’, where the even a police helicopter, de- box involves being given a prisoner Fletcher is trans- pending on the security cate- packed lunch of a sandwich, ferred to a prison ‘up North’ gory of the prisoner. The a bag of crisps and a bottle of All aboard the magic bus by train accompanied by of- journey in the standard water. But, other than that, it ficers McKay and sweatbox allowed no mercy will still be an uncomfortable Barraclough. or any sort of rights to the journey into the unknown for Journey through the prisoner transport archives prisoner - you got nothing to first-timers. By the 1960s, prison trans- eat or drink, sometimes port had become standard- spending as long as 8 hours Serco escort an average of ised. Juvenile prisoners were in the cells with no sanitation 24,000 prisoners per month, taken to prison via car, es- except a hole in the floor of using a fleet of 200 specialist Noel Smith corted by prison officers, or in the cell. cellular and multi-purpose converted Ford Transit vans vehicles. They have a work- Anyone who is reading this in with bars on the windows. For Until prison transport was force of 1,200 staff at 76 loca- prison, and possibly some of those over 18 it was the now privatised in the early 2000s, tions. They serve 24 Crown you reading this on the out, ubiquitous ‘sweatbox’. The most prisons had an account Courts, 43 Magistrates Courts, will have had the dubious Mountbatten Report into with local mini-cab firms 24 prisons and 131 police pleasure of spending time in prison security in 1966 was which they would use to ferry stations. a prison transport vehicle. responsible for the security prisoners to outside hospital The usual vehicle that con- categorisation system in ex- appointments or for transfers GEOAmey have a fleet of 550 veys people to their place of istence today. Special ar- where it wasn’t practical to and are responsible for 11,500 incarceration is variably moured vans, like fortresses send a van. In the 21st century weekly prison movements. known as a ‘sweatbox’, ‘meat- on wheels, were built in order we have modern prison cities and towns were wagon’ or ‘the magic bus’. I’m through the streets, the Lurch guarded by ‘The Watchmen’, sure you will be able to recall (above) pulled by a horse or elderly citizens, sometimes just how uncomfortable the donkey, as the public jeered old and disabled, whose job it cold interior and moulded or threw rotten fruit, stones or was to raise the alarm if dan- plastic seat was, especially on anything that came to hand. ger appeared. On the whole long journeys. Or how baking Imagine being picked up from they made very few arrests. hot those tiny interior cells your local or Crown Court The Bow Street Runners, the get in the summer, hence the after being remanded or sen- origin of the modern police nickname ‘sweatbox’. But, tenced to prison and having force, was the first to make a even this discomfort pales in to face a baying mob with ‘pinch’ when they actually comparison to the way pris- waiting missiles in hand. The laid hands on suspected crim- oners were transported in phrase - ‘to be left in the inals, they would pinch the days gone by. Lurch’ comes from these days, when a Lurch driver collar of the suspect and march them to a cell or lockup. In the days when we still had could be bribed with a couple ‘Having your collar felt’ is not only the death penalty in of pennies so he would leave criminal slang for being ar- this country, but also public the Lurch parked up when rested from this time. The executions, the means of con- there was a particularly nasty Bow Street constables had a veying prisoners either to character who had raised the horse section, but the main prison or the gallows was a ire of the public on board. The way of transporting criminals large caged-in wagon known recalcitrant would be severely into custody was by foot. as a Lurch. The prisoner ill-used by the mob. would be locked into the cage In the Victorian era the Black and be paraded slowly Before the introduction of the Bow Street Runners, in 1749, Maria (left) was introduced. A cart with a caged back built specially to transport prison- ers. In an age of anti-Irish sentiment, when the English classed all Irish people as common criminals, these ve- hicles soon became known as ‘Paddy Wagons’. Unlike the Lurch, this new prisoner transport had an enclosed back so that the passers-by could not see the suspect once he was placed into the enclosed cage. These vehi- cles, much like prison cells, Maria no carey were built to carry one Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Comment 31
34% of police officers support routine arming, shootings. Police should be held to account, with Dr John Fox, a Senior Lecturer in Police Dr Cassan concludes, and their status should Studies, taking the view that the police don’t not impact any assessment of culpability actually want to be armed. But interestingly, only 9% of Metropolitan Police officers surveyed There are probably more armed officers than say they would not carry a firearm under any the majority of people might think, particularly circumstances. Dr Fox expressed displeasure in a non-uniformed capacity, advised Mike about police forces, such as Northamptonshire Nash, Emeritus Professor at Portsmouth Police, choosing to arm every officer with a University. It is the case that an armed response taser, as there is a danger they will become can be quickly summoned if a situation warrants ‘paramilitary’ in their appearance and the con- it, but the use of firearms is currently covered cept of policing by consent could be eroded by strict rules and requires the authorisation because officers seem unapproachable. The of senior officers. Police do have the equipment, officers may even be warier of being approached such as gas sprays and the extending baton, to when they know they have a serious weapon defend themselves and disable offenders if in their belt which could be grabbed. Anything necessary. Whenever a death occurs at the that reduces trust and friendly contact between hands of the police, it must be fully investigated the police and public is a negative thing, Dr independently. But, Prof. Nash added, if a duly Fox added. authorised officer were to kill a citizen in the course of their duty, in an unavoidable and We spoke with a former police chief superin- life-threatening situation, a prosecution would Immune or not immune? That is the question tendent - a firearms commander with 30 years’ not be just. © Deposit Photos experience. This former officer, who wishes to remain anonymous, takes a clear view that It is the case that an police should not be routinely armed. He be- Arming England’s Police lieves it would reduce the reliance on commu- armed response can be quickly nication during an incident, with the current summoned if a situation war- approach of negotiation and reasoning being dynamic between the public and police. Public sufficient to de-escalate a situation. Arming rants it, but the use of firearms confidence and trust in policing is a key issue, police officers would put additional firearms Elliot Tyler as legitimacy is essential. Additionally, while is currently covered by strict on the street and may create a blasé process of and Molly Mitchell arming officers might mitigate the challenges decision making. As for prosecutions of police rules and requires the authori- posed by terrorism and continuing reports of firearms officers, the former officer argues that serious knife crime, it may also exacerbate ex- sation of senior officers. prosecutions should only occur when there is Policing by consent, which is one of the nine isting inequalities in the criminal justice system evidence of negligence, such as drinking while core principles in Sir Robert Peel’s Metropolitan and increase the risk of further minorities’ on active duty. In the event of prosecution, it At the time of writing, a date had just been set Police Act 1829, means the police’s ability to deaths. perform their duties is dependent on public must be remembered that evidence such as for the trial of a West Mercia police officer ac- approval of police actions. However, in recent If the firearms officers video footage does not always provide context cused of murdering Dalian Atkinson, a former years there has been massive anger towards for the officers’ actions at that time. However, international footballer. Atkinson died at his the police when unarmed civilians have been believe there to be a genuine he was clear that if the firearms officers believe father’s home after two constables had used a shot and killed, sparking inquests, protests and threat to life present, they there to be a genuine threat to life present, they stun gun and other force on him. Dr Fox high- even violent riots. Failures to hold proper in- should be immune from prosecution regardless lighted this case as a rare example of when quiries into police shootings are ‘a threat to should be immune from pros- of whether the suspect was armed or only ap- prosecutions do take place. This case has reig- democracy’, the Office for Police Conduct has ecution regardless of whether peared to be armed. nited the debate as to whether police officers said. In this article we seek to address and an- should be immune from prosecution after taking swer, with the help of expert academics, two the suspect was armed or only In a number of European jurisdictions, the po- the life of a suspect, with internet forums filled key and controversial questions: should police appeared to be armed. lice are routinely armed. We conducted an in- with contrasting opinions. The experts we con- be routinely armed, and should police who kill terview with Dr Damien Cassan, a Senior sulted generally took the view that police should be immune from prosecution? Lecturer in Police Leadership, who compared not be routinely armed, but there were varying Dr Sarah Charman, the editor of the respected police forces in France and England for his PhD viewpoints when it came to the topic of tasers We presented these questions to Professor Mark International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, at the Université de Lille. In France, the national and other supposedly non-lethal weapons. As Button, Director of the Centre for Counter Fraud shared some thoughts with us on the matter. police, whose methods and occupational cul- for prosecutions of police officers, the experts Studies at Portsmouth University, who is against Crimes involving firearms are thankfully ex- ture are more ‘military’, are accountable to the believed there should be evidence of wrongdo- the arming of police officers. He takes this stance tremely low in England, and careful thought central government, Dr Cassan advised, where- ing before court proceedings are even consid- because, in his view, criminals would be more must be given to the implications of moving as in England the police are, to a larger extent, ered. But it was stressed, in particular by Dr determined to use firearms knowing they would from a model of compliance to a model of co- accountable to the public, in the precious prin- Mohammed Ibrahim Shire, that the police are be up against armed police officers. He added ercion, and with that the potential decline in ciple called ‘policing by consent’. This is high- not above the law. that the risk of unnecessary deaths through legitimacy and confidence essential to the suc- lighted by the presence of visible identification police shooting incidents would be increased. cess of policing operations around the world. numbers on the uniform of every English police The author and academic Dr Mohammed Generally, police officers do not join the service officer, allowing citizens to complain about an Elliot Tyler and Molly Mitchell are undergrad- Ibrahim Shire thinks that arming every police to carry firearms, Dr Charman suggested. The officer’s conduct. One key parallel is that police uate students at Portsmouth University, officer could lead to a change in the power latest Police Federation survey shows that only in both countries are rarely prosecuted for fatal Hampshire.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Pickup & Scott cover the majority of POLISH SPEAKING AA HELP LINE prisons in the South East including but not limited to: HMP Bullingdon, MASZ PROBLEM Z HMYOI Aylesbury, HMP Woodhill, PICIEM? HMP The Mount, HMP Bedford, ANONIMOWI ALKOHOLICY HMP Grendon & Springhill MOGĄ CI POMÓC We are able to assist with all zadzwoń lub napisz aspects of prison law, including: Please contact 020 3916 00 97 The Prison Law Dept at: Poniedzialek - piątek: 19.00 - 21.00 • Parole Board Reviews Pickup & Scott Solicitors sobota i niedziela: 17.00 - 21.00 • Recall to Prison 6 Bourbon Street • Independent Adjudications Aylesbury e-mail: [email protected] http://aa-pik-wielkabrytania.org.pl/ • Sentence Calculation Bucks HP20 2RR 01296 397 794 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Members of the Association of Prison Lawyers POLISH SPEAKING AA HELP LINE 32 Comment www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
literate, opportunities are needed for improve- ment in qualifications and indeed skills. It is The Rebuilding of Reading Gaol not just book learning but trade learning. There are some great initiatives, but they are Time to focus government minds on the most appropriate prison environment all too often the exception, and rightly praised as such, and not the norm. Rehabilitation their cells considering their sins so they would should be the absolute priority as it is other not do it again. This, as anyone who knows countries that have actually cut reoffending anything realises, is the complete opposite of rates way below ours. Rehabilitation is a crime the truth. The time spent in a cell with nothing fighting measure, and it works. And scrap to do is spent resenting the world, the judge, short sentences which former prison minister the lawyers, even in your mind becoming the Rory Stewart said are long enough to harm but victim as your brain rebels against reality and too short to heal, and also scrap IPPs, illegal, you want someone to blame other than your- cruel, and no longer given so no one should self. Losing freedom and control of your day, still be inside on these. Injustice does not lead your movements, your self-respect, are the to cutting offending. It increases it. punishment. Being locked up is the punish- ment. And a harsh one. Look to the future The Victorian town centre prisons around the The public are safe from those people in country, cold and forbidding, are valuable prison, but they will come out one day and property. Money raised from selling these unless they have hope and positivity when could be used to build small, modern, spe- they get out then they will find themselves cially designed facilities accessible by trans- drawn back to whatever it was that took them port. All run by the Prison Service, no PFI or in. And for the appallingly high number of private contractors. All with dedicated, com- people inside with addictions, key to that is mitted staff with good conditions. All secure. healing those issues, fully and truly, and the Then the punishment will be the removal of current prisons are the worst place to do that. freedom, the public will be safe, and those Oscar wuz ‘ere Spice is cheap and rampant. There have to be inside will have an environment in which they specialist sections and specialist staff to do find hope, training and education. And leave with a future. Raymond Smith apparently refused to sell the entire site to the this. Not a tacked-on underfunded section. Plus, the mental health support in prisons is local authority who wanted to use the entire And it is not beyond the ability of highly paid building for this worthwhile cause. I then con- poor. A prison is self-evidently the worst place The moving Oscar Wilde poem the Ballad of in the world for someone with mental health architects to ensure these new buildings have sidered the purpose of prison, the future shape views so all prisoners can see the sky, and not Reading Gaol is appearing everywhere on so- of prisons, and the future of the number of issues. See the numbers self-harming, or sui- just through a little tent of blue but with a view cial media these days shared by those of us giant Victorian structures in which so many cides and attempted suicides. that reminds them of the world outside and who have friends or families in prison; worry- people are locked. ing how they are surviving through the current Finally, education. There are a shockingly high gives them the desire to get back out and stay out of prison and live. Coronavirus crisis. Every life lost, staff and Lose Victorian prisons number of people inside prison who cannot prisoners, is a tragedy, every illness a struggle, Those in London and other cities are currently read or write. This is an indictment on society. but the co-operation between everyone in- impossible to keep clean or make decent, and Education is vital. And for those who are Raymond Smith is a former resident of HMPPS volved so far has kept the sad number down. cannot be significantly improved because they But the stress they are all suffering is beyond are, somewhat bizarrely, ‘Listed’. I remember our comprehension. that the only time they looked halfway decent was in the weeks prior to an ‘unexpected in- A cruel lockdown spection’ when they were whitewashed in The numbers are being controlled because of areas that the inspectors would be steered the 23 hour lockdown and the hard work of through. And think, if you were to design a 21st staff and prisoners alike and despite the Min- Century prison, would it be like this? Huge, National Prison Law Solicitors istry of Justice having reversed their plan to holding over 1,000 men though not designed grant the early release of 4,000 people who for that? Or would it, heaven forbid, be the www.instalaw.co.uk had been risk assessed. Plans had been made giant warehouse design the Government by the Probation Services, but it was scrapped floated, having clearly learnt nothing from the We have over 20 Prison Law Experts who can help you with: because to have let them out …’would cause disasters of tower block construction to ease the public to lose trust in the justice system’. housing shortages decades ago? Or would it be This was a very wrong decision. Now we learn small, purpose-built facilities, with proper • Parole Board oral hearings • Breach of Data Protection that these rigid restrictions may last for 12 sections for addiction cures, with proper edu- • Paper Parole Reviews • False Imprisonment months. A year with no or extremely limited cation facilities, and access to pay-phones at • Recalls • Independent Adjudications human contact with families. A year with min- fair prices in cells? But these current outdated imal classes or workshops. With virtually no structures are centrally placed, on land with • Judicial Review • Private cases (Transfer/HDC) exercise, no association. Cruel and harsh, and great potential for housing development and •- MandatoryPersonal LifersInjury/Workplace accidents + more for 12 months! The mental health impact is therefore valuable assets to be sold. terrifying. The problem is the Government have a mis- Call us today for free advice on: 01782 560 155 That is why the words Wilde wrote seem so taken belief about the purpose of prison. Of appropriate: course there are different tasks a prison sen- Nottingham office: Instalaw, 4th Floor Parliament House, tence serves. It punishes, it keeps the public I never saw a man who looked safe whilst people are inside and it should 42 - 46 Upper Parliament Street, Nottingham, NG1 2AG With such a wistful eye rehabilitate so that when people have served Upon that little tent of blue their sentence, they will take their place in Staffordshire office: Instalaw, 2nd Floor Copthall House, King Street, Which prisoners call the sky, society and not reoffend. Perhaps the prom- Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 1UE And at every drifting cloud that went ised Royal Commission could consider this With sails of silver by. very point when, if, they meet and when, if, they report, and when, if, recommendations Shortlisted for Law Firm of the Year by the Law Society And I know that so many in prison stare at are taken on board. Far too few recommenda- whatever view they have of the sky from their tions ever are. Winners of Client Care Initiative of the Year 2019 narrow window - longing to be outside and with loved ones, or even to see them again, Lose Victorian attitudes and now feel that loss more than ever. But I got The populist view is that prisons are too soft some comfort from the story featured in Inside and that is why people reoffend. Sadly, the Time that Reading Jail, now closed, may well Prime Minister expressed this type of view be converted in part into an Arts Centre, the when discussing early release schemes as he unimaginative Ministry of Justice having said he wanted people to spend more time in Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Comment 33 Film Review A journey through the therapy looking glass
We have small groups and community meetings; psychodrama and art therapy. Some have music therapy, education and countless annual events, much of which have been written about here. The people change, staff move on and the theory may evolve in how to help us but what does remain is an underlying sense of something special. Many who I have met at this Democratic Therapeutic Community Prison say something similar. Grendon gives you enough time to talk and listen, in order to eventually work through all of the troubles that brought us to prison in the first place. The people here believe, despite how horrendous our pasts may have been, that we can come to terms with our histories; that we can use this experience to change for the
employer’s semi-naked intox- © Fotolia.com better. icated upper-class white No Black Sheep Nathan Joshua There are of course many individual people and daughter. Although this film Finding a way to come together is the answer is based in the 21st century, it organisations that work tirelessly across the shows the sad truth that the country who have faith in the ability for us to change. These range from social enterprises, Elijah and Muzzaker the introduction of Bigger to damage inflicted from slavery Believing the dream in America still resurfaces educational initiatives, and even things as sim- his new employer’s family. ple as relapse prevention programmes. The today. Whereas once it would Societies that do not believe offenders can We see his difficult transition problem I see, having completed my time here, ‘Even if it wasn’t me, they have been the fear of losing change will ultimately get offenders who do to his new environment and is not those individual pockets of hope across would assume it was me, so I his negative preconceptions. his life, today it was the fear not believe they can change. Just think about the system, for they are true saviours, it’s the won’t make it me.’ Native Son, In Bigger’s reality, being poor of losing his job. that for a moment… whole bloody system. I could be accused of a thought-provoking film and black has always forced preaching to the converted, as we discuss these based on the novel from the him to conform or to please, ‘The Ending’ - sums up Big- If that is true; and I say it is - then we now have matters in Inside Time every month (weekly 1940s, illustrates the same in some strange way, the ger’s whole predicament in a a self-fulfilling prophecy, perpetuating the ever online), but surely it is now time to get the gov- realities and struggles of race ‘white employer.’ As the inter- heart-retching scene that was increasing misery in our prisons. And if that is ernment on board, somehow. and inequality for many Afri- view comes to an end he asks, sadly all too believable. Even the case then how on earth are more prison can-Americans in ‘white’ ‘One question, do you want in modern day society the places and longer prison sentences in our over- America today. me to cut my hair?’ This is an film reveals that Bigger would crowded underfunded prisons ever going to Quite frankly, deep down, example of how young black not have received a fair trial improve our society? The frustrating thing for I no longer care whether The character ‘Bigger’, is a males try to ‘fit in a box’ to based on his race and being me, and no doubt many I know, is that we al- young black male growing up live up to ‘white’ poor. Was this a continuation ready have a solution; I’ve just been through people believe I am capable in a poor neighbourhood who expectations. of a ‘slavery mindset?’ Or this therapeutic approach myself. within himself feels like a maybe it was a mindset based of change, as after some time ‘black sheep’ in his own com- on the injustices young black Grendon is a little known prison set in the spent here, belief somehow munity and somewhat es- Even if it men commonly experience Buckinghamshire countryside, opened in 1962 tranged. He’s an individual and witness. arises from within. wasn’t me, they as a social experiment. At that time, when the who went against the grain; buzzword for policy makers was ‘rehabilita- listens to rock and roll and would assume it To conclude, the mother (the tion’, it was created for those who were deemed We can change. Given the right group of people classical music. He’s an anar- was me, so I won’t employer’s wife) who was not unsuitable for sectioning under the Mental to encourage, not demoralise, and to empower, chist-type character, from his always blind but being so was Health Act, though still in need of psychological not oppress, people can reinvent themselves. attire to his physical appear- make it me. a subtle but touching message intervention. Most said it wouldn’t work; but Build more Grendons. Offer people some toler- ance, and throughout the to the viewer. Her character all of the statistics collected over a 58 year period ance and patience to adjust to this radically movie at times is proud and ‘The Accident’ - this is the tells us that in a racially di- now prove Grendon does work - fact! different way of doing time, and we will see independent from the ‘crowd.’ tragic scene that depicts the vided America, we should not some of the most troubled and difficult members deep-rooted fear and pres- judge purely on what we see Dating back to the 90’s, all I ever heard on my of society reform their lives. I believe the dream Three scenes that best sum- sures placed on Afri- but instead find a way to unite tour of the prison estate about Grendon came simply because if it can work for this washed-up marise the movie are, ‘The can-Americans by ‘white’ to create the opportunity to from those who didn’t last. And in the three old fool, then it can work for anybody - given Interview,’ ‘The Accident’ and America. In this scene, Bigger come together. years I have been here, I have come to experi- the chance. ‘The Ending,’ which illustrate accidentally smothers his em- ence most of the reasons why people struggle this tragic story and the be- ployer’s daughter in a reac- to adjust to a completely different prison to any Quite frankly, deep down, I no longer care ginning and end of Bigger. tion of misguided fear of Elijah and Muzzaker are I’ve been used to. Yet I did always wonder how whether people believe I am capable of change, himself being black with his residents of HMP Grendon honest peoples’ justifications for leaving were? as after some time spent here, belief somehow ‘The Interview’ - this scene is In truth, change is the hardest of things, and arises from within. However, it took a process the courage that honest change requires seems of people believing in me enough for that change too much to muster for most that leave. to occur. If offenders are released with a sense of inclusion and purpose rather than stigma Miscarriage of Justice? When I walk around the place on my daily and shame, then surely (is it not obvious?) they travels, granted there are signs of a bygone era. are more likely to be successful law-abiding CRIMINAL DEFENCE SPECIALISTS ASHLEY SMITH & CO There was a time when there were football, citizens. To continue to stigmatize and exclude Our experienced and dedicated team undertake rugby, hockey, snooker, boxing and countless just perpetuates the cycle. Unfortunately, in- Acting on behalf of other sporting teams and events. On display in stead of this being an assumption it’s now be- Appeals and CCRC a cabinet by the Gym are some of the trophies come my hard-earned experience. So when Parole Board Representation privately funded and which date back to the seventies. It is clear that faced with the choice of how to treat offenders, this was a place where a radically different All Prison Law Matters legally aided clients it’s a no-brainer to me. Belief, according to the approach to prison was being trialled; and dictionary, means accepting something as truth thankfully, albeit in a differing capacity, still IN ALL PRIVATELY FUNDED MATTERS WE WILL QUOTE FOR YOU without any visible proof. What more evidence succeeds today. I often hear people say Grendon A REASONABLE FIXED FEE- STAGED WHERE APPROPRIATE do we need of the possibility to instigate change; is not the place it used to be, and for the trophy thereby reducing crime and essentially future Please write or call cabinet alone I understand this sentiment. But victims, than that which you’ve just read? Ashley Smith & Co Limited, 0208 609 6711 / 6710 I do see it changing with the times, and I feel optimistic for the ways in which it is moving. Romer House 132 Lewisham High St, 24hr emergency The structure of the therapy programme re- London SE13 6EE 07889 428132 mains similar to the early days, and ultimately Nathan Joshua, a nom de plume, is a resident that is what is important. of HMP Grendon
