Violent prison staff 'evaded punishment' 

       Special report: prisons 

       Vikram Dodd
       Monday September 17, 2001
       The Guardian 

       The head of the prison service has admitted for the first time
       that prison officers who beat up inmates at the scandal hit
       Wormwood Scrubs jail have gone unpunished. 

       The admission by Martin Narey, director general of the prison
       service, came in a Guardian interview after a set of trials over
       brutality allegations at the jail. 

       Six officers out of 27 tried were convicted in the biggest prison
       abuse scandal in a British jail in modern times. 

       But lawyers representing alleged victims and prison reform
       groups say far more officers than the six convicted attacked
       inmates. 

       Mr Narey said the assaults happened at a time when a "culture
       of violence" infected the west London jail. 

       The prison service is facing 41 civil actions from serving and
       former inmates alleging they were assaulted in the Scrubs. The
       service has settled four cases of assault out of court. 

       Mr Narey told the Guardian: "I do not think these were the only
       incidents of violence. I would be naive to suggest there weren't
       other incidents at Wormwood Scrubs where other prisoners
       were abused. 

       "There was a culture of violence at Wormwood Scrubs which was
       utterly unacceptable at the time of these appaling assaults." 

       He said that the culture of violence had now been excised from
       the Scrubs. 

       "I celebrate the fact that six people who were prison officers
       and acted in a criminal fashion, and who deeply abused their
       trust have been sent to jail," Mr Narey said. 

       Last week the home secretary, David Blunkett, received a dossier
       of allegations about the jail as evidence to support calls that
       he should set up a full judicial public inquiry into violence at
       the jail and how it was allowed to persist. 

       Sir David Ramsbotham, the former chief inspector of prisons,
       said a public inquiry was needed into "the failure of managers
       and senior prison service managers to do anything when they
       knew what was happening, because they were being told". 

       http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,552982,00.html

       -----------------------------------------------------------

       2003 update, from "The Independent" 

       Independent
       1. Taxpayer to foot £2m bill for prison brutality
          scandal
    
       11 February 2003
       The hidden cost of the prison officer brutality scandal at
       Wormwood Scrubs in London is expected to exceed £2m, with 
       the Government compensating inmates in a succession of 
       out-of-court settlements.

       -----------------------------------------------------------

       "Perceptions" note:-

       Do you believe that a "culture of violence has been excised"
       from British prisons ?

       While the corrupt systems that bred the violence are 
       remaining in place, with no effective checks?

       And when corrupt, complacent prison governors and 
       managers who permitted the violence also remain in place?

       Well, if you believe that - sell you a gold brick? 

       ----------------------------------------------------------- 

              FURTHER REFERENCES

  GO - "search perceptions" - in SEARCH-ENGINE


file-ID www.perceptions.couk.com/bentgovs.txt