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Prisoner unlawfully killed by UKDS staff

                Alton Manning, a 33 year old black remand prisoner at UK Detention Services-run Blakenhurst prison in the West Midlands, was unlawfully killed by prison staff in December 1995. The jury in the Coroner’s court returned its unanimous verdict on 24 March 1998.

                The Prison Service responded by suspending seven UKDS staff on full pay pending an  investigation by the Crown Prosecution Service.  A previous inquiry by police found no reason to take action against the staff.

                In February, the company’s lawyers had applied to the High Court to have the jury denied the option of considering a verdict of  unlawful killing. The Home Office supported the move. The application failed but the jury had no knowledge of the application or the outcome since press reporting was forbidden.

                 Deborah Coles, co-director of INQUEST, the organisation supporting Mr Manning’s family,  said "there should have been a criminal prosecution and we will be watching the CPS to ensure that justice is seen to be done. We call upon the Home Secretary to launch an independent inquiry into the three 'restraint' deaths that took place in 1995[two of which were in publicly run prisons] and the training and guidelines on control and restraint throughout the Prison Service to ensure that nobody else dies in such appalling circumstances."

                Raju Batt, the lawyer for Mr Manning’s family said: "The catalogue of errors at every level of management is quite shocking. We have seen prison officers giving evidence claiming ignorance of matters of life and death."

                At the time of Mr Manning’s death, UKDS was jointly owned by Corrections Corporation of America and two UK construction firms, Mowlem and McAlpine. The company is now run by a joint venture between CCA and Sodexho. The Prison Service said that UKDS’ other contract, to run HM Prison Agecroft in north west England for 25 years, would not be affected. See also PPRI #18, March 1998. For a full briefing on the case contact INQUEST,Tel++44 181 802 7430. Email:inquest@compuserve.com

AUSTRALIA

Fifteen UK staff to crisis prison

                Fifteen senior management staff were flown from Group 4 headquarters and company-run jails in Britain to Melbourne, Australia in March to deal with the crisis at Port Phillip Prison (see PPRI #18). But within three days of their arrival,  prisoner David Hodson attempted suicide through a heroin overdose. Victoria’s Premier Jeff Kennett had warned the company that their fees would be cut if the prison was not brought under control.

                Seven prisoners have died - four from suicide - since the prison opened in September 1997. One member of staff committed suicide at his home, allegedly after pressure from prisoners to smuggle drugs into the facility. There has been a riot causing an estimated A$300,000 worth of damage, fires, assaults on staff, at least ten attempted suicides and some 40 self-mutilations.

                The Government  refused to hold a public inquiry into the management of the prison and to remove hanging points from the accommodation units. But now an internal inquiry is being held and Group 4 and its construction partner, Fletcher Construction, are to pay most of the “six figure” cost of removing six hanging points.

                Modifications will be made to shower screens, shelf units, trap doors and windows. Shower roses will be replaced and coat hooks refitted. The work should be completed by the end of May 1998.

                It has also emerged that Group 4 and Fletcher Construction changed the prison’s design for technical reasons after original plans were submitted to the Government. It has always been claimed that the design met the Government’s contract specifications.

                One of Group 4's newly arrived managers, former English Prison Service governor Tony Wood, said that improving procedures to address the suicide and self harm problem at Port Phillip was his most urgent challenge. One idea is to implement a prisoners’ buddy system.

                Professor Richard Harding, director of the University of Western Australia Crime Research Unit, told the Australian on 24 March that “Port Phillip must be, and demonstrably is, a badly managed  prison at this point."

Certificates for what?

                Two former prisoners of CCA’s Metropolitan Women’s  Correctional Centre in Melbourne have died within a day of leaving the facility. Dianne Sherlock left the prison on 23 February 1998 with a certificate of achievement in drug awareness. According to the Herald Sun 25 March 1998, “five hours later she lay dead in a Collingwood street after a heroin overdose.” She had also completed the prison’s drug education curriculum. Bianca Rowley, aged 19, died one day after leaving the prison.           Victoria’s Correctional Services Commissioner  has confirmed that up to 80 per cent of prisoners at the facility are taking prescribed medication.

n Tougher sentences have caused Victoria’s prison population to reach 2,725. This is 300 more prisoners than a year ago. Prisoners have been forced to double up in some cells at CCA’s facility which now holds 130 women. The company receives higher fees if it takes more than 121 prisoners.  The Government is now looking to increase capacity at all  three private prisons.

Interest in Western Australia

                The Government of Western Australia has announced that it is to seek expressions of interest from companies wanting to build and run a new 750 bed medium security prison at Wooroloo, east of Perth. The facility  is expected to be open in the year 2000. The Deaths In Custody Watch Committee responded to the announcement by saying that “it should be seen by the prison population of this State as a death sentence.”

