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Angry prisoners torch English jail

vast minority | 01.01.2011 22:08 | South Coast

ANGRY prisoners have torched a jail in southern England.

The only information currently available is from corporate media sources.

It seems six accomodation blocks at an open prison have been destroyed after inmates went on the rampage and started fires - allegedly over attempts to breathalyse them.

The riot, at HMP Ford near Arundel, West Sussex, began at around midnight.

It involved around 40 prisoners wearing balaclavas to protect their identities who smashed windows and activated fire alarms.

The inmates, led by men from B wing, set alight five blocks in the morning, with another three on fire by noon.

Staff were forced to retreat and specialist control and restraint teams and fire fighters were called in.

The riot was triggered after some prisoners refused to be breathalysed for alcohol, according to Mark Freeman, deputy general secretary of the Prison Officers Association.

Mr Freeman said a large amount of alcohol had been found in the jail and staff had been trying to get inmates to take a breath test for several days.

Reporters at the scene said plumes of smoke could be seen above the prison all morning.

The fires had destroyed six accomodation blocks, a mail room, a gym, a snooker room and a pool room with 10 new tables, they said.

The loss of the accomodation means about 160 inmates will have to be moved to other jails.

A Prison Service spokesman said: 'We can confirm that around 140 additional prison service staff have arrived at Ford to support the local staff in bringing the prison under full control'."

vast minority
- Homepage: http://www.vastminority.blogspot.com

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Gym, Snooker room and pool room?

01.01.2011 23:20

Is it a prison or a recreation center?

I've got a job and I can't really afford this things. Its a complete piss take.

Given that they've burnt them, I guess that will mean they will go without from now on
Sadly, i fear that isn't true. This country is soft and pathetic - too much human rights bollox and socialism. If they've burnt them down, then don't rebuild them - otherwise you are just a complete laughing stock

Crazy mike


@Crazy Mike

02.01.2011 06:08

It is well documented fact that most people, especially those at lower category prisons such as Arundel should not even be in prison. The British 'government' has become a fasist regime, regardless of party as they are all under the corporate thumb now.

Britain has been turned into a corporate sweat shop. All those working pay income tax, national insurance, etc. Also, even those who are unemployed, sick, disabled or senior citizens [many of whom have worked and paid taxes for many years] are expected to pay VAT, TV Licenses, Parking Tickets, etc, etc.

Most people, apart from the criminals in expensive suits, are having a hard time now. Many of those in prison should not be there. It is only because parliament is churning out new laws by the thousands every year that almost everyone is breaking more than half a dozen laws as I write these words. So the police and other gov departments can pick and choose who they prosecute and what for.

When are we going to have a war crimes tribunal for Tony Blair and Gang... or do the police only pick on helpless students and old ladies these days?

Chew on that for a while.

Klamber


Agree with Klamber

02.01.2011 08:20

I am fed up with this lazy assumption that all "criminals"= bad, all non criminals=good. Just think. Those in prison are all individuals, some I agree will have done some evil and disgusting things for which there is no excuse, some will have done horrendous things but are also victims, some will have not done anything which harmed another, some are in prison because they did the RIGHT thing for example defended themselves or the vulnerable when attacked, some are utterly innocent and some are framed by the police. Anyone can end up in prison. For example it is necessary for a Temporary Events Notice to be obtained for all sorts of trivia these days, suppose a community group fail to apply for one as the budget is tight and they don't even know about this piece of red tape? Well when they all get 5 years each no doubt these criminals should be just given bread and water and whipped daily?
If the owner of a nursing home continues to employ a trusted worker after 2015 when registration with the ISA becomes mandatory if the ISA don't like what the police say about that worker they can refuse registration, the employer can then be sent to prison for 5 years.
A woman from Jamaica who has her children seriously threatened with murder unless she becomes a drug mule she is scum as well eh? What would any decent person do in that situation? I personally would do what I could to protect my children.
No doubt the asylum seekers who have narrowly escaped torment and death, many of whom are children deserve to be treated like shit as well? Just tell me those who think prisons should be far worse, what exactly would you do if you were being hunted by a mob of murderers? Try and escape (which often makes you a criminal in the UK) or just wait for them to come and kill you?
I don't know the answer to what we as a society do with those who prey on the weak, who make people's lives hell, the abusers, the rapists, of course those who mug old ladies and rape children need to be dealt with. I do know however that the legal system is not perfect and that many innocent people end up behind bars, many guilty walk the streets including the CEOs of multinationals who kill and maim, those who desecrate the environment and police officers who lie in court and fit people up.

