Ashfield Prison
Serco (formerly known as Premier)
August 10, 2011 Gazette
Police were also called to Ashfield Young Offenders’ Institution in Pucklechurch following reports of disturbances there. Prison officers dealt with a "small scale incident of disobedience" involving several inmates according to a statement from Serco, the company which runs the unit. A spokesman said: "Some minor damage has been caused, but the situation has been contained and the centre is secure," a Serco spokesman said. Avon Fire and Rescue Service were called out at 7.49pm but were stood down as they were not required to attend the scene.

August 20, 2009 Public Finance
Children detained in prisons and young offenders institutions are exposed to such ‘dire conditions’ that they are living in ‘modern day dungeons’, according to a hard-hitting report by the Howard League for Penal Reform. The report, published on August 17, paints a picture of ‘extraordinary squalor and institutional brutality’, with children regularly denied access to showers, toilets and outside exercise areas. Detained children are also often subject to strip searches by adult staff and many institutions fail properly to undertake required assessments, plans and reviews. Frances Crook, director of the Howard League, said: ‘We keep children smelly and dirty, idle and frightened, bored with education and cooped up in modern-day dungeons. And we expect them miraculously to pupate into responsible citizens. In reality, these young people leave prison more damaged and more dangerous than when they first went in. It is frankly shocking that we treat children in this way in the twenty-first century.’ At Ashfield prison in Gloucestershire, which is run by Serco, children were routinely given bags to urinate in instead of being allowed toilets on their journey to the prison, the report found. At Castington jail in Northumberland, children were allowed showers only twice a week and seven young people suffered broken wrists after being handcuffed. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: ‘Work is continuing on raising the quality of the services provided and developing new initiatives that will help further ensure positive outcomes for all the young people.’

April 13, 2009 This Is Bristol
The privately-run Ashfield Young Offenders Institution has more attacks than any other prison in the country, according to latest figures. The institution, near Pucklechurch, recorded more than 600 attacks on inmates in one year – the highest number of all the UK's 142 jails. Ashfield also had 126 assaults on prison officers, latest figures released by the National Offender Management Service show. But Serco, the firm which runs Ashfield, said the figures to July 2008 were high because it recorded every incident, including minor skirmishes, while other prisons only recorded the most serious attacks.

March 19, 2003
Premier's Ashfield "worst" prison in England and Wales. (News).  Plans to extend the role of private providers in prison services suffered a setback this month when a PFI jail for young offenders was described as the worst in the country.  An inspection found that conditions at Ashfield, near Bristol, were so bad that many inmates were frightened to leave their cells. Under pressure staff relied on inmates to act as "mini-officers" in the reception wing, and escort van drivers were used as officers on other wings.  Staff delegated responsibility to inmate orderlies to a worrying extent that went as far as "role reversal". Martin Narey, the director-general of the Prison Service, described privately run Ashfield as the worst prison in England and Wales "by some measure".  But he added: "The introduction of the private sector into the running of prisons has brought immense benefits. My best prison is probably a private-sector prison."  Ashfield is a 44m [pounds sterling] prison holding up to 400 sentenced young offenders aged between 15 and 21. It is run by Premier Custodial Services, a joint venture company owned 50% by Serco Ltd and 50% by Wackenhut Corrections (UK) Ltd, under a 25-year PFI contract.  The criticism came only days after the chancellor, Gordon Brown, said there should be "no principled objection" to further extending the private sector's role in prison management. The failings in Premier's operation of Ashfield were exposed in an inspection report by Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons. Describing her report as "depressing" she found that bullying was rife and that many inmates were "afraid to leave their cells".  A spot-check revealed that nearly half of the inmates remained in their cells during the day, and less than a quarter were in education. Owers said a central problem was the poor quality and low morale of staff because of the inadequate salaries paid by the company.  She also criticised the company for its unwillingness to do anything not in the contract. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on 5 February, Narey said that Premier has lost around 2m [pounds sterling] in revenues so far.  It is the second time that Premier has been warned over its performance at Ashfield in recent years. In December 2001, the company was issued with an improvement notice for noncompliance with the PFI contract. At the time it had the most reported incidents of self-harm in the 15-17-year age group of any young offenders establishment in the UK.  Under the terms of Premier's contract--and normal under PFI deals in the prison sector--the banks that financed the prison's construction decide whether they choose another private operator or allow the public sector to take over.  Local Northavon MP Steve Webb (Liberal Democrat) said the private sector had failed to deliver on even the most basic aspects of the contract. "It is time that the Prison Service took the management of Ashfield back under its control," he said.

February 5, 2003
The reputation of the private sector as a manager of prisons suffered a blow yesterday when the government's Youth Justice Board announced it was withdrawing all sentenced juveniles from the first privately run young offenders' institution.  The board announced its phased withdrawal of 172 young offenders after the chief inspector of prisons published a scathing report on conditions at the Ashfield young offenders' institution near Bristol .  Anne Owers said Premier Prison Services, Ashfield's operator, failed to provide "the minimum requirements of a safe environment".  Describing her report as "probably the most depressing" she has issued in the 18 months she has been in post, Ms Owers found that bullying was not addressed and that many young people were "afraid to leave their cells". A spot-check during her inspection revealed that nearly half of the young inmates remained in their cells during the core day, and less than a quarter were in education.  There was no effective resettlement strategy.  Ms Owers said one of the main underlying problems at Ashfield was the poor quality and low morale of staff because of inadequate salaries paid by the operator.  Some officers at Ashfield had not undergone an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check, which is meant to provide better protection against pedophiles.  The Prison Officers' Association, which has always been opposed to privatisation, called for Ashfield to be taken immediately into public ownership.  Brian Caton, the union's general secretary, said Ashfield provided evidence of the "immorality of running private prisons with the emphasis on making profit rather than running a good service on behalf of society".  Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said the "utterly damning report" raised questions as to why the Prison Service had allowed such a situation to develop in the first place.  (Social Affairs Correspondent)

BBC
Aramark, Serco
August 22, 2011 Daily Mail
ALL the old jokes about the BBC canteen are true – and it’s no laughing matter. For years the grub provided cheeky material for stars including Ronnie Corbett, Peter Sellers, Terry Wogan and Les Dawson. Sellers quipped on the Goon show in 1954: “Lunch is now being served in the BBC canteen. Doctors are standing by.” And Wogan regularly refers to his Beeb tea as “the evil brew”. Now, following a Freedom of Information request, the Mirror can reveal things seems to be as bad as ever. More than 130 staff have moaned about catering at TV Centre in the last two years. One claimed to have found animal droppings in a sandwich. He wrote: “I could have been poisoned.” A colleague said he saw a mouse run across the serving counter at breakfast. He said: “It fair put me off the scones.” Another wrote: “Fingers crossed that this time I’d find some meat in the lamb stew. Alas it was not to be.” Gripes about the canteen and other cafes in the West London centre included “dust-dry” toast, “undrinkable” coffee and “shameful” service. And there was an outcry when the Beeb announced it was closing a popular “greasy spoon” van used by workers at nearby Shepherd’s Bush. Catering firm Aramark, which serves 4,500 meals a day, said the complaints represented a tiny percentage. Chief executive Andrew Main insisted: “Most of the feedback we get is entirely positive.”

May 23, 2010  The Daily Telegraph
Under the scheme, the publicly-funded broadcaster handed over footage to inmates who earn just £30 a week rather than members of its own 23,000 staff. Convicts at a privately run Category B jail, the second-highest security level, transferred tapes of old television shows to computer to save them for posterity. Senior staff in the BBC’s archives department visited the jail to watch the work in progress while meetings were held to discuss a landmark deal for the prisoners to digitise all 1million hours of programmes in its vaults. Fearful about the controversy the scheme could cause, the BBC never discussed it publicly and even the broadcasting union, Bectu, was unaware of it. Details were obtained by this newspaper through a Freedom of Information request that took more than four months rather than the usual 20 working days. The BBC insists that it has not given any money to Serco, the private jail operator, for the secret scheme nor signed any contracts, following the pilot project last year. However emails disclosed by the corporation show that it had shown considerable interest in the innovative project proposed by Serco, which runs four prisons in England. The BBC owns more than 1m hours of historic content, some of it decades old and at risk of being lost. It employs 66 people to look after it, at a cost of £5m a year, in its Information and Archives department. The corporation estimates it would take 10 years to safely copy all 100m items in its collection into longer-lasting digital formats. In December 2008 it was approached by Serco to become involved in Artemis – Achieving Rehabilitation Through Establishing a Media Ingest Service – a new project for prisoners to transfer archive documents to computers. Serco said it would provide “high-quality employment” and the chance of an NVQ qualification for inmates and HMP Lowdham Grange, a 628-capacity jail near Nottingham all of whose inmates are serving at least four years. The firm said this would mean it could provide a “stable work force”. The BBC was told it would prove a “very cost-effective” way of digitising its archive, and several meetings were organised to discuss plans. Managers agreed to hand over 20 hours of old videos, including episodes of Horizon and Earth Story, so prisoners could transfer them to computer and also add “meta-data” – typed detailed descriptions of the footage to help producers search through it more easily. The British Library and National Archives also provided material for the pilot project. In September last year, five members of BBC staff visited the jail, where a production workshop had been built, and were reported to be “pleased” with what they saw of the prisoners’ work and enthusiasm. However David Crocker, the driving force behind the scheme at Serco, admitted: “The major concern was around the potential negative newspaper headlines that the BBC may attract.” The company did discuss the scheme with one newspaper and one trade magazine but made no reference to the BBC’s involvement. In November, Mr Crocker told the BBC: “I can’t thank you enough for finding a project for us to kick-start Artemis.” He said his staff were drawing up “terms of reference” and would then “cost the project” of a full-scale digitisation of the BBC’s archive. However no deals have yet been signed. The BBC said: “The BBC did hold discussions with Serco about their planned project to digitise archives. As part of this the BBC, alongside other organisations, provided some material for Serco to use as part of its feasibility study for the project. “No payment was made to Serco as part of this, nor was any guarantee or promise of work entered into. “The BBC has no plans to work with Serco to digitise its programme archive and has not come to any agreements nor signed any contracts with any firms about utilising the prison workforce on any project.”

Bicester Detention Center
Oxford, UK
Group 4
June 11, 2008 Mail on Sunday
The Home Office squandered £29million of taxpayers' money on a flagship giant asylum centre which was never built - including hiring in a 'financial advisor' who charged almost £16,000 a month. A scathing report from MPs exposes a catalogue of costly blunders and lambasts the failing department for a 'startling absence of common sense' in one of its most embarrassing fiascos of recent years. Seven years after officials started working on the ambitious plans to house thousands of asylum seekers on a former RAF station at Bicester, Oxfordshire, the site remains empty and derelict with 'no benefit' to the taxpayer. Vast sums were paid to consultants, private advisors and contractors and when ministers pulled the plug on the entire project in 2005 they were forced to hand over millions more in cancellation fees. Officials failed to understand how fierce local opposition and legal challenges would drag out the process, and made no attempt to plan for future uses of the site or the risk that other immigration policy changes would scupper the scheme. Last night the Home Office claimed the disaster had led to an 'overall positive impact for the public' because officials had learned important lessons. Former Home Secretary David Blunkett announced the scheme in 2001, as part of a strategy to speed up and streamline the creaking asylum system by housing applicants in a series of huge accommodation centres across the country. Thousands were to be placed in the first centre at an isolated site outside Bicester, but crucially it would not be secure and the immigrants would be free to come and go as they pleased. The plans brought a storm of protests, not only from local residents but also from refugee support groups who claimed leaving so many asylum seekers to languish at a remote site, far from any local community, was a disastrous plan. Planning inspectors rejected the plans, but John Prescott used his powers to overturn their decision, further infuriating locals. Finally ministers realised in 2005 that the centre was unnecessary and unworkable, but not before almost £30million of public money had been wasted. The PAC report reveals how the Home Office hired a Financial advisor at a cost of £15,743 per month, and a procurement advisor who was paid £15,559 per month, because no civil servants were judged to have the right expertise. The pair, who have not been named, were paid more than £1.1million for less than three years work, on top of £6.3million paid out to consultants. MPs complained that the Home Office was unable to show whether the highly paid consultants 'added value'. Private contractors Global Solutions Limited were paid £7.6 for design work, but claimed almost £8million in termination fees when the Bicester scheme was axed. PAC chairman Edward Leigh said the project 'embodied lack of foresight, poor business planning and a startling absence of common sense.' He said the scheme was 'always going to provoke opposition in the local community' but the Home Office took no account of that, or of objections from refugee groups, and made no effort to make contact with local interest groups or MPs to discuss objections. Nor did the department realise - until it was too late - that a decline in the number of asylum seekers and some success in speeding up the system meant the centre was increasingly pointless. Last month the Home Office announced plans to build a secure immigration detention centre on the Bicester site, although it will not be open until 2012 at the earliest and will require planning permission. Shadow Immigration Minister, Damian Green, attacked the Bicester debacle as 'a symptom of long-term incompetence by immigration ministers, who failed to notice that asylum numbers were dropping just when they were planning this new centre. 'Their latest plan is to turn the derelict site into a detention centre. I hope they have done their homework better this time.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'At the time, we believed accommodation centres to be the right decision but as circumstances changed and the project was delayed, we reviewed that decision. 'Our experience with this project has taught us some important lessons, and this, along with the other improvements put in place, has led to an overall positive impact for the public.'

November 8, 2007 The Guardian
A Home Office decision to abandon plans for an asylum accommodation centre near Oxford because of local opposition cost it £28m, including "termination payments" of £7.9m to the private contractor, Whitehall's spending watchdog reveals today. The National Audit Office says that some of the problems faced in trying to open Bicester accommodation centre could have been foreseen - and money saved - if the Home Office had worked in a "more coordinated and joined-up way". The report also discloses that despite a four-year battle by local residents against the project, it is still being considered whether the site can be used as a detention centre for failed asylum seekers who face deportation. The plan to set up a 10-strong network of purpose-built accommodation centres holding 3,000 asylum seekers was announced by the then home secretary, David Blunkett, at a time when asylum applications were at a record high, as part of a plan to disperse them from London and the south-east of England. Bicester was earmarked as one of the first but it met fierce local opposition and planning permission was not secured until November 2004. By then, the number of asylum seekers coming to Britain had halved. The Home Office accounting officer advised that it was no longer economically viable and the project was cancelled in June 2005. The NAO inquiry found that £33m had been spent in total on the accommodation centres, including £28m on Bicester alone. The report reveals that the successful bid by GSL, formerly Group 4, for the contract to build the 750-bed centre for £59.9m was nearly £25m cheaper than the bid from rival private security company UKDS. After the project was cancelled GSL was handed "termination payments" of £7.9m. It had already been paid £7.6m for design work. Edward Leigh, the chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said that £28m had been spent on "the asylum centre that never was". Mr Leigh said: "The Home Office drove ahead with a project to build a network of asylum accommodation centres without an eye on what was happening to the numbers of those seeking asylum in the UK.

Birmingham Prison
Birmingham, UK
Group 4
January 23, 2012 BBC
A prison officer has been arrested by police investigating missing keys at the privatised HMP Birmingham. Inmates were locked in their cells for almost 24 hours after a master set of keys went missing in October. West Midlands Police confirmed that a man in his 30s was arrested in December and has been released on bail while investigations continue. G4S, which runs the privatised prison, said it was aware a member of staff was helping police with their enquiries. The company said it would not comment further while the matter was subject to an investigation. HMP Birmingham, in Winson Green, is the first jail in the country to be transferred to the private sector.

October 21, 2011 BBC
Birmingham Prison inmates were locked in their cells for almost a full day after a set of keys fitting every cell door went missing. Keys to the jail, which was taken over earlier this month by private security firm G4S, disappeared on Tuesday. The firm said all prisons had established contingency plans for incidents of this nature and there was no risk to public safety. The jail is the first in the UK to be transferred to the private sector. It is not known if the keys have since been found or what action is now being taken at the prison.

Bronzefield Women's Prison
Ashford, West London
Kalyx (Sodexho)
September 22, 2009 The Sun
STAFF at a jail blasted for lax security were sent on a training day to learn how to lock cells and gates. Bronzefield, Britain's largest private female prison, was fined an estimated £250,000 in the last two years for more than 100 security breaches. The latest saw blueprints for an extension at the Category A jail in Ashford, Middlesex, floating in the wind after a bin bag burst. The crisis got so bad, employees were sent on a training course in the nick - as some of the 465 cons chanted: "You don't know what you're doing." Internal documents seen by The Sun revealed blunders, including leaving cells and gates unlocked and escorting the wrong prisoner to court. Prison director Helga Swidenbank called the level of security breaches "unacceptably high" in one memo to staff. In another, deputy director Charlotte Pattison-Rideout told officers: "Failing to secure gates and doors increases the possibility of staff assaults, hostage incidents and escapes." Shadow justice secretary Dominic Grieve said: "It is an utter shambles." Kalyx, which runs Bronzefield, said: "We have strict procedures and training in place to ensure security measures are followed."

March 6, 2009 Staines News
The 'underhand' expansion of Bronzefield prison in Ashford has angered neighbours who say they were promised it would never grow any bigger. Cranes are towering over the women's jail in Woodthorpe Road and prefabricated cells are being brought in daily as a new block is built to house 77 extra inmates. But residents who live close to the high-security prison - which has been home to serial killer Rose West - claim they were told it would never house more than the 450 prisoners it was built for in 2004. John Hitchins, of Woodthorpe Road, said: "All we need is another 70-odd Rose Wests across the road. It was bad enough when they built it in the first place but to be fed this rubbish that they weren't going to make it any bigger and then see the prefabricated cells carted past my front door is just a joke. They have been so sneaky and underhanded." The two-storey block is being built within the existing perimeter wall, along with a new all weather sports pitch. Permission for the development was granted in 2007 but residents say they have no recollection of being told about the proposals. Penny Vincent, who has lived opposite the prison for more than 15 years, said: "I don't remember hearing anything about it. It wasn't advertised in the newspapers and I think we should have had some sort of notification. "I am sure it's growing faster than ever anticipated. It's not an expansion of their land but it's still far bigger then they ever said it would be." A spokesman for Kalyx, the private company that runs Bronzefield, said: "Additional prisoner accommodation is being built at HMP Bronzefield which will be within the current prison boundaries.

March 2, 2006 The Sun
A LIVE bullet has been found in the jail holding House of Horrors killer Rose West. It was the second security scare at all-women Bronzefield Prison in Ashford, West London, which earlier freed a jailbird by mistake. The jail was locked down for eight hours after the bullet discovery and all 450 prisoners were confined to their cells. Explosives experts and sniffer dogs helped to scour the £200million private prison from top to bottom, but nothing more was found.

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.

Brook House
Sussex, UK
Group 4
July 12, 2010 The Guardian
Conditions at the privately run immigration deportation centre at Gatwick airport are fundamentally unsafe, according to a damning report by the chief inspector of prisons published today. Dame Anne Owers says that a year after the opening of G4S-run Brook House immigration removal centre she and her inspection team were disturbed to find one of the least safe immigration detention facilities that had been inspected. Her report says bullying and violence were serious problems at the time of their inspection in March and – unusually for immigration detention centres – drugs were also a serious problem. Those who were about to be deported or had been recalcitrant were placed in two oppressive holding rooms, which are windowless and seatless. Owers says they should be decommissioned immediately. Many of the 400 male detainees held at Brook House are ex-prisoners facing deportation. A number of them told the inspectors their experience at the removal centre was worse than their time in prison. "Our surveys, interviews and observations all evidenced a degree of despair amongst detainees about safety at Brook House which we have rarely encountered. At the time of the inspection, Brook House was an unsafe place," says Owers's report. Although the centre – which is built to the same standards as a category B prison – is designed to hold detainees for no more than 72 hours, the report says the average time spent in Brook House is three months, with one man having been there for 10 months. Its design as a short-term holding centre meant there was insufficient activity or education facilities. A significant number of staff left after an outbreak of serious disorder in June last year when detainees started fires and damaged one wing. "While many staff tried hard to maintain order and control, many felt embattled and some lacked the confidence to manage bad behaviour," says the report. "A number of staff reported feeling unsupported by managers, detainees claimed that some staff were bullied by more difficult detainees." The result was a confrontational approach in the treatment of detainees with a high use of force, separation often used as punishment, – which is against detention centre rules – and restrictions on freedom of movement in an attempt to combat violence. The report says force had been used to restrain detainees by staff 78 times in the previous six months. The chief inspector said force was generally used in line with approved techniques. However on one recent occasion a detainee was moved to temporary confinement after urinating through his door. The report says: "The officer's own record read: 'I entered first with the shield. A was standing up by the table and I hit him with the shield.' Another officer in the team had recorded that (officer N) used the shield to hold the detainee against the table in the room. Detainee folded his arms behind the shield." In a later incident in the same the same officer N is recorded having used his shield to pin a detainee to his bed. The chief inspector also details the use of the separation unit and cites the case of a detainee who was taken to a psychiatric institution after more than 80 days in separation for disturbed and disruptive behaviour. "The challenges of opening a new immigration removal centre should not be underestimated, particularly with inexperienced staff and challenging detainees, many of them ex-prisoners," said Owers. "But none of this can excuse the fundamentally unsafe state of Brook House, which must be urgently addressed by G4S and United Kingdom border agency."

June 13, 2009 BBC
A fire was started and "disorder" broke out at a wing of an immigration removal centre near Gatwick Airport, Sussex police said. Officers said there were reports of minor damage and a blaze in the exercise yard at Brook House, which houses 312 people awaiting deportation. No-one is believed to be hurt and the fire is said to have burnt itself out. The force said "disorder" involving 30 detainees started at about 2250 BST and was confined to one wing. Officers were called in to support security firm G4S. 'No risk' -- G4S, with the help of HM Prison Service, currently manages the welfare of detainees inside the centre, the police said. Ch Insp Ed Henriet, of Gatwick Police, said: "Sussex Police is supporting the security arrangements. All detainees are accounted for and there is no risk to the wider community." A second fire, that was unrelated to the first, according to a spokesperson for G4S, was also started by "one of the detainees setting fire to his bedding" on Saturday afternoon. It was extinguished using sprinklers and fire extinguishers. The spokesperson added that a detainee who assisted in putting out the fire was "slightly injured" and the fire had delayed some detainees being fed. The then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith opened Brook House, which can house up to 426 people, in March. It is situated next to Tinsley House, a 136-bed detention centre.

Brixton Prison
Securicor
June 11, 2003
Companies like Securicor and Group 4 were first awarded contracts to carry prisoners between jails and courts 10 years ago.  Since then, several of their charges have escaped either from courts or from vans en route.  (BBC News)

June 10, 2003
Three prisoners are on the run after escaping from a security van during an armed hijack in south London.  Armed men reportedly disguised as postmen stopped the Securicor van, shooting the driver in the knee and hitting a guard with a gun.  A Prison Service spokesman said: "The driver was threatened by a man with a shotgun who proceeded to shoot the driver in the knee through the door of the van.  "The other security staff on board, the passenger, was pistol-whipped.  (BBC News)

Castle Crown Court
Global Solutions Limited
August 5, 2004
A WORKINGTON man who admitted a series of sex offences against a teenage girl slashed his forearm moments later in the cells at Carlisle Crown Court, it has emerged.  But just minutes after the judge presiding over the case warned the 35-year-old that a prison sentence was inevitable, Carruthers used a prison razor blade to cut his arm.  (News and Star)

Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre
Oxford, England
GEO Group (formerly run by Group 4, Global Solutions)
October 5, 2011 Oxford Mail
EFFORTS to improve conditions for detainees at Campsfield House immigration removal centre have stalled, according to inspectors. Chief Inspector of Prisons Nick Hardwick said not enough had been done to deal with problems – particularly in healthcare and education – raised by his predecessor Dame Anne Owers after an inspection of the UK Borders Agency centre in Kidlington two years ago. His officials made an unannounced three-day inspection in May, shortly before operation of the centre – which houses about 200 people – passed from Geo Group to Mitie on May 30. The inspectors praised the way newly-arrived detainees were supported, said detainees felt safe and there was little bullying or use of force, noted relationships between staff and detainees were satisfactory, work placement arrangements had improved and access to phones and email was good. But they said there were “significant weaknesses in healthcare services”, education provision had not improved, decisions to place detainees in the separation unit were not always properly authorised and better interpreting services were needed, along with more notices in foreign languages.

August 5, 2011 The Guardian
Separate investigations into three deaths in immigration removal centres (IRC) in the past month have been launched by the police, amid growing concern about the treatment of detainees. The spate of deaths has caused alarm among critics of the government's detention policy, who warn that the system is at "breaking point" with poor healthcare putting people's lives at risk. Two men died from suspected heart attacks at Colnbrook near Heathrow airport and the third killed himself at the Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire on Tuesday. John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, who has two detention centres including Colnbrook in his constituency, said he feared there would be more deaths as the system struggled to cope with the number of people being detained. "The government is now detaining people on such a scale that the existing services are swamped," he said. "It is inevitable if we put the services under such relentless strain that there will be more deaths as a result … we are dealing with people who are extremely stressed and extremely vulnerable and the services are not able to cope and not able to guarantee their safety." The first man who died was Muhammad Shukat, 47, a Pakistani immigration detainee who collapsed at around 6am on 2 July. His roommate Abdul Khan says that in the hours before he died Shukat was groaning in agony, had very bad chest pains and was sweating profusely. Khan, 19, from Afghanistan, said he began raising the alarm around 6am and pressed the emergency button in the room 10 times in a frantic effort to get help. Khan claimed that on three occasions members of the centre's nursing team entered the room and found Shukat on the floor where he had collapsed. Khan said they put him back into bed, took his temperature and some medicine was administered, but did not call emergency assistance immediately. According to Khan, the nurses initially said that Shukat could go to see the centre's doctor at 8am. According to the London Ambulance Service, Colnbrook staff called an ambulance just before 7.20am. Attempts were made to resuscitate Shukat, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Hillingdon Hospital. A postmortem found the provisional cause of death to be coronary heart disease. Shukat's body has been returned to Pakistan and his family are understood to have no concerns about the medical treatment he received. The second man to die at Colnbrook has not yet been named. According to the Metropolitan police he was 35 and was found dead in his cell at 10.30am last Sunday. London Ambulance Service officials pronounced him dead at the scene. "A postmortem held on 1 August found the cause of death to be a ruptured aorta. The death is being treated as unexplained," said a police spokesman. Colnbrook IRC is managed by Serco. In a statement to detainees about Shukat's death, deputy director at Colnbrook, Jenni Halliday, described her "deep regret" and extended her condolences. In a statement to detainees about the second Colnbrook death, Serco's contract manager, Michael Guy, informed detainees that a resident in the short-term holding facility had died and that the death was thought to be from natural causes. On Tuesday, a 35-year-old man hanged himself in the toilet block at Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire. A fellow detainee, who refused to give his name, said the man had been hours away from being deported and had become very anxious. "He was normally a very quiet person … but the pressure is too much for people in here." It is understood the man had only been at the centre for a few days before he died. The Home Office refused to give any more details saying his extended family had yet to be informed. Emma Ginn, from the campaign group Medical Justice, said the deaths had heightened concern about the poor healthcare on offer to those being kept in UK detention centres. "Based on medical evidence from many hundreds of detainees, Medical Justice has documented the disturbingly inadequate healthcare provision that often vulnerable immigration detainees are subjected to in Colnbrook and other immigration removal centres... [this] combined with the perilous and frightening conditions of detention, is a lethal cocktail, a disaster waiting to happen." The UK Border Agency declined to comment on the specific circumstances of each case. It said the police and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman always investigated deaths in immigration detention centres and it would be inappropriate to comment until these were complete. David Wood, director of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said all detainees at immigration removal centres have access to health services seven days a week. "All detainees are seen by a nurse within two hours of arrival and are given an opportunity to see a GP within 24 hours," he added. "The health of all detainees is monitored closely, and the healthcare professionals are required to report cases where it is considered that a person's health is being affected by continued detention. "The UK takes its responsibilities seriously, which is why we consider every case on its individual merits and will continue to offer protection to those who need it. However, detention is an essential part of our controls on immigration in the UK." A groundbreaking ruling -- A man with severe mental illness was unlawfully locked up in a UK detention centre for five months and subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, according to a high court ruling. The man, a 34-year-old Indian national, was detained in Harmondsworth immigration removal centre between April and September last year. On Friday a judge ruled that his treatment amounted to a breach of article 3 of the European convention human rights. The man's lawyer said the ruling – thought to be the first of its kind – raised wider questions about how the government treats people with mental illnesses in the immigration and detention system. "The court's decision that my client suffered inhuman or degrading treatment at a UK detention facility sends a very loud and clear message to the authorities," said. "We would urge the minister to conduct a fundamental review into how people suffering from mental illness are treated in the immigration detention estate." The man, referred to as "S" in the ruling, had a history of serious ill treatment and abuse before arriving in the UK. He served time in prison for wounding and assault before being transferred to a secure psychiatric hospital until his discharge in April 2010. Following his release the UK Border Agency said there was "no evidence" he was mentally ill and he was detained in Harmondsworth where his health deteriorated and he began to have psychotic episodes and self harm. The high court intervened and he was released on bail. His lawyers said he had been living with his family since then and had fully complied with the conditions of bail set by the court. In the ruling judge David Elvin said: "S's pre-existing mental condition was both triggered and exacerbated by detention and that involved both a debasement and humiliation of S since it showed a serious lack of respect for his human dignity. It created a state in S's mind of real anguish and fear, through his hallucinations, which led him to self-harm frequently and to behave in a manner which was humiliating…" A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: "We regularly review our detention policies and will look at the findings in this case to ensure lessons are learned. Detention is an essential part of our immigration control but we recognise the importance of ensuring it remains appropriate on a case by case basis."

August 3, 2011 BBC
A man has died whilst being held at the Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre in Oxfordshire. The BBC received a call from a fellow detainee claiming an Asian man had hanged himself in the showers on 2 August. A spokesperson from the UK Border Agency confirmed a man had died at the privately run centre and was in the process of contacting his family. The Police and Prisons and Probation Ombudsman are investigating the death.

August 3, 2010 Daily Mail Reporter
More than 100 men being held at an immigration centre are on hunger strike today. The detainees last night refused their evening meal at the Campsfield House immigration removal centre in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. Officials at the UK Border Agency confirmed they were 'monitoring' the situation. Jonathan Sedgwick, UKBA deputy chief executive, said: 'We can confirm 108 detainees have refused prepared meals from staff yesterday evening. 'However they still have access to food from the on-site shop and vending machines. 'Staff are monitoring the situation closely and listening to the detainees' concerns. 'All detainees have access to legal representation and 24-hour medical care.' Earlier this year a report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers found that the average lengths of stay for detainees at Campsfield appeared to be increasing. It also found that some detainees were effectively being held indefinitely because there was little prospect of removal, while education provision was poor, particularly for the significant numbers of long-stay detainees and those with little English. Campsfield is 'a long-term centre where detainees are accommodated, pending their case resolutions and subsequent removal from the United Kingdom.' The site has 216 beds for male detainees and is run by contractor The GEO Group Ltd.

March 10, 2010 BBC
Some detainees held at Campsfield House immigration centre in Oxfordshire are being detained for "excessive periods", according to an inspector's report. Dame Anne Owers, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons (HMCIP), said the centre near Kidlington was making progress. But the inspector expressed concern that average lengths of stay appeared to be increasing and a lack of data obscured the scale of the problem. The UK Borders Agency (UKBA) said it reviewed detention frequently. Campsfield House, run by GEO Group Ltd, has had an unsettled recent history, with a number of high-profile incidents and escapes.