UNITED KINGDOM

Parc being cosseted

                Securicor - run HM Prison Parc at Bridgend in Wales is being cosseted by the Prison Service. The privately financed, designed, built and run prison opened in November 1997 lacking fundamental services and facilities (see PPRI #18).

                According to the Prison Officers’ Association (POA), which represents staff in publicly run prisons, disruptive prisoners are being transferred from Parc to the publicly run HMP Cardiff as Parc’s staff cannot cope. Negotiations are also taking place between Securicor and the Prison Service to redefine Parc’s status from a Category B local prison to a training prison.

                Recent incidents at Parc include senior managers being taken hostage by prisoners and three Prison Service Control and Restraint teams being sent to deal with a disturbance. The POA also alleges that there are major difficulties with Parc’s young offender population.

                One of the knock-on effects of Parc’s inability to cope is to undermine HMP Cardiff’s objective of becoming a community prison.

Group 4 again

                Group 4, along with construction firm Tarmac, is the preferred bidder for a contract to finance, design, build and run the second of the Government’s five proposed Secure Training Centres (STCs) for young offenders. The facility will be at Onley in Northamptonshire and should open in early 1999.  Group 4 is also about to open the first STC, at Cookham Wood in Kent, south east England.

New women’s prison

                A 450 bed women’s prison is to be privately financed, designed, built and run at Ashford, west  London.  There are over 3,000 women prisoners in England and Wales.

n In May 1998 the Prison Service will short list bidders for the proposed new prison for adult males at Marchington, Staffordshire. A Department of  the Environment  inquiry will decide whether the Prison Service will be allowed to locate another proposed private prison at Peterborough.

CANADA

Ontario to renege on jobs promise

                The Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) fears that the Ontario Government is to renege on a contract to make “reasonable efforts” to find alternative employment for staff whose jobs are lost through privatisation. At least 500 prison staff could lose their jobs as a result of the Government’s private corrections plans .

                 Government attempts to privatise other public services have been frustrated because provincial arbitrators and the courts have ruled that not enough has been done to redeploy staff.  OPSEU  believes that the Government now plans to pass legislation to remove this obligation.

UNITED STATES

Ohio saga continues

                A District Court judge ordered on 19 March 1998 that all maximum security prisoners held in CCA’s North East Ohio Correctional Center (NEOCC) must be returned to the District of Columbia and replaced by medium security prisoners. The company has appointed a new warden and temporarily transferred senior management staff to the facility. This follows legal action by prisoners and the granting of an injunction preventing any new prisoners being sent to the facility until an adequate classification system is in operation.

                CCA has moved 11 of the most dangerous prisoners to its West Tennessee Detention Facility in Mason. CCA Chief Executive Officer Doctor Crants told The Tennessean that "what happened in Youngstown was unfortunate, but there we had a sophisticated inmate population mixed with a rookie staff. In Mason, our staff are very experienced."

n A court document filed on behalf of the prisoners argued for expanding the terms of the judge’s  original injunction. Included in the evidence were the facts that:“The CCA [prisoner]classification chief - Karen Young - admitted under oath to falsifying classification records ... [she] commenced employment  at the prison on 4 August 1997, following her transfer from another CCA facility. Nonetheless, she signed off on administrative segregation reviews and dated her signature 29 July 1997, even though she had not participated in the reviews. She stated that she falsely noted her involvement .... “because that was the date I was told to put on there, not the actual date.” Moreover, when asked what standard she was applying to when reviewing men in segregation this witness stated: “I don’t know what I am reviewing it for. I can’t say what I’m reviewing it for.” Extract from Plaintiffs’ Reply to CCA Memo Opposing Emergency Motion to Alter or Amend Order, Case No.4:97-CV-1995. See also PPRI #18, March 1998.

n In the January 1998 issue of CCA’s employee publication, Private Line,a feature about 1997 employee of the year, Aristides Burgos of Ponce Adult Correctional facility in Puerto Rico, included the following: “Burgos also played a major role in his facility’s recent recommendation for ACA accreditation. Prior to the ACA Committee visit, facility management discovered a backlog of cases in the classification department. Burgos worked through an entire weekend with the facility classification department to bring the caseload back on schedule. Aristides was a major contributor to our facility’s successful ACA audit ... without him it would have been impossible for us to move that volume of inmates through the system.”

California dreaming

                An ‘invitation only’ conference in San Francisco from 11-13 March 1998 provided delegates with an in depth examination of how corrections privatisation could be structured to yield the greatest benefits with the lowest possible risk. The conference was organised by The Corrections Program Office of the Office of Justice Programs, part of  the US Department of Justice.

