custodial review magazine issue 62

www.thecustodial.co.uk For thousands of products, services and links

The Custodial Review Informing the Prison, Customs & Immigration and Police Services

Custodialt h e

Review

Less is a lot more at Chelmsford Gym!

Size is not important when it comes to putting out a fire

HMP Maidstone’s new kitchen

The ‘hi tech’ kitchen ceiling

Payment by results an interview with John Biggin

Values and Practices in Public and Private Sector Prisons

Yarls Wood video conferencing

Hollesley Bay A4E & MITIE

Edition 62

ContentsIssue 62Annual Subscription £30Free to qualifying individuals

the Custodial Review

Editorial Team: Tracy Johnson, Derek Cooper, Michelle Watson, Emir Valentino

Administration: Paul Wing, Enza Baio

Design/Production: Amanda Wesley

The Publisher holds all copyright and any items within may not be reproduced in any way, for any purpose, without the written permission of the Publisher. This publication contains Crown Copyright material reproduced with the

permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.

Copyright: the Custodial ReviewPublished by

Clifton House Media LtdClifton House,

4a Goldington RoadBedford MK40 3NF.Tel: 01234 348878Fax: 01234 352737

E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.thecustodial.co.uk

HM Prisons Executive and the Home Office do not sponsor or in any way support this Publication in any substance, commodity, process, equipment, editorial or service advertised or mentioned in this book, nor are they responsible for any inaccuracy or statement in this publication. Whilst every care has been taken to ensure accuracy, the information contained within, this publication is based on submissions to the Publishers who cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions. The Publishers cannot be held responsible for any article, advertisement, picture or photograph supplied by Advertisers and Associations which may contravene the Official Secrets Act or that have not first been cleared by the Home Office of Prisons Executive,

should that have been necessary.

Are you getting your copy?

Qualifying individuals within the Custodial sector can receive a FREE copy of the Custodial Review.If you are not receiving your copy, or you have a colleague who would like one, let us know!We will need your name, title, position & FULL address.

Custodial Review is THE magazine for the Immigration, Customs, Prison and Police services. It’s growing all the time and more popular than ever.To obtain your copy, or to subscribe please forward your up-to-date information to:

The Custodial, Clifton House, 4a Goldington RoadBedford MK40 3NF.

Tel: 01234 348878Fax: 01234 352737

Email: [email protected] or go onto www.custodialreview.co.uk and click ‘Subscribe’.


2 News

8 Less is a lot more at Chelmsford Gym!

16 Size is not important when it comes to putting out a fire

18 HMP Maidstone’s new kitchen

22 The ‘hi tech’ kitchen ceiling

24 Payment by results, an interview with John Biggin

28 Values and Practices in Public and Private Sector Prisons

32 Yarls Wood video conferencing

34 Hollesley Bay A4E & MITIE

40 Five Ways to Get Yourself Fired

44 Product News

Front cover picture: The Elegant gate at HMP Maidstone

Custodialt h e

rev iew

the Custodial Review Page 2

NEWS l NEWS l NEWS l NEWS l NEWS l NEWS l NEWS

• Risk and problem gambling rates amongst prisoners are significantly higher than the general population

• Prisoners who take part in gambling are more likely to run into difficulties than gamblers in the general population

• Offending could be reduced by 5% if gambling problems were effectively addressed

A pilot study of men and women in two English prisons shows that prisoners have significantly higher levels of gambling problems than the general population. The study found that offending and gambling problems were frequently connected and suggests that at least 5% of offending could be reduced if gambling problems were effectively addressed. The pilot study found that 5.4% of all male and 3% of all female prisoners considered their current offence was linked to gambling. If representative this equals 5.275% of the total prison population at the time they responded to the study questionnaire.

The prevalence of problem gambling in the two prison populations is more in line with international estimates than previous UK studies suggest. Over a quarter of male prisoners and just under a fifth of female prisoners were rated as medium risk and problem gamblers. In the two prisons which took part in the pilot study, 17.4% of males and 12.2% of females were defined as medium risk for problem gambling, and 10.4% of males and 5.9% of females were defined as problem gamblers. Total combined risk and problem gambling rates were 27.8% for men and 18.1% for women, bringing findings in England and Wales more in line with findings from other prison populations elsewhere in the world.

The three-year pilot study by a research team at the University of Lancaster was funded by the Responsible Gambling Fund (RGF), the national charity that distributes funds for gambling research, education and treatment. A second study, funded by RGF and the Economic and Social Research Council, examining the questions raised by the pilot in more depth, is now under way.

Almost 60 per cent of male and nearly 40 per cent of female prisoners had taken part in some form of gambling before going to prison. Researchers also found that attitudes to gambling were broadly comparable with the national averages in the British Gambling Prevalence Survey. However, prisoners tended to be more in favour of people having the right to gamble whenever they want and to be against banning gambling altogether.

There was a significant difference between total attitudinal scores for women in prison and those in the community, with those in prison having more favourable attitudes towards gambling overall. There were no significant differences between the two male populations.

Prisoners told researchers of some of the links prisoners made between gambling and their current crime. These included arguing with a partner and selling drugs to get money to gamble; stealing from family members to gamble; and getting into fights over gambling. One prisoner believed there is a link between her being a ‘street working young woman’ and gambling. Another regarded gambling in prison as a guilty pleasure, while recognising that it sometimes leads to potentially violent confrontations between prisoners.

Corinne May-Chahal, Professor of Applied Social Science at the University of Lancaster, says:

“It’s important for prisons to screen for problem gambling because it doesn’t present itself as obviously as alcohol and drugs problems. It’s equally vital that, once prisoners with gambling problems are found, the prison authorities take steps to tackle the problem because action taken in prison may play a part in reducing levels of re-offending.”

Jim Fearnley, Head of Policy and Research at RGF comments:

“If this pilot’s findings are representative of the prison population at the time the research took place they reveal a worrying level of problem gambling amongst offenders in England and point to the need for co-ordinated national activity to tackle gambling problems in the criminal justice system.”

Chris Bath, of UNLOCK, the National Association of Reformed Offenders adds:

“Although prisons have increasingly recognised the importance of personal financial responsibility in reducing re-offending, gambling has simply not been on the radar. This report shows people with gambling problems need support, whether they are in prison or the community.”

RGF is a charity that was set up in June 2009 to provide support for research, educational and treatment services across the gambling field. It is supported by charitable donations from the gambling industry and distributes funds for gambling research, education and treatment. www.rgfund.org.uk

The OffGam pilot study involved a prevalence study in 2 prisons (Prison A, a male prison in the North of England and Prison B, a female prison in the South) and the trialling of a prison based intervention programme. The response rate to the questionnaire was high, perhaps indicating prisoner interest in this subject. A total of 201 completed responses were received in Prison A and 222 in Prison B giving a response rate of 64% and 56% respectively and a total sample of 421 prisoners. Problem gambling was measured on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) used in the British Gambling Prevalence Study (BGPS) (Wardle et al., 2007). The questionnaire used in the study focused on lifetime prevalence rather than the previous 6 or 12 months. A short version of the full report, entitled ‘OffGam: An Evidence Informed Approach to Addressing Problem Gambling in Prison Populations’, is available at http://www.rgfund.org.uk/research/research_publications/default.asp. The full report will be published in late 2011.

Reoffending Compendium Intelligent sentences which target the root causes of crime are the right way to tackle reoffending Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke said on 10 May 2011 following the publication of the 2011 Reoffending Compendium.

Mr Clarke said: ‘Statistics show that reoffending in this country is unacceptably high and underline the urgent need for steps to counter it. It is a national scandal that nearly half of all offenders reoffend within a year of release.

‘Sentences must properly punish offenders as well as address the causes of their offending so that they are made ready to go straight once their punishment has ended.

‘Prisons need to be places of hard work, not idleness, and both prison and non-custodial sentences need to do much more to properly address the serious underlying causes of crime such as drugs and mental illness.’

The figures released by the Ministry of Justice show that offenders jailed for between two and four years have lower reoffending rates than those given shorter sentences.

They also showed that offenders on community orders had lower reoffending rates

than those given custodial sentences of less than a year.

Mr Clarke said that for less serious criminals other kinds of sentence are often better at both punishment and reform than a short stint in prison. This is often because a brief spell in jail is not long enough to complete rehabilitation programmes that tackle the root cause of offending, such as drug addiction, or change behaviour.

Read the 2011 Compendium of reoffending statistics and analysis at

www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/reoffending/compendium-of-reoffending-statistics-and-analysis.htm

High levels of gambling problems amongst prisoners says pilot study

http://www.rgfund.org.uk

http://www.rgfund.org.uk/research/research_publications/default.asp





A competition strategy for the management of nine prisons and the closure of two prison sites was announced on 13 July 2011 by the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Kenneth Clarke

In the autumn the management of HMPs Lindholme, Moorland, Hatfield, The Wolds, Acklington, Castington, Durham, Onley and Coldingley will be subject to competition. The Wolds is a prison currently run by G4S that has come to the end of its current contract; the other eight prisons are public sector establishments being competed for the first time. The prisons have been selected by the National Offender Management Service to balance the need to increase efficiency and to make real the policy intent of the department’s Green Paper, Breaking The Cycle.

HMP Latchmere House and HMP Brockhill will close in September. This will see a reduction of 377 prison spaces. This is part of an overall programme which includes a further 2,500 new prison places becoming available over the next 12 months. The closure of these places will provide estimated cost savings of £4.9m this year and an on-

going annual saving of £11.4m. We expect to be able to absorb staff displaced by this process elsewhere in the system and to avoid the use of compulsory redundancies.

Our approach to competition within Offender Services, and to changes to the prison estate, is an important part of our strategy to improve the efficiency and value for money of our services.

Decisions about which prisons were selected for competition or closure was based on a wide range of criteria including the potential for efficiency improvements, service reform and innovation, not on the basis of poor performance.

Changes resulting from the competition and capacity announcements will not compromise public safety or reduce the quality of our services - we will always ensure there are sufficient prison places for offenders sentenced to custody by the courts.

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Kenneth Clarke said:

‘The public have a right to expect continuing improvement in the quality and efficiency of public services, without compromising

public safety. The competition strategy and adjustments to the prison estate will help ensure that this is the case.’

Lindholme, Moorland, Hatfield and The Wolds are in Yorkshire; Acklington and Castington are in Northumberland; Durham is in County Durham; Onley is in Northamptonshire; Coldingley is in Surrey; Latchmere House is in West London; Brockhill, which forms part of the clustered Hewell prisons, is in the West Midlands.

On 13 January 2011 the Secretary of State for Justice announced the closure of HMP Lancaster Castle and HMP Ashwell prisons and the change of use of HMP Morton Hall to an Immigration Removal Centre (IRC).

The last round of prison competitions was completed in March 2011, with four contracts awarded:

o HMP Birmingham will be run by G4S

o HMP Buckley Hall will be run by HM Prison Service

o HMP Doncaster will be run by Serco

o The new prison, Featherstone 2 will be run by G4S

Prisons competition and capacity announcement

Yorkshire prisons award winning knife crime campaign HMP Everthorpe’s Save a Life, Drop the Knife garden has won 2 prestigious awards at this years RHS Show Tatton Park. The garden has won the top accolade of Best in Show as well as a Gold Award.

Designed by Senior Horticultural Tutor, Glen Jackson and put together by around 50 offenders at Everthorpe prison in East Yorkshire, the garden features a grim urban landscape, with graffiti depicting a hooded figure with a knife. This then transforms into a beautiful harmonious garden and is meant to represent the ‘journey of a perpetrator of

knife crime’.

It was originally designed as a rehabilitation exercise and an opportunity to provide essential skills training for inmates across a host of trades.

“I’ve witnessed the thought process change for those that were involved; once they became involved in the project, they took personal ownership and felt inspired to do something positive with their lives.” Glen Jackson

Yorkshire based off-site manufacturer, Britspace constructed the garden walls off-site, with graffiti artists visiting the factory to paint the Banksy inspired artwork before being delivered to the flower show in Chester.

The garden faced tough competition but was acknowledged and commended by the

judges for raising awareness of a very real and increasing problem in today’s society. Having swept the board with the most prestigious awards at the show, the garden has been carefully deconstructed and brought back to Yorkshire where it will be reconstructed outside the grounds of Hull Kingston Rovers Rugby Club, in the hope that it continues to educate people against knife crime and raise awareness of the devastating effects this can have on an individual and their families.

The garden was not only a success at the Tatton Park Show but has also managed to transform the life of one particular offender at HMP Everthorpe, as described by Glen Jackson:

“One of the sponsors was so impressed with the garden construction that one of our offenders, (who played a pivotal role in the build), was offered a job – the offender is now successfully employed by this company and this is a real success story that came about because of this garden”

The scheme has been fully endorsed by The Rt Hon David Davis MP, the Ministry of Justice and The Prince’s Trust as a visual display and a stark reminder of the seriousness of knife crime whilst also offering a bright and positive message about the benefits of ‘dropping the knife’.





The All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System announces the launch of an Inquiry into girls in the penal system and calls for evidence The All Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System has announced a one year independent inquiry into girls in the penal system, after discovering that 168,493 girls have been arrested by 37 police forces over the past three years, including 47,602 in 2010 alone.

The aim of the inquiry is to achieve real change in the lives of young girls in need and to bring about a reduction in the number of girls who enter the criminal justice system.

The Inquiry will be co-chaired by Kate Green MP and Baroness Corston, with Roberta Blackman-Woods MP, The Right Hon Elfyn Llwyd MP, Madeleine Moon MP, Baroness Linklater and Baroness Masham on the steering committee.

The executive committee of the APPG comprises Bishop of Liverpool, Elfyn Llwyd MP, Kate Green MP, Treasurer Baroness Stern and Secretary Claire Perry MP.

The Inquiry will focus on policy and practice regarding girls and investigate the decisions that route girls away from or into the criminal justice system. It will look at how the police and the courts deal with girls who come into contact with the criminal justice system and the different approaches to working with girls, both nationally and internationally.

The all party group will collate evidence from charities, statutory services like the police and local authorities, examine national government policy and will hear oral evidence over the coming year.

Baroness Corston said: “I am deeply concerned at the thousands of young girls being arrested by the police each year. This excessive use of arrest puts a huge burden on the police who have to do all the paperwork and ties up valuable time and money dealing with children, some very young, when they could be dealing with burglaries, rapes and serious disorder.

“Being arrested and banged up in a police cell, with all the chaos that characterises a busy police station, is traumatic and should be avoided at all costs. We are in breach of the UN convention of the rights of the child if we continue to arrest and detain so many children unnecessarily.”

Kate Green MP said “Our penal system is not equipped to manage and resolve the complex problems that many girls have often coming from backgrounds where they have experienced violence, abuse and neglect. We have to question whether our current system makes the public safer when girls leave the criminal justice system more angry, afraid and damaged than when they first entered.”

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, the charity that is administering the Inquiry, said “My work with girls in trouble with the law has shown that the vast majority are vulnerable and damaged individuals. The girls that go through the criminal justice system are not dangerous criminals, but often sad victims of circumstance and violence.”

The inquiry is calling today writing to charities and organisations working with girls in a call for written evidence and is also keen to hear from individuals and families who may have personal experiences of the criminal justice system in relation to the treatment of girls.

The Inquiry seeks to:

• Investigate the decisions that route girls into the penal system or into welfare

• Provision for and the treatment of girls in the criminal justice system

• To make recommendations for reform across the social and penal systems regarding the treatment of girls.

The inquiry will focus on:

• An examination of the policies and practices towards girls who transgress the law

• The legislative framework as it relates to girls

• The policing of girls –policies and practices

• The experiences and treatment of girls in custody

• Good practice regarding keeping girls out of the criminal justice system.

http://www.howardleague.org/appg-inquiry/


NEWS l NEWS l

Young offenders to learn a trade in Rixonway KitchenScheme aims to provide new skills and reduce re-offending ratesRixonway Kitchens, one of the leading manufacturers working in affordable and social housing, has donated units to Thorn Cross Prison in Warrington to be used in a scheme aimed at teaching young offenders new skills to help reduce re-offending rates.The open institution offers a ‘fitted interiors course’ run by the Open College Network North West Region (OCNNWR) which can earn a diploma or certification. The course trains ten learners a time in kitchen fitting which will provide them with a trade, as well as important social and life skills, all of which can be valuable when seeking employment on their release. Rixonway’s Operations Director Nick Greenall said: “At Rixonway we’re serious about youth engagement and we hope that through our involvement with this course the learners will have access to the resources required to make a difference to their lives.“The trade learnt can be used to help with securing employment on release and, according to Government statistics, can reduce the risk of re-offending by between a third and a half.” John Platt head of learning and skills at Thorn Cross Prison said: “Allowing our learners to perform a task themselves rather than solely learning from text books or watching a demonstration is a brilliant resource to have. The material donated by Rixonway will allow our learners to gain hands on experience which will be key to their education. Most learners will leave with a certificate but if time allows then they can work towards a diploma. The project means that those who are only spending weeks at Thorn Cross can still achieve something.”Rixonway is committed to youth engagement and combating worklessness in 16-24 year-

olds and partners with a number of public and private sector agencies to provide jobs and opportunities. Following its support of the ’Most Outstanding Young Person’ category in the 2010 national awards organised by the National Federation of ALMO’s (arms length management organisations), Rixonway donated a kitchen to a community centre in Barnet allowing the winner of the category to continue his work with youngsters in the area. Rixonway is also implementing an initiative to train inmates in kitchen fitting, CAD design and making display units by donating raw materials to juvenile institute HMP Hindley.

