Acacia Prison, Wooroloo, Australia
November 26, 2004 The West Australian
A drug dealer is suing the company that runs WA's only private prison over an injury he sustained while working in the prison workshop. Pasquale "Peter" Mancini has twice been operated on at Hollywood Private Hospital while serving a 10 1/2-year jail term resulting from police operations that netted big amounts of heroin, cocaine and speed. He launched legal proceedings against Australian Integration Management Services this month over the rupturing of his pectoral muscle. His writ alleges he was exposed to danger while working as the leading hand at the Acacia Prison workshop and wasn't given prompt medical treatment, exacerbating the injury. He claims AIMS failed to maintain a safe system of work, required him to lift boards alone, and did not provide mechanical or other assistance.

April 7, 2004
GUARDS at privately run Acacia Prison in Wooroloo remained on strike last night in a stand-off with prison management over the guards' claim of dangerously low numbers of staff and the suspension of a union delegate. About 100 guards on strike claim that Australian Integration Management Services does not put enough staff on each shift to ensure safe working conditions. The union wants at least 32 guards on a shift to supervise about 740 inmates.  Spokesmen for the company did not return phone calls yesterday.  The strike began on Monday when the company suspended a union delegate who had called an Acacia Joint Unions meeting, then escorted from the jail about 40 guards at the meeting and locked them out. Jail guards on the next shift voted not to work.  Community and Public Sector Union branch secretary Toni Walkington said the union wanted the suspended delegate reinstated and an opportunity to discuss staffing and other issues with management. "They just don't appear to be prepared to sit down and discuss in a meaningful way," she said. Before the strike, guards had met at the start of each shift to make sure there were enough staff on it. "Basically, Acacia has paid less than rates payable in public prisons and staffing levels have not met the same standards and we have tried bargaining processes and a whole range of different avenues to meet what are adequate standards, not necessarily the same as public standards, but adequate standards," Ms Walkington said. "We have managed mostly to be able to talk that through but what has become evident is that Acacia need to make savings in their operations.  "Basically, we think that they can't return a profit as a privately operating prison so they're just squeezing their workforce to make the difference between a profitable operation and an operation running at a loss."  The jail was being run by a skeleton staff, mainly of management.  "Without a doubt, the normal activities of the prison cannot occur at the moment so prisoners will have to be spending most of their time locked up in the cells," she said. "There will be no programs addressing issues of why people first offended, no education, their activities, rehabilitation programs won't be happening."  (The West.com)

April 6, 2004
The union representing prison officers at the Acacia Prison east of Perth says workers will continue to press their claim for increased staffing levels.  The Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union says officer numbers at the private prison are simply inadequate.  (ABC.net)

Addiewell, UK
December 4, 2007 Press Association
Taxpayers face being "ripped off" by many flagship projects funded through the private sector, justice secretary Kenny MacAskill has told MSPs. Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and the new private prison planned for Addiewell in West Lothian, both had their value called into question by Mr MacAskill. He was giving evidence to Holyrood's Justice Committee on the impact of of next year's budget on his justice portfolio. The SNP has always opposed the used of public private partnerships to help fund the construction of projects like schools, hospitals and prisons. The issue is not just ideological, but also a matter for the public purse, Mr MacAskill told Labour's Paul Martin. "I believe and this government believes, that our people have frankly received poor value, if not been ripped off, in many instances, by many flagship projects. "And they're as inappropriate in prisons as they are in health." Mr MacAskill told the committee that the new prison being built at Addiewell, agreed by the last administration, is likely to cost about £24-25 million annually over the next 25 years. This is more than £600 million in total. "I have to say that 25 times 25 is significantly more than what a prison costs in construction, something in the region of £120-140 million," he said. "The fact of the matter is we can build a prison for significantly less than we will end up paying in annualised payments. I think the taxpayers of Scotland are entitled to ask why we signed that off in the first place," he said.

May 20, 2007 Scotsman
PLANS to build two new prisons using private money are set to be scrapped by the SNP, in the first major change of policy since it gained power at Holyrood. Labour insiders claim the plans will cost as much as £750m over the next 20 years, and will lead to lengthy delays in easing the current overcrowding crisis. The move to bring two jail projects back into public control will place the SNP in direct conflict with prison chiefs and civil servants who have already started signing off the deals with private firms to construct the desperately needed institutions. The row centres on two 700-capacity prisons at Low Moss near Bishopbriggs and in Addiewell in West Lothian. Construction work has already begun at Addiewell, with a private consortium having been given the contract to start. A bid to construct Low Moss in the public sector was knocked back by prison chiefs earlier this month, paving the way for another private deal. The SNP insists that moving the two jails into the public sector will bring an end to firms profiteering from imprisonment and - in the long term - benefit the public purse. The decision by the new SNP government to challenge the move is set to be one of the first major flashpoints of its period in office.

