[Allegedly], infamous women's jail set for the axe in radical penal policy shift.UK: It has housed some of Britain's most notorious women prisoners, including Moors murderer Myra Hindley, serial killer Rose West, Diana Mosley, aristocratic wife of fascist leader Oswald Mosley and, most recently, Maxine Carr, girlfriend of Soham murderer Ian Huntley.
[Great way for the ruling class Observer Newpaper to start an article on prisons and punishment for women? Why not start with serial killer, the Observer Newspaper? So they are so notorious you sell more papers? Just sensational crap.]
But now Holloway prison in north London - where Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain, was hanged in 1955 - [Sensational, why don't they hang the Observer Newspaper?], has been earmarked for closure, along with several other women's prisons, which have been hit by a spate of suicides. [?]
[Women killing themselves because of 'prison conditions' how gross is that? Worst than murder that is 'mass murder' by the ruling class and exploited by the Observer Newspaper.]
Martin Narey, the Home Office's head of correctional services, aims to move all women out of prisons such as Holloway and into new purpose-built jails that will deal with high levels of drug dependency and mental illness. More than two-thirds of women who arrive in prison need detox treatment for alcohol or drug addiction.
[So that statement makes it 'sound like' the women have the problems of committing suicide and it's not the prisons fault? And the suicides are not based on the hell hole what they are sent to?]
The closure would mark the end of an institution that has long attracted the concerns of both penal reformers and the government. In 1996 conditions at the prison prompted the then chief inspector of prisons, Sir David Ramsbotham, to walk out in disgust on his first visit.
Although the prison took steps to improve, further inquiries revealed that Holloway still fell short of standards. Last year the Prison Inspectorate raised concerns about the conditions for teenage girls and the regime was described as grossly inadequate, with little awareness of child protection procedures.
The first signs of, [the alleged], radical shift in British penal policy have already begun with the closure of the notorious women's wing at Durham prison, which has housed some of the most dangerous female prisoners.
[There we go again the women were so dangerous, what does that mean? It doesn't matter if they were screwed over by the system?]
The women will be moved to two new purpose-built private women's prisons, HMP Bronzefield at Ashford in Middlesex and Peterborough, which will house more than 800 inmates, [prisoners.]
A massive rise in the male population has already led to the closure of the female wing at HMP Winchester and Edmunds Hill, a women's prison in Suffolk will start to convert to a male prison next month. Other women's prisons targeted for closure are Brockhill in the West Midlands and Styal near Manchester, which have both had serious problems with suicide and self-harm among inmates, [prisoners. Not self-harm, but bad conditions harm!]
No timescale has been put on the closure plans because, at present, both men and women's prisons are near full capacity. But Narey believes the courts can be persuaded to jail fewer women.
He will come under fire from penal reformers, who argue that women prisoners need small residential secure units near to the homes to avoid disrupting their families. The Observer understands that Narey has categorically ruled out this option as too expensive.
Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said Narey's plans 'would simply replace one kind of warehouse with another' and that women would still be sent to prisons hundreds of miles from their homes.
'Rather than large private purpose-built jails miles from their homes and the support they need, most women who offend need drug treatment, mental health care, parenting support and legitimate ways to get out of debt,' she said.
She added that the Home Office was committed to finding imaginative alternatives to prison for women and the private building programme did not provide this.
There are around 4,500 women in Britain's prisons, a figure that has almost trebled in a decade. But the Home Office 'believes', [what does that mean?] that new sentencing guidelines and an emphasis on community sentences will persuade magistrates and juries to send fewer women to jail.
[Regadless of what the ruling class alleged, home office believes, that is just plain rubbish and propaganda, to those being 'murdered' by poor condiitons. Who would believe the home office of well to do ruling class gits anyway? The alleged, Observer!]
More female inmates, [prisoners for fuck sake], have been convicted of shoplifting than any other crime. [Stealing from rich gits.] Two-thirds of women enter prison on remand.
Home Office figures show that 40 per cent of those who are sentenced serve three months or less. Bronzefield, which is run by the private contractor UK Detention Services, opened last month. It is the first purpose-built women's prison in Britain since the Victorian Holloway was completely rebuilt in the 1970s. Built as series of low-rise house blocks, it is designed to be less intimidating, [?], than a men's jail. Peterborough, also run by UKDS, will open next year.
By Martin Bright, [MI5,6?] posted 26 July 04
My Sarah was smart and talented - Why did she die in jail?
LONDON: Sarah Campbell was just 18 when she killed herself [? committed suicide,] one of seven women to die in jail this year. Our correspondent asks why so many women kill themselves in prison [? commit suicide in prison.]
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My Sarah was smart and talented - Why did she die in jail?
LONDON: Sarah Campbell was just 18 when she killed herself [? committed suicide,] one of seven women to die in jail this year. Our correspondent asks why so many women kill themselves in prison [? commit suicide in prison.]