Miscarriage of Justice? ASHLEY SMITH & CO CRIMINAL DEFENCE SPECIALISTS Our experienced and dedicated team undertake Appeals and CCRC Parole Board Representation All Prison Law Matters Acting on behalf of privately funded and legally aided clients IN ALL PRIVATELY FUNDED MATTERS WE WILL QUOTE FOR YOU A REASON- ABLE FIXED FEE - STAGED WHERE APPROPRIATE Please write Ashley Smith & Co Limited, Romer House 132 Lewisham High St, London SE13 6EE or call 0208 609 6711 / 6710 24hr emergency 07889 428132 34 Comment www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020 Book Review ‘Can I have a Word Boss? managing their underperformance. It’s not about putting on a show and saying what is expected of you. As Phil states in Chapter 7: Faith Spear “The Governor rang me at home one day whilst I was on a rest day. There had been a serious The most overused cliché must be … ‘Don’t incident on D wing earlier in which the duty judge a book by its cover’. But I’m sure we do. governor and a PO had been threatened with It’s like saying don’t judge a person by the first scissors before much of the wing had been de- time you meet them. But I’m sure we do that stroyed by rioting inmates. Someone with expe- More than cake and jam too. It is often based on lack of knowledge - rience would be required to take over © Bronzfield WI understanding of the context of the book or immediately to regain order and he felt I best attitudes, thinking and be- the person. Should we give a book a chance? fitted the bill… Clearly, I’d ‘talked the talk’ whilst haviour.” The benefit of WI Should we give a person a chance? chairing the working party, it was now time to membership also extends to show I could ‘walk the walk’.” Busy bees when women exit prison; With a book we can read reviews, read the back with many being welcomed cover or inside the sleeve to gain a glimpse of ‘Can I have a The Women’s Institute still into their local WI’s. what’s inside. With people, we can ask others Word Boss? or read social media. We listen to conversa- inspiring women inside and out As well as the Bronzefield tions, hear snippets and then make up our own Forty Years in Bees there are the Downview mind as to whether we will give them a chance; Her Majesty’s In 2008 this was the case with Dames (HMP Downview), rightly or wrongly. Prison Service’ ‘The Care not Custody resolu- Time for cake (HMP Drake by Phil O’Brien tion,’ when WI members cam- Hall), Ladies at the Manor I love books, always have done. Started read- / Publisher: Fiona Mills paigned for people with (HMP East Sutton Park), But- ing at an early age, I even remember the read- lulu.com / mental health problems to get terflies WI (HMP Eastwood ing charts at school. Books are expressions of ISBN: 978- the right care in more appro- Park), Send Inspired WI (HMP Prisons may be in lockdown priate and secure residential the author helped along by an editor. Impor- 0244108717 / Send) with the newest WI, but their prisoners have not environments than prison tant enough words to want to share with others. formed in February 2020, Price £12.99 been forgotten by the Wom- cells. The involvement of WI being Foston Foxes Empower en’s Institute, who have been members, of which there are I can’t bear it when I go into a library and Women WI (HMP Foston Phil O’Brien discusses the pros and cons of actively seeking to ensure approx. 200,000 in the UK, choose a book where the previous reader has Hall). There are plans to set underlined words, phrases or even para- public and private sector prisons, the staff he that communication between has seen awareness of this up WI’s in the remaining five graphs. That has always been a ‘no no’, until has worked with over the years and the highs prisons and WIs is main- issue being raised and de- women’s prisons. Each prison I bought a book and did it myself. You see I and lows of moving up the ranks within the tained. The National Federa- bated. As part of that cam- WI is supported by a WI ad- don’t want the interpretations of others to be prison estate. But, importantly, he doesn’t for- tion of Women’s Institutes has paign, in June 2011 Inside viser from within the WI Fed- mine, I want mine to be mine. get the people under his care putting in clear launched an initiative by call- Time editor Erwin James gave structures to make sure each one was properly ing out to members to send a keynote speech to more eration they belong to and it I don’t know Phil O’Brien, the author of this assessed, including the Incentives scheme. messages of support to resi- than 4,000 women at the Fed- is this support and the sup- book, and have never met him. I have never Nevertheless, he is quite open when mistakes dents of women’s prisons, not eration of WI’s annual gen- port of the Prison Governor worked in the same capacity as him, but I have have been made. Look out for the little nuggets just those that have a WI in eral meeting at the Liverpool and staff and its members worked in the same prison environment. We of wisdom… them, but every women’s Echo Arena and his message that ensures the success of have briefly communicated on social media, prison in England. These was very well received. these WI’s. but that’s all. “There are no new ways to escape, they’re all messages are to be put in a variations of things that have been tried before pack that will also include As a result of this campaign, The WI is a diverse organisa- I decided instead of reading other opinions and our complacency helps facilitate them”. meditation and mindfulness and to help to try to improve tion that is member led, no (yes, book reviews can be useful), I decided to techniques and will be sent to the mental health of women two WI’s are the same, but the read it for myself. I won’t spoil it for the next But above all his passion and drive come prison staff to circulate. In prisoners, seven WI’s have overriding message of the WI reader, but I will give just a little insight into across in every chapter - sadly, this kind of addition, in true WI fashion, been set up in English pris- is inspiring women and the this book, written by a Governor with forty years’ experience is now fading as his calibre is being members have been sending ons. The first of these was in recognition that each member experience in Her Majesty’s Prison Service. replaced by those with little experience in the craft kits to be given to the HMP Bronzefield, which is is an inspiring woman. No women to complete whilst world, let alone within the justice arena. Is this within the Surrey Federation matter what their back- being confined to their cells. It becomes obvious from the start there are a good thing? Only time will tell. WI, and the ‘Bronzefield ground, age, race, social some key themes that emerge, such as secu- Bees’ have just celebrated standing - each woman has a But the role of the WI support- rity, order and control. This doesn’t just mean their tenth birthday. story to tell and is worthy of ing women who are interred only in terms of prisoners, but it includes man- being an inspiring woman Faith Spear FRSA is a writer and independent is not just restricted to this The WI in prisons is run in aging, training and retaining staff. There are and the same is true of those criminologist: www.faithspear.wordpress.com initiative during the current exactly the same way as any solutions given; from educating staff to who are presently in prison. crisis. The WI has been working other WI, with monthly meet- So, if you are a woman in hard for many years to im- ings including business, a prison, think about joining if prove the wellbeing and men- talk/craft demonstration/ tal health of those in prison. workshop with of course tea, you have a WI in your prison Jason Elliott Associates coffee and cake - no WI meet- and for those women who Specialists in Prison Law, Parole and Criminal Appeals It may be true that to most ing is complete without cake! have no WI, why not start people the perception of WI is The positive effects on those one? Male prisoners can en- Expert in release from custody all cakes and jam and Jerusa- women in prison who are courage their female relatives lem, or the nude ladies of the members is noticeable. “The and female friends to join Legal Aid available in suitable cases Calendar Girls, but this is so Women’s Institute presents their local WI’s - as your edi- far from the reality of the the opportunity to co-operate tor can testify, there is noth- modern WI member. The WI and work together. As a result ing more powerful than a - Please contact - was set up in 1925 in England of learning new skills, achiev- group of WI members cham- Jason Elliott Associates Limited to provide women with edu- ing something and being cre- pioning and supporting a cational opportunities, the ative,” says Surrey WI adviser cause and it’s not a good idea chance to build new skills Jill Elliott, who helped set up to disagree with them! 18 Albion House North Shields Tyne & Wear NE29 0DW and to campaign on issues Bronzefield Bees, “we are wit- 0191 447 4389 that matter to them and to nessing a reduction in self- their communities - this in- harm and rise of self-esteem. Fiona Mills is a member of [email protected] cludes those with prisons in The WI has also shown to Hatfield Broad Oak WI in their community. have a positive outcome on Federation of Essex Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Information 35
Gambling ads suspended DDN News Round-Up Inside Drink & Drugs News British betting firms will volun- tarily remove their TV and radio Drink and Drugs News (DDN) is the monthly magazine for those advertising during the working with drug and alcohol clients, including in prisons. In a lockdown, the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) has regular bi-monthly column, editor Claire Brown looks at what’s announced. Existing advertising been happening lately in the substance misuse field. slots will be replaced by ‘safer gambling messages’, donated buprenorphine), naloxone (to Just as for any patient needing to charity or removed, says the prevent overdose) and sterile healthcare, people using drug council - the industry body rep- Claire Brown needles. Local authorities and alcohol services have had resenting betting shops, casinos DDN Editor were instructed to find ac- to adapt to longer queues at and online gambling companies. commodation for rough sleep- the pharmacy, slower ser- ers, as they are unable to The changes came into force by vices and disruption in rou- © Deposit Photos The world has changed a lot self-isolate in hostels or carry tine as workers have struggled 7 May and stay in place until at Lockdown drinkers since I last wrote and like out the regular handwashing to adapt their frontline role least 5 June, and will only be Almost 20 per cent of daily drinkers are consuming more alcohol everyone, we’ve been react- that’s been key to halting the while juggling difficult situa- reviewed when lockdown during the coronavirus lockdown, according to research commis- ing and adapting to living spread of the virus. tions at home with families sioned by Alcohol Change UK. However, while more than a fifth restrictions are relaxed. alongside COVID-19. As com- and childcare. There’s been of drinkers overall are now drinking more often, one in three are munity lockdown approached, Many organisations have been lots of talk of ‘unprecedented either drinking less frequently or have stopped completely, with Cannabis access we realised we were going to forced to close their doors to times’ and ‘uncharted terri- the lockdown changing the way people drink ‘at both ends of the Import restrictions on canna- have to cancel our annual visitors, but there have been tory’ but for this sector the scale’. The survey, of more than 2,000 people, suggests that 14m bis-based products for conference, which brings peo- dynamic efforts to find other arrival of an urgent health ple who use drug and alcohol ways of working. Crucially, UK adults are either drinking less often or not at all, while just under medicinal use have been revised crisis has focused minds on 9m are drinking more frequently. Almost 40 per cent of current or services together from all services have been making action plans for physical and to ensure that people with con- over the country to a great big arrangements to make sure past drinkers said they were taking steps to manage their drinking. ditions such as multiple sclerosis mental health. ‘This is the most extensive research yet into drinking during lockdown friendly gathering of learning people can still get their sub- or serious forms of epilepsy and it shows that this unprecedented period is having a significant and networking. Many of our stitute medication, and many have faster access, the govern- We’re all too aware that peo- impact on the way the UK drinks,’ said Alcohol Change UK chief delegates come under the services have been moving ple experiencing problematic ment has announced. While the support online. Drug user ac- executive Dr Richard Piper. definition of ‘vulnerable’ be- drug and alcohol use are law was changed in 2018 to cause of underlying health tivists swung into action to never going to be front of the Drug markets allow specialist doctors to make sure clear harm reduc- conditions - particularly lung queue for the public health The support charity Release is investigating COVID-19’s effect on tion advice was distributed, prescribe cannabis-based disorders like COPD, which budget, so we are going to the UK drugs market by asking people who use or supply drugs which included preparing for products for certain conditions, could leave them highly sus- have to fight harder to make about whether there are more adulterated drugs, if new substances disruption to supply chains delays in people accessing the ceptible to coronavirus. sure that they get the essen- are appearing, and whether prices have gone up. ‘Like many com- and preparing to manage a medicines have been widely tial healthcare - and human modities, the drugs market is likely to suffer from stockpiling and So with the event put on hold, rapid detox or full withdrawal rights - they need. shortages,’ says the charity. ‘The purpose of this learning is to ensure reported. The new rules mean if it became necessary. we tried to make sense of the we can share the most accurate harm reduction messages, signpost that licensed wholesalers can shifting scenery for services people to the right harm reduction interventions and to treatment import much larger quantities Is DDN in your library? all over the land. A group of if that is what they want.’ and hold supplies for future use. treatment agencies and aca- Your prison can receive monthly printed issues of DDN demics were quick to point magazine free of charge by emailing [email protected]. out that tackling the outbreak DDN is also online at www.drinkanddrugsnews.com THE LEADING TAX SUPPORT SERVICE IN PRISONS successfully had to include Your letters are welcome the government increasing If you would like to share your experience with DDN support for people dependent readers please write to: Claire Brown, Editor, DDN, Romney DO YOU HAVE... on drugs, with funding for House, School Road, Ashford, Kent TN27 0LT. treatment, OST (methadone, TAX DEBT? TAX PENALTIES? ASN LAW Nirinder Dhillon SOLICITORS Nationwide coverage TAX RETURNS Anthony Stokoe Experienced Prison & Criminal Rasheed Nujeerallee Defence Solicitor OUTSTANDING? Independent Prison Law Expert since 1994 Independent Adjudications ‘People Before Profit’ DOES THE TAXMAN Pre-Tariff & Tariff Reviews WORKED IN THE Continuing the Fight and Challenge OWE YOU MONEY? Despite Legal Aid Cuts Category A reviews CONSTRUCTION Free Four Year Tax Review Straight advice/representation Parole Reviews for Male and Female Prisoners INDUSTRY? Include as much information as possible: • Prison/Prison number Adjudications Lifer/IPP Specialist Re-categorisation Do you need to file a TaX Return? • Your full name including middle name Recall Parole Judicial Reviews HDC “Tagging” CIS (tax deducted 20%/30%) work including: • Your date of birth Mental Health Law Expert • Dry lining • National insurance number Human Rights - European & International Criminal appeals • Labouring • Employment history Cat A Reviews • Scaffolding • Contact address/number on the outside Police interviews • Bricklaying Please advise if you change Prisons Pre-tariff Sift/Hearings All criminal matters • Painting after responding. Suite 8, Vine House, 143 London Road, Legal Aid Available THE TAX ACADEMY CIC 01824 704535 Unit 4, Ffordd yr Onnen, Lon Parcwr Business Park [email protected] Kingston KT2 6NH (Fixed fee options also available) Ruthin, Denbighshire LL15 1NJ 07539 406 411 020 8549 4282 Write to: Nirinder Dhillon FREE completion and filing of Tax Returns (including mutiple years) NATIONWIDE SERVICE PO Box 666, Egham, TW20 2DW FREE appeals against Tax Penalties. FREE Tax Debt resolution. 36 Information www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
their suggestions, we trialled Need support a new version of the course at PET launches Peer Mentor HMP Parc, with ten current or with your prospective peer mentors studies? studying in their own time and space. Give us a call! course co-written by prisoners Both groups reshaped much We have taken calls from dedicated courses, unless of the course to make it rele- over 100 people in prison they were part of a formal In- vant to a prison environment, since launching our new formation, Advice and Guid- introducing more practical freephone Advice Line at ance scheme. There was also exercises to try out what they the end of April. So far our little on offer for those inter- had learned and recommend- team has helped callers ested in mentoring but ing the creation of a resource with a range of queries - wanted to learn more before booklet to use when mentor- from wanting to find out going for a peer mentor job in ing in the future. more about our courses, prison. and how to apply, to seek- A valuable first step into ing support with studying. Writing the course with peer work, in or after prison mentors Thanks to the brilliant sup- We know it can be difficult We came to the conclusion port and invaluable insight to remain motivated dur- that there was no better way from learners at HMPs Pres- ing lockdown, so we are to offer access to an accred- coed and Parc, the Peer Men- here to help. If you are ited mentoring course than tor course is now open to struggling with your course our speciality - distance applications. during these uncertain learning (we’ve been doing it times, give us a call and for over 30 years after all!). The course is accredited at chat things through with Level 2, making it a valuable our expert advice team. From our experience, it was first step for people interested clear that peer mentoring in in working in social care, If you have finished your prison is a very particular youth work and the substance course, well done, that’s misuse field in or after prison. Credit: Ian Cuthbert, PET skill - quite different from brilliant! Please give us a mentoring in other environ- Learners can study the course call if you want to discuss PET has launched a new accredited Peer Mentor course, ments. We realised that there in their own time, and it should take around three your next steps. We also co-written by prison peer mentors and the people they support. was little value in writing a months to complete. welcome calls from prison Pwyll ap Stifin, a member of PET’s Welsh Prisons Project team, course ourselves - we needed and education staff, and to write it with prisoners, from learners’ friends and takes a look at the course and explains how it came about. both peer mentors and the Want to find out more family. people they support. about our new Peer Mentor an interest in, or already work- Why write a peer mentoring course? Call our freephone Speak to a member of ing as, peer mentors in prison. course? We commissioned Hafren Advice Line - you can find our advice team for Covering the broad range of We know that mentors do ex- Training, an educational the number and opening free on: 0800 048 7520 skills needed for mentoring, tremely valuable work in company, to develop a pilot times in the other article on the course is equally valuable prison, not just in supporting Peer Mentor course for learn- this page. Alternatively, you for prisoners working as men- distance learners but in all Tuesdays: 10:00-12:00 and ers to review and rework. We can write to FREEPOST, Open to applications from all tors in education or resettle- kinds of roles across the estate. 14:00-16:00 ran our first classroom-based Prisoners’ Education Trust prisons across England and ment, or as orderlies in gyms, But we saw that it was often Thursdays: 10:00-12:00 unit with 12 learners at HMP (you do not need to use a Wales, PET’s new Peer Mentor healthcare or any other difficult for them to develop and 14:00-18:00 Prescoed. Then, based on stamp). course is aimed at those with prison setting. their own skills through A taste of distance learning: PET’s new short courses A Doctoral Researcher at the University of Reading, Xander Ryan has been on a three-month voluntary placement with PET. His goal? To create short courses to improve learners’ study skills, boost confidence, and help with progress to longer qualifications.
where they meet prisoner learners and collaborate with educa- Nutrition; and Construction, Trades, Health and Safety. These tion department staff. I sat in on one-on-one meetings, discuss- areas are fairly removed from my expertise, so there was some ing my project with a series of prisoner learners, and then a full research to do before I could start writing and I soon found class of literacy students. The people we met ranged widely in myself sitting amongst the architecture students in the univer- age and background, but they were united by their desire to sity library. I was able to bring together my knowledge of study pursue education during their time inside. It was inspiring to skills with a wealth of material gathered from established courses, see their commitment. textbooks, exam papers and specialist books in these areas.
These areas are fairly removed from A sense of progress during lockdown my expertise, so there was some research After a couple of months’ work, I had the two 60-page short course textbooks ready to go. Then Coronavirus struck. As part to do before I could start writing and I soon of its response to this unprecedented situation, PET piloted the found myself sitting amongst the archi- courses in a handful of prisons and then quickly rolled them tecture students in the university library. out across the rest of the estate. Each course is designed to take around five hours: if it can In my everyday work I’m a sessional lecturer and PhD student Offering a taste of distance learning provide a short burst of mental stimulation and a sense of in English and French literature. I’ve done voluntary outreach When writing these courses, I wanted to create materials that progress beyond the Coronavirus news cycle then the project work before, but this placement was my first experience of the would refresh and improve learners’ study skills at Level 2 and will have been well worth it. prison education system. Before writing the courses it seemed above. The courses give a taste of what distance learning is like essential to meet some prisoner learners to get their thoughts and enable students to fulfil their potential when they progress to further courses. on the project and witness what it’s like to study in prison. If you would like to receive our new short courses, call our Advice Line or write to FREEPOST, Prisoners’ Education Trust. Meeting learners in HMPs Cardiff and Prescoed Looking at PET’s recent data, I decided to base my two courses We can then send a copy to staff at your prison. I shadowed PET’s regular visits to HMPs Cardiff and Prescoed in the areas most popular with prisoner learners - Sport and // Through the gate
Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Information 37 Old helpers still here Supporting families during lockdown
Andy Keen-Downs parenting classes, and We all know how important it ‘Through the Gate’ mentoring is to protect our nurses and I’ve been the CEO of Pact (the support. doctors from being over- Prison Advice and Care Trust) whelmed. Your continued for 15 years. Some of you will Pact does a lot of different patience and strength is what have come across Pact before, things. You may have met one will get us all through this. but I thought it would be help- of our Family Engagement ful to let everyone know who Workers or seen one of our Over the last couple of months catering team or play workers charity staff, including our
© Andy Aitchison/Library image we are and what we’re doing right now to support you and in Visits. You might have at- own, have had to leave the your families. tended a Family Day or one of prisons and we’re really sorry our relationship education or that we can’t be there for you Lockdown Learning Pact is 122 years old - and family learning courses. You right now. But we have not from the very beginning we might even have worked as stopped working for you. Pact We explore your experiences of prison education have supported prisoners and one of our Family Champion runs the national Prisoners’ their families. We’re all about volunteers. Your family or Families Helpline, which is during the Covid-19 lockdown people, families, community, friends might have been sup- open seven days a week. It’s and hope. We’re about offer- ported in one of the Visitors’ funded by HMPPS but it’s a Some guiding questions for prison ing people the support they Centres we manage outside fully independent confiden- tial Freephone service staffed learners to consider: want to give them the best the gate. They might have John Roberts chance of getting something been supported by one of our by Pact. Although we had to • What are your personal experiences of the positive from time inside. court volunteers, or found out shut our office because of education-related lockdown restrictions? We’re about empowering peo- about how to visit or got infor- COVID-19, and send staff Given the new restrictions that have been im- ple to make a fresh start. We mation from our website. Pact home, we’ve spent money plemented in prisons as a result of the corona- • How has your learning been impacted by believe in families, and in has an amazingly dedicated putting technology into our virus, a greater awareness of the impact of the the coronavirus lockdown? supporting healthy and caring team of around staff’s own homes so that the virus on education and wellbeing is important. relationships. 200 staff and 600 volunteers Helpline can carry on. We are In particular, out-of-cell education courses • Have you experienced delays or interrup- and we’re all here to support getting a lot more calls than tions to your learning? If so, would you say that would normally keep minds occupied are Today, we work in around sev- you and the people you care usual, mostly from family currently not allowed under the quarantine this has impacted your wellbeing during about. members who are worried the coronavirus lockdown? enty prisons. We are an inde- regulations, raising questions about the inter- pendent charity, separate about their loved ones inside, ruption of learning. In some areas we provide so we’ve trained up even more • Are you experiencing any differences in from the Government, so we other services. At HMP Brix- people to answer their calls. the type or quality of learning now that the are not afraid to criticise or In order to investigate the impact of Covid-19 ton, for example, just before We’ve also put a lot more in- coronavirus lockdown is in place in com- challenge Government deci- restrictions on prison learners, we would like lockdown, we refurbished the formation on our website for parison to before the lockdown? If so, sions. We’re not a campaign- to hear learners’ views on education during the old Visitors’ Centre to create a families. please explain. ing organisation, but we see coronavirus pandemic. We invite learners to ourselves as a ‘critical friend’ new Fresh Start Centre oppo- write to Inside Time about their personal ex- • For those in access and university-level to the Prison Service. This site the prison gate, to provide I’m telling you this because I periences of how the Covid-19 restrictions on courses are you still able to engage in fur- means our job is not to shout support on the day of release. know some of you will be educational activities (for example, no longer ther and higher learning (i.e. access and about what’s wrong but to At other prisons, we have missing your families right being able to attend out-of-cell education university-level) courses during the Covid- work quietly to make things staff and volunteer mentors to now. You might be worried courses, in-cell learning changes, delays in 19 lockdown, or has your learning been better. Government Ministers offer support for the first few about them, just as they’ll be course materials, tutoring assistance, peer restricted to lower-level activities? always know that when they days on the outside. In nor- worried about you. But support, etc.) have impacted you, specifically open a letter from us, they’ll mal times this involves driv- they’re not alone. They can in relation to your wellbeing. For example, • Can you give any examples of how pris- get ideas for how things can ing people to essential call us about anything - even what has changed in the way you are learning? ons have continued to support education be improved. We also work appointments and helping if it’s just for a chat. If we don’t Have these changes impacted your wellbeing during the lockdown? with HM Prison and Proba- people get settled. know the answer to a ques- in any way? For the better or worse? tion staff to develop and offer tion, we will do our best to We know how tough the lock- find out. We call people back. Please send correspondence (feel free to com- services that prisoners and Your submissions will help inform a future down has been for you. Every- We treat all our callers with bine responses in the same envelope to reduce their families tell us will article for Inside Time and will also be re- one is hoping for better days kindness and respect. postage costs) to: Inside Time (Lockdown make a difference. Over the viewed by Erin Condirston, PhD student at soon. HM Prison Service is Learning), Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, years that has meant things Royal Holloway University of London as part completely committed to It looks like we all need to Hampshire SO30 2GB. Please note that the like inventing first night in of a related research project that looks at the keeping you and your fami- continue to be patient for closing date for responses is 15th July 2020 custody services, prison Vis- impact of prison education on wellbeing. itors’ Centres, Family Days, lies safe, as well as their own. some time to come. When lives are at stake from COVID- 19, it’s all we can do. Things Our team of specialists can o er will get better, and however free advice and assistance in long it takes, you will see Pact relation to Legally Aided issues, again working in prisons. In including: the meantime, tell your fami- lies that there is someone on Lifer/IPP Parole Board Reviews (Pre/Post Tari ) NATIONWIDE PRISON COVERAGE their side. Our head o ce is based in the North West of England but we provide nationwide Recalls Independent Adjudications coverage and due to the location of our sta we o er regular and consistent coverage Category A Reviews The Prisoners’ Families Help- to the North West, Midlands, London, South West and North East England. line is available on 0808 808 We can also o er competitive xed fees for matters 2003 (9am - 8pm Monday to • Parole paper reviews and oral hearings • Recall reviews and oral hearings which are not currently covered by Legal Aid such as: Friday and 10am - 3pm Satur- • Removal from open conditions • Pre-Tari reviews • Category A reviews Sentence planning/calculations day and Sunday.) www.pris- • Adjudications Challenging Licence Conditions onadvice.org.uk www. Re-categorisation prisonersfamilies.org For more information please contact Jeremy Pinson using the detials below. Accessing O ending Behaviour Programmes Contact us today: Address: Freepost HOWARDS AND HENRYS T: 01752 600833 Genesis O ce 6, 235 Union Street Andy Keen-Downs is CEO of 0161 872 9999 - [email protected] - howardssolicitors.co.uk @: o [email protected] Plymouth, Devon PL1 3HN Pact (the Prison Advice and Care Trust) 38 Information www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
Advertorial Connection Campaign
who are often forgotten.