October 1, 2006 Sunday Herald
PLANS by ministers to extend the use of private jails in Scotland have been condemned as “mistaken” and “short-sighted” by a leading expert on penal systems. Baroness Vivien Stern, a cross-bench peer in the House of Lords and a senior research fellow at the International Centre for Prison Studies at King’s College London, also revealed that when the country’s second private jail – Addiewell – opens in 2009, Scotland will have, proportionately, more inmates housed in private prisons than any other country in the world. The new £65 million jail is being built on a 35-acre site in West Lothian. It is to be run by Royal Bank Project Investments, Sodexho Investment Services and Interserve PFI 2005 under the name Addiewell Prison Ltd. But Stern predicted that further privatising the jail system would drive down wages, waste taxpayers’ money and hamper efforts to reduce re-offending. She said: “My view is that this is a mistaken route. The point is that the contract ties you in for 25 years, which means that any new ideas about penal policy that develop in the next 25 years will come up against a contract that’s been signed and has to run.

January 30, 2004 OBJECTIONS to a new jail in West Lothian are more than just "nimbyism", SNP Lothians MSP Fiona Hyslop has told the Scottish Parliament.  And she appealed for communities close to the proposed site for the 700-inmate prison near Addiewell to be told whether it would be privately-built and run.  Ms Hyslop said the issue of whether the new jail was public or private was a matter of concern for locals, 300 of whom had attended a public meeting about the plans.  "The majority wanted to express they were not just interested in nimby arguments. They are interested in whether it’s to be a private prison. Is it right that private profits should be made as a result of the state’s decision to incarcerate someone?"  (Scotsman)

May 30, 2003 A SITE in central Scotland has been identified as the preferred location for a 700-inmate high security jail and could become Scotland's second privately-run prison. Danny Russell, Addiewell community council secretary, said: "The survey we carried out was only just against the prison, but a lot of people didn't take part because they thought it wouldn't materialise. Personally, I am against it. I just can't see it bringing in as many jobs and money as they say. I wonder what would have happened had the community known the plan was at this stage before the election." News of the privately financed project prompted an angry reaction from the Prison Officers Association of Scotland (POAS), which pointed to problems experienced at Kilmarnock, Scotland's sole privately run prison. Last year it was revealed two inmates were released incorrectly and in another incident a prisoner went missing inside the jail, run by Premier Prisons. A spokesman for POAS said the union was against private funding of prisons, adding: "We are outraged that another privately-run, privately-built prison has been given the go-ahead, given the performance at Kilmarnock." (The Herald)

February 27, 2006 The Sun
THE private jail holding serial killer Rose West freed a prisoner by mistake, it was revealed yesterday. The woman, who was facing drugs charges, was on the loose for four days after the blunder. Livid Home Office chiefs have ordered a major probe into the first “escape” from state-of-the-art Bronzefield women’s prison in Ashford, West London. The £200million jail run by UKDS opened two years ago. West, 52, moved there from Durham jail last year. She is locked up forever for the Gloucestershire murders of ten girls, including her daughter Heather, 16. The freed lag was released after being told to gather her belongings. A source yesterday said: “This is the first time a con has escaped from Bronzefield and it was all the prison’s fault. “It wasn’t a case of mistaken identity. It was either rank incompetence or a paperwork error. “It would be catastrophic if Rose West was released by mistake. “She has changed her appearance dramatically by shedding three stone and ditching her thick specs for contact lenses.” The freed 40-year-old lag, being held on remand, was returned to Bronzefield earlier this month. UKDS last night declined to comment.

Forest Bank Prison, Agecroft, UK
April 29, 2008 Manchester.com
The inquiry into why a man wrongly released from Forest Bank jail in Salford was able to murder a man on a double-decker bus has criticised the criminal justice system. Anthony Joseph was released from the private prison in Agecroft despite an outstanding warrant for his immediate arrest from Liverpool crown court over a burglary offence. Anthony Joseph, 23, stabbed Richard Whelan several times on the top deck of a bus in London in July 2005 only hours after he was released. The report, which was commissioned by the Home Office last December, criticises the "lackadaisical" and "nonchalant approach" of the criminal justice system when it comes to some offenders. Officials at Forest Bank jail in Manchester have said they were not aware there was an outstanding arrest warrant for Mr Joseph. The report also criticises the lack of communication between law enforcement bodies. Earlier this month, government figures revealed that a tenth of the prison drug finds in England and Wales during 2007 were in Forest Bank. But the prison governor claims this reflects the jail's high detection rate.