Rixonway’s work with Thorn Cross prison is the latest activity in the company’s corporate social responsibility programme that sees it working with a number of organisations to build sustainable communities such as The Harrogate Homeless Project and the Wellington Hill Residents Association in Leeds. Formed in 1978, Yorkshire-based Rixonway Kitchens is the only UK kitchen manufacturer working solely in affordable and social housing. It manufactures 12,000 rigid units per week, employs over 450 people at its UK HQ and state-of-the-art manufacturing site in Dewsbury and 40 site-based designers who operate nationwide.

Foreground John Platt head of learning and skills at Thorn Cross Prison Back row left to right: Geoff Murcott, senior curriculum team leader at Manchester College, Cieran Harten (18), Brian O’Neill (22), Nathan Berry (19)

A shocking 70 per cent of young offenders have speech, language and communication needs that are often undetected and can contribute to antisocial behaviour, exclusion and, in many cases, a custodial sentence.

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) is taking action to help those working with vulnerable people to spot this hidden disability to improve their life chances as well as break the cycle of re-offending for those in custody.

The RCSLT is launching The Box – What’s it like to be Inside? , a free e-learning tool which brings together the expertise of speech and language therapists working across the country

in the justice sector.

Available for all professionals who come into contact with vulnerable people –both witnesses and offenders– it helps develop an understanding of communication difficulties. The online tool is designed to help spot warning signs, reduce aggressive behaviour and increase productivity by enabling professionals to be more impactful.

Kamini Gadhok, chief executive of RCSLT says: “We know that a staggering 70 per cent of young offenders have problems with talking, understanding and listening but, alarmingly, these difficulties are not always obvious and it can be very easy to miss the warning signs. ”

“This is where the cycle begins. People around these vulnerable individuals mistake their difficulties for behavioral problems - or just not wanting to engage - and begin to give up on them. This can result in frustration and often manifests as challenging behaviour.”

“Working in the justice sector can be challenging and not being equipped to identify and support those with communication needs makes it even more difficult. Using speech, language and communication expertise can help professionals to adopt simple techniques into their daily working life to make their job easier and safer. ”

For more information visit: www.rcslt.org. To access The Box please visit: www.rcslt.org/thebox/open

Help open ‘The Box’ for an easier, safer job

http://www.rcslt.org

http://www.rcslt.org

http://www.rcslt.org/thebox/open



16 hours a day on curfew Tougher community sentences will see offenders forced to spend longer in their homes - up to 16 hours each day for a whole year, Minister for Prisons and Probation Crispin Blunt confirmed on 08 August 2011.

Extending the maximum daily curfew time from 12 to 16 hours, and the period for which they can be imposed from six to 12 months, will better protect communities and ensure offenders face meaningful punishments that help stop them reoffending. Curfews not only restrict liberty but they can bring order to chaotic lives.

These new proposals are part of the Government’s plans to reform sentencing and tackle the root causes of offending. Minister for Prisons and Probation Crispin Blunt said: ‘These tougher curfew conditions will keep offenders off the street for longer, stop them socialising in the evenings and keep them away from situations that could land them in trouble again. ‘This is part of our proposals to reform the Criminal Justice System and will help to keep communities safe whilst important work is done with offenders to turn them away from a life of crime.’

The increased powers will allow courts to vary curfew hours from day to day, for example during the week and at weekends, and to divide them into different blocks within the day.

About 24,000 individuals are being electronically monitored at any one time. If an offender breaches the terms of their curfew, he or she can be sent back to court for further punishment.

Since 2005 two suppliers have successfully operated electronic monitoring services in England and Wales - these contracts are soon due for re-competition and will focus on the Government’s drive to raise standards in public protection and help to further cut re-offending.

Other measures being taken forward in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill include a review of Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences, with a view to replacing them with a tougher determinate sentence regime and a greater use of life sentences. We are also looking to introduce a new offence of aggravated knife possession, with a mandatory prison sentence of at least six months.

The current legislation provides for curfews of up to 12 hours per day and for a maximum of six months. Any requirement imposed under a community order should not interfere with

the times at which a person normally works or attends education.

Case Study Stephen Sheenan, 24, Merseyside

Stephen was sentenced to a Single Requirement Community Order in January 2011, the only requirement of which was a five- month curfew. Stephen was to comply with a daily curfew from 7pm to 7am.

After successfully completing his curfew at the end of May 2011, Stephen was really positive about his time on curfew.

Stephen commented that he had actually found the curfew as a real turning point in his life, and was happy to talk about the benefits of being on tag.

‘I actually enjoyed it as it meant that I was able to spend time with my girlfriend. I have definitely changed since being on tag, and can see that it’s far better then going to prison which I don’t think would have worked for me as it was my first offence. It definitely works as it really teaches you a lesson.

‘The curfew has actually meant that I’ve been able to change my life around. It was easy to keep to as I was always able to get home for 7pm and allowed me to sort my life out.

‘I’m now going to university in September and looking forward to a new time in my life.’


Less is a lot more at Chelmsford Gym!

HMP Chelmsford’s PE Dept has a reputation for delivering the best courses and training possible in the Prison Service. They have led the way in getting inmates qualified and into jobs in the fitness industry. However nothing stands still so Custodial Review visited to find out what changes had recently been made to their training programmes.

CR When I was last here 5 years ago we discussed the extensive courses you were running to enable inmates to gain employment in the health and fitness industry. What courses were you running then and why?SH We were running NVQ based courses up to level 2, and a few to level 3 for individuals who we thought more capable. We delivered additional courses that brought other qualifications however we preferred NVQ as it was then a nationally recognised system. We delivered them for eight years and they were very successful and because of this people were getting jobs on the outside. We were gaining 10 NVQ’s every 3 months and the partnership agreement we had with Fitness First meant that we could allow people out on temporary licence to work at their facilities in, Chelmsford and Southend. It was a very successful win-win situation.

CR What courses are you delivering now?SH We now run many more short courses. Typically two to three weeks in duration. Examples are Football Association level one, FA coaching level 2 (Nine Weeks), RFU level one, which is touch rugby. We now have an agreement with an organisation called Active IQ to run Healthy Living courses across a wide range of activities. For instance we can run a Health Living level one accredited course in circuit training, badminton, football, volleyball, weight training etc. A real benefit of this newer system is that most sports

activities can be quickly accredited under the Healthy Living banner.

CR You had a successful NVQ system delivering courses that put people where they needed to be and fully utilised the equipment and staff you have here. So an obvious question is; why did you change?SH We haven’t changed entirely! We still can run NVQ courses and City and Guilds, however they are now usually only for staff or gym orderlies. The reason for the change was based on the shift in industry demands and needs. Companies like Fitness First are now employing people with level one and two Health Living accreditation that can be awarded after a course that we can deliver in two or three weeks. NVQ’s take 3 months for what is the same level of accreditation. These shorter courses fit in perfectly with the average length of stay an inmate has here, which, because we are a Cat C local, is a maximum of 51 days. The short courses also count towards full NVQ’s should they be available to the inmate in the future.Short duration courses are the future because they bring quicker qualification on a larger amount of subjects and to a larger group of people. It’s what the industry on the outside want and we must reflect that. On the outside an NVQ may take a year, we deliver it in PEO Steve Hallahan at HMP Chelmsford.

The newly re-laid astroturf pitch


3 months. On the outside a level 2 Active Learning takes two months, in here we can deliver it in three weeks. It’s a case of value for money and return for the effort.

CR Who controls the accreditation for these shorter modules, how long have you been running them, how are they run, what changes have been made and what level of success have you had with them?SH Active IQ, they are the governing body who oversee the qualification. We have been delivering their courses for about 4 years and we have achieved the same levels of accreditation as before but with a lot more people achieving them. Because we are a Cat B local and the maximum stay is 51 days we have to design our courses to fit in with the regulations. I can, with specific permission, keep students here for longer, but it’s not as regular occurrence as it was when you last visited. At that time the Cat B rules had

more flexibility built into them. However a positive development is that I can now make recommendations for the next establishment an inmate goes to.This makes a lot of difference, we may no longer be able to fully finish someone’s qualification, but we can almost ensure that someone with real ability gets to a place where they can see the course though. This is done via there sentence plan, we enter their achievements and intentions into the system

Outdoor Sports Equipment has been placed all around the perimeter of the sportsfield - made by Fresh Air Fitness

continues overleaf u


HMP Chelmsford continued

and we notify their offender supervisor who can decide the best place for them to go by to taking our recommendations into account. So we may not be able to actually decide where they go, but we have significant influence. This is one area of policy that has really changed and improved.

CR Can you keep anyone here, for instance the Gym Orderlies, who are on a 3 month NVQ course?SH The system isn’t entirely rigid, under special provisions we can keep people ‘on hold’ here for 3 months, sometimes more.

CR What are the cost implications between putting someone through an NVQ and an Active IQ Course?SH The individual costs are about £30 for the Active course and £90 for the NVQ. However those are far less important than the actual training costs in terms of facilities and staff. NVQ’s require external verifiers (V1), or staff trained as a verifier’s (A1). We are fortunate here as we have two staff who are qualified as Internal verifiers. An establishment without such benefits would find NVQ’s far more expensive to run. On a purely ‘cost to join’ basis we are getting three students through the Active IQ course for every one we used to put through the NVQ. So we are putting 3 times more people through the shorter courses.

CR Who inspects the students who have completed the new shorter courses? Who are the people who do the ‘Accreditation’ and where do they go to learn how to do it?SH The roles are spread through the staff here, one will teach the course, one will test/Assess it and another will check its done to a satisfactory standard. We all have obtained the ability to carry out accreditation at Chelmsford. I obtained mine when I obtained City and Guilds a number of years ago. We do have an advantage as all of the staff in the department are A1 assessors, two are internal verifiers, this allowed us to get the governing body accreditation so we can certificate Active IQ courses internally. It’s a big help. We actually have gained “certificate status” as we had for NVQ’s, which allows us to accredit our own courses, with the visit of an external verifier maybe once a year.

CR If another Cat B local wanted to deliver these courses as you do what would they need to have in place and what would it cost?

SH They would need A1 assessors and at least one internal verifier, it’s not an easy qualification to obtain and on the outside they can earn up to 30k a year. It took me 7 months to get it and an assessor takes 3 months. Any prison could run the course; however the expense would come when the assessing has to take place. At least until they had their own in house verifier.

CR What is the inmate perception of these courses, do they see them as a sort of City and Guilds or NVQ ‘lite’?SH Not at all, they like the variety of courses and the speed at which they can be done. They like the ability to mix and match the smaller courses. It’s a maximum of a couple of weeks per module and then they can do something different. We get more inmates taking up more courses, with an increase in the number of people taking part who have poor educational attainment. With NVQ’s a student had to have level one in Education. These short courses enable students of all education attainment to take part.

CR In an ideal world, where funding wasn’t an issue and you didn’t have a 51 day limit. Would you have changed from NVQ’s to the newer module style?SH Ideally we would have had an even mixture of the two. Preference would have been to lead with the NVQ as it’s a more complete course, however the industry on the outside want shorter, more varied qualifications so we reflect that requirement. CR Other prisons I have visited have external tie ups with football, cricket and rugby teams. They run academies within the prisons that

The Spinning Class bikes - bought after a trip to Leisure Industry Week.


help to encourage the willing and provide an incentive to the couch potato sports fan. What external influences and assistance from outside do you have here?SH We were the first to do this with the Rugby Football Union, a couple of years ago we invited them in to help establish our touch rugby module with a big influence from PEO Nigel Seamen. The biggest influence within this PE department is our association with

Chelsea Football Club. This is a huge coup for us. We wrote to all the London football clubs asking if they would be prepared to get involved in coaching the youngsters here. All were interested however the best result came from Chelsea. It surprised me until I realised how much work that club does in their local community with young people. We were visited by two of their full time coaches, they took a look around and agreed

to help us run our accredited awards, not only assist us but they also agreed to fund them. Every two weeks they visit and run taster training days. These are full Chelsea designed and delivered sessions that are designed to help those with some ability, and also to get the couch potatoes off their seats and onto the sports field. It’s hugely popular.


The UK’s Premier New and Used Fitness Equipment Supplier and Bespoke Sales, Service and Installation Provider

• Bespoke Sales• Commercial and consumer new and

refurbished sales• Service contracts• Service repairs• Service site visit & equipment

inspection• New and second hand, part sales• Re-upholstery service• Full delivery and installation service• Equipment relocation• CAD• Qualified Health and Safety

consultation

• Short or long term rental of any number of pieces of equipment

• Home gym or commercial flooring supply and installation

www.amazon-leisure.co.ukThe Fitness Centre Hargham Road Shropham Norfolk NR17 1DS

01953 498098

‘Buy with confidence knowing that you are getting the service you deserve from the experts in the industry’




The new kit from Life FitnessCR What do Chelsea get from it and what is the effect on the inmates?SH Chelsea believes in giving something back to the community and we are part of that community. They also bring their trainee coaches in so that they can build up their training hours and help to get them selves qualified. The effect on the inmates has to be seen to be believed. The banter between supporters is as keen as you would expect, football has a huge following inside the walls too. And the ability to put people on the training day roster is a huge incentive for the PE department. If inmates don’t toe the line or are seen to be lacking in their other work we can stop them going to the training days. It’s a huge incentive.

CR What other outside organisations have you managed to get involved?SH The local NHS PCT have put in the facility for inmates to do a level 2 health trainer course. The courses teach prisoners health lifestyle choices and imparts a huge amount of information. The course is a two week one and imparts many of the skills that the inmate needs just to get by on the outside. The course also encourages the inmate to move on from a less sedentary lifestyle, we then try to pick up on those that get the message and want to do something about it. We have just finished the first course, ten

people took part, eight passed and the other two are re sitting the test. And we have funding for it to last another two years.

CR You get a large proportion of first time offenders here. They have been through probation and the court system and then …. POW! They are inside and, possibly for the first time, in the PE Department they have someone who is very interested in their future and what they can achieve. What effect does this type of course and the Chelsea tie up have on them?SH When they arrive here there self esteem is usually non existent. They have nothing to be proud of and no achievement that means anything anymore. We endeavour to build a really good rapport with them and because of this we start to build some self esteem. The opportunities we offer, and the chance to gain a recognised qualification in a short period of time, begins to sort out the deficiency. We have the ability to accredit achievement no matter what it is. We have a system called RARPA, which stands for Recognising and Recording Personal Achievement. I can award someone within that system for being able to work with me and achieve something concrete. It may be small, but to many of these people it’s a vital first step. We use it extensively with the obese lads, we work with healthcare and set a programme for them to

live a healthy lifestyle. We can award them a RARPA certificate for that.

CR What feedback do you get from the people who have been through the courses here and then moved on to other establishments?SH We get about three letters a month from people who have moved on, many of the letters are on the notice board outside. They show that the barrier between them and the officers was broken down enough for them to form role model status yet without loosing the professional relationship essential to maintain discipline. It gratifying to know we are making a difference to someone, possibly for the first time in their lives. It’s impossible to measure; however I believe it has a huge beneficial effect.

CR None of theses achievements are made without equipment or staff, and that involves money. So what staffing levels do you have now and what changes in equipment have there been?SH We have eight PE officers and one Senior Officer, Les Allen, who has recently taken up the post here. The staff here are. PESO Les Allen (A1, Centre Manager), PEO Steve Hallahan (IV All Courses), PEO Dave Williams (A1, Active IQ Lead). PEO Jim McMahon


Sports Maintenance Services (SMS) is a premier service provider to the sport and leisure industry. We provide a comprehensive maintenance service for all hard and synthetic sport surfaces including tennis, football, MUGAs, (Multi Use Game Areas), hockey, golf driving ranges and athletics tracks.