The Connection Campaign, in its broadest Dr Sarah Lewis sense, is a campaign to bring the inside and outside together, during this time of crisis. This connection may be expressing gratitude My lifelong mission is to create a more humane and care, as well as hearing the voices and system, which provides conditions where peo- concerns of those during this pandemic. For ple can find meaning, have hope in the future me, unity at this time is instrumental for the and be happy. After spending 3 years research- wellbeing of those who either live or work in ing Norwegian prisons, I learnt why some of prison, particularly as things get tougher. The their prisons were so successful at reintegra- Families Connection Campaign can be found tion (average reconviction rate = 20%). From on our website (www.penalreformsolutions. this insight, I have dedicated my time to ap- com). The task involves families to complete a plying these lessons into our prison system, form anonymously on the website and share with prisoners, staff, families and others help- how COVID-19 is affecting them at this time. It ing us to create the Growth Movement. We also is a space where families can share their ex- work in schools to use this knowledge to help periences during this time, with the ambition pupils to avoid crime. Growth Projects were of collating these statements and creating a Spotlight on Universal Credit created to support those in prison (staff and powerful set of themes that can be communi- prisoners) to transform their culture into an cated back to the Prison Service and the pub- environment that promotes personal growth. lic. It aims to humanise and encourage people Covid-19 and increased support We employ people who are currently in prison to see the impact prison is having, not only on (on ROTL’s) and offer opportunities to those those that are working and living in it, but on £235.83 (born on or after 6 leaving prison, to become part of this social the wider community. Cellstudy™ in association with the Tax Academy™ April 2017) movement. Last month you may have seen For your second child and David Adam’s article in Inside Time about If you could pass the campaign link onto your any other £235.83 per child climbing Mount Everest and this is just one Paul Retout loved ones, I would really appreciate it. Also, There is a benefits calculator example of the work we support. (https://www.gov.uk/bene- if you want to write to us at Penal Reform Solu- Eligible children tions our address is: PRS, PO Box 364, SO51 fits-calculators) to see what For a disabled or severely dis- The Growth Project supports those who are in Some 1.5 million people have 1DZ. Nothing makes my day more than a you are entitled to. abled child £128.25 or £400.29 prison, but also significant people in the lives now applied for Universal letter. Up to 85% of childcare cost is of prisoners, who support their growth. We see Credit since the government Standard monthly allowance increased for 2019/20 to these relationships as fundamental to an in- advised people to stay at home On a personal note, I will do everything I can (this has been increased £646.35 per month for one dividual’s growth and feeling connected is due to coronavirus, according to make prisons better both now and in the from 6 April 2020) child and £1,108.04 per month vital. With the recent lockdown in prison, my to the latest figures. This is future. You are loved and you matter. In prison, for two or more children. role has changed to offering more support for likely to rise due to the number I have met the most resilient, strong and com- Single and under 25 - £342.72 families of the Growth Team, to offload and of claims that are unprocessed. passionate people. At this time, stay safe, keep Single and 25 or over - £409.89 Other support talk about the impact COVID-19 is having on As of 9 April 2020, a total of focused on your progression and be the best In a couple and both under Those that receive Universal them. From this experience I have become 4.2 million people were in re- version of yourself. I believe in change and I 25 - £488.59 (for you both) Credit may also be entitled to overwhelmed by the impact on loved ones, as ceipt of Universal Credit. believe in you. In a couple and 25 or over other financial support; de- they feel more disconnected from those they - £594.04 (for you both) pendent upon personal love. The uncertainty and concern is clear and In this article I thought I would circumstances. I want to create a platform where loved ones explore the fundamentals of Support for rental can voice their fears, in a safe space, in order Dr Sarah Lewis is Director of Penal Reform Universal Credit. I would stress payments Have your tax affairs in to highlight the impact of prison on families, Solutions that this is a complex area and Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, order pre-release further guidance should be the Government has signifi- Remember to contact The Tax sought with Job Centre Plus/ cantly increased support for Academy CIC to review your In response to the COVID-19 Citizens Advice or via the housing rental payments. tax affairs to ensure they are outbreak and social distanc- Government website. From April 2020 local housing up to date. There is nothing ing measures, we are now allowance rates will cover at worse than being released offering online support for What is Universal Credit? least 30% of market rents in from prison and finding that families during lockdown, Universal Credit is a payment each area. It is worth noting you have tax penalties and tax helping them to fight social that is made to help with living that the housing element of debt that need to be resolved isolation and stay con- costs and is usually paid Universal Credit can be used with HMRC. nected. This has included monthly. to cover mortgage interest and cooking classes, family fit- even service charges. Please contact Paul Retout ness sessions, and online Universal credit is replacing discussions with other fam-
from The Tax Academy CIC on © Andy Aitchison/Library image the following benefits: Universal credit minimum 01824 704535 or write to me, ilies affected by parental • Child tax credit; income floor The Tax Academy CIC, Unit 4 imprisonment at this diffi- • Housing benefit; With effect from 13 March Ffordd Yr Onnen, Lon Parcwr cult time. One to one sup- • Income support; 2020, and for new applicants, Heard and Seen port is also available. The Business Park, Ruthin, • Income-based Jobseeker’s the minimum income floor for Denbighshire LL15 1NJ. assistance we provide is Allowance (JSA); the self-employed require- Online support for families with designed to help both the • Income-related Employment ment is being temporarily re- See our main advert on page 35 children and parents in and Support Allowance (ESA); laxed due to the Covid-19 a parent in prison these families, supporting • Working tax credit. pandemic. the exploration of feelings It is estimated that 312,000 parent in prison. This support and offering practical sup- What will you receive? Children children each year are im- is varied and often includes port where we can. Universal Credit comprises of If you have children, you will get pacted by parental impris- group work, volunteer men- Paul Retout is a Tax specialist The assistance we provide is a standard allowance and any an extra amount for each child. onment in the UK, yet toring and targeted individ- and Tax author. The Tax free of charge, and we’d like extra amounts that you apply frameworks of support are ual support. Over the last Academy CIC is the leading to encourage parents to get for depending whether for ex- For your first child £281.25 rarely implemented to pro- year, Children Heard and provider of tax support in in touch and take advantage ample you have children, a (born before 6 April 2017) tect the emotional and so- prisons. Seen has supported over 262 of our services at this diffi- disability or health condition cial wellbeing of this group children, working with over cult time. For more informa- that prevents you from work- of young people. Children 60 families and offering tai- tion, please visit our website ing or need help with paying Heard and Seen is a charity lored interventions to meet at www.childrenhear- rent etc. that provides support for children and families with a their specific needs. dandseen.co.uk Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Information / Legal 39
Advertorial capturing the experiences of living under these conditions CAPPTIVE launch and explore what we can learn from this Covid experi- Parole and the Pandemic Prisoners urged to share experience of ence of the “double lock- COVID-19 during prison lockdown down” in prison. So, this new national consultation exer- David Wells simply not possible within the context of this prisoners, their families and cise is called CAPPTIVE: The short article to address the entirety of that prison staff to build a picture Covid Action Prison Project guidance. of how prisons have re- Tracking Innovation, Valuing There is no doubt that the coronavirus pan- Peter Dawson sponded. We want to know; Experience. demic has caused turmoil within the criminal Every attempt will be made not to postpone what has been your experi- justice system. The prison population has ar- hearings, and efforts will be made for hearings The COVID-19 pandemic is the ence of the Covid lockdown? Please get in touch with us to guably been most affected, given the condi- to proceed by way of video or telephone hear- biggest thing to happen in let us know about your expe- tions in which inmates have to spend their ings, and in deciding if either of those is suit- prisons in 40 years. But it’s We want your thoughts on rience of the Covid lockdown. lives and given how difficult it can be to con- able all sorts of considerations will apply. It is mainly happening unnoticed what we can learn from all of We want to hear ‘the good, the tain a virus within the confines of a prison important that an inmate in this situation is by the media and the general this. Overall, how have you, bad, and the ugly’, and your population. There have been worrying reports consulted and their views heard regarding the public. That’s not just be- your loved ones and the thoughts on what we can learn of inmates and prison officers being affected, suitability of a remote hearing. cause the news is dominated prison you’re in responded to from all of this; what would a and the result has been to impose greater pe- by what’s happening to mil- the Covid situation? better experience look like? riods of confinement within cells, and an ina- There are a few similarities between criminal lions of people in this country bility to consult with lawyers and perhaps, trials and parole reviews, but one thing both and around the world, it’s You can help guide PRT in our We think some of the main more importantly, a prohibition on seeing do have in common is the need for expert ad- also because all the ways that role of advocating for a hu- things you might want to tell family members and loved ones. vice and assistance. Many cases stand or fall prisons are normally held to mane and respectful prison us about are: on the ability of the advocate to elicit the right account for what happens be- system. We will be led by our • Regimes & activities; Given my experience of the prison system, I information from the witnesses in attendance, hind their walls are affected first principle, which is to lis- am now personally taking on more and more and to present at the end of the review or hear- too, whether that’s inspec- ten, to hear your experience, • Families; prison law cases with a particular interest in ing a persuasive argument in accordance with tion, the work of IMBs, or the to learn from your expertise • Progression, reviews, parole reviews. Next month I am due to attend the client’s instructions - with a view to achiev- daily flow of visitors in and and to be guided by you. re-categorisation; a parole review in one of the country’s most ing the desired outcome. Most prison law ad- out of prisons. recognised cases. My attendance is likely to be visors can draft decent written representations We launched our Prisoner • Your health: mental and remote, meaning that I won’t physically be in at the paper stage of a parole review because physical; The Prison Reform Trust is Policy Network (PPN) a net- attendance before the panel but will instead they have all the time to sit down and think just one of several organisa- work of prisoners and former • Communication; represent my client’s interests at home via a about what needs to be said. But when it comes tions that want to show the prisoners in 2018. Through link. to the skill of advocacy at an oral hearing, not • Innovative, helpful practices. impact COVID-19 has had on the PPN, we have actively in- everyone is so skilled. That is when a client prison life. We’re setting up volved those behind the wall There will be inmates nationwide whose oral needs his lawyer most. The questioning of But don’t feel tied to these an urgent project - CAPPTIVE, and those released into the hearings may be cancelled due to the pan- witnesses is indeed a skill. The panel will ob- topics - let us know if other The Covid Action Prison Pro- community in our work. The demic, for example where a member of the viously focus on how the inmate comes across areas are just as important. ject Tracking Innovation, Val- PPN has published three re- panel has the virus themselves or is perhaps but will equally focus very much on how the uing Experience - to ask people ports, informed by the input How do I get involved? otherwise in self isolation. This may cause lawyer performs. Parole hearings are not so in prison, and the people who of nearly 4,000 prisoners: • As an individual prisoner; delays so that a new panel can be appointed. confrontational. There are occasions when less care about them, what their “What incentives work in by writing, phoning (or send- It is important to note however that straight is more, i.e. the less said the better. It all comes experience of the pandemic prison”, “What do you need ing an email if you can); cancellation of an oral hearing just because down to experience, knowing when to engage has been. We’re interested in to make best use of your time one panel member cannot attend should not and knowing when to sit back. Some cases of the good, the bad and the ugly in prison” and “How can we • When you contact us with be considered the only option. Cases should course require very careful questioning and - what’s been done well as reduce conflict, tension and your experience, please send still proceed if two panellists are deemed suit- handling of witnesses. Preparation is also key. well as what hasn’t, what violence in prison.“ us your name, prison number able and the inmate and his representative You get to understand panel members. Ask any needs to continue as well as and the prison you are in, or have no objection. experienced prison law advisor who repre- what needs to stop. People have written to us your address if you have been sents clients at oral hearings, and they will tell using our Freepost address: released. We will take this as Some hearings are heard by a single panel you that your approach to a hearing can Prisoner Policy Network c/o Some of you will already be your formal application to member, so hearings can still proceed provid- change depending upon the panel member(s). Prison Reform Trust FREE- members of the Prisoner Pol- join the network; ing the single panel member has the appropri- Lawyers should prepare their clients for this. icy Network, which we set up POST ND 6125 London EC1B • Any published contribu- ate accreditation. in 2018 and has so far pro- 1PN or email-a-prisoner, or by tions will be anonymised; phone on our globally cleared duced three reports drawing There is a danger of deferment rather than a number 020 7251 5070. People • Look out for details of the If you have a parole hearing coming up very on over 4,000 contributions. hearing being rescheduled. It is important that in prisons have met with us PPN in Inside Time, Converse, soon or at some time in the near future and you As an advocacy and influenc- inmates consult their representatives immedi- in person when we visit pris- Jail Mail and on National require professional assistance, do please get in ing group out here in the com- ately if they find that they may well be in this munity, we know that ons, or asked family members Prison Radio and Way Out TV. touch. I can be contacted on my mobile – position. prisoners and their families to get in touch on their behalf. 07939026751 or via email – david.wells@wels- are experts in the experience Write: Prisoner Policy Net- burcombe.co.uk Guidance has been issued concerning how of serving a sentence. And We use these reports to bring work c/o Prison Reform Trust such cases should be addressed, and it is that expertise is a vital com- the direct experiences, in- FREEPOST ND 6125, London David Wells, Senior Partner, Wells Burcombe ponent of making any change sights and ideas for innova- EC1B 1PN. Call our main for the better. We also know tion and change to the switchboard on 020 7251 5070 that right now, during this attention of those in Parlia- and leave a voicemail as we once in a lifetime experience ment, in the MoJ and within aren’t in the office regularly of living under COVID-19, it is HMPPS to keep up the pres- at the moment. This line is vital that prisoners are heard sure for change. We also send globally cleared for all prison- in the discussions that are them to PPN members in ers. Email: ppn@prisonre- SOLICITORS going on in wider society prison, so they can get a formtrust.org.uk wellsburcombe about what our lives will look sense of what the wider expe- like after this lockdown expe- riences and views of their LEGAL AID / PRIVATE REPRESENTATION / NATIONWIDE SERVICE rience. We want prisoners to fellow prisoners are too. be involved in capturing the PRISON Herts, Beds, Bucks, Essex London & Thames Valley, Appointment only Your expertise is a vital com- experiences of living under Kent, Surrey these conditions and explore ponent of making any REFORM what we can learn from this change(s) for the better. We 5 Holywell Hill, St Albans, 4 Britannia Court, The Green 13 Halstead Road, “double lockdown” in prison. also know that right now, Hertfordshire AL1 1EU. West Drayton, Middlesex Wanstead, during this once in a lifetime TRUST Tel: 01727 840900 UB7 7PN. Tel: 01895 449288 London E11 2AY. Get heard experience of living under COVID-19 has had a massive COVID-19, it is vital that pris- impact on prisons. The Prison oners are heard. We want Peter Dawson is Director www.wellsburcombe.co.uk Reform Trust is consulting prisoners to be involved in of Prison Reform Trust 40 Legal Insidetime June 2020
We won’t pretend that we CCRC has actually referred a Covid-19 lockdown and the (injuries which occur at the Water in the Lake District in know how it feels to be in record number of cases. We people involved in the deci- opposite side of the brain to 1997 and the case became prison right now while the have referred 40 cases; more sions met virtually in an on- the point of impact) and known as the Lady in the Covid-19 crisis is on, but we than we normally refer in a line meeting lasting two days. whether Mr Walker’s partner Lake murder. Sadly, Mr Park do understand that things full year. Thirty-nine of those We have more than 20 other could really have suffered the took his own life while in were convictions of Post Of- Post Office cases similar to fatal injuries in an earlier fall prison in 2010. His family pur- for most are pretty bleak. fice workers - mainly these and there may be more as Mr Walker had said at trial. sued his case with the CCRC. All we can really tell you is sub-postmasters and referrals to come. that, if you have an appli- sub-postmistresses - who Having analysed this com- We investigated the case in cation with us at the mo- were all convicted of theft or We also referred the murder plex body of expert opinion, painstaking detail and in Oc- ment, you don’t need to fraud or false accounting conviction of Gary Walker and guided by the High tober 2018 we referred it for worry - we have not forgot- while working for the Post back to the Court of Appeal in Court’s detailed decision to appeal. The referral was ten you. Office. Some were sent to May. Mr Walker was con- give Mr Walker permission to based on the combined Appeals prison but most were not. victed in 2004 of the murder Judicially Review the CCRC on weight of a number of things We are still working on cases Most pleaded guilty. of his partner. He was sen- an earlier decision not to refer we found, including: the The Criminal Cases Review and we have continued to tenced to life imprisonment, his case, the Commission de- non-disclosure of expert Commission (CCRC) is the send cases for appeal where This is by far the biggest set with a minimum term of 12 cided to send his case back to opinion undermining the publicly funded body we can. Things are different of cases the CCRC has ever years. the Court for a fresh appeal. prosecution case about the responsible for investigat- at the moment. Our office is referred in one go. What they Our referral is based mainly alleged murder weapon (a ing alleged miscarriages closed and we are mostly all have in common is that the The prosecution case was that on the new expert evidence climbing axe), the non-disclo- of justice in England and working from home, but we applicants all blame errors he had attacked his partner at which suggests that the jury sure of information under- Wales. They are the only are continuing to work on our they say were made by the their home - punching and did not get a fair and bal- mining the reliability of a body with the power to current cases and we are still Post Office’s Horizon com- strangling her and causing anced picture of the evidence prison cell confession alleg- send a case back to the welcoming new puter system for leading them fatal head and brain injuries. in support of Mr Walker’s ver- edly made by Mr Park, and courts for a second appeal. applications. into trouble. We have referred Mr Walker told the jury the sion of events, and that in our some new scientific evidence the cases on the basis that head injuries must have been view raises a real possibility showing that Mr Park was not In this regular column If you want to call us about prosecutions were an abuse caused by a fall earlier that that the Court of Appeal may a contributor to DNA pre- they answer questions your case, of course your call of process. night, when he was not there. now quash the conviction. It served within knots of the about what they do and will be welcome and we will He agreed that there had been will now be for the Court to rope used to tie up the body. more widely about do our best to help. We are The CCRC abuse of process a violent incident at home, hear the appeal and decide miscarriages of justice. taking calls and opening post argument is that the problems but said she had been the ag- whether or not to overturn Mr The Court of Appeal heard the and passing messages to peo- with the Horizon computer gressor and he had only acted Walker’s conviction. case in November 2019 and on The CCRC apologises system may have had an im- in self-defence. 1st May announced its deci- but is unable to answer ple working at home. How- ever we may not be able to pact on these cases. That ar- In 2018 we referred the well- sion not to quash Mr Park’s questions relating to gument is based on the As part of the CCRC review, known case of Gordon Park to conviction. Their judgment individual cases. give a detailed update on the phone, so at the moment a decisions in two civil trials we obtained and considered the Court of Appeal. Mr Park said they thought the circum- call to us may not be the best involving Post Office cases new expert medical opinion was convicted in January stantial case against Mr Park Send your Appeal and issues with the Horizon from pathologists and neuro- 2005 for the murder of his remained “very strong” and Queries to: ‘CCRC Q&A’ use of a valuable phone call if you can even get one. system. pathologists (including those wife, Carol Park, 29 years said: “we have no doubt as to Inside Time, Botley Mills, who gave evidence at trial), after she went missing in the the safety of the conviction. Botley, Southampton, These CCRC referrals were primarily around what are summer of 1976. Mrs Park’s Therefore the appeal is Hampshire SO30 2GB. Since our last article in the April issue of Inside Time, the made just after the start of the known as contrecoup injuries body was found in Coniston dismissed.”
