Thin end of the wedge?

Thin end of the wedge?

By: John OConnor - Lifer

Lifer John OConnor fears that lessons learnt from the Strangeways Riots will be ignored by the present generation of prison managers.

It's been several weeks now since the new increased ‘bang-up’ hours were introduced to prisons nationally. But wonder of wonders, despite doom-laden predictions, civilisation as we know it didn't come to an end. For known only to a minority of prisoners, they had been down this particular road before. For them, spending longer hours behind their doors brought with it a sense of deja vu. But there was no boasting about this insider knowledge. Awareness simply confirmed they had spent more time in prison than most of today's prisoners. This unhappy fact also confirmed they could remember just how harsh prison life was prior to what penal history calls the ‘Strangeways Riots.’ Prison conditions then were vastly different - with even longer hours spent banged-up.

These riots kicked-off 18 years ago at HMP Manchester (aka Strangeways) and spread like wildfire to a number of other jails. They were mainly ‘locals’ which, as with Strangeways, were notorious for their inhumane conditions, with uniformed staff to match. However, the Strangeways Riots marked a major turning point in prison conditions. In fact, prisons simply couldn't continue to be run along the brutal lines commonplace up to then. Something had to give, and it did when discipline and control exploded in the most spectacular way imaginable. Prisoners effectively took control of some jails.

The seminal reports produced by Lord Woolf and Judge Tumin resulted in massive changes in the way prisons were run. Undoubtedly they were mainly for the better, but now there is a real risk that lessons learnt from the Strangeways Riots will be ignored by the present generation of prison managers; far too young to learn from the past.

In the words of the philosopher-poet George Santayana …"Those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it”. In other words, has the pendulum now begun to swing too far the other way - back to the harsh and inhumane conditions that ended almost two decades ago? Not that this would be a deliberate strategy (that is, not until tabloids such as the Sun are officially given control of penal policy). Instead, it's based more on expediency when responding to current financial needs.

Yet reverting to old, discredited practices such as extended ‘bang-ups’ could happen for no other reason than today's cadre of managers are simply too young to remember and learn the lessons of the past. At this point it might be useful to compare and contrast present and former aspects of prison life.

For a start, who remembers the days of ‘slopping out’? Fortunately, Strangeways marked the end to this degrading procedure whereby prisoners twice daily paraded with their brimming chamber pots prior to emptying them in sluices located on each landing. The smell, spillage and all other unhygienic aspects of this primitive sanitation procedure was unbelievable. Today, most prisons have in-cell sanitation.

Nowadays they also have in-cell power points complete with a prison-issued TV. As for the mains-powered radio, DVD and CD player, these commonplace items were previously virtually unheard of when fighting endless hours of ‘bang-up’.

Amongst other profound changes in the way prisons operate post-Strangeways is how uniformed staff treat inmates. If you think it could do with improvement now, you simply don't know just how bad it was pre-Strangeways. Then, some officers would sooner smack you in the face (and get away with it) than give you the time of day. And as for being taken to the segregation unit, the usual collection of bruises acquired in the process in those days were attributed to the unfortunate inmate hitting his head on the stairs whilst being ‘assisted’ on his way. Today there is far more accountability imposed when seeking causes/explanations of injuries sustained when staff deal with physically violent situations.

Yet amongst the most significant changes post-Strangeways has been the quality of food and the timing of serving it. Previously, food was on the whole inedible. So prisoners attempted to survive on canteen-bought chocolate and biscuits. Today, food quality is of a standard and variety which many households would be hard-pushed to match. Of course there will always be the discontents; mouthing off about the s*** being served. Usually they are those for whom roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is a lousy substitute for the 16 pints of lager and two packets of crisps which constitute their main meal of the day ‘on the outside’. Pre-Strangeways, three meals were served up over an eight-hour period. It was even shorter over the weekend. Admittedly, in those days the much-missed cooked breakfast was the norm, unlike the pre-packed cereal provided today.

Other significant changes took longer to implement, notably prison healthcare which was eventually transferred to the NHS. Although many prison healthcare units still have their limitations, just take the word of any old timer as to what healthcare provision (including dentists and opticians) was like in pre-Strangeways days. In a word, it was appalling. In fact you had more chance of dying than getting timely medical intervention.

Provision also of education and workplace activities was a joke. Today there are realistic opportunities to acquire employment and other money-earning skills whilst in prison, if you put your mind to it. Educational opportunities abound, ranging from basic skills to Open University degree-level courses.

Gym facilities today are comparable (and some say even better) to those found outside. The general standard of accommodation, including bedding and hygiene levels, bears no comparison with what was accepted 18-plus years ago. So too is the availability and cleanliness of prison issue clothing.

Without doubt, Strangeways resulted in a vast range of improvements and a greater level of professionalism within prisons. Yet there is a real risk that, without careful monitoring, the Prison Service will revert to form when taking two steps back for every one step forward. Are the new ‘bang-up’ hours possibly just the thin edge of the wedge?

Then, and now, staffing costs are by far one of the biggest spending items within the current £2 billion a year budget required to run prisons in England and Wales. And because (as any politician will confirm) there are no votes in prisons, there is no way staff are going to get properly funded pay levels. As for prisoners' pay, the Prime Minister personally squashed recent attempts to raise basic levels - last increased 10 years ago.

Presently, perhaps more than at any other time, the future doesn't bode well for prisoners and staff alike. Without doubt the economic good times are now on their way out. Banks are going bust, companies are going belly-up, the stock market is in the doldrums and forecasters predict that the next few years will be marked by even more belt-tightening. So if you think it's bad now, it's certainly not going to get any better in the near future; and for some prisoners they are now in the ludicrous situation where they cannot afford to survive ‘on the outside’. Instead, they have decided to forgo parole and stay ‘inside’ whilst riding out the economic storm. As Bob Dylan once sung: "The times they are a 'changing”.