Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Nikki And Helen. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Stuff About Prison; abzug [May 1, 2006]
Topic Started: Jun 7 2006, 10:16 PM (7,405 Views)
richard
Member Avatar
Enhanced
I've just watched a Panorama programme (Brit documentary series) on a privately run men's prison called Rye Hill which certainly bears out Shed's really excellent theme in Bad Girls Series 5 and shows things going on that go beyond the 'so called far fetched' accusations of the critics.The prison isn't a Victorian edifice but 6 years old, purpose built.

-Prison officers paid 1/3 less than their counterparts in the prison service
-A turnover of one third leaving in the past year
- where by the rules, there should be 1 year experience before going on the segregation unit, the undercover reporter posing as a PO was on the job 1 week after finishing training
- Where HMP has 3 - 4 officers per wing of 80 prisoners, Rye Hill have 2 which means that they can't do basic control and restraint as it takes 3 to do it
- prisoners get mobile phones inside prison so they can do their drug deals and prison officers are bribed to smuggle in mobile phones and drugs (2 cases of prison officers suspended for corruption)
- drugs thrown over the prison fencing and in 9 out of 13 cases, the prisoners get there first
- a new prison officer was advised to easy up, not stick by the book by the senior officer
- while there was an instance of a prison officer whose key jammed in a lock and it took 15 minutes to help him, there are instances of prison officers having keys so that there was one instance where a prisoner phoned his girlfriend from the manager's office
- a case of a prisoner who repeatedly self harmed who it took on one occasion 18 hours to get him medical attention finally committed suicide.
- instances of assaults against staff, between prisoners and hostage taking.

While Anne Owers, HM Inspectors of Prison was severely critical, everything in the garden was rosy to the Chief Exec of G.S L. Oh yes, in the 8,000 new prison places in the next year, GSL are to provide half.

Jesus, as I type up these notes, I am wondering if I heard it right and if Fenner were working there, he would have an attack of conscience. This is typical, do it on the cheap, maximise profits for the shareholders and the place is a madhouse.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
abzug
Member Avatar
In love with a prisoner
Horrifying. Absolutely horrifying.
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
I love MJNet
Member Avatar
The bosses slave!
Richard I missed this one - but caught it online - and it is indeed almost unbelievable!

If anyone else is interested in catching this online before the next program is aired, you can do so from the main Panorama site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/panorama/default.stm


“In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.”
Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
msalt
No Avatar
Out of Dorm
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/05/01/wormwood_scrubs/

that's an article on salon.com by an american (man) who got arrested and sent to prison in the UK for several weeks for not very good reason. the line where he said that he thinks anyone working as a screw has to be a sadist of course made me think of my favorite obsession.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ekny
No Avatar
In love with a prisoner
Princeton is reissuing Gresham Sykes's Society of Captives. This was first published in 1958, during the Cold War, & compares totalitarian systems to what was at the time their closest analog w/in the US--its prison system. This was published before Foucault, so it's necessary to keep that in mind; also there are obviously limits to his arguments & observations--the book doesn't, I don't think, particularly address race, which has become an overwhelmingly important issue in the US's current prison climate; & some of its other observations are arguable (many reviews quarrel with Sykes' ideas abt how much control guards wield)--but so far as cornerstone works on social relations w/in prison, and general guard/con relations, this is about as fundamental a work on the subject as has been published in the last 50 years.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
solitasolano
Member Avatar

The Muppets!
A Sunday am post on my fav political blog http://www.americablog.com/
Seems Cherie Blair is speaking out about women in prison, specifically mothers in prison...seems like Shed already did a few episodes on this issue but the situation continues.


Cherie's parting shot
Mrs Blair speaks out against pregnant women sent to jail

By Marie Woolf, Political Editor
Published: 13 May 2007
Cherie Blair last night made her first foray into British politics since her husband announced he was standing down as Prime Minister by attacking the Government for sending pregnant women to jail.

In what will be interpreted as Mrs Blair's first attempt to stake out her own political credo even before the couple leave Downing Street, the human-rights lawyer has warned that sending mothers to prison increases the risk of their children turning to criminality later in life.

As new government figures showed that about 100 babies a year are born to mothers behind bars, Mrs Blair called for "alternative sentences" for all except the most serious women criminals. Speaking exclusively to The Independent on Sunday, Mrs Blair warned that society will pay the price of removing children from their mothers' care while they are in jail.

Stating that action should be taken so "today's sons and daughters of prisoners don't end up tomorrow's offenders", Mrs Blair's intervention is a sign that, liberated from the restrictions of office, she will become increasingly vocal on issues that concern her when she leaves Downing Street.


