I have opined in the past that the Prison Officers Association is one of the last bastions of union power in the public service sector. In addition to what is gleaned in the public arena my own experiences whilst an active J.P. did nothing to dissuade me of this opinion; indeed they confirmed it. Therefore it was with little surprise but some dismay that I read of a newly incarcerated racist murderer in Glasgow`s Barlinnie Prison being able to propagate his hateful agenda on You Tube only a few weeks after entering Scotland`s biggest jail. 4.4% of the Scottish prison population consider themselves to be Muslim; a smaller proportion than in England. It is therefore not unreasonable to consider the possibility (probability?) that inside help was a factor in Tanveer Ahmed`s ability to obtain a mobile phone in order to spread his vile beliefs.
With 15,000 mobile phones allegedly recovered in England and Wales only a fool would fail to surmise that the majority MUST be smuggled by staff. The state is in denial about the level of such corruption (and the same goes for drugs) and will not introduce proper searching of staff for fear of upsetting the POA.
ReplyDeleteI worked for a while in a so-called "Gas Mine" (a mine which was known to have inflammable gas occurring in it). Everything in the mine had to be certified as free of sparks and so on, and all employees who worked underground were liable to be searched for "contraband" material (matches, lighters, etc) at any time. Are such conditions not invoked on staff and visitors to our prisons?
ReplyDelete