May 18, 2009 Oxford Mail
DISTURBANCES at Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre could be reduced if detainees were given more to do, an independent body has claimed. Campsfield’s Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) has just published its 2008 annual report on the controversial Kidlington centre, which has a history of escape attempts and violent incidents. IMB chairman Lieutenant Colonel Freddie Cantrell said: “We believe that activities and education should be increased to fully occupy the detainees. “There is nothing worse than boredom with a detainee who really doesn’t know what his future is going to be. “This can cause stress, and stress can lead to trouble and disturbances.” Lt Col Cantrell — one of 10 IMB volunteers who check on treatment of inmates at the centre — said detainees currently had 30 hours of formal education a week, including lessons in English, art and computing, which was insufficient.] He recommended the UK Border Agency review its contract for education provision at the centre, which holds up to 216 detainees. The 61-page report also shed new light on two major incidents which occured within days of each other in June last year. On June 16, friends of a Jamaican man who was due to be deported started fires in an education block, detainees’ rooms and in a fitness suite. The education block was destroyed and a shop was looted. Three days later, seven detainees escaped through a ground-floor window. Three of those who went on the run are still at large. Referring to the escape, Lt Col Cantrell said: “Of course it shouldn’t happen. “It means there is a weakness in the security. Of course that has been rectified.” But he added: I don’t think any establishment in the world is completely secure.” Other findings included a plan to put televisions in each detainee’s room within months, and the fact that paid work for inmates had doubled since the 2007 report was published. The report said force was used by staff 34 times in 2008, up from 31 in 2007, but the occupancy was higher and as such there was a reduction in the proportion of incidents where force was used. Handcuffs were used 11 times in 2008, the lowest level at the centre since 2005. The IMB also recommended ensuring detainees’ property travelled with them when they were transferred from police custody to the centre, and reviewing the way racial complaints were investigated. A UK Border Agency spokesman said detainees had access to a range of activities, and added the agency awaited recommendations from a review of education provision. No-one at GEO Group UK Ltd, which runs the centre, was available for comment.

December 3, 2008 Oxford Mail
Failed asylum seekers at Campsfield House Immigration Removal Centre used the Internet to access “inappropriate content” on the web, it has emerged. A report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) revealed the centre’s 200 plus detainees were accessing the worldwide web for up to an hour a day, but “despite controls, arrangements to block access to inappropriate content were not always effective”. Last night, a spokesman for HMIP could not detail the nature of the inappropriate content, and chief inspector of prisons Anne Owers was unavailable for interview. However, Ms Owers released a statement which read: “Email and Internet access is an important, and cheap, way for detainees to keep in contact with the outside world and relatives overseas. It is, however, important to ensure that access is controlled. “The point of the comment in the report is that there was a system of visual and spot checks at Campsfield, but the most effective way of ensuring that access is consistently controlled, which we have observed in other centres, is either to have a filtering system, or for staff to have a monitoring screen on which they can see exactly what all detainees are accessing.” Detainees first began surfing the web in December last year and there were plans to create an Internet cafe, HMIP revealed. Inspectors compiled the report after an unannounced four-day inspection of Campsfield House, near Kidlington, in May this year. The centre had “returned to normal” following a series of “major disturbances” in 2007, which included two riots and a breakout by 26 detainees, the report said. However, the inspection took place a month before another outbreak of violence and the escape of seven more detainees, and those incidents were not mentioned. Inspectors also found detainees were given pay-as-you go mobile phones on arrival at the centre, which the Home Office said were returned whenever a detainee was removed. The report found there was little evidence of bullying. The report also showed that the average length of detention had more than tripled, from 14 days in December 2006 to 46 days. Bill McKeith, of the Campaign to Close Campsfield, said: “The overall flavour of the report is quite critical. The Government claim it is a removal centre. A removal centre is a place where people are placed briefly before they are removed — and 46 days is not a brief stay.” A spokesman for the UK Border Agency would not be drawn on Mr McKeith’s claims, and did not issue a reaction to the report. Nobody was available for comment at GEO Group UK Ltd, which runs the centre. The inspectors also recommended an investigation as to why there had been a 37 per cent turnover of custody officers in 12 months. The report also gave a detailed breakdown of the nationalities and ages of the 202 detainees.

August 14, 2008 BBC
Thirteen Iraqi Kurds began fasting on Saturday in protest against deportation and reports an Iraqi man killed himself after being deported from the UK. The Home Office said the situation was "under control" and no-one had collapsed from lack of food. The BBC has learned about 46 people refused their evening meal on Wednesday. Some of the hunger-strikers are also protesting against conditions at the centre. Earlier, Algerian detainee and Aston University student, Redouane Messaoudi, 32, told BBC News he would starve for as long as it took. He said he came to the UK nearly 10 years ago and is married to a British woman, and lives with her and two young children in Birmingham. "I am at university, I've paid so much money, I have been working so hard to manage my life between the family and studies," he said. Dashty Jamal, general secretary of the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees, said the detainees were "victims of war and violence" in Iraq. "They are not a criminal, they are civilians," he said. "They arrived in this country because they didn't have any other choice." Campsfield House, which holds some 200 asylum seekers and foreign prisoners, has been the subject of a campaign to close it. The Campaign to Close Campsfield group said other detainees joined the strike in protest over conditions at the centre, where they said they were being "treated like animals". The GEO Group, which runs the site for the government, declined to comment.

June 19, 2008 Telegraph
Four detainees are on the run after escaping from a controversial immigration centre that has been the scene of much unrest. Seven people initially broke out of the facility although three were recaptured by police shortly after the alarm was raised at 4 am. The break-out happened just five days after a fire at the Campsfield immigration detention centre in Oxfordshire. The blaze was in a communal room at the centre on Saturday afternoon and around 20 detainees staged a rooftop protest. At the time, detainees said tensions began simmering among Jamaican inmates at the 215-man detention centre when staff brought dogs into their accommodation. In August last year 26 detainees escaped from the centre in a mass break-out. A Thames Valley police spokesman said that officers remained on the scene supporting the Home Office in their efforts to bring the situation under control. Superintendent Howard Stone said police were also working with the GEO Group UK Ltd, which controls the privately run centre on behalf of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. "We are working with GEO as well as the UK Border Agency to ensure everything is done to locate the missing detainees as quickly as possible," he said. "However, I would ask that if members of the public see anyone acting suspiciously and believes they may have been involved in this incident to contact the police immediately." GEO signed a three year contract with the Home Office to run the centre in March 2006 with an option to extend it until 2011. A GEO spokesman said: "Yes, it is correct there has been another outbreak at the detention centre. We know who the escaped detainees are and the police are now working to recapture them."

June 14, 2008 Daily Mail
A special prison service riot unit known as the Tornado Team was sent into a controversial detention centre yesterday to quell a violent stand-off between staff and illegal immigrants awaiting deportation. The 50 elite officers – dressed in Robocop-style black boiler suits and helmets and carrying batons and shields – marched into the Campsfield centre near Kidlington, Oxfordshire, after an initial disturbance when several fires were started. Crews from 15 fire engines tackled the blazes which caused thick black smoke to billow from one of the detention buildings. The Tornado Team was supported by about 50 police officers – some, equipped with riot gear and dogs, entered the camp while others secured the perimeter as a police helicopter hovered overhead. All the 200 inmates were herded into the camp’s exercise yard while fire crews took two hours to put out the blazes and make the area safe. But the detainees, all men, then refused to return to their buildings – creating another stand-off. At one point the illegal immigrants could be heard violently hammering on the 25ft high steel fence that surrounds the yard. A senior prison officer said outside: ‘No one in there is going anywhere.’ The Home Office said last night: ‘The UK Border Agency asked police for assistance and officers have secured the perimeter, which has not been breached. 'Specially trained prison officers known as a Tornado Team have been sent to the site in riot gear.’ Last August, 26 detainees escaped from Campsfield after a fire was started. But last night all the men were believed to have been accounted for. Tornado Team members are picked from serving prison officers and undergo four months of specialist training. Their boiler suits are fire-resistant, as are their padded gloves and steel-capped Army-style boots. Extra protection comes from plastic protectors on their forearms and shins. Every officer carries an American-style PR-24 sidearms baton. It can be used for defence, held along the forearm, or to attack by using a protruding metal attachment which can be spun round in confined spaces such as cells or corridors to keep assailants at bay. As an additional precaution, squad members wear face protectors to stop flames spreading under their protective suit. They use personal radios to contact their head at the scene, who is known as Silver Commander. He in turn takes orders from a Gold Commander, in charge of the overall operation and based at the Prison Service headquarters in London. Campsfield has been dogged with controversy since it was converted from a youth detention centre to handle illegal immigrants in 1993. Last year alone, there were two other disturbances not including the breakout. It is run by the UK subsidiary of American company the GEO Group, which signed a five-year contract in March, 2006. The Home Office said all the detainees were being escorted back to their accommodation blocks by 7.30pm. A spokesman added: ‘The situation has calmed down. There has been no resistance from the detainees to going back to their rooms. The operation is being wound down at the site.’ A GEO spokesman was unavailable for comment last night.

June 14, 2008 The Times
Inmate disturbances and fires broke out this afternoon at a troubled immigrant detention centre that has previously suffered riots, blazes and escapes. Two plumes of smoke rose from the centre in Kidlington, Oxfordshire. The problems at Campsfield House detention centre, which holds more than 200 foreign criminals and illegal immigrants, have prompted calls for its closure. Thames Valley police were called in this afternoon to help the security teams at the privately-run centre. A police helicopter hovered above the centre, and the riot squad was put on standby. More than a dozen fire engines have been attending the fire, and one detainee is said to have been hospitalised with smoke inhalation. There have been no other injuries reported at this stage. Campsfield House is managed by the Reading-based GEO Group UK Ltd, on behalf of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate. It has been beset with problems since it opened, and detainees rioted twice last year. In March, fires were started and CCTV cameras smashed, after a detainee was removed for deportation. Seven staff and two inmates were injured. A fire in August allowed 26 inmates to escape - eight of them were still at large at last report. All the escapees were foreign criminals, awaiting deportation. In December, staff were forced to evacuate a block, again after a detainee was removed. Other inmates wrongly believed that the man, Davis Osagie from Benin in West Africa, had been murdered by prison officers. Authorities moved 128 inmates to other detention centres after December’s riot. David Pitman, who lives down the street from Campsfield, said he saw smoke coming from the detention centre and heard the inmates shouting. “This seems to happen more and more often,” he said. “Last time there was trouble and the police hadn’t arrived on the scene so I had to chase one of the escapees with a torch. “I have a young daughter and I worry for her safety with these criminals running around free. Something needs to be done about the security in there.” The centre’s independent monitoring board criticised GEO for failing to prevent the rioting, despite being warned after the first clash that the rioting could happen again. An audit report this year, commissioned by the Border and Immigration Agency, disclosed racism and tension in some of the country’s 10 immigration detention centres. It found that officers at several centres had taunted detainees - describing them as “black bastards” in one case - and found “turbulent” atmosphere in some units. At Campsfield, it said, there was a “tense” environment atmosphere where staff were afraid of detainees. One member of staff said: “If this was white British people in here we would be a lot stricter, it is because they are black people that we are afraid.”

November 26, 2007 Oxford Mail
Detainees at an immigration detention centre near Oxford have warned the atmosphere is on a knife-edge as campaigners marked its 14th anniversary. While protesters rallied outside Campsfield House, detainees spoke of a tense atmosphere and warned of a new riot. Speaking to the Oxford Mail from inside the centre in Kidlington, detainee Michael Sinclair said: "People are not getting any justice in here. They have been talking about a riot. "People have been plotting. I am frightened because you never know what will happen - it is very dangerous." Father-of-five Mr Sinclair, whose mother lives in Blackbird Leys, came to Oxford from Jamaica in 1999. He met his wife, who lives in East Oxford with three of his children, in 2003 but was unsuccessful in securing a spouse's visa and returned to Jamaica to re-apply. His visa was refused again, and desperate to see his wife and children, he returned to Britain on a false passport but was caught and jailed in March. The 41-year-old has been detained in Campsfield House since October and is currently facing deportation. Fellow detainee Rohan Walker, 27, said: "People are not getting any justice." When asked if he thought another riot was likely, he said: "People have been talking about that. You never know when it could happen." Around 50 demonstrators from the Campaign to Close Campsfield staged a two hour protest outside the centre on Saturday afternoon. The group chanted and listened to speeches. Member Bob Hughes, 60, said the centre was on the verge of serious unrest. The university lecturer, from St Clements, Oxford, said: "It is continuously on the boil. As far as we know the conditions are dreadful." Mr Hughes said the anniversary of the centre, which opened on November 23, 1993, made the current situation particularly troubling. Neither The GEO Group UK, which runs the centre, or the Home Office, were available for comment.

August 7, 2007 The Times
Ministers were warned less than two weeks ago that an immigration centre from which 14 men are on the run was unsuitable for holding them. They were also told that the policy of putting foreign prisoners in immigration centres “bursting at the seams” presented a high risk that could trigger disorder. Fourteen foreign prisoners are on the run after fleeing from Campsfield House immigration removal centre during the second outbreak of rioting on the premises in five months. The convicted prisoners, who were among 26 who escaped from the centre run by GEO Group UK, had served sentences in jails but were being held in the centre near Oxford while awaiting deportation. It emerged yesterday that officials from the Home Office had met detainees at the centre last Wednesday and Friday to discuss their grievances, including overcrowded and squalid conditions, a high rejection rate for bail applications and delays in repatriating migrants who wish to go home. But at 10.30pm on Saturday a fire broke out in a portable building at the centre where food is prepared. The detainees took advantage of the disorder to break out of the centre but 12 were recaptured soon afterwards, including a Bangladeshi who approached the home of a prison officer and asked to be hidden. Explaining that the search for the missing men has been scaled down, a Thames Valley Police spokesman said: “We have not got large numbers of officers on the ground searching for them any more. [But] we are still looking for them and their identities have been circulated to all forces.” A report into the earlier disturbance at the centre highlighted the risk that the Home Office was running by placing prisoners in immigration centres, which have much lower security than prisons. “The impact of foreign national prisoners is the biggest external issue affecting Campsfield House. It is putting the centre under great strain,” the report by Bob Whalley, a former Home Office senior civil servant, said. At the end of May more than 50 per cent of the 198 detainees in the centre were foreign prisoners. The inquiry report cautioned: “The fabric is not suitable for foreign national prisoners. It has none of the strength of a prison, nor does it offer any flexibility for dealing with difficult incidents or detainees.” Staff had complained of the large influx of foreign prisoners, “many with serious criminal backgrounds and ‘streetwise’ in their experience of prison”, the report said. It added that little was known about many foreign prisoners who arrived at immigration centres. After serving time in jail many of the prisoners found the more relaxed regime at Campsfield House disorientating. The report said that some became manipulative or bullying. It cautioned: “Some will find the dual pressure of further time in custody and uncertain date of release frustrating, to the extent that, ‘with nothing to lose’, the temptation to join in gratuitous disorder may prove too much. A concentration of discontented detainees may prove so volatile that an otherwise innocuous event may prove a trigger point for concerted disturbance.” The report said: “There are several groups of foreign national prisoners presenting high risk in terms of potential for disorder. There is little to inhibit them if an opportunity to engage in wanton disorder presents itself. The greater their frustration at the position, the greater the risk of disorder.” Damian Green, the Tory immigration spokesman, attacked the Government for putting foreign prisoners who were awaiting deportation into immigration removal centres. “We need immigration detention centres as part of the process of removing people who have no right to be here, but what we shouldn’t be doing is mixing up immigration offenders with other criminals, and that’s where the big failure lies.” Lin Homer, chief executive of the Border and Immigration Agency, said: “We have recently looked at the regime in Campsfield and we are putting in place a number of improvements with the centre operator.” Troublespot -- 1993 Campsfield centre opens 

 1997 50 detainees take part in disturbance 

 2001 90 go on hunger strike 

 2002 David Blunkett, then Home Secretary, announces its closure 

 2003 Decision reversed after riot at another detention centre 

 2004 Local council rejects plans to expand Campsfield to hold 300 

 2006 GEO Group wins five-year contract to run Campsfield 

 March 2007 Disturbance as staff try to remove Algerian for deportation. Sixty detainees transferred out because of the damage 

 August 2007 Disturbances and 26 detainees flee. Twelve recaptured and 14 still on the run Source: Times database

August 3, 2007 BBC
Detainees at an Oxfordshire detention centre are suspending their ongoing hunger strike while they wait for a response from the Home Office. More than 150 detainees at Campsfield House Immigration Centre near Kidlington in Oxford have been refusing to eat since Tuesday night. They have complained to officials about the overcrowded conditions and claimed they are being held illegally. The Home Office said it would respond to concerns by Friday afternoon. Campsfield was rife with scabies, but only staff were issued with gloves. Campaign to Close Campsfield -- In a statement, the Campaign to Close Campsfield also said the centre "is a health hazard with 70% of people infected with flu". "Paracetamol is the only medicine made available and two weeks ago even this ran out. "Campsfield was rife with scabies, but only staff were issued with gloves. "Although detainees are held as civil detainees, not convicted prisoners or prisoners on remand, food, toilets and showers are a lot worse than in prisons." It said some detainees were being held even though they had won appeals against deportation or had agreed to go back to their countries of origin. Troubled history -- On Wednesday, the Home Office promised it would respond to the concerns within 48 hours. Formerly a Young Offenders Institute, Campsfield was converted into an immigration detention centre in 1993 amid a storm of protest from local residents. Run by the American company GEO, which specialises in operating detention facilities, Campsfield holds up to 200 male asylum seekers at a time. Within six months of opening the centre experienced a major problem when six asylum seekers escaped following a rooftop protest. A number of low-level disturbances inside the centre and regular public protests outside its gates has since occurred at Campsfield.

April 3, 2007 The Guardian
A private prison was criticised by its staff and a judge yesterday following the collapse of a manslaughter trial over the death of a prisoner on suicide watch. Four officers from Rye Hill prison, near Rugby, run by Global Solutions Ltd, were cleared of all charges in connection with the death of Michael Bailey, from Birmingham, who was serving a four year sentence for cocaine dealing. He was found in March 2005 hanged by his shoelace from the door to his cell in the segregation block. Daniel Daymond, 23, of Rugby, Paul Smith, 39, of Warrington, and Samantha Prime, 29, also of Rugby, were acquitted at Northampton crown court of charges of manslaughter by gross negligence in connection with Bailey's death. Ben King, 21, of Southbrook, Daventry, along with Mr Daymond, was cleared of perverting the course of justice by doctoring log books for suicide watches. All were cleared on the direction of the judge, Mr Justice Grigson. He said: "No one who has heard the evidence in this court can have any doubt that the death of Michael Bailey was a tragedy, not least because it was avoidable." Outside the court Bailey's mother, Caroline, said: "This case clearly shows there were failures in Rye Hill prison and GSL ... I hope the outcome of this case brings changes." Paul Smith, manager of the segregation unit where Mr Bailey killed himself, resigned from GSL before the court case. He said after his acquittal. "Straight from the start I had expressed concern about the level of support and training. I told senior management about it and they didn't do anything." In a statement released through his solicitor, Mr Daymond said: "[Michael Bailey's] death was a tragedy that was wholly avoidable. I hope that today's decision will focus attention on the way in which Rye Hill Prison is run." A spokesman for GSL said: "This whole matter will be looked at very carefully. Self-harm is an issue that prisons work very hard to avoid." The jail was the subject of criticism by the chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, who found the staff were inexperienced.

March 16, 2007 Oxford Mail
Staff are counting up the costs at Campsfield House immigration detention centre after detainees ran riot and started a fire. About 60 detainees were moved to other detention centres, including Yarl's Wood in Bedfordshire, on Wednesday night. Anti-Campsfield campaigners claim the revolt at the centre, in Kidlington, was sparked when an Algerian detainee was removed from his room for deportation. Police are investigating the fire as suspected arson. A former member of staff, in his 20s, who asked not to be named, praised former colleagues who he said tried to tackle the fire at the centre at 6.30am on Wednesday, before firefighters arrived. He said: "They kicked windows out and tried to tackle the fire themselves. "I spoke to one of the seven members of staff who needed hospital treatment and he told me that there has been serious damage to blue block and yellow block and the library has been destroyed. "Only about 30 detainees kicked off, but it will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to put the damage right. "The ironic thing is that the GEO group that runs the site has been getting detainees to paint internal areas and blue block has only just been painted." The former worker claimed that more than 190 detainees were housed in an area which mean for 130 and that it was not 'fit for purpose'. Oxford West and Abingdon MP Evan Harris said: "There will need to be an investigation of why there has been yet another serious disturbance at Campsfield House, which has been a subject of a number of critical reports by successive chief inspectors of prisons." Dr Harris, a member of the House of Commons select committee on human rights, added: "My select committee is already conducting an inquiry into detention of failed asylum seekers, following concerns about physical abuse during removals. "The Home Secretary himself a few years ago declared that Campsfield House was not appropriate for the 21st century, but then of course the Government decided to keep it open anyway. They will need to look at that question again."

March 14, 2007 BBC
Seven staff and two inmates have been injured in a fire after a riot broke out at an immigration removal centre. Emergency services were called to deal with the incident at Campsfield removal centre near Kidlington, in Oxfordshire, early on Wednesday. A BBC reporter saw a dozen riot officers carrying shields enter the centre to join about 35 police officers who were dealing with the incident. The nine injured people are thought to be suffering from smoke inhalation. The seven immigration staff at the centre and two detainees have been taken to hospital. A Home Office spokesman said the riot teams were working to get the centre completely under control as soon as possible. "The perimeter of Campsfield has not been breached and all detainees have been accounted for," he added. They used force to drag the person from the bed and after that everything kicked off. Campsfield detainee: In a statement Thames Valley Police said: "The detainees were evacuated and nine people have been taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation. No serious injuries have been reported. "The fire has now been extinguished. Five fire engines and 30 firefighters attended the incident. The fire was relatively small and mainly generated a lot of smoke." 'Fighting stopped': A detainee, who did not want to be named, told BBC News 24: "This place is falling apart - computers are getting smashed. "They've stopped fighting now but they're destroying every bit of equipment they can find - computers getting smashed, shops are getting broken into, they're stealing everything." "They used force to drag the person from the bed and after that everything kicked off," he said. Sarah Cutler from Bail for Immigration Detainees, which provides workshops at Campsfield offering legal advice to detainees, said she was not surprised by the disturbance. "There are big problems at the moment," she said, adding that many people were being held for months. Riot gear: Those included "people who want to go back to their country of origin, have told the Home Office they want to go back, but are still detained because they can't get it together to remove them". A Home Office spokeswoman said the continuing incident began at 0630 GMT. BBC reporter Rajesh Mirchandani, speaking outside the centre, said he had seen members of a prison service fast response team enter the site. "They're riot trained and they went in carrying riot gear." He said he could see a helicopter hovering overhead and police dog units and mounted police were now patrolling the perimeter of the centre. The Home Office spokeswoman said: "Police, fire and ambulance teams are on the scene and a number of Tornado units from the Prison Service have been deployed to the centre." Campsfield can hold 196 adult male detainees, but it is not known how many are currently being held there.

July 22, 2006 The Independent
A Kurdish teenager killed himself after spending more than four months in an immigration detention centre, an inquest has heard. Ramazan Kumluca, 18, is the youngest asylum-seeker to have committed suicide while facing deportation from Britain. Campaign groups yesterday called for the closure of all detention centres, comparing them to Victorian workhouses. Mr Kumluca is one of more than 30 asylum-seekers who have killed themselves in the past five years after being told their applications had failed. He had travelled from his home in Turkey to Italy and then on to Britain where he claimed asylum last year, saying that his life was in danger over a £20,000 debt owed by his father. He also claimed that if he was sent back to Italy (under rules that asylum must be claimed in the first safe country reached) he was at risk of exploitation. Mr Kumluca was refused asylum and denied bail because there were fears he would not report back for deportation. He was sent to Campsfield House in Oxfordshire, an immigration removal centre that holds around 100 men at any time. The average stay for detainees at the centre is 14 days, but because the teenager was fighting his deportation order he was held for four and a half months. An inquest at Oxford Old Assizes heard he had been plunged into despair during his incarceration and had complained of insomnia, headaches and anxiety. A fellow inmate, Abdulwase Kamali, told the court Mr Kumluca had appeared "sad" the day before he killed himself. He said: "Ramazan said he had been told by immigration he would be sent back to Italy, and he said if he was sent back to Italy he would be used in sex films. He said he would slash himself or hang himself." On 27 June last year, Mr Kamali and other Muslim detainees alerted warders after calling Mr Kumluca for morning prayers and finding his door would not open. He was found hanging from the door closing mechanism. After investigating his death, a Prison and Probation ombudsman cleared staff of any wrongdoing. The jury returned a verdict of suicide. Outside the court, Bob Hughes, of the pressure group Campaign to Close Campsfield, said: "Here we have an institution full of people being driven deliberately to despair by government policy." "He added: "We believe these people should be allowed to get on with their own lives. Centres like Campsfield are a huge national scandal and shame. Campsfield House has been a removal centre since 1993 and is privately run by the company Global Solutions Limited. In 2002, the then Home Secretary David Blunkett pledged that the centre would be closed, but a year later it was decided to keep it open and expand the number of places. Since 2000, at least 25 asylum-seekers have killed themselves while living in the community after being told they would be deported. Mr Kumluca was the seventh to have committed suicide in a detention centre. More than 2,600 adults and children are being held in detention centres prior to deportation. In January this year another asylum-seeker Bereket Yohannes, from Eritrea, was found hanging at Harmondsworth Removal Centre. An inquest will be held into his death.

June 17, 2006 Indy Media
On Monday 12th of this week a Somalian man went onto a roof at Campsfield; he had been detained for four months (probably illegally, since the government cannot deport people to Somalia) and took a rope and a plastic bag with him. GEO, the new management at Campsfield, asked the police to leave and said they would deal with the matter themselves; we do not know whether they used violence against the Somalian detainee; he has been removed from Campsfield, no doubt to somewhere even worse as is usual in these cases. There have been 12 suicides in immigration detention, and several hundred attempted suicides and cases of self harm requiring medical treatment. GSL lost the contract to run Campsfield to GEO (Global Expertise on Outsourcing), presumably on cost grounds. GEO took over at the beginning of the month. They have changed their name from Wackenhut, and have a discreditable history of running penal institutions in the USA and Australia. GSL's manager, Andy Clark, who had been more willing than his predecessors to allow volunteers and education classes in Campsfield, decided he could not work with GEO; at least two of the people who ran education classes and workshops have been sacked or left, and GEO apparently intends to provide much reduced hours of education (as required under the contract), run by its own officers. But of course the most serious problem is not the conditions inside the centre, but the fact that people are detained there who have committed no crime, been charged or suspected of no crime, with no judicial process and no time limit, often with no access to lawyers, and always with great uncertainty about what is happening to them or about to happen to them.

May 23, 2001
The global private security firm Group 4, is an "Investor in People."  This may come as a surprise.  For since Campsfield opened, almost unnoticed, in the bleary period just before Christmas in 1993, this improvised brick compound has become to many the unacceptable face of the British government's asylum system.  Within weeks, the country's first specialized facility for confining them while their cases were decided was provoking hunger strikes.  Within months, detainees were climbing on to its roofs to protest at the conditions.  Still in its first year of operation, there was a mass escape over its 20ft perimeter fence, and a "disturbance" - involving fires and smashed furniture - which resulted in the deployment of riot police and injuries to detainees, who needed several ambulances and hospital treatment.  Official reports on Campsfield in 1995 and 1998 by two different chief inspectors of prisons found fear, boredom and stress among inmates.  Among the Group 4 staff, the inspections found inexperience, poor pay and exhausting shift work.  This cycle of protest and disorder and repressive countermeasures continued unabated during the late 1990s.  (Guardian Newspapers)

May 14, 2002
As many as 15 asylum seeker accomadation centres could be built across the UK despite an angry response from residents in the locations chosen for the three pilot "villages".  The government plans to build the centres at Throckmorton, near Pershore on Worcestershire, RAF Newton, in Nottinghamshire, and at Bicester, Oxfordshire.  More than 3,000 villagers have signed a petition objecting to a development in their area.  Some local people are anxious about plans to house large numbers of asylum seekers near them, particularly following the riot and fire which destroyed the $100m Yari's Wood centre.  Steve Mitchell, chairman of Pinvin Parish Council, promised to fight the plans "every step of the way".  (BBC News)

Colnbrook Immigration Removal Center
Colnbrook, UK
Serco
August 5, 2011 The Guardian
Separate investigations into three deaths in immigration removal centres (IRC) in the past month have been launched by the police, amid growing concern about the treatment of detainees. The spate of deaths has caused alarm among critics of the government's detention policy, who warn that the system is at "breaking point" with poor healthcare putting people's lives at risk. Two men died from suspected heart attacks at Colnbrook near Heathrow airport and the third killed himself at the Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire on Tuesday. John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, who has two detention centres including Colnbrook in his constituency, said he feared there would be more deaths as the system struggled to cope with the number of people being detained. "The government is now detaining people on such a scale that the existing services are swamped," he said. "It is inevitable if we put the services under such relentless strain that there will be more deaths as a result … we are dealing with people who are extremely stressed and extremely vulnerable and the services are not able to cope and not able to guarantee their safety." The first man who died was Muhammad Shukat, 47, a Pakistani immigration detainee who collapsed at around 6am on 2 July. His roommate Abdul Khan says that in the hours before he died Shukat was groaning in agony, had very bad chest pains and was sweating profusely. Khan, 19, from Afghanistan, said he began raising the alarm around 6am and pressed the emergency button in the room 10 times in a frantic effort to get help. Khan claimed that on three occasions members of the centre's nursing team entered the room and found Shukat on the floor where he had collapsed. Khan said they put him back into bed, took his temperature and some medicine was administered, but did not call emergency assistance immediately. According to Khan, the nurses initially said that Shukat could go to see the centre's doctor at 8am. According to the London Ambulance Service, Colnbrook staff called an ambulance just before 7.20am. Attempts were made to resuscitate Shukat, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Hillingdon Hospital. A postmortem found the provisional cause of death to be coronary heart disease. Shukat's body has been returned to Pakistan and his family are understood to have no concerns about the medical treatment he received. The second man to die at Colnbrook has not yet been named. According to the Metropolitan police he was 35 and was found dead in his cell at 10.30am last Sunday. London Ambulance Service officials pronounced him dead at the scene. "A postmortem held on 1 August found the cause of death to be a ruptured aorta. The death is being treated as unexplained," said a police spokesman. Colnbrook IRC is managed by Serco. In a statement to detainees about Shukat's death, deputy director at Colnbrook, Jenni Halliday, described her "deep regret" and extended her condolences. In a statement to detainees about the second Colnbrook death, Serco's contract manager, Michael Guy, informed detainees that a resident in the short-term holding facility had died and that the death was thought to be from natural causes. On Tuesday, a 35-year-old man hanged himself in the toilet block at Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire. A fellow detainee, who refused to give his name, said the man had been hours away from being deported and had become very anxious. "He was normally a very quiet person … but the pressure is too much for people in here." It is understood the man had only been at the centre for a few days before he died. The Home Office refused to give any more details saying his extended family had yet to be informed. Emma Ginn, from the campaign group Medical Justice, said the deaths had heightened concern about the poor healthcare on offer to those being kept in UK detention centres. "Based on medical evidence from many hundreds of detainees, Medical Justice has documented the disturbingly inadequate healthcare provision that often vulnerable immigration detainees are subjected to in Colnbrook and other immigration removal centres... [this] combined with the perilous and frightening conditions of detention, is a lethal cocktail, a disaster waiting to happen." The UK Border Agency declined to comment on the specific circumstances of each case. It said the police and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman always investigated deaths in immigration detention centres and it would be inappropriate to comment until these were complete. David Wood, director of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said all detainees at immigration removal centres have access to health services seven days a week. "All detainees are seen by a nurse within two hours of arrival and are given an opportunity to see a GP within 24 hours," he added. "The health of all detainees is monitored closely, and the healthcare professionals are required to report cases where it is considered that a person's health is being affected by continued detention. "The UK takes its responsibilities seriously, which is why we consider every case on its individual merits and will continue to offer protection to those who need it. However, detention is an essential part of our controls on immigration in the UK." A groundbreaking ruling -- A man with severe mental illness was unlawfully locked up in a UK detention centre for five months and subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, according to a high court ruling. The man, a 34-year-old Indian national, was detained in Harmondsworth immigration removal centre between April and September last year. On Friday a judge ruled that his treatment amounted to a breach of article 3 of the European convention human rights. The man's lawyer said the ruling – thought to be the first of its kind – raised wider questions about how the government treats people with mental illnesses in the immigration and detention system. "The court's decision that my client suffered inhuman or degrading treatment at a UK detention facility sends a very loud and clear message to the authorities," said. "We would urge the minister to conduct a fundamental review into how people suffering from mental illness are treated in the immigration detention estate." The man, referred to as "S" in the ruling, had a history of serious ill treatment and abuse before arriving in the UK. He served time in prison for wounding and assault before being transferred to a secure psychiatric hospital until his discharge in April 2010. Following his release the UK Border Agency said there was "no evidence" he was mentally ill and he was detained in Harmondsworth where his health deteriorated and he began to have psychotic episodes and self harm. The high court intervened and he was released on bail. His lawyers said he had been living with his family since then and had fully complied with the conditions of bail set by the court. In the ruling judge David Elvin said: "S's pre-existing mental condition was both triggered and exacerbated by detention and that involved both a debasement and humiliation of S since it showed a serious lack of respect for his human dignity. It created a state in S's mind of real anguish and fear, through his hallucinations, which led him to self-harm frequently and to behave in a manner which was humiliating…" A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: "We regularly review our detention policies and will look at the findings in this case to ensure lessons are learned. Detention is an essential part of our immigration control but we recognise the importance of ensuring it remains appropriate on a case by case basis."

