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25/04/2008
Jails 'Too Comfortable' For Inmates
A senior prison officers' spokesman has said that life for inmates is too "comfortable".
Glyn Travis, Assistant General for the Prison Officers Association, says that prisoners do not want to escape.
Mr Travis said that the availability of drugs, mobile phones and even sex was keeping inmates behind bars.
He said that some prisons had become "no-go" areas as inmates had got "complete control" and that there was a not enough staff or adequate "interaction" between staff.
He also claimed that there was an attempt to smuggle in prostitutes to a prison in Sudbury, Derbyshire.
Mr Travis gave the example of a security breach at the low-security category C Everthorpe Prison, where members of the public were supplying items such as drugs and phones to inmates with ladders.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there was "a massive shortfall of staff" saying that there are "1,000 prison officers short across the country".
However, a spokesperson for the prison service refuted the claims saying "at no time were prisoners out of their cells or able to access any area of the prison" and that "immediate action was taken with extra fencing, the removal of trees, extra CCTV cameras, and the transfer of the offender involved to another establishment".
Mr Travis said that there is a "serious crisis" in prisons today and that a "safe and secure" system is needed that the public can have confidence in.
He added that the exposure of the security breach was not to add pressure to the government to increase staffing levels in prison.
(DS/KMcA)
Glyn Travis, Assistant General for the Prison Officers Association, says that prisoners do not want to escape.
Mr Travis said that the availability of drugs, mobile phones and even sex was keeping inmates behind bars.
He said that some prisons had become "no-go" areas as inmates had got "complete control" and that there was a not enough staff or adequate "interaction" between staff.
He also claimed that there was an attempt to smuggle in prostitutes to a prison in Sudbury, Derbyshire.
Mr Travis gave the example of a security breach at the low-security category C Everthorpe Prison, where members of the public were supplying items such as drugs and phones to inmates with ladders.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that there was "a massive shortfall of staff" saying that there are "1,000 prison officers short across the country".
However, a spokesperson for the prison service refuted the claims saying "at no time were prisoners out of their cells or able to access any area of the prison" and that "immediate action was taken with extra fencing, the removal of trees, extra CCTV cameras, and the transfer of the offender involved to another establishment".
Mr Travis said that there is a "serious crisis" in prisons today and that a "safe and secure" system is needed that the public can have confidence in.
He added that the exposure of the security breach was not to add pressure to the government to increase staffing levels in prison.
(DS/KMcA)
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26 January 2010
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Prisons face overcrowding crisis
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Prisons face overcrowding crisis
Prisons in England and Wales are under "enormous pressure" and are facing a "looming overcrowding crisis", according to a charity report. The Prison Reform Trust reported that prison numbers have crept up again since Christmas rising to over 77,000 again.
22 August 2013
Inmates To Be Charged After Holding Prison Officer Hostage
Three prisoners are to be charged for unlawfully imprisoning a prison officer and detaining him against his will, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Feroz Kahn, Fuad Awale and David Watson, all of whom were at that time prisoners at HMP Full Sutton, will be jointly charged with one count of false imprisonment.
Inmates To Be Charged After Holding Prison Officer Hostage
Three prisoners are to be charged for unlawfully imprisoning a prison officer and detaining him against his will, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Feroz Kahn, Fuad Awale and David Watson, all of whom were at that time prisoners at HMP Full Sutton, will be jointly charged with one count of false imprisonment.
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