Medway must never happen again // page 14 “ When powerful people are in charge of the most vulnerable who are already in a bad situation it’s a recipe for serious problems ” Billy’s mother “It is always better to talk “If any of you fi nd your- “My Mum ordered some the National Newspaper for Prisoners & Detainees and be open about things selves caught in the personalised invitations as the help is there, all you unforgiving gaze of the which said, you are invited a voice for prisoners since 1990 need to do is ask” media, I wish you luck” to Brian’s coming out party” February 2016 / Issue No. 200 / www.insidetime.org / A ‘not for profi t’ publication / ISSN 1743-7342 Leigh Westerman Lorraine Etherington Prison Widow An average of 60,000 copies distributed monthly Independently verifi ed by the Audit Bureau of Circulations Mailbag // page 7 Comment // page 25 Information // page 31 Goodbye and Thank You! despite his supposed inde- pendence from the Government. So concerned was he about this that he wrote to the MoJ’s Permanent Secretary Richard Heaton warning him that he would suspend all prison inspec- tions unless the fi nancial restrictions were lift ed. The ministry then agreed for the status quo to remain until April but rather worryingly has made no guarantees that Island of hope; ‘Strong connections being his successor, the former police chief Peter Clarke, made with the environment, with will have the same free- doms. In this interview with animals and with nature’ Bastoy Prison Island page 21 Eric McGraw for Inside Time he: • Explains why he had not “Medway is supposed applied to continue as HMCIP; The outgoing Chief Inspector he found it. Critical also of • Reveals his reaction to the to be a secure training of Prisons Nick Hardwick ‘interference’ by the MoJ in Medway abuses exposed by talks exclusively to Inside the way he conducted his Panorama; Time as he steps down aft er inspections, last month he centre. Those children fi ve and a half years heading told the House of Commons • Thanks prisoners and staff up the prisons inspectorate. Justice Committee that sen- who assisted him and his certainly weren’t Hardwick, formerly the chair ior MoJ offi cials had told him team as they endeavoured to of the Independent Police they needed to sign off on all produce rigorous and com- secure, or receiving Complaints Commission, specialist personnel hired to prehensive reports on Her proved to be a forceful and take part in prison inspec- Majesty’s prisons. eff ective Chief Inspector tions before they could take the specialist training unafraid to highlight bad place. He also revealed that “Thank you to the Jo Stevens, shadow Prisons practice and poor outcomes former Justice Secretary 18 that will help prisoners, and staff, Minister speaks exclusively across the prison system of Chris Grayling had ‘robustly’ who’ve helped me England and Wales wherever tried to infl uence his reports do my job” to Inside Time Page 15 rehabilitate them” Crime Appeals Prison Law Unhappy with your solicitor? Transfer your case now. The country’s leading experts in ‹ cm ‹ Fixed Fees (from £150.00) serious, complex and high profile appeals. Legally Aided Services We are leading Defendant Solicitors in: G We have represented clients on some of the most Parole Guittard Application NJ D>D OJMN Murder/Manslaughter/Attempted Murder complex and high profile crime and appeals cases in Pre-tariff Review Terrorism recent years including: - Re-call EMAP Re-cat Reviews Conspiracy Cases: Drugs, murder, grooming, robbery, firearms, R v Barry George (Jill Dando case), Adjudication human trafficking & others R v Levi Bellfield (Milly Dowler case) Representation against return to Sentence Calculation closed condition Serious Assault & Torture Specialising in cases before the Court of Appeal Gang Crime: Firearm Offences, Extortion, Torture Transfers Serious Sexual Offences & Historic Sexual Offences POCA HDC Robbery Registered with › › Dedicated prisoner hotline: 0161 833 9253 Manchester Office: 13 St John Street, Manchester, M3 4DQ Website: www.cmsolicitors.co.uk where lients atter Freephone: 0800 1 444 111 London Office: 15 Old Bailey, London, EC4M 7EF Video link: Nationwide service 2 Mailbag ‘Mailbag’, Inside Time, Botley Mills, Botley, Southampton SO30 2GB. Insidetime February 2016 empathy. Which will become Student Loan insidetime more apparent in adulthood. a voice for prisoners since A prime example of this are request rejected the national newspaper for prisoners published the personalities of those Alister Thompson - HMP North Sea Camp by Inside Time Limited, a wholly owned subsidi- responsible for the abuse. ary of The New Bridge Foundation, founded in Their behaviour was, in 1956 to create links between the offender and I am writing to see if any of your readers most cases, premeditated, the community. have been experiencing the problems that instrumental, orchestrated we have had with the Student Loans A not for profi t publication. physical