June 22, 2009 Thaindian
The news that foreign criminals, including rapists and terrorists, are being treated to lavish cuisine as they wait to be deported, has not gone down with the taxpayers in Britain. There is an outrage among residents over money being spent on the preparation of mouthwatering dishes for 383 inmates, who are currently staying at a luxurious 47 million pounds Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre in Berkshire. The menu that these detainees are being offered includes oriental poached fish parcels, beef goulash and mint lamb stew. Each detainee is offered four choices for lunch and dinner, plus three vegetable options and a dessert. “The idea that these people should enjoy hotel-style standards of service and food is preposterous. Given the recession we’re living in, most people will think this type of arrangement is outrageous,” the Sun quoted Matthew Elliott, a local resident, as saying. Other delicacies offered to them include chicken chasseur, fish gumbo and beef and onion pie. They are handed a menu at the start of the week and asked to mark their choices for the next seven days - with food cooked to order. “Some of the dishes are so exotic they put Gordon Ramsay to shame. The grub’s certainly better than the local hotels. Now every foreign con wants to come here because the food is so good,” an official said. The scandal is the latest to hit the Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre in Berkshire, which is run by a private firm ‘Serco’. Earlier it was reported how the detainees had access to Nintendo Wiis and plasma TVs.

June 2, 2009 The Independent
Allegations that asylum seekers are being bullied by immigration staff are not being properly investigated, a report into Britain's flagship immigration removal centre has found. The use of reasonable force to control detainees at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, near Heathrow Airport, had increased and was not always well managed, Anne Owers, the Chief Inspector of Prisons also found in a report published today. In the three months before the inspection, there had been 179 complaints ranging from bullying to poor food. Dame Anne said: "...we found little improvement at Colnbrook since our last visit... there was evidence of the centre taking inappropriate steps to manage some of the challenges; there were examples of separation being misused and the vulnerable persons unit was not fit for purpose." The centre, run by Serco, holds male detainees in the most secure facility in the detention estate. Dame Anne said: "A significant number of complaints, including allegations of staff bullying, were not adequately investigated and replies lacked detail." Dave Woods, head of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said: "In the six months since HMCIP visited, safety, security and purposeful activity for detainees have improved significantly."

Docklands Light Railway
London, England
Serco
May 13, 2010 London Evening Standard
Docklands Light Railway operator Serco has been fined £450,000 after it failed to stop a train which hit and killed a man who had fallen off a platform. Robert Carter, 34, stumbled on to the lines at All Saints station following a late-night argument with another passenger, Paul Green. Mr Green telephoned police to say Mr Carter had a knife and had fallen on to the track. Officers asked the DLR control room to check if someone was on the lines, but this was treated as an “informal request” rather than an actual report, Southwark Crown Court was told. A control room operator failed to see Mr Carter on the track and did not halt the trains, which are automatic and do not have an actual driver. Shortly afterwards another member of the control room staff saw a police officer on All Saints station's CCTV waving his arms above his head. This operator immediately pressed an emergency plunger to halt an oncoming train but it was too late. The wheels struck Mr Carter, who suffered serious injuries and died in hospital. Serco was also ordered to pay £43,773 costs. It was found guilty last month, under health and safety regulations, of failing to ensure its automatic trains did not hit people who were on the tracks. Judge Deborah Taylor, passing sentence yesterday, said: “Serco fell considerably below what was required of it.” Procedures were “not robust or comprehensive enough” in dealing with incidents of human error. But the judge said it was clear that Serco “took safety seriously “ and there was “no suggestion profit was put before safety”. David Travers, QC, prosecuting for the Office of Rail Regulation, said Mr Carter was involved in an altercation with another passenger at All Saints. “After he fell, it would appear that Mr Carter was unable or unwilling to move — whether through injuries from the fall, intoxication or for some other reason is unknown,” said Mr Travers. “DLR staff looked at the station on their CCTV monitors, which are not suitable for seeing if anyone is on the track, and failed to see Mr Carter. The train which killed Mr Carter could have been stopped before reaching the station.” Jurors were played a recording of the British Transport Police call to the DLR control centre, in which line controller Paul Day was heard to say: “There's certainly no one on the track.” Stephen Moody, for Serco, said it had made several changes since the incident and improved safety procedures. It denied one count of failing to comply with its health and safety duties.

Doncaster Prison
South Yorkshire, UK
Serco (formerly known as Premier)
November 3, 2010 The Star
A DISGRACED prison officer who was handed a suicide note by an inmate put it in his manager's 'in tray' to be dealt with the next morning. By that time Shaun Flanagan, aged 26, was dead - just three days after being locked-up on a charge of driving while disqualified. An inquest at Doncaster Coroner's Court was told prison officer Russell Calladine admitted he was too frightened to enter the cell where Mr Flanagan hanged himself in June 2006. Instead, he waited until colleagues at HMP Doncaster arrived a few minutes later before helping to cut the prisoner's noose. It has taken more than four years for evidence about Mr Flanagan's last hours to be heard in public, by a jury of four women and three men. Mr Flanagan, of South Street, Highfields, was supposed to be checked in his cell every 30 minutes because he was detoxifying from drug addiction. But questions have been raised about the checks carried out by Mr Calladine, who has since been sacked.

July 23, 2010 The Star
PRISONER-on-prisoner violence has more than doubled in Doncaster Prison last year after bosses put all the young offenders together. The figures for assaults reported at the Marshgate jail soared to 412 in 2009, compared to 192 in 2008. The figure was more than three time the 2007 figure of 127. The revelation comes as figures obtained by The Star under the Freedom of Information Act revealed there were 1,149 attacks on prisoners by other inmates over the last three years. Lindholme Prison saw the fewest, with 156 over three years, with 47 in 2009, 57 in 2008 and 52 in 2007. Moorland recorded 262, with 85 last year, 86 in 2008 and 91 in 2007. A Ministry of Justice Spokesman said: "The rise on prisoner-on-prisoner assaults recorded at HMP Doncaster in 2009 was due to restructuring in the prison whereby its young offender population was relocated to a single block, rather than dispersed among the adult population. This resulted in a temporary spike in assaults and particularly fights among young offenders.

April 23, 2006 24 DASH
Prison officers are calling for all jail wardens to be better armed claiming they should be given metal batons in order to defend themselves from assault. The Prison Officers Association (POA) conference next month will vote on whether the extendable baton should be allowed in many more prisons. The union's national general secretary Brian Caton said he supported the proposals and predicted the motions would be passed. Currently, staff at private prisons such as Doncaster do not carry batons. "We would say that's wrong," Mr Caton said. "Prisoners in private prisons are no less violent, they're no less difficult. "You are twice as likely to be attacked in a private prison as in a public prison." Last July the Chief Inspector of Prisons warned that staff at a privately-run prison were being bullied by inmates. Anne Owers demanded urgent action after discovering unsafe conditions at Rye Hill jail, near Rugby in Warwickshire, which is run by GSL UK Ltd. Inexperienced officers were ignoring misbehaviour and evidence of contraband in order to "survive" on the wings, the report said.

April 12, 2006 Politics.Co.UK
The government has been forced to defend its use of private contractors to run Britain's prisons in the wake of a critical report from the chief inspector. Anne Owers says that while Doncaster is "by no means a bad local prison", where relationships with staff and inmates are generally good, physical conditions are "sometimes squalid". Many prisoners lack basics such as pillows, toilet seats and working televisions, some cells are dirty and covered in graffiti, and she highlights "institutional meanness" in making prisoners pay to change their account number which allows them to call home. In her report, Ms Owers notes the prison has good points, in particular in its resettlement of offenders and community re-entry facilities, but warns the problems were all in areas "not specifically mandated by the contract under which the prison is run". "There remains a concern that, in focusing on meeting their contractual obligations, prison managers had allowed important areas to slip below what was safe and decent; and indeed may have sought savings in precisely those areas," she said. Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, seized upon today's report as an example of the "manifest failings of private prisons". "It exposes the fallacy promulgated by the Home Office that private prisons have helped to improve prison conditions, raised standards or fostered advances in the decent treatment of prisoners and staff. Doncaster shows that this is not the case," she said. "Unsurprisingly, the chief inspector draws attention to the fact that those areas in which the prison is failing are those in which it was not contractually obliged by the Home Office to meet particular standards."

April 12, 2006 The Mirror
DONCASTER prison has been described as "squalid" and showing signs of "institutional meanness" in a damning report by the jails' watchdog. Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers expressed concern that prison chiefs had let standards slip at the 800-inmate jail and made savings to meet Home Office contract targets. She claims the medium security jail, which is run by private company Serco - formerly known as Premier Prison Services - had deteriorated since it was last inspected in 2003. Her report said one example of "meanness" was charging inmates 50 pence to change family telephone numbers on the automated phone system, which was branded "particularly unfair" because of the shortage of paying jobs in the jail. The chief inspector said: "Respect was seriously undermined by the physical conditions in which many prisoners lived, which in some cases were squalid. Many prisoners lacked pillows, adequate mattresses, toilet seats, working televisions, notice-boards and places to store belongings. "Some cells, especially on the young prisoners' wing, were dirty and festooned with graffiti." First night cells were "squalid" with no hot water, "lumps of foam" as mattresses and "dirty" bedding, said the report. In other areas, bedding was "heavily soiled". Ms Owers also pointed out bullying problems were not properly addressed at the prison and only 29 per cent of young ethnic minority prisoners reported that staff treated them well. In 2003, Ms Owers said Doncaster was a good jail which needed to increase the amount of purposeful activities available - such as work or education - and improve first night facilities. On her return last November, she found it had not tackled these problems and had slipped back in a number of other areas. But, overall, she said Doncaster was "by no means a bad prison". Making 156 recommendations for improvement, Ms Owers said: "Our main concern was not only that managers had failed to tackle problems we pointed out in our last inspection, but that the prison had deteriorated in some important respects - all in areas not mandated in the prison's contract. Yorkshire and Humberside regional offender manager, Paul Wilson, said: "I am satisfied that Serco has responded quickly and appropriately to the inspectorate's recommendations and that the director and his staff are committed to continuous improvement of standards of offender management."

May 6, 2005 The Mirror
VALENTINE'S Day killer Paul Dyson slit his wrists and scrawled "Sorry" on his jail cell wall before admitting responsibility for his girlfriend Joanne Nelson's death. The former bouncer, charged earlier this week, smuggled a small blade into his prison. A guard found him slumped on the floor of his cell in the early hours. Doncaster Prison, where Dyson is being held, opened nine years ago and was Britain's first private jail. It is run by Premier Prisons, which is partly American owned. The jail has been hit by controversy in the past, with allegations of bullying and high numbers of suicides.

Dovegate Prison
Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Serco (formerly Premier)
August 14, 2010 The Sun
ONE of Damilola Taylor's killers is claiming £100,000 from prison bosses for failing to stop a lag from slicing off one of his ears. Evil Ricky Preddie, 23, was lured into his attacker's cell and hacked with a home-made knife after a row over a game of pool. Doctors could not sew the lug back on. Preddie is suing private firm Serco, which runs Dovecote Prison, Staffs. Last night Damilola's dad called the claim "outrageous". Richard, 62, said: "He doesn't deserve a penny. Ricky was attacked in prison because he remains as arrogant as ever. "If he had been sentenced properly - and by that I mean the death penalty - then he could only launch his claim in hell." A Serco spokesman said: "Mr Preddie made a complaint that we believe has no substance and have refuted."

January 26, 2010 Derby Telegraph
A FORMER prison officer has appeared in court accused of helping an inmate to escape from a Derbyshire jail. Andrea Clarke is also charged with harbouring an escaped prisoner and leaving a prohibited article for importation into prison. Clarke had been employed at the privately-run Dovegate Prison. But the charges relate to the escape of an inmate from Sudbury Prison, three miles away. The 36-year-old, of Burton, appeared at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court yesterday but entered no plea. The case was committed to Derby Crown Court. Dovegate Prison, in Marchington, near Uttoxeter, is a category B prison run by Serco. A spokesman for HMP Dovegate said: "The individual concerned no longer works for Serco. We continue to fully co-operate with the police."

December 17, 2009 Liverpool Daily Post
A LIVERPOOL prison is among five in the country allowing its inmates to watch satellite television. More than 4,000 prisoners enjoy the privilege in private jails nationwide. Altcourse Prison, in Fazakerley, is among the contractor-run prisons allowing access to a “limited number” of satellite channels. The number of prisoners allowed to watch satellite varies according to behaviour. But Justice minister and city MP Maria Eagle revealed the number was currently around 4,070. The Garston MP was responding to a written question from Tory MP Philip Davies. She said no inmates in public sector jails have access to satellite in their quarters. But they do at Altcourse and other GS4-run prisons in South Wales and Warwickshire. The other private prisons offering satellite television are run by Serco in Staffordshire and Nottingham. Ms Eagle said: “In these establishments, satellite television in cells is generally only available to prisoners on the enhanced or standard level of the incentives and earned privileges scheme.” There are 84,500 prisoners in England and Wales, meaning around one in 20 has access to satellite TV.

December 8, 2009 Yorkshire Post
A JUDGE has urged a thorough investigation into how a dangerous criminal was able to use a mobile phone in prison to organise the punishment shooting of another man who might now lose a leg. Leyon Randall was in Dovegate Prison, Staffordshire, serving an indeterminate jail sentence for robbery, kidnap and firearms offences, at the time he arranged the shooting of Geovannie Meade in Leeds in May this year. Yesterday Randall and his brother Lloyd were both jailed for life at Leeds Crown Court after being convicted by a jury of conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Mr Meade. Judge Scott Wolstenholme said: "It is a very serious situation." It appeared Leyon Randall was able not only to communicate regularly via a mobile phone but to organise the "ruthless shooting from the comfort of his jail cell using a mobile phone he had had for weeks if not months". It was also suggested during the case that had been done with the connivance of officers at the jail. "That may be an outrageous lie but it is something I would have thought needs thoroughly investigating," the judge added. He said the shooting was carried out by Lloyd Randall because his brother believed Mr Meade was spending too much time with his girlfriend Amy Farnhill. The fact he was prepared to arrange such lethal violence to settle "petty scores" confirmed the view he was dangerous. It also showed a mobile phone in the wrong hands in prison could be a very dangerous weapon. Sentencing both to life, the judge ordered Leyon Randall, 29, to serve a minimum of eight years and Lloyd Randall, 29 of Recreation Street, Holbeck, Leeds to a minimum of seven years in jail. Both denied any involvement in the shooting. Susanna Holdsworth, 26, a care assistant, found guilty by the jury of perverting the course of justice, was jailed for two years. She gave Lloyd Randall an alibi for the time of the shooting. Farnhill, 18, was cleared of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. The jury heard from David Dixon, prosecuting, that on May 9 Mr Meade was invited to Farnhill's address in Lingfield Gate, Moortown, Leeds, but as he arrived in the early hours he was approached by Lloyd Randall and another man, and was shot in the leg by Randall. He had surgery in hospital and further operations since but may still lose his leg. A spokesman for Serco which operates HMP Dovegate said they had worked with West Yorkshire Police in the case: "HMP Dovegate has a leading reputation for reducing and preventing the use of illicit mobile phones. This year alone we have confiscated 46 illegal phones from prisoners or visitors."

September 11, 2009 Burton Mail
A PRIVATE prison near Burton says it has taken action on failings surrounding the death of a prisoner last year. The inquest of Simon Coutts, who was found hanged in his cell at HMP Dovegate, in Marchington, in June last year, concluded yesterday at Stafford Coroner’s Court. The 29-year-old, originally from Manchester, was discovered by prison officers with a ligature around his neck, days after receiving a ‘dear John’ letter from his wife ending their relationship. Details of Coutts’ conviction or how long he was serving were not disclosed at the hearing. The inquest heard from DC Dave Johnstone, the investigating officer from Burton police, that Coutts used a sheet and a towel, wrapped together using electric cable as a ligature. This was fixed to a ligature point — consisting of a hook attached to a small wooden block stuck to the wall using a powerful adhesive glue — with shoe laces. DC Johnstone told the hearing that as well as the hook on the cell wall, there were also makeshift shelves attached, and a bird cage holding a budgerigar, which was permitted in the ‘therapeutic community’ (TC) which houses 200 of the prison’s 700 inmates. Eric Pearson, the investigating officer for prison owner Serco, had told the hearing the previous day that there had been ‘failings’ by prison staff, whom he believed had not carried out cell checks on the night of Coutts’ death. He said both the ligature point and toilet roll used to block the cell door’s glass window should have been spotted and removed if correct checks had been performed.

September 4, 2003
Staff at a private jail were so inexperienced they were unwilling or unable to confront inmates, the chief inspector of prisons said today.  Faults at Dovegate prison in Staffordshire included a "cumbersome" system to deal with insubordination, which allowed prisoners to "exploit the situation" and avoid punishment, Anne Owers said.  Operator Premier Custodial Group was also accused of maintaining a "policy facade" disguising a lack of effective systems.  The report, though praising the jail for its facilities and innovations, was seized on by prison reformers and trades unionists who have long claimed privatised jails were inadequately staffed.  The 800-inmate category B jail near Uttoxeter held sophisticated offenders who were "capable of exploiting any weaknesses or naivety in the staff who supervise them," said Ms Owers.  "There was a worrying lack of experience and confidence among a young, locally recruited staff, few of whom had any previous prison experience and who were operating with low staffing levels and high staff turnover," the report said.  "We observed an inability or unwillingness to confront prisoners appropriately." Few prisoners had privileges taken away even if they misbehaved, leading to the whole system being "seriously undermined".  Inspectors said in their report: "Drug use appeared prevalent, yet drug reduction measures were given low priority."  They also found that a so-called "personal officer" scheme designed to build a personal relationship between staff and inmates existed "in name only".  A survey by Ms Owers' team found that 17 per cent of inmates reported being kicked, punched or assaulted by another prisoner.  But there was reluctance to stop bullying even though an anti-bullying strategy had supposedly been put in place.  Premier has a 15-year contract with the Home Office to run Dovegate, which opened in July 2001, although how much it is paid remains secret.  (Birmingham Post)

September 3, 2003
Homemade weapons and illicit hooch have been found at a privately run prison where staff were so inexperienced that they were unable to confront the inmates, according to a report by the chief inspector of prisons.  The inspection at the 800-inmate Dovegate prison, near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, was carried out in April and found that in contrast to the staff, the prisoners were so sophisticated that they were able to exploit any weakness among the staff.  Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons, said Dovegate, with its young staff recruited locally, provided further evidence for the critics of the private prison sector. The company, Premier Custodial Group, operated the prison with low staffing levels and a high turnover.  But she said the prison, which opened in July 2001, also provided evidence of good relations between staff and prisoners. The prison was praised for its cleanliness and the time spent out of cell by inmates in useful activities.  It was to the credit of the prison that the potentially dangerous mix of sophisticated inmates and inexperienced staff had resulted in a mostly safe prison based on mutual respect, Ms Owers said. But she criticised the "cumbersome" system for dealing with insubordination which allowed prisoners to avoid punishment.  A search carried out the week before the inspection uncovered the weapons and alcohol, suggesting that regular cell searches were not thorough.  Kevin Rogers, Dovegate's director, defended the prison's staffing policies and said it managed with fewer staff than most state-run prisons because of the "open minds of the new recruits" and union agreements which allowed it to run a more flexible working system.  (The Guardian)

Dover Asylum Screening Centre
London City Airport
Group 4 (formerly run by Global Solutions)
September 12, 2005 BBC
Immigration detainees have been forced to sleep on tables or plastic chairs because of sub-standard provisions, the prisons watchdog has revealed. Facilities at Gatwick Airport, London City Airport and Dover Asylum Centre were inappropriate for overnight stays, the chief inspector of prisons said. City Airport was "unsuitable" for holding children, the report said. The government said it takes detainees' welfare seriously but that facilities may need independent monitoring. Holding centres at ports and airports hold foreign travellers whose permission to be in the country needs to be examined by immigration officers. But none of the centres inspected, all run by private company GSL UK Limited, had adequate child protection arrangements, according to the report. Inspectors found detainees were sleeping in inadequate conditions, there were no regular healthcare visits and suicide-prevention measures were not good enough.

August 16, 2005 BBC
Facilities at four short-term immigrant holding centres have been condemned as "inadequate" by the prisons watchdog. Dover Asylum Screening Centre, a centre at London City Airport and two at Gatwick Airport are not suitable for overnight stays, its report says. Detainees were found to have slept on tables or plastic chairs, it adds. Immigrants are only supposed to be detained for a few hours, but Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers said people were sometimes held overnight, and occasionally for up to 36 hours. Ms Owers said none of the centres had adequate child protection arrangements. A spokesman for GSL UK Limited, which was in charge of the centres at the time of the inspections, said it was inappropriate to comment as the company no longer ran them. The centres have since been taken over by Group 4 Securicor.

Downview Women's Prison
Banstead, UK
Aramark
March 27, 2007 IC Surrey
REPLACING prison food with over-priced outside catering fare is a recipe for disaster in a women's jail. This is the opinion of prison visitors whose latest report says inmates much preferred 'porridge' the way it is. Aramark, the company which has taken over the canteen at Downview Women's Prison, is typical of the caterers who have taken over the food at many jails. And the report by the Independent Monitoring Board claims the new system is not being welcomed anywhere. The report says: "We were warned in advance by other independent monitoring boards who had experienced a similar change to expect a disastrous transfer - and it has been. "The decision to privatise the canteen may bring cash benefit to the Treasury but the introduction of Aramark to run the prison canteen has so far been a disaster. "For prisoners the canteen is one of the most important facets of their lives but prices have risen sharply,the inventory has shrunk, revisions take ages to implement and the administration is poor. "In contrast the old prison-run canteen at least understood the needs of the prisoners and charged prices that matched their wages. "It worked and this seems to be the same story repeated throughout as prison after prison has lost control of its canteens." In a report which praises "committed and dedicated" staff, the board said all the faults it found with Downview were beyond their control.

Dungavel Detention Centre
Lanarkshire, Britain
Wackenhut
September 21, 2003
Campaigners have reacted angrily to reports that the Dungavel asylum centre's capacity is to be increased . The Home Office has confirmed that it is looking at a £3m project to increase capacity by a quarter to 194. This would involve new pre-fabricated buildings with bars on the windows being built at the centre in south Lanarkshire. The Scottish National Party accused the Scottish Executive of "dishonesty" and of hiding the plans. This is one of a number of plans to increase the size of detention of state Home Office spokesman MSPs have clashed over who is responsible for Dungavel as the UK Government is currently in charge of immigration and asylum, but education in Scotland is a devolved matter. An executive spokesman said again on Sunday that immigration and the operation of Dungavel is reserved to Westminster and the Home Office. Collusion claim A Home Office spokesman said: "This is one of a number of plans to increase the size of detention of state. "If it goes ahead the capacity will increase to 194. But the extra space will not be used for families and instead will house single males." Linda Fabiani, SNP MSP for Central Scotland, accused the executive of colluding with the Home Office. She said: "Ministers are being very dishonest about this. They should be deeply ashamed at what they are allowing the Home Office to do. "They're going to have to take notice of the people in Scotland who know that they are breaching human rights." The MSP claimed the plans were prove that Dungavel was being used like a prison. She said: "They (the executive) have chosen to make this place a prison and are actually building prison facilities with bars on the windows. "They are locking children up in that environment." Labour MSP Elaine Smith, the member for Coatbridge and Chryston, said the plans should have been revealed months ago. Labour MP Michael Connarty, a campaigner against the detention of children at the centre, said he was concerned. He said: "We need to move away from this type of facility. "I'm concerned we seem to be consolidating Dungavel's role. It is a prison establishment and unsuitable for children." (BBC News)

September 11, 2003
Westminster has effectively ruled out educating children held at the Dungavel asylum centre in local schools.  Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes said she wanted the "best possible education" provided for children inside the centre.  In a special debate in the Scottish Parliament, Scottish National Party leader John Swinney appealed to MSPs to follow their consciences and end the policy of detaining children.  The privately-run centre in South Lanarkshire, which can hold up to 150 asylum seekers, has caused controversy by holding children in the former prison for long periods with their parents.  An SNP motion in parliament called for "an end to the detention of children" at the Dungavel Immigration and Removal centre.  It also sought an end to "a system of detention of children at Dungavel which denies them access to social contact and to educational and other services in the local community".  In an impassioned speech, Scottish Socialist MSP Rosie Kane made clear her opposition to Dungavel.  She said: "Detention of innocent people is wrong. Dungavel and other detention centres all over the UK are wrong.  (BBC News)

September 6, 2003
About a thousand people have joined a human rights demonstration outside the controversial Dungavel Detention Centre in Lanarkshire.  The event was planned to coincide with the second anniversary of the centre's opening.  Organisers the Scottish Trades Unions Congress (STUC) said the protest reflected growing public concern over the treatment of asylum seekers there.  A spokesman said it was outrageous that asylum seekers and their families had been detained in Scotland over the past two years, having committed no crime and with no charges against them.  (BBC News)

August 15, 2003
The long-term detention of children in immigration removal centres should stop, the chief inspector of prisons has said.  Anne Owers' call is made in a report on the Dungavel detention centre in Lanarkshire, the only such centre in Britain where children are regularly held for long periods.  Opposition politicians and churches in Scotland have demanded the closure of the 62-bed family unit at Dungavel.  The privately-run centre holds up to 148 failed asylum seekers and other immigration detainees.  (BBC News)

Elmley Prison
Kent, UK
Serco
May 24, 2010  Kent News
Four people, including a prison guard, have been sentenced for conspiracy to supply drugs and mobile phones to convicts. The drugs had a prison ‘street value’ of around £17,000 in HMP Elmley prison, and the judge described the crimes as "very serious offences, as drugs and mobile phones are a form of currency within prisons which can destroy prison life". Prisoner Darren Byrne, 30, of HMP Elmley, received eight years imprisonment for his role as ringleader in the conspiracy. At Maidstone Crown Court Judge Gold said: "You were at the hub of this conspiracy, orchestrating it all from within the prison walls". The court heard how officers had found a mobile phone and Sim card in Byrne's cell and the phone revealed a series of text messages between him and Carly Morris revealing key information about the smuggling operation. Morris, 25, from Dover, formerly a Serco court security employee working at Canterbury Crown Court, was given a total of five years imprisonment for her role in the conspiracy. Judge Gold said Morris "had a responsibility to transport and guard prisoners and that she had abused her position of trust" by passing over drugs and mobile phones to prisoners to smuggle back into HMP Elmley.

June 3, 2009 Little Hampton Gazette
A former prison worker has been remanded on bail after appearing in court charged with trying to smuggle drugs into a Kent prison. Carly Joanne Morris, 24, who has left her post at Serco, was charged with conspiracy to supply drugs into Elmley Prison on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent, along with three other people. Prison inmate Darren Paul Byrne, 29, Dino Lewis Gillet, 37, unemployed, of Canterbury Road, Westgate-on-Sea, and his wife, Sahra Naomi Gillet, 35, also unemployed and of the same address, also appeared at Medway Magistrates' Court for a preliminary hearing. All four are also charged with conveying prohibited articles into the prison. Morris, from Dover, and Mrs Gillet were remanded on bail. Mr Gillet and Byrne were remanded in custody until their next appearance at Maidstone Crown Court on June 15. Officers from the serious and organised crime unit within Kent Police's specialist operations directorate made the arrests following a joint investigation between Kent Police and HMP Elmley security department. More than 18 police officers were involved in the investigation and arrests and properties in Grange Road, Ramsgate, and Canterbury Road, Westgate-on-Sea, were searched. The arrests come after another former Serco worker was charged with trying to smuggle drugs into the jail last month.

May 14, 2009 BBC
A former prison worker has been charged with trying to smuggle drugs into a Kent jail. Kent Police charged Zoe Spenser-Campbell, 25, with conspiracy to supply controlled drugs into Elmley Prison on the Isle of Sheppey. The former Serco employee was charged alongside labourer Jason Howsam, 26, who lives at the same address in High Street, Herne Bay. A second man who was also arrested on Tuesday was released without charge. The arrests followed a joint investigation between the serious and organised crime unit within Kent Police's specialist operations directorate and HMP Elmley security department.

Forest Bank Prison
Agecroft, UK
Sodexho (Kalyx)
September 30, 2011 Manchester Evening News
A prison manager demoted over the dramatic escape of a gangster has been found hanged at his home. Tony Purslow was part of an escort taking criminal Michael O'Donnell to hospital in an ambulance when it was subjected to a 'terrifying' attack by a gang of bat-wielding masked men in Salford. O'Donnell, who had been awaiting sentence for conspiracy to rob and commit burglary, was sprung by the gang and spent nearly a month at large. Mr Purslow – who worked at Forest Bank in Salford - was hauled before a disciplinary committee and demoted to the rank of senior custody officer, cutting his salary by £10,000 a year. Three other prison officers who were in the ambulance at the time of the escape were sacked. Mr Purslow, 50, was found dead at his home in Leigh last Thursday. He was immaculately dressed in a suit and had a picture of his family in his top pocket.

February 11, 2011 BBC
A former prison nurse who smuggled a mobile phone into a Salford jail could have put people's lives at risk, police have said. Leanne Cartledge, 23, of Miles Platting, hid the mobile phone in her clothing and gave it to a prisoner she was in a relationship with. She admitted taking a prohibited article into the privately-run HMP Forest Bank prison last year. On Thursday, she was jailed for four months at Minshull Street Crown Court. Det Con Phil Marsh, of Greater Manchester Police, said: "Cartledge was employed in a position of a trust - a position she abused when she smuggled a prohibited item into the prison and our investigations revealed her actions had serious and far-reaching implications. "Any time a mobile phone is illegally handed to someone who is in prison, it can give that offender a lifeline to continue their criminality in the outside world which has a knock-on effect for many people, potentially putting them at risk. "It can also lead to fights between other inmates, bullying and witness intimidation so clearly her actions were both foolish and dangerous." A spokeswoman for Kalyx, which runs HMP Forest Bank, said they were not able to comment on individual cases.

November 9, 2010 Manchester Evening News
Young prisoners are being tied up in bed linen and beaten by other inmates, a report said today. The practice, known as "sheeting", is seen as horseplay by some staff at Forest Bank prison, in Salford, Greater Manchester, but the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Nick Hardwick, condemned it as "serious bullying" which needs to be stopped. "A very vulnerable young man who spoke to us described it as him being tied up inside a duvet cover and 'battered' every night," he said. "A number of prisoners talked to us about 'sheeting' and these were incidents that the prison had recorded on a number of occasions. "A prison officer on a wing described it to us as horseplay. Prison management had limited knowledge of it. We are satisfied this does occur and needs to be stopped." Forest Bank, a category B local prison for adult and young adult men, was operating under its full operational capacity of 1,424 prisoners at the time of the inspection between June 29 and July 9, the report said. The report found that the prison is making improvements in cutting out drug abuse - with only one in ten prisoners failing a random drugs test in 2009 compared with four in ten in 2005. About half of the prison's 110 young adults were held on the A1 landing, where most of the incidents of sheeting took place and inmates there identified "serious concerns about their safety", the inspectors said. "A prisoner was forcibly put inside a duvet cover and the opening knotted so that he could not release himself while perpetrators carried out random acts of violence," Mr Hardwick said. "Prisoners told us that it was common and we met a number of young people who had clearly been victimised in this way." He added: "We were concerned that for a small minority of prisoners, it was not at all safe and in some cases, prison officers on the wings had a passive attitude to bullying and unexplained injuries - however good the policies."

