Sunday, December 31, 2006

Another prison scandal


Hundreds of prisoners, including murderers and paedophiles, who have been assessed as posing a serious threat to the public, are being transferred to open prisons. The Observer has obtained an extensive dossier of case studies involving more than 50 prisoners recently transferred to 'soft jails'.

The report compiled by probation officers at 10 open prisons across the UK includes the example of a Yorkshire man serving life for murder after driving his 4x4 car over his victim several times before hitting him with a wheel brace and then disposing of the body in a pond. Despite being classed high-risk, he was moved into an open prison and granted day release - at an address three miles from where the victim's family live.

They also reveal the case of a 42-year-old man held in an open prison in the south-west who is obsessed with his former partner. The man, who psychiatrists say has psychopathic tendencies, had attempted to murder his former partner's lover and was overheard in prison saying that he was going to 'get' his ex-partner. Despite this he was moved from a high-security jail.

Other examples of offenders moved to open prisons include that of a 25-year-old man convicted of blackmail and conspiracy to murder who was judged to be in the most dangerous category of offenders. Despite this, and warnings that he was likely to abscond, he was transferred to open conditions. Another case involved a man held for attempted murder with an axe, having attacked the victim on two previous occasions. Experts warned he still posed a high risk to the victim and had not attended any offending behaviour programmes.

Since 2001, 4,300 prisoners have absconded from Britain's open prisons but the number has increased significantly in recent months, according to staff. Staff say violence within open prisons has increased significantly. Drug use, bullying and the use of smuggled mobile phones has also increased.

Brilliant. I thought Labour were tough on crime? They aren’t even tough on the most dangerous criminals.

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