Lynn Sawyer


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Crazy Mike has a point actually

02.01.2011 10:56

"I don't know the answer to what we as a society do with those who prey on the weak, who make people's lives hell, the abusers, the rapists, of course those who mug old ladies and rape children need to be dealt with. "

How convenient. In any event, this was posted by a renowned AR nut-job so it's best ignored.

Not So Crazy Barry


The worm has turned

02.01.2011 11:50

"I don't know the answer to what we as a society do with those who prey on the weak, who make people's lives hell, the abusers, the rapists, of course those who mug old ladies and rape children need to be dealt with. "

I do - Put them in prison where they can't hurt the public any longer.
Its not a 100% solution but its better than anything else anyone has come up with.
We can all sit on the fence and say "well, i don't know, there must be a better way..."
But, there isn't. Nasty people don't listen to nice. They take advantage of it - thats why they are there in the first place!! Stop having this victim mentality

Anyway, my point was about the 1st class facilities that these prisoners get and how they decided it was a good idea to torch them because they were to be breathalysed to check for contraband alcohol.

To me, those don't sound like particular nice people as Lynn has conveyed. They sound like nasty people.

And, as one of the people who has to pay taxes to build them a new snooker hall, my point is "why?". Why not spend the money on something useful like better Dentists.
Its a complete waste of money to rebuild a snooker room if they felt fit to burn it down. There is better things to spend money on than a bunch of children who decided to throw their toys out of the pram. They've still got it good. If they want to play hardball - so be it.

Crazy Mike


Cesspit

02.01.2011 12:55

Klamber,

Re your when are we going to have Blair and co tried for war crimes! But, there won,t be any "...when", so forget it. Blair is apparently paid millions of £s by various Arab countries for his so-called advice he doles out to them. He's getting Millions! He and co are not deemed by all and sundry to be war criminals. War is a sure-fire money-making trend. I read that the International Court of Justice will try anybody for war crimes, no matter what official position they had and nor how rich they are. A fallacy, that! Riches are a 100% protector. And, moreover, there is class distinction globally, in every country of this world. The only ones who get prosecuted are those who don't kowtow to the globe's big bully boy rulers and their subservient henchmen. God, this world you created is but one titanic evil cesspit. Powered by greed, dominance, corruption, hypocrasy et al ! Even the ancient great Roman Empire suffered inflation, a huge downturn in its economy, its erstwhile hugely wealthy economy amassed from plundering the weak nations. The only escape from all this evil is death. Talking of war crimes, what about those who actually design and those who manufacture all the bullets, shells, rockets, weapons et al? Maybe they, too, are war criminals.

Francis Giles


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stats though

02.01.2011 14:13

You have a point there but I must just add that, like the ALF etc mob throwing paint over woman with fur coats due to it being an animal skin, I never saw them turn up to a biker rally and throw paint over a bunch of hells angels.
The anti manufacturers will go for soft targets like H&Ks or BAE but will never travel to russia,china etc and protest outside the Kalashnikov factories, the weapon of choice in 100% of armed conflicts for the last 50 years, responsible for the vast majority of deaths in these conflicts, most of the aircraft used dont come from BAE,way too expensive, they come from India,south africa, china and the russian states.

so going to stand up to the real manufactures or are you, like the paint throwers, just go for easy soft and unimportant targets.

to believe is risk, the red cross and MSF do that, they go and do the difficult things in bad places.
symbolism is nothing, belief is nothing without appropriate action.

anon


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i love crying about things like a fucking toad

02.01.2011 19:59

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

baby mike


Some-one get babymike a Waaaaambulance

02.01.2011 20:03

COPS AND SCREWS NEED BEATINGS

I love dead cops and judges


prison does not work

03.01.2011 00:29

only 5% of the prison population are considered to be a risk to wider society even by the people who lock them up.

most people who are inside are there without having harmed any living creature, and often because of crimes of poverty, like the women who are forced into acting as drugs mules to protect or provide for their kids.

others are there because of addictions which they robbed to feed, various kinds of fraud, or because they never learnt to settle a disagreement any other way than with violence.

prison is supposed to be a deterrent - stopping offenders from re-offending and stopping the rest of us from ever offending.

looked at recently or over the entire history of the existence of prisons, it is unarguable and proven fact that prison does not stop people from offending or re-offending. it has no positive effect on crime levels whatsoever.

On the other hand, with the exception of the 5% cited above which usually involved serious interpersonal violence such as rape or murder (a tiny minority in the prison system) research and practise shows that a combination of restorative justice and community service does prevent re-offending. crime prevention measures and better social service provision to families can prevent offending as well as re-offending. better education and childcare also helps. a huge proportion of the prison population grew up in care and/or is illiterate.

isn't it time we started looking at what actually works instead of what satisfies our desire for revenge when someone wrongs us by stealing our car stereo?

sane mike


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Oh dear. The end of indymedia?

