Post 14 - Devious In & Devious Out - How Does Society Measure the Real Cost?

What a year this has been, so much has occurred in such a short time.  Twelve months since I launched my website (see post 2) at the Law Society for England & Wales with two prominent figures in their respective area of the law as speakers I felt that day would turn out to be a turning point for all those people who are incarcerated and therefore disenfranchised and vulnerable to those who wield power and control over them in their daily existence within UK institutions.  

Peter Cadman and Flo Krause two people I am proud to know personally and call my friends, (who humbled me with the fact that they were prepared to stand on a podium and endorse my vision) gave wonderful and passionate speeches. They talked of the need for 'Transparency' by those agencies tasked with managing UK institutions where human beings are incarcerated, 'Acessibility' to those insitutions via public comment and media, 'Accountability' of those who hold power and influence over the lives of those incarcerated and that such power and influence is wielded with 'Humility'. Peter pointed out it is cheaper to pay for private education at Eton College for a year than send someone to prison, a bizarre and disturbing fact about where our priorities lie as a society. 

Many significant personalities related to the lives of those incarcerated have encountered major life changes, Michael Gove has rightly been sacked as in my view he was simply a devious opportunist and not favoured by the 22 committee who I as with many others believe are the real power within UK conservative politics. A barrister of great integrity Flo Krause 'hung up her wig' and ended her career and her life passion in Law, as has Juliet Lyons who resigned from the Prison Reform Trust. Also Erwin James someone I have known personally for many decades and someone I consider a friend has published his wonderfully brave and moving book "Redeemable - A Memoir of Darkness and Hope" all about his life journey from a horrendous start in life to the integrated, happy and respected man I lunched with in London recently who in addition to his many achievements and being an author of several books and Guardian newspaper columnist he is also now the editor in chief of Inside Time.

What of us? Well one of our staff attempted to blackmail our company director with deleting the website content unless he paid him a significant amount of money, as he thought he was the only one with access to the content management system (clearly the sharpest tool in the box) so no surprise the guy was sacked, thereafter we discovered he actually had not done the amount of work he had been billing or claiming for anyway, we chose not to prosecute him as he was on a probation licence and his girlfriend had recently had a newborn baby.  We were subjected to a campaign of abusive and threatening text messages and involved the police who identified the parties involved and subsequently interviewed one of them and are monitoring events (this saga resulted in the installation of 24hr cctv). We have had meetings and discussions with serveral parties who are commentators or interested parties to Criminal Justice Reform who wanted to involve themselves with us in joint ventures utilising us and we have met many people this past year.  Many of those were well intentioned characters such as Alex Cavendish who is amongst many things a very bright man.

Another, a prominent academic in his field (who yes actually lectures at a university) invited me to a meeting at his campus, and as the day progressed he degenerated into a paranoid, aggressive, dysfunctional excessive drinker (who I hope has sought help) confronting people in the street for looking at him! There was the one who it transpired was a solicitor of meagre integrity and moral values who appears to collude with his client in covering up their crimes. Another was introduced to me as a recently released fraudster (nothing against that if reformed, but I fear he may not be) who was still peddling the same fictitious life history/story that was part of his presentation to victims of his crimes! Needless to say left him swiftly in the dust as little he said was actually true, and now he is gradually grooming identified parties within the Association of Prison Lawyers, barrister bloggers and others he has since identified that he feels may contribute something to his prison refom plans (that others will fund I am sure as he won't/can't as potless), apparently now he is a reformer (as oppose to reformed). He actually stated he was charging people to give them advice regarding what to expect if they were sentenced to a term of imprisonment (charlatan) talk about exploitation! Sadly there are many who see prisons and the plight of people incarcerated as an opportunity to make money by fleecing grants and donors or to create an existence which feeds their pathological need to be perceived as an authority or a prominent personality within the field. Blatantly achieved by grooming and ingratiating themselves with those they perceive as the current acceptable critics who have the ears of the decision makers, or in fact anyone they think may be of use to their devious strategy. 

It would be an interesting study to correlate and monitor how many 'prison commentators/reformers' were inside for fraud, an offence which has NO offending behaviour programmes to address the devious thinking involved in calculated crimes such as aquisitive fraud yet they are among the highest repeat offenders, whereas those sentenced to life and are on licence for their natural lives post release are the lowest.  It is also often the case in prison that it is the fraudsters who have worked their way into 'key' positions within establishments, usually by grooming and desensitising staff, it is also interesting to see that behaviour continue post release as they are invariably not on licence for long, and where they are on it at all they are quickly perceived by a probation officer under pressure of work as a low priority.  Yet in reality how much do they cost overall, what is the true cost if they are now outside involved in the Prison Industrial Complex which is awash with money (13bn is the cost of the CJS alone at the last count)?