and psychological Company? Inside Time is wholly responsible for its editorial abuse. Not only did they lack content. Comments or complaints should be empathy for their actions but As a Cat D establishment we have a higher directed to the publisher and not to New Bridge. they went on to ‘brag’ about than average lifer/IPP population here at it aft er work in the car park. Board of Directors North Sea Camp. These prisoners have Medway: A prisoner’s view Which shows what sadistic, reached the fi nal stage of their prison pathetic, cowardly individu- Trevor Grove Former Editor Sunday Telegraph, journey and as such they are beginning to Journalist, Writer and serving Magistrate. Ross MacPherson - HMP Swaleside als they are. see that there is the possibility of a new life Dr Peter Bennett Trustee, New Bridge aft er lengthy prison sentences. Because of Foundation and former Governor of HMP Grendon Having watched the BBC’s highlighted that these What is more concerning is this we get a reasonable number of requests Geoff Hughes Former Governor of HMP Belmarsh recent Panorama pro- children are being taught the fact that if BBC from prisoners who want to start Open John D Roberts Former Company Chairman and gramme it was a horrifying that violence equals control, Panorama had not gone University courses in preparation for Managing Director employing ex-offenders reminder of the systematic and are suff ering abuse. I undercover to expose this enhanced job prospects on release. Louise Shorter Former producer, BBC Rough Justice violence suff ered by touched on this issue in the abuse then these children Alistair H E Smith BSc FCA Chartered Accountant, children in prison. Instead May 2010 issue of Inside Trustee and Treasurer, New Bridge Foundation would have been labelled as However, recently in a number of instances of being cared for, they are Time. In my article ‘Fighting liars and extremely violent, their applications are being rejected by the being subjected to psycho- violence with violence’, I The Editorial Team especially in light of the fact Student Loans Company. The reason given is logical and physical trauma. raised the issue of children that the staff went to that they are not within 6 years of release who are subjected to considerable lengths to and therefore do not qualify for a student When children are sent to physical abuse in juvenile cover up their own loan. As the prisoners in question do not prison it is supposedly so prisons learning to react to wrong-doing by falsifying have fi xed release dates, only a parole date, that they can develop violence with more violence. assaults by children on staff . they consequently can never qualify for pro-social behaviours, and funding for their degree courses until they learn to live by society’s Most children who are in Unfortunately the overall are actually released. This means that Erwin James John Roberts Rachel boundaries, in a secure prison already have some issue of abuse in the juvenile valuable time is being wasted as they cannot Editor in Chief Publisher and Billington OBE setting. Which should lead form of mental health issue, system was somewhat begin their studies in a supportive and Director Associate Editor them to a law-abiding which is usually the catalyst overlooked by some people, time-rich environment such as we can purposeful life on release for their imprisonment. The due to the fact that Medway provide. This is a source of great disappoint- Offi ce Manager from custody. In reality, abuse that was shown on is run by G4S as though this ment and demotivation. To be rejected at the Lucy Forde what these children are Panorama not only exacer- is a private sector issue, it is very moment when they are ready and able Administration developing are cognitive bates their pre-existing not, public sector prisons to begin what will possibly be a life-chang- Sonia Miah defi cits borne out of the condition but causes them to are no better. I fear that, like ing study course is a terrible blow. Layout & Design controlling, deceitful and develop more mental health everything else, the fact Colin Matthews violent behaviour displayed issues, such as PTSD and I have been involved with OU provision Noel Smith Paul Sullivan Medway was private is going Website Design and infl icted on them by personality traits such as throughout my sentence and I have wit- Commissioning Reporter to overshadow the real issue and Advertising nessed fi rst-hand the transformative eff ects Editor’ their captors. anti-social personality of institutionalised child Gary Bultitude that advanced study brings to the individual. disorders. Insofar as if a abuse. Dr Andrew McDonnell, a child is not shown any To compound the problem the decisions Correspondence clinical psychologist who empathy, then they are less Medway must never seem to be random, with some applications featured on the programme likely to develop feelings of 14 happen again accepted and other similar ones rejected.