SMS offer a range of maintenance packages that can be tailored to suit your budget requirements and that will assist you to maximise the life of your playing surface.

We work throughout the UK. Clients include individual ‘private’ court owners and extend to premiership football clubs, leisure/sport centres, schools and local authorities. We are SAPCA* registered and members of the Institute of Groundsmanship.

* SAPCA: Sports and Play Construction Association.

London: 37 Felsham Road, Putney SW15 1AY

Tel: 0208 788 0123 Sheffield: 170 Crookes, Sheffield S10 1UH

Tel: 0114 266 2836

Email: [email protected]

(V1, IV All Courses), PEO Mick Carter ( A1,FA Lead) PEO Colin Borien (A1, Active IQ Assist). PEO Ricky McNeil (A1, Health Trainer/ Exercise on prescription), PEO Tony Gillespie (FA Assist). PEO Mark Nolan (A1, Racquet Sport Pro)

We have 2 staff undergoing training and ready to take up a PE role when there is a vacancy. When they decided to build a new house block- known as G wing- we put in a bid to

extend the gym in order to accommodate the extra head count.

CR What did you get, who did the building and what did it cost?SH The gym space was doubled, we had the Astroturf pitch completely refurbished and the additional equipment inside the gym and around the exterior fitness track. Waites Construction were the main contractor and it all cost £1.5 million. We managed to acquire

£15,000 from a grant and we spent that on the spinning cycle facility that occupies one end of the gym. This is an excellent fitness system and good for training too as spinning classes are very common in the industry, our inmates can quickly get a qualification on it. We bought them from X trail after the Dept Gov told us we had the funds. We also managed to afford some more running machines from Life Fitness, fixed weights form Physique and plenty of what would pass as



PESO Les Allen HMP Chelmsford.

The sports field took three weeks to re-lay!


consumables, footballs, badminton rackets and shuttlecocks etc. We buy them all locally as it’s cheaper than getting them off the contract. We get through a lot of footballs because of the razor wire. Sometimes 5 a day! It’s better for us to buy them for £2 in the local JBB than spend £7 via the contract. The quality isn’t as good, but they don’t last any longer when they are kicked into the wire!

CR The Astroturf pitch, why did it have to be refurbished and what else was done outside at the same time?SH It was a 12 year old facility and it was worn out by extensive use. The technology had moved on as well and this on has more extensive underlay and tiny pieces of rubber within the weave. It prevents injury and the carpet burns that used to be commonplace with the older ones. The facility takes a huge amount of wear because it’s the only open area we have for sports. It cost £170.000 to lay it and that wasn’t including the footings and the supervision. But after 3 weeks it was done and it’s a superb facility that lets us run all the Chelsea and RFU coaching sessions in complete safety on a good surface.

CR You have a fitness track around the Astroturf pitch with outdoor equipment spread around it. How did that come about?SH When we obtained the RFU tie up we

obtained some extra funding that enabled us to buy the equipment. There were two bodies that were prepared to share the funding for it and so we did the research and the Airsport equipment was purchased and installed. The cost was about £15k and it enables inmates to work on their fitness in the fresh air. It’s a well used and popular facility.

CR What developments are due in the next year or so?

Les Allen, the PE SO now joined the conversation.

LA We have secured funding for changing the upstairs area that used to be the weights room. We lack a classroom and treatment room where we can teach and also treat sports injuries. After a short conversation we decided that dividing the space into a large classroom and a smaller treatment was the best option. We secured £15k of funding from (M & G) charities agency. And that will purchase the materials to do the job. The rest will be provided by our Works dept. The kit we will be purchasing will include laptops and a smart white board. The intention is to give the trainees the same equipment they will use on the outside. So helping them move into jobs or further training.

CR How do you go about buying one off items using grant money?

LA The money is held by the Finance dept in a ring fenced account. When we decide what is needed the equipment is bought from that fund. It should provide a superb facility.

CR What changes to the training courses are you planning?SH We wish to introduce changes that enable us to keep up with technology. That’s where the industry is going. It’s all now based on or around computers. Prisoners need to know how to use them or they will be seriously disadvantaged in the jobs market. We also wish to set up an academy working with Chelsea that will have a mentoring scheme that they will run with us. It’s still in the discussions stage however if it does come to fruition it will make a huge difference. We already are besieged by applicants for the Chelsea training course. An apprenticeship scheme would be a huge measure more! It will be run in conjunction with Chelmsford College, our Education provider, and funding will come from Chelsea to the tune of £50k. This could lead to inmates being paid to do their football apprenticeship whilst in prison, then complete it whilst released on licence. That would be a huge coup for the inmate and for us.

Thank you both for talking to the Review.


Size is not Fireworks manufacture a unique fire suppression system that uses atomised high pressure water to extinguish a fire by rapid cooling at the flame front. The water droplets dramatically reduce the temperature in the room and also absorb smoke particles. Their systems are already installed in more than 100 prisons in the UK where they are installed primarily to tackle cell fires. The principle, however, can be used in much larger situations. Custodial Review spoke to Derek Killaspy to find out more.

CR Much of the equipment you have fitted into prisons has been concerned with extinguishing cell fires or on landings which tend to be small blazes in a confined areas. What I would like to discuss is the application of your technology in areas where larger blazes can occur, such as a kitchen.DK The worst fire that can happen in a kitchen is a deep fat fryer blaze. Hydramist is ideal for these risks because of how it puts out fires in hot oil. The system works by using the heat of the fire to convert the atomised water into steam. This both rapidly reduces the temperature of the oil and creates an oxygen free area at the flame front and therefore quickly and efficiently extinguishes the fire.. Because the hot oil is quickly cooled re-ignition of the fire is prevented.

CR Usual advice is never put water on a fat or oil fire, so why would you spray water onto an oil fire?DK The reason for the advice is that water is heavier than oil and it expands over 1100 times when it turns from water into steam. Oil usually cooks at 180 degrees and has a huge amount of latent heat due to the volume of oil in the fryer. so water poured into hot oil sinks under the surface then expands so quickly it’s almost an explosion. This causes the oil so be showered over a large area, usually including the person who poured the water into the oil. What the Hydramist system does is to spray atomised water onto the flame front and heat above the oil. The water droplets do not sink under the surface as they are constantly converted to steam above the oil until the temperature reduces to below 100 degrees C. So the atomised water never gets under the surface of the oil whilst a danger of it turning to steam exists. Therefore it cannot cause an explosion.The reason the system works so effectively is because the atomised water is turned to steam at the flame front and so removes heat from the fire and oil, it then condenses and can fall back onto the blaze, repeating the cooling process. The atomised water never gets under the surface of the oil whilst a danger of it turning to steam

exist, therefore it cannot cause a ‘fat explosion’.

CR Is there a limit to the size of fryer you can protect with this system? I ask because the huge amount of heat stored in large amounts of oil would take some time to cool.DK We are presently protecting a whole range of commercial fryers of the type you would see in fast food outlets and restaurants, we are also protecting fryers in factories that are several metres long, and contain several tons of oil. So the answer to your question is that there is no limit to the size of fire the system can extinguish.

CR The amount of heat stored in hot oil must limit the speed at which fires are extinguished, as there is a lot of heat to vaporise the water droplets into steam. So how long does it take to put out an average commercial chip fryer?DK Oil that has caught fire is probably at a temperature of 240 degrees C and with one nozzle working it takes about 2-4 seconds to extinguish the flames and less than 1 litre of water, and about 2 minutes until the oil temperature is down bellow its flash point.

CR The nozzle; is this on a hand held device similar to the cell fighting equipment you supply or is it a pre installed and plumbed unit?DK It’s preinstalled and plumbed because the philosophy behind our system is that the person who is using the fryer probably isn’t a trained fire-fighter. We do not recommend that anything hand held, like a fire blanket or an extinguisher, is used as the person has to get close to the fire and risk possible injury. Our system is completely automatic, though it will also have a manual start placed some distance away. In all the testing we have done in conjunction with (Building Research Establishment , BRE) we have proven that our automatic system is quicker and more efficient than any other system for this risk.

CR Where is this nozzle positioned and how is it triggered? Are there any warning signs?DK It’s approximately 1.3 meters above the fryer, so it’s out of the way of the operator and cannot cause injury. There is a heat sensitive bulb in the nozzle and when it reaches a pre set temperature the bulb breaks and this triggers a flow of water and the pump to activate. The


temperature at which the bulb breaks can be varied, but for a typical fat fryer protection system it will operate at 93 degrees C.

CR Playing devils advocate now. You have a nozzle 1.3 meters above a large pan of 180 degree oil. What happens if it goes wrong and squirts a stream of cold water straight into the fat right in front of the operator?DK This cannot happen. When the pump isn’t activated the system only has water in it at tap pressure; this is typically 1 to 4 bar. The nozzle will not open until the pressure of the water reaches 20 bar. Tap pressure will never reach this high. When the bulb breaks there will be a 30 millisecond burst of water at tap pressure, before the pump kicks in and boosts the pressure to a sufficient level to atomise the water. In tests we have found that the high pressure misted water reaches the hot oil before the initial low pressure dribble caused by the bulb breaking.

CR What happens if the pump fails?DK You will get a light fine spray of mist at a pressure of 1-4 bar. This will cause the oil to pop and spit a bit but there is not sufficient water to cause it to erupt.

CR Is it recommended to install this sort of suppression system above any other type of kitchen equipment?DK it can be installed at any location in a kitchen, however the standard LPS 1223

regulations for fat fryers only apply to them or similar equipment.

CR What are the alternatives to the type of system you supply?DK Chemical dispensers or foam, both of which leave a residue of chemicals over the area sprayed. They do work, and almost as quickly as the Hydramist system, but they form a hard cap on the oil so it takes much longer for the oil to cool down and it’s a long time before any clean up can take place. Kitchens are then shut for the full duration of the clean up process. With our system all there is to clean up is a small amount of water, typically a kitchen will be back in use 30 minutes after an incident with the Hydramist system. It can take several hours to reinstate the kitchen after an incident with a chemical fire suppression system.

CR What are the implications for false activation for suppression systems?DK False activation is very unlikely in either case, however if a chemical system goes off then there is an extensive clean up procedure to go through. If a Hydramist system goes off it can be quickly cleaned up with a cloth and mop. The water in the oil will evaporate and the oil can be used again. The chemical system will contaminate the oil requiring a complete oil change and clean.

CR Cost comparisons on installation, what is cheaper, yours or the chemical system?DK On a one fryer system we are slightly more expensive, with 2 or 3 nozzles we are cheaper as we only need one pump. Generally the larger the risk the more chemical required, we always use the same size pump and are therefore more competitive in our design and costing, add to this the savings from any clean up after a chemical system has been used and our system comes out on top. Additionally our maintenance costs are lower as we don’t need to re-fill with expensive chemicals.

We should also mention our environmental credentials; we use only water to fight the fire with no chemicals or additives. Our system presents no risk to people or our environment.

CR Thank you for talking to the Review.

Fireworks Fire Protection will be exhibiting at the ‘Criminal Justice Management 2011’ event on 29th September that will take place at the QEII Conference Centre, London.

For further information on the Watermist fire extinguishing systems please contact Derek Killaspy at Fireworks Fire Protection on 01953 458 420 or 0800 977 7834 or visit www.fireworks-ltd.com, email [email protected]

important when it comes to putting out a fire


Peter Wood started his catering career in the Army and served in the Catering Corps for 6 years leaving in 1991. He worked as an agency chef for a year before in 1992 he joined the Prison Service at the Isle of Sheppy where he worked for 6 years as a civilian grade caterer before being promoted to Catering Manager at HMP Swaleside. He served there for seven years before being promoted to Catering Manager at HMP Maidstone in 2005.The kitchen facility is a large modern building within the walls; Peter gave me a guided tour before we settled in his office overlooking the work area to talk.

CR What were kitchen facilities before the new facility was built?PW It was a hotch potch of an old structure that had been built years ago and then added to as and when requirements changed or dictated. It could do the required job of catering for the prisoners but it was becoming very dilapidated and was difficult

to maintain and keep hygienic. The equipment was old and was constantly breaking down. The floor had been damaged by the constant water ingress. Tiles were falling off the walls, the roof had sprung a few leaks but it was sound. It was very inefficient in terms of energy use. It was a tired building that had reached the end of its life and was getting in the way of a professional, efficient, properly hygienic kitchen operation. In addition its layout made security a little more problematic than it should have been.

CR What were the staffing levels and were you able to provide training plus a full meal choice from it?PW Staffing levels were eight staff plus two officers mess staff and eighteen inmates. We did not have the proper facilities to offer catering training and we were only able to produce 1 main & 1 Halal choice for the main meals plus one vegetarian, one vegan choice and any special medical diets. It restricted what we could achieve.

CR So how long did it take to get a new kitchen and what was involved in the process?PW It took 4 years start to finish and the Governors and the regional catering managers support was vital. The Environmental Health Officers criticism of the old kitchen had been quite severe, both on its hygiene and the working conditions. All this added together provided the impetus to

get the go ahead for the new one.

CR Your new kitchen, what model is it and what is its maximum catering capacity?PW It’s a model 540 and it has the capacity to feed 540 plus 10%. The present population of the prison is 600. So we are now at the kitchens maximum catering capacity. If there is any increase in the prisons capacity we will need an extension or replace certain items of large equipment at the very least.

CR That sounds like history repeating itself. The new kitchen is built almost on the same footprint as the old one, so what did you do for catering facilities whilst the construction was in progress?PW We had a temporary kitchen installed by PKL, it was put in on the only site available and so was very constricted in its footprint. It had to be a very odd shape, 25 feet wide and 160 feet long. It did the job as well as the site would let it, however we had to restrict the menus we could offer and due to the space it had to fit in was rather inefficient in terms of work flow. It seemed a long 13 months working in there but we did the job and the temporary kitchen coped admirably given the disadvantages it faced.

CR Did the new kitchen come in on target, on time and who built it?PW Yes to both questions, it was built by Kier and it was interesting to see it being built.

HMP Maidstone’s new kitchen


CR Looking at the new kitchen how dos it compare with the previous facility?PW It’s a completely different level of facility, almost impossible to compare. Its airy, plenty of light, and a joy to work in. The work flow is excellent, the equipment is all Electrolux and it’s proved to be very good,

CR It’s a very hi tec building, I had a look in the roof space and was astounded at the amount of equipment that it contained. What is that all for?PW It mostly to do with saving natural resources and recycling energy. However we also have a rainwater capture system on the roof. It collects stores and then treats rainwater for use in areas such as flushing toilets. There is a computer monitoring system and a UV treatment plant in one corner of the roof space. It’s designed to save money on using water. The majority of the equipment is used for recycling the air extracted from the kitchen by the ceiling. There are heat exchangers and heat pumps in the roof space that ensure we are using, or wasting, as little energy as is possible. Once the air is extracted from the kitchen all the heat it contains is removed and used to heat water, or power the under floor heating. The air is then replaced at a set temperature. If it needs cooling it’s done, if heated, likewise.

CR The ceiling is a high tec work of art, many kitchens have huge stainless steel extraction boxes above specific pieces of equipment but this one is all at high level. What sort of working environment does it provide, how reactive is it?PW It is almost instantaneous, when we were commissioning the kitchen we had all the equipment working, the burners on, the fryers going and the combi ovens at full blast. The temperature hardly varied whatever we did. Some systems can let in cold air or create hotspots in the room. This system creates a fabulous working environment and unlike the

The high tec ‘stuff ’ in the roof space



HMP Maidstone’s new kitchen continued

ceilings of yesteryear its all self cleaning, it even has sensors in the ducts to detect a build up of fat deposits. We are then notified that cleaning is needed via the computerised ceiling management system. Its one of those things you quickly don’t notice because it just does its job so well.

CR Did you have any choice in the kit that was installed in the kitchen?PW Absolutely none! We were able to exchange the sandwich making facility for a pastry one, but that was it. Initially I thought that the equipment spec should be altered as some of it seemed to be of a specification that was beyond what we would need. For instance some of the abilities of the Electrolux combi ovens are beyond what I think we would require here. However they do what we want very well, so I have no complaints.

CR What is the workflow like in the kitchen?PW We have an excellent flow system with ingredients coming in one way and packing and waste going back the same way. Off the main cooking area we also have prep areas for veg, meat, pastry plus a cold prep room that localises meat preparation helping to combat contamination.

CR Do you have training facilities for inmates as do many of the new kitchens I’ve had a look at?PW There are no specific training facilities or a training kitchen. Although we are about to begin NVQ’s in catering for the inmates.

We did ask for a training kitchen, or training facilities and they were put into the original bid, as was additional capacity to allow for possible future prison expansion however they were both refused. Probably because of pressures on budgets.