O’Neill Morgan Your prison injury specialists.
ACCIDENT CLAIMS ASSAULT CLAIMS if you have suffered from an MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS injury in prison please do not hesitate to contact one of our NO WIN, NO FEE specialist legal experts.
Prudential Buildings, 63 St Petersgate, Stockport SK1 1DH oneill-morgan.co.uk Freephone: 0800 387967 Telephone: 0161 429 8383 Email: [email protected] Insidetime June 2020 ‘Legal’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire SO30 2GB. Legal // Q&A 41
SR - HMP Holme House there has been a significant If you are a determinate sen- change in your circumstances tenced prisoner, you cannot Q When can I progress to or behaviour that impacts on generally be moved to an open open conditions? the level of security required, prison if you have more than whether negative or positive. 2 years to your release date. A Your security category de- However, PSI 40/2011(which termines what type of prison Re-categorisation to a lower should be made available in you can be held in. When being security category is not an au- the prison library) does state considered for what category tomatic progression or right that ‘assessment of a prison- you should be assigned to, but must be based on clear er’s individual risks and needs there are a number of factors evidence of reduction in pre- may support earlier categori- prison staff take into account viously identified risk levels sation to D’. Prison Law & and which they consider to a level that is manageable Actors of ITV’s White House Farm which - including: dramatises the Jeremy Bamber murders in an establishment of the Two years is considered to be Credit: ITV Compensation • Likelihood of escape or lower category. the maximum time a prisoner abscond; SP - HMP Dartmoor reference his solicitors re- should spend in open condi- leased a statement that around Hine Solicitors • The risk of harm to the public In reviewing your security cat- tions. However, assessment of Q Do prisoners have any 8th January 2020, ITV was to Stevens Solicitors in the event of an escape or egory, it is essential to look at a prisoner’s individual risks rights over their ‘story’ ap- schedule and broadcast a Michael Jefferies Injury abscond; the reasons why, at your last Lawyers and needs may support earlier pearing on television crime drama based on the case of • Any control issues that im- review, you would have been Kesar & Co re-categorisation to open con- documentaries, even if they Bamber and what happened pact on the security and good placed in the current security AGI Criminal Solicitors ditions. Such cases must have are appealing their at White House Farm. Bamber’s order of the prison and the category. Only then is it pos- the reasons for their categori- conviction? solicitors had invited ITV to safety of those within it. sible to determine whether, sation fully documented and postpone the broadcast of this Answers to readers’ legal and to what extent, circum- confirmed in writing by the A In response to your ques- series whilst matters of an ap- queries are given on a In regards to your sentence, stances may have changed to Governing Governor. tion, there is no prohibition on peal were resolved in the High strictly without liability prison staff should regularly warrant a change in category. you to take your story to the Court, as this would place a basis. If you propose acting review your security category. It is also important to consider For any further information, press or television. You have fictitious narrative in the pub- upon any of the opinions If you are serving a determi- the particular characteristics you may wish to consult the rights over your own story. lic domain which may be coun- that appear, you must first nate sentence or extended of the estate for which you are PSI manual which can be However, I would advise you ter-productive to the adminis- take legal advice. sentence of 4 years or more being assessed, taking ac- found within the prison li- to err on the side of caution as tration of justice in due course. Send your Prison Law you should have a review every count of physical security, brary. Alternatively, if you to having an article published Query (concise and clearly 12 months until you are in the supervision levels and regime have any further questions or having a programme aired His solicitors, as a matter of marked ‘Prison Law Query’) last 2 years of your sentence, availability. This is particular- then please do not hesitate to on television until the conclu- precaution, invited ITV to to: David Wells, Solicitor when you should have 6 ly important when considering sion of your appeal. It is rec- contact us. delay the broadcasting of its c/o Inside Time, Botley monthly reviews. So depend- whether to re-categorise a pris- ommended that once the ap- drama pending the High Court Mills, Botley, Southampton, ing on how long you should oner to Category D, because of peal has concluded, to take case. Therefore it is best to We hope the above assists - Hampshire SO30 2GB. have left on your sentence will the particular characteristics your story to the press, be that await the conclusion of your depend on how often your cat- of the open estate, re-catego- however if we can be of any For a prompt response, newspaper or television. appeal. I hope this assists you. egory is reviewed. risation to Category D must be further assistance, please do readers are asked to send their not hesitate to contact us. Response provided by AGI based on the prisoner’s proven In the case of Jeremy Bamber, queries on white paper using Criminal Solicitors. See advert You may also have your secu- trustworthiness and manage- Response provided by Hine the infamous White House black ink or typed if possible. page 52 rity category reviewed whenever able risks. Solicitors. See advert page 21. Farm scandal, as a point of Specialists in Prison Law
• Cat A Reviews • Pre-tariff Reviews • Adjudications • Recall • Sentence Calculation • Re-categorisation • HDC • Parole
0151 200 4071 63 Hamilton S quare Birkenhead Wirral C H41 5J F solicitors QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Jefferies Solicitors is a specialist have a case. Suspected broken noses When I was released I was still that treatment is required urgently personal injury law firm dedicated need to be imaged and followed experiencing pain and an x-ray showed to avoid further injury. The most to helping you with accident up quickly. There is likely to be a fracture which the hospital said successful way of proving this is to claims, personal injury, industrial support for the suggestion that if should have been dealt with when I keep a copy of any complaint forms diseases and medical negligence had you been taken earlier, the initial was in prison. I have now been told that or applications submitted to the compensation claims, including straightening would have avoided the I will need an operation to fuse some prison and to keep a copy of their claims that have arisen from an need for a further operation. bones in my ankle which I wouldn’t response. We note that different incident in prison. have needed if Healthcare had sent prisons use different systems to Q2: I heard that another prisoner me for an x-ray and given me proper book appointments and sometimes If you have suffered an accident or settled his claim within a few months treatment. Can I make a claim even obtaining copies of these documents injury on the road, had an accident without having to have a medical though the accident wasn’t the prison’s once submitted is difficult. However or injury in a public place, been examination as the other side made fault? in order to successfully allege a injured as a result of medical a pre-med offer. What is a pre-med negligent delay in treatment we malpractice or negligence or had offer? A: Yes, providing Healthcare failed require all the evidence we can. We work-related accident while in to refer you to the hospital in the also recommend that any verbal prison, the expert solicitors at A: A pre-med offer is an offer to past 3 years, you may be able to complaint made to prison staff or Jefferies can help you. settle a personal injury claim before a medical report is obtained. Insurance make a claim for clinical negligence. healthcare staff is followed up in If you have been injured while in companies extend these offers in the A specialist clinical negligence writing so that the complaint is prison, contact our specialist injury hope of reducing their liability for solicitor can investigate your claim documented. lawyers to find out if you have by applying for your medical records compensation. Q5: I’m not due for release for several grounds to claim. and then reviewing them to ascertain years. I’ve been told that a medical report Apart from in exceptional if and how healthcare failed in their Write to us at Jefferies Solicitors is needed in order to make a claim for circumstances, we would not duty of care to you. They will then Limited, The Triangle, 8 Cross Street, an injury suffered in prison. How will determine whether this has caused I visit the doctor to prove my injuries Altrincham, Cheshire, WA14 1EQ. recommend accepting a pre-med offer because until medical evidence or attributed to the need for you to happened? have an operation that you would not Q1: My nose was broken in an incident is obtained there is no way of A: Firstly, any injury you suffer within otherwise have needed. around a year ago. I was not treated at accurately determining the true value the prison should be reported promptly the time when I had the incident and of a personal injury claim. There is, Q4. Following an injury in prison, I was to the prison’s healthcare service, whether or not you are intending to now my nose is not aligned correctly. I therefore, a significant risk that a advised to seek healthcare attention make a claim. Make sure that you fully also cannot breathe through my nose and after applying to see the GP/ Claimant will be under-compensated explain to the nurse or doctor precisely and have found out that because they if a pre-med offer is accepted. Dentist I was advised I would be put what has happened to you to avoid any took so long to take me to hospital, I onto the waiting list. After several misunderstanding later. Your solicitor Q3: I fell and hurt my ankle really now have to have an operation. I had months of suffering with ongoing pain will then apply for your medical records to wait for almost 6 months to go to badly when I tripped over some of my I am still awaiting an appointment. I prior to instructing an appropriate hospital to see a Doctor. Do I have a belongings in my cell. I couldn’t put wish to make a claim. expert to visit you in the prison. The case? any weight on my ankle without being medical expert will examine you and in extreme pain. I know that the prison A. In order to succeed with claims for will also have been sent copies of your A: Yes, as they failed to refer you to weren’t to blame for my accident but delay of treatment we must be able medical records so that he can prepare an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist Healthcare refused to refer me for an to prove that firstly, Healthcare are a report on your injuries. following your incident then you may x-ray. aware of your injury and secondly,
Call: 0161 925 4155 I Click: jefferiessolicitors.com I Email: [email protected] The Triangle 8 Cross Street Altrincham Cheshire WA14 1EQ
Crossword
Answers
E R I H S OR Down Across Y
1 Small Toy Dog, popular since the 18th 9 A baby dog
IDI
D A
Century 10 A female Canine L
USKY B N
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2 Part of the Spaniel Family 11 Popular with Royalty H
3 Large protection dog from Southern Italy 12 The dog with two boys names GE
L 4 Their nickname comes from their long, 13 Mexican dog small enough for a teacup A
narrow bodies 14 Required for taking your dog for a walk
O ER US G
L L E S S U R K C A 5 They have a distinct short muzzled face 15 A dog with a flat cap and pipe J
and curly tail
P S
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H T I 7 Great at pulling sleighs B
COR
8 Live stock guardian that sounds like a COC U P popular supermarket POMERANI
3232_InsideTime_June_Q&A_265x332.indd 1 18/05/2020 12:09 compensationFor broken wrist misdiagnosis After Chris’ wrist injury was misdiagnosed, he experienced extensive pain and was left with long-term effects. Our lawyers helped him to claim £45,000 in compensation.
In 2013, Chris was playing football when he tripped and fell onto both his hands. He was still in pain 5 days later, so he visited healthcare where he was diagnosed with a sprained wrist. He returned to healthcare several times and was given the same diagnosis. 4 months later, Chris moved to another prison where he was referred for an x-ray and subsequently diagnosed with a fractured right scaphoid. He had two operations to treat his injury but unfortunately, because of the long delay in diagnosis, the surgery was unsuccessful and he required an additional operation.
Had Chris’ fracture been diagnosed when he first visited healthcare, he would have fully recovered within 6 months. However, because his injury was misdiagnosed, he cannot fully move his wrist. He is unable to use the gym or be in goal when playing football like he used to. Prison Injury Lawyers worked hard on Chris’ behalf for more than 4 years. We eventually secured him £45,000 in clinical negligence compensation.
“We understand prisoners and prison injury claims. We are the UK’s leading Prison Injury Lawyers and will fight for what you deserve.”
At Prison Injury Lawyers, we can help you claim for:
Dental negligence Workplace accidents Bunk bed falls Medical negligence Burns Transport accidents Slips, trips and falls Assaults Accidents in the gym
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0800 808 9577 I prisoninjurylawyers.co.uk The Triangle 8 Cross Street Altrincham [email protected] Cheshire WA14 1EQ
Prison Injury Lawyers is a trading name of Jefferies Solicitors Limited
3233_PIL_IT_FP_Adverts_265x332.indd 14 22/05/2020 14:28 44 Jailbreak www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020 The sound of the pound
Marc told us of his choices: “It The Reader features music that I love, and a couple of times it features people I was lucky enough to and no sunbathing, yet despite the ‘grey mist meet. Paul McCartney, on the sea’s face’ I know I’d go there right now Johnny Cash - and probably Urgent itch if I had the chance. The ‘must’ in the poem hit most thrilling of all (for me) - me square on, and with that thought I knew David Bowie”. People and Project Manager that I had truly connected with the poem, in a at The Reader, Shaun, talks way that was personal and real. That in turn The picture at the top of this got me thinking about the groups I’m leading article shows Marc holding about the effects of the crisis over the miracle of modern technology. Despite his prized Bowie vinyl, taken on Shared Reading groups in the many miles between us as the groups take as part of the photographer place, with me in my living room and the group William Ellis’s One LP prisons and probation hostels members in their hostel lounge, we still man- project. age to be connected by more than the video I’m one of the team leaders for The Reader’s call. At each session we’re connected by our Marc’s encyclopaedic knowl- staff working in prisons and probation hostels, common experiences, whether that’s our sense edge of music shines through as he brilliantly tells stories
and the past few months have seen lots of of being hemmed in by the restrictions of the Credit: William Ellis - One LP Project. of the excess and misdemean- changes happen. We can’t do our usual job of COVID-19 crisis, or memories of visits to blus- ours that have led more than being there to read with our groups and dis- tery beaches that are mentioned in a poem. Of features new and classic one star of the music industry course, we approach our feelings from differ- music and live sessions from cuss what we’ve just read, something that to the slammer. we’re all missing. Instead, all of our team have ent angles, and with the help of some words a huge range of artists. been working to produce two newsletter activ- which were written well before anyone had Talking about the second pro- ity packs, which are being sent into the places imagined what we’d be going through this When the coronavirus out- BBC Radio 6 Music presenter break started, National Prison gramme, Marc said: “It fea- where we usually lead our groups. In the news- spring, but we are connected nevertheless. Marc Riley (above) has volun- Radio contacted Marc to ask tures songs and music that letter we bring you a short extract from a story teered his time and consider- him to record a message for appear either in films or on and a poem, like we do in the real groups, but The ‘must’ in the poem hit able skills to create a pair of listeners, to help keep spirits TV. Theme tunes, featured we also add our thoughts and a few prompts very special lockdown pro- up during the lockdown. In songs - a bit of a mixed bag - to get you thinking and hopefully enjoying me square on, and with that grammes for National Prison response, Marc suggested he but hopefully an entertaining what you’re reading. It’s not the same as us thought I knew that I had truly Radio. The two shows will present his own show from mixed bag!” being there, but it’s still reaching out to broadcast on Monday 8th the temporary studio he’s people. connected with the poem, in a June and Monday 15th June, broadcasting from at his Marc knows a little bit about way that was personal and and they’re exclusive to Na- home in Manchester. Marc the prison system from a per- Connections are important to all of us, and I’m tional Prison Radio. said: “I suppose I decided to sonal story. He told National glad that we’ve been able to stay connected real. offer my meagre services be- Prison Radio: “My brother-in- law (now sadly no longer with with at least some of our groups in hostels by Marc is a former presenter of cause I was originally asked us) had been in prison on sev- using video-call software, which allows us to That’s what we hope happens in our groups, the BBC Radio 1 breakfast to record a jingle for the sta- show and has been at the top eral occasions. All of his con- appear on a computer in front of the group. that from out of the blue something in the tion - which seemed like such of the broadcasting game for victions were based around Though we can’t see the group we can hear what poem might speak to people so that they can a trifling thing to do. Because nearly 30 years. He played his heroin addiction. Towards they say and run a short session each week. make a connection with the poem and also of the current lockdown situ- bass with the cult Manchester the end of his life he managed with themselves. I think I’ll take this poem ation, I ended up building a band The Fall in the late to clean up and turn his for- From Sea Fever by John Masefield along to my next group and see what they make mini studio in my bedroom 1970s, and worked around the and recording programmes is tunes around … but tragically I must go down to the seas again, of it and then, when things get back to normal, music industry for a decade, much easier than I ever it was too late for him. The to the lonely sea and the sky, I must go down to the seas again. but in the 1990s he started thought it would be … particu- damage was already done”. And all I ask is a tall ship working with Mark Radcliffe, larly for a caveman like my- and a star to steer her by, as the duo Mark and Lard. self. So I thought - why not?!” And the wheel's kick and the wind's song The Reader Organisation is a charitable social They hosted the BBC Radio 1 Marc Riley broadcasts on enterprise that works to connect people through and the white sail's shaking, breakfast show together in The theme of the first show is National Prison Radio on And a gray mist on the sea's face, great literature. In weekly sessions, a practi- the 1990s before moving to Monday 8th June and Mon- tioner reads aloud a short story or extract and artists who have spent time and a gray dawn breaking. the breakfast show in 1997. behind bars, and features day 15th June, at midday and a poem. Anyone in the group may choose to repeated at 6pm. You can read too: some do, others don’t. In this way, con- tracks from Dr Dre, Wu Tang I was thinking about this as I was preparing Marc now presents the 7-9pm hear Marc on BBC Radio 6 nections are made with thoughts and feelings; Clan, Ian Brown and one of for a group recently, and I read John Mase- show on Thursday evenings Marc’s favourite artists of all Music Monday to Thursday some people reflect on these privately, others on BBC Radio 6 Music, which from 7-9pm. field’s poem ‘Sea Fever’, in which the speaker are more vocal. Either is fine. The emphasis is time, David Bowie. repeatedly says that they ‘must go down to the on enjoying the literature. seas again’. ‘Must’ seems to be an urgent word and grandchildren have significantly influ- to use, but if I’m honest I can really relate to What is ‘Windrush’? enced British society through sport, politics, art, poetry, literature, language, food, and this at the moment. Like an itch that you must The presence of Black people in the UK traces most of all music. The introduction of reggae scratch, the yearning to be somewhere else TurningPages back to Roman times. However, a larger num- and sound system culture in the 1950s and ‘60s comes and you can’t really help it because you ber of Caribbean people migrated to Britain helped change the face of pop music, and later can’t actually do anything about it. As I read following World War II. The government en- Prisoners who can read gave birth to new genres, including jungle, the poem I still wondered why though; what couraged people from Jamaica, Barbados, drum & bass, dubstep and grime. was so important about the sea that this per- teach prisoners who can’t Trinidad, Antigua, St. Kitts and more countries of the British Empire to embark on a new life son must go there again? Maybe the speaker If you would like more information on Monday 22nd June is Windrush Day, and Na- helping rebuild the ‘Mother Country’ during had a connection with the sea - perhaps he was how to become involved, as either a tional Prison Radio will be broadcasting sto- the post-war period. a fisherman or had fond memories of a Mentor or a Learner, contact the Reading ries from this generation in a brand new holiday? Plan Lead in your prison (ask a Shannon documentary, Windrush Stories. It’ll feature HMT Empire Windrush, a former German navy Trust Mentor who this is) or write to: reflections from poet Benjamin Zephaniah, ship and cruise liner, brought some of the first I know for me that the sea means open space Shannon Trust, Freepost RUAU-LAHR-JGZH NPR presenter Jamz Supernova, cricketer Cecil big groups of West Indian immigrants, landing and wide skies, something I’m missing after Studio 1.15, Edinburgh House, Kennington Wright, as well as people who aren’t so well- at Tilbury Docks in 1948. These people, includ- two months at home. I’m sure that we can all Lane, Lambeth, London SE11 5DP known but have amazing stories to tell. ing those who came on later ships, are some- relate to this feeling, more so in the current times referred to as the ‘Windrush circumstances, and even when it doesn’t seem Generation’. Windrush Stories broadcasts on National to be the kind of day described in the poem. ShannonTrust Prison Radio on Monday 22nd June at midday No fish and chips or ice cream to be enjoyed The Windrush Generation and their children and 6pm. Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Jailbreak 45 On this day… 8th June 1874 Behind the Gate The life and infamous times of Britain’s prisons: ‘FREEDOM FIGHTER’ DEAD! this month HMP Bronzefield Demise of the great Cochise The accommodation is divided into four main residential units, each holding approximately their land. This approach troop reinforcements. Even- 135 women. There is also a 12-bed Mother and Noel Smith ended when Mexico gained tually both sides killed their Baby unit, accommodating children of up to independence from Spain and hostages as things spiralled 18-months old. The prison has a Level 4 the Mexicans ended the prac- out of control. Cochise then Healthcare provision with in-patient facilities tise of ‘placating’. The Apache engaged in 11-years of relent- Her Majesty’s Prison Bronzefi eld is a female for up to 18 patients, as well as a smaller 10-bed then resumed their raids in less warfare, reducing many adult and young offender prison located in Help and Direction Unit. Despite this, the pris- order to acquire the goods settlements in Southern Ari- Ashford near Middlesex. It is the only pur- on has been heavily criticised over the years that the Mexicans would no zona to a burned-out waste- pose-built private prison in the UK exclusive- for its ‘unresponsive healthcare’. In 2008, a longer sell to them. As a re- land. It has been estimated ly for women. The prison is operated by a pri- prisoner named Natasha Chin died aft er she sult, the Mexican government that the death toll amongst vate company called Sodexo, and it is the had vomited continuously for 9 hours without began a series of military op- the settlers may have reached largest female prison in Europe. being given medical attention or her pre- erations against the Apache. 5,000. The attempted arrest of The Apache fought them to a Cochise is still remembered The prison was opened in June 2004 and was scribed medication. Prison offi cers had asked standstill. by Chiricahua descendants built partly on the site of the old, notorious, Healthcare to attend the prisoner, but Healthcare today and is known as ‘Cut Ashford Remand Centre. Ashford Remand did not respond. The Inquest jury found her Cochise’s father was killed in the Tent’. Centre had been in operation from the 1950s death was due to ‘a systematic failure, which the fighting, which made and held boys between the ages of 14 and 21 led to a lack of basic care’, and that her death Cochise deepen his resolve At a place called Apache Pass who were either remanded by the courts or was ‘contributed to neglect’. Since her death, sentenced to periods of youth custody. The three further women died at the prison aft er Inside Time reporter and that of the Apache to pur- in 1862, Cochise, his father- sue vengeance against the in-law Mangas Coloradas and sentenced prisoners were known as ‘YPs’ being found unresponsive in their cells. Mexicans. During an Apache around 500 fighters held their (Young Prisoners) and would do most of the Deborah Coles, of INQUEST, maintained the The great war chief Cochise raid on Fronteras, in Sonora, ground against a force of Cal- jobs around the prison. Ashford Remand Ministry of Justice and Sodexo should be held was one of the most noted Cochise was captured by Mex- ifornia Volunteers led by Gen- Centre had a bad reputation for violence and bullying amongst its young prisoners, and the accountable for not acting on repeated warn- Apache leaders, along with ican forces, but astonishingly, eral James Henry Carleton, fabric of the buildings was very poor with ings about health care not being safe. Coles Geronimo and Mangas Colo- given how he galvanised his until carriage-mounted how- many broken windows, furniture, and cell-fi t- said, “Natasha’s death was a result of this radas, to resist the advance of people into battle against itzer artillery fire was used on tings. In short, Ashford Remand Centre (below) indiff erence and neglect. It is shameful that the European settlers who them, the Mexicans ex- their position. The howitzer was a prison slum and its eventual closure was women continue to die such needless deaths flocked into America in the changed the Chief for a dozen fire sent the Apache into re- Mexican prisoners that the mourned by very few. in prison. They failed to provide Natasha with 19th century. Cochise, or She- treat in one of the rare pitched Apaches had captured. The even a basic duty of care. Urgent action is Ka-She in Apache, was born battles the Apache fought Mexicans could not defeat the needed to dismantle failing women’s prisons in 1805 in a territory called against the United States Apache and in 1850 a great and invest this money, not in private compa- New Spain. He has been de- Army. In January 1863, Gen- scribed as a large man for part of the disputed land was nies but in specialist women’s services to sup- ‘acquired’ by the American eral Joseph R West, under port women in the community”. those days, with a muscular orders from General Carleton, frame, classical Native Amer- government after the Mexican lured Mangas Coloradas into ican features, and long black War. There have also been concerns expressed a conference under a flag of hair, which he wore in the about the care of pregnant women. At least truce for a peace parlay. The traditional Apache style. He For a short time there was four times in the two-years leading up to 2019 Americans took Mangas pris- was six-feet tall and his name peace between the Apache women were forced to give birth in upsetting meant ‘having the quality or and the European-Americans, oner and later murdered him. and potentially dangerous conditions - one strength of oak’. but this was not to last as the Cochise’s rage was monu- woman gave birth in her cell and another was European-Americans inevita- mental and the Apache con- left in labour during the night with only anoth- Cochise and his people, the bly began to encroach on tinued their raids with er pregnant prisoner to help her. In October Chiricahua Apache, lived in a Apache land. In 1861, the Bas- renewed vigour. Ashford Remand Centre 2019, a new-born baby died aft er the mother region to the north of Sonora, com Affair was a catalyst for was a prison slum and its gave birth alone. “The case raises serious Mexico, New Mexico, and Ar- armed confrontation. An On the 12th of October 1872, questions about how the woman came to be izona, where they had been Apache raiding party had General Oliver O Howard and eventual closure was mourned unsupervised and without medical support settled long before the Euro- driven away a settler’s cattle Captain Samuel S Summer during her labour and birth, and about the pean explorers and colonists and kidnapped his 12-year-old came to Arizona to negotiate by very few. conditions at the privately-run prison.” (The began looking greedily at stepson, Felix Ward. Cochise a peace treaty with Cochise. Guardian). Ten or eleven diff erent Inquiries their land. First it was Spain and his band were mistakenly The treaty was successfully HMP Bronzefi eld was built on the site and is have been launched into the baby’s death. currently one of only two prisons used to and then Mexico who tried to blamed for this, but it had negotiated, with Geronimo There are questions over how the woman had house female Category A prisoners. Female gain dominion over the Chir- been carried out by the Coy- acting as Cochise’s inter- no medical help during birth, and the case and juvenile Category A prisoners are known icahua lands, but they were otero Apache. Army officer Lt preter, and the Apache went drew attention to what is done generally for as ‘Restricted Status’ prisoners. When opened, met with heavy and mainly George Bascom invited to live on the Chiricahua res- pregnant women in prison. There has been the prison was staff ed by around 140 custody previous unease over care of pregnant prison- successful resistance. This Cochise to his camp, believ- ervation. But the peace was ing him to be responsible. offi cers, a ratio of 50% male and 50% female ers at Bronzefi eld and the prison faced criti- was the start of the cycle of short-lived for Cochise. On Cochise denied responsibility staff . The Sodexo Annual Report and Accounts cism for transferring prisoners to hospital only warfare for the Chiricahua June 8th, 1874, Cochise died and offered to investigate the for 2017/18 shows the cost per prisoner at HMP when advanced in labour. Apache, and their formerly from abdominal cancer, and matter, but Bascom tried to Bronzefi eld is £66,294, around £10,000 higher peaceful lives would never be was buried in the rocks above arrest him. Cochise drew his than at any other UK women’s prison. A 2013 report by HMCIP praised the prison for the same. The Spanish soon one of his favourite camps in knife and slashed his way out its eff orts to tackle alcohol problems and self- realised that threats and vio- Arizona’s Dragoon Moun- lence against the Apache was of the tent but he was shot and Since its opening, Bronzefi eld has been the harm, improvements in healthcare and its tains. Only his people and his not going to work, so decided wounded as he fled. subject of media coverage, most notably about induction. The report condemned their segre- white friend Tom Jeffords to try a different tack. well-known prisoners, its supposedly lax gation practises, in particular for keeping a Lt Bascom then captured knew the exact location of his regime, high staff turnover and continued prisoner in segregation for 5-years in terrible resting place and they all took The ‘Galvez Peace Policy’, as some of Cochise’s relatives extremely poor industrial relations. conditions, which ‘appears to amount to torture’. the secret to their graves. it became known, was an at- who were taken by surprise as tempt to make the Apache Cochise escaped. In retalia- In 2009, a 77-bed unit was built on the existing In 2012 it was reported that Bronzefi eld was dependent on the Spanish by tion, Cochise and his men Many of his descendants re- site, taking the operational capacity up to 527. the first prison in the UK to have its own giving them old and obsolete took hostages to use in the side at the Mescalero Apache Plans also exist to further expand the prison branch of the Women’s Institute. The branch firearms and alcohol rations negotiations to free his rela- Reservation in New Mexico, to include a male section along the lines of is for members of staff and for prisoners who so that they were placated as tives. The negotiations fell and at the Fort Sill Apache HMP Peterborough (also run by Sodexo) mak- are taking part in resettlement programmes the invaders tried to steal apart with the arrival of U.S. Tribe in Oklahoma today. ing it a dual prison holding males and females. ahead of their release. 46 Jailbreak www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
Cell Workout JOE’S WORKOUT
LEG RAISE CRUNCH ON ELBOWS Functional fitness is king! 3 sets of 25 3 sets of 25 Continuing guest pieces by an LJ Cell Workout graduate 60 SECONDS OF REST BETWEEN resurrected my spirit and EACH SET chose a path I didn’t realise before. However, I still teach. I enrich clients with knowl- edge. I give them homework. I’m their biggest cheerleader and have no problem giving feedback - positive or nega- tive. It sounds cliché, but I love my job.