May 28, 2010 BBC
A prisoner who cut off part of his ear so he could escape from an ambulance in Greater Manchester has been arrested. Michael O'Donnell, 29, was on remand at HMP Forest Bank in Salford when he took a razor to his ear while in his cell. He was taken to hospital on 2 May, but on the way the ambulance was held up by masked men and O'Donnell escaped. He was arrested at Pontin's in Southport, Merseyside, on Friday on suspicion of escaping from lawful custody. Two other men, aged 24 and 52, were also arrested on suspicion of conspiracy in assisting an offender to escape from lawful custody. O'Donnell was sharing a cell with his brother when the incident happened. He was being taken to Hope Hospital when a stolen BMW pulled in front of it, forcing it to stop on Agecroft Road. Four masked men then attacked the vehicle with baseball bats and bolt cutters and O'Donnell, who was escorted by three prison guards, escaped. The BMW, which had been stolen in a burglary on 30 April in Levenshulme, was later found abandoned near to Lumbs Lane. O'Donnell was due to be sentenced at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Friday for conspiracy to convert criminal property, in relation to a car cloning crime ring.

May 4, 2010 Manchester Evening News
A prison has launched an inquiry after a dangerous robber was sprung by a masked gang as he was taken to hospital. Michael O’Donnell is believed to have used a razor blade to slice off part of his own ear to set up his escape. The gang stopped the ambulance taking him to hospital from Forest Bank prison in Salford early on Sunday before forcing guards to free him. They then fled in a stolen BMW. His escape was the third in five years from the privately-run jail. In 2006, robber Michael Halligan, then 26, from Salford, gave two Forest Bank guards the slip as he waited for a minor operation in hospital. The year before, car-jacker Neil Brennan was sprung. He deliberately injured his hand and made a phone call from inside the prison to tip-off his hijackers. Forest Bank opened in 2000 at a cost of £46m and is run by Kalyx, which runs four prisons in England and Scotland. The prison will consider how the gang appeared to know precisely when the ambulance was due out of the prison and whether mobile phones may have played a part in the operation. Colin Moses, chairman of the Prison Officers’ Association, said: “Prisons should not be for profit. “It lowers standards and lowers wages. As a result, you get incidents like this. We are in an election when there’s a lot of talk about getting rid of the public sector. If this is how the private sector runs a prison, it’s not very good. “Here we have a prison given over to a group of profiteers and they cannot even keep people in custody.” A spokesman for Kalyx said: “We refute any allegations that our security measures would be compromised for any reason. “We have strict security procedures in place and security training for prison officers is in accordance with MOJ standards.” Detectives from the Major Incident Team of Greater Manchester Police have searched addresses in Stockport and south Manchester for O’Donnell, who has links to the travelling community and had been awaiting sentence for conspiracy to rob. Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “Given the timing and the nature of the attack, there’s clearly a degree of planning gone into it.”

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)

Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Glasgow, England
Sodexho
January 25, 2002
THESE were the shocking scenes inside Glasgow's largest hospital this week. A joint management and union inspection team found filthy conditions throughout Glasgow Royal Infirmary in areas used by patients and staff.   Now unions at the hospital are demanding Health Minister Malcolm Chisholm sack the private cleaning contractor Sodexho for failing to deliver decent services.   Bloody surgical "scrubs" from an operating theatre are dumped in a lift used to carry patients' meals. Staff say the area is infested with cockroaches.   DANGER MOVE: A porter moves bags of contaminated material, but is wearing no protective clothing.  Workers say tunnels below the Victorian-built hospital have been turned into firetraps by piles of waste.   And staff have to wash themselves in a stinking bathroom among damaged brickwork that could harbour germs. There are more piles of filth on the floor.   Despite this chief executive Maggie Boyle slammed our investigation and promised: "The cleaning contract for the hospital is routinely monitored and any problems identified are addressed."   However, North Glasgow Unison secretary Carolyn Leckie today called for Sodexho's contract to be terminated.   She said: "What we found is the result of years of under-funding. This is made worse by private firms milking profits and potentially putting patients at risk."   Staff shortages are so severe two men have to shift 10tonnes of linen a day, a job previously done by eight people.   Ms Leckie said: "We want to an end to privatisation.   The Trust can't solve this problem on its own. We desperately need extra resources from the Scottish Executive."  (John McCann)

Global Solutions Limited (now Group 4)
January 30, 2008 Oldham-Chronicle
SECURITY guards were left red-faced after their prison van got stuck in a town centre car park. Global Solutions Limited (GSL) is employed by the Prison Service to transfer prisoners safely between court and jail. But the driver caused a bit of a stir when the van became jammed in the former Co-op car park at the back of Mecca Bingo on King Street. Police went to investigate but found the prisoners had already been dropped off at Oldham Magistrates’ Court. A police spokesman said: “The driver said he had read the height restriction notice but thought the van would be able to clear it.” The driver and his colleague then freed the van by letting air out of the tyres.

December 18, 2007 Yahoo Business Wire
Cognetas, an independent mid-market pan-European private equity firm specialising in complex deals, today announces the sale of Global Solutions (GSL) for £355 million to G4S. The sale, subject to EU merger clearance and South African competition commission clearance, is expected to complete in 2008. GSL is a leading provider of outsourced support services to public authorities and corporate organisations worldwide. Services are typically provided under long-term contracts (5 to 30 years) either directly to the end customer or through joint ventures and Public Private Partnerships with government and corporates. GSL has operations in the UK, South Africa and Australia. Its service offering covers three areas: Custodial services, including prison management, escorting, immigration, custody and training; Public Services, for example healthcare, education and Local Authority services; and Business services, comprising utilities, office accommodation and other managed services. Cognetas backed the original MBO of GSL in 2004 in a £207 million (€309 million) transaction. At the time, Cognetas underwrote equity and debt to facilitate certainty for the vendor with an initial commitment of £105 million (€158 million) on behalf of Cognetas Fund I. This was reduced within two months to £54 million (€81 million) by introducing senior debt. The balance of the funding was provided by Englefield Capital on behalf of the Englefield Funds. Since then Cognetas has supported management in the implementation of a growth plan that has seen revenues increase from £291 million in 2004 to over £400 million in 2007 through organic growth, in fill acquisition and expansion of services in its sectors over three continents with the number of staff employed increasing by over 25% to more than 9,500. Nigel McConnell, Managing Partner of Cognetas commented: “We are delighted to be associated with the success of GSL over the past three years and we are pleased to see that the dynamic management team has built the business into a worldwide quality provider of outsourced services. We leave the business on extremely sound and robust grounds which will help sustain its continued growth. I am confident that being part of a larger global business like G4S will take this business forward to a new level and I wish them well”.

November 29, 2007 The Telegraph
Group4Securicor is in talks to buy Global Solutions, a company it used to own, for around £350m. Earlier this year, private equity firm Cognetas appointed investment bank UBS to carry out a strategic review of Global Solutions, which runs a number of Britain's prisons and detention centres. However, the credit crunch forced Cognetas to put the review of Global Solutions on hold. Since then, the company has received a number of approaches, including one from Group4Securicor. Cognetas bought Global Solutions, which also manages hospitals, schools and tourist offices, from Danish security firm Group 4 Falk for about £200m three years ago. Group4Securicor is now understood to be carrying out due diligence on the business. However, it is not the only company bidding. Sources said US group GEO and several private equity firms have also made approaches for the company. Global Solutions has previously come under the spotlight for the way it runs its prisons and detention centres, following the Government's privatisation of the sector. Earlier this year, there was a Panorama investigation by an undercover BBC reporter, who worked as a custody officer, in one of Global Solutions' prisons at Rye Hill. None of the parties involved would comment.

August 26, 2007 The Observer
A possible sale or flotation of Global Solutions, which runs a number of Britain's prisons and detention centres, has been shelved by private equity owner Cognetas, according to City sources. UBS, the investment bank that was appointed last month to undertake a strategic review of the prisons group, is understood to have advised Cognetas against a move while global credit and stock markets are still on tenterhooks. Cognetas bought Global Solutions, which also manages hospitals, schools and tourist offices, from Danish security firm Group 4 Falk for about £200m three years ago. The company has stoked occasional controversy, most recently after the BBC's Panorama programme looked into the way Global Solutions ran Rye Hill prison, near Rugby, Warwickshire. The jail was the subject of a report by the chief inspector of prisons, Anne Owers, who found the staff were inexperienced. There has also been criticism of the way it runs asylum centres - last year, a prisons inspectorate inquiry was ordered into Yarl's Wood, an immigration removal centre in Bedfordshire that was formerly run by Global.

June 14, 2007 The Telegraph
Global Solutions, a company that runs some of Britain's prisons and detention centres, may be about to change hands for around £400m. Private equity firm Cognetas, which owns Global Solutions, has appointed investment bank UBS to carry out a strategic review of the business, according to sources familiar with the matter. It is understood that the review is likely to examine a float, sale, refinancing and possible future acquisition for the business. Sources stressed that the strategic review might not necessarily lead to an imminent sale of Global Solutions, which Cognetas bought in 2004 from Danish security firm Group 4 Falck for around £207m. The move comes as Global Solutions - which also builds and manages hospitals, schools and tourist offices for several public organisations around the world - has come under the public spotlight for the way it runs its prisons and detention centres, following the Government's privatisation of the sector. Earlier this year, there was a Panorama investigation by an undercover BBC reporter, who worked as a custody officer, in one of Global Solutions' prisons at Rye Hill. Global Solutions' detention centres for asylum seekers have also been criticised. Last year, a prison inspectorate inquiry was ordered after two refugees had to go to hospital following prolonged detention in Yarl's Wood, an immigration removal centre formerly run by Global Solutions. Cognetas declined to comment.

February 16, 2006 BBC
A councillor has called for an urgent review of security after two prisoners escaped from Derby Crown Court in the space of a week. Derby city councillor Richard Smalley said one of the prisoners was on remand for allegedly being involved in a post-office robbery in his ward. Kabbar Kamara, 25, from Liverpool made his escape after being refused bail. He appeared in a court on the top floor before getting away in a manner likened to the fictional character Spiderman. Unsuccessful search. He punched his way through the dock, ran from the court and into a toilet. He squeezed through a window, climbed onto a roof, jumped down to another level and dropped 12 feet to the ground. Police used a helicopter and dogs to search for him but without success. Previously Fabian Wilson, 23, from Derby absconded after appearing in court charged with breaching a community service order. Mr Smalley, deputy Conservative leader on the city council, said: "I think it's of paramount importance that the way offenders or alleged offenders are handled within the court is looked at and tightened up." Security at the court is handled by GLS, formerly Group 4. A spokesman said a review would be conducted to identify any lessons that could be learned from the escapes.

Group 4/Securicor (AKA Wackenhut, G4S, ArmorGroup)
Companies Use Immigration Crackdown to Turn a Profit: Expose on immigration by Nina Bernstein at the New York Times, September 28, 2011
Duty of Care: Expose by Clare Sambrook on G4S and the death of Aboriginal elder Mr. Ward. June 8, 2011

January 13, 2012 The Guardian
The chairman of the company tasked with protecting athletes and visitors at the London Olympics has paid the price for a failed deal to take over a cleaning company and fallen on his sword. Alf Duch-Pedersen, who has headed the world's largest security firm G4S for the past five years, said he was "sad" to be stepping down this year but accepted the time was right to find a successor. Chief executive, Nick Buckles, is still in a job but Duch-Pedersen is to go after shareholders rebelled against a rights issue for a planned £5.3bn takeover of Danish cleaning firm ISS. Investors would not support a £2bn money-raising exercise unveiled last October – which would have allowed a merger to create a group with more than 1.2 million staff worldwide – at a time of deep economic uncertainty. Many analysts argued at the time that G4S – the result of an earlier merger between Group 4 and Securicor – should concentrate on its core protection work where it had won a groundbreaking contract to deliver back office functions for Lincolnshire police – the first of its kind by a British Police Authority.

November 22, 2011 The Guardian
Serious injuries or other life-threatening warning signs have been detected on 285 occasions when children have been physically restrained in privately run jails over the past five years, according to Ministry of Justice figures. The figure reflects the number of "exception reports" submitted by the four privately run secure training centres to the youth justice board since 2006. The warning signs triggering an exception report include struggling to breathe, nausea, vomiting, limpness and abnormal redness to the face. Serious injuries are classified as those requiring hospitalisation and include serious cuts, fractures, concussion, loss of consciousness and damage to internal organs. The MoJ figures, which have been disclosed for the first time, show that there were 61 such exception reports made last year. There have been 29 so far in the first 10 months of this year. Their disclosure comes as a two-day High Court challenge is due to get underway over the MoJ's refusal to identify and trace hundreds of children who have been unlawfully restrained in the privately run child jails using techniques that have since been banned. Children's rights campaigners believe they should be entitled to compensation. The Children's Rights Alliance for England (Crae) has brought the case challenging the justice secretary, Ken Clarke's, refusal to contact former detainees dating back to 1998, when the first secure training centre opened. The legal challenge follows a second inquest earlier this year into the death of 14-year-old Adam Rickwood, who was found hanging in his room at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, where he was on remand in 2006. It concluded there was a serious system failure which gave rise to an unlawful regime at the child jail. The use of several "distraction" restraint techniques, that involved inflicting pain with a severe blow to the nose or ribs, or by pulling back a child's thumb, were banned in 2008. The use of physical restraint techniques to control teenagers simply for the purposes of "good order and discipline" was also ruled unlawful by the court of appeal. Carolyne Willow, Crae's national co-ordinator, said their lawyers will argue there had been a chronic failure by the authorities to protect vulnerable children over many years. "It was not children's responsibility to know about, challenge and stop unlawful and abusive treatment," said Willow, adding there were potentially thousands of former detainees who should now be contacted. "Children in custody are among the most disadvantaged in society and they were held in closed institutions where unlawful restraint was routine and ordinary. It was the state, and the private contractors, who were duty-bound to protect the welfare and rights of vulnerable children." She said that government officials now had a duty to notify potential victims that their rights had been infringed. The abuses should no longer remain hidden and unchallenged. The security company, G4S, which operates three of the four child jails is also joining the case as an 'interested party'.

October 21, 2011 BBC
Birmingham Prison inmates were locked in their cells for almost a full day after a set of keys fitting every cell door went missing. Keys to the jail, which was taken over earlier this month by private security firm G4S, disappeared on Tuesday. The firm said all prisons had established contingency plans for incidents of this nature and there was no risk to public safety. The jail is the first in the UK to be transferred to the private sector. It is not known if the keys have since been found or what action is now being taken at the prison.

October 17, 2011 BBC
Shares in G4S, the world's largest security group, fell almost 20% after it announced a £5.2bn ($8.2bn) takeover of Denmark's ISS. G4S will pay ISS's private equity owners cash and shares, and will raise £2bn from existing shareholders to help fund the deal. ISS operations range from catering to cleaning, while G4S services include running prisons and army training. The takeover will double the size of G4S, giving it revenues of about £16bn. G4S said the deal would create an estimated £100m of annual savings for the combined business by 2014.

October 11, 2011 Canberra Times
The Commonwealth Government is suing its former immigration detention operators for failing to protect it against lawsuits lodged by people kept in detention facilities. The case will be heard in the South Australian Supreme Court on November 21. It is part of a long-running case launched by former asylum-seeker Abdul Amir Hamidi, who won a confidential settlement against the Federal Government after almost five years in detention. As The Canberra Times revealed on Saturday, Mr Hamidi's lawyers predict that the confidential settlement will spark dozens more claims for damages. In a case to be heard on November 21, the Commonwealth will claim its former detention centre operators - GSL and Australasian Correctional Services - breached their contracts by exposing the Government to the legal action. The Commonwealth will argue both companies agreed to indemnify it against damages based on their running of Australian detention centres. Australasian Correctional Services operated Australia's mainland immigration detention facilities until early 2004. Group 4 Falck Global Solutions Pty Ltd (which later changed its name to Global Solutions Limited, or GSL) commenced management of the centres in late 2003. Both companies will fight the claim, with ACS arguing it had insufficient time to respond to the allegations and the terms of its agreement included dispute resolution measures. GSL says it is not responsible for indemnifying the Commonwealth for any ''negligent, wilful, reckless or unlawful acts or omissions of the Commonwealth, its employees, officers or agents''. Between 2000 and March 2010, detainees in Australian immigration detention centres were paid more than $12.3million in compensation for personal injury or unlawful detention.

September 11, 2011 Scotland on Sunday
HUNDREDS of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money is being spent holding asylum-seekers at Dungavel detention centre for months at a time. Scotland on Sunday has learned that almost £500,000 has been spent housing 13 long-term detainees, several of whom have been at the former prison in South Lanarkshire for more than a year. Asylum-seekers are supposed to stay at so-called pre-departure centres for no more than a week. But in a number of cases, delays in the deportation system mean the UK Border Agency is holding people for an unspecified period. For the duration of detention, the Home Office pays security firm G4S £110 a day for each asylum-seeker. At Dungavel, two men have been held for two years and four months, while others have been held for more than a year, at a cost to taxpayers of about £480,000. Detaining Christian Likenge, 27, a former law student from the Democratic Republic of Congo, who has been held for 28 months, has cost £100,000 to date. Likenge, a Christian preacher, is being held after the UK rejected his application for asylum but officials in his native country refused to give him the necessary identification to return home. "It's very difficult and frustrating being here this long," he said. "It's mental torture. I feel depressed. You miss your people, you miss your friends. You feel half-dead."

September 7, 2011 The Age
Specialist security guards at a mental health hospital that houses some of Victoria's most disturbed patients have been locked out over a pay push for an extra $2 an hour. The union representing the guards now fears there could be security breaches at the Thomas Embling Hospital, in Fairfield in Melbourne's north-east, which houses psychiatric patients from the prison system, some of them killers found not guilty on the grounds of mental impairment. The Health and Community Services Union said about 10 guards found themselves denied access to the hospital this morning and replaced by guards sent there by security contractor G4S. The hospital's guards have been campaigning for nine months to be paid the same as security officers who worked at public hospitals. They were about to put in place bans on working overtime and filling out paperwork, the union said. Union state secretary Lloyd Williams said the guards were paid about $18 an hour, despite requiring specialist qualifications in dealing with patients in a mental health hospital. The rate is about 10 per cent lower than they received by guards who patrol public hospitals. He said his members wanted pay parity with colleagues at public hospitals. Mr Williams doubted whether the replacement guards had the appropriate skills to work at the hospital, and lacked the detailed knowledge of patients and daily running of the centre. He warned of a risk to the safety of patients, hospital staff and even the public if security was breached. "That's our concern, that when - and not if - there is a security problem, these people who are there now will not be able to respond appropriately," he said. The hospital experienced one security breach yesterday, when a man considered by police to be dangerous failed to return after being sent out on day release. Dwayne Lee Spintal, 37, was apprehended peacefully by detectives in South Yarra this morning. Mr Williams said the standing down of the hospital's guards had been felt already, as one patient who was scheduled to be taken to another hospital for medical treatment had to have his treatment cancelled. "They clearly don't know how to run the facility because senior management are shadowing them as we speak, making sure that something doesn't go wrong," he said. "We know already because of the situation that a patient who needed to go out of the hospital for [medical] treatment had to have that treatment cancelled. "Clearly [G4S] are putting their profits ahead of patient treatment." G4S said in a statement it replaced the guards under provisions of the Fair Work Act.

August 29, 2011 UKPA
Two members of staff at a private security firm have been sacked after an electronic tag was put on an offender's false leg, the company said. Christopher Lowcock, 29, wrapped his prosthetic limb in a bandage and fooled G4S staff who failed to carry out the proper tests when they set up the tag and monitoring equipment at his Rochdale home. Lowcock could then simply remove his leg - and the tag - whenever he wanted to breach his court-imposed curfew for driving and drug offences, as well as possession of an offensive weapon. A second G4S officer who went to check the monitoring equipment also failed to carry out the proper test. Managers became suspicious last month, but when they returned to the address a third time Lowcock had already been arrested and was back in custody accused of driving while banned and without insurance. A G4S spokeswoman said: "G4S tags 70,000 subjects a year on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. Given the critical nature of this service we have very strict procedures in place which all of our staff must follow. "In this individual's case two employees failed to adhere to the correct procedures when installing the tag. Had they done so, they would have identified his prosthetic leg. Failure to follow procedure is a serious disciplinary offence, and the two employees responsible for the installation of the tag have now been dismissed." A Ministry of Justice spokesman added: "We expect the highest level of professionalism from all our contractors, and there are strict guidelines which must be followed when tagging offenders. "Procedures were clearly not followed in this case and G4S have taken action against the staff involved. Two thousand offenders are tagged every week and incidents like this are very rare."

July 8, 2011 POGO
Private security contractor ArmorGroup North America Inc. (AGNA) agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle whistleblower allegations that it violated procurement rules that put the security of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan at risk. AGNA's parent company said the settlement was made solely "to avoid costly and disruptive litigation—and that there has been no finding or admission of liability." This is the same company whose employees are depicted in lewd pictures POGO made available in fall 2009—which demonstrated a serious breakdown in discipline among the security personnel defending the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian called it a 'Lord of the Flies' environment. Former AGNA director of operations James Gordon was the whistleblower who filed the lawsuit—he will receive $1.35 million from the $7.5 million AGNA has agreed to pay. According to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release, these are the whistleblower allegations that were resolved by the settlement: •"AGNA submitted false claims for payment on a State Department contract to provide armed guard services at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan"; •"[I]n 2007 and 2008, AGNA guards violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) by visiting brothels in Kabul, and that AGNA’s management knew about the guards’ activities"; •"AGNA misrepresented the prior work experience of 38 third country national guards it had hired to guard the Embassy"; and •"AGNA failed to comply with certain Foreign Ownership, Control and Influence mitigation requirements on the embassy contract, and on a separate contract to provide guard services at a Naval Support Facility in Bahrain." Gordon’s lawsuit was filed in September 2009. Nearly a year and a half later, DOJ joined Gordon’s whistleblower lawsuit on April 29, 2011. Slightly more than two months later, AGNA settled. According to DOJ statistics, whistleblower lawsuits (or qui tam lawsuits) that allow insiders to sue on behalf of the federal government have a much higher success rate when the government intervenes and joins the whistleblower, known as a relator, in their lawsuit (or parts of their lawsuit). In 2009, Gordon stated that he filed his lawsuit “to hold ArmorGroup accountable for the blatant disregard of its obligations to ensure the safety and security of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. In an industry where good people are required to face extreme risk on a daily basis it is essential that those companies who disregard the rules be removed as they not only endanger their own staff but also endanger the mission, all in order to increase profit.” On September 14, 2009, POGO’s Executive Director Danielle Brian provided testimony on the breakdown of discipline among many of AGNA’s employees in Kabul before the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Shortly after the Commission hearing, Brian was contacted by Samuel Brinkley, Wackenhut Services, Inc. (WSI)’s Vice President of Homeland and International Security Services, who offered to work with POGO on behalf of WSI and AGNA to identify and remedy mistreatment of victims of this hazing, retaliation against some of the whistleblowers who had come to POGO, and other matters raised in POGO’s disclosures. WSI is AGNA’s parent company. During the intervening months, Brinkley and Brian had many discussions regarding the fair and appropriate treatment for POGO’s whistleblowers and others not involved in the wrongdoing. As a result, POGO was pleased that WSI/AGNA resolved the employment concerns of those five personnel at issue. WSI issued a statement yesterday as well in response to the DOJ press release announcing the settlement. WSI disputed the DOJ’s assertion that there was a violation of the False Claims Act, that it did not have an anti-trafficking policy in place, and that it violated rules regarding third country nationals, and foreign mitigation requirements. It also said “the sole individual confirmed to have frequented prostitutes was fired by AGNA in normal course when his conduct became known.” WSI noted that the period of AGNA’s alleged behavior predated WSI’s acquisition of AGNA. Regarding the violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Gordon’s allegations are more serious than they sound in the DOJ press release. Last year, the Washington Post/Center for Public Integrity wrote about Gordon’s case in the context of a perceived lack of U.S. enforcement regarding alleged sex trafficking by U.S. contractors and subcontractors: In Afghanistan, evidence of trafficking came to light when 90 Chinese women were freed after brothel raids in 2006 and 2007. The women told the International Organization on Migration that they had been taken to Afghanistan for sexual exploitation, according to a 2008 report. Nigina Mamadjonova, head of IOM's counter-human trafficking unit in Afghanistan, said the women alleged in interviews that their clients were mostly Western men. In late 2007, officials at ArmorGroup, which provides U.S. Embassy security in Kabul, learned that some employees frequented brothels that were disguised as Chinese restaurants and that the employees might be engaged in sex trafficking. A company whistleblower has alleged in an ongoing lawsuit that the firm withheld the information from the U.S. government. James Gordon, then an ArmorGroup supervisor, alleged that a manager "boasted openly about owning prostitutes in Kabul" and that a company trainee boasted that he hoped to make some "real money" in brothels and planned to buy a woman for $20,000. The settlement is a victory for accountability, but ultimately may be unsatisfying for critics of the government's less-than-robust oversight of contractors. Can we really expect other contractors to see this settlement as a wake-up call? The State Department fell asleep at the switch with AGNA and still has yet to prove that it's serious about contract oversight and enforcement of trafficking in persons regulations.

July 6, 2011 WA Today
The family of Aboriginal elder Mr Ward, who died in custody, is calling for any court fines due to be issued today against those responsible for the death to be invested in a community Environmental Science Centre. Warburton man Mr Ward, whose first name is not used for cultural reasons, died from heat stroke in the back of a prison van, with no working cooling system, after being driven 360 kilometres from Laverton to Kalgoorlie in 42-degree heat in 2008. State Coroner Alastair Hope conducted an inquest into the death in 2009, concluding the department, private prison security firm G4S and the two drivers had contributed to Mr Ward's death. The state government and G4S have since pleaded guilty to failing to prevent the death of Mr Ward, after charges were sought by WorkSafe WA earlier this year. Both parties are due to be sentenced in the Kalgoorlie Magistrate's Court today and are expected to face heavy fines of up to $400,000 each. In anticipation of the decision, Ward family spokesperson Daisy Ward has written to Attorney-General Christian Porter asking for the fines to be reinvested in the development of a beneficial science centre in the remote community of Patjarr in the Gibson Desert rather than being put back into government revenue. Ms Ward wrote: "I believe that when the magistrate brings down his sentence, the penalty put on your government will come from consolidated revenue and then be paid back into consolidated revenue. "This is both hurtful and painful to us. This pain does not go away from us. Where is the penalty? ... Any penalty that the company, G4S, has to pay will also go back to your government. "... If the government is getting the money, could you think about giving us the penalty monies because then it really is a penalty." An environmental science centre would reflect the work carried out by Mr Ward to educate environmental science students about indigenous land management, according to his family. "We believe that this will give our families and communities some justice for what happened, and will act as a living legacy of his work," Ms Ward said. "If the fines imposed are paid to the government, this will not bring any justice for what happened to my cousin."

July 5, 2011 The Advertiser
A PRIVATE security firm responsible for prisoner transport has been fined $50,000. This comes after a review into the March escape from custody of Drew Claude Griffiths. The review found private security firm G4S had failed to secure a controlled entry point and van door on March 22 in the prisoner hold area of the Parole Board's Adelaide premises, allowing Griffiths to escape. He was recaptured on March 25 by STAR Group officers. Correctional Services Minister Tom Koutsantonis said the fine sent a strong message to G4S. "This is a message for G4S that any escape is unacceptable," Mr Koutsantonis said. "I am getting sick and tired of prisoners escaping secure custody."

May 20, 2011 Palm Beach Daily News
A limited liability company associated with Richard R. Wackenhut of the security-services fortune has paid a recorded $11.5 million for a landmarked oceanfront home at 930 S. Ocean Blvd. The Palm Beach County Clerk’s office on Friday recorded the warranty deed of sale for the house, which was built in 1929 by noted society architect Maurice Fatio for his own use. Broker Lawrence Moens of Lawrence A. Moens Associates acted on behalf of the buyer, listed on the deed as 1111 Partners LLC, whose sole managing member is Richard Wackenhut, according to state records. He is the son of the late George Wackenhut, the Miami founder of the Wackenhut security-services company. Richard Wackenhut served as CEO and president of the company that went through ownership changes beginning in 2002. Today it is part of G4S Secure Solutions, which last year changed its name to drop a reference to Wackenhut. G4S Secure Solutions-North America is based in Jupiter. The house was not on the market at the time of the sale, said Moens, who arranged the deal privately. Moens said he had no comment about the buyer or details of the sale. The house was sold by Steve and Linda Horn Inc., an entity affiliated with Steve and Linda Horn of New York. The company had bought the house for $9.45 million in 2005. Linda Horn, who owns an antiques and decorative accessories shop in New York, said Friday she had no comment on the sale. Fatio and his wife, Eleanor Chase Fatio, lived in the house at the intersection of South Ocean Boulevard and Via Bellaria. Fatio designed the home in the Florentine Renaissance style with an exterior featuring coral key stone, one of his favorite building materials. The two-story, L-shaped home has a poolside covered loggia featuring an arched colonnade and a pecky-cypress ceiling. The house also has a 500-square-foot basement. Architectural features include French doors — with sidelights and fanlights — that open onto the pool area and side gardens. The Fatios lived in the house until 1930, when Fatio sold it to Franklin Simon, a New York City department store owner. County property records show that the limited liability company that purchased the house this week bought other property owned by Richard Wackenhut. He and a land trust paid $3.95 million for a home at 338 Eagle Drive in Jupiter’s Admirals Cove in 2001. Wackenhut took full ownership of the property a year later. Last November, Wackenhut, acting with his wife, Marie, transferred ownership of the Jupiter home to the same LLC that bought the South Ocean Boulevard house.

April 15, 2011 All Africa
The Mozambican judicial authorities on Thursday ordered the release of the 24 workers from the firm Group Four Securicor (G4S) who were jailed in Maputo awaiting trial on charges relating to demonstrations outside the G4S offices on 6 April. The decision was made by Judge Ana Felisberto Cunha of the Maputo Judicial Court, on presentation of declarations of identity and residence by the strikers. The release of the workers comes after the company withdrew the criminal complaints it had made against the group. According to G4S managing director, Pedro Baltazar, the decision to withdraw the charges was taken during a meeting of the Board of Directors held in Maputo on Monday as part of efforts to find a peaceful solution to the labour dispute at the company. The workers' lawyer, Salvador Nkamati, said that the 24 will have to wait for new developments, and must comply with certain obligations imposed by the law. "They will have to appear before the Court whenever requested, as well as other relevant authorities such as the police and prosecutors" he explained. Riot police used excessive force to disperse workers who were protesting outside the human resources department of the Maputo branch of G4S. A riot police unit was ordered to the scene after protestors broke windows and tore up fencing. According to the newspaper "O Pais", despite having been beaten and arrested, the security guards are still loyal to the company and are all set on returning to work. However, the General Secretary of the National Union of Private Security Workers (SINTESP), Julio Sitoe, argued that they should be entitled to compensation from the company for injuries sustained when members of the riot police violently attacked the demonstration.

February 16, 2011 The Street
After fiery closing arguments in the Smith v. Walmart trial, a jury found Wackenhut, but not Wal-Mart(WMT), liable for inadequate security in a store parking lot where a customer was murdered. The jury awarded over $1M in damages. Michael Born was murdered in a Wal-Mart parking lot while replacing his car's headlight. The plaintiffs claimed that Wal-Mart knew the store was located in a high-crime area, and that police were repeatedly called to the site. However, neither Wal-Mart nor its hired security service, Wackenhut, took adequate measures to protect Wal-Mart customers. Plaintiff attorney Mont Tanner reminded the jury that there had been more than a hundred similar incidents of serious crimes at the store, such as battery and robbery, most within the two years prior to the murder. However, said Tanner, there was no annual security assessment at this "crime magnet" by either Wal-Mart or Wackenhut, and the Wackenhut patrol officer was not trained to identify or deal with suspicious persons. Wal-Mart also allegedly failed to comply with its own security guidelines.