Read the rest: http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2536854.ece
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
solitasolano
Member Avatar

The Muppets!
Watched the HBO movie "Longford" last night. Pretty good. John Broadbent and Samatha Morton were both excellent as well a the guy who played Ian Brady. The Sean to Helen " have you met Myra Hinkley" line and subsequent discussions settled in my brain somewheres, but do admit as an American the name really didn't mean anything to me. Then I remembered that I had checked out the BadGirl Annex Glossary where she is listed (the name Myra dropping from use in IK after that period). Again one of the unexpected benefits of becoming a BG addict is learning all sorts of thing British (including beyond to the rest of the Commonwealth). I recommend the movie if you can catch it.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
abzug
Member Avatar
In love with a prisoner
Hey solitasolano, I can't believe I didn't see your post! I started a thread a few months ago about Longford, but it didn't get much traction because I don't think many people had seen it. Anyway, here's the link to that thread:
http://z4.invisionfree.com/Nikki_and_Helen...?showtopic=1083

And here's an article from International Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR111796746...egoryid=19&cs=1
Broadway behind bars
German prisoners put on historical play
By ED MEZABERLIN Forget "Prison Break." In Berlin, local prisoners are putting on their own show.

Aufbruch, a theater group working at the Justizvollzugsanstalt Tegel (JVA Tegel) correctional facility, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year with "Raeuber.Goetz" (Robber Goetz). The open-air stage production, which premiered at the prison June 13, is inspired by Goethe's "Goetz von Berlichingen" and Friedrich Schiller's "The Robbers."

Like those 18th century works, and in the tradition of more modern tales depicting the noble criminal, from "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" to, well, "Prison Break," "Raeuber.Goetz" is a celebration of the mythic outlaw as folk hero.

It's the story of Goetz, a knight pushed aside by both the church and the nobility, who, in a time of social upheaval, joins a marauding band of rebellious peasants, only to be caught and imprisoned.

Naturally, it's a story many inmates can relate to.

Director Peter Atanassow, who has helmed JVA Tegel productions for the past five years, tends to select historical German works that explore the often overlapping themes of crime and revolution.

"Without criminal energy, revolution is not possible," Atanassow says.

And it's that criminal energy that makes working with his actors exciting.

"We work with unusual people, people who tend to exceed normal limits," adds the director. "Their personalities have been shaped by the fact that they are not confined by social restrictions. That's what you look for in good actors -- people who go beyond their limit."

While the performers include hardcore criminals -- among them murderers, muggers and sex offenders -- the group employs a casting system that weeds out potential troublemakers, overly aggressive types and drug addicts. In addition, weapons or weapon-like props are not normally used, with the exception of last year's adaptation of sword-wielding Teutonic saga "Nibelungen."

For the 25 inmates who make up the prison ensemble, Aufbruch provides an opportunity at least to taste artistic freedom while sitting out their sentences behind bars.

One of the Aufbruch team's main goals is to bring together people from the outside and from the inside by way of theater. The actors and audience members have about 30 minutes of discussion time after each performance.

In addition to theater work at Tegel prison, Atanassow and his seven-member Aufbruch team work in Berlin throughout the year with former prisoners who have retained a passion for theater. In 2004, Atanassow also directed a production at a Moscow youth correctional facility as part of a Berlin-Moscow cultural event, although the project's long-term prospects were nullified by lack of funds.

Due to the high security measures at JVA Tegel, seating at the open-air theater is limited to 200, and auds are kept locked in during perfs. Theatergoers also must reserve tickets at least five days ahead of the performance, provide detailed personal information, present a picture I.D. at the prison and submit to a full security check.

Nevertheless, the shows are regularly sold out.

The correctional facility will host a total of six performances through July.
Visit the Bad Girls Annex!

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
DontUWish
No Avatar
Out of Dorm
A bit off the current subject, but I want to mention an amazing, award-winning book about life in prison. It's called "The Lizard Cage," and is written by Canadian author Karen Connelly.

You can read more about it here: http://www.karenconnelly.ca/

I don't really have the words to describe the book. It's haunting and beautiful ... an absolute must-read.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
abzug
Member Avatar
In love with a prisoner
Swedish sex offender gets porn in prison
Convicted rapist cannot be denied his magazines behind bars, court rules

Updated: 10:18 p.m. ET June 26, 2007
STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A convicted sex offender in Sweden got a court ruling in his favor on Tuesday, officials said: pornography in prison.

The Supreme Court in Stockholm said the country's prison system could not deny an imprisoned rapist his porn magazines.

Officials had tried to argue that reading pornography hinders the man's rehabilitation. They claim it increases the risk of the man relapsing into criminal behavior and assaulting other inmates.

The court disagreed, saying the prison system had failed to prove the illicit magazines could "jeopardize the security of the institution."

Prison authorities said other pornographic material, such as adult movies, TV channels and Web sites, are not permitted in Swedish prisons. Child and violent pornography are also banned.

Visit the Bad Girls Annex!

Posted Image
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
badgirlnuts
Member Avatar
G2 landing
Catwalking Behind Bars? Interested? Read on:

Jailhouse frock: the Italian prison with designs on fashion

John Hooper
Monday May 21, 2007

Guardian
If there is any city on Earth where people could be persuaded to believe in the idea of redemption through fashion, it is Milan. So it is not surprising that women prisoners there get an opportunity to carve out a future in frocks. A cooperative, known as Alice, operates in the city's jails, turning out garments to the exacting standards of local fashion houses and theatrical and television costume designers.