03.01.2011 01:23

i love crying about things like a fucking toad
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
baby mike
Some-one get babymike a Waaaaambulance
COPS AND SCREWS NEED BEATINGS
I love dead cops and judges


You lot need to get out more. You sound like fucking children. Dicks

Cable stater


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Works for me; not really bothered about them

03.01.2011 01:49

>>prison does not work
>> only 5% of the prison population are considered to be a risk to wider society even by the people who lock them up. most people who are inside are there without having harmed any living creature, and often because of crimes of poverty, like the women who are forced into acting as drugs mules to protect or provide for their kids.

Pardon me but bollox. Everyone who steals is a risk to wider society for starters. What if your nice laptop is stolen and you arnt insured? Thats the risk.
That is a heck of a lot of drug mules.... So how i don't believe even a tiny fraction are all drug mules. I think most are there for petty crimes off their own backs.

>>> others are there because of addictions which they robbed to feed, various kinds of fraud, or because they never learnt to settle a disagreement any other way than with violence.

Yes, robbing, fraud, violence against....... innocent people.

>> prison is supposed to be a deterrent - stopping offenders from re-offending and stopping the rest of us from ever offending.

Errr no.... Prison's primary purpose is to protect the public from these people's actions.
Rehabilitation comes secondary. THe public and the victims should be the priority not the reformation of the criminal - that comes secondary. Always put the innocent and victims first, not last.

>> looked at recently or over the entire history of the existence of prisons, it is unarguable and proven fact that prison does not stop people from offending or re-offending. it has no positive effect on crime levels whatsoever.

And your maverick suggestion is.........?

>> On the other hand, with the exception of the 5% cited above which usually involved serious interpersonal violence such as rape or murder (a tiny minority in the prison system) research and practise shows that a combination of restorative justice and community service does prevent re-offending. crime prevention measures and better social service provision to families can prevent offending as well as re-offending. better education and childcare also helps. a huge proportion of the prison population grew up in care and/or is illiterate.

So.... lets get this straight. I've got a choice, I can be robbed from my hard-earnt money or I can be taxed it to spend on these people because they seem to struggle to look after themselves and need social service provisions / better education / childcare etc etc.
Either way, I'm going to be a lot worse off because of these people.

isn't it time we started looking at what actually works instead of what satisfies our desire for revenge when someone wrongs us by stealing our car stereo?

Revenge? No you completely misunderstand......... this is the reason........
I bet you that the tax option will leave me a lot worse off than just putting them in jail and suffering the occasional theft. I can't afford to pay for all these things that these people need to stop them acting like animals. I get by without robbing people, what makes them so special? Who is going to pay for all this reformation? I'm certainly not - I've got my own things I need to spend my hard-earnt money on.

I suppose they could lumber the reformed prisoner with the costs as a long term debt would be one solution I would possibly compromise on.

Sorry but they are adults. They cry about wanting to be treated like adults so here it is. They makes these choices as adults. Whens the last time you went to a shop and robbed them at knifepoint? Never? Well why not? Because you thought it would be wrong is probably the right answer. You've made a conscious decision and weighted up the risks just like I have and decided "I will not rob that shop."

They are adults. They makes these choices, if they get away with it then they pat themselves on the back and spend the cash on something recreational, if they are caught and put in prison then they moan about how repressed they are. Its a tired story - sorry i'm not that much of a wet lettuce to fall for it even if you are.

They repeat offend because they arnt nice people who have no morals about stealing stuff off other people. Its really not complex stuff this.


insane mike


@Crazy Mike

03.01.2011 10:02

I don't think I made myself clear. I have no idea on whether the prisoners were "nasty", "nice" or a bit of both, I also have no better idea on how to deal with the quoted 5% of people who are a danger to others. I did once attend a workshop concerning prisons and was told that if we had an anarchist society no-one would do terrible things such as abuse children, I think that this is utter bollocks. We had freedom tens of thousands of years ago and what happened was that some people threw their weight around and used terror to get what they wanted, they became the ruling classes,Of course someone who is happy to use violence against those weaker, to prey on others, to live off the backs of others just becomes another ruling class. No I will not lament for someone in prison for mugging an old lady or kicking someone to death, nor will I make excuses for them, or blame it on capitalism. My point was that the 80,000 prisoners in the UK are a diverse bunch and any of us could join their ranks after for example defending ourselves from an attacker or being on a demo' which turns a bit lively. To assune that everyone in prison is a "baddie" is just simplistic, many are just ordinary folk, and bear in mind that many evil barstads will never even be arrested and many atrocities are not even seen as crimes by the state.
If I was in prison and someone offered me brandy I wouldn't say no, nor would I passively do what the screws told me either.

Lynn Sawyer


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