February 8, 2011 The Guardian
The Guardian has obtained a training video used by Securicor - now G4S - to instruct guards deporting asylum seekers on flights. The footage forms part of a dossier of evidence produced by G4S whistleblowers. The inaugural flight to Afghanistan should have been a showcase for a multinational company vying for the lucrative contract to deport foreign nationals on behalf of the British government. The plane heading to Kabul on 26 January 2004 had been chartered by a company that would go on to become part of the world's largest private security firm – G4S. Its cargo included refused asylum seekers in handcuffs. A number had their legs bound with tape and had been placed in the first-class cabin. But according to new evidence some of the guards on that flight, recruited to supervise the deportation, had not completed a full training course, and they included a number of inexperienced prison staff. Some had not even received Home Office accreditation. Shocking details about that flight and dozens more are contained in previously unseen evidence to parliament obtained by the Guardian. The documents reveal how G4S employees spent several years raising concerns about the potentially lethal methods being used on refused asylum seekers. The most disturbing technique involved bending deportees over in their seats and placing their head between their legs. The procedure became known within the company as "carpet karaoke" because it would force detainees, struggling for breath, to shout downwards toward the floor. Although an apparently successful method of keeping disruptive detainees quiet, it can lead to a form of suffocation known as positional asphyxia. Its alleged use is documented in written testimony by four G4S whistleblowers, submitted to the home affairs select committee in the aftermath of the death of Jimmy Mubenga, an Angolan who died on a British Airways flight from Heathrow in October last year. The cause of Mubenga's death remains unknown. Passengers on BA flight 77 reported seeing three guards heavily restraining the 46-year-old, who they said had been bent over and complained of breathing difficulties before his collapse. Police later arrested the guards in connection with the death and recently extended their bail until next month. Grievances -- All four whistleblowers have registered personal grievances against G4S, including some that have been settled out of court. Some are understood to have been themselves accused of inappropriate behaviour or later barred from conveying their concerns to the press. However, they now accuse G4S managers of presiding over a "macho" corporate culture that ostracised staff who showed compassion towards detainees or questioned the safety of their treatment. One of the whistleblowers, the company's serving charter operations manager, concedes that his detailed dossier to parliament is likely to result in his dismissal. The dossier records how he repeatedly wrote to his seniors expressing concerns, including one letter in which he stated that some G4S employees were playing "Russian roulette with detainees' lives".

December 26, 2010 The Guardian
A security company has recruited two former senior civil servants, sparking an outcry about the "revolving door" between Whitehall and the company. G4S, formerly Group 4 Securicor, hired Dr Peter Collecott, the one time director of corporate affairs at the Foreign Office, and David Gould, the Ministry of Defence's former chief operating officer in charge of defence equipment, according to a government report. The company, whose guards are under investigation over the death of deportee Jimmy Mubenga, supplies armed guards for embassy staff around the world. It has recruited former ministers including Lord Reid as well as senior figures in offender management. The disclosure comes two weeks after Sir George Young, the leader of the Commons, said he would examine the "revolving door" between Whitehall and defence companies. Denis MacShane, the Labour MP for Rotherham, called for a closer examination of civil servants before they are allowed to take private sector roles that may overlap with their former public duties. "There is great excitement over politicians and outside interests but the real issue is the gilded path from Whitehall where billions of pounds worth of public spending decisions are made into employment with companies that gained from such contracts and contacts," he said. "We need new rules so that anyone in public service cannot go straight into employment with companies to which they previously awarded contracts." Harry Fletcher, the assistant general secretary of the probation union Napo, who has been critical of the way G4S has recruited senior civil servants from the Home Office, said: "Appointments such as these give G4S a commercial advantage over their rivals and will encourage others to go down the same route." The appointments are listed in the latest report from the Advisory Committee of Business Appointments, released earlier this month. Collecott, 60, was the ambassador in Brazil from 2004 to 2008. He was a member of the Foreign Office's senior leadership forum that brought together the most senior heads of mission overseas. G4S said he has worked for their company on two separate domestic projects – once in 2009 and again this year, a contract which ended in September. The company has declined to explain the nature of the project. Gould, the MoD's former chief operating officer of defence equipment and support – which put him in charge of billions of pounds worth of procurement contracts – took up a consultant post with G4S last year. He left the MoD in 2008, and has also had roles at Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems Ltd. A spokesman for G4S said he worked on a specific project with G4S in 2009. Last month, G4S prompted an outcry by hiring Philip Wheatley, the former director general of the National Offender Management Service. Wheatley's G4S role, which he takes up just as Ken Clarke launches a plan to privatise much of the probation service he managed until June, has been criticised by probation unions. Wheatley's appointment is part of a pattern of G4S lobbying over probation privatisation. The company paid for a meeting at the last Conservative conference, where G4S "offender management" executive Jerry Petherick, spoke alongside the prisons minister, Crispin Blunt.

October 29, 2010 Financial Times
G4S, the security group, is to be replaced on a £30m-a-year ($48m) contract to deport detainees from the UK, the Home Office said. The loss comes after three security guards employed by G4S were arrested over the death of an Angolan man last week. However, the UK Border Agency said its decision to award a new four-year “escort services” contract to Reliance Security rather than G4S, which had done the job for the past five years, had no connection with the incident. Jimmy Mubenga, a 46-year-old deportee, died after he collapsed onboard a British Airways flight that was preparing to depart to his homeland from London’s Heathrow airport. The Home Office declined to disclose the sums involved in the G4S or Reliance contracts, citing commercial confidentiality. However, G4S said that it would take a hit of £30m in revenues and £2m in profits next year – a fraction of the company’s £7.4bn forecast sales and £393.7m pre-tax profits in the year to the end of December. Shares in G4S fell 4.8p at 261.7p. G4S said it was disappointed at the decision to hand the contract to its privately owned rival.

October 28, 2010 The Sentinel
A SECURITY guard who stole £20,000 worth of takings he collected from supermarkets has avoided an immediate jail sentence. Group 4 van driver Stuart Grey would park up after collecting cash from Morrisons, Asda or Somerfield and remove a bundle containing £1,000, Stafford Crown Court heard yesterday. He was caught when Morrisons launched an internal investigation over missing money and laid a trap with marked notes from its store in Stone. Pat Sullivan, prosecuting, said a collection from Stone in April was £1,000 short when it reached the company's headquarters. Police carried out a search of the defendant's Stoke-on-Trent home and found £460 of the company's money hidden in a washing machine and a mug, plus a bank deposit slip for £260. Grey explained how he had been stealing cash. He said he drove away from the store, pulled over a short distance away, opened up sealed plastic bags and took one bundle of notes containing £1,000. Grey had done it a total of 20 times over a period of 14 months from January last year. How he got away with it for so long was yet to be explained.

October 15, 2010 Bloomberg
Computer Sciences Corp., an information-technology company that relies on government business for almost 40 percent of its revenue, won $4 billion in U.S. contracts in fiscal 2009 after failing to pay more than 250 employees the wages and benefits they were owed. Computer Sciences, based in the Washington suburb of Falls Church, Virginia, topped a list of 15 companies that received more than $6 billion in federal contracts despite records of wage, health or safety violations, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. Tyson Foods Inc., the largest U.S. chicken processor; Corrections Corp. of America, the nation’s biggest private operator of prisons; and Wackenhut Services Inc., owned by U.K.- based security contractor G4S Plc, are also among the contractors identified. The names of the companies, not revealed in the public report released Oct. 1, were provided by Representative Robert Andrews, a New Jersey Democrat who criticized the awarding of contracts to companies that didn’t meet required standards. “If a company has a pattern of violations, at the very least, it should raise greater scrutiny before they get government contracts,” Andrews, chairman of the panel that requested the investigation, said in a telephone interview. “There doesn’t seem to be much incentive to follow the laws because you can still get a contract anyway.” The report by the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, covered a sample of contracts in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2009. ‘Work to Do’ -- Computer Sciences, which was awarded the $4 billion from the Defense Department and NASA, was assessed $1.6 million in back pay by the Labor Department covering a five-year period. Tyson, with more than $500 million in Defense, Agriculture and Justice department contracts, was cited for more than 100 health and safety violations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the GAO said. Wackenhut, which received $200 million in security contracts with the Defense, Agriculture and Homeland Security departments and NASA, violated fair-labor laws, according to Labor Department data cited by the GAO. “Some companies that continue to receive lucrative government contracts not only pay rock-bottom wages, but have long histories of labor and workplace safety violations,” Representative Patrick Murphy, a Pennsylvania Democrat who joined in requesting the GAO report, said in an e-mailed statement. “We have a lot of work to do to ensure that the federal contracting process encourages safe and good-paying jobs.” Workers Misclassified -- In addition to the pay violations, Computer Sciences didn’t provide protections against cave-ins for employees working in a trench more than 10 feet (3 meters) deep, according to a 2006 inspection by the occupational safety agency cited by the GAO. Chris Grandis, a company spokesman, said Computer Sciences paid the back wages to employees assigned to a U.S. immigration office in Vermont in 2009, after the Labor Department found they had been misclassified as contract workers entitled to less compensation. The company also received a minor citation from the occupational safety agency and agreed to pay a small fine, he said. Computer Sciences, a government contractor since 1961, received 37 percent of its $16.1 billion in revenue from federal contracts in the fiscal year ended April 2, according to a regulatory filing. Army, Immigration -- It ranked 12th in U.S. government contracts in fiscal 2009, the year studied by the GAO, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Its biggest federal contract that year was with the U.S. Army to provide engineering and logistics support for the Communications-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command. Computer Sciences also has a contract with the Homeland Security Department for a processing system used in applications for immigration benefits and services. The company said on Oct. 4 that it was one of four firms that will share in a $2.8 billion contract by the Social Security Administration for consulting and information technology services. Tyson has received more than 100 U.S. health and safety citations, including for an incident in which a worker died after being asphyxiated in a pit of wastewater debris, according to the GAO report. Last year, Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson won $500 million in federal contracts, the GAO’s report showed. Gary Mickelson, a Tyson spokesman, said the company seeks to comply with federal regulations and the report doesn’t give “the full context of the issues involved, nor does it report the measures our company takes to operate responsibly.” Corrections Corp. -- Corrections Corp., based in Nashville, Tennessee, was cited for five safety violations since 2005 and for failing to follow labor laws when firing an employee for union participation, according to the GAO. Last year, it was awarded $800 million in contracts, the agency said. Steve Owen, a Corrections Corp. spokesman, said the U.S. contracts are subject to oversight and accountability. He declined to comment on safety and labor violations cited in the GAO report. Wackenhut, based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, received $200 million in contracts, the GAO said. From 2005 through 2009, the Labor Department said the company owed $4.4 million in back wages to more than 2,100 employees, and OSHA cited the company for seven cases of health and safety violations, resulting in $9,000 in fines. The company agreed this year to pay $290,000 in back pay and interest to 446 rejected black job applicants. Susan Pitcher, a Wackenhut spokeswoman, said the company had no response to the report. Violations by other federal contractors included hiring undocumented workers, failing to meet environmental standards and fraudulently billing Medicare or Medicaid, according to the report.

August 27, 2010 Yahoo
Judge James Cacheris of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has denied Defendants ArmorGroup North America ("AGNA"), ArmorGroup International, Wackenhut Services, Inc., and Cornelius Medley's motions to dismiss whistleblower James Gordon's lawsuit brought under the False Claims Act. On September 9, 2009, Mr. Gordon, former Director of Operations of AGNA, filed a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit under the False Claims Act in United States District Court for the District of Columbia, charging that ArmorGroup management retaliated against him for whistleblowing, internally and to the United States Department of State ("DoS"), about illegalities committed by ArmorGroup in the performance of AGNA's contracts with the United States to provide security services at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan and at the U.S. Naval base in Bahrain. The Complaint charges that during Mr. Gordon's seven-month tenure as Director of Operations, he investigated, attempted to stop, and reported to DoS a myriad of serious violations committed by ArmorGroup, including: •Severely understaffing the guard force necessary to protect the U.S. Embassy; •Allowing AGNA managers and employees to frequent brothels notorious for housing trafficked women in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act; •Endangering the safety of the guard force during transport to and from the Embassy by attempting to substitute company-owned subpar, refurbished vehicles from Iraq rather than purchasing armored escort vehicles as promised to DoS; •Knowingly using funds to procure cheap counterfeit goods from a company in Lebanon owned by the wife of AGNA's Logistics Manager; and •Engaging in practices to maximize profit from the contract with reckless disregard for the safety and security of the guard force, the U.S. Embassy, and its personnel. In his Memorandum Opinion (August 27, 2010), Judge Cacheris noted that "Plaintiff alleges and Defendants offer no facts to dispute that Defendants ... began to try to constructively discharge [Mr. Gordon] by 'making [his] working conditions intolerable.'" Judge Cacheris further noted that "Plaintiff alleges, and Defendants have not offered any evidence refuting the fact, that [Defendant] Medley excluded Plaintiff from management meetings, shunned him, and relegated him to a position of persona non grata in the office" and that "Medley made clear to Plaintiff by his behavior, and to other staff members by his direct boasts, that his priority was to force Gordon to quit." In denying Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, Judge Cacheris concluded that "there is a genuine issue of material fact regarding the continued nature and duration of the allegedly illegal acts Plaintiff was requested and required to participate in." The parties will now proceed into the discovery phase of the litigation. According to Debra S. Katz, counsel for Mr. Gordon, "this is an important victory for conscientious employees, like Mr. Gordon, who blow the whistle on fraudulent practices by defense contractors and wind up then paying the ultimate price. The court's decision today makes clear that such employees can bring federal claims under the False Claims Act to obtain redress."

July 29, 2010 WA Today
The family of an Aboriginal elder who roasted to death in searing heat in the back of a prison van will receive a $3.2 million compensation payment from the WA government, one of the largest such payouts in Australian history. It is an ex-gratia settlement by the government to the family of Mr Ward, whose full name cannot be used for cultural reasons, and includes a $200,000 interim payment already awarded. Attorney-General Christian Porter today revealed $1.4 million of the money would go to Mr Ward's widow, Nancy Donegan, with amounts of $400,000 to be placed in trust accounts for each of her four children. Mr Ward, 46, of Warburton, died in January 2008 while being transported 360 kilometres from Laverton to Kalgoorlie to face a drink-driving charge. Temperatures in the van, operated by private security company G4S, reached more than 50 degrees after it was revealed the air-conditioning in the van was broken. The compensation - which Mr Porter said was one of the largest ex-gratia payments by a government in Australian history, as well as that of common law countries - came after negotiations with the family's lawyers, the Aboriginal Legal Service, and on receipt of legal advice detailing what action could be brought against the state, and what that case might look like. It represented an "unequivocal apology" by the government. "It's meant to show contrition... deep, deep, remorse for what has occurred," Mr Porter said. It also took into account the fact that no criminal charges would be laid. While it did not come with an admission of liability, Ms Donegan could still take legal action if she chose. An "initial view" was that legal action would be likely, Mr Porter said. "I don't know if that position will change by virtue of this payment," he said. "If this does not bring finality to the family, (if civil action was to be launched), we don't want to stand in the way of Ms Donegan embarking on that action." ALS chief executive Dennis Eggington said that his organisation would consult with Mr Ward's family about possible civil proceedings against both the government and G4S. The ALS also requested further information to determine whether it would apply to have a coronial inquest into the death reopened. He described the culpability of G4S as "astronomical" and called on the company to apologise. "That's the least G4S can do," he said. "They have been very quiet in all of this. We've been very disappointed." ALS director of legal services Peter Collins said the role of G4S in Mr Ward's death was "absolutely diabolical". "It was their van, their employees driving the van, at a bare minimum (G4S) should be offering compensation to the family," he said.

July 28, 2010 Scoop
A private prison company that is bidding to run Mt Eden remand prison is under scrutiny in Australia for failing to make recommended changes after a high profile death in custody, said the Green Party today. An Australian parliamentary inquiry this week has heard that G4S has not implemented all the recommendations of an inquiry into the death of an Aboriginal elder in 2008. In particular, G4S has not been providing training to its workers in remote areas, according to Ian Johnston, the Australian Department of Corrective Services Commissioner. Green Party Corrections spokesperson David Clendon said “All of the prison corporations bidding to run Mt Eden remand prison have skeletons in their closets. It’s time for John Key’s Government to review whether any of these companies are suitable to operate in New Zealand,” said. “It is not good enough for the Minister to hide behind the tender process. She needs to let the public know what the minimum standards are for prison corporations who want to operate in New Zealand.” There had been two damning reports of G4S UK operations in the last month and now their Australian operations were coming under scrutiny, added Mr Clendon. “New Zealand’s public prisons are a long way from perfect but the evidence shows that privatisation is no magic bullet. It will not make our prisons safer, better or cheaper. “The community and public sector have lots of good innovative ideas about how the prison system can be improved. The Government should listen to them rather than flogging off prison management to corporations. “Private prisons have to make a profit, which means either cut backs on staff levels and rehabilitation, or charging more per prisoner. The perverse incentive to make a profit out of prisoners is at the heart of the problem,” said Mr Clendon.

July 2, 2010 APP
Protesters over an Aboriginal elder's death from heat stroke in a prison van have accused the West Australian Director of Public Prosecutions of racism for not laying charges. More than 100 people rallied outside DPP Joe McGrath's office in downtown Perth office on Friday chanting "Racist Police" and "Racist DPP". Mr McGrath announced on Monday that no charges would be laid against two security guards over the 46-year-old elder's death because there was insufficient evidence of criminal negligence.

June 27, 2010 The Western Australian
The State's top prosecutor has told the family of an Aboriginal elder who died of heatstroke in the back of a prison van that criminal charges will not be laid over his shocking treatment. The West Australian understands that DPP Joe McGrath flew to the remote community of Warburton over the weekend where he broke the news to relatives of Mr Ward. The decision is expected to get an angry reaction from family members who have long called for charges to be laid over the matter. The West Australian was unable to contact Mr Ward's relatives today. A spokeswoman for the DPP declined to comment. The latest development comes a year after State Coroner Alastair Hope handed down a damning report on the disgraceful treatment of Mr Ward, whose first name is not used for cultural reasons. Mr Hope found two transport guards, Nina Stokes and Graham Powell, the Department of Corrective Services and private prison transport company G4S had contributed to Mr Ward's death. Mr Ward died after being driven 360km in a prison van from Laverton to Kalgoorlie in 42C without air-conditioning in January 2008. Mr Ward's cousin told The West Australian earlier this month that that the matter had dragged on too long and the family wanted both drivers charged as soon as possible over the death. Daisy Ward said at the time that family members were getting frustrated about the lack of action and wanted justice. "I still want them to lay a charge," she said last month. "If it was an Aboriginal person that did that, they would get thrown behind bars. My cousin was like in a furnace…like he was cooked alive in the back of the van." Deaths in Custody Watch Committee Marc Newhouse said this afternoon that he was shocked and dismayed to learn that the DPP would not press charges against the two guards who transported Mr Ward. He said the information on how the DPP reached the decision needed to be released publicly. "There has basically been a lack of transparency in this whole process," he said. "It just highlights that there are some serious flaws in our justice system that when something of this nature happens and no-one is brought to account for negligence." Mr Newhouse said Mr Ward's family and community of Warburton would be devastated by the decision. "It is a complete kick in the guts," he said. "It is going to do nothing for Aboriginal people's confidence in the criminal justice system and particularly where Aboriginal people are the victims." "The community has been very, very patient, including the family, and that patience has just ended." Mr Newhouse said the Deaths in Custody Watch Committee would seek legal advice to determine whether charges could be brought against the Department of Corrective Services or private prisoner transport company, G4S. Mr Hope referred his report to the DPP under a section of the legislation which allows his findings to be sent to prosecutors on the basis that he believed indictable offences may have been committed. But in his written findings, Mr Hope recognised that legal issues relating to the involvement of various individuals and organisations were "complicated". "I do not wish to create unrealistic expectations on the part of the family or in the hope that they will see 'justice' as a result of such a report (to the DPP) being made," Mr Hope said.

April 7, 2010 Info 4 Security
G4S Wackenhut is changing its name to G4S, in turn reflecting the company’s vision of providing comprehensive security solutions. Brian Sims reports. By building on Wackenhut’s proven success in the States as "the premier supplier of manned security services" G4S has aggressively positioned itself to deliver a new category of integrated security solution that combines manpower and technology. Through a series of acquisitions that includes the Nuclear Security Services Corp, Touchcom Inc, Adesta and AMAG Technology, G4S will continue to evolve its core competencies from its Wackenhut roots to deliver integrated security solutions for greater performance and efficiency. “Our transformation from G4S Wackenhut to G4S is not something that happened overnight,” explained Drew Levine, president of G4S Secure Solutions. “Since before Wackenhut became part of the G4S family of companies, we’ve been developing new and more efficient means of supplementing our security officers with powerful technologies such as our Secure Trax Management Software platform." Levine added: "Now, with the global resources of G4S behind us, we can deliver a wider range of services – including security consulting, design and engineering; compliance and risk management; facilities management and remote video monitoring. That being the case, we can offer truly integrated security solutions, unlike any other company in the industry.”

February 16, 2010 Grand Rapids News
Less than a month after a federal judge rejected James and Glenna Chandler's bid to punish the security company that employed five men convicted of killing their daughter in Holland in 1979, the couple has filed an appeal, pushing their case forward. Janet Chandler's father filed the appeal Tuesday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District in Cincinnati, records show. The Chandlers have claimed Wackenhut Corp. -- which employed five of the six people convicted of Janet Chandler's slaying -- did not conduct sufficient employee background checks, or properly supervise their workers. They also contended Wackenhut helped hide the employees' involvement in the murder, which took nearly three decades to solve. The family was seeking cash damages for the mental pain and suffering inflicted by the death of Janet, a 22-year-old Hope College student. On Jan. 19, U.S. District Judge Janet Neff dismissed the Chandlers' claims against the Florida security firm, which hired guards during a strike at a Holland area plant. Neff said the allegations were filed after a three-year statute of limitations.

February 16, 2010 Miami-Herald
Heading to an end: the long-running dispute between Miami-Dade County, Wackenhut Corp. and a whistleblower named Michelle Trimble over millions in alleged overbillings for phantom workers at Metrorail. On Thursday county commissioners are scheduled to vote on a proposed settlement in which all parties would drop their competing lawsuits, Wackenhut would pay $7.5 million, and Miami-Dade would end its bid to keep the private security firm from doing business with the county. It would promise not to use the facts of this case against Wackenhut on current or future contracts. Out of the $7.5 million Wackenhut has agreed pay, $3 million would go to the county, $1.25 million to Trimble and $3.25 million to her attorneys, led by plaintiffs lawyer Mark Vieth and the Miami firm Josephs Jack. The proposed settlement comes nearly a year after a final audit by Miami-Dade County concluded that taxpayers were overbilled by Wackenhut -- which provided security at the county's Metrorail stops for two decades -- by $3.3 million to $5.8 million. In the proposed settlement, the county also agreed to clarify its final audit by Miami-Dade's chief auditor Cathy Jackson, saying her comments ``should not be construed to mean that the principals or management of Wackenhut engaged in fraud.'' In a memo to commissioners, County Manager George Burgess defended the proposed settlement, writing that the deal avoids the risks associated with trial and required ``all parties to make some compromises.'' Drew Levine, Wackenhut's president, declined to comment. Trimble could not be reached for comment. Vieth, who has been leading the civil case against Wackenhut since August 2005, did not return calls. Michael Josephs of the Josephs Jack firm declined to comment. If approved, the settlement will end a dispute that's been part of a broader history of waste and mismanagement underscoring the county's stewardship of the transit system. In this case, the county has been criticized for responding slowly to allegations that taxpayers were paying for guards who did not show up at Metrorail stops. In August 2005 the whistleblower lawsuit against Wackenhut was filed alleging phony billing practices; the suit is called a Qui Tam action, in which a private citizen sues on behalf of the government. Trimble worked as a guard at the county's Juvenile Services Department, where Wackenhut also previously provided security services. The county balked at participating in the case, instead ordering its own audit that was not finished until 2008. The inquiry found that Wackenhut billed the county for service not rendered. It wasn't until a year later, in April 2009, that a final audit was issued -- again concluding taxpayers were bilked. County manager Burgess had said he would replace Wackenhut once its contract expired in November and pledged to bar the firm from doing business with the county in the future. Burgess also said the county would cooperate with the Qui Tam lawsuit. At the time, plaintiff attorney Vieth said the ``evidence of overbilling has been overwhelming and existing for four years.'' For its part, Wackenhut denied wrongdoing and subsequently filed a $20 million suit against the county, saying the future damages it will suffer ``as result of this unfair and malicious taint'' on the firm's reputation ``are incalculable.'' Last month -- on the eve of trial in the whistleblower case -- the proposed settlement was reached, according to Burgess' memo.

February 11, 2010 KATU News
In a Seattle bus tunnel a 15-year-old girl was viciously attacked while security guards did nothing but call 9-1-1. The incident, in addition to sparking outrage, has many asking whether security guards in Portland are allowed to step in. Disbelief and disgust was the reaction by people who were shown surveillance footage of a girl being repeatedly kicked in the head by another girl while private security guards stood by at arm’s length and did nothing but call 9-1-1. “I know the transit isn’t exactly the same over there (Seattle), but I know it’s still good and that’s, that’s horrible,” said one man after watching the video at a MAX station. “Somebody’s getting hurt, I mean you don’t want them to get hurt, I don’t know, like, do something,” said another man at a MAX station. TriMet and its private security contractor Wackenhut, said if one of their guard’s is near a fight, they won’t just stand back and dial 9-1-1. Wackenhut project manager, Maj. Ellis Bremer, said there’s no question employees can and will get directly involved to stop fights. “We will not stand by,” he said. “We are here to protect the employees and assist the employees of TriMet and in so far as the ridership goes, of course, protect the ridership and inform the ridership.” The state only requires eight hours of classroom work to get a license to be a private security guard, but Wackenhut said it requires its people to go through an initial minimum of 80 hours and then a 16-hour refresher course every year. Most riders said they believe security should mean more than just dialing 9-1-1. Transit officers in Seattle say they are reconsidering the limits put on their private security guards.

December 8, 2009 Reuters
The State Department will not renew the contract of a security company embroiled in a scandal involving the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, where guards were accused of drunken conduct and sexual hazing. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said on Tuesday Virginia-based ArmorGroup would not have its contract renewed when it expires in June, although it will receive a six-month extension to allow the contract to be put up for new bids. Toner said officials had reviewed the contract and "concurred that the next option year should not be exercised and that work begin immediately to compete a new contract." He said the review included both recent misconduct allegations against ArmorGroup personnel and the company's "history of contract compliance deficiencies." This week a report by the non-partisan Government Accounting Office identified a number of shortcomings in the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security including staffing shortage and increased reliance on contractors in high-risk posts. The Kabul embassy scandal broke in September, when a watchdog group accused ArmorGroup of jeopardizing security at the embassy by understaffing the facility and ignoring lewd, drunken conduct and sexual hazing by some guards -- and provided graphic photos as evidence. ArmorGroup North America, now owned by Florida-based Wackenhut Services, was also hit by a federal whistle-blower lawsuit that said it had ignored brothel visits by guards and other misconduct because of what a lawyer said was a "myopic preoccupation with profit" in its five-year, $187 million contract with the State Department. State Department officials said the safety of embassy staff was never in jeopardy. But they subsequently said 12 embassy guards had been removed or resigned, ArmorGroup's entire senior Kabul management replaced and alcohol banned at the group's camp. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered a thorough review of how contractors are used. The GAO report noted that worldwide, the U.S. diplomatic security budget had grown to $1.8 billion in 2008 from just $200 million in 1998, when truck bomb attacks on U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killed more than 300 people including 12 Americans. The bureau's workforce has also doubled over the same period but is failing to keep pace with rising security threats including those faced in Iraq and Afghanistan, it said. "Staffing shortages in domestic offices and other operational challenges -- such as inadequate facilities, language deficiencies, experience gaps, and balancing security needs with State's diplomatic mission -- further tax its ability to implement all of its missions," the report said. The report urged the State Department to develop a strategic plan to directly address the rising demands of diplomatic security including increased staffing.

November 24, 2009 The Guardian
The brutal truth of child detention 2,000 asylum seekers' kids a year are locked up, and the only beneficiaries seem to be firms running centres like Yarl's Wood A report by the novelist Clare Sambrook of End Child Detention Now, which campaigns against the detention of 2,000 asylum seekers' children every year, asks the very reasonable question: who does this expensive incarceration benefit? Clearly not the children who, according to every study ever written on this issue, suffer acutely from being taken from their homes on the orders of the UK Border Agency and placed in a confined space for an indeterminate period. Many argue that society benefits because it is protected from the asylum seekers and their families. Sambrook wonders how that can be when there is no evidence that asylum seekers are likely to abscond. So who benefits? Clearly the private companies that run so much of this operation have a lot to gain. G4S, the company that operates Tinlsey House, one of three detention centres where last month 10-year-old Adeoti Ogunsola tried to strangle herself after being forcibly redetained, recently reported rising profits and growth in government business which had offset weakness in commercial sectors. As Sambrook reports: "Last year G4S handed chief executive Nick Buckles a £1.4m pay package. That's £3,835 every day. He owns £4m in G4S shares, tipped by the Daily Telegraph recently as, 'a solid buy for these uncertain times'." Someone else who may reasonably be said to benefit from this policy is Christopher Hyman, the chief executive of Serco, who also earns in the region of £3,000 a day. His company runs the notorious Yarl's Wood detention centre where children have been detained far beyond the 28-day with charge maximum allowed for terror suspects. "Traumatised child inmates, who must carry ID cards at all times, refer to Yarl's Wood as 'prison' and 'the camp'," says Sambrook. Among the indirect beneficiaries she also identifies John Reid, the former home secretary, who is paid £50,000 a year as a consultant to G4S for, among other things, hosting government and security industry breakfasts. Meanwhile children are suffering. The Lorek report in the peer review journal Child Abuse and Neglect says detained children experience "increased fear due to being suddenly placed in a facility resembling a prison … the abrupt loss of home, school friends and all that was familiar to them". Some exhibit "sexualised behaviour". Older children are so stressed they wet their bed and soil their pants. Who benefits from this expensive and harsh policy? Sambrook answers her own questions with this – " some extremely wealthy grownups".

November 23, 2009 Wall Street Journal
G4S PLC (GFS.LN), an international security solutions group, said Monday it Monday it has bought Champions of the West, Inc--trading as All Star International from the Junge Revocable Trust and John P. Junge individually, by its U.S. Government Services business, Wackenhut Services, Inc. for $59.9 million in cash, on an enterprise value basis.

November 6, 2009 West Australia Today
The ongoing contract with a private prison transport company responsible for the death of an Aboriginal elder in January last year has sparked legal retaliation. The Deaths in Custody Watch Committee has told radio 6PR that it was seeking independent legal advice to appeal the decision to keep the $25million a year contract between the State Government and contractor G4S. The State Coroner found that the company was responsible for the death of 46-year-old Mr Ward, who had been arrested for drink driving and was being transported 350kms to a Kalgoorlie Court when he suffered heat stroke from the 50C heat inside the unairconditioned truck. "It is outrageous and unimaginable that they [G4S] could continue their contract. They have been responsible for six deaths in Australia in less than nine years," committee spokesman Mark Newhouse said. He said the company, under its current terms, could still be responsible for two more deaths in custody and not have its contract terminated before it expired in 2011. "What is even more concerning is that in one incident, if there are four to five deaths, that is not considered a breach of contract, which is outrageous," he said. The group is also planning on mounting a public campaign to improve proper approvals for public contracts and improving the monitoring of those being transported while in custody. Mr Newhouse said there had been no evidence from the company that any improvements had been made. G4S have refused to comment on the grounds that it was a confidential contract. The Attorney General Christian Porter was also unavailable for comment.