Since leaving prison, I’ve ALTERNATIVE TOE REACH achieved further qualifica- 3 sets of 20 tions such as a Level 4 Spe- cialist in Physical Activity SQUATS and Weight Management for 3 sets of 50 obese and diabetic clients, and a Level 3 diploma in Ex- ercise Referral. This is a niche PRESS UP SHOULDER TAP qualification that allows GPs 3 sets of 20 to refer patients to me to be trained through a fitness pro- gramme. Pushing people’s physical and mental bounda- Joe Squire do at SOH Fit is work on opti- ries is what motivates me to mal fitness. SOH Fit stands for keep training others. ‘supporting optimal health’. I never thought I wanted to be When I’m not in the gym, I’m a personal trainer. I was a What is optimal health? at home planning future ses- teaching assistant who Optimal health is split up into sions with Sky Sports on in wanted to be a teacher when five divisions: emotional, the background, or I could be I was jailed in 2015. But in mental, physical, spiritual playing virtual chess or cook- prison, the only thing for me and intellectual health. To ing. I also work part-time for to do was stay safe and go to reach optimal health, all di- St Giles Trust as a community the gym. It allowed me to free visions should be attained to case worker - a job I began my mind. your highest possible level. while in Sudbury prison. I Each division has an individ- work with youths who are My cousin Lela had just started ual impact on progression, heading down the wrong path her business, SOH Fit, and not only in a gym setting but by using my lived experience she knew how passionate I within a person’s general life. to guide them into making was about improving people’s better decisions for their own mindsets so wanted me to be We know the quality of our lives. part of it. Lela encouraged me mental health has huge impli- SURVIVORS OF CHILD ABUSE to get my fitness qualifica- cations on how we live our I never thought such organi- tions and join the business lives, which is why the mental sations existed, but St Giles once released. It was the best health division is so impor- Trust really wants to give decision I’ve ever made. I just tant. Someone improving ex-offenders a second chance wish I’d done it sooner. their mental health might and to use their lived experi- start with a trip to the gym, ence to give back to those who I’ve been in the fitness indus- dog walking, or just having a need it. It’s a phenomenal or- FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE try all of my life in one way or conversation. ganisation that gave me the another. I’m also an advocate opportunity to deliver a talk Our specialist legal team have an outstanding track record in representing victims of sexual, of training the mind in con- At SOH Fit we aim to support at De Montfort University - to- physical and emotional abuse. junction with the body. As people to knit all five divi- wards the end of my sentence such, my holistic training sions together. We have a - where I met L.J. Flanders, Disclosing details of past abuse can be difficult and often traumatic. Your dedicated lawyer will style utilises the skills gained unique, holistic approach to the CEO of Cell Workout. advise on the merits of your claim and will support you through the claims process to ensure from a coaching and mentor- body transformation and your voice is finally heard. ing diploma to supporting achieving a healthier life- L.J. had a similar story to mine. clients towards developing an style. It’s not just about count- He was a normal lad who Can you make a claim? athlete’s mindset. ing calories, cutting out junk ended up in prison but used We recover compensation for abuse in schools, children’s home, detention centres with foster food, and buying gym his time wisely. He started Functional fitness is king to clothes. We aim to give each and actioned a plan and now carers, religious organisations and sports clubs and many more…. me. It’s not all about throwing person a far richer experience has the most stolen book in Even if your abuse occurred many years ago you may still be able to make a successful claim. weights around but making where they must be honest UK prisons! He regularly gym time reflect what you do with themselves in order to gives talks at universities At Jordans Solicitors we pride ourselves on handling each case with professionalism, sensitivity in normal life. Agility is key reach their individual targets. while revisiting prisons to and understanding and adhere to strict professional rules of confidentiality to this, so I make my clients give back and is constantly move, and move lots. The I like to take clients outside of pushing forward. For that, he What to do now:- Registered with body needs to be kept both their comfort zone to see what is a big inspiration to me and Speak to one of our team in complete confidence: emailaprisoner supple and strong. they can achieve when someone I’ve been able to Call: 0800 9555 094 pushed and coached. work with. Unfortunately, many people Email us at: [email protected] struggle with what goes on Prison was a kick-start for me. Photography by Tommy Write to us at Jordans Solicitors, Abuse department, Neil Jordan House, Wellington Road, Dewsbury, WF13 1HL outside of the gym so what we It was the place in which I Banham & Federico Gangemi
SURVIVORS OF CHILD ABUSE
FIGHTING FOR JUSTICE We have an outstanding track record in representing victims of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.
Our specialist team have already helped survivors who suffered abuse at many different places including:
• Children’s Homes in ; Leeds, Nottingham, Wales
• Prison Detention Centres including ; Medomsley, Whatton, Kirklevington
• In Foster Car e
Disclosing details of past abuse can be difficult, we pride ourselves on our professionalism, sensitivity and understanding and adhere to strict professional rules of confidentiality.
Your dedicated lawyer will advise on the merits of your claim and support you through the claims process. W hat to do now:- Speak to one of our team in complete confidence: Call: 0800 9555 094 Email us at: [email protected] Write to us at Jordans Solicitors, Abuse department, Neil Jordan House, Wellington Road, Dewsbury, WF13 1HL Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Jailbreak 47
8. Cobra Outside View Start Afresh Each Day Keep your arms straight, palms down to take your weight. Allow your chest to lift The Prison Phoenix Trust - by Selina up, like a cobra. For the love of trains The yoga sequence here can help you create a feeling of re- treat at the start of your day, exercising your body, stimu- lating your mind, and allowing rest and silence in meditation. No matter what’s happened the day before, you can always begin each day afresh. Practising yoga, you are taking care 9. Cobbler Paul Sullivan and being kind to yourself. This sets the tone for your day Allow your knees to drop ahead. You may find you deal with difficulty more calmly, towards the floor, increasing feel less tense and are more focussed. Many of you who write this movement as you exhale. I have always liked trains and really enjoy to tell us you choose to use your time this way say how it Repeat for 5 breaths. This visiting Britain’s heritage lines. During the inspires others and allows you to share kindness with them. releases tension in the hips. nationwide lockdown this has not been possi- ble but fortunately many people have up- 1. Mountain pose 4. Shoulder rolls loaded train journeys to YouTube showing the Train 3: Heading through the Brenner Stand tall. Feel your feet on the Draw your shoulders forward view from the cab as the driver sees it. I suffer ground. Lengthen your spine so as you breathe in and back as from a long-term balance problem that means Pass. the crown of your head lifts you breathe out. Do this 5 I have great difficulty travelling - I can manage upwards. This can immediately times. Then change direction a few hours on a train or an hour on a plane help you feel brighter and in and do 5 rolls. Shoulders hold a but anything further is impossible. Using the charge of your day. Start to roll great deal of tension. train journey films, at weekends with nothing your neck gently around in 10. Bridge circles in both directions to Push your feet down and better to do, my wife and I have managed to release tightness here. release your back up as you travel all around the world and are currently inhale. As you exhale, lower trying to plot a continuous trip across Europe your back to the floor. Your by train videos. Always aware of the problems arms are by your sides, palms of being on lockdown in prisons I thought it Train 4: Heading towards the moun- down. Repeat this up-and- might be fun to give you a little quiz to see if tains on the Tauern Railway. down movement 5 times. you can identify which countries these trains are in. Each picture may give you a clue, but I have also given you a station or place on the route. Answers are on page 52. 5. Standing forward bend Keep aware of your feet’s connection to the ground. This 2. Hip circles will help you to feel stable, as 11. Knees to chest With your feet hip-width apart, you breathe in and out, feeling Hug your knees in to your move your hips in circles: 5 times of the stretch. chest. Rock side to side. Enjoy the massage of your lower in one direction, 5 in the other Train 5: The train is heading on a 2½ direction. Notice how this gets back and shoulders. hour journey to Ninh Binh. your back moving too. Put your hands on your hips if you like.
Train 1: About to set off for the Great 12. Rest Seto Bridge. Tense your whole body as you 6. Cat and cow stretches inhale, then totally relax as Breathe in as you dip your back you exhale. Do this 5 times, and release your chest forwards before you let go of thinking in a relaxed cow pose; then and doing and just be. Stay squeeze your core muscles in as here for 15 breaths or longer. Train 6: Two story express leaving you arch your back and exhale Sabinov. 3. Tree in the wind into a deep stretch in cat pose. Breathe in as you stretch up Repeat 5 times. Let your neck above your head - breathe and head be part of the flow of out as you bend to the left. this movement. Train 2: The train is just leaving Breathe in as you come to the Jamaica Station heading to 13. Meditation centre and out as you bend to Ronkonkoma. the right. Repeat 5 times. Sit on the floor, your bed or a chair - however you are most comfortable. Bring all your attention to the feeling of your breath and count 10 slow, Train 7: This is a high-speed-train natural out breaths. Then start which travels at 350 Km/Hr and again at 1. Repeat this for 5 arrives with an accuracy of seconds, so minutes or longer. We take pride in providing a it is definitely not the UK! The clue is in full range of the picture. Criminal and Prison Law 7. Down dog Keep weight coming down Services. through your heels. You can stretch them down one at a FOR ASSISTANCE PLEASE CONTACT By the way, we have a time, bending the opposite knee. 12-part yoga and Hannah Rumgay Remember: you are doing this meditation programme Prison Law Solicitor called ‘Freedom Inside’ together with everyone in the on National Prison Radio! universe. You might like to do Tates, 12 Park Place, Leeds LS1 2RU (See back page for NPR this at 8.30am if you like, when Train 8: Half-way through a seven broadcast times). we at the Prison Phoenix Trust 0113 242 2290 hour journey approaching Geilo station. practice too. 48 Jailbreak www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
Looking Up pittance. them round here before.’ ‘It’s tree, but bit his tongue in- nature, Sue, taking over, soon stead. They meandered their In the Whitemoor block, as we turn our backs’. Jason way across the unkempt park The ups, downs, challenges and triumphs of a prison leaver’s journey ‘lockdown’ meant screws in took out his battered prison to the Hostel, past shut shops, permanent riot gear, masked flask and poured two little stopped machines… the dumb and anonymous, laughing cups of coffee. Sue laughed. and littered places where like hyenas as they ham- ‘Why d’you keep that, it’s crowds had been. On a street mered helpless saps into un- wrecked!’ ‘It’s a reminder - corner, someone had painted consciousness, then charging had it in every block from ‘HAVE HOPE YOU ARE WOR- them with assault. Lockdown Frankland to Parkhurst… THY’, the hasty brush-strokes my arse! bloody but unbowed.’ already half erased by waist- high thistles. ‘Jay? You’ve got that look ‘Let’s go and see Kaz, Jay, the again. Let’s get some fresh Hostel’s on lockdown but she Kaz sat hunched and smoking air.’ can still walk round the on the Hostel bench, looking grounds.’ ancient and broken, long hair They walked arm in arm Jason sniffed. Kaz had been a untidy, grey roots showing, through the deserted streets, resident at Overcourt more and a faintly unpleasant pausing in a little park where than a year ago, till she was smell drifting over with her the Millennium Fountain had collared with a car full of smoke. Whatever she’d been been silenced, and the nettles money and recalled to Low surrounding the bench through on recall had hit her Newton. Mysteriously, all fur- hard. That meant she would reached for their ankles. A ther charges of money laun- siren blared nearby as an am- have done anything… said dering against her had been bulance raced past. anything… to escape it. Jason dropped, and she’d been kept out of sight, his spider given a second chance at re- ‘Creepy isn’t it?’ Sue whis- senses tingling danger. Kaz settlement. It was Kaz’s pered, holding Jason’s hand. perked up as Sue called her cousin, Ramesh, who’d given
© MW ‘It’s like a science fiction over to the gate, the pair Sue some work in his empire movie… I keep expecting Tom laughing at the laminated pic- Frank Cotton of bedsits. ‘SPARKS’. ‘Sue Parker, see? you right up. You’ve got no Cruise to rush in with a mira- ture someone had pinned to S.PARKS… well, near enough.’ official qualifications and no cle cure he nicked from some it, showing the Chuckle Jay smiled. ‘It’s clever, Sue, business insurance.’ Jason ‘Kaz is right devious, Sue. You secret Chinese laboratory.’ Brothers saying ‘TWO METER ‘Every Breath but that bag of cash you leant at the sink, kitchen door shouldn’t trust her. And for ‘He’d be no bloody use. He’s YOU’ in a speech bubble. brought is more than wide, music and children’s God’s sake, do not tell her You Take’ going into space, Sue. Bleed- Jason sloped away to sit enough…’ laughter drifting in - entire ing coward.’ you’ve got loads of money hid alone, hoping his daughter ‘It’s not about money, Jay.’ streets normally at work or ‘You what?’ at home.’ ‘You shouldn’t be out work- Sally would be able to visit ing, Sue, you’re five months school, lapping up their ‘Seriously… Tom Cruise is fly- ‘I won’t, Jay, I’m not daft. But again soon. He’d pleaded with pregnant.’ Jason shrugged. Sue’s mind lockdown. ing to the International Space I like Kaz, she was really kind Alison to let her come, but ‘I want to. I need to keep was made up, and there was Station to make his next film. to me when I turned up at Sally herself refused, telling busy.’ no arguing. She needed some- ‘Lockdown’. What a joke! Talk about isolation. All the Overcourt. I mean, men and off her Dad for being selfish. ‘You could catch the virus thing of her own, and her Sunbathing, barbecues and stars will be up there, waiting from them bedsits you’re fledgling electric business endless rainbow-coloured for the pandemic to die down women in the same premises, Another seagull circled over- re-wiring.’ was it- until her baby bullshit on social media; before they come back to I wondered what I’d let myself head, basking in its solitude, ‘I’m on my own, Jay, and I’m arrived. gushing mutual support for earth. Bastards’. in for.’ whilst the human world only doing a few sockets. Heroic Workers who, only below held its breath. Here, d’you like my logo?’ Sue ‘I’m still worried about you, months before, were ill-paid A seagull landed on the foun- Jason shook his head, and held up a T-shirt with a light- Sue. Ramesh is proper dodgy, and exploited nobodies. No- tain and glowered at them was about to say something Frank Cotton is a former resi- ning bolt printed on the and if anything goes wrong in bodies like Jason, scrubbing like it owned the place. Sue about Sue shagging Mad-Dog dent of HMPPS pocket. Underneath, it read those slums of his, he’ll grass pans in a Kebab shop for a flinched. ‘Never seen one of Dearden under the willow
Have you got a problem with alcohol? “Recent Cases dealt with by MKS LAW “ “Only YOU can decide” CROWN COURT If drinking has cost you more than money and R v S and Others – Charged with Murder. All defen- dants found Not Guilty. you believe you may have a problem? R v W and Others – Charged with supply of drugs. We are here to help… Hung Jury. Discharged. R v B - Charged with Attempted Murder. Reduced to Alcoholics Anonymous GBH following negotiation with CPS. landline PAROLE HEARINGS LICENCE RECALL National Helpline: 0800 917 7650 JM, BH, AL, AM, DC Clients all released following Parole hearings. www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk • Receive phone calls from prisons APPEALS AGAINST CONVICTION/ SENTENCE 1st stage appeals undertaken on private client basis only. Alcoholics Anonymous has over 4,400 Groups on your mobile throughout Great Britain, designed to help those • Only 10 pence per minute CCRC REFERRALS with a drinking problem. Through mutual 2nd appeal attempts undertaken privately and some Legal Aid. support, sufferers assist each other in coping • No credit check with their problem. There are no fees for mem- • No monthly bills ADJUDICATIONS bership of Alcoholics Anonymous and anonymity • 100% pay as you go FA - Client found Not Guilty following positive MTD. is carefully preserved. Murder, Drugs, Fraud? Facing serious criminal charges? Face them with the Legal Team that is right for you. Calls will be kept strictly confidential MKS LAW - Suite 19, Unit 9 Liberty Centre, Wembley, HA0 1TX For more information: call costs instantly Tel: 020 8123 3404 Fax: 020 8181 6512 PO Box 1, 10 Toft Green, YORK YO1 7NJ MKS LAW Solicitors More info? Telephone: 03333 706550 Criminal Defence Lawyers Tel: 01904 644 026 email: [email protected] Legal Aid & Private Client 020 8123 3404 - [email protected] - mslaw.co.uk Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Jailbreak 49 Family Tough Love Jordan Jenkinson - HMP Frankland I. Larkowsky - HMP Norwich Wanna hear some real stuff? I’ll tell you some real stuff Yo bruv do you want a tissue? Beware it might be tough As you are selling your story like some big issue! But I care it’s just all love Your co-d can’t be that smart and loyal, as he ratted on you, big fat and royal. I’m sick of seeing these youth’s kill each other My commiserations on what happened to you, For no reason, no meaning give your story to every person, Taking sons from mothers you will be unfortunate to find Taking brothers from brothers that people don’t care about your sh*t Taking lovers from others they have enough on their own mind! Stop braggin about involvement in it, I'm sick of seeing people preach it This conversation, you really need to bin it! If they were sat here doing life You say that they have nothing against you, They wouldn’t teach it Rap Star of the Month that places you in connection, Congratulations to this months Don’t let them suck all the life from you They aint right for you. yet you’re sentenced in this place of correction! winner who receives our £25 prize Bruv I’m not gonna answer your questions, They take the light from you. only you can! 2020 Swerving They pollute you cos they can. You done your crime, But when sh*t hits the fan Time to be a man, that does some reflection. Kim Hodgkins - HMP Eastwood Park Emma Lawson - HMP Downview Where did you land? In this place of correction! Where are your man? Grow up change your way, I’m writing this on my own Before I come to jail realise that crime don’t pay! can’t wait till the day I go home Livin it up in HMP There was some weird guy You rely on your fam This isn’t a life or a place to be, 2020’s gonna be the year for me. Who was always lurking And you rely cos you can Rotting in a cell in HMP! Cos by you they stand Now the music in my cell Everyone is innocent in here, You deserve better Sitting in the cell with Cleo and Scouse Has got me twerking this you will soon find, Better than sending your love in a letter. People chasing vapes like cat and mouse I didn’t do it, it wasn’t me, it’s not mine! And the peng girls Waiting for canteen day View prison as a university, Have got me flirting You might use the right rhymes Hashtag the ultimate pay day. Having so many jokes At the right time A place of learning to change your way. My girls got me smirking To somebody you’re the right find Grow up Bruv as tomorrow is a new day, Freedom ain't far away My ex man done me no favours To put them in the right mind you need to learn from your mistakes, Keeping all my thoughts at bay He was always merking And it all started with the right lines Really have a good think, Not long to go If I see him again as the way you’re going on, For me and Cleo He will have me swerving Now use your right rhymes your sh*t really stink! In the right lines When I’m out he can’t holla me There is nothing to be proud of, Stuck on Licence to symbolize Cos he aint deserving on wanting to be seen as a thug, Nothing but a nuisance in the right eyes the way you’re going on, Seeing probation once a week I’ve took this time in my life You can win in this life you’re acting like a proper mug! OMG man that's so peak to do some learning Just choose the right prize Finally things in my life You can have a good future, Feel like they are actually working FAMILY if you play your cards right, Here it is my fellow friend Words can be metaphorical You need to sort it out now, Time is coming to an end Words can be diabolical and keep that future of yours bright! Grab a pen and paper for the Inside Time Keeping us safe Let your words be astronomical Listen to these words, and write a rap, make it rhyme Your life’s your movie take it from me, I hope 2020 is a good year Louise Griffiths - HMP Eastwood Park You’re just writing the chronicle! Prison is not the place to be! For everyone sat here!