One of the project's most enthusiastic backers is Anna Molinari, the designer behind Blumarine and a force in Milanese fashion since the late 70s. Now the prisoners are intending to give her, and Milan's other designers, some extra competition.

This month they marked the cooperative's 15th birthday with a fashion show at the San Vittore prison where lime satin evening dresses, soft daytime shifts and lacy leggings wafted down a catwalk against a backdrop of gridded glass and concrete. They also announced that they would be launching their own brand within months.

So far, the prisoners' only independent venture has been a line of T-shirts, the Gatti galeotti, whose black-and-white stripes manage to get across the prison theme while espousing this season's fondness for monochrome. "Since we don't have outlets of our own, they are mostly sold through libraries," says Ida Piermarini, a volunteer who looks after Alice's paperwork.

Currently, some 30 dressmakers are involved. Ten or so are being trained (prisoners who attend classes get a token that can be exchanged for, among other things, a packet of cigarettes). About the same number are working either at San Vittore or the Opera prison. The rest are at Alice's headquarters in the centre of Milan, which is staffed by inmates on day release and ex-prisoners who have opted to stay in the cooperative.

Alessandro Brevi, its president, says one former prisoner has set up a tailoring and alterations shop. "She has already hired three other ex-inmates to help out."

So does redemption through fashion actually work? It seems so. Piermarini says that of the 100-plus women who have joined since Alice was founded "only one has gone back inside".
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
badgirlnuts
Member Avatar
G2 landing
Yahoo! Canada News
Tasty food tempts prisoners to stay in Indian jail

Thu Jun 21, 3:39 AM

BANGALORE, India (AFP) - Inmates at a prison in southern India are eating so well that many are reluctant to leave while other convicted criminals are trying to move in, a newspaper said Thursday.

The Parappana Agrahara prison in Bangalore is crowded with 4,700 inmates, more than twice its capacity, because small-time criminals are refusing to apply for bail, according to the Bangalore Mirror.

Juvenile offenders are also overstating their age to qualify as adults and enter the facility, the newspaper added.

The reason is the healthy food served by ISKCON, or the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, a Hindu evangelist organisation, said the paper, whose reporters visited the facility.

ISKCON, commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, started serving its pure-vegetarian fare in the jail on May 21 under contract from the prisons department.

Lunch and dinner typically include piping hot rice, two vegetables and a spicy lentil dish called sambar and buttermilk. A dessert is added on festival days and national holidays like Independence Day, and also once a week.

"When we are getting tasty, nutritious food three times a day here, why should we go out and commit crimes," said prisoner Raja Reddy, who has been arrested 20 times in 30 years for theft, robbery and burglary.

"Our going out of the prison will only benefit pawnbrokers who purchase stolen items at a throwaway price from us, advocates who fleece us to fight our case and the police who collect bribes," Reddy was quoted as saying.

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.
Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Canada Co. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
solitasolano
Member Avatar

The Muppets!
Last night while cursing the web I had the tv in the background to an MSNBC show on a women's prison in North Carolina. Interesting.
As always, me and the gf laugh at what the women wear in prison on Bad Girls...I know the regulations allow personal items of clothing, but here in the US even at the county jail level here in Los Angeles, inmates where bland plain outfits as issued by the prisons...it's the military type idea to deindividualize the inmate...and boy are the outfits ugly...that's why we always laugh at when we see Yvonne Atkins in her leather pants or Shell in her off the shoulder outfits...just not a US thing..
Other things from the NC Women's Prison Program:
*The #1 Warden was a smartly dressed ie suited black woman prone to soft and deliberate speech. Similar demeanor to our favorite wing gov.
*Lot more violent women housed in sections just for that level of behavior.
*The "bulldaggers" all hung out together in the yard (that's how the inmates referred to themselves). Sex between inmates is against the rules, they talked about intricate schemes of diverson planned when a couple wanted to have sex.
*A major inmate activity is loan sharking...those involved says it takes up most of their time...no loan sharking episodes in BGs S1-3 as I recall.
*Male officers have to be accompanied by a female officer in inmate living space.
*Way too many women in jail as a consequence of their domestic violence situation. (my editorial)
*Large number of women pregnant in jail.
*Drug related (including theft and assault) convictions deproportionally high.
*LOL one of the cush jobs for inmates is answering the 800 number for North Carolina Tourism...one inmate said it's her "freedom". Think I'll call and ask...are you in jail? Do you know Nikki?
*Ok, so some of the inmates got to wear jeans, white tshirts and sweatshirts...but still the clothes the Larkhall ladies get to wear is foriegn to US jail experience.

eta: Need to add * Lot's of tattoes. Lots
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ekny
No Avatar
In love with a prisoner
Mail on Sunday
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
solitasolano
Member Avatar

The Muppets!
See? It all comes back to "Women in Prison".
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Join the millions that use us for their forum communities. Create your own forum today.
Learn More · Register Now
Go to Next Page
« Previous Topic · The Comfy Sofa · Next Topic »
Add Reply