The highs and lows of 2016: the HIGHS from my own diary and the statistical LOWS from the 2016 Bromley Briefi ngs prepared by the Prison Reform Trust. “If I can do it, then you can do it!” Noel Smith catches up with Ironman and former prisoner John McAvoy // page 48 Happy New Year to all our readers “Be just Justice Secretary “Decent nutrition inside is “It’s been there since I can the National Newspaper for Prisoners & Detainees Truss, be bold and make an issue that’s simply remember. It’s part of me. this a better year for IPPs being ignored” I like it. It makes me feel a voice for prisoners since and their families” Lucy Vincent campaigning safe” January 2017 / Issue No. 211 / www.insidetime.org / A ‘not for profi t’ publication / ISSN 1743-7342 The Secret Criminologist for better food in prisons PRT Writing Competition An average of 60,000 copies distributed monthly Independently verifi ed by the Audit Bureau of Circulations Comment // page 23 Comment // page 24 Jailbreak // page 50 Justice Secretary Liz Truss. Participants will work towards completing a Master’s degree while working on the front PRISON DRUG line alongside existing offi cers. The selection of can- didates will depend not only on the academic credentials, but also their leadership and communication skills. ACTION CALL Existing offi cers will operate as mentors for the new New report gives greatest insight yet into New prison offi cers, recruits. “leaders and communicators” the drug problems blighting English prisons © prisonimage.org At the end of two years the candidates will either contin- l 14% of men l Prisoners l People receiving resi- ue to work in the Prison and women in unaware of dential drug treatment are Service or use their prison Unlocked! offi cer experience to join other prison are serving precisely which 43% less likely to reoffend public or private sector organ- sentences for drugs they are on release than comparable New prison offi cer recruitment isations. The scheme is simi- drug offences selling and using people sent to prison lar to one called TeachFirst, programme aims to revolutionise whereby graduates receive six outcomes for the Prison Service weeks of intensive teacher training and then complete For too long prison officers pendent charitable organisa- two years working as teachers have been the unsung heroes tion behind the scheme to while completing a Leadership of the public sector and soci- attract top graduates to join Development programme. ety should value the incredi- the Prison Service. The two bly challenging nature of their year scheme was unveiled last job, says Unlocked, the inde- month with the backing of Continued on page 10 cm PRISONER HOTLINE 0161 833 9253 CONVICTED OF JOINT ENTERPRISE? “Reason people using NJGD>D OJMN The supreme court ruling in the case of R v Jogee could mean drugs too much bang up” that you now have grounds for appeal. Contact us urgently © prisonimage.org for our expert lawyers to assess your case. Inside Time report and persistently high rates of reoff ending. CRIMINAL LAW Director & Head of Criminal Law —Ben Richardson Total assaults in prisons have risen 64% since Leading defendant solicitors in: PRISON LAW Volteface, the policy innovation think tank that 2012, assaults on staff have risen 99%, and the Murder/Manslaughter/Attempted Murder explores alternatives to current public policies number of self-infl icted deaths in custody has Head of Prison Law —Jo Davidson relating to drugs has published a report into risen by 75%. In the 12 months prior to Terrorism Fixed Fees (from £150.00) September 2016, there were 23,775 assaults, drug use and abuse in English prisons which Conspiracy Cases: Drugs, murder, grooming, robbery, Guittard Application lays bare the full extent of the prison drug 5,954 assaults on staff , and an average of one firearms, human trafficking & others crisis. The report, High Stakes, makes for sober- suicide every 3 days. Pre-tariff Review Serious Assault & Torture ing reading. Prison offi cer: “I was patrolling Re-cat Reviews the cells and a prisoner ran out of his cell, Over the last 20 years, the prison population Gang Crime: Firearm Offences, Extortion, Torture IPP/Lifer removal from Cat D completely naked. He climbed onto the snook- has doubled. Prisons have lost £900,000,000 Serious Sexual Offences & Historic Sexual Offences in funding over the last parliament, while the Transfers er table thinking it was his bed. He soiled him- Robbery self. When we tried to restrain him he had number of operational staff has fallen from 29,660 HDC almost superhuman strength, and it took three on 31 March 2012 to 23,080 on 31 March 2016. Legally Aided Services prison offi cers and a nurse to restrain him. And APPEALS Parole shockingly - when he came to