CR Has the new kitchen reduced your manning requirement?PW We are now down to eight staff which includes the officers mess and sixteen

prisoners. However we are looking at increasing the prisoners up to approximately sixty when the NVQ training programme & extended working hours starts. We are also looking at taking over the wing servery areas. At the moment each wing has its own servery team, so there is no overall ownership of the facilities, by bringing this into the kitchens remit we can apply common operating procedures and so improve delivery.CR How do you handle waste?


PW All kitchen waste is recycled. The cardboard goes into bales, the metal is compacted, and the food waste goes into a machine called big Hanna, which is a composter. All our fluid waste is treated with a biological fluid that reduces the grease so it does not block the drains.CR What does the new kitchen enable you to do that the old one did not?PW We can go back to buying all the raw materials and make everything from scratch

again. Due to lack of space we have had to buy in most of the sauces etc that we needed up to now. I believe it’s far better to make them from first principals. So we will soon start doing just that and we soon intend to get back to 85% of all food produced in the kitchen is made from the basic raw ingredients.

CR Interesting comment that, I recall once being told that Prison kitchens could go over to being ones that buy in the finished item

and then heat it up as it would be lower cost in the long run . Now you are going to do almost the exact opposite. What is the thinking behind that?PW Cost and training, it is cheaper for us to buy in the raw ingredients and make the dishes from first principals. Education has become a central plank of the prison drive against reoffending and teaching inmates how to cook from first principals is essential, both for their NVQ’s and also to enable them to cook cheaply and well for themselves when they are on the outside. There is also a customer satisfaction element as well, prisoners appreciate home cooking and it shows in the satisfaction surveys we carry out. We also have greater flexibility. Were we to buy in all our food as the finished item we would be limited in the variety of dishes we could offer. Then there is the issue of special diets. We have to be able to produce food that meets the special medical & religious needs some of our inmates have. These are best done from the raw ingredients as we then know exactly what is in the meal.

Thank you Peter for talking to the Review.

The new kitchen is big, it also sits within the walls of one of the most elegant looking collection of buildings in the prison service. Apparently, English Heritage became involved in the project and insisted it had to be sited in a position so that it did not obstruct a view of the prison church!


Hi tech kitchen ceilingThe ceiling in the new kitchen at HMP Maidstone is a state of the art construction that enables the ventilation and energy recycling systems that are based in the roof void to work. Designed to be secure and unobtrusive it also provides an excellent working environment for the staff. It was made and installed by a company based in Leamington Spa called Britannia Kitchen Ventilation. How it achieves all this was the subject of a conversation I had with Peter Taylor, the Sales and Marketing Director

CR What part of the ceiling, ventilation and lighting system were Britannia responsible for?PT Every thing visible at ceiling level in the kitchen. The unit is a large stainless steel fabrication that’s as long and wide as the main cooking area and about half a meter deep. Its job is to extract the air, remove the grease and introduce fresh air that has been filtered and matched in temperature. It also contains the lighting and essential wiring.

CR The catering staff speaks of how the ventilation within the kitchen copes with everything they throw at it and there is always a comfortable working temperature. How did you go about designing a ceiling that can cope with the huge range of temperatures and also handle the grease contained in the air?PT We are given drawings of the kitchen by the main contractor. These drawings include a detailed cooking equipment layout so we know exactly where each combi oven, boiler, fryer or hob unit will be. From this information we design the ceiling so that it has sufficient extraction capacity in exactly the right place. It is then possible to ensure that extraction of grease laden air is at its most effective where it needs to be. We also can calculate where fresh air needs to be introduced so that gas flame equipment can work effectively whilst a pleasant working environment is maintained. This is why the work environment stays so constant.

CR So the ceiling returns air to the kitchen as well?PT Yes, it supplies fresh filtered air into the kitchen. It does this by having diffusers all around the perimeter of the ceiling so that the replacement air arrives at low velocity at working height without creating nuisance draughts for operatives in the kitchen. The make up air is taken from a different area to the exhausted air to prevent cross contamination and the reintroduction of combustion gasses. Extracted air has its heat

removed by the equipment in the roof void and then expelled into the atmosphere; the acquired heat is then either used to heat water or is used to heat the fresh air that is drawn into the building before it is introduced into the ceiling to be diffused into the workspace.

CR The range of heat produced by a 6 ring burner can vary from low to very high. How do you design a ceiling so that it maintains a constant temperature 10 feet bellow it no matter what the cooking activity is? Is it computer controlled?PT There are not any computer controlled parts of the ceiling, there may be volume adjustable fans in the roof void that are controlled by the building management system but that is all. The plenum chambers and ducts in the roof are sized and positioned very precisely for the equipment underneath them. Were they to change around the layout or

introduce more equipment then the people working in the kitchen would quickly notice a change in their working environment.

CR How does the ceiling cope with the grease and water that is deposited in it as the extracted air passes through?PT The ceiling uses baffle filters within the canopy sections to extract the grease and water from the air. This is similar to the centrifugal vacuum cleaners that are on the market. The air rotates as it passes through the filter and this spins the heavy drops of grease and water to the outside where it’s deposited. And it drains to specially designed collection trays. Before going into the drains once treated. This eliminates the mesh filter panels that used to be common in kitchen ventilation canopies. They were not only cumbersome but they also needed cleaning every day. The baffle filters used at Maidstone

Main view of Britannia Silverline ceiling system


are almost totally maintenance free.

CR How adaptable or extendable is the ceiling. The kitchen at Maidstone is now at the maximum capacity for the prison population. If they wanted to extend the kitchen to increase its capacity could the ceiling be easily extended too?PT Yes it could be extended because the ceiling is modular in construction. So, for example, should another three meters be added to the central workspace we could design an additional unit to fit into that area that would work seamlessly alongside the original. As long as we have the equipment specification that will be underneath the new section the excellent working conditions would be replicated. The same applies if they wished to change the layout or move the equipment around. We could alter the way the air is extracted and returned by moving the panels the ceiling is made up from.

CR How long did the ceiling take to make and install?PT It took approximately ten days to install on site, it takes a lot longer to fabricate and test. This is all done in our factory where the whole ceiling is built, assembled and fully tested before it’s dispatched in pieces to the Prison. Then it’s put together and the ducting is connected to the roof space equipment.

CR Are there any consumables needed to keep the ceiling operating properly and what about the security aspect?PT No consumables as such, We design the ceiling to give the correct illumination at working height so the only things that need replacing are the light tubes as they stop working. The panels the ceiling is made up of are all designed to be secure ones and the whole ceiling is comprehensively locked down to prevent access to unauthorised personnel. To remove any of the panels a key is required

to be inserted into a special lockable panel. It can then be removed and the other ones slid along to give access to the required area. This keeps the manufacturing costs down as only a few panels need to be lockable. The grease filter panels have special security bars across them to prevent any tampering.

CR What about repairs in the event of damage?PT It’s incredibly rare to have a ceiling damaged, this is mainly due to its position 10 feet up in the air, however it’s fabricated from heavy duty stainless steel. So the only damage that is likely is a damaged panel or broken light fitting. As the panel are all modular these can easily be replaced by unlocking the nearby key panel and sliding the broken or damaged one out.

CR What would be the effect on the ceiling if one of the deep fat fryers caught alight?PT The ceiling has a one hour fire rating, its construction from stainless steel means that it would restrict the spread of fire throughout the buildings structure. Compare the wall to wall coverage by stainless steel that the ceiling provides to the more usual ordinary suspended ceiling around conventional canopies over the cooking areas. A fire in an old style canopy would soon spread outside it, filling the room with smoke and allowing the heat to damage the ordinary ceiling around the area. These stainless steel ceilings stop all that. And remove smoke as well.

For more information on the ceiling at Maidstone please contact Britannia Kitchen Ventilation on 01926-463540. www.kitchen-ventilation.co.uk [email protected]

Close up of grease filtration and supply air diffusers

http://www.kitchen-ventilation.co.uk

mailto:[email protected]


Payment by resultsHM Prison Doncaster, at the request of the Ministry Of Justice (MoJ) is trialling a version of Payment by Results. It’s an innovative and ambitious scheme where the private operator, Serco, will have to reduce reoffending rates to get its full contracted income. If they want to earn more they must reduce reoffending by

more than 5%. John Biggin is the Director who is driving this forward. This is the first of a

series of articles on how he is achieving it. If it works then it has implications for society that will reach well beyond the gates.

CR When we last spoke you said that payment by results was the future for prisons. Why do you think that? Why not just warehouse the difficult ones and put the rest on tough probation?JB The talk in the press recently is all about locking people up for longer so they cannot commit further crimes. That just stores the problems up for longer as the inmates will one day be out on the street again. So if you fail to tackle their problems whist they are in prison the problem has to be sorted on the outside, it does not just go away. Tougher probation in lieu of prison for some crimes is something the public is not ready to accept because of the perceived risk to public safety in proving its effectiveness.The reason I believe that payment by results is the future for prisons is because it releases me and my staff from the restrictions that were placed on how we deliver interventions. The programme is now enshrined in our operating contract for the prison and so it supersedes all other centrally driven initiatives and programmes. The new flexibility means we can now concentrate our efforts and resources on the areas we think will have most effect for our inmates. Rather than meet the individual centrally set KPI’s for tackling reoffending, we must achieve a set reduction or we lose income. Basically, we are allowed to put our money where our mouth is. How we do it is left up to us.

CR So how will you go about it?JB We are free to adapt our interventions depending on the prisoner’s particular circumstances and need. From a reoffending point it may be more important to ensure they don’t lose their job, family attachments

or accommodation. Retaining these can be vital, especially on a very short sentence. For others, drug courses may be more important, or education. Our ‘Alliance Offender Management’ model, where we will work in partnership with Catch 22 and Turning Point, will allow a very individualised Case Management approach where we will be able to access the significant ‘through the gate’ capability of these voluntary sector organisations to deliver mentoring, interventions and accommodation services to discharged prisoners. Because we are free to allocate additional resources on a case-by-case basis we can adapt as we see fit, not having to follow centrally imposed solutions.

CR How are you selecting the pilot groups for the trial?JB We have created ‘cohort’ groups comprising a year’s worth of inmates. All individuals who are discharged from the prison in an exact 12 month period from the day the trial starts are in the first cohort. This ensures there is no cherry picking that could skew the results and this has been agreed with the MoJ.

CR Why did Doncaster get the trial? I ask because you are dealing with arguably the toughest group of inmates when it comes to reoffending. Young males with short sentences. Isn’t that asking to fail? Or is it a target rich environment that is just waiting for success?

“When we considering how Serco was going to bid for

renewing the contract, a report called ‘Locked up potential’ by Ian Duncan Smith was published. It talked about different approaches to

tackling reoffending and called for a step change in addressing the problems. The report was a catalyst to bring together many

of the ideas we had already instigated at HMP Doncaster. ”

JB We already were focusing on many areas the report highlighted such as: maintaining family contact; the resettlement wing; restorative justice for internal discipline; and so on. Therefore, bringing in the payment by results model was a natural progression for Doncaster. We already had much of what was needed in place that would enable us to successfully run the pilot.

CR The Chief inspector of Prisons says that unless a prison is concentrating all its effort of tackling reoffending it needs to look at what it is doing. It seems that ‘Payment by results’ is an idea whose time has come. So I’ll ask a

devils advocate question here. The contract to run HMP Doncaster was up for renewal so was the payment by results programme a sweetener that was added into your bid to improve your chances of winning the contract?JB No, the model we use here for delivering resettlement and offender management (The Alliance model) was also present in the successful HMP Belmarsh West bid that was finalised last year. It too was set up to include external, voluntary sector organisations delivering the vast resources as part of resettlement services within the prison, and also through the gate and beyond. These programmes were already in place at Doncaster before the bidding for the new contract became an issue. The payment by results pilot was therefore a natural progression for us. No doubt it was part of the winning formula, however it wasn’t a last minute bolt on done to clinch the deal. It would have been inappropriate to include it unless we had been sure we could do it. There is a lot to lose, as well as gain.

CR How long is the trial and will the results and methods be distributed beyond Serco? After all should you find a way of achieving the desired results then the techniques are probably commercially valuable.JB The trial is for four years, it starts on the 1st of October 2011. We are delivering the programme on behalf of the MoJ, so all the data and techniques will be shared with everyone they wish to let know. We are also having Sheffield Hallam University examine the interventions we are providing and how they affect the individual inmate. This will help to provide the evidence on which the programme’s future development will be based. There is no exclusivity to the information. A lot of it is already in the public domain and what is on trial here it’s putting the flesh on the bones and making it happen.

CR When you look at the make up of your first years cohort you must be able to determine those that are more likely to reoffend, those that probably won’t and the ones who will need support. So if can you ‘risk profile’ the inmates how do you use the information?JB We can do this and we hope to use a piece of software called Quest developed by an American company called Syscom. It takes into account everything we know about an inmate and it is designed to create an individual risk profile and help us to identify where to target resources. We will be running this in parallel with OASys.

CR How will success or failure of PbR be measured?JB From 1st October 2011 anyone who is released from HMP Doncaster will be in the



Payment by results continued

first year’s cohort. Should they reoffend, and that is defined as receiving a Court disposal which covers just about anything, then that is a reconviction and so goes down as a failure. Success is reducing the current reconviction rate by 5%. So if my present reconviction rate is, for example, 50% then on 30 September 2012 it must be 45% or we lose 5% of our operating fee. So we will know at the end of the second year if the first year was a success.

CR The results, are you expected to reduce reoffending by 5% year-on-year so it reduces by 20% over 4 years or is it 5% over the whole trial period? And why 5%? What is the significance of that figure?JB Its 5% over the whole trial period; 5% was selected by the MoJ because it’s considered to be statistically significant. There are always grey areas around reoffending rates and so this figure was decided upon partly because if we achieve it then we have shown a genuine improvement. However I would be very surprised if, once the pilot is proved a success, that the bar isn’t raised.

CR When we last spoke there was not a system for registering whether your inmates reoffended unless they were sent back here. This was due partly to misidentification, or records not being up to date etc. So how will the system be able to tell if someone has reoffended?JB It will be from the Police National Computer and the MoJ records. If they say we have a reoffender then that is final.

CR How will you decide where to allocate additional resources? Its not a one size fits all solution. Some inmates will never reoffend, some will if the circumstances present themselves.JB There are several techniques however one of the more interesting ones is the Offender Group Reconviction score (OGRS). This system has the ability to differentiate between inmates who are high, medium and low liability to reoffend. It bases its results on a whole set of information about an inmate and using its results we will be able to target resources more accurately based on an inmates need. For instance, we already know that the vast majority of inmates, if they are going to, will reoffend in the first month. Therefore we already know that it’s imperative that we concentrate resources to deliver support and guidance in that first month. After that we identify other key areas on a case-by-case basis so that the required resources an individual needs are in place to keep them on the straight and narrow.

CR What’s at stake here for Serco if you achieve, and if you fail, to make the 5% reduction?JB Serco will receive the full annual contract

price if we achieve the 5% reduction. If we fail by any margin then we lose 5% of the annual contract value. There are no grey areas or sliding scale. There is also a bonus incentive if we achieve a greater than 5% fall in the reconviction rate, up to a maximum of a 10%. So I can make a decision and choose to invest extra money in tackling reoffending if I think it can help me beat my targets and therefore earn the investment, and more, back. However there is not a safety net. If I spend additional funds and we do not achieve our targets then we are out of pocket in a big way.

CR Won’t there be a temptation to channel resources towards those in the sample or ‘cohort’ so as to achieve your bonus? So having to under invest in those outside it to their detriment?JB This is a genuine concern about the system; however the payment by results model we are using is based upon the premise of more work with those who are in the risk category. Those who are in the first cohort will get extra funding and resources targeted at their individual needs. However, those not in the first cohort will still get everything we presently offer all our inmates at the prison.

CR Are staff going to be rewarded or penalised if the prison succeeds or fails?JB This is still under review. We wish to set up all the systems and support structures and ensure they are in place before such decisions are taken. It would be wrong to place undue stresses in the new system before it’s fully settled in and working.

CR Here is the £25 million question. What are you doing to

make it succeed?

JB Much of what needs to be in place we have already done. In a nutshell it’s about

creating the right prison environment and looking after family relationships. By getting and keeping the right regimes in place we have created the

correct internal structures. The really exciting bit comes now when we can follow our work supporting inmates when they have gone through the gate.

We will have case managers coordinating the volunteers as they support the newly released settle in to life on the outside. I also am creating jobs on the outside and we are coordinating with our Alliance Partners, Catch 22 and Turning Point, as they have the experience and current initiatives to tackle

offender management in the community. It’s my belief that by working together we can achieve the results that are needed, both by us, and by the community. That’s the crux of it.