August 14, 2006 BBC
A prison officer from a private jail has been arrested over claims he made nuisance calls to inmates' relatives. The 41-year-old man, who works at Forest Bank Prison, in Salford, Greater Manchester, was arrested after prisoners and families complained. The officer was held on 2 August and later bailed until 30 August. A Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said a man had been arrested on suspicion of misuse of telecommunications systems. Forest Bank, which opened in 2000, is run by United Kingdom Detention Services (UKDS). A spokesman for UKDS said it had nothing to add to the police statement.

December 21, 2005 The Guardian
Inmates threw a bucket of excrement over prison staff as government inspectors toured a privately-run jail, it emerged today. The chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, revealed the incident - known in jail lingo as "potting" - as she raised concerns about falling safety standards at Forest Bank jail, Greater Manchester. The 800-inmate men's jail, which is run by UK Detention Services, suffered 25 prisoner assaults a month and there had been 2,500 disciplinary hearings in just six months, she said. Drugs were "rife" with four out of 10 compulsory drug tests coming back positive, her inspection team found. The director of the Prison Reform Trust charity, Juliet Lyon said: "This damning report reveals a prison that has become all too comfortable with violence, drugs and bullying. When a bucket of excrement is thrown at staff, during the inspection itself, you have to ask whether anyone is in control at Forest Bank. "This is the latest in a series of worrying reports suggesting that high staff turnover and lack of control in some private prisons is creating a 'Lord of the Flies' environment that is dangerous for prisoners and staff, and almost guaranteed to increase the chances of re-offending on release."

December 21, 2005 The Times
A PRIVATELY run jail is out of control, with high levels of assaults and a culture on the wings of drug abuse, according to a highly critical report published today. Prison officers were covered with a bucket of excrement by inmates at Forest Bank jail as inspectors toured the building. The incident known in prison slang as "potting" was the latest in a number of similar attacks on prison staff. Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons, criticised the culture at the jail which was "steeped in serious drug abuse". In one month alone, more than 2kg of cannabis, 60g of heroin and 4.6g of cocaine were found at the jail, run by United Kingdom Detention Services. Ms Owers was so alarmed by the prison in Salford, Greater Manchester, that she immediately alerted senior Prison Service officials to the extent of the failings. "There had been a significant deterioration in safety so that urgent management attention and remedial action was required to rebuild staff confidence and properly regain control of the prison," the inspection report said. A surprise inspection in July at the jail, run by UKDS, a subsidiary of Sodexho Alliance which runs three prisons, found routine intimidation of staff, prisoner assaults on other prisoners running at 25 a month and staff turnover of 25 per cent a year. There had been 2,500 prisoner discipline hearings in six months and 40 per cent of compulsory drug tests were positive. Ms Owers said: "There were a series of assaults against staff, including one unsavoury incident when a bucket of excrement was thrown into an office and over two staff who were there, while we were at the prison. This was by no means the first such 'potting' incident in the prison's recent history. We were told there were two or three others in the previous couple of months." The report depicts a prison where drugs are rife and that a high level of staff turnover meant custody officers were unable to tackle problems. It is the second report in less than six months in which Ms Owers has found serious problems of control at a privately run jail. In July she found that staff at Rye Hill jail near Rugby had little confidence in controlling prisoners and the premises were "almost out of control". Staff turnover at the prison, operated by GSL, formerly part of the Group 4, was running at 40 per cent a year. Private sector involvement in the prison system has helped to spur the public sector to improve its performance and introduced innovation into the jail system. But staff turnover at private jails is higher than State-run jails - reflecting lower pay for officers compared with those in State prisons. It is also difficult to get information about what goes on in private jails with "commercial confidentiality" used as a reason not to disclose details. One prison watchdog said: "The private sector do not like anyone knowing too much about what goes on in their prisons. If they could get away with giving out no information at all, they would."