There were some old school rules inside whilst doing your bird which applied in almost all cases. Rules such as a northener in a southern jail AVOID, a southerner in a northern jail AVOID, someone who has been in lots of jails in a short period AVOID, drug user/dealer AVOID, those who gossip AVOID, those who seek influencial positions in the nick AVOID, Sexual groomers AVOID, there are many more but those listed were the mainstay of a peaceful life inside for most people. Either way I have a serious illness to deal with and as such am no longer able to continue in the vein that I once could (not for the time being anyway) and so I will observe from afar the machinations, floundering and manouverings of those devious characters and see if in fact I am sadly once again proved right in my judgment of their motives. I hope not...

Post 9 - Do The Real Lunatics Run the Asylums? You Decide.

This was a week quite literally hundreds of thousands of people were waiting for.  It could have been a week marked in history for decades to come, as one where finally something was to be done to halt the irrepressible decline of UK institutional life.  Institutions where it seems by any recognised form of scientific/mathematical scale far too many vulnerable people die.  Every year for the last 3 decades, scores of people in the care of the UK Government have perceived no other alternative than to take their own life, according to the 'death rates' and suicide statistics collated by Inquest who are a respected and worthwhile organisation which provides data on this rather taboo subject.

Well despite my personal hopes, the reality of the much awaited, and thereafter much commented upon speech was in line with my expectations, and sadly in my view, all the important issues, the challenging, uncomfortable problems connected with prison reform were avoided, or worse simply ignored!  We all held our breath with the exception of the 'acceptable critics' (who were privy in advance) for the forthcoming announcement by David Cameron, the first 'exclusively' prison reform speech from a sitting British Prime Minister in twenty years.  To my embarrassment on occasion I admonished some tweeters for 'trashing' Cameron before the speech was made, I accused others of pre-judgement, well how stupid am I?  Now I too feel this latest announcement was something of a sham,  I feel it was made for underlying political maneuverings related to long term objectives regarding the privatisation and commercialisation of the Criminal Justice System, the in/out European referendum issue and long term conservative party leadership positioning. There is nothing in it which will bring about reductions in Mental Health abuse, nothing to save the lives of the vulnerable or suicidal, nothing in practical terms which will change anything, much less bring about "wholesale prison reform" as it was announced it is intended to do.

Now obviously this is just my view, I am not an expert and nor am I an educated man, but I'm not a fool either, having spent 19 years in prison.  During that time I read many books and worked in two prison libraries, I read mainly about Psychology, Human Behaviour, Business and Law, I also took a few exams and wrote some Tutor Marked Assessments (TMA's) for other Cons who were studying with the Open University (in exchange for bits and pieces), but that was my lot really. I was all about trying to resist falling victim to institutionalisation and desensitisation, remaining sane and help others to do the same if I could.  One thing everyone inside doing a long stretch learns is the dynamic of a prison landing, just like politics in the workplace, the same applies in prisons if not more so. A 'political' mistake inside can cost you enormously, it can get you slashed across the face (known as a mars bar = scar) or worse Jugged, a term used to describe a jug of boiling water thrown in your face, and if they really want to damage you the jug is filled with sugar which apparently makes it far harder for plastic surgeons to repair as it peels your skin from your face (go figure).  Prisoner on Prisoner punishments are usually brutal, uncompromising and executed with military precision, though that is changing with the huge influx of NPS (New Psychoactive Substances) blamed by Nick Hardwick the outgoing Inspector of Prisons for the upsurge in prison violence and hospital transfers of the last 2 years.  However there are other more subtle punishments which can be inflicted upon you, punishments which originate from a uniform but are not conducted through the normal adjudication system in place for breaking prison rules and the maintenance of good order and discipline within the institution.  

But before I expand and you accuse me of paranoia or conspiracy theories let me tell you a little bit more about me. Having been released from prison I then spent my professional life working in Criminal Justice having founded my own company, which developed into a reputable entity in the field.  This brought my staff and I into contact either in person or on the telephone with people who were in the most part detained (although some were in the community on licence) by the UK Government in one form or another.  I have quite literally interviewed thousands of people who have been through the criminal justice system. Young offenders, adult male and female prisoners (the large majority were serving Life Sentences), patients in secure units and in some circumstances people serving the remainder of their sentence on licence in the community.  In the process I had cause to document their situation as it was at that given time, generally with a view to assisting in the preparation of their case to be put before the relevant administrative or judicial bodies.  One thing which was a common denominator with almost everyone I interviewed, and either almost everyone I interviewed suffered from a Paranoid Personality Disorder or they have hit on one of the major causes for many of the practical problems within UK Institutions.  They have all complained about issues related to members of staff and the apparent chaotic daily life within an Institution.  To the extent I cannot believe it has not been the same for any Criminal Lawyer who has conducted more than 5 interviews with people who have experienced detention.