CR What other types of additional support are you proposing?JB An example is the 24 hour mentoring scheme. Up to now any support has been on a 9-5, Monday to Friday basis, but inmates tell us that it’s not when they need support, it’s when the pub shuts or when they have had a problem with their landlord. So we will be providing inmates with access to a 24 hour mentor and a recycled mobile phone which has had their mentor’s telephone number pre-programmed into the speed dial.

CR If it’s possible to identify a particular short sentence inmates requirements and design offender behaviour programmes and external support for them then this begs the question. Why had this not been done before?JB In the past people serving less than one year have gone through the gate and been left to fend for themselves. It’s been the perceived wisdom that it takes longer than a year for offender behaviour programmes to work so targeting scant resources on this section of the population was not seen as cost-effective. Although, offenders considered to be a high risk rightly receive a lot of support. However, the vast majority of crimes committed are those which result in sentences of less than 12 months These offenders are the people we have here at Doncaster so these are the ones we must work with. The Government hasn’t the money to invest in any more resources for this group and the higher risk categories are not receiving any less. So these extra resources haven’t been there to target, up until now. Incidentally I think that if we can make a difference with this group then 5% is a modest target.

CR Have you developed this in conjunction with the Police or Probation service at all?JB We are at the point of briefing the Doncaster Boards so they are informed about our plans and we can get their feedback. The Police will be interested because reoffending is endemic in youth crime and the Probation service will have a keen interest because young offenders can go on to become more serious adult criminals. However, Probation isn’t traditionally targeted at our inmate population because of the short nature of their sentences. We expect all the criminal justice agencies to ‘buy in’ to this as reducing reoffending is in the interests of each one of them. I have my revenue at risk; the success of the scheme is to all society’s benefit.

CR I can see how the incentive within the payment by results system would work in a privately run prison. There is a real carrot and


stick. A private investor could lose a lot of money, or make a lot. But I could not see this working in the state run sector. A governor could not have the downside of a 10% loss of revenue. So if this works, what are the implications for the state run prison sector?JB It would be an interesting to see if it could be transferred into the state sector. However, under the current method of operation, I am not sure how it could work. The choices would require a lot of thinking ‘outside the box’ to make it applicable. For example, while a bonus could be offered, I am not sure what the counterbalance would be for not achieving targets. What must be remembered is that it isn’t just a matter of loss or profit to a private company. While success means the company’s shareholders see a better return, this is only part of the benefits equation. Success more importantly means that there is less reoffending; less victims of crime and that is the whole purpose of the programme. Plus, aside from the overriding human aspect there is also the cost savings for the tax payer. It costs thousands to catch and prosecute a criminal, if we achieve a 5% reduction in reoffending think of how much that will save. Far more than the bonus we could secure if we exceed our targets. The benefit to the people of South Yorkshire is huge.

CR Have you still to achieve KPI’s in other areas or have you been freed in all areas to do as you see fit? And when does the pilot project commence?JB No, I still have to run a safe and secure prison. There are KPI’s I have to achieve in all other areas. Security is one of them. I’ve only been given licence to think outside the box where it comes to matters concerning tackling reoffending.

Thank you for talking to the Review.

Using the CPD3000 Systems in Prisons.The increasing use of mobile phones in to-day’s prisons is becoming more acute. Not only are the phones being used for relative innocent communications with friends and relatives outside but more worryingly the phones are being used for criminal activities. The main use is in the supply and distribution of drugs within the prison. Since PDA started supplying the handheld mobile phone detectors, staff have been able to detect and locate illicit mobile phones used within prisons. No matter how successful they have been, current research seems to indicate that they are only tackling the tip of the iceberg. Only when officers are in the area with detectors will they pickup signals from illicit phones. Up until now there has no way of accurately measuring the level of mobile phone abuse within an establishment.The CPD3000 system is designed to provide that sort of intelligence as well as help track down illicit phones. The systems works by having detectors distributed throughout the prison which are all linked by radio to a central hub normally located in the security office. The system will report where (detector number ), when (hub time stamps all alarms) and how (type of phone 2/3G and whether it is being used for text or voice calls) phones are being used. This allows officers to be pro-active by being in the right place at the right time with a GSM196 to pinpoint the cell from which a phone is being used.

Tel: +44 (0)1494-794949 E-Mail: [email protected]: +44 (0)1494-791820 Website: www.pdaelectronics.com

Mobile Phone DetectionMonitor a complete prison from a single office

Detectors easily moved for maximum benefit

Provides vital intelligence on when and where phones are being used

Used in conjunction with the GSM196 handheld detector

Modular system easily expanded

Already in use in HM Prisons / Future proof


A Summary of key findings from an evaluation

Alison Liebling, Ben Crewe and Susie Hulley

IntroductionAs public sector prisons move towards the staffing level model of profit-making institutions, with their high turnover of personnel who are less tied to their occupation, a study conducted by the authors and colleagues,

funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), warns of a potentially detrimental impact on prison quality. Until now, little has been known about the relative strengths and weaknesses of public and private prisons. Today, when the privatisation of prisons is on the increase and the public sector staffing model is becoming more like the private one, it is vital that we look beyond the stereotypes and assumptions about private sector prisons to understand the two sectors and their differences. The privatisation ‘experiment’ is controversial but provides an important opportunity to understand better how prisons work, and how different models may lead to different outcomes, and via what mechanisms. The most interesting finding of our study is that when experienced private sector staff use power, there seems to be more care and less ‘indifference’ in it. Their weakness is that in pursuing cultural distinctiveness from the over-bearing public sector, they do not use this (more legitimate) version of power enough. We expand a little on this interesting finding below.

The StudyConsiderable progress has been made in conceptualising and measuring the quality of life or moral performance of prisons over a number of research projects carried out by members of the research team over the last 10 years. One of the key findings of this cumulative research programme is that the nature and quality of staff-prisoner

relationships are among the most important determinants of the quality of prison life. The way prison officers conceive and approach their work, and the way they treat prisoners and use their authority, makes the difference between a prison that is constructive and one that feels destructive, according to prisoners. This is borne out by data on prison suicides.

As we have found in other studies, however, prisons serving the same function differ significantly in what they deliver, how they are experienced, and what effects they have. Public/private ownership is not the most important variable in determining prison quality, even though there are certain characteristic features in each sector.

Comparing prisons is notoriously difficult – for example, new buildings (more likely in the private sector so far) may be much easier to operate in than old buildings. So design, function, population mix, geographical location, among other things, can confound the results and are difficult to hold constant.

In a four prison comparison, the private prisons showed weaknesses in policing and control, organisation and consistency, and prisoner development (that is, opportunities to grow and change). Managers in the private sector prisons acknowledged that staff did not follow procedures as well as public sector staff. We found the private prisons had relatively inexperienced staff, and were sometimes hampered by their tighter staffing levels. Staff training in these prisons aimed to foster a respectful and positive staff culture, and appeared to be successful in doing so. However, the good intentions of staff were hindered somewhat by their lack of experience. The ways that staff used their authority had a significant impact on prison performance and the prisoner experience. In one of the private prisons, staff tended to over-use their authority to achieve order, to the detriment of interpersonal relationships. In the other prisons staff under-used their power and maintained good relationships but at the expense of safety and control.

In the public sector prisons, officers were confident and knowledgeable, delivering routines that were safer and more reliable than in the private sector. However, uniformed staff in the public sector were more jaded and cynical than those in the private sector, and this limited the levels of care and humanity that prisoners experienced. When we evaluated three further private prisons, we found that prisoner quality of life was higher in two of these additional prisons than in either the poorer performing private prisons or either of the public sector prisons in the

study. In these prisons, prisoners described feeling able to change and develop personally. Order, organisation and consistency as well as respect and fairness were part of what made a prison work.

The variation between prisons in quality was highest within the private sector, so private sector prisons run by the same company were at the highest and lowest end of a wide quality spectrum. This tendency for private prisons to do either ‘very well’ or very badly’ has been found before (e.g., NAO 2001). Different contract conditions, and the quality of management have a significant impact on quality. The quality of senior managers in both sectors varies enormously. Most prison managers in the private sector are recruited from the public sector, and sometimes they make really good choices, picking ‘high fliers’ who flourish outside the constraints of the public sector. This includes many women, who seem to hit a ceiling in the public sector. But they have also got their choices of senior managers wrong. There are fewer management layers in the private sector, and much lower levels of experience (and competence) among line managers. Staff on the ground in the private sector receive less guidance, mentoring, and support from experienced seniors. It is an extraordinarily demanding management task, leading a new and privately operated prison into operation. On the other hand, staff are more ‘willing’ and malleable, once they know what it is they are supposed to do.

Poor performance in the private sector tended to be related to high staff turnover, low cost, inexperience, unstable management, location and speed of opening. It was difficult for management teams to get a new prison up and running, so that it functioned smoothly and staff understood and performed all aspects of their work professionally. High performance tended to be related to the build up of experience among staff (in turn related to lower turnover), strong, effective and competent management, in one case, an expensive contract, good design, and sometimes individual flair in long-stay governor/directors.

The public sector, on the other hand, has (underestimated) strengths in the use of authority, security, safety, stability and ‘professionalism’. It benefits from having a large corporate structure behind it, which comes into its own in times of crisis (including, occasionally, on behalf of the private sector) and sometimes serves as a ‘corporate memory’ or resource. Its weaknesses are in aspects of its traditional and resistant culture, and in the amount of management time and

Values and Practices in Public and Private Sector Prisons


Susie Hulley Alison Liebling

Ben Crewe


The Summary continued

attention taken up by dealing with the prison officers’ union (the POA). The amount of variation within the public sector is less, so the worst prisons still function (like a slightly cranky machine) and the best prisons tend to be ‘good’, like a well oiled machine, but a bit ‘heavy’, creating some resistance and frustration for prisoners, enthusiastic staff, and managers. The private sector has strengths in being more flexible, outward looking, developing pockets of innovation in areas like working in creative partnership with other organisations, building a polite and respectful culture, and at its best, facilitating personal development among prisoners, which can help them turn their lives around on release.

One of the main lessons of this research confirms our earlier finding in related studies that the way that prison staff use their authority makes a huge difference to the quality of a prison. In private sector prisons, staff commitment and attitudes are often positive, but this does not necessarily mean that officers use their authority well. In the less good private sector prisons, staff under-police the wings, and prisoners have too much power and too few boundaries. In public sector prisons, some staff over-use their power and are a bit blasé about the authority they wield. This can make prisoners feel disrespected and resentful, which makes it less likely that they will engage positively with staff or with prison programmes.

Our research demonstrates that where staff-prisoner relationships have the right balance of control and respect almost all aspects of the

prisoner experience are enhanced. Staff need to be able to use their authority professionally – with both confidence and care – in order to create decent environments. This is a complex and demanding business, requiring highly skilled staff and outstanding leadership. Staff and prisoners still speak a moral language of making a difference but there is a general shift in the Prison Service towards a security-and-efficiency driven management style that risks stifling professional enthusiasm by its process and performance-oriented culture.

Both over-staffing and understaffing lead to (different) difficulties: over-staffing can encourage resistance and staff complacency, whereas under-staffing can lead to fear and distancing from prisoners. The problem is to find an optimum level of resourcing, staffing levels, quality, training and experience (and turnover) level. The concept of the ‘professional prison officer’ is helpful, suggesting a model of prison officer work that is confident, authoritative, legitimate and pro-active. But there also needs to be clarity of purpose, an appropriate (effective, and evidence-led) model of work with offenders, and competent and consistent leadership.

Private sector prisons are not necessarily better or worse than public sector prisons. When they get it right, they can provide decent and positive environments. But when they get it wrong, which seems to be more likely (but not inevitable) if they are run cheaply, they can be chaotic and dangerous places, which are no good for either the staff who work in them or the prisoners who

live in and will be released from them. When things go wrong in prisons, they go wrong in very significant ways: riots, escapes, murders, suicides, and so on. There are therefore real risks in privatising prisons ‘on the cheap’ and in re-conceiving public sector prisons on the cheapest private sector model. There are no guarantees that private sector prisons will be cheaper or better than public sector prisons. The cost differential between the sectors has reduced considerably, especially in those prisons that go through competitive processes. It is not always the case that the cheapest bid wins or, now, that the cheapest bid comes from the private sector. There is a danger that bidders lose sight of the realities of running a complex organisation in their eagerness to win the contract – a sort of ‘race to the bottom’. This has been evidenced in both the public and the private sectors. At least two poorly performing private sector prisons in the UK have been returned to the public sector.

We would recommend trying to combine the strengths of both sectors, above the lowest possible cost threshold, rather than assuming that the private sector is simply better or more cost effective, in this key area of public services. This would be achievable if we reduced the number of prisoners, by cutting the extraordinarily long and indeterminate sentences prisoners now receive, and diverted short term prisoners into constructive alternatives. Some of the difficulties prisons face are related to how they are used, so not all problems of the prison can be resolved by different management techniques or changes in ownership.

G4S has confirmed that Sue Saunders, the former Governor at HMP & YOI Holloway, will be the new Director of HMP Birmingham when the prison transfers from the public sector to G4S’ operational control in October.

Sue Saunders, who joined G4S in August 2010, is currently Mobilisation, Transition and Transformation (MTT) Manager at HMP Birmingham, with responsibility for overseeing the smooth transition of the prison from the Prison Service to G4S. Her appointment was announced at a meeting with prison staff today and will take effect on 1 October 2011. Her role as Director will be similar to that of a public sector prison Governor.

In the interim, the acting Governor, Peter Small will continue to manage the prison, until it transfers to G4S. Mr Small will then return to his substantive position as Governor of HMP Stafford.

G4S was awarded the contract to operate HMP Birmingham in March this year, becoming the first company to take over a public sector prison. The company will assume operational control from the Prison Service on 1 October, and is currently in a mobilisation phase to ensure a smooth transition to new management.

Prior to joining G4S, Ms Saunders had worked in the Prison Service for 21 years, starting as a prison officer at HMP & YOI Styal in Cheshire and finishing as Governor of HMP & YOI Holloway. She also worked at HMPs Woodhill, Grendon, Springhill and Wellingborough as well as within the Prison Service’s Headquarters and its Training Services department. Her first in charge governing post was at HMP Bullingdon.

Sue Saunders said: “Since arriving at Birmingham to lead the G4S transition team, I have been greatly encouraged by the constructive discussions I have had with prison staff and their representatives.

“I would like to thank the former Governor of the prison James Shanley for the help that he has given me since my arrival in the prison. I am also delighted that the interregnum Governor Peter Small has made clear that he intends to work in close partnership with me and my team during the transition process.

“I am looking forward to starting my new role as Director of the prison in October and to working together with all the staff in this next exciting chapter of Birmingham’s history.”

G4S names former Governor of HM Prison Holloway as new Director of HMP Birmingham


There is a need for more learning from each sector, and more independent and meaningful evaluations, linking internal organisation and quality of life to outcomes. What we don’t know, internationally, is what proportion of prisons within each sector are very good and very poor respectively, and why this is. These are the sorts of questions that need answers.The main aim of prison privatisation is to improve public sector service performance or delivery and effectiveness via competition and innovation, by injecting new energy and vision, and by experimenting with new management and staffing arrangements: the cross-fertilisation argument. There are problems of inefficiency, ineffectiveness, and poor or traditional culture in the public sector, but there are also some strengths. Some believe that private sector competition will improve the quality of prisons, prisoners’ welfare, and outcomes, others believe it poses greater risks. We have found that both of these possibilities are real, and that the outcomes depend on several factors, such as: the quality of the contract, the quality of management, staffing stability (which is linked to pay and conditions, but also to management) and the effectiveness of monitoring processes. The balance of risks may vary with changing values and interests – so in a cost cutting and/or punitive era, the risks of violations may be higher. Many people believe that matters of punishment and deprivation of liberty are and should be inherently public, and should be a core responsibility of the State, acting on behalf of the community. The Supreme Court of Israel recently decided to prohibit the

private operation and management of prisons on the grounds that it was constitutionally unlawful and permitted a potential violation of human rights (see Harding, forthcoming). It contravened the Basic Law on Human Dignity and Liberty. Limits to this principle can only be justified if made in order to further an essential public interest. Violations of a prisoner’s constitutional right to personal liberty are more likely when the entity responsible for his imprisonment is a private corporation motivated by economic considerations of profit and loss, than when the entity responsible for his imprisonment is a government authority not motivated by those considerations. In other words, the profit motive may increase the risk of human rights violations. This is an argument about principle, and is not yet based on empirical fact. Israel is the first country to make this legal decision. Other jurisdictions have reversed their privatisation decisions on the grounds that it does not provide the hoped for benefits or is risky (Canada, Scotland, and Victoria in Australia). The current state of public sector provision and management (from basic conditions, overcrowding and the quality of health care to the availability of what sort of rehabilitative, educational and vocational programs) may be relevant to the moral reckoning process. Breaches of basic rights and international standards are not uncommon in public prison systems as currently operated. The key question is what is the best way to realize the public interest in having a proper, decent, effective and efficient prison system? This is a very difficult question to answer. Is

the word ‘effective’ relevant, and is its meaning clear, when we are talking about institutions that punish? Once we know what we mean by ‘quality’, we need to know more about what mechanisms, including management, staffing and accountability/regulation, best secure such conditions.The privatisation issue raises profound questions about the role of the State in punishment, the difference between privatisation’s effects on quality and quantity, and the role, identity and moral status of the prison officer.