October 11, 2009 Weekly Standard
There seems no end to contractor abuse scandals in countries fighting terrorism or undergoing "nation-building." The latest to be reported in the media involves ArmorGroup North America, a private security firm guarding the American embassies in Iraq and Afghanistan. It began in Baghdad on August 9, when an ArmorGroup employee shot two of his colleagues dead. The victims were Darren Hoare, 37, an Australian, and Paul McGuigan, 37, a Briton and ArmorGroup executive. The alleged killer, Daniel Fitzsimons, 33, is also British. ArmorGroup North America is owned by Wackenhut Services, Inc., a Florida-based company, which is a division, in turn, of a Danish enterprise, G4S, that advertises itself as the world's largest security company. The shootings reportedly occurred late at night, inside the ArmorGroup compound in Baghdad's international area known as the Green Zone. Fitzsimons, according to a Baghdad source who declined to be named, is said to have shot his coworkers because they claimed he was homosexual. After killing them, he shot an Iraqi, Arkhan Mahdi, in the leg, then was arrested by Iraqi police (who now patrol the Green Zone). Fitzsimons faces a possible death sentence. He will be the first foreigner employed in Iraq since the beginning of the 2003 intervention to be held to account under Iraqi law. Fitzsimons says he cannot remember the incident. According to the London Sunday Times, Fitzsimons was seen on an earlier occasion injecting Valium and morphine into his leg while already drunk. Another trail of misconduct has led to an uproar in Kabul, where 16 U.S. embassy guards provided by ArmorGroup were fired in early September for alleged drunkenness and for forcing those under their control to engage in deviant and humiliating behavior. U.S. press coverage of the Fitzsimons case has been minimal, and even the contractors' misbehavior in Kabul, although documented by video, has mostly been handled with discretion by the print media. The New York Times mentioned "lurid details" and "lewd conduct" at weekly parties hosted by embassy guards. The Kabul carousing was disclosed when the Project on Government Oversight (POGO) released a report on September 1. More information emerged in a suit filed September 9 by James Gordon, a New Zealander and former operations director of ArmorGroup North America. Gordon says he is a "whistle-blower," forced out of his job after warning company executives and the U.S. Department of State about the situation at the embassy. According to the New York Times, the POGO report stated that victims of "deviant hazing" included Afghans, whose conservative Muslim culture left them especially repelled by such behavior; those who refused to submit were dismissed from their jobs. The report described a " 'Lord of the Flies' environment." Fitzsimons, the accused Baghdad shooter, has been treated in the British media as a case of post-traumatic stress disorder caused by his prior military service in Iraq and the Balkans. But it would be a mistake to blame such dissolution on the stress of war alone. The Green Zone syndrome of alienation from the local population, as chronicled by critics of the Iraq war, is a ubiquitous feature of life among foreign administrators in conflict and post-conflict areas across the globe. Sex trafficking and corruption of locals have become prominent wherever operations are conducted by transnational bureaucracies like the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) along with the attendant ranks of nongovernmental organizations and private contractors. I have observed similar patterns in the Balkans for a decade.

September 30, 2009 ABC
The West Australian Government has officially responded to the coroner's findings in the case of Mr Ward, who died of heatstroke in a prisoner transport vehicle. The coroner said the Aboriginal elder's death in searing desert heat was a disgrace, as the van was "not fit for humans". But the Government has decided not terminate the contract of the private company which transported Mr Ward. The Government says it supports all of the coroner's recommendations - some of which have already been acted on. But the full response has come three months after the coroner handed down his findings, and 20 months since the tragedy occurred. The Government agrees there should be more training and monitoring of staff, and there should not be transportation of prisoners over long distances. But the Attorney-General Christian Porter says the contract with private operators G4S is likely to continue. Mr Porter has suggested the company may have to pay a penalty. "The penalties that you've spoken of, for a death for instance, I understand are $100,000 which seems to me to be ridiculous in the scope of what occurred here," he said. "But again, the question about termination is very unfortunately a question about the legality of being able to terminate under the terms of the present contract." The coroner called for the prisoner transport fleet to be completely replaced. This will not happen until the end of next year. Mr Porter says responsibility for transporting prisoners could be brought back to the public sector. "The final decision as to whether or not this service will be public or private has not yet been made but I can say that if a determination is made to keep this service in the private sector, the contract that governs the process will be a completely different type of contract to the one that presently exists," he said. The Deaths In Custody Watch Committee says Group 4 and GSL staff have contributed to the deaths of six people in Australia. The committee's Marc Newhouse says the contract should have been terminated. "We're completely outraged that the contract with G4S - he hasn't announced the termination of it, it has to be terminated," he said. "They've been subject to critical reports by the Australian Human Rights Commission. This company is not fit to operate in this country and they should be terminated." Noongar elder Ben Taylor says he believes racism in the system is causing Aboriginal people to suffer. "There's a lotta racism there and the only ones who're gonna suffer are my people, Aboriginal people," he said. "This is got to go wider, and I'm on the Watch Committee with Marc and we're going to keep hanging on here because there's more lives that are going to be taken, and that's going to be blackfellas, Aboriginal people, my people, and that's the full stop." Mr Newhouse says the committee had also called for a speedier response in the wake of a death in custody. "That the Coroner's Act is amended in line with the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommendations, that a system of mandatory reporting be put in place so that government and other relevant bodies have to report within a certain time frame," he said. "The point of it is to save lives and to prevent lives being lost." But Mr Porter says the Labor state government should have ended the contract with the company. But the Opposition Leader Eric Ripper says there were other considerations. "You can't just terminate a contract without there being financial consequences for taxpayers and the government does have a responsibility to both protect prisoners and the interests of taxpayers," he said. "That's why this matter needs careful examination rather than a kneejerk reaction."

September 18, 2009 AP
A top executive of the private security contractor hired to protect the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan was informed in July 2008 of alleged illegal and immoral conduct by guards, attorneys for a whistleblower suing the company said Friday. The claim contradicts the sworn testimony of Samuel Brinkley, a vice president for Wackenhut Services, the owner of ArmorGroup North America. Brinkley told the Commission on Wartime Contracting under oath on Monday that he and other corporate officials outside of Afghanistan didn't know until a few weeks ago of problems that reportedly included lurid parties and ArmorGroup employees frequenting brothels in Kabul. But in a 10-page letter to the commission, the attorneys say their client, James Gordon, told Brinkley during a meeting on July 15, 2008, of alleged guard misconduct. The meeting took place in Brinkley's office in Arlington, Va., Gordon said in a separate e-mail through the lawyers. Gordon was ArmorGroup's director of operations until February 2008. He says he was forced out of the job after trying to get the company to fix a long list of shortcomings with the $189 million embassy security contract that the State Department awarded ArmorGroup in March 2007. He filed a lawsuit earlier this month in federal court claiming the company retaliated against him for telling the department about the deficiencies. Brinkley and Wackenhut did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a previous statement on the lawsuit, a Wackenhut spokeswoman called Gordon's claims baseless and said he voluntarily resigned from the company. Clark Irwin, a spokesman for the wartime contracting commission, said the congressionally mandated panel is reviewing the letter. At the commission's Sept. 14 hearing on ArmorGroup's performance, Brinkley portrayed himself and other company executives as being blindsided by the misconduct of a small number of employees. "I am not here to defend the indefensible," Brinkley said. "Certain of our personnel behaved very badly." During a series of heated exchanges, commissioners pressed Brinkley to explain why he didn't tell the State Department of reports that guards were behaving inappropriately, potentially putting security of a key U.S. diplomatic outpost at risk. Brinkley said ArmorGroup managers in Afghanistan only told him about an Aug. 11 incident involving nine employees who got drunk at a bar near their living quarters. Those workers were counseled by the on-site manager and a temporary ban on alcohol was imposed. He said the State Department was informed of this incident on Aug. 26. Brinkley said he wasn't aware of the scope and duration of the misconduct until Sept. 1 when a watchdog group released a report with photos showing guards and supervisors in various stages of nudity at parties flowing with alcohol. The watchdog group, the Project on Government Oversight in Washington, also said guards were subjected to abuse and hazing by supervisors who created a hostile work environment. The letter from Gordon's attorneys says they are concerned Brinkley's testimony did not provide the commission with a "full and accurate understanding of many of the events in question."

September 14, 2009 Government Executive
The State Department should terminate ArmorGroup North America's contract for security services at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, witnesses and panelists said during a Commission on Wartime Contracting hearing on Monday. The recent photographs and report from the Project on Government Oversight detailing alleged lewd, drunken behavior by guards at the embassy just describe the latest and most egregious violation by ArmorGroup, witnesses told the panel. State Department Undersecretary of Management Patrick Kennedy testified that the contract has required "extensive oversight and management." Since awarding the contract to ArmorGroup on March 12, 2007, State has issued seven deficiency notices addressing 25 deficiencies, one cure notice and one show-cause notice. Each notice demanded separate correction action plans to resolve contractual issues and several involved serious allegations, including that the contractor had deceived the government in its contract proposal. Despite these problems, State has not terminated the contract with ArmorGroup and has, in fact, exercised an extension of the contract period. State officials said they are awaiting the results of an ongoing investigation into the contractor's conduct at the embassy. Commissioner Clark Kent Ervin pressed Kennedy to pledge State would terminate the contract if the probe validates the allegations made against the contract employees. While Kennedy was hesitant to speculate on a hypothetical situation, he said he could imagine an outcome of the investigation that would lead the agency to terminate the contract. "We're seeing a serious case being made for termination," he said. William Moser, deputy assistant secretary of State for logistics management, told the commission a public hearing was not the proper forum to talk about future contract actions. Regardless, he said the department is discussing potential alternatives and approaching the reevaluation of the contract "with a great deal of seriousness." Danielle Brian, executive director of POGO, said the organization's investigation shows State officials were notified of serious issues relating to the ArmorGroup contract repeatedly, and took limited action. "For the two years of this contract, State's response to whistleblowers' sustained complaints and to its own finding of severe noncompliance consisted mainly of written reprimands and the renewal of ArmorGroup's contract," Brian said. "Simply documenting a problem or even levying a fine is not effective oversight when those same problems continue to occur." Brian said State has been "stubbornly defensive" in not recognizing its own failures, and how those failures have caused misconduct and potential lapses in security. While POGO strongly believes the contract should be canceled and ArmorGroup -- or its parent company, Wackenhut -- should be debarred from doing business with the government, that will not prevent future problems, Brian said. To ensure proper conduct by contractors overseas, State must shorten the rotations of its regional security officers, perform more frequent audits and independent verification of contractor reports of compliance, and prioritize accountability, she said. "This cultural shift will be aided by canceling contracts when the contractor consistently underperforms -- which will have the added benefit of acting as a deterrent to future contractors -- and by disciplining the State Department officials who are responsible for the failed oversight of the ArmorGroup contract," Brian said. Commissioner Linda Gustitus said State already lost authority with industry by not terminating its contract with Blackwater Worldwide in the wake of the Nissor Square shooting incident in Iraq. "That helped to send a message to other contractors that you can do a lot and not have you contract terminated," Gustitus said. Several commissioners joined Brian in urging Kennedy to hold accountable the State employees responsible for managing Armor Group by firing them, withholding bonuses or taking some other disciplinary action.

September 14, 2009 Wayne Madsen Report
At a September 10 press conference at the National Press Club in Washington, two former managers for ArmorGroup North America (AGNA), headquartered in McLean, Virginia and a subsidiary of ArmorGroup International (AGI), revealed a litany of contract fraud and abuse charges against AGNA and AGI and provided further details of sexual deviancy among AGNA security guards in Kabul tasked with protecting the U.S. embassy. ArmorGroup is now owned by Wackenhut Services, Inc., headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The two former employees are suing AGNA, AGI, Wackenhut, and Corporation Service Company for wrongful termination, false claims, and conspiracy. John Gorman, a retired Marine Corps veteran who was the camp manager at the security guard force’s Camp Sullivan, blew the whistle on contract non-performance, security pitfalls, and sexual deviancy, and was placed under virtual house arrest in June 2007 by AGNA’s top manager in Kabul, Michael O’Connell, and flown out of the country. Gorman was terminated and confined for some 24 hours, along with two other AGNA managers, James Sauer, a retired Marine sergeant major and Pete Martino, a retired Marine colonel, who filed complaints to both AGNA and the Regional Security Office (RSO) for the U.S. embassy in Kabul, also Marine Corps veterans. Because they told the RSO they feared for their personal safety after bringing the charges against AGNA, he offered them the security of his apartment on the embassy compound, which they turned down only to later have their cell phones and weapons confiscated by AGNA and being confined before their flight out of the country. Gorman said no one at AGNA “ever mentioned or indicated a concern for the actual security at the embassy -- the greatest and only concerns were the profit margin and the bottom line.” Gorman said the project manager for the security contract, Sauer, a man with 35 years of experience as a 30-year career Marine with private security contractor experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, was “ignored, second guessed, and rejected.” Sauer had vehemently objected to allowing security personnel to be deployed to Kabul who had engaged in “lewd and deviant behavior” during their subcontractor training in Texas. After Gorman, Sauer, and Martino made their complaints known to McConnell, the corporate executive replied that ArmorGroup was a publicly traded company and could, therefore, not hire more people “because he had a responsibility to the shareholders.” The effect was the hiring of clearly unqualified personnel for the security guard force. Gorman said that there were people hired as guards who had “no DD214s, driver’s licenses, passports,” including one person who had been fired from a previous security project for pulling a pistol on another employee while drunk. AGNA, according to Gorman, covered up the security contract failures because the firm was “to assume the $187 million a year security contract for the American embassy in Kabul in less than two weeks and they were bidding on the more lucrative $500 million contract for the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. James Gordon, a New Zealand citizen and New Zealand Army veteran who is married to an American, worked for ArmorGroup Iraq as the operations manager, a subsidiary of AGI, also spoke about corporate malfeasance involving AGNA. He later became the business development director for AGNA headquarters in McLean. In 2007, Gordon took over as operations director for the Kabul embassy security contract and attempted to bring the contract into compliance with State Department requirements. Eventually, Gordon was forced out of the company because instead of correcting contract violations the firm’s only goal was to “maximize profits.” Gordon said among AGNA security personnel were unqualified personnel, some of whom had serious criminal records. Some guard recruits had engaged in “disgusting behavior” during their initial training at AGI’s subsidiary’s training facility, International Training Inc. (ITI) of Pearsall, Texas. Sauer, Martino, and Gorman had received reports that some of the AGNA recruits, while undergoing pre-deployment in Texas, had engaged in “lewd, aberrant, and sexually deviant behavior, including sexual hazing, urination on one another and equipment, bullying, ‘mooning,’” exposing themselves, excessive drinking, and other conduct making themselves unfit for service on the contract. The AGNA employees who were later forced out of the company attempted to ensure that the trainees in Texas never arrived in Kabul. Several email exchanges (“e-pong”) show they tried to block the sexual deviants from duty in Kabul. AGNA also misrepresented ethnic Nepalese Gurkha farmers hired as security guards for the Kabul embassy job as Gurkha military veterans of the British and Indian armies. In fact. the Gurkha farmers hired from Nepal and northern India were not proficient in English as required under the State Department contract. In fact, some could speak no English. The language test had never been administered to the Gurkha recruits. When some Gurkha guards walked off their jobs in May 2007 because of poor wages and treatment, Carol Ruart, AGI’s human resources director in London, ordered AGNA management in Kabul to “lock [the Gurkhas] in their rooms until they agree to work for less.” Gordon also stated that AGNA never invested in secure vehicles to transport embassy guards between the embassy and other locations. AGNA used broken down vehicles called “white coffins.” After the State Department released funds to AGNA to buy secure vehicles, the firm never bought the vehicles but transferred the money to AGI in London. AGNA also hired a “rogue” South African program manager for the embassy contract in Kabul, according to Gordon. DuPlessis replaced Sauer. Jimmy Lemmon replaced Martino as deputy program manager. During the tenure of the South African, Nick duPlessis, ammunition went missing from Camp Sullivan where the guards were bivouacked and illegal weapons were stored at the facility. Moreover, duPlessis did not possess a security clearance to receive classified briefings, a requirement for the program manager position. In addition, Gordon stated that the AGNA logistics manager, Sean Garcia, used contract funds to purchase counterfeit North Face and Altama jackets and boots for the security guards from his wife’s company in Lebanon, Trends General Trading and Marketing LLC of Beirut. Gordon said, “the cheap knock-offs could never keep the men warm during the cold winters in Afghanistan.” After Gordon notified the State Department about the contract breach, the order to remove him was ignored and the State Department continues to own sub-par counterfeit material. Gordon sent an email dated September 3, 2007 to duPlessis and his staff in Kabul. Gordon also said that the AGNA armorer in Kabul, responsible for maintaining all the weapons, had to be “forcibly removed” from a brothel in Kabul. Many of the prostitutes working in Kabul, according to Gordon, are young Chinese girls who were taken against their will to Kabul for sexual exploitation. When Gordon ordered the armorer’s immediate termination, he discovered that the AGNA medic, Neville Montefiore, and duPlessis, the program manager, had also frequented the brothels with the armorer. Gordon also discovered that there had been an outbreak of sexually-transmitted diseases among the AGNA guards in 2007 and this was never reported to the State Department as required by the contract. Prostitutes also frequently visited Camp Sullivan. Gordon also discovered that the guard force routinely visited brothels in Kabul and Montefiore’s replacement discovered the improper storage of regulated narcotics at Camp Sullivan’s medical facility, including morphine. “You can rest assured that there is no hiding of information from the DoS [Department of State]. Anyone who thinks that they can get away with this will probably end up in a Federal Penitentiary. It is our duty to report on all aspects of the contract performance and we are required to be transparent and honest in our dealings. Personally I wouldn’t accept anything else.” Gordon’s plans to visit Kabul to conduct an investigation were immediately shut down by ArmorGroup’s parent office in London. Gordon said it is contrary to U.S. law for a foreign company to direct or influence any activities on a classified contract. Moreover, the British parent conducted their own investigation, which resulted in a three-page whitewash. Gordon was denied access to all information about AGI London’s investigation. After the whitewash, Gordon received a report that an AGNA trainee wanted to be hired on as a security guard at the embassy in Kabul because he knew someone “who owned prostitutes there.” The trainee boasted that he could purchase a girl for $20,000 and earn a handsome profit each month. The trainee, according to Gordon, had previously worked in Kabul under duPlessis. Neither AGNA nor the State Department conducted a follow-up investigation of the violations of the U.S. Trafficking in Victims Protection Act by AGNA employees. AGNA responded to Gordon’s warnings by blaming him for all the contract’s failures and he was forced to leave the firm on February 29, 2008. After Wackenhut Services Inc. bought ArmorGroup, after Gordon left the company, he met with Sam Brinkley, the vice president of Wackenhut, to discuss the contract problems. Brinkley promised to remove duPlessis and investigate all the charges of misconduct. On June 10, 2009, Gordon was present during hearings held by Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO). Gordon said that Brinkley and the State Department testified to McCaskill’s subcommittee on contracting oversight that AGNA was “fully compliant” on the security contract for the embassy in Kabul. Brinkley told the subcommittee that he “was proud” of the way the company had been managing the embassy security contract. Gordon said the situation at Camp Sullivan had worsened and the U.S. Embassy was facing a grave security threat. McCaskill and ranking Republican member Susan Collins (R-ME) never heard testimony from any of the whistleblowers on AGNA’s poor security record in Kabul. The only witnesses heard were Brinkley and William Moser, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Logistics Management. Brinkley, in addition to the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, has responsibility for the security contract for the U.S. Naval Support Activity in Bahrain, which, according to ex-AGNA sources, may be using untrained Gurkha farmers from the Indian subcontinent as crack veterans of the British and Indian armies. The Gorman/Gordon lawsuit states that on October 10, 2007, the AGNA security force in Kabul was involved in a number of serious incidents, including: detaining a group of Afghan civilians and involuntarily transporting them to the U.S. embassy; verbally and physically engaging in an altercation with Afghan Ministry of Interior policemen and handcuffing the policemen; confronting an Afghan general and several Ministry of Interior policemen; refusing an order from the embassy RSO to withdraw from a checkpoint to defuse a potentially explosive situation. The statements of the two ex-AGNA employees reveal a culture of depravity and unprofessional behavior that Gordon stated still exists to this very day in Kabul.

September 14, 2009 AP
A member of a federal commission investigating wartime spending said Monday that photos showing private security guards in various stages of nudity at drunken parties may be as damaging to U.S. interests in Afghanistan as images of detainee mistreatment at Abu Ghraib were in Iraq. Dov Zakheim, a former Pentagon comptroller, made the comment at a hearing Monday held by the Commission on Wartime Contracting on allegations of lewd behavior and sexual misconduct by employees of ArmorGroup North America, the company hired to protect the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. Zakheim said the photos are circulating heavily on the Internet and give Muslims in Afghanistan a negative image of the United States. Patrick Kennedy, the State Department's management chief, acknowledged the department should have been paying closer attention to the activities of the ArmorGroup guards at their living quarters near the embassy. The private security contractor hired to protect the embassy said Monday it erred by not immediately telling the State Department about an alcohol-related incident involving its guards that proved far more serious than company officials first believed. "I am not here to defend the indefensible," said Samuel Brinkley, vice president of Wackenhut Services, the company that owns the contractor, ArmorGroup North America. A manager for ArmorGroup counseled nine guards after they got drunk at a bar near their living quarters in Kabul on August 10. But after photos surfaced showing the guards had been at a party where ArmorGroup employees engaged in lewd and inappropriate behavior, they realized they made a mistake by not alerting U.S. officials. Photos showed guards and supervisors in various stages of nudity at parties flowing with alcohol. Brinkley said the manager's response, which included a temporary ban on alcohol, seemed adequate at the time. "In retrospect, we were wrong in not notifying the State Department," Brinkley said in testimony before the independent Commission on Wartime Contracting. Kennedy, under secretary of state for management, told the commission the State Department is very concerned about ArmorGroup's delays in reporting its knowledge of any misconduct by its employees. The State Department has been sharply criticized for its management and oversight of the security contract at one of the country's most important diplomatic outposts. In addition to the allegations of misconduct, other problems have included a shortage of guards and inferior equipment. As the department's top management officer, Kennedy said he takes full responsibility for having failed to prevent the problems that reportedly ranged from out-of-control parties to Armor Group supervisors frequenting brothels in Kabul. The State Department has launched an investigation into ArmorGroup's handling of the $189 million contract embassy security contract. Kennedy told the commission that the misconduct "dishonored" the State Department in Afghanistan, where "the success of U.S. objectives depends on the cultural sensitivity of all mission personnel, including employees under contract." But he and other State Department officials said no decision will be made on whether to terminate the contract with ArmorGroup until the investigation is complete. Members of the commission pressed Kennedy to be more aggressive, saying the evidence already available is enough to warrant firing ArmorGroup, which was awarded the contract to protect the embassy in March 2007. "To me, it's just totally out of control and it's been going on for a long time," said Michael Thibault, co-chairman of the commission. Commissioner Clark Ervin asked Kennedy to pledge to terminate the contract if the investigation proves all the allegations prove to be true. Kennedy refused to commit, saying the inquiry needs to run its course. However, Kennedy added, "We are seeing a very, very serious case being made for termination."

September 13, 2009 Washington Post
In 2005, the State Department hired a Northern Virginia company to provide security for the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan. Diplomats quickly became concerned about whether the new guards, who barely spoke English, could protect such a sensitive site. "They had serious problems," recalled Ronald E. Neumann, who was ambassador at the time. The department then brought in another security contractor, ArmorGroup North America. But the difficulties didn't cease. In recent days, evidence of ArmorGroup's failings has burst into public view -- photos depicting its guards in semi-naked hazing rituals and official documents showing persistent staff shortages. Harold W. Geisel, the acting inspector general of the State Department, told Congress last week that his investigators are checking for possible criminal conduct by ArmorGroup, and a congressional hearing is scheduled for Monday. Lawmakers and watchdog groups are questioning how the department could have continued to employ a company that, in addition to tolerating bullying and understaffing, failed to ensure that its guards had proper security clearances and sufficient equipment -- or that they spoke English. The criticism is particularly intense because the State Department had promised to improve oversight after a 2007 shooting incident in Iraq involving bodyguards from security contractor Blackwater that left 17 Iraqi civilians dead. "State's management of these contracts has been self-evidentially abysmal," said Peter W. Singer, an expert on government contracting at the Brookings Institution. ArmorGroup's efforts to guard the Kabul embassy were troubled from the start, according to congressional hearings, internal State Department documents and interviews. The McLean-based company submitted "an unreasonably low price" in 2007 for the contract, said Samuel Brinkley, an official with Wackenhut Services, the firm's parent company, at a congressional hearing in June. Former ArmorGroup supervisors have said in interviews that the company slashed guard staffing so it could squeak out a profit. State Department officials have expressed outrage about the lewd behavior shown in the photos. Still, they defend their selection of ArmorGroup, saying they are legally required to award such contracts to the lowest qualified bidder and noting that ArmorGroup was well-regarded. They also insist that the embassy was never endangered by the guard problems -- even though internal department documents say it was. "The fact you find something is wrong means something is wrong. But you find it," the department's undersecretary for management, Patrick F. Kennedy, said in an interview. He emphasized that many of the guards' failings emerged in documents written by department officials. "There was oversight present," he said. The troubles at the Kabul embassy raise questions about how authorities will manage what is expected to be a surge in the number of contract guards at U.S. facilities in Iraq as the American military presence declines. The scandal has also given new impetus to a debate over whether too many government wartime jobs are being outsourced. "The State Department should consider whether the security for an embassy in a combat zone is an inherently governmental function, and therefore not subject to contracting out," Danielle Brian, executive director of the Project on Government Oversight, wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this month. Brian's group released the photos of what it called near-weekly sessions of hazing and sexual humiliation of ArmorGroup guards at their camp. The State Department has for years used local contract guards to secure the perimeters of its embassies, while generally keeping a modest Marine contingent for interior access. But in Iraq and Afghanistan, the department decided not to use local guards because of vetting concerns, officials say. Instead, as the military withdrew forces from around those embassies in recent years, the department turned to contractors such as ArmorGroup. But the department, which suffers from a shortage of contracting staff, has had a rocky history of managing such guard contracts. Each of its three contracts in Kabul has come under fire. The first was awarded to McLean-based Global Strategies, to replace a Marine combat force withdrawing from the U.S. Embassy in March 2005. The department justified the $6-million-a-month sole-source contract by saying it had received late notification of the Marines' departure. But the inspector general found that the Defense Department had given six months' official notice, and scolded the State Department for poor planning. By July 2005, the State Department had signed a contract with MVM of Ashburn, cutting its guard costs to less than $2 million a month, according to the inspector general's report. But MVM could not provide enough guards, partly because it was paying much less than its predecessor, according to Neumann. And, he said, the guards spoke so little English that they could not understand instructions. "We went back to the State Department and said, 'These people are unacceptable,' " Neumann said. State canceled MVM's contract and kept on the Global guards temporarily. MVM's chief executive, Dario O. Marquez, did not return a call seeking comment but told the Wall Street Journal last year that the State Department did not give him enough time to fix the problems. Neumann said the department was handicapped in selecting guard companies because of regulations stipulating that the contract go to a qualified U.S. firm that offers the lowest bid. "People low-bid, and then they're not competent," he said. Finally, in March 2007, the department turned to ArmorGroup. The firm, which also guarded the British Embassy in Kabul, was one of only two bidders deemed technically qualified by the department's acquisition and security specialists. Its price was about $3 million a month, officials say. "ArmorGroup was not a small, undercapitalized, underfunded, fly-by-night organization," Kennedy said. "They put forth a proposal that met every requirement." But within weeks of the company starting work, the State Department sent ArmorGroup a warning that its deficiencies -- including shortages of guards and armored vehicles -- were so serious that "the security of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul is in jeopardy," according to the House Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight. State Department officials issued eight more warnings to the company over the next two years, including one last September threatening to terminate the contract. Despite the problems, the department stuck with ArmorGroup, agreeing this summer to extend its contract for a year. State Department officials have said that the company appeared to be making progress and that changing firms would be disruptive. A spokeswoman for Wackenhut, which took over ArmorGroup North America last year, declined to comment. In a lawsuit filed last week, former ArmorGroup supervisor James Gordon accuses the company not only of failing to properly staff the embassy but also of lying to the State Department about its capabilities. The operation "was a complete shambles," he said.

September 12, 2009 New York Times
When a security guard at the United States Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, was leaving for breakfast Monday morning, he froze at the sight of a crude poster of a rat hanging on his door. “Warning!” the poster said in stark, black letters. “Rats can cost you your job and your family.” The guard was a whistle-blower who had told of security lapses and lewd, drunken bacchanals by fellow workers, sparking an outcry and enraging Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Now he wonders whether he should have kept his mouth shut. “Threats are still running rampant here,” he said in a telephone conversation from Kabul, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. “So even though it looks like State may finally turn things around, no one’s ready to celebrate yet.” Such skepticism may be warranted. A review of two years of e-mail messages, letters and memos reveals that the State Department had long known of the serious problems with ArmorGroup, the contractor chosen to protect its embassy. The complaints went beyond the lurid pranks that made headlines, the documents show, and included serious understaffing, bullying by management, petty corruption and abusive work conditions. In fact, the deficiencies became so severe that they threatened the security of the compound, the documents show, and State Department officials withheld payments to ArmorGroup as a way to compel it to comply with the terms of its agreement. On a few occasions, government officials warned the company that if it did not correct the most egregious problems it would lose the five-year, $189 million deal. Yet both times the contract came up for renewal, in 2008 and 2009, the State Department opted to extend it, officials confirmed. The troubles with the ArmorGroup contract, and the State Department’s frustrated dealings with the company over two years and through two administrations, illustrate how the government has become dependent on the private security companies that work in war zones, and has struggled to manage companies that themselves are sometimes loosely run and do not always play by the government’s rules. With a stretched military, the government relies on the security companies themselves to vet, train, and discipline the guards, all at the lowest cost. “It’s expensive for the State Department to withdraw a contract from one company, rebid the project and award it to a new one,” said Janet Goldstein, a Washington lawyer who represents one of the ArmorGroup whistleblowers. “So businesses know that once they get a contract, State may ding them around a little bit, but it’s not going to fire them.” The perils of this reliance were most graphically illustrated in Iraq in 2007, when security guards from another contractor, Blackwater, were involved in shootings that left 17 civilians dead on a Baghdad street. But interviews and documents show that the ArmorGroup affair, in its mundane, unsavory details, offers perhaps a more representative look inside the troubled relationship between contractors and the government in war zones. State Department officials acknowledge they had a litany of complaints about the company, none of which, they insist, compromised the security of the embassy. But they profess to being deeply embarrassed by reports of parties where security guards were photographed naked, fondling and urinating on each other. “I’ve been doing this for 37 years; I’m proud of what I do,” said Patrick F. Kennedy, the undersecretary of state for management who oversees outside contractors. But, he added, “This is humiliating.” Mr. Kennedy, however, defended the State Department’s overall handling of the contract. The frequent letters of complaint the government sent to ArmorGroup, he said, were evidence that the department was keeping close tabs on the company. The “greatest majority” of the failures cited in the letters were addressed, he said. Part of the problem, officials said, was that the guards are housed in a complex six miles from the embassy, Camp Sullivan, with little oversight by State Department officials. Susan Pitcher, a spokeswoman for Wackenhut Services, the American subsidiary of the Danish company that owns ArmorGroup, referred questions to the State Department, saying only that it was cooperating with the government’s investigation. On Monday, the independent Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan will hold a hearing to examine the State Department’s oversight of the contract. Christopher Shays, a former congressman and co-chairman of the commission, said there was “a serious failure on the part of the State Department in being unable to compel the contractor to fulfill its commitment.” The disclosures, which were originally made by a nonprofit organization, Project on Government Oversight, deeply rattled the State Department. At a staff meeting following the release of the group’s report, senior officials said, Mrs. Clinton vented her anger about the lurid pictures. Karl W. Eikenberry, a retired Army general who became President Obama’s ambassador to Afghanistan last May, was livid, an official said, because he had never been briefed about the problems. Despite their unease with contractors, officials acknowledged the department had no choice but to keep using them. “In situations where there is a surge of intense security requirements, it is a real challenge,” said Jacob J. Lew, the deputy secretary of state for management and resources. “We cannot reduce the security presence.” The State Department was not in a buyer’s market when it looked for a company to protect its embassy in Kabul. It picked ArmorGroup in March 2007, after its previous choice, MVM, proved unable to marshal the necessary personnel or equipment, officials said. Of the eight companies that bid for the contract the second time around, only two were deemed technically capable. ArmorGroup was the cheapest. The company’s most recent contract extension was granted in June this year, after a Senate hearing in which one of its executives, Samuel Brinkley, a Wackenhut vice president, said in sworn testimony that his company was in full compliance with the terms of its contract, and a State Department official, William H. Moser, a deputy assistant secretary of state, also under oath, said he was satisfied with the company’s performance. In interviews, ArmorGroup whistleblowers said they felt betrayed by the testimony. By many measures, they said, things were worse, not better. After largely uneventful company barbecues morphed into what have been described as scenes from “The Lord of the Flies,” at least a dozen of the men started a document trail of their own, sending e-mail messages and photographs to the Project on Government Oversight. According to interviews and those documents, from July 2007 to April 2009, the State Department issued ArmorGroup at least nine warnings, nearly one every other month, about contract violations that ranged from mundane concerns about the company’s ability to keep accurate personnel logs, to more critical concerns about corruption among company managers and the hardships faced by sleep-deprived, underpaid guards — the majority of them Gurkhas from Nepal — who could not understand simple commands in English. While the Gurkhas were largely the source of the language problems, the lewd hazing rituals were largely the activity of the native English speakers, a mix of Americans, South Africans, New Zealanders and Australians. In 2008, after ArmorGroup was acquired by the Danish company, G4S, Wackenhut informed the State Department it was taking control of the Kabul contract, and promised to fix any problems. Government officials agreed to give the new owners a chance. According to their own correspondence, their optimism seemed to dim fairly quickly. On Aug. 22, 2008, the State Department wrote to ArmorGroup to express concerns that staffing shortages were so severe the company might not be able to provide security after a situation with mass casualties. On Sept. 21, 2008, the State Department deducted $2.4 million in payments from ArmorGroup, warning that its failure to provide a sufficient number of guards “gravely endangers the performance of guard services.” In March 2009, the department again advised ArmorGroup that it had “grave concerns” about staffing shortages, noting that inspectors on a recent tour found 18 guardposts left uncovered. In April, it denied ArmorGroup’s request for a third waiver to the requirement that it teach its foreign guards English. A month later, without much explanation, ArmorGroup told the State Department that deficiencies relating to language and staffing had been resolved. And a month after that, a senior State Department official told the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight that “despite contractual deficiencies, the performance by ArmorGroup North America has been and is sound.” “I sat in the audience that day, and shook my head in disbelief,” said James Gordon, a former ArmorGroup executive who has filed a whistleblower’s lawsuit against the company. He says he was forced out for complaining about the problems. “I knew that conditions at Camp Sullivan were deteriorating, that the contract continued to be understaffed, that the conditions in Kabul were getting more dangerous, and that the U.S. Embassy was facing grave threats.”

