“We were all inexperienced once” was the answer given to the
Stockton North MP today during questions to the Ministry of Justice
after he raised concerns about 18 year olds replacing experienced
prisons officers at Stockton’s Holme House prison.
Speaking in the Commons earlier today, asked:
“The Minister will be aware of the major drug finds and related
problems at Holme House Prison in my constituency which has seen
experienced officers leave and replaced by 18 year old recruits.
“Does the Minister really think that recruiting youngsters is the
answer to meet the needs of our increasing prison population, the
answer to tackle drugs, or solve the crisis in the service?”
MP, the Prisons Minister,
responded by saying that “we were all inexperienced once” in an
attempt to justify criminals being looked after by officers
straight out of school.
Speaking after the questions to the Ministry for Justice, Alex
said:
“Holme House is facing tremendous problems. In the last few
months alone drugs have been found 81 times and on one occasion
there was a haul of nearly six kilos of Spice worth £200,000; the
prison has, in common with others, seen increased violence; and
last month a prisoner was found hanged in his cell.
“For the Minister to dismiss the very real concerns of prison
officers with his off-the-cuff remark demonstrates either utter
complacency or a total lack of understanding of what our prisons
need.
“These kind of incidents show being a prison officer is a
challenging and dangerous job and is very different to starting
an apprenticeship in an engineering company or working in a call
centre. We need highly-trained experts looking after the inmates
– the minister’s response simply isn’t good enough.”