March 3, 2005 BBC
Police are searching for a "dangerous" prisoner who escaped while he was being taken to hospital in a taxi. Convicted robber Neil Brennan, 21, was handcuffed to two prison officers as they travelled from HMP Forest Bank to Hope Hospital, Salford, on Wednesday. The taxi was stopped by two men who threatened the guards with a gun, forcing them to unlock the handcuffs. Brennan escaped with the men. Greater Manchester Police said Brennan "may pose a danger to the public". Det Ch Insp Sam Hawarth said the hijacking had been well-planned and that he believed Brennan may have injured himself deliberately as part of the plot. He said he expected the Prison Service to review its means of transporting prisoners in the wake of the escape. "It would appear that using taxis in this manner is a regular practice, but it is not one we were aware of," he said. The prison guards who were taking Brennan from the privately-run HMP Forest Bank were not injured but were left "shocked".

August 18, 2004
A GREATER Manchester prison is at breaking point - according to an officer who has admitted trying to smuggle drugs into it. Norman Edgerton, 40, appeared at Manchester Crown Court last week after pleading guilty to possession of heroin with intent to supply. Now the contents of a letter the former prison officer wrote to the judge, Recorder Cross, have been revealed. In it, Edgerton criticises management at the prison, which is privately run by UK Detention Services (UKDS). The company has rejected the allegations. "It's not good enough to give officers keys, a badge and no radio, and expect two of them to unlock 86 inmates, run the wing, and hope all goes well. "If officers are to have any chance of doing their job effectively and within company regulations, they need and deserve the support and back-up systems that are there on paper only." He claims that officers ring in sick and quit their jobs because they feel "helpless, stressed and can no longer cope". He also alleges that inmates are becoming stressed at the lack of organisation on the wings. In February, up to seven prison staff suffered memory blackouts after their drinks were spiked during a night out. Last year, there was a security alert after allegations that an officer supplied mobile phones to inmates; and in 2002, an early Christmas party for prison officers ended in a brawl with police being called. (Manchester)

Harmondsworh Detention Centre, UK
July 26, 2007 The Daily Mail
Rioting foreign criminals and failed asylum seekers were fed McDonald's takeaway meals by prison staff during a £60million orgy of destruction which wrecked an immigration detention centre. Fearful that the human rights of inmates would be breached, staff ferried sackfuls of Big Mac meals with fries and soft drinks from a nearby branch of the fast-food chain. The revelation came in a damning official report into the riot at Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre near Heathrow Airport last November. More than 500 inmates awaiting deportation wrecked and burned down much of the site, and it took riot squads almost two days to regain control. The report also reveals: • Walls and doors in the centre were so flimsy that inmates kicked them down with ease, especially after they were soaked by the sprinkler system; • The fire brigade got lost because there were no signposts to the centre; • CCTV cameras were easy for rioters to destroy - meaning control room staff had no idea what was going on; • Increasingly desperate calls to the Prison Service headquarters begging for help were ignored for an hour. The official Home Office investigation blames the riot partly on the huge pressure on the centre after last summer's foreign prisoners scandal. Hundreds of foreign national criminals were rounded up after being released from Britain's jails without being considered for deportation. Of the 501 men in the detention centre at the time 177 were foreign prisoners awaiting deportation - a volatile group who had 'nothing to lose'. The riot was triggered by inmates watching a TV news bulletin reporting criticisms of Harmondsworth from prison watchdogs. Fires were started and inmates began smashing CCTV cameras and attacking staff, who were unable to contain the violence. As control room managers lost their grip, staff were ordered to retreat and seal the gates, as police arrived to guard the perimeter. Thirteen riot squads entered the centre next morning but took more than 24 hours to regain control. During the day a row broke out between senior officials over whether to send food in for rioters. Those who favoured starving inmates into submission were overruled, as managers ordered that 'minimum needs of food and drink' must be supplied. "In the early stages food came from McDonald's," according to the report by senior civil servant Robert Whalley. Yesterday the Daily Mail tracked down a worker at the West Drayton branch of McDonald's who recalled Harmondsworth staff placing a huge order for £3.59 burger meals. He said: "I remember prison officers turning up and ordering around 100 Big Mac meals with fries and fizzy drinks. For a couple of hours they kept turning up with big bags, filling them up with meals and then ferrying them off in Securicor vans and then they'd return for more." The Home Office was last night unable to provide details of the cost of the emergency supplies. The cost of dealing with the riot and rebuilding large parts of Harmondsworth is expected to top £65million. Tory immigration spokesman Damian Green said: "This situation required a fast response, and all they got was fast food. "We now know that this dangerous incident happened because the Government was forced to mix foreign prisoners with failed asylum seekers. Because of prison overcrowding, this is still going on."