September 10, 2009 New York Times
Two former employees of a private contractor hired to provide security at the United States Embassy in Afghanistan charged that State Department officials were aware as early as 2007 that guards and supervisors were involved in lewd conduct. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, one of the former employees, James Gordon, a native of New Zealand who served as director of operations at the contractor, ArmorGroup North America, charged that he had spoken numerous times with State Department officials about significant problems that threatened security at the embassy. Among other things, he said that ArmorGroup hired guards who could not speak English and had no security experience; that the company employed fewer guards than needed and worked them for longer hours than at other embassies to cut costs; and that it allowed managers and employers to hire prostitutes. “Their goal was to perform the contract as cheaply as possible,” said Mr. Gordon, speaking by telephone from Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, where he is now employed by another private security contractor which he declined to name. “Their goal was to do everything they could to prevent the State Department from discovering their multiple contract violations and operational shortcomings. Their goal was to provide a fig leaf of security at the embassy, and to pray to God that nobody got killed.” Mr. Gordon and another former supervisor, John Gorman, said they warned State Department officials in Kabul several times that ArmorGroup was plagued with problems and that it was determined to cover them up. They said that as a result of their efforts to correct the problems and to make the government aware of the issues, ArmorGroup forced them to leave their jobs. As evidence to support his assertions, Mr. Gorman provided a packet of memos and e-mail messages that he said he and two other former employees gave State Department officials in June 2007, including a three-page memo in which he outlined an array of contract violations. Among them, he wrote: “The training program run for new hires has been plagued with hazing and intimidation of students by students. This included physical threats and perversions.” Senior State Department officials said they were unaware that guards had engaged in that kind of activity at their living quarters at a base in Kabul. The officials spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak about a continuing investigation. The charges echoed those in a report released last week by an independent group, the Project on Government Oversight, which accused the guards and supervisors of deviant behavior. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton ordered an investigation, and about 16 guards and supervisors were fired or have resigned. ArmorGroup North America, based in McLean, Va., was acquired in 2008 by a Danish security company, G4S, and its American subsidiary, Wackenhut Services Inc. In a written statement, Wackenhut described Mr. Gordon’s allegations as “overstated, ill-founded, not based on any personal knowledge or otherwise lacking in legal merit.”

September 10, 2009 AP
A former manager for the security contractor protecting the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan says the company lowballed its bid for the work and then failed to hire enough guards or fix faulty equipment. The allegations come after an independent watchdog group said last week that ArmorGroup guards were subjected to abuse and hazing by supervisors who created a climate of fear and intimidation. On Thursday, James Gordon, former director of operations at ArmorGroup North America, alleged the company bid too low in order to win the contract and then cut corners to keep profits up. Gordon says he was fired for reporting the problems. He also claims ArmorGroup withheld from Congress information about employees who went to brothels. Wackenhut Services, ArmorGroup's parent company, had no immediate comment.

September 2, 2009 The Guardian
Pictures have emerged showing private contractors at the embassy holding 'deviant and lewd' parties. The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, has ordered an investigation into allegations that private contractors employed to protect the American embassy in Afghanistan were engaged in "deviant and lewd" parties that have been compared to Lord of the Flies. The decision to launch the inquiry came after an independent group sent her a 10-page dossier yesterday claiming that the security guards at the embassy had been engaged in drunken parties involving prostitutes and the kind of ritual humiliation associated with gang initiation. Pictures and video footage were attached to the dossier. The dossier, compiled by the independent investigative group Project on Government Insight, includes an email allegedly from a guard currently serving in Kabul describing scenes in which guards and supervisors are "peeing on people, eating potato chips out of [buttock] cracks, vodka shots out of [buttock] cracks (there is video of that one), broken doors after drnken [sic] brawls, threats and intimidation from those leaders participating in this activity". The allegations are an embarrassment at a time when the Obama administration is struggling to win hearts and minds in Afghanistan and the Muslim world in general. It comes against the backdrop of the continuing controversy over the widespread use by the US of private contractors in war zones, of which the most notorious was Blackwater, now named Xe. The group at the centre of the new allegations are the ArmorGroup, part of the Florida-based Wackenhut group, one of the biggest private security organisations in the US. The organisation did not respond immediately today to the allegations. The Project on Government Insight, which was established in 1981 to track military procurement and bring to light evidence of any corruption, described the environment at Camp Sullivan, where the guards were housed outside Kabul, as comparable to the anarchy in William Golding's Lord of the Flies. It said about 300 of the 450 ArmorGroup guards are Gurkhas and the rest are a mix of Australians, South Africans and Americans. In the dossier, it said that guards were "engaging in near-weekly deviant hazing and humiliation of subordinates" . It claimed that some guards had barricaded themselves in their rooms out of fear that the alleged hazing might harm them physically. It further claims that guard force supervisors "made no secret that, to celebrate a birthday, they brought prostitutes into Camp Sullivan, which maintains a sign-in log." According to the report, Afghan nationals, as Muslims, were humiliated by the behaviour and the apparently free-flowing use of alcohol. The pictures could be picked up by the Taliban and used as propaganda against the US and its allies. But the Project on Government Insight stressed that comparisons should not be made with the pictures of abuse at the Iraqi prison, Abu Ghraib, because no allegations of torture are being made. The report says that the general breakdown in discipline poses a threat to the security of the embassy. Ian Kelly, the state department spokesman, said of the reports of wild, anarchic partying: "These are very serious allegations, and we are treating them that way." Clinton has "zero tolerance" for the behaviour described and has directed a "review of the whole system" for farming out security to private contractors that may have threatened the safety of embassy personnel, Kelly said. The embassy said today: "Nothing is more important to us than the safety and security of all embassy personnel - Americans and Afghan - and respect for the cultural and religious values of all Afghans." It added: "We have taken immediate steps to review all local guard force policies and procedures and have taken all possible measures to ensure our security is sound." Senator Claire McCaskill, a Democrat who heads a subcommittee on contractor oversight, wrote to the state department calling for the inquiry in the light of the report. McCaskill's committee earlier this year conducted its own hearings on the involvement of ArmorGroup in Afghanistan.

September 1, 2009 Washington Post
Private security contractors who guard the U.S. embassy in Kabul have engaged in lewd behavior and hazed subordinates, demoralizing the undermanned force and posing a "significant threat" to security at time when the Taliban is intensifying attacks in the Afghan capital, according to an investigation released Tuesday by a government watchdog group. The Project on Government Oversight launched the probe after more than a dozen security guards contacted the group to report misconduct and morale problems within the force of 450 guards that lives at Camp Sullivan, a few miles from the U.S. embassy compound. In one incident in May, more than a dozen guards took weapons, night vision goggles and other key equipment and engaged in an unauthorized "cowboy" mission in Kabul, leaving the embassy "largely night blind," POGO wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton outlining the security violations. The guards dressed in Afghan tunics and scarves in violation of contract rules and hid in abandoned buildings in a reconnaissance mission that was not part of their training or mission. Later two heads of the guard force, Werner Ilic and Jimmy Lemon, issued a "letter of recognition" praising the men for "conspicuous intrepidity (sic)" with the U.S. State Department logo on the letter head. "They were living out some sort of delusion," one of the whistle-blower guards said Tuesday in an interview with The Washington Post from Kabul. "It presented a huge opportunity for an international incident," said the guard who spokes on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution. The report recommends that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates immediately assign U.S. military personnel to supervise the guards and remove the management of the current force. It also calls on the State Department to hold accountable diplomatic officials who failed to provide adequate oversight of the contract. The report also found that supervisors held near-weekly parties in which they urinated on themselves and others, drank vodka poured off each other's exposed buttocks, fondled and kissed one another and gallivanted around virtually nude. Photos and video of the escapades were released with the POGO investigation. "The lewd and deviant behavior of approximately 30 supervisors and guards has resulted in complete distrust of leadership and a breakdown of the chain of command, compromising security," POGO said in the letter to Clinton. The guards work for ArmorGroup, North America, which has an $180 million annual contract with the State Department to secure the embassy and the 1,000 diplomats, staff and Afghan nationals who work there. The State Department renewed the contract in July despite finding numerous performance deficiencies by ArmorGroup in recent years which were the subject of a Senate subcommittee hearing in June. Susan Pitcher, a spokeswoman for Wackenhut Services, Inc., the Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. company that owns ArmorGroup, declined to comment on Tuesday's POGO report. Conduct of contractors providing security in Iraq and Afghanistan has been the subject of controversy and other investigations in recent years. The government relies heavily on such contractors for security and other needs. A new Congressional Research Service report has found that as of March, the Defense Department had more contract personnel than troops in Afghanistan. The 52,300 uniformed U.S. military and 68,200 contractors in Afghanistan at that time "apparently represented the highest recorded percentage of contractors used by DOD [Defense Department] in any conflict in the history of the United States," the report said. Some 16 percent of the contractors are involved in providing security, a much higher percentage than the 10 percent that were used in Iraq. Although contractors provide many essential services, "they also pose management challenges in monitoring performance and preventing fraud," according to Steven Aftergood, who first disclosed the congressional report on his Secrecy News Web site.

May 16, 2009 The West
He literally cooked to death. Trapped in a prison van for four hours, suffocated by temperatures that climbed to more than 50C, the Aboriginal elder had no way to communicate with security officers sitting just a metre away, in the airconditioned cab. His only sustenance was a small bottle of water and a meat pie. When he finally collapsed on the van floor, the metal was so hot it seared his skin. Yesterday, Corrective Services Commissioner Ian Johnson travelled to Kalgoorlie to publicly apologise to Mr Ward’s family, accepting responsibility for the 46-year-old’s death in January last year. It was a dramatic end to a coronial inquest that has revealed a litany of failures in the justice and custodial systems in WA’s outback. Widow Nancy Ward and her children will return to Laverton next week after sitting quietly and with dignity throughout the case, which has attracted the attention of the United Nations and the Australian Human Rights Commission. Mr Ward, a conservation worker, a supporter and interpreter for local police and an advocate and educator for children of the Gibson Desert, was an international ambassador for the Ngaanyatjarra people. His family say he was treated like an animal. Mr Ward had been drinking on Australia Day last year in the remote Goldfields town of Laverton when he was arrested for driving with more than four times the legal alcohol limit. Conducting a quasi-court hearing for Mr Ward at his cell door at the local police station, justice of the peace Barrye Thompson remanded him in custody to face court in Kalgoorlie the following day. Mr Thompson told the inquest he had no formal training when appointed as a JP and could not even remember whether he had read the Bail Act. The Aboriginal Legal Service was not contacted. Guards and police officers testified the prison vans used by Global Solutions Limited and maintained by the State were notoriously unreliable, sub-standard and the air-conditioning was often faulty. GSL’s supervisor in Kalgoorlie, Leanne Jenkins, had warned her management an incident would occur unless the vehicles were replaced. At 11.20am, the GSL prison van pulled into a secure area at Laverton police station where the guards were told they would have a trouble-free passenger. Mr Ward made a comment about the warm day and a guard told him “the quicker he got into the van, the quicker the air-conditioning would kick in”. But the air-conditioning did not work: it had been reported faulty in the GSL maintenance log more than a month earlier. Before making the continuous 360km journey to Kalgoorlie, the guards did not tell Mr Ward there was a duress alarm in the back of the van in case he needed help. Towards the end of the trip, they heard a loud thump. Pulling over on to the side of the road and opening the outer door of the van, the guards felt the heat radiating from the rear pod and they saw Mr Ward face-down on the van floor — unconscious and unresponsive. Reaching into the back of the van felt like a “blast from a furnace”, according to Dr Lucien LaGrange, who assisted in removing Mr Ward’s lifeless body at Kalgoorlie Hospital. Doctors found full-thickness contact burns on his stomach and tried for 20 minutes to resuscitate Mr Ward, whose skin felt like a “hot cup of coffee”. They managed to get a brief return of a heartbeat, but after putting him in an ice bath, his body temperature was still 41.7C. Coroner Alastair Hope is due to deliver his findings on June 12. For now, the Ward family will have to return to a community missing a leader. It is little comfort to them that money was allocated in this week’s State Budget to replace the fleet of transport vans — four years after the Department for Corrective Services undertook to do so. “I am sorry,” Mr Johnson told Mrs Ward yesterday. “I have a deep regret but no matter what I say, it’s not going to change what happened.”

April 30, 2009 Miami Herald
Three weeks after Miami-Dade County declared that Wackenhut Corp. bilked taxpayers of millions and would no longer do county business, the security firm fired back with its own show of force: a $20 million lawsuit against the county and two top officials. The escalating fight centers on allegations that Wackenhut Corp. overbilled Miami-Dade Transit for security services at Metrorail stops and failed to adequately staff guard posts. The Palm Beach Gardens-based firm, which does other security work for the county, has held the mass transit security contract for 20 years, though its latest contract expires in November. But the stakes for Wackenhut may go beyond its current business with the county. In its lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Miami, the security company said the move by Miami-Dade to bar the firm from working for the county could jeopardize contracts with other government agencies across the country. The future damages we ''will suffer as a result of this unfair and malicious taint'' on our ''reputation are incalculable,'' Wackenhut said in the lawsuit, which seeks $20 million in damages and asks the court to stop the county from relying on an audit which concludes time sheets were doctored and transit stops unguarded. The suit also names as defendants County Manager George Burgess and County Auditor Cathy Jackson. Wackenhut contends the county audit used improper methodology. ''It has no basis in reality,'' said Wackenhut President Drew Levine. ``We've done our job and done it well.'' Miami-Dade County spokeswoman Victoria Mallette said the county stands by the report authored by the government's Audit Management Services department. ''We want to be made whole,'' said Mallette. ``We haven't been made whole. It would be irresponsible for us to continue doing business with an entity that we believe has overbilled us.'' Earlier this month, Burgess wrote in a memo to commissioners that as a result of the audit the county would seek to recover $3.4 million in alleged overbillings and support an ongoing whistle blower's civil case against Wackenhut. Burgess named several firms to replace Wackenhut guards at Miami-Dade railway stops and bus facilities, the Juvenile Services Department and Public Works Department. The county manager also declared the county will seek ``debarment.'' The county move earlier this month and subsequent lawsuit Wednesday come several years after charges of overbillings and so-called ''ghost posts'' were first raised. The county -- roundly rebuked for poor stewardship of the transit system -- has been criticized for reacting slowly to the allegations. The whistle blower's civil court case against Wackenhut was filed in 2005 and the audit was completed in 2008.

March 14, 2009 Sunday Mail
Former Defence Secretary John Reid faced fierce criticism yesterday as it emerged the world's largest security firm had won a huge contract from the Ministry of Defence weeks after taking him on as a consultant. Mr Reid - who ran the MoD until May 2006 before resigning from the Cabinet while Home Secretary in June 2007 - was hired by G4S three months ago for £50,000 a year to offer 'strategic advice'. This week, it was awarded a four-year contract to supply private security guards for around 200 MoD and military sites across Britain in a deal thought to be worth tens of millions of pounds. While many former ministers have taken private-sector jobs, it is unusual for such a senior Government figure and sitting MP to work for a company so closely linked to their former department. Opposition MPs last night said Mr Reid's earnings from G4S were 'totally inappropriate', while the Taxpayers' Alliance campaign group called for the rules governing employment for ex-ministers to be reviewed urgently.

January 22, 2009 Morning Star
DAVID Miliband said that the war on terror was an error, but some people don't regret it. Private security companies like Group 4 made a mint. Now, it wants to spread its good fortune - this month, Group 4 Security gave a £50,000 position to former Labour minister John Reid as an "adviser." Reid fits in this part-time job when he isn't too busy representing the good people of Airdrie and Shotts as their Member of Parliament. Group 4 has plenty of reasons to want access to the contact book of a former home and defence secretary - the firm now supplies the armed guards looking after British officials in Iraq and Afghanistan while locking up prisoners, asylum-seekers and "terror suspects" in Britain, so Reid is worth every one of the five million pennies that they are giving the man. Reid was once a Communist Party member, but abandoned Marxism in favour of new Labour. This is odd, because his career seems to illustrate the crudest and most determinist kind of Marxism. For years, Marxists have been grappling with the subtle and sophisticated ways in which the capitalist class dominates society, but Group 4 opted for a very unsubtle approach - the capitalists just hired Labour's representative. Reid hasn't always hawked his brawn for the money men. Back in 1992, Reid signed a House of Commons motion calling on Sir Norman Fowler to resign from the board of Group 4. The motion said that the House "regrets that the right honourable Member for Sutton Coldfield (Norman Fowler), chairman of the Conservative Party, has not seen fit to resign his directorship of another Group 4 company, Group 4 Securitas, and urges him to do so." It added: "The government should suspend all further moves to privatisation within the criminal justice system." Reid's call for Fowler to resign from Group 4 and for the government to shun the firm came after the company let a number of prisoners escape from their vans on the way to court. Whizz forward a decade and a half and Reid, having demanded that Fowler abandon Group 4, has himself taken a job with the firm. In the meantime, Conservative and Labour governments have not stopped their "privatisation of the criminal justice system," they have expanded it. Group 4 has men with truncheons in Britain and men carrying guns in Iraq. Nor has the firm become any less accident-prone. Group 4 Security prefers to be called G4S because, in ad people's language, the brand is tarnished. Group 4 was even described as a "national laughing stock" by the government's own lawyers in court in 2003 after a riot at an immigration detention centre that it ran which was later burned to the ground. Things haven't improved since. Reid himself sent the firm to new frontiers, where the firm ran new fiascos. When Reid was home secretary, the Law Lords told him that just labelling foreigners "terror suspects" didn't mean that he could lock them up without trial. Reid turned to Group 4 for help. It cobbled together something called "control orders," a house arrest for these "terror suspects" administered by Group 4 and other private firms. Control orders were simultaneously too draconian and too lax - prisoners, including vulnerable men who had been tortured in their home countries, were tagged and monitored by Group 4. Those who stuck by the rules were pushed to the edge of mental illness by the isolation of the strict house arrest. At the same time, Group 4 allowed another prisoner to simply disappear. This may have been embarrassing for the firm and for Reid, but they manfully hid their red faces and entered into a new relationship when Reid left government. Group 4 has risen thanks to the crudest economic determinism - Reid, who authorised the signing of cheques for Group 4 as a minister, ends up getting cheques from the firm. Reid is not alone. A small squad of politicians worked to get Group 4 where it is today. First, Tory chairman Fowler helped the firm get into the prisons business in the 1990s. Group 4 tightened its grip on British jails last year when it took over rival private prisons firm GSL. It bought GSL from an investment company called Englefield Capital, which employs another Labour ex-minister, former defence secretary George Robertson, as an adviser. Group 4 then broke into the international mercenary trade by buying a company called Armor Group, whose armed men guard British officials in Iraq and Afghanistan. Up until this, Armor Group's chairman had been another top politician - leading Tory MP Malcolm Rifkind. Twenty years ago, the idea that a private company would run our jails and wars would have looked like science fiction. By hiring politicians, the "security industry" made it a reality.

January 11, 2009 The Observer
John Reid, the former home secretary, has cashed in on his ministerial experience by taking a £45,000-a-year job with private security company G4S, the Observer has learnt. His appointment comes just days after a parliamentary committee warned that former ministers have been exploiting their insider knowledge "with impunity". Formed from a merger of Group 4 and Securicor, G4S is Britain's largest security firm with contracts ranging from private prisons to the armed guards defending British officials in Iraq. The appointment was disclosed by the advisory committee on business appointments, which polices former ministers' job applications. Reid has been judged free to lobby ministers and officials on behalf of the security company. The public administration committee (PAC) called last week for all lobbying activity to be registered and monitored by a tougher watchdog - claiming the industry's attempt at self-regulation had entirely failed. "We are strongly concerned that, with the rules as loosely and as variously interpreted as they currently are, former ministers in particular appear to be able to use with impunity the contacts they built up as public servants to further a private interest," said a statement from the PAC.

June 18, 2008 NBC6
Miami-Dade County said it is poised to make good on its promise to fire Wackenhut Security from its massive contract on Metrorail trains unless it repays taxpayers millions of dollars. NBC6 has obtained internal county memos that confirm that Miami-Dade County is asking other security firms to submit bids to replace Wackenhut on Metrorail trains and other facilities. The county said Wackenhut's only hope of not getting fired is if it returns up to $6 million in taxpayer dollars. The Metrorail and Metromover systems are guarded by Wackenhut Security in a lucrative no-bid contract. The county said it is getting ready to replace Wackenhut, cutting short the existing contract unless Wackenhut makes amends. "It's very troubling," said Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez. In May, Alvarez threatened to fire Wackenhut. On Tuesday, it was clear that was no idle threat. "We are prepared to cancel all contracts with the Wackenhut corporation and demand that we get the money that's owed to us," Alvarez said. The county said Wackenhut scheduled guards to work partial shifts while billing taxpayers for a full shift and sometimes billing taxpayers for a post that had no guards at all, NBC6's Jeff Burnside reported. The allegations were the same as those contained in an NBC6 investigation called "A Question Of Security." The amount in question is up to $6 million. An independent audit claimed it was much more. One problem is that any company that replaces Wackenhut might need to hire some of Wackenhut's guards because of the size of the contract. In an internal memo, Wackenhut called that, "underhanded … tactics by third-party instigators." A labor union urged county commissioners Tuesday to improve working conditions in any new contract. Wackenhut had no response on Tuesday, Burnside reported. Previously, the company has disputed the allegations.

May 9, 2008 Miami-Herald
The Wackenhut Corp. overbilled Miami-Dade County as much as $6 million over three years for phantom security guards at county transit stations, according to a long-awaited audit released Thursday. County auditor Cathy Jackson -- who reviewed a sample of the bills -- found that Wackenhut, one of the country's largest security firms, routinely charged the county for empty guard posts at Metrorail stations and along bus routes, and relied on inaccurate and falsified records to try to cover up the overbilling. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez has given Wackenhut 90 days to repay the county or rebut the audit findings or he will cancel the company's no-bid contract, along with a separate Wackenhut contract for guards at a juvenile detention center. Jackson said Wackenhut should also pay the county an additional $233,000 for violating the terms of its contract. Wackenhut's billing is also being examined by public-corruption detectives with the Miami-Dade Police Department. 'There is no disputing that [Miami-Dade Transit] was billed for hours not worked by Wackenhut security officers, which is a very serious offense,'' County Manager George Burgess wrote in a memo to Alvarez. Wackenhut, however, does dispute the audit. The company says Jackson used unreliable records to determine that posts were uncovered, and ignored other records that could prove guards were on duty. FIGURES DISPUTED -- While Wackenhut says it will reimburse the county for any ''substantiated billing errors,'' the company says Jackson's conclusion of $6 million in overbilling from 2002 to 2005 is an exaggerated estimate based on a small sample. ''If you start with a false premise, you end up with a false conclusion,'' said Bruce Rubin, a company spokesman. ``We respectfully but forcefully disagree with the auditor's methodology.'' Jackson based her estimate on a review of 505 billing records -- only .25 percent of the bills submitted in the three years studied -- which found $14,722 in questionable charges. She also found $83,665 in suspicious charges, but these were not included in her sample for estimation purposes. Wackenhut has been providing security for Miami-Dade Transit since 1989, and the contract has been awarded without bidding since 1994. The current contract, which pays Wackenhut as much as $17 million a year, is set to expire in November 2009. The security company, based in Palm Beach Gardens, has also spent the past three years fending off an unusual lawsuit brought by a former guard at the county's Juvenile Assessment Center, who accused her former employer of padding its bill to the county. The former guard's attorney, H. Mark Vieth, has said he believes the overbilling could be as much as $3.6 million a year. He has compiled sworn statements from ex-guards who said they struggled to fill unmanned posts, submitted false records and received pay for hours they didn't work. Jackson ''found exactly what we've been telling the county for a while now,'' Vieth said. ''I could have practically written that report for her. The only difference, really, is that we're auditing 100 percent of the bills and she's found this much fraud'' based on a far smaller sample. Wackenhut has denied wrongdoing in the suit and has challenged Vieth to provide proof of specific instances of overbilling. Vieth has enlisted a team of investigators and bookkeepers to sort through Wackenhut bills, sign-in sheets, log books and other records to prove his case, which is not yet scheduled for trial. If he wins the case -- brought under the county's False Claims Act -- his client will receive 25 percent of any damages and the county will receive 75 percent. REFUSED TO TESTIFY -- Yet the lawsuit has put Vieth at odds with the county. Last month he sought a contempt of court order against Jackson after she refused to testify about the audit before it was completed. Vieth plans to call her again for a deposition next week. The audit was costly to Wackenhut even before its release. The company had been selected by county staffers to win another $4.8 million county security contract -- before county commissioners, worried about the audit findings, decided Tuesday to scrap the bids and start over. In her audit, Jackson said Wackenhut constantly shifted guards around to cover unguarded posts, pulling in supervisors or patrols from the bus routes, but the county was billed as though all these jobs were filled. In some cases, log books at Metrorail stations contained no notes to prove a guard was there, the audit found. In other cases, the logs and other records showed guards in two different locations at the same time. Records showed that one armed guard was on duty for 34 ½ hours in a row -- violating a rule capping guards at 13 ½ hours in a 24-hour period and ''leaving in question the ability of armed employees to remain alert and responsive,'' the audit said. Wackenhut officials said the log books were never intended to be used for timekeeping, and said the absence of notes in the books do not prove a guard wasn't on duty.

May 7, 2008 Palm Beach Post
The chief of staff in training for de facto Senate President Jeff Atwater is officially off the payroll, Atwater said Wednesday. Millionaire "Budd" Kneip of Palm Beach Gardens earned a $7,000-a-month salary from the state for one month and two days to learn the ins and outs of the legislature, which was dealing with a $5 billion budget deficit. Kneip was the founder and owner of the Oasis Group, a division of Wackenhut Corp. He has no legislative experience but has run campaigns, including the one for Palm Beach County's 2004 half-penny sales tax increase to build schools. Normally, the chief of staff assumes his position when the Senate president is appointed in the fall. Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, is being challenged in his reelection bid by Skip Campbell, D-Tamarac, who formerly served in the Senate with him. Florida Democrats on Tuesday formally requested public records about Kneip's hiring and asked Atwater use his campaign account to reimburse the state for Kneip's salary. "Floridians are hurting, Sen. Atwater, but your campaign coffers are not," Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman said in a letter to Atwater on Tuesday. "We were going out spending money foolishly when we don't have the money to spend," Campbell said. "Let's be honest about it. There is no chief of staff until you become senate president." Before Thurman's letter became public, Atwater said he had arranged in the final days of the legislative session for Kneip to go off the payroll. The session ended Friday. "Budd's assistance during session was invaluable. ... He has returned home to continue developing a transition plan; I look forward to Budd coming back to the Senate this fall," Atwater said. Thurman's demands were a way to help Campbell, Atwater said Wednesday. "This is a chairman trying to insert herself into a local race with no information," he said.

April 12, 2008 Palm Beach Post
Sen. Jeff Atwater has hired an aide who will get on-the-job training before he becomes Senate president chief of staff, and Atwater's campaign opponent is criticizing the expenditure. Robert "Budd" Kneip is a Palm Beach Gardens businessman with no legislative experience. He founded The Oasis Group, an outsourcing division of Wackenhut Corp. Kneip, who is earning $7,000 a month, needed to come on board early to get the feel of how the legislature runs and how government budgets are developed and negotiated before his new boss officially takes over, Atwater said. Normally the chief of staff is appointed after the legislative leader assumes his role in the fall. Atwater is being challenged for reelection in November by Democrat Skip Campbell, a trial lawyer who formerly served in the Senate alongside Atwater. Campbell criticized Kneip's salary at a time when lawmakers are slashing about $5 billion from the state budget because of plummeting tax collections. "How can we be hiring somebody for on the job training at 7K a month when we're cutting education, food for the poor, Medicaid treatment for the mentally ill? This is one of the most hypocritical actions I've seen in government," Campbell said. Kneip has sat on the advisory boards for Florida Atlantic University and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and served as chairman of the Palm Beach County Task Force on Business Development. In the latter role, he successfully pushed a 2004 referendum for a half-penny sales tax hike to pay for building schools to comply with the constitutional amendment limiting class sizes. Kneip's know-how at implementing state policy at the local level and business acumen are why he's right for the job, said Atwater, a North Palm Beach Republican. "He doesn't have the experience in this process," Atwater said. "To have him be able to watch how this works is going to help me as we think about structure, the design, the flow and process of work."

January 25, 2008 WSMV
The I-Team has uncovered a cozy relationship between a Metro employee and the security contractor he oversees.  Bill Kostrub said he doesn't want to talk about it, but part of his job with Metro government is approving payments to Wackenhut Security, a company for which he used to work. Wackenhut is now under investigation for billing irregularities at the election commission. “I appreciate your coming out, but all the questions go through Velvet,” he said. He referred reporter Nancy Amons to Velvet Hunter, who is second in command at Metro General Services, where he works. Kostrub's job at General Services includes reviewing the bills for security guards submitted by Wackenhut. Kostrub was a salesman at Wackenhut until October 2006. During the time, Wackenhut was negotiating the contract with Metro to provide security for all of its buildings. In December 2006, while contract negotiations were still going on, Kostrub went to work for Metro. Now he has the power to OK Wackenhut's invoices. Amons shared the findings with Councilman Jim Gotto. "It doesn't sound good. It doesn't look good,” he said. Channel 4 obtained a stack of invoices under the Open Records Act that shows 67 times in the last three months, Kostrub signed off on security guard bills submitted by Wackenhut. The bills cover the months when Metro auditors said Wackenhut appeared to be billing Metro for ghost employees. Metro said guards were supposed to be patrolling the Howard Office Building every Saturday. Tax dollars paid for it, but Metro said there's no evidence the guards were there. At least five of the Saturday bills were approved by Kostrub. “I'm really interested that you used to work for Wackenhut and now you approve their invoices,” said Amons. “And I can appreciate that. Talk to Velvet about it. You guys have a good day,” Kostrub said. "There's nothing wrong with this gentleman working for Metro, but he certainly doesn't need to be working for Metro on this particular contract,” Gotto said. Hunter said late Friday that Kostrup was hired through an open and competitive process and that Metro did not have a problem with his former employment. Channel 4 and the I-Team are not implying that Kostrup did anything wrong; they are just asking if it creates an ethics issue.