More detailed results from this study can be found on the ESRC website at xxx and in some of the following references.

Relevant references

Crewe, B, Liebling, A. and Hulley. S. (2011) ‘Staff culture, the use of authority, and prisoner outcomes in public and private prisons’ Australia and New Zealand Journal of Criminology 44(1) 94–115

Crewe, B, Liebling, A., Hulley. S. and McLean, C. (under review) ‘Prisoner quality of life in public and private prisons’,

Liebling, A., Hulley, S. and Crewe, B. (in press, 2011), ‘Conceptualising and Measuring the Quality of Prison Life’, in Gadd, D., Karstedt, S. and Messner, S. (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Criminological Research Methods. London: Sage.

National Audit Office (2001)

PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Construction specialist offers pre-employment courseConstruction training specialist, John Laing Training are now able to offer a pre-employment course to offenders, prior to release, as part of their construction training package. The Site Awareness Course includes modules on site terms and conditions; wages and self-employment; first day on site; job applications; grants and subsidy support available upon release. The programme is 30 hours, covering 5 modules and is designed to be delivered flexibly to suit each prison.

Telephone Gary Barnard at John Laing Training on 07789 653022. More information at www.jlaingtraining.co.uk

CMS Vibrations Lays The Law Down With Kinetics RIM-CThe high performance Kinetics RIM-C (Rollout Isolation Material) system from CMS Vibration Solutions has been used to isolate a rooftop plant room at the new civil justice centre in Bristol, preventing machine-induced vibrations from propagating into the building and noise sensitive spaces. Developed by Miller Construction, the new build civil justice centre comprises of eight civil courts, six hearing rooms and one family proceeding room. A six storey building, the plant room housing all associated equipment to service the centre, including chillers, pumps and air conditioning units, was situated on the roof. Effective isolation of the area was essential to stop the vibrations from becoming structural noise and travelling into the building, which could potentially have caused interference with court proceedings and intelligibility of evidence. CMS Vibrations is the exclusive supply partner of the Regupol RAV and Kinetics Noise Control ranges in the UK. For further information on the range of products available from CMS Vibrations email:

[email protected], call 01925 582899 or visit www.cmsantivibration.co.uk.


Yarls Wood Video ConferencingYarls Wood immigration Centre is a busy place, to facilitate its role it has an AIT (Asylum Immigration Tribunal) court attached to it where residents who are detained under Immigration powers and are going through the Fast Track asylum process have their bail hearings heard. The majority of residents however are not Fast Track cases and their applications to be temporarily released on bail are heard via a video conferencing suite which is linked up to the Tribunals Service in Sheldon Court, Birmingham. People detained under Immigration powers have the right to apply to the courts to be released on Bail whilst their case is considered. Video conferencing is not new and its ‘green’ credentials are well known. I wanted to find out the savings and methods of operation but more so the savings in the human costs it brings.

I talked to Carole Coope, Deputy Head of Audits and Assurance, Hazel Warren Detention Custody Manager and Duncan Chiesa Detention Custody Manager about the system, its operation and benefits.

Hazel Warren: HW Carole Coope: CCDuncan Chiesa: DC Custodial Review: CR

CR The video conferencing suite here what is it used for and how long has it been in use?CC The suite is used to hear applications to be temporarily released on bail. These are not hearings that determine the outcome of immigration cases but whether to grant bail to a resident whilst their immigration case is on-going. The process is quite simple, the resident completes an application form applying for a bail hearing which we then fax to the courts service, a date is set by the Courts normally within 7 to 10 days and the resident is notified of the date and time. We have been hearing Bails via video link for about 3 and a half years.

CR Where is the bail hearings court, and has the video link been used for any other purpose?CC The Court that we link up to is Sheldon Court in Birmingham. The system has occasionally been used to link up as part of a High Commission interview where a

resident will have a face to face interview with a member of the Embassy staff where confirmation is needed of the nationality of that person. It could be used in other ways; however its primary purpose is to hear Bail hearings.

CR How often is this used and how many people can have their hearings in one day? And what is the procedure for the residents?HW The maximum we have achieved is nine in a day; however the usual amount is six. Three either side of lunch. We have to have the residents in the legal corridor area by 9am with all their paperwork ready and they then wait for their case to be heard. There is no set time for each one therefore there is a considerable amount of waiting involved. Sometimes one runs over or more paperwork is needed so sometimes they can be adjourned over lunch.

CR Before this system was installed what procedure did a resident have to go through to attend a bail hearing in Birmingham?HW On the day they would have to pack all their belongings and take them with them on this journey. This is because if they were successful they would be released on bail from the court. They would then have to travel in a van to the court with all their belongings. They would be held in a secure area within the court until they were either released or if unsuccessful return to us. Then they would have to travel back, be booked in, return to a room and unpack all their belongings. The luggage is not a minor issue; some people have a lot of it.

CR What is the comparison of the human cost of the trip to Birmingham compared with the trip to the video suite?DC The emotional costs as a result of stress were quite high. The residents would have to get ready to be at the court for 9am which would mean leaving us very early. The journey added more stress as its tiring being transported around. Also the residents had to face unusual surroundings of the court and the waiting about in different and unfamiliar detention facilities. Their case was then heard, which is stressful in itself. If there were successful then there was the stress of getting to where they needed to go without any support from us. If their case failed they would feel very disappointed and upset they then had to wait until the end of the day to leave. Then they had all the tiredness from the day and the journey back with multiple stops at other immigration holding centres. Then booking back in and unpacking their belongings. It was a huge amount of stress and it would take a couple of days to settle down from.CR Did all this have the effect that residents became reluctant to make fresh bail hearings, even though they may have good reasons? And so stay in the centre longer than they should do?

HW There are no actual figures that would support that, but I would say that there are now a lot more bail hearings. We are hearing 6 per day and there were never 30 people per week going to the court in person. So applications are more frequent. It also means that if the paperwork is not complete at the court or there are any other issues, they can put in another application without having to go through the stressful journey again.

CR How about the legal and other representation, how is that achieved?HW Their lawyer is in the court in Birmingham, also any family/friends who may be standing surety for bail, or being a witness. The resident is given the opportunity to talk with their lawyer prior to the case starting. If they need an interpreter then one is provided at the court. A big cost benefit can be realised because the court is based in Birmingham, a large city with a very diverse population and skill sets all local to the court.

CR What about the cost savings involved. The obvious one is the travelling but there must be others?DC The staff costs involved in booking people in and out, the escorting had to be done too. Plus the paperwork and administration costs. We didn’t have an accommodation issue because we would not allocate their room to anyone until bail had been granted and they were fully checked out of custody. At the court there are savings as well, as interpreters and court staff can all be located centrally so there are fewer travelling costs.

CR How about the effect on the residents using the system. I ask because I prefer to be face to face with someone when I am speaking to them. I feel remote from proceedings on a video conference. Do your residents feel this too?HW The residents seem to be very happy with this procedure. All seem appreciative of the facility and prefer the benefits it brings in terms of speed and convenience. They are obviously apprehensive before going into the video suite, it’s a stressful experience, but it’s considered to be much better than the alternative. All residents think it’s a good system, it’s ‘real’ enough for them to know


The residents seem to be very happy with this proceedure. All seem appreciative of the facility and prefer the benefits it brings in terms of speed and convenience.

they are taking part in their hearing and feel the system adequately handles the demands placed upon it. They also are speaking to the Judge directly, and without being so aware of the other people in the court. They can feel far freer to say what they wish as the system seems to take most of the intimidator nature out of the process.CR What happens if they get a decision that they don’t like? Are there and incidences of residents taking there disappointment out on the room and equipment?HW It has happened on occasion, but it’s very rare. We do keep two officers on duty in this area and there is a large glass window into the room so that should the resident be in some form of distress it can be noticed very quickly and assistance can be given. There are comprehensive systems in place to handle such situations and all paperwork and advice that may be needed in the light of a refusal, for instance advice on making another appeal, is on hand. It gives some feeling of control back, and this helps reduce the stress and disappointment.

CR What difference does it make being in a familiar environment with familiar staff?HW A huge difference, its far better for residents to be surrounded by people they know and not have to recover from a

huge disappointment in unfamiliar secure accommodation and then the back of a van. Here we can support them as needed and then get them back into their room and their usual routine. CR Staffing the video conferences and the equipment, what is required?HW Two people work in the corridor area, the Court will call us and tell us they are ready to start, we switch on the link and the resident takes a seat and the hearing begins. It’s that simple.

CR The system seems almost too good to be true, and perhaps it is. Are there any downsides to the process? Do you conduct any feedback with the residents and what do they say?HW Not that I can think off, the residents are quite happy with it and so are the staff. We have a feedback system for residents and staff and all of the comments have been generally positive of the process, any criticism is usually on very minor points. The form is one that the UK Border Agency provide us with but residents can be reluctant to fill them in, if they have been granted bail then they want to pack their belongings and leave as soon as is possible. If they have been refused bail then they usually are not in the mood to be very constructive by filling in a form. However the

verbal feedback is very positive.

CR What happens if the resident is the last case of the day, their bail is granted and its 5pm on a Friday, dark, rainy and they would have a long way to go? Can you offer assistance there? CC – If a resident is granted Bail by the Court then they are released immediately However during the winter time and in particular when the weather is inclement, possible difficulties with rail or road travel or a particularly long journey , say to Scotland, then we believe we have a duty of care to that resident. We would seek the permission of the Court and UK Border Agency to offer the resident the opportunity of travelling first thing the following morning, if permission is granted we would offer this to the resident but in doing so they would have to sign a disclaimer to that effect.

CR If the system failed tomorrow what are the contingency arrangements?HW It failed once and the contractor repaired it in very quick time. We also have a technical expert on the site. As a last resort we could revert to the old system and arrange transport up to the court in Birmingham.

CR Thank you for talking to the Review.


Hollesley Bay began in 1887 as a Colonial College training those intending to emigrate. In 1938 the Prison Commission acquired Hollesley Bay to train young offenders in the Borstal system. In 1983 Youth Custody replaced the Borstal system and in October 1988, when the CJA 1988 came into force, Hollesley Bay became a YOI. In 1982 Warren Hill opened to accommodate Cat C young offenders in a closed environment alongside Hollesley Bay Open prison. In April 2002 though retaining some shared services, Hollesley Bay and Warren Hill became separate establishments, the Open complex retaining the name Hollesley Bay. The establishment provides different regimes for adult Category D offenders - life sentence prisoners at the end of their custodial time and young offenders. It has a population of 365.

Kevin Morris is the Education Manager employed by A4e who are the holders of the OLASS contract for providing education within the prison. Kevin started his teaching career seven years ago, working with mainly disengaged young people with few or no formal qualifications. During this time he trained as a maths teacher, then taught for a couple of years at a large FE college. Having experienced and enjoyed the rewards of helping the hard to reach to gain qualifications he then took the post at Hollesley Bay where he could be involved again in courses offered to disadvantaged people. Something he finds very rewarding.Kevin’s role at Hollesley Bay is to oversee all the Skills Funding Agency, OLASS education provision. This includes Construction courses that involve bricklaying, painting and decorating, plastering, plumbing and multiskills. Also delivered are more academic courses such as Maths and English, plus courses on personal development, horticulture, IT, cookery and employability training. Hollesley Bay is the prison part of an interesting partnership between MITIE and A4e which is designed to give offenders an incentive during their skills training to perform to their very best. The real incentive is a job with a large reputable firm on release. Those

who are not offered a job, yet successfully complete the course, leave custody with a much enhanced CV and work record that has been externally monitored. Adding to the offenders’ chances of obtaining good employment.Custodial Review visited the prison to see the partnership at work and after a guided tour by John Algar, Head of Reducing Reoffending, discussed the tie up with Kevin.

CR The Prison has a training tie up with

MITIE. Who are they and what is this tie up?KM MITIE provide services to a wide range of companies and government departments. They employ a lot of skilled tradesmen and have a very ethical approach to their work. They also believe in giving something back to the communities they work in. So they sponsor a course within the Education Department that gives inmates getting real work experience whilst here and then can lead to a job when they leave. It ties in very well with us because we already have extensive construction

Hollesley Bay A4E and MITIE


workshops where we teach the range of skills that MITIE needs within their organisation. They bring business experience, we bring the trade qualifications. So it is a win -win situation from the inmates and our point of view.

CR What is the MITIE scheme and how does it operate?

KM It’s an additional level of training and assessment on top of what we already provide. Think of it as a finishing course. In the last 8 to 12 weeks before release we try to help inmates seamlessly progress into employment or training on the outside. We try to replicate the real word, so to apply for the scheme prisoners need to fill out an application form and be interviewed, just like if they were applying for work. What makes the scheme different from the existing courses we deliver is the added value and employability focus. Participants have two weekly appraisals with their tutors, replicating the ‘real world’. These appraisals assess some of the criteria currently not covered by the City & Guilds and B-Tec trade qualifications they study towards. We worked closely with MITIE to discover their

expectations of employees and found that in addition to the trade skills, areas such as time keeping, aptitude for tasks, personal appearance, motivation, initiative, team work, communication and tool maintenance were considered to be as important when recruiting for new staff. The appraisal process allows us to evidence these areas and support participants in making improvements that will help them gain employment. Those on this scheme will also take part in an employability course, which has been developed to help participants with job hunting techniques.

CR What does this employability course consist off and what effect does MITIE involvement have?KM Each week their representative joins our employability tutor to help with CV and letter

The Bricklaying Class

Plastering work


Hollesley Bay A4E and MITIE continued

writing, job hunting and interview techniques. The scheme participants really appreciate the support they are receiving and really take on board what he has to say. It has also really boosted the self esteem for some. Many see having a criminal record as a brick wall to gaining employment so often see and focus solely on self employment. It really is beneficial to them to actually see, first hand that there are companies such who judge on merit and not solely on mistakes made in the past.

CR Do MITIE always offer employment to the inmates who successfully complete the course?KM No, it would be great for all participants to gain employment with them, but this really isn’t possible or the main point of the scheme. It’s certainly not a free ticket to a guaranteed

job, far from it. We are equipping these men with the skills to find jobs for themselves with any organisation. It happens to be MITIE that we are working with, but I’m sure many other companies have the same expectations of their candidates. From the first group, or cohort, we know 2 participants gained employment with other companies in the construction industry and we had feedback that this was a direct result of the course.

CR What other benefits does this have in job seeking endeavours?KM There is a lot of valuable information that comes from this scheme that participants can use in their search for employment. For instance, each participant receives a MITIE

Passport on the day of release. It’s a memory stick containing their CV, covering letter, photos of their course work and appraisal reports. The appraisals completed by the Tutors can be used as excellent supporting evidence towards a job application. It enables them to show a prospective employer that they also have the additional workplace skills that are not covered by City and Guilds. Also, as it has the endorsement or a large well known employer who was involved in the assessment process, such a report will carry considerable weight when considering a candidate for employment.

CR This is an open prison, so if a prisoner chose to have a lie in and so be late to work

one day, or he decided to kick back or take advantage of a sunny day instead of training then it’s possible for them to do?KM Yes, they still have to get to the workshop on time and there are distractions that they could be tempted by. So a record of good timekeeping and reliability is a very valid issue. This is something covered in the appraisal process. Importance of timekeeping and reliability is also a major part of the employability course.

CR What other examples do you have of the tie up with MITIE helping change inmates’ attitudes?

Painting Shop

Plumbing Shop


KM An example is the change in attitude towards CV writing. We already deliver excellent employability courses and we have very qualified people who in previous careers have held senior positions within large companies. They have the experience to tell someone what skills they need to be considered for employment, such as writing CV’s etc. However there is a big difference between your Tutor or a large company telling you that is what they require before you apply for a job with them. So the people who wish to get on the MITIE course now view a CV as something they really want to do and have been actively asking for help in doing so. Its quite amazing the change in attitude to something that was once just seen as a necessary evil.