23 bang up is no joke Nothing to do, not even a smoke True Story Giving up?? They give us a TV to watch and stare Michael Stuart - HMP Edinburgh To take the boredom, so we don’t care Connor Jervis - HMP Preston The days are long, but the weeks go quick We’ve only got one life, I’m wasting mine in prison I just want a girl that my family will like, They try to keep us in, not to get sick When I could be out living, instead of reminiscing all the girls that I had was the crazy type. About a time I’m missing, back when everything was different Gotta switch it up and change my life, I see the screws doing their best I had some big ambitions, but none come to fruition I’ve been holding back, But we’re already fed up of the rest Now I’m sat in this position, just a number in the system but I think it’s time to settle down and do what’s right, Some will walk the yard in despair Cursing my decisions like “why did I not listen - Others will just sit and glare I’ve sat in traps even worked online, I had no job so I reverted to crime, to the warnings I was given, I should have paid attention” Half an hour morning and noon Cause jail is not a life, it is barely an existence We make the most of it, it’ll go so soon I’ve seen tragic scenes, I’ve seen baby’s die, My mum held me close when I needed to cry, It’s the same routine, where nothing ever changes like let it all out it will all be fine. Waking up each day to the same old f*cking faces We read Boris doing his thing Do you see my shoe’s you couldn’t walk in mine? Wondering how can I escape this situation I am placed in Let’s see what the government will bring I’ve got a big stretch that’s two times five. Should I reach for the pipe, add some spice and get wasted? Two months early so they say I got respect for my fam they stood by my side, Cause my freedom has been taken, I’ve nothing left to lose I hope I’m one of them, I sit and pray And to be honest I’m really surprised. So what if I die from these drugs that I abuse Got demons in my head that I’m having to hide, Do you think I give a f*ck? Well actually I do Every day the rules outside are changing Cause no one wants to see what’s really inside. I ain’t giving up on life, question is, are you? The numbers go up, everyone is claiming And all the bad sh*t yeah I’ve left it behind, So after all we sit here and think and that’s just a snippet of my f*cked up life. Don’t lose hope, it’s all we’ve got! Is everyone’s life out there really on the blink Maybe we’re safe in here after all u We will award a prize of £25 to the entry selected as our ‘Rap Star of the Month’. Send entries to: Inside Time, Rap, Botley Mills, Botley, At least we can pick up the phone to call Southampton, Hampshire, SO30 2GB. Try to keep rhymes under 300 words. When submitting your work please include the following permission: So, I ask you, HMP Eastwood Park ‘This is my own work and I agree to Inside Time publishing it in all associate sites and other publications as appropriate.’ By submitting your Is this the end or just the start? rhymes to Inside Time you are agreeing to our terms, to read them in full see the Inside Poetry pages in this issue. 50 Jailbreak // Inside Poetry www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
Star Poem of the Month Vision Virus Day by Day Congratulations to this months winner Sylvan Cox - HMP Huntercombe Jack Denny - HMP North Sea Camp Kevin Kane - HMP Grendon who receives our £25 prize Sight is the most important thing we have and I would be there with her The streets are littered with emptiness 2020 gave me a prefix to that ‘In’ Playgrounds are bereft of children’s laughter Happy as can be was blinded by the fact that life was more precious Waves lick empty beaches Spend the weekend together than gold, money, drugs and wh*r*s. No footprints adorn the sands She’d say, “please stay with me” Consumed by the night life and a constant jargon I don’t give a f***! People’s homes are now their lives During the week My back is against the wall Bricks and mortar their sanctuary She would cut her arms 6x4, 24 hours a day Society has changed; cocooned and digital She would feel alone I do give a f***! Clapping, yoga and bad haircuts She would be depressed Who should I call The trees still rustle in the wind No one would have known No money, no wh*r*s and not even a drug to hold The grass still grows me down The clouds still move across the sky We’d go Saturday shopping Steel bars and locked doors Dogs still bark; they know no different We’d go for a walk That’s how they hold me down Maybe out for a drive Time has few defining lines She’d call me ‘a silly dork’ What have you done son? Days no longer have personality © Deposit Photos No more ‘Friday feeling’ A mother’s tears, now I see During the week Fire burns, now I feel No ‘Monday morning blues’ The egotist in She would cut her arms This sh*t stinks A virus without discrimination She would feel alone A constant reminder in my head the devil you know Rich or poor, black or white She would be depressed What have you done son? Stephen Farrow - HMP Frankland Footballers or farmers No one would have known It’s clear to see Criminals or clergy You can window-dress your persona with You messed up ‘G’ Hope and battle hand-in-hand I’d buy her Sunday lunch Frilly tassels Am gonna use my insight A unified global endeavour Or she’d cook me pasta And flashing fairy lights, A dash of holy water Community resolve like never before When I’d go back to work So that you stand out in the crowd. And wash away my tears The fight will be won. She’d wish the week would go faster But self-importance only draws Dark days Unwanted hassles Am a turn on the lights During the week Upon one who is garishly proud. A chance to see this through She would cut her arms You can decorate your masks with A promise to be the man She would feel alone Vibrant colours and neon eyes I set out to be She would be depressed That glow, For you and me! No one would have known To intimidate the vulnerable and meek. Like a holster to a gun I long to be there for you But an overbearing ego is the The weekend would come Devil you know Forgive me though We’d have such a laugh Within one who is predominantly weak. I would probably still be blind Taking lots of selfies You can display your traits with If it wasn’t for you And going to the cafe Fanciful costumes on bronze mannequins Am taken to places Befitting the attention it brings. Wednesday night, she’d grab the pills Without my consent But a showy personality is a fool’s faux pas Just like so And am offered drugs Of gross arrogance On route to hospital Just to stop my tears By one who is but a puppet who dances Now we all know While the devil pulls on transparent strings. But 2020 Am sure to see © Deposit Photos So when it’s time to talk In this together, Through it all. Step up to the plate Is there any news? Because you will regret it both sides of the wall (by droplet of COVID-19) When it becomes too late. William Knowles - HMP Brixton Resolve programme Tom Clark - HMP Buckley Hall My self-harm explained Our prisons have fallen quiet Sean Little - HMP Stocken This virus has silenced us all Is there any news of the virus? James Godfrey - HMP Swaleside We’re all in prison now In life I’m in a dilemma We’re part of a family, you see! On both sides of the wall Where at the time I thought I was clever We started out life on a bat The sight of the blood I’m only trying to be better! But jumped cos we want to be free Is what makes me feel calm All minds and hearts are troubled So why does it come at a cost? Is there any news of the virus? But how will I explain Anxiety running high Where my soul turns to frost! It’s a struggle for us to survive! All these scars on my arm When depression takes its hold Nothing personal We replicate onto each human I cut when I’m frustrated Some hang their heads and cry I’m only trying to be my own boss. On warm juicy flesh we’re alive I cut when I’m sad So why is it I’m always at a loss? I cut when I’m anxious Too much time in cells to think I let life get the better of me Is there any news of the virus? Too much time alone I cut when I’m mad So I block it out! Some weed, get off my tree Don’t hate you - got no ill-intent! It’s a tension release Too little time for us to speak Slowly move to something stronger, like the bz Your immunity’s so not our problem To our loved ones on the phone The instant gratification But that’s never the key We need you - we just don’t pay rent A coping mechanism I’m supposed to be a daddy But whatever time we have The release of frustration Look where I am now. Locked up away from my family Is there any news of the virus? Be it short or long I’m not saying it’s wrong Where my girl Becci and my son Reggie need me I’ve been on my own for so long! We’re all in this together But it sure don’t feel right So I need to f**k off old me One droplet of snot on a door knob And it’s together we are strong And I bet for other people Fix up. Stand up. Accept the past Please touch me, I’ll sing you a song It’s not a pretty sight Let’s give thanks to the officers And realise nothing in life comes fast Is there any news of the virus? So in future I’ll talk They feel the pressure too But at least I’m not looking behind me Our transmission rate’s gone through the floor! To the people that will listen But still they risk their own lives Running from police I’ve tried to look out for my family While I try to learn To be here for me and you I’m at home where I’m supposed to be But don’t think we’re infectious no more No need to play the zombie A better coping mechanism May the love of God be with us all But real talk Is there any news of the virus? Because this is not an illness As these dark times linger on Time is priceless They’re part of my family, you see! And there is always hope And let’s all live in love and peace Life is family Been killed by this long isolation And with the right support When this evil killer’s gone. And that for me (completes me) And they meant the whole world to me I am starting to cope. Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Jailbreak // Inside Poetry 51
Through the window! Time I wasted, Michelle Noden - HMP Downview lost forever Pt 2 I’m going to try and inspire you as to what I think a window is; Stephen Reynolds - HMP Onley The window of the body is the eye, looking out of your window through glass they come in all shapes and sizes there is no denying it. I see birds flying high from my view, you Age 25 - I would never believe I’m still in the probably do too, they scoop down and zoom back high into the sky, going freely where can, as the saying goes “you got to take it like a they wish so you might also see them from your own window. man”
Everywhere in the world right now there’s somebody looking out of a window, there will Age 26 - Many days months and years have be incredible views seen for miles for sure but also some bad that you wished you never come to pass, lost time quickly forgotten I’m
© Deposit Photos had, but it’s history making no doubt. finally free at last Bronzefield, our unsung heroes The windows show us a lot in life and without them there would be no memorable Age 27 - This year was quite fun, even manage scenes of the things we have seen with the power of our eyes which bring us incredibili- a relationship, due to self-inflicted decisions it Lina - HMP Downview (formally Bronzefield) ty, a lot of praise and sadness it can sum a lot up of our unknown madness, they make ended in hardship the person we are today so never take our windows for granted, With COVID-19 running amok outside Aged 28 - No doubt in my mind I did not miss a Bronzefield is a safe haven for us women to reside They help with everyday life and fill our body with strife, my windows are going to close prison cell, strange as I was free but I was still We may well be on lockdown now so I can go dream of all the wonderful things I once seen through the body’s living a kind of hell But we don’t need to frown incredible window. This situation is unprecedented Aged 29 - Massive - my 1st calendar year I’ve Even if some of us are going a bit demented totally been free, but the truth was hidden, I I know these times are tough, it’s an odd situation was addicted to the B (Brown) Just pick up your phone, call a friend or relation Heart of a Lion The officers have been amazing; Aged 30 - I saw the road coming before it had I’d even go as far as saying they’re trailblazing Royston Williams - HMP Bure They’ve been on point with looking after us been paved, but in hell again this time to B And none of these unsung heroes ever make a fuss He had the heart of a lion, yet he spoke with a Scottish accent. As a Scotsman, (Brown) I was a slave We never hear them moan or complain his twang was so rhythmically exceptional - high from head to toe, however Aged 31- Mad as hell is changed all are young And we really appreciate all those officers that remain each step he took was in slow motion, one hell of a guy. And as a prison and stronger, crimes they’re committing their Doing their best to cater for our needs officer, he gave his all with devotion - there could never have been one single They are all true godsends indeed stays are so much longer person who was not touched by him. I fully expect that every one of his col- From managers, PCOs to seniors leagues and inmates will say the same thing, heart of a lion, we all called him They have all come together to look after us Aged 32- Huge change at recovery, change Jock, Mr Balloch. Rest in Peace. Playing a mean game of chess, he wasn’t a could be inside out, instead running scared the Did anyone notice the food has improved? pawn, bishop, rook, castle, knight, queen, he was a King. They are few and effort I put in was next to nowt I want to thank the kitchens for making up for us being locked in our rooms far between, men of this earth like him, now he’s become an angel, so if like The sheer dedication and care on house-block 4 me you’d wish to send condolences to his family, just read this poem, as Aged 33 - I’m still in the can with a future that’s Shows us all how decent the officers are and more each day, week and month passes by. I for one will still have tears in my unsure, hell is always here; prison is a revolv- So many of them putting our needs first eyes. Infectious was his chuckle of a laugh, even when being quite serious, ing door They’re just as important as any NHS doctor or nurse he’d smile. 2020 will in the end come to pass but please let us not forget all Whilst they are following the emergency guidelines those who have ‘died’. Whether or not you believe in God, let’s all hold our Licence recall is again f*cking sad They are continuously going above and beyond in short spaces of time Wasted so many years I’m really not bad heads up high, with a sense of pride and find the time to just pause for one moment. Even close your eyes, be thankful for our lives, it was an absolute I want to thank all the officers for all their hard work this past week Free of my demons for once at long last We are just about coping, but the news on TV makes life look bleak privilege knowing Officer Balloch, I only wish I could of said goodbye. I can’t change what’s gone before but my However, we’ll make it through this and out the other side Long term Officer Balloch 12th of April 2020 future is not my past. We just need to work together, keeping social distancing in mind Believe the Government’s rules! Even if staying 2 metres apart seems cruel Living the Bronzefield dream u We will award a prize of £25 to the entry It’s a guideline to keep us all safe and well selected as our ‘Star Poem of the Month’. To Please, everyone make an effort Alex Kurt - HMP Bronzefield qualify for a prize, poems should not have won a When will this be over? prize in any other competition or been published No one can tell. They call it ‘riding HMP’, living the Bronzefield dream previously. Send entries to: Inside Time, Poetry, A sentence at a time, becoming one long conscious stream Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton, Hampshire, The hard part for me Five hundred messed up reprobates, doing twenty-five to life SO30 2GB. Some are here for murder, some for assault with a paring knife! It is very important that you ensure the Ashley Hancock - HMP Ranby Pick-pocketing Romanians, speaking in some foreign tongue following details are on all paperwork sent to Some remain mysterious and won’t reveal what they’ve done Inside Time: YOUR NAME, PRISON NUMBER It’s not the fed station with no telly & PRISON. Failure to do so will prevent us It’s not the cells that are smelly We’re ripped out of our daily lives and thrown into a cage responding to you and your submission being It’s not going to court straight out of bed Punished for our misdemeanours, crimes of passion fear and rage withheld from publication. We will be using It’s not the sweatbox that makes your arse dead Some of us are reprobates, always lives of crime, the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize It’s not the coffee that tastes like dirt Judged by disapproving Magistrates and locked away to do our time money so include your DOB on your entries. It’s not the magistrates whose attitudes worse Call it ‘hell’ or call it ‘Butlins’, they provide full board accommodation It’s not the journey to jail sick with worry By submitting your poems to Inside Time you are A towel, a bed, grey prison sweats, outside association It’s not the interviews trying hard not to hurry agreeing that they can be published in any of It’s not the first night not knowing what to expect our ‘not for profit links’, these include the It’s not the mattress and pillow about breaking my neck You leave your rights and dignity outside these gates newspaper, website and any forthcoming books. It’s not the routine that’s the same each day And understand these ‘pound shop plods’ don’t care about your mental state You are also giving permission for Inside Time to It’s not the never partying, all work with no play You sign a bunch of ‘compacts’, basic rules and dumb instructions use their discretion in allowing other organisa- Don’t try to use your intellect it won’t help with your induction tions to reproduce this work if considered I’ll tell you what’s hard for me And no one has time to care when you’re caged, and you’re convicted appropriate, unless you have clearly stated that It’s my mum’s feelings when she gets upset When the long arm of the law extends then you’re damned to be restricted you do not want this to happen. Any work It’s your best of mates that start to forget reproduced in other publications will be on a ‘not It’s your kid’s birthdays that I miss Yes, here we are, collateral damage of society that’s failing for profit’ basis. Please note poems for publica- It’s your nanna as well as I wish I was there To care enough to wonder, “who are these people that we’re jailing?” tion may be edited. When submitting your It’s the end of a visit when they walk out of that door And its true the more you face the abyss the more the monsters meet your eye work please include the following permis- It’s the last of your credit when you can’t ring no more The less you fear the darkness - they can’t break you though they’ll try sion: ‘This is my own work and I agree to It’s the time that I’ve lost, which I’ll never get back Inside this concrete jungle, still there’s compassion, hope and pain Inside Time publishing it in all associate sites It’s when I’ll get out and have to start from scratch. Living the Bronzefield dream, until our lives begin again! and other publications as appropriate.’ 52 Jailbreak // Prize Winning Competitions www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
The online support Caption Competition Read all about it! community for family & friends who have a loved one in prison Last Months £25 Winner A £25 prize is on offer for the best caption to 1. What holiday chain has a new documentary Gavin Peardun HMP Brixton this month’s picture. on Channel 4 that goes behind the scenes? Proud sponsors of Inside Time’s 2. Which 2 week Championship was due to PRIZE quiz ‘Read all about it!’ start at the end of June but has been cancelled? We have over 3000 3. How many centimetres are in a metre? members using Prison Chat UK 4. What is the first colour in a rainbow? (PCUK) who offer support and 5. Who won the re-match on Harry’s Heroes: advice to those outside prison. Euro having a laugh? To find out more... 6. What is the name of Joe Lycett’s sidekick in see our advert on the back page his Channel 4 TV show? Luke, it’s clear you Drive-thru blessing 7. Which Britain’s Got Talent’s judge has have your mother’s hair, A priest from Detroit has gone viral after Last Months Winners although - I am your father, squirting holy water at his flock with a water recently released an album? Mr Woodward - HMP Stocken (£25) pistol during a socially-distanced service. M Hicks - HMP Doncaster (£5) Daft-vader 8. Which soft drink is commonly associated Father Pelc said; “Not only is this safe, this is See box to the right for details of how to enter fun. The sun was out, we had a nice turnout. It with Scotland? Before most businesses who come into contact with the public were closed for the foreseeable was a way of continuing an ancient custom, 9. What date is Father’s Day? Answers to last months News Quiz: 1. Broccoli future, one hairdresser had a novel idea to and people seemed to enjoy it.” and Cauliflower, 2. Emerald/Green, 3. Bethany, 10. What is the name of the newsagent’s on keep them and their clients safe. Unluckily for 4. Billie Eilish, 5. Rainbows, 6. Sue Baker, 7. M&S, them we had one of the sunniest Aprils on Closing date for all competitions is 19/06/20 Coronation Street? 8. Tony Bellew, 9. Morris dancing, 10. 12 record with virtually no rain!