Now normally one prefers to go with the 'cock up theory' or simple incompetence, however when you hear similar accounts from a huge number of people spread across the nation with no connection, relaying roughly the same details of certain daily events then you have to consider that these events are orchestrated or part of a deliberate strategy to thwart the smooth management of these places.  My view is they are in the main orchestrated events.

The reason I can say this with a certain amount of authority is obviously the interviews I have conducted, "but they're Cons" you might say, "of course they'll lie", well OK, but what about the fact that during my own 19 years inside I have also personally witnessed many events which today fill me with shame as I did not intervene or take steps to report events, I was a coward.  Then finally post release in the course of my professional life I employed ex-prison service staff (governor grade through the ranks) and I have mixed socially with people who have held front line and lower management roles in prisons and they have confirmed it to me.  So I know it is a fact these events are deliberate strategies to thwart the smooth running of establishments, so the question is by who and for what purpose?

Well for the next few days I am going to post actual events on this blog and you can decide for yourself were they deliberate strategies, is it hyperbole as one twitterati stated (although he is a serving prison officer), decide for yourselves.  Here is one example.

I was a cleaner on the old D wing (lifer wing) of Wormwood Scrubs, a huge Victorian jail, the wings were huge and the landings extremely long and poorly lit back then.  Notorious for violence, in those days 'the Scrubs' was an ominous and sinister environment in which to 'do your bird'.

Employment for Cons was scarce, I was fortunate enough to have a job as a wing cleaner, and one day three of us were left out cleaning on the ground floor, the rest of the wing were banged up, as in those days it was quite literally 23 hours behind your door, with the exception of Sunday if you went to church. Prison wings are eerie places when everyone is locked down, and depending on the time of day they can be deafening in their silence.  My cell was on the 3's, (D wing had 4 landings) and I had nipped up to hide some biscuits I'd been given by one of the other cons who had taken them from the screws tea room as he was their 'teaboy', when I heard voices outside on the landing.  Unbeknown to me the screws had told the other 2 cleaners to stay in the cleaning store so I was the only one on the landings and they had clearly overlooked me.  There were five screws huddled and whispering together talking, no not talking, planning how they were going to inflict violence on a fellow Con.  They were whispering just outside to the left of my door not realising I was in there as oppose to downstairs cleaning, they discussed unlocking the door of their target and four of them agreed to wait outside whilst the fifth one (I will refer to him as 'L') went in and provoked the Con into an argument, they agreed at that point 'L' would shout for help whilst simultaneously attacking the Con.  The others would then rush in and assist 'L' in beating the Con up at which point they agreed they would take him down into the segregation unit housed in the cellars.  I waited in my cell silent as they initiated their plan, once the violence started and screams and shouts came from the cell the whole wing erupted with the banging and kicking of steel doors and shouting abuse through the door jams.  The Con had no chance.

They brought him out onto the landing, his face was bloodied where his nose and left eye was bleeding and he was struggling to stand, he still had soap on his face, so clearly they had gone in on him as he was washing his face in his bucket.  Two of them were holding him up underarm and two others had him by the wrists, the fifth 'L' was snarling and swearing, at him prodding him and holding his chin up as screws appeared from everywhere storming up the metal stairs and along metal gangways to 'support' their colleagues. 

Something insane happened, and to this day I don't know why I did it but I opened my door wide and stepped out into my doorway my eyes met with the Con and immediately screws rushed me and forced me back into my cell violently pushing me to the floor and banging my door up.  I have never forgotten that event and it was many many years ago.  The next morning at 5am my cell door was thrown open and 3 screws stood there menacingly, and one said "pack your kit, your leaving us" and when I asked where I was going he responded with "just think yourself lucky your being allowed to leave on your feet and not in a box, now fucking hurry up"... Within an hour I was being driven to HMP Onley which in those days was the exchange point where all Cons in transit went to be processed for transfer, I spent 5 hours there and later that night arrived in another Victorian hell hole...all FACT.

Life went on until many years later I read a ''News of The World' newspaper article which published the names of some screws who had been convicted from the Scrubs for violence, one of them was 'L', I confess to a wry smile when I read his name, as I can still see him with his peak hat on, fat belly, pony tail, earrings and Dog breath explaining the wing rules in his threatening bullying manner...so it's true, every dog does have it's day.

Now why is that anecdote relevant to Messrs Cameron and Gove and their "Wholesale Prison Reform" plans?  Well because in the view of many who have lived the experience for many years it is the culture within the 'old school' elements of the POA that have to be overcome before any initiative to reform or even improve the reality of life inside can be fundamentally successful.  There are some very good professional staff working within UK institutions, but there are also some not so good and they are dragging the rest down and will ultimately cost them all potentially their livelihoods unless they wake up and smell the coffee.

More soon, so keep checking...In the meantime check out the website, it's FREE to use and FREE to advertise, its organic so suggest content, or a document or a link and we will add it for you.  Get involved life is not a dress rehearsal.  Please comment by clicking on 'comments' below, your feedback is of interest to us and your opinion matters.