Young offenders at Midlands prison ‘dehumanised' by violence, say mothers
HMP Swinfen Hall, near Lichfield, Staffordshire, has seen a growing number of disturbances, including the intervention of riot officers. The prison officers union last month called for the Ministry of Justice to intervene and clear the place of weapons after several staff members were attacked.
On Friday, an air ambulance was called to the prison for at least the third time this year – this time in response to an alleged stabbing of a prisoner.
Three mothers of inmates have spoken out about conditions inside the prison for about 600 inmates, because of fears for the safety and sanity of their sons within the Category C prison.
Rachel, 43, from Preston, said her 22-year-old son, who has been in Swinfen for two years, was slashed on his hand on Thursday by an inmate during the one hour in which he is allowed to leave his cell each day.
'Someone just produced a weapon and swiped at his hand,' she said. 'When my son asked why he had been slashed, the attacker said: 'I never liked you.' That is what Swinfen is like. They are free to dehumanise and degrade and stab each other. There are not enough guards and many don't have enough experience to handle the violence.
'My son says that so many prisoners have so many weapons that he prays every day that this isn't the day that he gets stabbed. But then it finally happened.
'I know, and he knows, that he deserves to be punished. He deserves to have his liberty taken away. But there is no rehabilitation and there is no protection and the threats are constant… They are locked in their cells for most of the day. And when they get out of the cells, there are drugs and knives everywhere.
'So he stays in his cell for 23 hours a day, in constant fear. Because he is in for a sex crime, he has items stolen, his clothes have been urinated upon, and his food is spat on. He is scared that he will be attacked in the shower and went weeks without having a wash because he was warned he would be attacked.
'He still hasn't had a sentencing plan and so can't get on any educational courses. I have asked if he could be sent to a prison in Lancashire so he can try to maintain close links with his dad and his siblings, but instead he is stuck surrounded by gangs stabbing each other,' she said.
Marie, 50, from Warwick, whose 26-year-old son is serving a seven-and-a-half year sentence for a violent assault, said he was becoming more violent inside the prison in order to survive.
'He hears the guards preparing to open his door and he gets ready, gets his trainers on, because he has to be instantly prepared to fight. Attacks happen that quickly. It has happened to him before.
'I don't want him out of jail. He is in there to learn a lesson. But he is not being rehabilitated. In fact, he is getting more violent because that's the only way he can survive.'
Dawn, 58, whose 21-year-old son is autistic, has a borderline personality disorder and is serving a seven-year sentence, said she was given regular reports on stabbings, gang fights, beatings and attacks of prison officers witnessed by her son.
'He has lost three stones in weight in eight months and is losing his hair from the stress of being in such a violent environment. He has said he wants to take his own life and I'm worried he's going to get a knife in his back. The security at the prison is lax – you do not get properly searched on the way in. No wonder there are so many weapons and drugs.'
Their claims come days after Shabana Mahmood, the lord chancellor, accepted many of the recommendations of a sentencing review, in the hope that it would ease overcrowding and reduce tensions in prisons in England and Wales.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: 'This government inherited a prison system in crisis. Our landmark sentencing reforms will reduce violence by making prisoners earn their release through good behaviour, while our £4.7bn investment will deliver 14,000 new prison places.
'We take the safety and wellbeing of staff and prisoners extremely seriously, and we don't hesitate to push for the strongest possible punishment for those who break the rules.'
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