Inside Knowledge // All the answers are within this issue of Inside Time - all you have to do is find them! How to enter: Send your entry on a separate sheet The first three names to be drawn with all-correct answers (or nearest) pandemic? will receive a £25 cash prize. There will also be two £5 runner up prizes. 10. At which prison were inmates greeted by a short, mixed-race lady with a of paper. Make sure your massive smile on her face? NAME, NUMBER & 1. Who says that only 81 prisoners have so far been granted early release because 11. Whose brother burned to death in front of his eyes? PRISON is on all sheets. of COVID-19 and hints that plans to let out 4,000 have been shelved? 12. ‘Ignorance is voluntary misfortune’ is a saying by who? 2. It is estimated that how many children each year are impacted by parental 13. Who is a number one bestseller in the UK and has received four Crime Failure to do so will imprisonment in the UK? Writers’ Association Dagger Awards? invalidate your entry. 3. A male prison officer from Bronzefield has been suspended after being accused 14. Who was a ’page 7 fella’ in The Sun? We will be using the new of stealing what from a hospital? 15. The walls have seen our like come and go how many times? 4. Who played bass with the cult Manchester band The Fall in the late 1970s? ‘Money Transfer Service’ 5. Who was born in a small town near Porto? for prize money so include 6. Which officer was sweating mopping the landing, cleaning cell door handles, Answers to Last Month’s Inside Knowledge Prize Quiz 1. Victoria Aitken, 2. Haven Distribution, 3. A.G. Smith, 4. National Prison Radio, 5. Walt Disney, 6. Butler Trust, 7. attending to cell bells and feeding prisoners? your DOB on your entries. Scotland, 8. Dr Caroline Watson, 9. Stephen Farrow, 10. Naomi Long, 11. Nikki Rose 7. Who says ‘society has changed cocooned and digital, clapping, yoga and bad Waterman, 12. David Adams, 13. Florence Nightingale 14. Robin Maughan ,15. Phil Martin Post to: ‘Jailbreak’. Inside haircuts’? The three £25 Prize winners are: The £5 runner up prizes go to: Time, Botley Mills, Botley, 8. Who says ‘people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, Justine Wainwright - HMP Low Newton Jay Graham - HMP Edinburgh but people will never forget how you made them feel’? Southampton, Hampshire Erinn Parker - HMP Grendon Mark Ellson - HMP Lowdham Grange 9. Inside Time would like to hear learner’s views on what during the coronavirus SO30 2GB. Craig Berturelli - HMP Perth Answers to last months quizzes HONEYCOMB QUICK CROSSWORD
Across: 1 Candid. 4 Credo. 7 Perseveres. 8 Spat. 9 Rebut. 11 Diarist. 13 Sibling. 15 Chess. 17 Gull. 18 Infrequent. 20 Blend. CRIMINAL LAW - MENTAL HEALTH LAW - PRISON LAW 21 Saturn. Fixed Fees From £150.00: Down: 1 Closed. 2 Diet. Guittard Applications Pre-Tariff Review 3 Discuss. 4 Cover. 5 Ear. Re-cat Reviews HDC 6 Onset. 7 Parade. 10 Beirut. 12 Tissues. 14 Gallon. 15 Climb. Legally Aided 16 Speed. 17 Gnat. 19 Fee. Parole Independent Adjudication Category A Reviews Re-call Pre tariff Parole Board Reviews GEFBADCHI Closed Supervision Centre 1 4 5 Mental Health Law (Legally Aided) 3 5 1 6 Transfer to Hospital under Section 47 & Section 48 Mental Health Act 9 6 CATCHPHRASE WORD MORPH 4 8 7 5 Criminal Law 3 9 1. Hole in One FASTER DO YOU have an ongoing confiscation order? 2. Walking on Air FALTER 2 3 7 1 DO YOU have an ongoing case and want to change solicitors? A charity providing expert 3. Easel FILTER 4 1 DO YOU want to appeal your IPP sentence? 4. Prison Sentence FILLER 7 3 5 8 and legal advice to prisoners 5. Walk in the Woods
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Recent changes in the law now mean that the Prison has more responsibility than ever to ensure your safety whilst under their care. We are happy to consider all injury claims that Injuries suffered due to negligence occurred within the last three years.
• Accidents at work • Injured by someone else’s mistake, at work or elsewhere • Falls from bunks • Assaults following threats that have been ignored • Slip & Trips • Faulty equipment, furniture or fittings Medical Negligence (Delayed / Wrong Treatment) If you have suffered and you are not sure whether you should claim, then contact us by phone or freepost and we will advise you on the best way forward - all “no win, no fee”.
CONTACT US TODAY, you may be entitled to compensation! Dental Negligence 0800 145 5105 This month's challenge Request a Claim Form Send your: Name, Prison Number and Claim Type to FREEPOST RSSU-GCXH-SJLG How many squares Brayford Solicitors, 5-7 Hartshill Road, are there on the Stoke on Trent, ST4 1QH chessboard? www.brayfordsolicitors.co.uk [email protected] Last Months Answer: Brayford Solicitors is a Trading Name of Brayford Solicitors Limited, Company Number 08270337 registered in England and Wales. The registered office is 5-7 Harsthill Road, Stoke, Stoke on Trent Staffordshire ST4 1QH. A. Authorised and Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Registration Number 654627. 54 Jailbreak // Just for Fun www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
• Worldwide there are seven ‘keys’ to the internet which Quotes Round the Bend • The Chinese word for must all be present at a secret location in the USA should penguin (企鵝) translates they ever need to restart it. One of them is in Somerset. “It’s a man’s world and show business is a man’s meal, with literally as “upright women generously sprinkled goose”. through it like overqualified ART AID: Activities spice.” CARRIE FISHER Anagram Square “If you can just get most peo- Rearrange the letters in each for prison learners ple to leave you alone, you’re row to form a word. Write your doing good.” BILL WATTERSON answers into the blank grid. The first letter from each word, You might want to keep “Ideas are like rabbits. You reading down, will spell the whatever you make or share get a couple and learn how to mystery keyword. it with someone. You could handle them, and pretty soon also enter it for the Koestler you have a dozen of them.” 1 HOTOT Awards 2020 - the closing JOHN STEINBECK date is extended until 2 L S H I L Tuesday 7 July 2020. If you’ve “Ignoring isn’t the same as entered already, or can’t get ignorance, you have to work ACROSS 5. Whale food (8) 3 B V E A O Hello from all of us at Koestler advice choosing your favour- at it.” MARGARET ATWOOD 3. Spanish appetisers (5) 12. Urban arteries (5) Arts! We are all living in ite work, we’ve increased the 7. Dirty (4) 14. New thought (4) 4 S N E O I “If A is success in life, then A = strange times with the cur- maximum number of entries 8. Animal tracks (5) 18. Lettuce variety (3) x + y + z. Work is x, play is y 5 rent pandemic. And we know per person to 10 this year. 9. Step (5) WNKON and z is keeping your mouth it’s very frustrating not being 11. Pyromaniac’s crime (5) AROUND THE CORNER shut.” ALBERT EINSTEIN able to access your usual Entry forms are in the centre 13. Unit of weight (abbr.) (4) 1. Rustic (8) activities. So Koestler Arts are of this issue of Inside Time. As 15. Spoke (4) 6. Collided with (6) 1 well as the usual feedback “People will forget what you 16. Vinegary (6) 10. Nearer (6) here during lockdown to sug- said, people will forget what gest creative ideas - we hope and awards for entrants, we 19. Geek (4) 17. French Riviera resort (6) 2 hope to create a small feature you did, but people will never 20. Latvian capital (4) it helps a bit. All you need is forget how you made them of works that mark how we • In 1969 a mysterious 3 paper and pencil - though if feel.” MAYA ANGELOU you have further materials got through this difficult time. DOWN turd was found floating 1. Faux ____, social blunder (3) around Apollo 10. 4 please use them. “That is the lesson of life, to 2. Scandalous (8) Everyone onboard denied kiss one’s enemy’s nose, always 3. Throw (4) responsibility and the cul- 5 standing one’s ground.” 4. Self-operating (abbr.) (4) prit has never owned up. FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE “Television is more interest- Magic square Words of the month ing than people. If it were 8 Mile not, we would have people Fill numbers from 1 to 9 in • LEUK - (19th century Scots) Fill up the boxes with the Idea #3: Banners Idea #4: standing in the corners of our the grid below such that ver- - to be in the open air after integers 1 to 8 (no repetition) rooms.” ALAN COREN tical, horizontal or diagonal being confined inside. so that boxes of no two con- What do you want to say In This Place sum, all are equal. secutive integers touch each today? What simple bold “You know how advice is. • Hapax legomenon - means other (not even at corners). message do you want to share Take the three words ‘In this You only want it if it agrees a word only recorded once - in the current coronavirus place’ as your starting point with what you wanted to do like ‘flother’ for snowflake, crisis? and then write without paus- anyway.” JOHN STEINBECK found in manuscript from ing or stopping or even 1275. Perhaps you are hearing a lot thinking too much for at • Male squirrels masturbate of advice and messages on least 10 minutes. • MEANDERTHAL - an aim- after mating in order to news and radio about coro- less slow-moving person clean their genitals inside navirus: Wash Your Hands / Begin by taking a moment to (often using a mobile phone). and out, thus reducing Stay Safe / Clap for the NHS... think about where your their chance of catching • CREPUNDIAN - an empty What individual message ‘place’ might be - somewhere sexually transmitted talker, one who rattles on. would you like to say loudly? you enjoy thinking about. It infections. They could be words of com- could be a room, a holiday fort, advice for people having memory, the gym, yoga mat, Stuck in a maze a hard time inside, chapel, somewhere outside Boggle or just how you feel today. or a completely imaginary Try and use as few words as space. possible to make your mes- Players: 1 or more sage bold. Then pick up your pen or Discover as many words as pencil and begin. Keep going, possible in the box below. A Then design a banner to try not to pause to think or word can only be formed if proudly display your mes- re-read what you have writ- each letter is side-by-side, sage. Add pictures or shapes ten just yet. See if your writ- above or below, or on the to the design to make your ing can be a continuous flow diagonal with the next, and point eye-catching. Use pen like waves or your breath. no letter position can be and paper, and add in other After 10 minutes, take a pause used more than once in any colours or materials if you and enjoy reading what you given word. Write your words have them. have written. You might want on a piece of paper and try to to finish there or you might beat your cell mate! SUGGESTED KOESTLER want to carry on writing... AWARDS CATEGORIES: 29 - Drawing / 42 - SUGGESTED KOESTLER W A S H E Calligraphy / 44 - Graphic AWARDS CATEGORIES: 3 - Design Flash Fiction / 5 - Non-Fiction I A D N L L S S M K • In prolonged periods of isolation a group of people can unwittingly start to develop their own unique accent. Z H A T G Measurable changes have been observed in as little as 4 months. E X I U Z Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Jailbreak // Just for Fun 55
Dots and Boxes • A study in 2010 tested the effects of 30 scents on sexual Dotwize • In 2017, a Palestinian judge banned divorce arousal in men. Although the most potent combination during Ramadan because “people make Players: 2 or more turned out to be the mix of lavender and pumpkin pie, all A white dot and a black dot are placed inside a heptagon In a grid below, take turns drawing a single men were aroused to some extent by everything, including hasty decisions when they’re hungry”. the odour of cheese pizza, baby powder, and parsley. as given below. At each stage, horizontal or vertical line between two dots. the black dot moves three The player who completes the fourth side of a ExtraWordsearch Jailbreak – June 2020 // Biscuits corners clockwise and the Number Search box earns one point (marked by their initial in Number Search - Luke Kendrick HMP Gartree Biscuits Wordsearch – Robert Lindsay HMP Bure white dot moves four corners the box) and takes another turn. The game ends C M A L T F C I L A Z C Y K D B S E C D anti-clockwise. After how 6 4 9 5 1 7 2 4 1 2 when no more lines can be placed. The winner many stages will the both of the game is the player with the most points. N O P D B G A R I B A L D I E S F W A F 8 9 2 1 3 2 4 9 5 8 M I L K N O W O C D B U L I E E S W N J dots be together in the same R I H C T A E O B I L B J I F S M N A C corner? 2 4 6 1 8 1 6 5 7 9 M A L T E D M I L K L I K M E G N M T U 3 4 1 7 9 7 6 6 3 2 M L I F B M C D N L E O M O N W M T A S W A S H O R R S T V O E Z X W Y N I G T 2 5 7 3 8 6 2 9 9 6 M D M L E E R W A C V N L W D B R D L A 8 3 4 4 9 2 7 1 8 7 I M C S W A F E R I T R I O C L U D I R L N O B D O T C T D I R D B H T B O N D 6 5 9 3 9 1 3 8 2 4 K N A D O H T S B H C G V O U C D N G C 3 6 9 7 1 8 4 2 1 2 W H E C C A E S W D E L E N W R B I B R 7 4 1 9 3 5 7 9 4 5 C H D I C G H E M R O M R N G U I N O E C E R I I V S O E Z P E N G U I N G U A 8 2 3 7 2 9 1 4 6 5 D L R D S E N Z F W G X R O M O N H R M L E M O N P U F F N B O D B C H O N B N 1642, 67823, 67823, 19947, 569182,19947, 357945, 569182, 72412, 31298, 357945, 6617, 5642, 72412, 89913 E L I N P U F W I D R I N G B O N B O H • 70% of the world’s 31298, 6617, 5642, 89913 F E E F F O C G N I N R O M C E F E N N population don’t use L I S H O T B D E A W I N H A D D R G D toilet paper. Thanks to Luke Kendrick HMP Gartree for compiling this Number Search. V I S H O R T B R E A D D R E A D S E I
BOURBON, CHEDDARS, CLUB, COOKIES, CUSTARD CREAM, BOURBON, CHEDDARS, CLUB, COOKIES, CUSTARD CREAM, DIGESTIVE, GARIBALDI, GINGER NUT Dear Editor HOBDIGESTIVE, NOB, JAMMY GARIBALDI, DODGER, LEMON GINGER PUFF, MALTED NUT, MILK, HOB MORNING NOB, COFFEE, JAMMY PENGUIN DODGER, LEMON PUFF, MALTED MILK, MORNING COFFEE, Tectonic RICH TEA, SHORTBREAD, VIENNESE WHIRL, WAFER • How are unicorns fake but Winner ...... PENGUIN, RICH TEA, SHORTBREAD, VIENNESE WHIRL, WAFER Each square must contain a digit. A one-square giraffes are real? Like, what is Thank s to Robert Lindsay HMP Bure for compiling this Wordsearch. If block contains only a 1, a two-square block more believable, a horse with you fancy compiling one for us please send in max 20 x 20 grid contains 1 and 2, a three-square block contains a horn or a leopard-moose- complete with answers shown on a grid. If we use it we will send you £5 1, 2 and 3, and so on. The same digit cannot appear camel with a 40 foot neck? as a thank you! Remember to include your name, number, prison. We in neighbouring squares - not even diagonally. Abbey Rose (aged 8) - Bristol will be using the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize money so include your DOB on your entries. • I cycled to the local shop for
a bottle of gin so we didn’t • Groucho Marx’s last words were “die, my dear? Why, that’s the last thing I’ll do!”. run out during the lockdown, but as I put it in my rucksack I thought; what if I fall off my Number Word bike and break it potentially causing me an injury? So I drank it all outside the shop. Work out which letter goes with each number, then fill in the Good thing I did, I fell off the rest of the squares. To get you started we’ve given you some bike seven times on the way letters to fill in the grid. home! Kim Smart - Croydon
• I was disgusted the other day when the obituary column of my local newspaper printed Winner ...... that I had died. Not only that, they got my date of birth, place • Neptune was discovered in 1846. It took of residence and family details until 2011 to complete one orbit of the Sun. all wrong! As a result I had to storm into the funeral to tell everyone I was still alive. They Word Wheel told me that there was another John Smith living locally, and Good 10+ / Excellent 15+ / Outstanding 20+ after speaking to his relatives and opening his coffin I saw Find as many words as possible using the let- • The Queen is woken up at 9am every that it was true. I had a good ters in the wheel. Each word must use the hub morning by a bagpiper playing outside laugh about it after. John Smith letter and at least 2 others. Letters can only be her window. - Lower Llandwrong used once. Players: 1 or more Find the two identical pictures K J A E L R I
• What3words is a geolocating service that has divided B A the world into 3x3 m squares with unique three-word phrases serving as addresses. 10 Downing Street is at ‘slurs.this.shark’. 56 Jailbreak // Just for Fun www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
Criss Cross Good news / Inspiring, Positive Stories Anagram Square
Makes you dizzy just thinking about it Rearrange the letters in each The closure of schools in Brazil due to the coronavirus pandem- row to form a word. Write your answers into the blank grid. ic gave 11-year-old prodigy Gui Khury plenty of time to perfect The first letter from each word, his skateboarding skills as he became the first person to land a reading down, will spell the 1080-degree turn on a vertical ramp. More than two decades mystery keyword. after Tony Hawk completed the first 900-degree turn, Khury shattered a long-standing record by flying off the top of a ramp 1 PSEHL and completing three full spins in the air before landing cleanly A wing and a prayer and skating off. The manoeuvre has long been one of the holy 2 KEDSA The white-tailed eagle, the grails of skateboarding. Khury was already the youngest largest bird of prey seen in the skateboarder to complete the 900-degree turn, a feat he pulled 3 OROFP UK, has been seen in flight in off aged eight. Skateboarding great Hawk landed the first 900 in England for the first time in 1999, nine years before Khury was born. Hawk was 31 when he 4 RAYPT over two hundred and forty successfully completed the trick calling it the biggest moment of years. A small number of his competitive career. The Guardian ASYRE eagles were taken from 5 Scotland, where they had already been reintroduced into the environment, by the 1 Roy Dennis Wildlife 3 LETTER 4 LETTER SEXY PLACE REAPER Foundation and Forestry 2 NEE ACID THIN SCRAG VOODOO England and placed on the OPT COLA STOPS 7 LETTER Isle of Wight. They have since 3 OVA EYES 5 LETTER TWEED Harnessing the sun ASSISTS been seen in Norfolk, Kent OWL HUGE BEBOP WATCH Chinese scientists have EMERGES and Somerset. It has a 4 PER IDLY EXACT harnessed fourth state of 6 LETTER EXCLAIM wingspan of up to 2.5 metres SEW ONCE IDOLS matter to create an ‘air plasma’ ASSUME LOITERS (8 feet 2 inches) and has not 5 THE POPE OASTS jet engine that runs on electricity EVENLY NEEDLED been seen in England since TRY ROSE PAYEE NHS Heroes alone. Their prototype engine 1780. The hopes are that the VOLCANO A new Banksy artwork has compresses air and ionizes it Thanks to Jack Jones - HMP bird, which has a white-feath- Berwyn. If you fancy compiling appeared at Southampton with microwaves thus generat- ered tail, pale head and an Anagram Square for us please General Hospital. The largely ing plasma which it expels out Honeycomb yellow bill, will come to breed just send it in 5 x 5 squares, com- monochrome painting, which the back of the engine to plete with answers shown on a on the Isle of Wight and is one square metre shows a grid. If we use it we will send you Write the six-letter answers to these clues around their clue generate thrust. Plasma is the rebuild the population of the young boy kneeling by a £5 as a thank you! Remember numbers in the grid, reading clockwise or anti-clockwise, fourth state of matter which species. wastepaper basket. He has to include your name, number, starting from the hexagon above the clue number. You’ll need to usually only exists in the prison. We will be using the new discarded his Spiderman and decide which direction they travel. laboratory, the surface of the ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize Batman model figures in Sun or for brief instances money so include your DOB on favour of a new favourite during lightning strikes. Their your entries. action hero - an NHS nurse. proof-of-concept prototype The nurse’s arm is outstretched launched a one kilogram steel and pointing forward in the ball 24mm into the air. While Fun facts... fashion of Superman on a not particularly impressive on mission. The artist left a note face value, when scaled up, • Tiny frogs in Peru have for hospital workers, which this would equal the same been observed buddying up read: “Thanks for all you’re amount of thrust produced by with tarantulas who act as © Deposit Photos doing. I hope this brightens a commercial jet engine. While their bodyguards. Cheers! (virtually of course) the place up a bit, even if its there is still a long way to go, CAMRA has created a virtual only black and white.” The the incentive for fossil fuel- • If the strings in string theory pub for beer drinkers and painting will remain at free air travel is certainly there were the size of trees, an pub-goers to get together for Southampton General given that current commercial atom would be the size of the a beer and tackle the Hospital until the autumn flight is responsible for 2.5 solar system. loneliness and social isolation when it will be auctioned to percent of all greenhouse gas raise money for the NHS. felt during the Coronavirus emissions. rt.com • Vampire bats practice social lockdown and closure of the distancing when they feel ill. nation’s pubs. The Red (On) Against all odds A 113-year-old woman in Spain has overcome the novel Lion is a video platform where • Greenland sharks have a coronavirus, becoming what is believed to be the oldest person anyone can join the public minimum natural lifespan of in the world to have recovered from it. Maria Branyas is bar for a lively chat over a 272 years - in 2016, research- 1. Good-looking 11. Soup flavour believed to be the oldest person in Spain and local reports state beer or book a table to set up ers found one that was older 2. Obey 12. Elongate she was battling COVID-19 for several weeks. Branyas was born 3. Almost 13. Here and there video conferencing for up to than the USA. four participants. The virtual in Mexico on March 4, 1907, and now lives in a residential care 4. Book user 14. Writer home. She tested positive for the virus in April and is said to 5. Cosset 15. Dairy product pub can also stream various • The swimming-pool smell pub quizzes, activities and have now overcome the infection. As well as having beaten 6. Slip-ups 16. Gain retribution you think is chlorine isn’t events taking place online, coronavirus, she also survived Spanish flu, which afflicted people 7. Gripping tool 17. Infuriate chlorine at all. It’s a com- bringing all virtual social across the globe between 1918 and 1920. According to the 8. Sale of goods 18. Wild pound called trichloramine activities in one place for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that 9. Discuss 19. Barely which forms when chlorine pub-seeker. Nik Antona, pandemic saw around 500 million infected worldwide, with at 10. Smooth stone 20. Objective reacts with pee and sweat. CAMRA’s national chairman least 50 million estimated to have died. Newsweek said: “While nothing can Words of the month replace the community Dad, how do I? • The inventor of the Frisbee created by a real local pub, Anyone who has grown up with an absent parent will tell you ‘wanted to live on as a that at one point in their life they’ve hit a conundrum and Frisbee’, and so his ashes • SIGOGGLIN - (Appalachian • WHOOPERUP - (early 20th we wanted to create a home needed the help of that parent. Rob, from Bellevue in were mixed in to 4,000 flying dialect) wonky or off balance. century slang) - a singer so where the nation’s beer and Washington, has experienced these difficulties himself after his discs after his death. bad they produce noise rath- cider drinkers can come dad walked out on any parental responsibility when he was just • SYNANAGRAM - A pair of er than music. together for a chat and a anagrams that are synony- drink. We’re all experiencing a teenager. In a bid to make sure no other children go through • ‘The Formation of mous e.g. vile = evil, enraged • MOWBURNT - adj. - of social isolation and loneliness, the same thing as him, Rob has set up a YouTube channel to Vegetable Mould Through = angered. grass that overheats and fer- so now it is more important help kids with no support to tackle what many would think are The Action of Worms’, a ments as a result of being than ever before to come simple tasks. On his YouTube channel, ‘Dad, how do I?’ Rob has 40-year long study of worm • UTEPILS - (Norwegian) — stacked when it is damp or together as a community to made videos on how to tie a tie, change a tyre, unclog sinks and poo, was Darwin’s best selling lager you drink outdoors. too green. support one another.” CAMRA baths and even iron a shirt. What a great guy. Lad Bible book in his lifetime. Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Jailbreak // Just for Fun 57
June Births The path to success Geography Facts
1 June 1937 1. Africa is the only continent Morgan Freeman - Actor 5 9 4 5 8 that is in all four hemispheres: (83 y/o) north, south, west, and east. 4 June 1975 6 7 4 5 4 It’s therefore also the only Angelina Jolie - Actress continent to have land on the (45 y/o) 3 4 1 4 4 prime meridian and the 15 June 1969 equator. Ice Cube - Rapper, Actor 8 1 2 9 2 (51 y/o) 2. Lesotho, San Marino, and Vatican City are the only 4 7 3 25 June 1961 2 9 countries to be surrounded Ricky Gervais - Comedian by just one other country. (59 y/o) Start at the bottom left square Lesotho is landlocked within and move up, down, left or right 30 June 1966 South Africa while San until you reach the finish. Add the Mike Tyson - Heavyweight Marino and Vatican City are numbers as you go. Can you Boxing Champion (54 y/o) surrounded by Italy. make exactly 47? 3. Canada is the second GEF BAD CHI largest country in the world, so it may not come as a Using the letters G,E,F,B,A,D,C,H & I fill in the surprise that it has a lot of blank squares. Each letter A-I must appear lakes. But it might shock you only once in each line column and 3x3 grid. that the country has more than half of all the natural lakes in the world. An impressive nine percent of the country is covered in fresh water. Neil Speed is a former prisoner 4. If the entire world were as who came up densely populated as New with the concept York City, the whole popula- of GEF BAD CHI tion would only cover whilst in prison. 250,404 square miles. That GEF BAD CHI by means the entire world could Neil Speed is fit into the state of Texas. published by Xlibris. £12.35 5. Being its own continent © MW Released life sentenced prisoner and completely surrounded Catchphrase by water, you’d think Australia would easily have the honour The object is to try to figure out the well-known saying, person, of being the country with the place, or thing that each square is meant to represent. longest coastline. However, that title goes to Canada. Canada has 152,100 miles of coastline, compared to Australia’s measly 16,000 Wrongly convicted miles. In fact, Australia ranks of a crime? sixth on the list of the world’s longest coastlines, coming in behind Indonesia, Greenland, Russia, Philippines, and Japan.