the next morning With too few staff available to let prisoners out Managing Director — Jeremy Moore Re-call he did not remember a thing. They never do.” of their cells for education, training or work; The country’s leading experts in Adjudication prisoners are oft en locked down in cells for serious, complex and high profile very long periods, resulting in an increase of Authored by head of advocacy at Volteface appeals. Sentence Calculation mental health problems and demand for drugs, George McBride, the report should be required We have represented clients on some of the reading by anyone interested in understanding while the ability to disrupt the supply of drugs most complex and high profile crime and appeals and solving the problem of drugs in prison. has declined. And still almost half of all pris- cases in recent years including: McBride writes: In the changing landscape of oners are reconvicted within a year of release. R v Barry George (Jill Dando case), prison life, traditional drugs have been usurped The cost of re-offending is estimated to be up R v Levi Bellfield (Milly Dowler case) by poorly-understood synthetic drugs (known to £15 billion a year. where lients atter by brand names such as “Spice” and “Black Freephone: 0800 1 444 111 Website: www.cmsolicitors.co.uk Video link: Nationwide Mamba”). Meanwhile, prisons are suff ering from Manchester Office: 13 St John Street, Manchester, M3 4DQ London Office: 15 Old Bailey, London, EC4M 7EF record levels of overcrowding, violence, suicide, Continued on page 30 Caption ??? 2 Mailbag ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB. Insidetime January 2017 Institutionalised thuggery? Feeling safe insidetime a voice for prisoners since 1990 Del-Boy Boylan - HMP Belmarsh and happy the national newspaper for prisoners published by Richard Charnock - Every time I turn on my TV all is see is police shooting peo- Inside Time Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of HMP Wakefield The New Bridge Foundation, founded in 1956 to ple, people getting restrained by uniforms and dying, people create links between the offender and the dying in police custody, in prisons, in immigration centres, community. and, most recently, those with mental health issues dying Recently, staff opened my under restraint. cell door at HMP Preston and A not for profi t publication. told me to pack my property Inside Time is wholly responsible for its editorial There are far, far too many citizens losing their lives or being as I was being shipped to content. Comments or complaints should be Chris Grayling, Minster of (in) Justice seriously injured whilst in custody. It has been going on for a Wakefi eld in the next hour. I directed to the publisher and not to New Bridge. long time and I wonder how many more must die before was shocked and quite scared about this move as I Grayling has Board of Directors charges are brought and some of these bullies convicted? You hear about institutionalised racism a lot but nobody have heard all the stories Trevor Grove Former Editor Sunday Telegraph, seems to mention institutionalised thuggery. about ‘Monster Mansion’. a lot to answer for Journalist, Writer and former Magistrate. When we arrived there I was Jonno Hewitt - HMP Stocken Dr Peter Bennett Trustee, New Bridge Foundation and former Governor of HMP Grendon “It appears nobody who wears a uniform in this pleasantly surprised to be Having been in prison for 11 years now, I’ve Geoff Hughes Former Governor of HMP Belmarsh country will ever be convicted of anything, no welcomed by two friendly John D Roberts Former Company Chairman and staff into a clean and mod- seen fi rst-hand the dramatic decline. It all Managing Director employing former prisoners matter how outrageous their actions” ern building. Four of us had started around 2012, and the powers-that-be Louise Shorter Former producer, BBC Rough Justice arrived from Preston and like to put it all down to the rise of NPS (legal Alistair H E Smith BSc FCA Chartered Accountant, Speaking from a lot of experience of being ‘restrained’, I they put 2 of us on one wing highs), and whilst I would not deny that NPS Trustee and Treasurer, New Bridge Foundation would like to assure readers that when you have between 4 and 2 on another. We were is now a huge problem, there were other fac- and 6 offi cers on top of you, face down, they are in full con- all friends in Preston and all tors that people need to acknowledge. The Editorial Team trol. If you are wearing a set of handcuff s and are in a num- worried about what we ber 4 lock on your legs, you are immobilised. Yet people are thought was to be a daunting In 2012 the then Minister of (in)Justice Chris losing their lives under restraint and staff are being cleared experience.