CR What is the system for inmates getting on the course??KM MITIE have a property services division in Colchester. Applicants CV’s are sent to a Regional Manager who assesses them before requesting interviews, in much the same way as they would process applications from advertised jobs. These interviews are either carried out at the prison or the inmates go to MITIE’s Head Office on a day release licence. These interviews are a real time experience in a real environment and there is a place on the course here at Hollesley Bay at stake if they do well. This sort of job application experience is invaluable to someone who has never sought regular work before. It brings home what the employability tutor has been teaching them and so they take on much more of what they have been taught.

CR How many might apply for the course, what are the acceptance criteria and how many would get interviews and places on the course? How many who get on the course get jobs with MITIE and what happens to those who do not?KM Eight were taken on in the first cohort and as more come into the time frame for the course they join in, we could have up to 15 on the scheme at any one time. The number taken on is dependant upon recruitment needs

at the time and how the inmate performs in the whole scheme. Those that are not offered posts leave with a much enhanced CV and better equipped to gain good employment.

CR When did the scheme begin and what has been the popularity and take up?KM It started on the 31st January this year and we recruited 10 onto the first cohort and 8 went on to complete the course. The other two were returned to closed conditions. The course has really been bought into by the prisoners. We have seen some successes, as an

The Bricklaying Training Area

The Paint Store


Hollesley Bay A4E and MITIE continued

education and training provider it’s essential to us that we see some progression through the gate. Inmates must get into full time work or training as it’s a proven way of keeping them out of prison.

CR I can see the benefit to A4e and the prisoners, but what does MITIE get out of it and what does it cost them?KM MITIE is a company that takes its corporate social responsibilities very seriously and this is part of that policy. In addition they have experienced the recruitment issues that have come about as a result of the skills shortage. It’s also noteworthy that they know far more about a prisoners’ ability to do the job and their skill set than they do about someone they recruited through more normal channels. It’s a minimum 8 week appraisal and there are all the personal and working records prior to that period on which the educator’s opinions can be based. For them it’s as good an

appraisal system for prospective employees as can be had.

CR Has anyone yet gone all through the process and obtained a job with MITIE?KM Yes, so far we have had one full cohort pass through the scheme and one of them has now stated with the company. We have managed to stay in touch with most of the rest of the cohort and we know that at least one has started work in the construction industry. One from the latest cohort is awaiting the outcome of internal discussions about offering him a job. So it all looks good.

CR What type of offender do you have here, is there a full range of age represented on the

scheme and what effect has the scheme had on the willingness of the applicants to get on it and to learn?KM We are an open prison with a full age range of male offenders from 18 years upwards. The scheme is open to all and we have had a wide range of applicants. It’s had a considerable effect, especially now that the first people are getting jobs when they leave. It’s created a considerable buzz about it. One thing that the prisoners want when they leave is a job; this is a way to a very good one with a very good company. That makes them want it and so work for it. Which is something they probably have missing from their lives.

CR Thanks for talking to the Review.


PRODUCT NEWS

Record order for Walney from Mexican prison Walney UK Limited, the supplier of high quality designer heating solutions, has just shipped close to 800 cast iron radiators to a prison being constructed in Juárez, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Nick Duggan, Walney’s co-director explains: “The prison contractors contacted us through our website, and it would be fair to say I was sceptical at first as central heating is not something you immediately think of being needed in Mexico. I was expecting an order of perhaps 20 radiators, but when it was confirmed that 800 were needed we were very surprised.”

An order of this size takes some orchestrating, especially when the combined weight of the radiators is in excess of 24 tonnes. “Our cast iron products are extremely heavy, so making sure they get handled appropriately, and to tight timescales, is something of a feat,” says Duggan. “However everything went to plan and the order was shipped from our foundry in Turkey and arrived safely in Mexico.” For more information or a brochure call 0870 733 0011, visit www.walneyuk.com or visit the company’s showroom in Holywell Hill in St Albans.

If you are not receiving your copy, or you have a colleague who would like one, let us know!

We will need your name, title, position & FULL address.

To obtain your copy, or to subscribe please forward your up-to-date information to:

The Custodial, Clifton House, 4a Goldington RoadBedford MK40 3NF.Tel: 01234 348878Fax: 01234 352737Email: [email protected] or go onto www.custodialreview.co.uk and click ‘Subscribe’.


Five Ways to Get Yourself FiredBy Jane Grafton, Director of Business Development, Lieberman Software

A colleague of mine last Christmas declared 2011 as The Year of Living Dangerously for Information Technology (IT) Security Officers. He said that he could see many pitfalls looming this year for the unwary in IT security and that many would end up on the dole. 2011 has indeed unleashed a wave of unprecedented security breaches that have left many people reeling – Epsilon, Sony, WikiLeaks, PBS.org, RSA Security and HBGary Federal to mention only some of the victims. So to put this all in context, and provide a cautionary tale of the challenges facing IT security professionals, I have drafted a fictitious scenario to illustrate the 5 best ways to get yourself fired so that hopefully you never do! Happy reading.

Donald Dodgem, Horticultural Specialist and ex-IT Security Officer of Cloudy Water DataCentre (in receivership) has some advice for all CISOs who momentarily let their guard down – think before you make even one of the five cardinal sins of IT security or you could end up joining the queues of the unemployed. The story is in his own words:

I thought my new job of ensuring IT security at a large data centre was going to be the big one – the job that would set me up for retirement. Well it did – but much earlier than I expected and without the large wedge of wonga I had hoped for. In fact the only wedge I saw was the one they levered me out the door with.

The employees were quite wary of me at first. They thought I was a figure of authority. My first priority was to be accepted – I wanted them to trust me before I bared my fangs. The first several days were full of the usual bedding-in activities – all that HR stuff big companies are so fond of. My induction programme was more about Health and Safety and how much my new corporation loved and cared for me. After a week I was ensconced in my nice new corner cubicle with my expensive ergonomic chair and my shiny new PC, smart phone, tablet computer and laptop. The first thing I did was update my Facebook and LinkedIn pages with my new job title before I got distracted by work.

I was talking to an outsourced IT provider when the fragrant lady from the accounts department, Mary, came in and asked if I could attach her new Android smartphone to her PC. She wanted to synchronise a few client details she had downloaded from her old PC after an upgrade, but had not had time to upload the data to her new machine. She was rather flustered and wanted the task completed, “..really quick...” because it was the end of the quarter. Mary had to send information out and didn’t have much time to meet the cheque run. So I helped her link up her Android smartphone to her PC. The look

of relief on her face was a sight to see. I felt like Westley in The Princess Bride when he finally gets his Buttercup. Inconceivable!

The pressure was on from the board to get the big IT outsourcing plan ready and I was struggling already – iNTatters Outsourcing didn’t have an IT security officer that I could speak to! But no sooner had I gotten my head down into the details of how much we could save by moving our company’s IT into their Cloud, than my corner office door was almost taken off its hinges with enormous force. It was Dynamite Dave, the company’s crack salesman and he looked a sight. I knew it was dress-down Friday but fluorescent green Hawaiian shirt and shorts? He said: “I’m off on a weekend golf jolly with Orrible Software but I need to send sales figures back to base on my new iPaddle tablet– can you hook it up to our system pronto so that I can do that good buddy?”

I wish that I had listened to the name of his device just a little closer. Now, as any IT bod knows, the iPad is very secure. The iPad in particular is fortunate in that it runs on Apple’s tightly-controlled iOS operating system which, unless jailbroken, doesn’t permit any piece of software which hasn’t first been checked and authorised by Apple to run on the device. It’s a very robust OS, although that doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t be exploited.

Now I’m not an utter idiot. When I saw it was an HP tablet, but a model I did not recognise, I did ask him about it. He assured me it was enterprise-ready. It said so on the box.

Anyway Dynamite Dave had no sooner disappeared than the lovely Laura appeared at my desk with a cable in her hand. “Hi Donald,” she said, “I’ve got a favour to ask of you.” I was a bit busy but she had helped me on my first day so I said “How can I help you?” It turned out she had lost the power cable to her iPod and needed another one. I quizzed her about the corporate policy on iPods and she assured me that in her department, where the boredom of the work would make sentry-duty look exciting, they were allowed to use their iPods. I wish now I had asked a few more penetrating questions about the exact usage they put their iPods to.

I went to lunch. On my way back through the open plan office I noticed a super-user on one of the machines with an open excel spreadsheet that seemed to have every password in the company logged in it. I gave them a dressing down and made myself a note to get that Enterprise Random Password Manager software I’d seen demonstrated by that nice American from Lieberman Software at InfoSecurity this year. Now where had I put his card?

On Thursday I finished the outsourcing plan. I was due to present it to the board on my second week in the job. But Monday morning had other plans for me. As soon as I sat down my Google alerts told me that Cloudy Waters

had just hit the headlines. InfosecurityHell magazine’s headlines screamed our name. Someone had hacked in to the accounts department where they had found a file of all our customers’ credit card details, which were now on sale across the entire globe. How was I to know that financial applications for smartphones can be infected with specialized malware designed to steal credit card numbers and online banking credentials and that Mary’s phone, complete with all our customer’s details from her old PC, had been a victim?

My cubicle resembled a scene from TV show The West Wing during a nuclear attack. The Chief Operating Officer was screaming at me, the Chief Information Security Officer was foaming at the mouth, the Chief Executive Officer was screaming at me, the head of accounts was screaming at me and I was trying to find someone to scream at.

It was then that I noticed the TV was screening a story about a company IPO which had just lost the bank 80% of its predicted share price because some idiot from Cloudy Waters had used an iPad over a non-secure wireless connection. The gossip he had just heard into all the company’s major problems had been intercepted and leaked. Yes – you’ve guessed it – the idiot was Dynamite Dave and the iPad was the one I had set up. We were going to be sued for gazillions of Euros for this.

The internet provided me with my next piece of bad news.

The COO – now slumped behind my desk – drew the attention of the CEO to my open Facebook page. I think that’s when they called in the police. I’m not sure because their faces both resembled the scary ones pulled by Jim Carrey in The Mask – horrible and angry to behold. How was I to know that failing to properly log off from a social network app could allow an imposter to post malicious details or change personal settings without my knowledge? My Facebook page was now a horribly defaced version of what it had been and was covered in personal remarks about the CEO, board members, canteen workers and even had a picture of the COO’s wife as a Hippo with the chief auditor sitting on ‘her’ back. They didn’t see the funny side of it.

Luckily the police eventually believed that nothing I did was deliberate. I would have gotten out before Christmas if one of them hadn’t lost half his savings in the disastrous IPO.

What’s my advice now? If I had just stuck to enterprise IT security best practices when it comes to adding any of these devices to the network I might still be in the IT security business. If I had just limited their connectivity options to reduce exposure to threats, and generally secured them in the same way I normally harden my network against potential smartphone-borne threats, I would have been ok.


I should have made the mobile device conform to corporate security policies, even though many of these devices are not company-owned, but personal purchases. And I definitely should have educated the users on basic Web security techniques – something that will remain the key to tablet security until the security industry can develop more reliable solutions. As for that password manager....

CONCLUSION There you have it – a tragedy

of almost Shakespearian proportions. Luckily you can avoid Dave’s tribulations by simply following these five straightforward rules:

1 Smartphones must adhere to corporate policy

2 Tablet computers must have secure operating systems and be securely attached to your VPN

3 You must automate privileged password management – IT staff

cannot do this manually4 You must have a social media security

policy – there are apps available for hackers which enable them to get into your social media pages and impersonate you and alter your profiles and security settings

5 iPods and any other storage devices can carry viruses and malware – they must be banned from attaching to your network or must be attached securely

Build the big society behind barsOpportunities for prisoners to take responsibility and volunteer to help others improves wellbeing and promotes desistance from crime, according to a new report by the Prison Reform Trust.As the Justice Secretary Ken Clarke has stated, currently many people in prison are not encouraged to take responsibility and are compelled to live a life of “enforced, bored idleness”. The Prison Reform Trust report demonstrates that encouraging active citizenship in prisons should play an important part in achieving the government’s aims for a “rehabilitation revolution” and developing the wider concept of the Big Society. It could help achieve the coalition’s plans, outlined in the Ministry of Justice’s green paper Breaking the Cycle, for making prisons places of hard work and purposeful activity.The report, Time Well Spent, by Kimmett Edgar, Jessica Jacobson and Kathy Biggar describes five types of active citizenship: peer support, charity work, restorative justice, prisoner representative duties, and arts and media.The study was based on survey responses from 82 prisons across England and Wales, and interviews with staff and prisoners in 12. The survey found that the large majority of prisons provide at least some opportunities for active citizenship. For example, 95% of prisons surveyed stated that they have race representatives, and 89% that they have Samaritan Listeners.However, overall, volunteering opportunities are open to very few people in prison. For instance, the study found that four roles involved fewer than five prisoners in the majority of prisons surveyed: housing advisers, employment advisers, violence reduction representatives, and suicide prevention representatives. This means that most of the skills and strengths of people in prison are wasted; they are a huge untapped resource.Volunteering enables prisoners to gain a greater sense of purpose to their time in prison, an increased capacity for responsibility, new skills, earning the trust of others and opportunities to give something back. By developing empathy, building up confidence and a sense of responsibility and focussing their thoughts on the future, active citizenship can provide the skills to help people lead a law

abiding life on release.The report’s launch coincides with the BBC’s announcement that it is to broadcast its political panel programme Question Time from inside a prison for the first time on Thursday. Ten prisoners from Wormwood Scrubs and 10 staff will join 100 members of the public in the audience for the panel discussion.One prisoner interviewed for the report said: I’ve always been take, take, take, but I’ve never given anything back ... It will make me feel a hundred times better than I do now ... if I can give something back instead of take.Another said: Most of my life I’ve been doing bad things – like selling drugs and doing things like that; getting praise for the wrong things. This is doing something that helps the community, not hinders it. That doesn’t compensate, but I can make myself more valuable to society in the future.

Writing in the Foreword for the report, Erwin James, a former prisoner, author, and columnist for the Guardian, said: Every week in prisons all over the country groups of people with learning disabilities are welcomed into prison gyms and education departments to work with prisoners to their mutual betterment. For those in prison who want to help fellow prisoners there are The Listeners, prisoners trained by Samaritans to provide a sympathetic ear to neighbours in distress.

There is the Toe by Toe programme where more able prisoners teach less able colleagues to read and write and in all prisons there are schemes and programmes where prisoners and staff are working together to provide some service, social enterprise, or item that benefits people in the outside community. But in spite of all the efforts of all those people, there is still not enough recognition that more people in prison than might be imagined want to engage positively with their communities, inside and out.Lord Woolf, chair of the Prison Reform Trust, said: Every now and then, very good things happen in prisons. There are prisons where there are very good schemes, where they will make prisoners take responsibility. Sometimes it’s done by arranging opportunities for prisoners and their victims to meet. Sometimes it’s by ... training people to help those who are in danger of taking their own life. The best way of avoiding those heart

rending suicides particularly with young people while they are in prison is to motivate other prisoners to take responsibility.David Ahern, CEO of the Shannon Trust which runs the Toe by Toe learning programme delivered by prisoner mentors throughout prisons in the UK, said: We know that going through the prison system there are around fifty thousand people each year with a reading age of that expected of an 11 year old or below. Now we are engaging with a few thousand. There is this huge swathe of people in prison who we could be helping that we are not helping.Kathy Biggar, former vice chair of the Samaritans who founded the Samaritan Listeners scheme in prisons, said: There are Listeners out in the community now, and remember they’ve been coming out into the community for twenty years, who have never gone back to offending, because it made a real difference to the way they saw themselves and what they could contribute to society, they saved lives.Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: No one goes to prison for good behaviour. But this report shows that prisoners are capable of doing good for others, contributing to society, making amends, and taking responsibility. Isn’t that what we want from our prisons?Far too often time served is just time wasted. Enabling prisoners to take responsibility and help others should be the cornerstone for Ken Clarke’s rehabilitation revolution.On the basis of the study the Prison Reform Trust recommends that:• Government should acknowledge the

contribution that volunteering and active citizenship can play in rehabilitation, developing work in prison and the wider concept of the ‘Big Society’.

• The Prison Service should produce and implement quality standards for active citizenship, encouraging prisons to expand on the opportunities available.

• Prisons should do more to involve officers in the development of volunteering and active citizenship.

• Prisons should identify policies which inhibit the exercise of responsibility by prisoners, and revise the policies as required.

A copy of the report is available on the PRT Website.


The Howard League for Penal Reform’s Inquiry into Former Armed Service Personnel in Prison has published its final report. With official estimates suggesting that English and Welsh prisons hold around 3,000 ex-servicemen, there is public concern as to why those who have served their country go on to offend.