Death in Philadelphia

                Andrew Milotich, a 24 year old prisoner, committed suicide at Wackenhut-run Delaware County Prison in Philadelphia on 16 March 1998. The company claims that staff followed all suicide prevention procedures. Milotich, who was supposed to have been checked every 15 minutes, only had a blanket and a paper gown in his isolation cell. The company, which has been running the facility for less than a year, is holding an internal inquiry into the incident.

Not in New York?

      State legislators are considering a trade union-supported Bill that would prevent state and local jails from being  privatised. Prisoners would only be supervised by civil servants. But a recent New York Post editorial argued that the Bill “should be allowed simply to die” and that “... the mere threat of it [privatisation]might be a useful tool in collective bargaining talks with jail and prison guard unions. That is simply the best reason why it should not be removed from the public-policy toolbox.”

RECENT BOOKS, REPORTS AND PAPERS

A Sin Against The Future: Imprisonment in the World by Vivien Stern, Penguin Books, London, 1998. “Most people understand that crime is not prevented by prison ... many would support a movement that made it a source of pride for a community to gradually shift its resources out of imprisonment ...” This important book includes a chapter on Prison Expansion and the Private Sector.

Alternatives to Prison, Prison Reform Trust, January 1998. See contact details below. “There needs to be a higher quality debate about the roots of crime and the role of punishment”.This briefing paper is based upon PRT’s evidence to the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee’s inquiry into Alternatives to Prison Sentences (which is likely to report by the Summer of 1998).

From Experiment to Expansion by Keith Bottomley & Adrian James in Criminal Justice Matters No.30, Winter 1997/98, ISTD, Kings College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS. Tel: ++44 171 873 2822. Fax: ++44 171 873 2823. Email: istd.enq@kcl.ac.uk This article briefly reviews the history of prison privatisation in the UK and raises issues of principle. “Key questions have tended to be submerged under the waves of the harsh practicalities of penal policy and prison management.”

Prisons, the Private Sector and the Market: Some Queensland Lessons, by Patrick Weller, Centre for Australian Public Sector Management, Griffith University, Queensland, February 1998.Tel:++61 7 3875 7723. Email: P.Weller@cad.gu.edu.au  This paper describes the commercialisation process of Queensland’s corrections systems and argues that “public responsibility must take precedence over the private or commercial interests...”

Presentation to the Corrections & Criminal Justice Coalition of the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, 6 February 1998, by  Prof. Ira Robbins, American University, Washington College of Law, 4801 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016. Tel:++1 202 274 4235. Fax:++ 1 202 274 4130; Email: robbins@wcl.american.edu This paper concludes that “the concept underlying private incarceration - that the profit motive of the private sector is better than the bureaucratic model of the public sector - is rooted in a critical misunderstanding of the essential role of government and results in grievous breaches of accountability ... the prison industrial complex has no place in American society.”

Richardson v. McKnight: What Does the Future of Qualified Immunity Hold for Non Governmental Employees? By Heidi Koenig, Public Administration Review, Jan/Feb 1998, Vol 58, No.1. This article discusses the implications of the recent US court case which found that private prison guards were not immune from prosecution by prisoners:  “... vulnerable populations of citizens in direct contact with privatised services will be the ones most likely to suffer until the questions regarding the standing of private sector workers currently contracting  with the government are settled.”

Dark Night Field Notes,  Dark Night Press, PO Box 3629, Chicago, IL 60690-362, USA. Tel: ++1 773 373 7074. Fax:++1 773 373 7188.Email:darknight@igc.apc.org This quarterly American journal focuses on the liberation struggles of indigenous peoples.The current issue discusses issues related to “...private corporations, unfettered by national boundaries, seeing the whole world as a new frontier.”

The Celling of America, edited by Burton-Rose, Pens & Wright, Common Courage Press, 1 Barn Road, Monroe, ME 04951, USA. Tel:++1 207 525 0900.Fax:++1 207 525 3068. A new book by prison-based journalists providing “an inside view of the US prison industry”.

Prohibited Persons: Abuse of Undocumented Migrants, Asylum Seekers and Refugees in South Africa, March 1998. Human Rights Watch, 484 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10017-6104. In condemning the whole system, including the privately run Lindela facility, Human Rights Watch calls on the Government to take immediate steps to bring practice into line with international standards.

� Human Rights Watch is assessing the human rights implications of privately run US correctional facilities. The focus is on: ethical/governance questions; conditions of confinement; contract provisions; and contract monitoring and evaluation. A report is expected  later  this year. Contact Ms Jamie Fellner, HRW, Fax:++1 212 736 1300; Email: fellnej@hrw.org

Florida County Jails: INS’s Secret World. Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, 3000 Biscayne Blvd. Suite 400, Miami, FL 33137. Tel: ++1 305 573 1106. This critical report on public and private jails concludes that “... the INS has learned few lessons ... and has not applied the recommendations from the Esmor Report to the Florida jails.”