May 20, 2007 Observer
Hunger strikes, rioting and self-harm are now endemic in Britain's biggest detention centres as detainees become increasingly desperate about living in what they claim are deteriorating conditions. At Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire, more than 100 women are refusing to eat, and there have been recent reports of major disturbances at Lindholme, South Yorkshire, and at Colnbrook in Middlesex. Self-harm is particularly acute at Yarl's Wood, which reopened in September 2003 after half of it was gutted by fire during rioting in February 2002. It now houses hundreds of women, many of whom have attempted to claim asylum in Britain after fleeing war zones. Amid growing concern over Britain's overstretched asylum system, the campaign group Liberty will call tomorrow for the Home Secretary, John Reid, to order a public inquiry into the large-scale riot at Harmondsworth detention centre in west London last November. If Reid refuses, the group says that it intends to seek a judicial review of his decision on behalf of seven detainees it is representing - an unprecedented move that would see Britain's immigration system placed under scrutiny in the courts. 'Well-documented abuses at Harmondsworth detention centre sparked the disturbance in November,' said Liberty's legal officer, Alex Gask. 'These men deserve a public inquiry into the ill-treatment they faced; anything less could result in legal action.' The deteriorating situation in the detention centres has sparked a surge in self-harm, according to campaigners. Every other day detainees harm themselves to such a serious degree that they require medical treatment, according to the National Coalition of Anti Deportation Campaigns. Between April 2006 and March 2007 there were 199 attempts to self-harm that required medical treatment. An investigation last year into conditions at Yarl's Wood found 70 per cent of women at the centre had reported rape, nearly half had been detained for more than three months and 57 per cent had no legal representation. Conditions have not improved, according to campaigners. Assaults are said to be commonplace. One woman was stripped and thrown naked into a van taking her to the airport for deportation only for the pilot to refuse to allow her to fly as she had no clothes. The women also allege staff regularly refer to them as 'black monkey', 'nigger' and 'bitch'. They claim vital faxes from solicitors are going missing and information on basic legal rights is being withheld. Detainees also complain they are given days-old reheated food in which they have found hair, dirt and maggots. Campaigners are also concerned about conditions at Harmondsworth, where detainees rioted after being banned from watching news coverage of a damning report on the centre. The Liberty report, to be published tomorrow, contains a clutch of testimonies from detainees about the conditions in Harmondsworth before the riots. One man interviewed for the study told how he was taken to the centre's medical clinic suffering from a bad back. 'They just abandoned me,' the man said. 'There was no doctor and, when I asked where the doctor was, the detention officers laughed at me ... One of them stepped on the hem of my trousers to make me fall over. He then started laughing and called me a "fucking negro".' Solitary confinement as a punishment for speaking out at Harmondsworth is common, according to Liberty. 'If we made a complaint we would be given a warning,' one man known as 'K' told Liberty. 'If we were given three warnings, we would be put in an isolated cell. We were scared of making complaints against officers because we expected to be treated badly if we did. We were treated like pigs and very unfairly, as if we were serious criminals.' A spokesman for Kalyx, which runs Harmondsworth, declined to comment. Serco, which took over Yarl's Wood on 26 April, denied conditions had deteriorated and said that many of the detainees' original concerns had been addressed. A Serco spokesman said staff had been praised by the prisons inspector for their good relationship with detainees. 'We take any complaints seriously,' he said.

