Readers will have noticed that our front pages this past
week have been rather heavily laden with news from Her Majesty’s Prisons
Service.
And most of the news has not been good.
Allegations of retaliatory strip searching, reports of ‘lack
of transparency’ within the system, and now news that ganja was found within
the prison’s administration building.
To top it all off, the deputy director of the prison is
quoted in today’s newspaper as wondering why this latest find is even
considered news. This statement will help us make the point we are trying to
approach with today’s editorial.
If the prison service management does not understand why the
finding of illegal drugs within its administration building is of interest to
the public – and immediately after that claims that the prison service is
inundated with illegal drugs being “smuggled” in – it is truly in need of the
overarching review now being planned by the government.
We applaud prison Deputy Director Daniel Greaves for being
up front with us about the situation with drugs in the prison; a situation many
have recognised as a major problem for a number of years. Indeed, if someone
had been more transparent about these problems years ago we might not be facing
the grim situation at the prison facilities we are at present.
Make no mistake, it is a grim situation. One only need to
read past issues of the Compass to learn of allegations that prisoners have
used cell phones to “set up” crimes; that young boys are being taken into
Northward men’s prison and are inadvertently learning how to become more
hardened, career criminals; that people are going into prison and developing a
drug problem while they are there.
It is fine and good to talk about prisoner rehabilitation
and the recent government consultant report from IPAC makes some positive
contributions in that regard.
However, until some semblance of order and discipline is
restored – particularly at HM Northward – we fear what may become of this
country in years to come.
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