6. Mount Everest is the tallest the people Lost your appeal? mountain on Earth, so it would stand to reason that the top of the mountain would be the highest point on Earth (and therefore closest Just for laughs to space). But when you What next? remember that Earth is • My grandad asked me how to print on his computer... I told slightly oval-shaped, things him it’s Ctrl-P. He says he hasn’t been able to do that for ages. get interesting. Our planet is slightly inflated around the • An Australian General says to a soldier, “Did you come here equator, meaning countries to die?” The soldier responds, “No, Sir. I came here yesterday!” The CCRC can look again like Ecuador and Kenya have a bit of an edge. With this If you think your conviction or sentence is wrong • After lockdown I’m going to be less condescending. apply to the CCRC added elevation, the top of Ecuador’s Mount Chimborazo (Condescending means to talk down to people). • It won’t cost anything • Your sentence can’t be increased if you apply (which is only 20,564 feet tall) • I stayed up all night wondering where the sun had gone. Then • You don't need a lawyer to apply, but a good one is closest to the stars. it dawned on me. can help 7. At 5,400,000 square miles, • BREAKING NEWS the ice sheet in Antarctica is You can get some more information and a copy of the The inventor of predictive text was injured in a traffic accident. CCRC's Easy Read application form by writing to us at the largest solid ice mass on He’s been bacon by ambience to the horse piddle. 5 St Philip’s Place, Birmingham, B3 2PW. or calling 0121 233 1473 the planet. The enormous frozen structure contains Prisoners in Scotland should contact; The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, 5th Floor, • Why do North Koreans draw the straightest lines? about 90 percent of all the Portland House, 17 Renfi eld Street, Glasgow, G2 5AH. Phone: 0141 270 7030 Email: [email protected] Because they have a supreme ruler. fresh water on Earth. 58 Jailbreak // Just for Fun www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020
In this month... Did I say that? Number Search Number Search – Gavin Milgate HMP Wymott
1 June 1495 6 7 8 5 3 4 1 8 0 5 First written record of Scotch Whisky appears 8 6 1 1 1 9 9 9 3 1 in Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, Friar John Cor is the distiller. 8 1 6 6 8 6 8 9 2 4 6 9 2 3 7 7 3 1 1 1 7 June 2017 Police warn bald men against attacks in 8 5 0 2 2 2 8 6 3 3 Mozambique after 5 men murdered for the “Last year I had to have “The rest of the royal family “This disease is not going to 3 6 3 9 0 1 2 3 1 1 gold believed in their heads. another operation when I will not be telling their side be eradicated. It is not going 8 9 0 5 6 8 5 4 2 2 had my children because of the story. They feel that to disappear. So we have to 11 June 1962 6 3 2 1 7 8 2 2 1 1 they’d dropped so much. No in this new world, people accept we are working with Brothers John and Clarence Anglin and fellow one told me this when I was are more interested in a disease that is going to be 8 4 5 3 2 1 5 8 8 4 inmate Frank Morris escape from Alcatraz seeing the family support 18. So I want to put it all out with us globally – this is a Island prison, the only ones to do so. frontline workers than 1 2 3 4 4 3 2 1 2 1 there. I honestly look back global problem – for the reading about their internal 11 June 1907 at pictures now and I look politics.” foreseeable future.” 51413121,51413121, 66632152, 66632152, 11199931, 12344321, 11199931, 88683868, 32131218, 12344321, 84532158, George Dennett, aided by Gilbert Jessop, like a freak.” Buckingham Palace source on Prof Chris Whitty dashing 88683868,16329513, 67853418, 32131218, 49672188 84532158, 16329513, dismisses Northamptonshire for 12 runs, the TOWIE star Amy Childs news of Harry and Meghan’s hopes of a speedy return to 67853418, 49672188 lowest total in first-class cricket. expressing her ‘boob job’ book being published this normality in the wake of the Thanks to Gavin Milgate HMP Wymott for regrets. coming August. Covid-19 pandemic. compiling this Number Search. If you fancy 12 June 2015 compiling one please send in max 10 x 10 grid Zimbabwe discards its own currency, offering complete with answers shown on a grid. If we use it we will send you £5 as a thank you! Remember to an exchange of $1 for 35 quadrillion include your name, number and prison. We will be Zimbabwean dollars. using the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize money so include your DOB on your entries. 13 June 1922 Longest recorded attack of hiccups begins: Sudoku // Easy - give it a go! Charlie Osborne gets the hiccups and contin- “As you get older, ues for 68 years, dies 11 months after it stops. it’s inevitable that you repeat “He’s the great man of the people... 2 4 1 8 7 15 June 1219 yourself” - the man who said ‘I don’t get anything Dannebrog is the flag of Denmark and the “Originality is for free, I pay for everything’ yet, he’s 8 7 3 2 oldest national flag in the world. According to overrated.” furloughing the gardener and house- “Hey all you cool cats and legend, it fell from the sky during the Battle of Rob Brydon and keeper. Two people he’s furloughing.” kittens.” 9 8 5 6 Lyndanisse (now Tallinn) in Estonia, and turned Steve Coogan as Piers Morgan accusing Steve Coogan, Tiger King documentary star the Danes’ luck. they begin their worth around £10m, of hypocrisy for Carol Baskin’s catchphrase 3 6 8 new road trip to using taxpayer money to pay his staff reproduced on her new 3 8 5 1 6 2 17 June 1939 Greece. during the Covid crisis. Coronavirus face mask. Last public guillotining in France. Eugen 5 8 9 Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined I should finish by saying that for those here on in Versailles outside the prison Saint-Pierre. Inside Chess the outside who complain about lockdown I do 9 7 3 5 by Carl Portman tell them that now they might finally understand 18 June 1959 why chess in prisons is so important. We all need 6 2 9 3 Governor of Louisiana Earl K. Long is commit- something to take our minds of the mundane
2 8 3 1 4 (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. ted to a state mental hospital; he responds by With this, my 70th column, Coronavirus contin- and negative when we are incarcerated, for what- Daily Sudoku: Fri 1-May-2020 having the hospital’s director fired and replaced ues to affect our way of life. At the time of writing, ever reason. Chess serves that purpose perfectly, with a crony who proceeds to proclaim him the English Chess Federation Office is on very and long may it be so. Word Morph perfectly sane. limited hours so barely any post is being received or processed. For the moment then I shall still Can you morph one word into another by just 22 June 1934 give a chess problem in my column but there 8 will be no magazine prizes. I just want you to changing5 3 one9 letter6 at 2a time?4 It 1isn’t quite8 7as Gangster and bank robber John Dillinger is easy as you think! informally named America’s first Public Enemy have fun trying to solve them. This might only 7 be for one or two editions, we shall see. For sure 8 6 1 7 5 3 2 9 4 Number One. when I get back to prizes, I shall begin with some- 6 LONGER thing nice, so watch this space. I do appreciate 7 2 4 9 1 8 5 3 6 24 June 1374 you all working with me on this and thank you 5 Sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance causes 1 7 2 4 3 6 8 5 9 all, as always, for your tremendous support. people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to 4 experience hallucinations and begin to jump 3 9 8 5 7 1 6 4 2 Whilst almost all sports have been cancelled or 3 and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse postponed, people have still been able to play 6 4 5 8 9 2 3 7 1 from exhaustion. chess online. This demonstrates just how flexible 2 FINDER chess is in terms of being able to play in person 9 1 7 3 6 5 4 2 8 25 June 1978 or on the Internet. People have been learning 1 4 5 6 2 8 9 7 1 3 First use of the rainbow flag, symbol of gay new skills and setting up competitions online. Quotes pride, made by Gilbert Baker at a march in San This applies to chess clubs just as much as national
2 8 3 1 4 7 9 6 5 (c) Daily Sudoku Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. Francisco. tournaments. There is an initiative to get one A B C D E F G H “There are two ways of getting home; and one Daily Sudoku: Fri 1-May-2020 easy million kids playing chess and it is still very early It is White to play and win with a checkmate in of them is to stay there.” G.K. CHESTERTON 26 June 1284 days but some 25,000 have just signed up. There’s three moves. Your task is to work out how. According to the Lüneburg manuscript, a piper a long way to go but this is a great opportunity “It isn’t all over; everything has not been invented; the human adventure is just leads 130 children of Hamelin away. in a lockdown situation to get people of all ages No prizes this month (see above) but enjoy work- beginning.” GENE RODDENBERRY http://www.dailysudoku.com/ and backgrounds to take up the game. Even ing this puzzle out on your own or with a friend. 28 June 1820 World Champion Magnus Carlsen has set up his “Do you wish me a good morning, or mean Tomato is proven to be non-poisonous by own online tournament, inviting some of the The answer to the March puzzle was: 1. Qc2xh7+ that it is a good morning whether I want it or Colonel Robert Gibbon eating a tomato on World’s best players (including himself) to play (Sacrificing the queen is always nice) 1…Kg8xh7 not; or that you feel good this morning; or that steps of courthouse in Salem, New Jersey. for big money. Chess is still thriving despite the 2.h4xg5+ the rook now comes into play with it is a morning to be good on?” J R R TOLKIEN COVID-19 situation and that’s a wonderful thing. check. 2…Kh7-g8 means 3.Nd5-e7# or if the king 30 June 1937 We all want to get back to normal as soon as goes 2…Kh7-g6 he still loses to 3.Nd5-e7# “The great pleasure of a dog is that you may The world’s first emergency call telephone possible but until we do, chess players can study make a fool of yourself with him and not only service is launched in London using the and improve their game in readiness for brighter I have received no mail (see above) so I cannot will he not scold you, but he will make a fool number 999. days ahead. declare a winner for April. of himself too.” SAMUEL BUTLER Insidetime June 2020 www.insidetime.org Jailbreak // Just for Fun 59 Jailbreak June 2020 The joke’s on you! Wordsearch // Father’s Day Would you believe it? Father’s Day - Lee Tipper HMP Hewell F A T H E R S D A Y B K C J D D G D E H • A young family moved into a house next to a A B E X Y Z B A O N B L T U A A R F G U vacant plot. One day, builders turned up to start erecting a house. The family’s 5-year-old A C E F G D X D P Q I X A S D L A H I S daughter naturally took an interest in all the L N M J K I R D A L X M B C D A N H T B activity going on next door. Eventually the P O S T U J U N E D A B C Y Y D D E I A builders had adopted her as a kind of project H Q R W A V A Y Z X B C E A F G A A N N mascot. They chatted with her, let her sit with T W E N T Y T W E N T Y S U D O D R O D Plucking hell! them while they had tea and lunch breaks, and A C D F Y X D C G E B P A R A S T T C D A MasterChef contestant has gave her little jobs to do here and there to B E F G O X A F X L O V E Z A B C D E E been booted from the make her feel important. At the end of the first C C A S P R I N G V M N O P B I J K L X Just off to buy a Lambo.... competition after serving up a week, they even presented her with a pay rather unappetising meal. X B T U S E R N Y Z G E A Q R C X W G Y Utah Highway Patrol saw what they thought envelope containing £10. The little girl took Y E A D D F L U X W Y Z M T S O U V U Z Saray was uncomfortable with this home to her mother who suggested that was an impaired driver and asked the motorist C K J C H I Q R A B H O A B A M M N A A to pull over. They couldn’t believe their eyes defeathering a bird for the she take her £10 “pay” she’d received to the U N C O N D I T I O N A L C B P L K R B when they saw who was behind the wheel: a Spanish series’ latest episode. bank the next day to start a savings account. boy who is just learning his ‘ABCs’. As a result, she said a big ‘FU’ When the girl and her mum got to the bank, D X O P A F G U B A N O E M F A J X D C to the judges and served up the cashier was equally impressed and asked E F F G O E A R C C U V W X Y N Z A I D A five-year-old boy driving his mum or dad’s an uncooked, unplucked the little girl how she had come by her very F O B O E J K E H I D R H I E I B C A F car on a freeway is already enough of a wild partridge. She gave it a go in own pay-check at such a young age. The little G D C G E L L M N O P S Q G F O A D N A story, but the reason that sparked the bizarre terms of presentation. Saray girl proudly replied: “I worked last week with a H A B C A E F G B C A X Y Z A N E F F B stunt is even more outrageous. A spokesperson covered the bird in some real construction crew building the new house G U I D A N C E O P A R E N T C D G A C cherry tomatoes and a nice from the Highway Patrol said: “His story is that next door to us.” “Oh my goodness gracious,” he left home after an argument with Mom, in looking sauce. Obviously it’s said the cashier, “and will you be working on COMPANION, DAD, DADDY, FATHERS DAY, GRANDAD, still not edible but hey, you COMPANION,GUARDIAN, DAD, GUIDANCE, DADDY, FATHERS HEART,DAY, GRANDAD, HUSBAND, GUARDIAN, JUNE,GUIDANCE, LOVE, HEART, which she told him she would not buy him a the house again this week, too?” The little girl HUSBAND, JUNE, LOVE, MALE, NURTURE, PARENT, SPRING, TWENTY TWENTY, Lamborghini. He decided he’d take the car and can’t knock a good bit of replied, “I will if those lazy assholes from UNCONDITIONALMALE, NURTURE, PARENT, SPRING, TWENTY TWENTY, UNCONDITIONAL go to California to buy one himself. He might presentation. The judges and Jewsons ever deliver the f*cking sand.” other competitors looked have been short on the purchase amount, as Thank s to Lee Tipper HMP Hewell for compiling this Wordsearch. If genuinely shocked with one you fancy compiling one for us please send in max 20 x 20 grid he only had $3 dollars in his wallet.” • A Frenchman, an Englishman, and a Soviet saying: “This is never seen in complete with answers shown on a grid. If we use it we will send you £5 are admiring a painting of Adam and Eve in the MasterChef.” Lad Bible as a thank you! Remember to include your name, number, prison. We Look, we’ve all, at one point or another, wanted Garden of Eden. The Frenchman says, “They will be using the new ‘Money Transfer Service’ for prize money so to buy a Lamborghini, but our wallets and must be French, they’re naked and they’re eat- include your DOB on your entries. common sense usually get in the way. It’s ing fruit.” The Englishman says, “Clearly, they’re incredible that this boy said a big ‘FU’ to that English; observe how politely the women is Quick Crossword common sense and cracked on with his dream. offering fruit to the man.” The Soviet replies, Lad Bible “No, they are Russian communists, of course. They have no house, nothing to wear, little to Causing a rumpus at the farm eat, and they think they are in Paradise.” A bull has caused hundreds of homes in Scotland to lose power after he scratched his • President Trump is getting his daily briefing “itchy” rump on an electricity pole. Ron’s at the White House. The official concludes by owner posted on a local Facebook page for a saying: ‘‘Yesterday, 300 Brazilians died of South Lanarkshire village to apologise for COVID-19.’’ ‘‘Oh no!’’ President Trump exclaims. power cuts on the animal’s behalf. “He had a ‘‘That’s terrible!’’ His staff are stunned at this itchy bum so scratched it on the electricity pole and knocked the transformer box uncharacteristic display of emotion, nervously off,” Hazel Laughton wrote. “He’s just happy to be alive this morning after watching as the President sits, head in hands. somehow escaping 11,000 volts and a large bump on the head. Think we will Finally, Trump looks up and asks: ‘‘How many rename him ‘Sparky’,” she added. Independent is a brazillion?’’
Happy Father’s day up there Fun facts... Your Father’s Day messages Dad. Love and miss you so much, wish you was still here • In 1998, a Finnish band mate. #legend called ‘Panasonic’ was threat- ened with a lawsuit by the Dad you were taken from your electronics corporation of the family far too soon but not be- same name. The band fore so many wonderful times changed the name to ‘Pan and memories treasured. What Sonic’ and in 1999 released Across Down can never be taken Happy Fa- an album called ‘A’. ther’s Day, love Jason, Sarah, 1. Accomplishment (11) 1. Ask earnestly (6) Stephen, Mom R.I.P xxxx • South Korean football club FC Seoul have apologised for 7. Practise boxing (4) 2. ___ Macmillan, former PM (6) filling their stadium seats with 8. Inspect carefully (7) 3. Happenings (6) To a wonderful father who is 9. Possess (3) 4. Antelope type (5) there for his Son no matter the sex dolls to make it appear less empty during a recent 10. Monotonous low dull 5. Embodiment (7) distance. Thank you, I love you. sound (5) 6. Wobbles (7) Love your Son Paul. match played without specta- tors due to the coronavirus 11. Flies without power (6) 11. Cautious (7) pandemic. 13. Individual pieces of 12. Ungodly (7) © Deposit Photos Ray SNR, Happy Dad’s Day. paper (6) 13. Expel from the nose (6) Fatman, Thanks for everything whilst in here. You’re a great. Forget what the rest say Dad, • When Ladybird published 16. Savoury jelly (5) 14. Tooth covering (6) you do. You’re truly amazing Have a great day. Lee x You’re simply the best like your their first ABC book in 1915, 18. Epoch (3) 15. Fine twisted cord (6) and I love you unconditionally. “Rangers” From Henry. ‘A’ stood for ‘armoured train’. 19. Bishop’s district (7) 17. Mediterranean island (5) See you soon, love always Mat- 20. Humble (4) Dad you mean the world to • In the 1980s you could tchu x me, I never wanted to end up Happy Father’s Day Dad, Miss 21. Unkempt (11) you so much. Love you loads. download video games from in here away from you all. a radio broadcast, by record- To a wonderful father who is Love Lexi and Mylie xxx The last word... Love Leon@Lewis ing the sounds onto a cas- there for his son no matter the sette tape that would then distance- thank you, I love you. Vincent, Happy Fathers Day. Dad Pops (Jon) Andrew, thank play on a computer. Love you son Paul x you for your fantastic and un- You are greatly loved by your “The unexamined life is not worth living.” kids as there is no father better derstanding support. Love from • KFC’s slogan “Finger lickin’ Socrates Dad (Graham) Thank you for your naught son Guy Guy xxx than you. Love Emma, Tia and good” was mistranslated in everything you do to help Corey. xx China as “Eat your fingers off”. 60 Jailbreak // National Prison Radio www.insidetime.org Insidetime June 2020 National Prison Radio is available in prisons across June 2020 England and Wales, and HMP Grampian in Scotland. What’s on National Prison Radio // June 2020 We broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, into your cell. If your prison has National Prison Radio, you can National Prison Radio is currently available in prisons across England and Wales. We broadcast 24-hours a day, seven days a week,listen into through your cell. your TV by using the tuning buttons on If your prison has National PrisonWhat’s Radio, you can listen on through National your TV by using the tuningPrison buttons on yourRadio? remote control. your remote control.
Day Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun Eve Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Sun
07:00 Supported by: Love Bug 17:00 . Deja Vu Mother Inside Love Bug Free Freedom Write to the (or local Classic tracks Land Music Write to the Flow Inside Porridge ones you love shows) and oldies Music Artist ones you love Find your Yoga and Afrobeat profiles beat. meditation The world’s first national breakfast show for people in prison. bangers. from HMP Write your With daily services for Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Pagan and Buddhist people. Peterborough bars. 08:00 Bob Decibel NPR The Freedom 18:00 NPR Talk Helping you make the most of your time. and The finest Urban Rock Inside Beyond dance The best in Show Yoga and NPR NPR Talk NPR Talk Prisoner To NPR Ear Brixton Special Helping you Helping you The Streets Hustle Calling Reggae music from urban music. Turn it up meditation Friday and around the Two hours Hip-hop, Real talk. make the make the Robyn Sophie and News and loud. Join Don’t just do most of your most of your Travis tells requests dancehall world, direct of new grime, R&B, the Rock Emma help to your ears. British music bashment Marcyour time, use George’stime behind time behind his amazing you start the from HMP 09:00 classics. Show your time. bars. bars. life story. Brixton. from Jamz and afrobeat. Family. Riley Yard weekend. Supernova 19:00 The Bob and 10:00 Sunday The Request Show Rock Beyond Service To hear your song, message or poem on the radio, write to us at: Show Reggae and Prayers National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF Join the dancehall Get your loved-ones to request tracks for Thursday’s show at: Rock for all 20:00 Show classics. Christians www.nationalprisonradio.com family. 11:00 NPR 21:00 Takeover Free NPR NPR Decibel Mother Porridge Flow Fresh Urban The finest Land Another chance to hear this morning’s show. Find your Two hours The best in dance Music beat of the urban music from Two hours 12:00 MarcNPR George’sNPR Talk NPR Talk Prisoner To NPR NPR Talk freshest music. around the of new (or local RileySpecial YardSee 18:00 See 18:00 The Streets Friday 22:00 Inside Deja Vu new music. Hip-hop, world, British Love Bug shows) See 18:00 Music Classic tracks If it’s fresh, R&B and direct to music Write to the and oldies we’ve got it. more. your ears. from Jamz ones you From HMP love. 13:00 Friday Prisoner Peterborough Supernova Reflection to the The Request Show The Request Show Streets 23:00 This month’s book: To hear your song on NPR, write to us at: Write Books Unlocked Brick Lane by Monica Ali NPR 14:00 National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF to us at: Write to National Prison Radio, HMP Brixton, London SW2 5XF for a free copy. Your loved-ones can send shouts at nationalprisonradio.com National Friday Prison 23:30 Music and advice to help you sleep Freedom Radio, Books 15:00 NPR Penguin Life Stories HMP safe and sound through the night. Inside Unlocked Dream Time Fresh Autobiographies read by musicians, Brixton, A repeat of Two hours sports stars and entertainers. London the week’s National Prison Radio is your place for information of the SW2 book 16:00 freshest George’s 5XF readings throughout the coronavirus outbreak. Hourly news, music NPR Fresh Yard The freshest new music. and updates from prisons across the country.
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