December 10, 2006 The Guardian
The company running the detention centre at which hundreds of asylum seekers rioted last month is to be forced to pay the government more than £5m for a series of performance failures. The huge amount, believed to be a record sum for a private contractor to have to return to the public coffers, is likely to be seized upon by critics of Britain's asylum system, who have long campaigned for better conditions at the Harmondsworth detention centre, near Heathrow. The payout comes soon after a damning report by the chief inspector of prisons slated conditions at the detention centre. Anne Owers said her report was the 'poorest' she had ever delivered on an immigration centre. It highlighted a number of areas where there were causes for concern, including the poor relations between staff and detainees and the fact that staff were unable to recognise torture victims. Over 60 per cent of detainees said they had felt unsafe, while 44 per cent said they had been victimised by staff. The news that Kalyx, the US security and services giant that runs a number of private prisons in the UK, is to return £5,096,000 to the government was revealed in a House of Lords debate last week by the Home Office minister, Baroness Scotland. Neither Kalyx nor the Home Office would be drawn on why the company has had to pay such a sizeable sum. But Scotland suggested it was at least partly to do with the company's failure to manage the centre properly. She told the Lords that 'rigorous attempts to manage the situation in Harmondsworth' had now been put in place. 'That was the basis of the concerns expressed and of the disagreement... between management,' Scotland said. The payout is a significant blow to the reputation of Kalyx. Last month, in an attempt to improve its image, the controversial company changed its name from UK Detention Services. The company claims on its website that it provides 'nationally recognised standards of service, delivered by high-calibre staff' and provides 'protection and care associated with the growth of the individual and strength'. It makes no reference to the recent Owers report. There have been three suicides at Harmondsworth. The latest was Bereket Yohannes, 26, who was found hanging in January. Since Owers' damning report, a new centre manager has been introduced and the government has pledged to act on its recommendations. Nicholas Hopkins, a spokesman for Kalyx, said he would 'not be drawn' into commenting on the matter. A Home Office spokeswoman confirmed Kalyx would soon be paying out. 'The Immigration and Nationality Directorate has been in dispute with HDSL (a subsidiary of Kalyx) over its contractual performance at Harmondsworth,' the spokeswoman said. 'The dispute reached mediation point in summer 2006 and reached an agreed settlement; the details of this are being finalised by lawyers with full completion anticipated by the end of this month.' The impending payout comes as the government fears it could lose a crucial Commons vote tomorrow over plans to introduce more competition into the prisons and probation sector. Prisons Minister Gerry Sutcliffe is so worried he has taken the highly unusual step of emailing Conservative MPs offering them a private briefing in a last-ditch attempt to get them onside. The move has inflamed Labour MPs, between 25 and 30 of whom have signalled that they will vote against the bill.

November 29, 2006 BBC
A mutiny inside the UK's largest immigration centre has been contained, the Home Office has said. Detainees at the 500-capacity Harmondsworth centre in west London staged a protest about living conditions in the early hours. Fires were started and about 50 asylum seekers spelt out "help" and "SOS" with bed sheets in the courtyard. The Home office said the situation was contained but some of the detainees would be moved from Harmondsworth. Lin Homer, head of the immigration and nationality directorate, said: "The perimeter remains secure, and no-one has escaped. There has been no risk to the public. No injuries to staff or detainees have been reported." Repeated disturbances: She said 150 immigration offenders at centres across the UK would be bailed to make space for the detainees that were moved from Harmondsworth. "These are people who have been detained in order to better enforce their removal. We will priorities the cases according to risk. No foreign national prisoners will be released," Ms Homer added. The disturbance erupted following the publication of a prisons' watchdog report which criticised the centre's regime after repeated disturbances there.

November 28, 2006 BBC
An immigration detention centre with a violent history including a death and repeated disturbances is getting worse, the prisons watchdog has warned. Chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers said Harmondsworth in west London was hard to run - but her report was the poorest ever on a removal centre. Detainees said they feared bullying, and staff were unaware of a special plan to prevent suicides. The Home Office said it would draw up a plan to improve the centre. The centre near Heathrow Airport is the largest in the country, handling thousands of people facing deportation every year. In 2004 a detainee committed suicide, sparking a major disturbance that led to its temporary closure. Since then, Harmondsworth has been at the centre of ongoing campaigns against detention of failed asylum seekers. In 2005, some 50 Zimbabweans held at the centre launched a hunger strike to try to force their cases back into the courts, saying they had been unfairly treated. In their July inspection, inspectors found: More than 60% of detainees felt unsafe Almost half (44%) said they had been victimised by staff Detainees described custody officers as aggressive, intimidating and unhelpful The report also criticised the management's over-emphasis on physical security and their strict control of all movements. These measures went as far as banning detainees from keeping nail clippers. At the same time, actions to prevent self-harm and suicide were weak, despite the commitment of one co-ordinator.

Campaigners against the detention of asylum seekers have begun a series of protests around the country.  The demonstrations came after two apparent suicides in removal centres, one of which led to disturbances.  Organisations backing the protests say they want to see an end to detention of people who have not been convicted of any crimes.  The demonstrations are taking place outside five institutions which have been used to hold asylum seekers.  On Monday 19 July, a Ukrainian asylum seeker was found hanged at Harmondsworth Removal centre, near Heathrow Airport. The man had been waiting a date for deportation.  The death sparked significant disturbances in the centre which detainees protesting against conditions.  (BBC, July 31, 2004)

