Faith in prison opportunities (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Faith in prison opportunities

Doug Moon is the new man in charge at Erlestoke PrisonGAZETTE INTERVIEW: ERLESTOKE prisoners do not go in for grassing up other inmates but they are encouraged to do a bit of therapeutic feedback.

New governor Doug Moon revealed this week that this was one way his officers were able to keep a lid on the drugs problem that affects all prisons.

Mr Moon said: "We often work on intelligence received. Some inmates don't like their colleagues rocking the boat and will give my officers information on that basis, rather than gaining any kudos with them.

"We call it "therapeutic feedback", rather than "grassing".

"Inmates will sometimes be "plugged", bringing the drugs in condoms that they have swallowed. They don't seem to understand the danger they are in if they burst.

"We are not authorised to carry out internal searches, so we isolate them until nature takes its course. We know they've got drugs inside them because the dogs can smell them."

Mr Moon is a firm believer that prisons are part of the process of rehabilitating offenders and releasing them as useful members of society.

He said he and his colleagues are up against the public ethos of "hang 'em and flog 'em" but are still determined to offer prisoners a range of training opportunities that would give them a fighting chance of living a law-abiding life when they are back on the outside.

Mr Moon said: "The majority of those that offend are those of the lowest ten per cent academic ability. A lot can't read or write.

"Our priority here is to get them to understand their educational gaps and then help them do something about it. They are virtually unemployable because they have not education enough to take on more than a basic type of job and are not disciplined enough to turn up on time."

At the prison there are a wide range of educational and training opportunities, which around half of inmates take up. They can learn trades including catering, horticulture and physical education.

Those approaching the end of their sentences can get experience working in the local community and two schools in the Devizes area work very happily with prisoners who are training in horticulture and PE.

Three current inmates have secured degrees through the Open University.

But none of this can be achieved without the will of the individual inmate. He has to want to improve himself and sometimes the chip on the shoulder is so large that he prefers to sulk and do the minimum.

Mr Moon said: "We have to convince them, you're in here anyway, you might as well take advantage of what we have to offer."

Mr Moon is a 55-year-old father of three, who is taking over at Erlestoke after more than 30 years in the Prison Service.

This is his first time in overall control of his own prison and he is relishing the challenge.

Erlestoke has had five governors in almost as many years. Jayne Blake was at the prison for three years before she was replaced by the high-flying Claudia Sturt, before she was head-hunted for the challenging Dartmoor Prison governorship.

Clive Broom took over in October 2003, promising to be a long-term appointment. Sadly, ill health meant that he had to move on, to be replaced temporarily by his deputy.

Then an acting governor was put in before Mr Moon arrived in February and took over in the post in April.

He said the prison has not suffered dramatically because of the frequent changes of personnel at the top. He said: "Erlestoke is a Category C prison and not particularly large.

"It is the perfect place for senior managers destined to take over larger prisons to pick up some experience at running a prison before moving onwards and upwards."

Though small it has a capacity of 426 prisoners and is frequently close to that.

Erlestoke suffers the same problems evident in other parts of the prison system. The abuse of drugs is a major one but prison staff have had great success in clamping down on drugs being smuggled into the prison.

Some inmates have been intercepted bringing drugs into the prison on return from home visits.

The prison's administration is regularly scrutinised by the Independent Monitoring Board, a group from the local community which assesses all aspects of the way the prison is run.

In its last report, concern was raised at the number of Category B prisoners, those with more challenging behaviour who would normally be held in more secure accommodation than Erlestoke, who have been transferred to the prison.

But Mr Moon said this was a misconception. "The board is used to prisoners who are compliant and polite, and don't exhibit challenging behaviour," he said.

"As far as the Prison Service is concerned, the inn is full. We have to find places for them all and we must run very close to capacity.

"A risk assessment is carried out and if that says the prisoner is stable in a Category B prison, then he is considered for transfer to Category C."

Mr Moon said he is delighted with the team he has now pulled together and is looking forward to a long and healthy relationship with the community at Erlestoke, both outside and inside the establishment.