Theories have been put forward that the numbers of ex-servicemen in prison are on the increase, that ex-servicemen may be more likely to end up in prison than the civilian population, that recent action in Iraq and Afghanistan is significantly contributing to the rise of ex-servicemen in prison and that, in particular, it is combat-related trauma which is driving the crime that ex-servicemen commit.

The inquiry has found little or no evidence to justify any of these theories. The numbers of ex-servicemen in prison appear broadly similar to previous estimates, although there is no definitive survey available, and statistics suggest that ex-servicemen are less likely to be in prison than civilians. Ex-servicemen in prison are disproportionately older compared to the general prison population, and have offended many years after discharge. While post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a condition which does afflict a significant number of service leavers, there is no evidence that PTSD can be directly linked to offending behaviour.

Chair of the inquiry, Sir John Nutting QC, said: “To a degree this inquiry has been involved in a process of ‘myth-busting’. Ex-servicemen are not committing crimes shortly after leaving the plane from Helmand, and it is unlikely that combat trauma is driving criminal behaviour. The reality is that most ex-servicemen resettle into the community without problems but that for some, issues arise later in life which can lead to offending.

“The issues that lead ex-servicemen to offend appear to be much the same as most adult male prisoners, with social exclusion, alcohol misuse and financial problems afflicting both groups.

“While the numbers of ex-servicemen in prison appear stable, evidence from statistical surveys in both England and Wales and the United States show that ex-servicemen are more likely to be serving sentences for violent and sexual offences than the general prison population.

“Given the serious nature of these offences, it is therefore welcome that there is a huge

amount of support available in the community for ex-servicemen. As well as resettlement provision on discharge provided by the government, there are over 2,000 service charities dedicated to helping ex-servicemen in crisis.

“The problem our inquiry has encountered is that ex-servicemen in prison are often not aware of the help available. As they have offended many years after discharge, they have effectively ‘dropped off the radar’ of those that can assist them. It is therefore imperative that those working in the criminal justice system can identify ex-servicemen and help them access the specialist support that is out there.”

In order to address this problem, the inquiry has made a number of recommendations. These include the expansion of the current free Veterans Helpline provided by the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA). The main focus of this Helpline is to provide advice on matters such as pensions and operates during the working day from Monday to Friday. The inquiry recommends a significant expansion of this service into a crisis helpline, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, which would include ex-servicemen who can advise fellow veterans in crisis and point them in the direction of the many organisations which exist to help them.

The inquiry also recommends an expansion of existing efforts among the police, probation and prison services to identify ex-servicemen at the earliest possible point and put them in touch with ex-service organisations that can help them. In particular, the successful Veterans in Custody scheme should be extended to every prison in England and Wales.

The Inquiry’s advisory group comprises:

• Admiral the Lord Boyce KG GCB OBE DL

• General the Lord Guthrie of Craigiebank GCB LVO OBE DL

• Major General David Jenkins

• Wing Commander Dr Hugh Milroy OBE, Chief Executive of Veterans Aid

• Chris Sheffield OBE, former governor of Liverpool and Manchester prisons

• Elfyn Llwyd MP

The inquiry took oral and written evidence, visited a number of prisons and projects, interviewed 29 former ex-servicemen in prison at length and spent several days in the United States examining that country’s handling of veterans in the criminal justice system.

The most comprehensive exercise at estimating the number of ex-service personnel in prison was conducted in 2010 in a joint study by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice. This found that approximately 3.5 per cent of the prison population on any given day have served in the Armed Forces.

The statistical breakdown also demonstrated that some 51 per cent of ex-servicemen in prison are over the age of 45 years, and 29 per cent are over the age of 55 (which compares to 9 per cent of the general prison population being aged 50 years or over). A similar pattern of age can be found in statistics from the United States and was encountered by the inquiry during its prison-based interviews.

On categories of offending, official statistics report that 32.9 per cent of ex-servicemen in prison are serving sentences for ‘violence against the person’, compared to 28.6 per cent of the general prison population. 25 per cent of ex-servicemen in prison are serving sentences for sexual offences, compared to 11 per cent of the general prison population. Not only was the disproportionate frequency of violent and sexual offences reflected in the inquiry’s interviews, but again the same patterns can also be found in the United States veteran in prison population.

‘Myth-busting’ inquiry delivers final report on former armed service personnel in prison

Tenders Invited for Peterhead PrisonScottish Prison Service is currently inviting tenders for the construction of a prison at South Street in Peterhead. Tenders are due to be returned on 17th August 2011. Work for the £140 million scheme will include a 500 place prison to replace the ageing prisons at Peterhead and Aberdeen. Work is due to start on site Winter 2011.


On 8 June, The Howard League for Penal Reform, in collaboration with the Prison Governors’ Association (PGA), published the results of the first research commissioned into the daily reality of those serving short prison sentences and those working with them.

The research is set to influence forthcoming legislation at a time of intense public debate on the value of short prison sentences.

A central finding of the research, No Winners: The reality of short term prison sentences, is that many prisoners preferred a short term prison sentence over a community sentence because it is easier to complete while others considered community sentences to be more of a punishment.

The research revealed two distinct groups of prisoners: the first-timers and the revolving door prisoners. The research identified clearly distinct attitudes and responses to imprisonment as well as differential needs while in prison.

Four overarching findings from the research were:

• Prisoners were keen to complete courses (for example anger management, enhanced thinking skills and offending behaviour) but reported that they were not available. Prisoners expressed frustration at this on the basis that they left prison the same as they were when they came in

• Serving a number of short prison sentences may reduce the ability of prisoners to take responsibility and leads them to believe that reoffending and a return to prison are inevitable

• The majority of prisoners reported the day-today reality of serving a short prison sentence to be boring, leading to disillusionment and demotivation

• Many staff were upset at the damaging impact that short

prison sentences could have on prisoners’ lives, especially where men had lost their homes, their jobs and it had led to family breakdown

It was evident that the revolving door prisoners often had little to look forward to on their release from prison. It was apparent that for some men their quality of life was better in prison than it was in the community. Prisoners said that they engaged with few activities and spent most of the time in their cell.

The authoritative research was conducted for the Howard League and PGA by Dr Julie Trebilcock, Imperial College, London. She worked with a team of retired prison governors in three adult male prisons holding prisoners serving short prison sentences of 12 months and under. Interviews were conducted with 44 prisoners and 25 prison staff. This primary research was supported by an extensive online survey of PGA members and other key stakeholders.

Director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, Frances Crook, said: “Community sentences seek to challenge and change people so that they live crime free lives. By contrast, our overcrowded prisons fail to offer lasting solutions to crime or support for victims. Spending all day lounging on a cell bunk, particularly for those on short sentences, is the real ‘soft’ option. Community programmes can achieve many more positive outcomes than prison as they force people to understand the impact of their actions and do something to repair the damage caused by crime.”

“We are failing victims, taxpayers and the whole community when people opt to go to prison for a short time as an easier option than facing up to their crimes in the community. The challenge is to develop community sentences that are imposed immediately, carried out intensively and help to change lives. The many schemes round the country that have won awards from the Howard League for delivering effective and successful community sentences show it is possible to have safer communities, less crime and fewer people in prison.”

Eoin McLennan-Murray, PGA President, said: “Prison Governors have known for a long time that short sentences are expensive to administer and have the poorest outcomes in terms of re-offending rates. This research not only highlights that dimension but adds to our collective knowledge by adding the

views and opinions of prisoners themselves as well as other stake holders. The net product is a convincing case which argues at best for the abolition of short prison sentences and at worst for a dramatic reduction in their use.”

Julie Trebilcock of Imperial College London, lead researcher on the project, said: “The survey responses of both prisoners and prison staff highlight how damaging short prison sentences can be. Many prisoners regard their return to prison as inevitable on the basis that they leave prison ‘just the same’, or even more disadvantaged, than they were on arrival. The current use of short prison sentences offers no winners: neither prisoners or staff are being equipped with the necessary support and interventions to help break the cycle of reoffending, while communities are having to cope with the frustration and disillusionment that is generated by the consistently high reoffending rates of this population.”

In October 2010 a Howard League and PGA survey of prison governors revealed that:

• 81 per cent of all respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement ‘short prison sentences serve to reform and rehabilitate the offender’, with only six per cent of governors agreeing or strongly agreeing

• 59 per cent of all respondents disagreed or strongly disagreed when asked if short prison sentences serve to reduce crime (including by deterrence)

• Three quarters of all respondents (75.8 per cent) reported that they considered the current use of short prison sentences between zero and six months to be ‘excessive’

Prisoners serving less than six months in prison made up about 40 per cent of the total entries into prison in 2009. Last year 50,442 people were jailed for six months or less. In the year 08-09 the cost to the Ministry of Justice of looking after short sentenced prisoners, excluding their education and healthcare needs, was £286 million.

Such short sentences allow little time for rehabilitation. Research shows that at least 61 per cent of those serving sentences of less than 12 months are reconvicted within one year of release, whereas the same is true of only 37 per cent of those given community punishments

Prison easier than community sentences, say prisoners


PRODUCT NEWS

Westlers Compleat: making custodial catering simple Providing food and drink for detainees in a custody suite can be challenging. Ensuring each person can access varied meals that are appropriate to their dietary requirements, lifestyle preferences or religious and cultural needs whilst adhering to budgetary and staffing constraints isn’t easy.

Westlers Compleat meals have been the number one choice for the custodial sector for over 15 years and have been developed specifically to help those operators who need to serve hot food 24/7 without the need to keep catering staff on call.

The meals are individually packaged, so can be prepared on demand and can be eaten straight from the packaging which also doubles up as a tray, thereby eliminating the need for additional crockery. The Compleat range comes in 15 varieties, providing a range of options appropriate to different cultural and ethnic groups.

For more information on Compleat meals, call 01653 693971 or email [email protected].

Jaktronic passes prison testJaktronic, the innovative Perimeter Intruder Detection System from Jacksons Fencing, has passed stringent Home Office testing, making it eligible for Prison and Mental Health institution applications.Jaktronic employs state of the art vibration sensor detectors, which are installed on the fence perimeter. This enables the system to monitor and display any intrusion attempts with a high degree of accuracy and low false alarm rates. The advanced fence mounted electronic detection system underwent a gruelling five month false alarm monitoring assessment (by NOMS – National Offender Management Services) and during the evaluation period, it was scrutinised for its ability to maintain precision – even in the face of high wind speeds and heavy rainfall. Key advantages of the Jaktronic system include:

- penetration attempts displayed with an accuracy of + or – 10 metres- one unit capable of covering 1600 m area so reduced requirement to lay

down extra cables, easier to install and causing minimal site disruption- does not require the installation of an independent weather station

www.jacksons-security.co.uk, tel 01233 750 393

Protec Police supplies – the Emergency Service SupplierThe Protec Duty Belt Patrol Kit is designed to assist roles such as Police, Prison and Security Officer. Like all equipment manufactured by Protec and MC Products, all of the items featured in this offer are made with technically advanced materials using traditional methods to give you quality, affordable kit that is made to last.

• duty bags, rucksacks & cases• safety & search equipment• tactical clothing & footwear• vest, harness and carriage systems• baton & handcuff holders

For more information contact MC Products UK Ltd Tel: 0151 548 0144or visit www.police-supplies.co.uk

“Operation Omega” By David J. CamfieldA classic crime thriller – influenced, in part, by Agatha Christie – this elaborate who-done-it, is a must for any reader that has an interest in events surrounding World war Two.Set, initially, in 1943, secret documents, compiled by the hierarchy of Heinrich Himmler’s SS, fall into the hands of the French Resistance.After transportation to Britain by SOE, the coded documents remained hidden until 2003, that is, until Captain Stephen Halliwell, Chief Superintendent Alex Hastings and others, including Reece Jefferson, of Home Office Intelligence Agency, D16: unravel the details of “Operation Omega”, but only after three prominent people have been murdered. The climax sees the entire plot uncovered, including a related spate of high-class jewel thefts from numerous jewelers throughout the length and breadth of the UK and Europe.David J Camfield is an accomplished Journalist, Writer and PR Consultant and was born and resides in the market town of Bedford.

Now one of the fastest selling novels in the USA, this remarkable book is available easily from Amazon.co.uk.

DVS launch new ceiling height tower shower, designed for high risk environmentsThe latest in a range of developments designed with high risk environments in mind, the new DVS tower shower combines a contemporary shaped aesthetic with robust anti-ligature features. Manufactured from 316 grade stainless steel, the DVS tower shower is available in wave-on, tactile or push operation, with an additional option to include a built-in TMV3 for healthcare environments. As well as offering an ideal solution for therapeutic environments, the shower unit is designed to make installation and servicing quick and simple, with a number of features to reduce the time that facilities teams need to spend on site. Helpful features include automatic water isolation as the front cover is removed and easy access to the TMV3 for maintenance.DVS is a leading supplier of automatic washroom and water saving solutions to the healthcare, mental health and custodial markets. To find out more about the new DVS shower tower or our wider range of automatic washroom products please call 01803 529021 or email [email protected]

CellGuard™ from Fendor – a new approach to custodial glazingThe launch of the CellGuard™ window by leading specialist glazing designers and manufacturers Fendor , marks a step change in the design of custodial fenestration, and is the latest addition to the company’s extensive security portfolio.Following the success of its products in the secure healthcare sector, Fendor embarked on an extensive research program in order to determine what type of system would offer optimum performance in the security market and improve on current light transmission and dated designs.The result is a new approach to custodial fenestration which has been developed, tested and approved in conjunction with the Home Office for use in Police Custodial Suites.The large single pane solution eliminates the need for bars or blocks traditionally associated with this type of window product, improving light transmission by a third when compared to traditional designs.CellGuard™ comprises a unique framing system which secures technologically advanced glass developed to withstand prolonged and sustained assault. Apart from the systems inherent strength and performance its design has taken into consideration recent guidelines on the ingress of daylight into custodial rooms, achieving 67 % light transmission while meeting the performance specification required for Home Office use in Police Custodial Suites.

GAME Security Engineering supports Anti-Knife Crime CampaignGAME Security Engineering is proud to be support The ‘Save a Life, Drop the Knife’ campaign which is being run by Glen Jackson at HMP Everthorpe in East Yorkshire. Glen and his team have designed an innovative way to raise awareness on the current issues relating to and surrounding knife crime which is to design a garden. The garden has been designed in the hope that offenders and those exposed to knife crime culture will realise the benefits from ‘dropping the knife’. The prison has been awarded and showcased a slightly larger scale replica of the prison’s knife crime garden which has won a Gold Best Show Garden award at the RHS Show at Tatton Park 2011. In support of this worthy campaign, GAME Security donated; free of charge, a set of ‘anti-climbing spikes’ which run along the top of the wall, depicting an element of a typical problematic inner city scene for the project. The vision for the campaign is to promote the message of ‘Save a Life, Drop the Knife’ to thousands, being delivered to audiences at other prisons across the UK and hopefully also into schools to prevent and deter future knife related crimes being committed.

GAME Security fully supports the project and wishes the prison every success and congratulations for the Gold Award at the Tatton Park show 2011.

Ramadan 1st Aug-30th Aug: Thermoport offers perfect solution for fasting prisoners Rieber Thermoport 10 insulated containers will keep meals hot for four hours.HMP GARTH – “The Imam and prisoners have given rapturous applause. They keep the foot piping hot and save labour. We carried out a test starting at 86degC. Four hours later they were at 78degC.” HMP ONLEY: “We had compliments from the prisoners and the Imam. You need the heaters. It does take time for the gel to heat up (you can’t do it in the oven in 15 minutes) and in 1.5-2 hours they are red hot.” HMP & YOI BULLWOOD HALL: “We cook the food in them. Before we used vacuum flasks and fed the prisoners late; but that kept staff back. Now we serve the main meal and then hand the boxes out to those fasting. It’s so much easier and we use them all year round.”

T: 01225-704470 E: [email protected] www.bglrieber.co.uk

Mobile Phone Detection

Monitor a complete prison from a single office

Detectors easily moved for maximum benefit

Provides vital intelligence on when and where phones are being used

Used in conjunction with the GSM196 handheld detector

Modular system easily expanded

Already in use in HM Prisons / Future proof

Tel: +44 (0)1494-794949 E-Mail: [email protected]: +44 (0)1494-791820 Website: www.pdaelectronics.com

Providing global security solutions to combat threats from cellular

and satellite communications equipment for Law Enforcement,

Government Buildings and Prisons

See page 27

custodial review magazine issue 62

Documents

custodial sector

linksthe custodial review

custodial review2 news

free copy

goldington roadbedford

customs immigration

chelmsford gym

tech kitchen ceilingpayment