The authorities finally regained full control of a detention centre today where a “significant disturbance” was sparked by the death of a detainee.  Up to 100 asylum seekers at Harmondsworth, near Heathrow, surrendered rather than face the power of specialist “tornado” teams of trained prison officers.  Fires were set and windows broken as trouble erupted at 11pm yesterday, just hours after a 31-year-old detainee was found hanged.  Harmondsworth was expected to be empty by later this evening as the detainees were moved to other immigration sites and prisons.  In a report last September, Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said it was “failing to provide a safe and stable environment” for detainees.  (Scotsman, July 21, 2004)

Hundreds of detainees at an asylum centre, where a man's death sparked a serious disturbance are to be moved.  The trouble at Harmondsworth Detention Centre, which included fires being lit, started after the man was found hanging at 2000 BST on Monday.  The situation has "quietened right down" but a number of detainees are yet to be brought under control. Earlier, staff had to leave for their own safety.  In September last year Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said the centre was an unsafe place for staff and detainees, despite hard work by staff.  And in May, at least 20 detainees staged a five-day hunger strike in protest against alleged abuses, including the physical treatment of those facing deportation, according to BBC sources.  (BBC, July 19, 2004)

McGill University, Montreal, Canada
November 26, 2007 The McGill Daily
At Macdonald campus’s Centennial Centre cafeteria, students can purchase a classic two-egg breakfast all day for just $4.20, taxes included. Though the cafeteria is a relatively small operation, it is run by Sodexho Inc., a massive multinational food services company that also operates private, for-profit prisons and detention centres. Sodexho’s presence at McGill is minimal compared to that of well-known food-service giant Chartwells, but with revenues exceeding $17.6-billion in 2005-2006, Sodexho is one of the largest food-provision companies in the world. Last year, “Correctional Services” accounted for two per cent of its total revenue. In an interview with Vancouver-based Stark Raven radio last month, Alex Friedmann, Associate Editor of the magazine Prison Legal News, explained that the nature of for-profit detention centres facilitates poor-quality meals and services for inmates. “[Companies’ that run private prisons] sole interest is to bolster their bottom line and to make profit for their shareholders,” Friedmann said. “If you have to do that by cutting corners, or by reducing benefits and wages paid to your staff…or by skimping on food portions or quality, then that’s what you do.” Sodexho has faced student boycotts since 2000, and recent reports reveal overcrowding and hunger strikes at its Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre in London, England. Friedmann said that professional corrections officials, like guards and wardens, understand the importance of food in prisons and the consequences it has on prison life, but that food-service companies like Sodexho – which make huge profits from corrections facilities – are not interested in the public good. “Their interest is not in the welfare or benefit of the public, the prisoners, or even their employees, really,” he said. Incidentally, the 2006 Corporate Responsibility Report from Sodexho’s U.K. and Ireland faction stated that just 54 per cent of its employees actually enjoy going to work. Similar reports from the last two years are filled with idyllic pictures, quotes from various executives championing Sodexho’s efforts toward sustainability and a greater diversity of employees, including affirmative actions plans. In April of 2005, however, Sodexho paid out an $80-million settlement after thousands of its African-American employees sued the company on charges of racial discrimination, citing the company’s utter lack of African Americans in high-ranking management positions. Boycott Sodexho -- Two years ago, students at Laval University started a “Boycott Sodexho” campaign in protest of the school’s decision to award a large food contract to the company instead of accepting the student union’s offer. Boycott Sodexho is still active, although according to member Fadi Maalouf, it now focuses on encouraging students to frequent the 14 student-run coffee shops as opposed to one of the eight larger Sodexho-run cafeterias. Maalouf explained that students were against the multinational corporation for reasons ranging from its high prices for mediocre food to its involvement in the U.S. military. “When the campaign was on campus, we were just giving information about Sodexho’s involvement in the [Iraq] warzone, and that was frustrating for students to learn,” Maalouf said. “They make millions of dollars and they cannot offer a good service to students?” In 2000-2002, students from 60 campuses across the United States and Canada formed the “Not With Our Money” campaign. They succeeded in prompting Sodexho to divest its eight per cent stock holdings from Correctional Corporations of America, which runs private prisons in the U.S. But Sodexho still owns private for-profit prisons, primarily in the U.K. – recent announcements on its web site boasts 20 and 25-year contracts to run prisons in Chile and Scotland, respectively – and it provides food and ancillary services for prisons around the world, including more than 450 in the United States alone, according to Friedmann. Prison atmosphere -- Rebecca Godderis, a PhD student at the University of Calgary who interviewed 16 prisoners as part of her research on food in prisons, echoed Friedmann’s comment about the significance of food, which can calm or excite inmates. She explained that food has a large impact on a prison’s atmosphere. “Food is a constant reminder of the lack of control that these prisoners have over their lives,” Godderis said, adding that one participant told her simply, “If the guys are well-fed, they’re more manageable.” Godderis did not comment about any specific corporations who run private prisons, but she maintained that because prisoners have very little recourse to take on mechanisms that control them, the general public should be concerned about what goes on inside the institutions. “[Prisoners] are very marginalized, very controlled, and that means we should be more attentive to them,” Godderis said. Representatives from Sodexho Inc. declined to comment for this piece.

Petersborough, Cambridgeshire
January 18, 2008 BBC
Privately-run prisons perform worse than those run by the public sector, a document leaked to the BBC suggests. The Prison Service papers include an internal "league table", which ranks all jails in England and Wales. It shows that most privately-managed prisons score badly on security and maintaining order and control. Prison governors want the government to re-think private management of prisons. But the Prison Service says private and public sector jails cannot be compared. BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the report would re-open the debate about private sector involvement in prisons, at a time when private companies were bidding to fund and operate a series of new jails. A national table, ranking performance in six categories, showed that 10 of the 11 privately-run prisons in England and Wales were in the bottom quarter. Assessments 'subjective' -- Peterborough Prison, managed by a private firm for three years, came last out of 132 prisons and prison clusters, with low marks for reducing re-offending, organisational effectiveness and decency. The Prison Governors Association has called on the government to re-think its policy of involving private firms in the management of prisons. But sources within the private security industry said the findings shown in the documents were based on subjective assessments. The Prison Service said direct comparisons between the private and public sectors were "not appropriate" because some figures were counted differently. Privately-managed prisons, which were introduced to the UK in the 1990s, are assessed by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in the same way as public sector prisons.

January 31, 2007 BBC
A demonstration has taken place outside a privately-run jail in Cambridgeshire over the death of a female inmate. Lucy Wood, 28, died on 15 January 2007 at HMP Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Bouquets of flowers were laid by protest organiser Pauline Campbell whose 18-year-old daughter Sarah died in Styal Prison in January 2003. Ms Campbell said the number of women committing suicide was unacceptable. A prison spokesman said any death in custody was a matter of deep regret. "We naturally offer our commiserations to Lucy Wood's family and friends. Used bedding: "The inquest has yet to take place and we are therefore unable to make any further comment," he said. Lucy Wood, serving two years for threatening to kill, was said to have used bedding to take her own life. "HMP Peterborough prisoner Lucy Wood was found in her cell apparently having attempted self-strangulation," a prison spokeswoman said. The demonstration on Wednesday at Peterborough prison was the 21st demonstration organised by Ms Campbell since protests began in 2004. Ms Campbell said she has been arrested 14 times on previous demonstrations and on Wednesday attempted to stop a prison van. "I am saddened and angry that yet another woman prisoner has died in the 'care' of the State'," she said. "It is of particular concern that Ms Wood lost her life while locked up by a private company, and her death also raises very serious issues about the dubious ethics of making profit out of punishment." "Thirty-four women prisoners have died [self-inflicted deaths] since my daughter's death in January 2003." HMP Peterborough which is run by Kalyx Ltd opened in 2005, and is a private jail accommodating both women and men.

June 1, 2005 BBC
Inmates at a new mixed prison in Cambridgeshire are to be offered massages and relaxation treatments. Operators of the 840-place Category B prison at Peterborough, United Kingdom Detention Services (UKDS), want to recruit two holistic therapists. Reflexology, aromatherapy and Indian head massage would be offered. Peterborough MP Stewart Jackson has accused the prison of pampering inmates and sending out the wrong message to hard-working families. Mr Jackson said: "It is wrong prisoners are treated in this way. Are they using it as a Butlins holiday camp? "Inmates should be taught the basic skills, such as reading and writing, to aid their rehabilitation."

February 20, 2003
Interserve PLC said it has closed a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract with the UK prison service to create and operate a new prison in Peterborough , Cambridgeshire.  Opening in early 2005, it will be the first purpose-built facility in the UK to accommodate both male and female inmates, it added.  It said Interserve Project Services will be responsible for the design and construction, beginning immediately, while partner United Kingdom Detention Services (UKDS) will operate the prison for 25 years from opening.  Interserve and other consortium members Sodexho Alliance (UKDS's parent company) and Royal Bank of Scotland are taking equity stakes in the project through their respective investment subsidiaries.   (AFX News)