January 17, 2008 AP
Seven guards have been caught sleeping at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge since 2000, a federal spokesman said Wednesday. Three were fired and the rest were disciplined, said Steven Wyatt, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration, a Department of Energy unit that oversees the Y-12 complex. The administration reported Monday only two guards had fallen asleep at their posts in four years at the high-security plant, about 20 miles west of Knoxville. But Wyatt said Wednesday that did not cover the full extent of Wackenhut Services Inc.'s Oak Ridge security contract, which began in January 2000. Six cases of guard-napping involving seven officers were found during the seven-year period. Y-12, a potential terrorist target containing the key ingredients for a "dirty bomb," makes uranium parts for every warhead in the U.S. nuclear arsenal. It also dismantles old weapons and is the nation's primary storehouse for bomb-grade uranium. Wackenhut Services' napping-guard record in Oak Ridge came up for questioning after its parent company, The Wackenhut Corp., recently lost a security contract for 10 nuclear power plants after sleeping guards were found at a Pennsylvania station. However, Florida-based Wackenhut Services Inc. is considered an independent subsidiary of The Wackenhut Corp., and has its own board of directors. "Given how serious NNSA considers our responsibility of safeguarding our nuclear facilities, we feel it is important to provide you with a complete accounting of inattention incidents involving security police officers found sleeping on the job at Y-12," Wyatt explained. Three officers were found "intentionally sleeping on duty" and were terminated -- two guards in 2000 and one in 2002. The other cases were less blatant, with discipline ranging up to three weeks' suspension without pay and 12-month probation for all of them.

January 9, 2008 NBC TV6
The CEO of Wackenhut Security, a South Florida company that has been surrounded by controversy, is stepping down. A representative with the company declined to say why Gary Sanders made the decision to quit pending a formal announcement on Wednesday. The change at the top came at a time when Wackenhut Security was facing mounting criticism in various cities, including some in South Florida where its Miami-Dade County operation is the target of a criminal probe. The county audit, which was detailed in an NBC 6 investigation of Wackenhut billing practices, is examining whether Wackenhut overcharged taxpayers millions of dollars. Sanders had been with Wackenhut for more than 25 years.

December 10, 2007 NBC TV6
Miami-Dade and federal investigators raided the headquarters Friday night of one of the county's largest government contractors. NBC 6 was the first to report in May that Wackenhut Security is under a criminal investigation for overbilling taxpayers millions of dollars, money for work on transit and the downtown juvenile center. NBC 6 camera's filmed public corruption investigators and police removing boxes filled with documents from Wackenhut's Miami-Dade headquarters on Blue Lagoon Drive. Investigators were there for several hours and were being assisted by top Wackenhut executives. Wackenhut has repeatedly declined to be interviewed, but said in a statement that the company was cooperating with authorities. "The Wackenhut Corporation ('Wackenhut') continues to cooperate with Miami-Dade County ('MDC'), and voluntarily provided MDC additional records and documents yesterday to assist and facilitate MDC’s investigation and audit of Wackenhut’s performance under its security contract with the Miami Dade Transit Authority," said Drew Levine, president of the Security Services Division. "Wackenhut is proud of its service and performance under its contracts with Miami-Dade County and is very confident that after a thorough investigation the County will conclude that Wackenhut acted properly and performed its responsibilities under the contract in a highly professional and responsible manner." The company has previously denied overbilling taxpayers. Miami-Dade County is nearing completion of an audit of Wackenhut's billing practices. The preliminary audit found serious discrepancies.

December 18, 2007 Yahoo Business Wire
Cognetas, an independent mid-market pan-European private equity firm specialising in complex deals, today announces the sale of Global Solutions (GSL) for £355 million to G4S. The sale, subject to EU merger clearance and South African competition commission clearance, is expected to complete in 2008. GSL is a leading provider of outsourced support services to public authorities and corporate organisations worldwide. Services are typically provided under long-term contracts (5 to 30 years) either directly to the end customer or through joint ventures and Public Private Partnerships with government and corporates. GSL has operations in the UK, South Africa and Australia. Its service offering covers three areas: Custodial services, including prison management, escorting, immigration, custody and training; Public Services, for example healthcare, education and Local Authority services; and Business services, comprising utilities, office accommodation and other managed services. Cognetas backed the original MBO of GSL in 2004 in a £207 million (€309 million) transaction. At the time, Cognetas underwrote equity and debt to facilitate certainty for the vendor with an initial commitment of £105 million (€158 million) on behalf of Cognetas Fund I. This was reduced within two months to £54 million (€81 million) by introducing senior debt. The balance of the funding was provided by Englefield Capital on behalf of the Englefield Funds. Since then Cognetas has supported management in the implementation of a growth plan that has seen revenues increase from £291 million in 2004 to over £400 million in 2007 through organic growth, in fill acquisition and expansion of services in its sectors over three continents with the number of staff employed increasing by over 25% to more than 9,500. Nigel McConnell, Managing Partner of Cognetas commented: “We are delighted to be associated with the success of GSL over the past three years and we are pleased to see that the dynamic management team has built the business into a worldwide quality provider of outsourced services. We leave the business on extremely sound and robust grounds which will help sustain its continued growth. I am confident that being part of a larger global business like G4S will take this business forward to a new level and I wish them well”.

November 29, 2007 The Telegraph
Group4Securicor is in talks to buy Global Solutions, a company it used to own, for around £350m. Earlier this year, private equity firm Cognetas appointed investment bank UBS to carry out a strategic review of Global Solutions, which runs a number of Britain's prisons and detention centres. However, the credit crunch forced Cognetas to put the review of Global Solutions on hold. Since then, the company has received a number of approaches, including one from Group4Securicor. Cognetas bought Global Solutions, which also manages hospitals, schools and tourist offices, from Danish security firm Group 4 Falk for about £200m three years ago. Group4Securicor is now understood to be carrying out due diligence on the business. However, it is not the only company bidding. Sources said US group GEO and several private equity firms have also made approaches for the company. Global Solutions has previously come under the spotlight for the way it runs its prisons and detention centres, following the Government's privatisation of the sector. Earlier this year, there was a Panorama investigation by an undercover BBC reporter, who worked as a custody officer, in one of Global Solutions' prisons at Rye Hill. None of the parties involved would comment.

November 20, 2007 This Is Hampshire
A SECURITY firm employee who was heavily in debt stole £25,000 following an extraordinary blunder by two colleagues, a court heard. The cash had been collected from the London Road branch of Nat West in Southampton - and left overnight at the depot. The following day, Paul Dean spotted the bag and stole it, dropping it off at home before continuing with his deliveries. Police carried out a major investigation during which Dean and a co-driver were suspended from their jobs with Group 4 Securicor. Seven months after the theft last November, they executed a warrant at Dean's home and recovered more than £10,000. Some of the proceeds had been spent on a large slim line television, Mr Anderson added. Southampton Crown Court heard the two men who had left the cash behind were fired and Dean's colleague, though exonerated, had resigned. Dean, 51, of Maclean Road, Bournemouth, admitted theft and was jailed for 12 months. In mitigation, Christopher Gair said Dean lost his wife in a road accident in 1994 and had debts of £24,000. A month before the theft, he had been given two county court judgments against him. "In a moment of madness he took advantage of the money left there," said Mr Gair.

November 1, 2007 This Is Leicestershire
An "inside man" involved in a plot to steal £1 million from a Securicor van has been jailed for four years. Ex-soldier Neil Colbourne, from Hinckley, worked for the firm in the lead-up to the robbery bid, which would have involved kidnapping a driver's wife. He was among six gang members who were jailed in connection with the case. A court heard how the plan involved two kidnappers seizing a driver's wife at her home in Swanscombe, Kent, and holding her hostage while others raided her husband's security van at gunpoint. But the plan to target a depot in Dartford, Kent, was foiled when a seventh member of the gang, brothel keeper Vincent Calleja, turned himself in to police. Police swooped on the gang's headquarters the night before the heist last June and found two guns and ammunition, balaclavas, and cable ties. They also found keys to a stolen Renault Espace. Four of the men were found guilty on June 29 of conspiracy to rob and were sentenced on Monday at Guildford Crown Court. Ashley O'Driscoll (21), from Eaton Grove, in Mitcham, Surrey, Billy French (22), from Steers Mead, Mitcham, and Michael Cloherty (41), of no fixed address, were each sentenced to 15 years. The father of Billy French, unemployed Clive Tedder (42), from Spencer Roady, Mitcham, received 18 years. Colbourne, now 34, who had an address in Hinckley and Orpington, Kent, had worked as a guard for Group 4 Securicor and was sentenced to four years, while 33-year-old Wayne McKenna-Bruce, from Chislehurst, Kent, was sentenced to three years in prison. The pair's conspiracy to steal pleas were accepted after a court heard they had not known about the full scale of the plot. The seventh member, Vincent Calleja (45), from Tadworth, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob and seven unrelated human trafficking and prostitution charges, and is to be sentenced.

November 1, 2007 PR News
The Wackenhut Corporation ("Wackenhut" or "the Company") today filed a civil action against the Service Employees International Union ("SEIU" or "the Union"). The lawsuit is in response to the SEIU's malicious, four-year, international corporate campaign to force Wackenhut to recognize the Union as the employees' bargaining representative while denying the employees their federal rights to free choice and a secret ballot election. The SEIU's top-down, wholesale, organizing attack also would compromise the quality of Wackenhut's services by forcing the Company to deal with a union that also represents workers other than guards which federal law specifically prohibits as an appropriate unit for representation and bargaining. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the lawsuit alleges violations of the federal Racketeering Influenced Corporations Act, 18 U.S.C. section 1961 et seq., and seeks injunctive relief, treble compensatory damages and costs.

September 14, 2007 BBC
A security worker has been jailed for stealing almost £130,000 in coins from parking meters on Teesside. Bryn Lynas, 47, of Ormesby, Middlesbrough, was employed to empty the machines in Redcar and Cleveland. At Teesside Crown Court, the former Group 4 Securicor Cash Services employee pleaded guilty to the theft of £128,301 from January 2004 to May 2006. Jailing him for 21 months, Judge Tony Briggs told Lynas he had grossly abused a position of trust. Group 4 was contracted by Redcar and Cleveland Council to empty parking meters. An audit revealed tens of thousands of pounds was missing and when Lynas was arrested last year he told police: "I've got a bag full of money on my back seat." He was interviewed and admitted taking cash from the machines, but said he had been doing it for only 10 months The court was shown footage from a camera covertly placed by police in Lynas' van, in which he repeatedly attempts to prise open cash boxes with a screwdriver. He also admitted money laundering between June 2004 and last May, but disputed stealing £40,000 of the total, claiming that he was not employed on some of the days stated in the case. But Judge Briggs said "the loss of at least £80,000-£90,000" and "dishonesty of this magnitude" required a significant sentence.

September 14, 2007 24 Dash
A security worker who stole nearly £130,000 in coins from parking meters he was employed to empty is facing jail. Bryn Lynas, 47, plundered the machines in Cleveland for two years before his bungled get-rich-quick scheme was uncovered by his bosses. When Lynas was arrested in May last year, after an audit revealed tens of thousands of pounds were missing, he told police: "I\'ve got a bag full of money on my back seat." Officers searched his vehicle and found a bag containing more than £500 stuffed in the footwell of the Renault Megane. Lynas was interviewed and admitted taking cash from the machines, but said he had been doing it for only 10 months. Police inquiries revealed that his partner, Susan Shaw, also 47, had received £23,655 in her bank account from Lynas. She was arrested for a money laundering offence, but had the charges dropped by prosecutors at Teesside Crown Court in August. Lynas, of Ormesby, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court on August 8 to the theft of £128,301 between January 2004 and May last year, and money laundering between June 2004 and last May. His case was adjourned until today for reports. Lynas was employed by Group 4 Securicor Cash Services, which was contracted by the borough council to empty parking meters. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council said it was pleased Lynas had been brought to justice but added the cash collecting contract was re-tendered last year and given to a different company.

September 6, 2007 News Shopper
A FORMER soldier has been jailed for four years for his part in a plot to steal more than £1m from security vans - including his own. Neil Colbourne had worked for Securicor for two years when he was the "victim" of an armed robbery outside the HSBC bank in Sydenham. But he was an accomplice and slipped the money box containing £25,000 out of the back of his van to a waiting vehicle before calling the police claiming he had been robbed. Prosecutor Maria Kariaskos told Guildford Crown Court the 33-year-old later changed his story, saying there was no gun involved. He also failed to pick out the real "robbers" in an identification parade. Officers arrested him after studying CCTV footage of the incident on May 16 last year. He could be seen waiting for a minute-and-a-half until the vehicle being used by the "robbers" arrived. Colbourne, of Station Square, Petts Wood, admitted a charge of conspiracy to steal. He also pleaded guilty to another count of conspiracy to steal for helping a gang to plot a £1m theft from another van. The cash handler and his old Army friend Wayne McKenna-Bruce, aged 33, gave the gang the van driver's name and the registration numbers of his car and of two Securicor vehicles. This enabled them to follow their intended target to his house and plan their attack. McKenna-Bruce, from Sevenoaks, pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to steal and was sentenced to three years in jail. James Scobie, representing McKenna-Bruce, said the two defendants thought the driver in the second incident was in on the plot and violence would not be threatened or used.

August 26, 2007 Sunday Mail
A SECURITY van driver who claimed he was robbed by gunmen wearing fake Mexican moustaches has admitted lying to steal more than £300,000. Ian Watt, 44, made up the far-fetched tale about how his Group 4 van was robbed at gunpoint because he was desperate for cash. Watt even went to the trouble of driving himself to a forest outside Edinburgh and bound his own hands to make it look as if he had been assaulted and robbed. Police issued an appeal for witnesses through TV and newspapers and quizzed 500 drivers close to where the alleged robbery was meant to have happened. But they later found CCTV footage of Watt sitting in his vehicle at a time he said he was being beaten, bound and blindfolded by the desperado gang. Then they checked the tracking system on his van and found it did not match his story. Detectives confronted the ex-soldier, who admitted he had buried the load in a nearby wood. Last week he was jailed for 16 months for stealing £271,963.94 in cash, £41,928.72 in cheques and £236.61 in euros. He also confessed to wasting police time. Watt claimed he took the money to help bail out his new girlfriend, who was going through an expensive divorce. A police insider said: "This is one of the most bizarre cases we have ever dealt with. "The guy went to extreme measures to look convincing and on the face of it this was a very serious robbery. "The guys working on the case were incredulous when the truth emerged." Watt had been working for Group 4 security for more than 20 years when he faked the robbery in May.

March 23, 2007 The Telegraph
Ministers have been forced to act after receiving disturbing evidence of equipment failures and doctored record-keeping within Group 4 Securicor Justice Services, which operates 60 per cent of tags for offenders released early under the Home Detention Curfew scheme. A 130-page dossier obtained by a BBC journalist, who worked undercover for five months in the security company's Nottingham operations centre, includes the following allegations: A manager secretly taped saying that three paedophiles were not being monitored. A prisoner incorrectly returned to jail for seven weeks because of a blunder by the security company. A violent offender breached his bail conditions by going into a pub 10 minutes after removing his tag the night before his court appearance. An employee mocked Victor Bates, a campaigner against tagging whose wife Marian was shot dead in their jewellery shop after the gunman's accomplice had ripped off his tag. A prisoner convicted of indecent assault on home leave was unmonitored for several days because his tagging equipment failed. The revelations will further undermine confidence in tagging after figures revealed that inmates let out under the system committed more than 1,000 violent crimes including four manslaughters, one murder, 56 woundings and more than 700 assaults since it was introduced in 1999. The investigation also discovered evidence of staff fabricating records to save money. G4S is paid around £45 million a year by the Home Office to administer the curfew system. After being confronted with the evidence G4S, which has admitted there was faulty equipment, has been forced to apologise and has suspended five employees in Nottingham. A spokesman for the Home Office said: "Public protection is the Government's first priority. The findings of this programme are of concern. We are reviewing the contract and will be asking G4S urgent questions to ensure that these allegations are thoroughly investigated and issues arising are addressed." The investigation by a team from BBC Inside Out East Midlands disclosed that the monitoring boxes in tagged offenders homes, which relay information about their movements, routinely broke down. One factor in the failure of the system could be that G4S, which has admitted there was a batch of faulty equipment in Nottingham, uses the mobile telephone network technology rather than fixed lines. Steve Green, the Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire, said the Home Office had to establish whether the Nottingham problems were nationwide. "I want to urgently know if is this a Nottingham problem or a G4S problem. If it is a G4S problem and this is the way company is run then that puts a huge responsibility on the Home Office to tackle and address because that is not acceptable," he said. Ian Ridgely, chief operations officer at G4S, said: "We believe in a small number of cases that we may not have been monitoring to the level that we would expect to, we apologise for that, we accept that. From that point of view we recognise that the Home Office requires us to work to a very high standard and of course we are sorry that in some minor number of instances, we may not have operated to those standards."

February 20, 2007 Great Yarmouth Mercury
An opportunist thief stole a Securicor van containing more than £35,000 after a guard left the keys in the ignition and the engine running, a court heard yesterday. The Securicor guard had just collected the cash from Norwich city centre car parks leaving his security van unlocked, when Martin Chapman, 31, saw his chance and stole the van containing the cash, Norwich Crown Court heard. Duncan O'Donnell, prosecuting, said the van was later found abandoned at Swanton Road travellers site in Norwich and Chapman was later arrested and £26,000 of the cash was recovered. However Mr O'Donnell said the security guard responsible for leaving the van unattended had since lost his job. Chapman, of Rosedale Gardens, Belton, near Yarmouth, admitted taking a Securicor van and stealing £9,239.50 on October 18. He was given a 12-month jail sentence suspended for a year and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work. Guy Ayers, mitigating, said it was an unusual set of circumstances. “It was purely opportunistic. He saw the van left in this way and thought it was careless and took advantage of that particular driver's way of working.” He said Chapman was genuinely sorry that the guard had lost his job. Chapman who was of previous good character was unlikely to re-offending, Mr Ayers added.

August 12, 2006 Daily Telegraph
INDIA'S biggest private airline Jet Airways would suspend a British employee arrested in London over an alleged plot to blow up US airliners, it said today. "(Asmin) Tariq is being suspended pending a full investigation, having not reported for duty for the past couple of days," an airline statement said. Tariq, a Jet security employee, was among 24 people arrested in Britain earlier this week over the alleged plot to use suicide bombers with explosives to blow US airliners out of the sky. One person was later freed. Jet said Tariq, who holds a British passport, was transferred to Jet in March from global security group G4S - previously called Securicor - after the airline ended its contract with the company. Jet, which flies to London and other international destinations as well as serving Indian domestic routes, said under British employment law, it had been obliged to take on employees working for G4S before the contract ended.

July 15, 2006 Preston Today
Police have launched a manhunt after a rapist from Preston prison escaped on his way to court. Mustafa Ismail, 35, was being taken from HMP Preston to the Manchester Asylum and Immigration Tribunal Court when he escaped from the Group 4 Securicor vehicle. Detectives are appealing to the public for information about Ismail but warning not to approach him. The Somalian was at the end of a five year sentence for rape. He was on remand at HMP Preston pending a decision over his deportation. The hearing he was due to attend was to hear his application for asylum in the UK. Police have described him as a black man with black hair and brown eyes, about 6ft (1.8m) tall and of slim build. He was travelling in an escort van when he escaped near the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal Court in Manchester's Piccadilly, at about 11.30am on Thursday. It is believed he was being handcuffed when he pushed over one of the guards and fled on foot. A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that on 13 July, at approximately 11.15am, an immigration detainee escaped from our care at Manchester Asylum and Tribunal Court. "Greater Manchester Police were informed and we are working closely with them to ensure the apprehension of the detainee. "The incident will be fully investigated and any necessary action will be taken in conjunction with the Home Office." Group 4 guards were trying to handcuff Ismail when he fled. They took chase but were unable to catch him. Nobody was injured. CCTV footage from the van is now being examined, as well as cameras from the local vicinity.

May 23, 2006 The Mirror
IN THE latest major Home Office blunder, 2,700 innocent people were branded as criminals. They were labelled robbers, thieves and sex offenders because their names and dates of birth matched those of convicted criminals. As a result, many were refused jobs, turned down for university or threatened with the sack. The shambles was the fault of the Home Office Criminal Records Bureau, which is managed by private-sector IT firm Capita. Unions say the increasing involvement of private firms in government departments will lead to more mistakes. A Unison spokesman said yesterday: "So many different parts of our public services are in disarray, and privatisation has played a big part in this. "There's a conflict between the motivations of private companies and their clients, the government. For private firms there's a pressing need to be competitive and deliver profits to the shareholder. Prison security COMPANY: Group 4 RESPONSIBLE for a catalogue of blunders, including allowing seven prisoners to escape while ferrying them between prison and court in the East Midlands and Yorkshire in 1993. In the same year, a prisoner fled Group 4 custody at a Hull court. Two years ago, killer Gordon Topen escaped from HMP Rye Hill. Now known as Group 4 Securicor, it detains and escorts asylum seekers, and made a profit of £254million last year.

May 19, 2006 The Mirror
A WHISTLEBLOWER last night claimed the UK's deportation system is a shambolic failure that does nothing to ease our spiralling immigration crisis. The Group 4 Securicor officer, who escorts deportees back to their home country, insists an amazing 6 in 10 efforts end in failure. He says many manage to get sent back to UK detention centres by harming themselves or their children on the way to the airport. Others cause such uproar on the plane that pilots insist they are removed. In the worst cases private jets allegedly have to be charted at vast expense to get them home. And the officer claims it will take 23 years to clear out huge backlog of illegal immigrants. He said: "It's about time people knew what a state the system is in. We have a 60 percent cancellation rate on deportations and it's getting worse. "The deportees will use every trick in the book to avoid getting kicked out. The men will kick and spit and scream that they have HIV. The officer said many corrupt officials in foreign countries refuse to let the deportees in - unless they get a large backhander. He said: "We are often going to banana republics where the authorities will say they don't have the right paperwork or deny the deportee is from their country. Then they ask us for bribes." The officer claimed he and his colleagues often have no choice but to pay the backhander with company cash or credit cards that are supposed to be used for expenses. He added: "Although it's not our money, we try and keep the price down as we resent paying bribes." The whistleblower is a Detention Custody Officer with Group 4 Securicor, which has the Home Office contract to run detention centres and escort failed asylum seekers. He is from the West Midlands but works at Group 4's Overseas Escorting headquarters in Crawley, West Sussex. His duties include collecting failed asylum seekers from UK detention centres and escorting them home. He claims that for high-profile or troublesome deportees, Group 4 Securicor charters a private jet to fly them home - at a rate of up to £1,500-an-hour. The officer said: "It's a shocking waste of taxpayers' money. But the bosses say it's the only way." According to a 2005 National Audit Office report, the average cost of deporting an illegal immigrant is £11,000 per person. Group 4 Securicor last night denied company money was used to pay bribes. A spokesman said: "We provide credit cards and petty cash to cover incidental expenses. We deny paying bribes." The company said the whistleblower's claims of a 60 percent failure rate were false, saying "Less than one per cent of our removals result in immigration detainees being returned to the UK." The firm refused to reveal how many deportees fail to leave the UK. The Home Office admitted chartering flights "when economical and efficient to do so". The spokesman added: "We strongly refute these allegations and do not recognise the figures being quoted."

Hardy House
Isle of Portland, Dorset
January 29, 2003
A FORMER naval barracks was badly damaged by fire minutes after the end of an angry public meeting to oppose plans to use it to hold up to 750 asylum-seekers.  Hardy House, a derelict, ten-story block on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, suffered extensive damage to one floor.  The attack followed a warning by David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, that whipping up fears about asylum-seekers could lead to a breakdown in community relations.  The building is now owned by a property company, Comer Homes, which bought it from the Ministry of Defense for 30 million.  The company recently applied for planning permission to convert it to 350 luxury flats.  Portland has been in uproar since it was disclosed ten days ago that the Home Office is in negotiations with t he developers to use the building as a centre for up to 750-asylum-seekers who would be housed there while their applications to stay in Britain are processed.  (Times Online)

Harmondsworth Detention Centre, London, England
GEO Group (formerly run by Kalyx, UK Detention Services, AKA Sodexho)
August 5, 2011 The Guardian
Separate investigations into three deaths in immigration removal centres (IRC) in the past month have been launched by the police, amid growing concern about the treatment of detainees. The spate of deaths has caused alarm among critics of the government's detention policy, who warn that the system is at "breaking point" with poor healthcare putting people's lives at risk. Two men died from suspected heart attacks at Colnbrook near Heathrow airport and the third killed himself at the Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire on Tuesday. John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, who has two detention centres including Colnbrook in his constituency, said he feared there would be more deaths as the system struggled to cope with the number of people being detained. "The government is now detaining people on such a scale that the existing services are swamped," he said. "It is inevitable if we put the services under such relentless strain that there will be more deaths as a result … we are dealing with people who are extremely stressed and extremely vulnerable and the services are not able to cope and not able to guarantee their safety." The first man who died was Muhammad Shukat, 47, a Pakistani immigration detainee who collapsed at around 6am on 2 July. His roommate Abdul Khan says that in the hours before he died Shukat was groaning in agony, had very bad chest pains and was sweating profusely. Khan, 19, from Afghanistan, said he began raising the alarm around 6am and pressed the emergency button in the room 10 times in a frantic effort to get help. Khan claimed that on three occasions members of the centre's nursing team entered the room and found Shukat on the floor where he had collapsed. Khan said they put him back into bed, took his temperature and some medicine was administered, but did not call emergency assistance immediately. According to Khan, the nurses initially said that Shukat could go to see the centre's doctor at 8am. According to the London Ambulance Service, Colnbrook staff called an ambulance just before 7.20am. Attempts were made to resuscitate Shukat, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Hillingdon Hospital. A postmortem found the provisional cause of death to be coronary heart disease. Shukat's body has been returned to Pakistan and his family are understood to have no concerns about the medical treatment he received. The second man to die at Colnbrook has not yet been named. According to the Metropolitan police he was 35 and was found dead in his cell at 10.30am last Sunday. London Ambulance Service officials pronounced him dead at the scene. "A postmortem held on 1 August found the cause of death to be a ruptured aorta. The death is being treated as unexplained," said a police spokesman. Colnbrook IRC is managed by Serco. In a statement to detainees about Shukat's death, deputy director at Colnbrook, Jenni Halliday, described her "deep regret" and extended her condolences. In a statement to detainees about the second Colnbrook death, Serco's contract manager, Michael Guy, informed detainees that a resident in the short-term holding facility had died and that the death was thought to be from natural causes. On Tuesday, a 35-year-old man hanged himself in the toilet block at Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire. A fellow detainee, who refused to give his name, said the man had been hours away from being deported and had become very anxious. "He was normally a very quiet person … but the pressure is too much for people in here." It is understood the man had only been at the centre for a few days before he died. The Home Office refused to give any more details saying his extended family had yet to be informed. Emma Ginn, from the campaign group Medical Justice, said the deaths had heightened concern about the poor healthcare on offer to those being kept in UK detention centres. "Based on medical evidence from many hundreds of detainees, Medical Justice has documented the disturbingly inadequate healthcare provision that often vulnerable immigration detainees are subjected to in Colnbrook and other immigration removal centres... [this] combined with the perilous and frightening conditions of detention, is a lethal cocktail, a disaster waiting to happen." The UK Border Agency declined to comment on the specific circumstances of each case. It said the police and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman always investigated deaths in immigration detention centres and it would be inappropriate to comment until these were complete. David Wood, director of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said all detainees at immigration removal centres have access to health services seven days a week. "All detainees are seen by a nurse within two hours of arrival and are given an opportunity to see a GP within 24 hours," he added. "The health of all detainees is monitored closely, and the healthcare professionals are required to report cases where it is considered that a person's health is being affected by continued detention. "The UK takes its responsibilities seriously, which is why we consider every case on its individual merits and will continue to offer protection to those who need it. However, detention is an essential part of our controls on immigration in the UK." A groundbreaking ruling -- A man with severe mental illness was unlawfully locked up in a UK detention centre for five months and subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, according to a high court ruling. The man, a 34-year-old Indian national, was detained in Harmondsworth immigration removal centre between April and September last year. On Friday a judge ruled that his treatment amounted to a breach of article 3 of the European convention human rights. The man's lawyer said the ruling – thought to be the first of its kind – raised wider questions about how the government treats people with mental illnesses in the immigration and detention system. "The court's decision that my client suffered inhuman or degrading treatment at a UK detention facility sends a very loud and clear message to the authorities," said. "We would urge the minister to conduct a fundamental review into how people suffering from mental illness are treated in the immigration detention estate." The man, referred to as "S" in the ruling, had a history of serious ill treatment and abuse before arriving in the UK. He served time in prison for wounding and assault before being transferred to a secure psychiatric hospital until his discharge in April 2010. Following his release the UK Border Agency said there was "no evidence" he was mentally ill and he was detained in Harmondsworth where his health deteriorated and he began to have psychotic episodes and self harm. The high court intervened and he was released on bail. His lawyers said he had been living with his family since then and had fully complied with the conditions of bail set by the court. In the ruling judge David Elvin said: "S's pre-existing mental condition was both triggered and exacerbated by detention and that involved both a debasement and humiliation of S since it showed a serious lack of respect for his human dignity. It created a state in S's mind of real anguish and fear, through his hallucinations, which led him to self-harm frequently and to behave in a manner which was humiliating…" A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: "We regularly review our detention policies and will look at the findings in this case to ensure lessons are learned. Detention is an essential part of our immigration control but we recognise the importance of ensuring it remains appropriate on a case by case basis."

April 4, 2011 The Sun
BRITISH workers at a deportation centre are to be sacked and replaced by inmates on just £1 an hour. Staff are in uproar at the unit, which cages failed asylum seekers and foreign prisoners awaiting the boot from the UK. Up to 20 full-time kitchen workers, who earn £300 a week, are to be made redundant under the plan. Inmates who take over their jobs at Harmondsworth, near London's Heathrow airport, will earn nothing like the £5.93-an-hour national minimum wage. One worker at the unit said: "It's a disgrace. They're doing things on the cheap in a scandalous way. Where are these 20 sacked British staff going to find jobs in the current climate? "Surely we should be giving priority to British workers in these troubled times." Another worker added: "Apart from the sackings, it is wrong to use the inmates as virtual slave labour." Privately-run Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre is the biggest deportation unit in Europe, with 615 inmates. Original contractors Kalyx were replaced in 2009 by the American private security company, GEO Group. Jonathan Sedgwick, acting Chief Executive of the Home Office's UK Border Agency, said: "Detainees working in cleaning and catering roles is common in our detention centres. "It allows us to keep detainees occupied while arrangements are made to return them. This is nothing new and has been praised by HM Inspector of Prisons and independent monitoring boards."

July 31, 2009 Daily Star
BRITISH workers facing the sack at an immigration detention centre say their jobs are being taken by “illegals” who are being held there. The detainees, who have no legal rights to work in the UK, have been handed £15-a-week cleaning jobs. But the real cleaners are among up to 74 workers expected to be made redundant this month at the Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre near Heathrow Airport. The Home Office denied that the cleaners are being replaced by ­detainees at a fraction of the cost. But one cleaner said she thought the Government’s British Jobs for British Workers claim was “a joke”. She added: “Not only are foreign workers exploiting British employment opportunities, but now it seems that even failed asylum seekers in detention centres are taking our jobs.” The Harmondsworth centre was taken over by GEO Group last month. It houses immigrants who are awaiting deportation, some of whom are failed asylum seekers or those who have overstayed their visas. The Home Office confirmed none of them would have a legal right to work in the UK. A GEO Group spokesman said six cleaners were to be made redundant but declined to comment further. Lin Homer, chief executive of the UK Border Agency, said: “No staff facing redundancy at the centre will be replaced by an immigration detainee.” But she said a recent report had said detainees should be able to do more paid work.

June 29, 2009 News Ticker
The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GEO) ("GEO") announced today that its wholly owned U.K. subsidiary, GEO UK Ltd., has assumed management functions at the 256-bed Harmondsworth Immigration Removal Centre (the "Centre”) located in London, England. GEO U.K. will manage the Centre under contract with the United Kingdom Border Agency. The contract for the management and operation of the Centre will have a term of three years and is expected to generate approximately $14.0 million in annual revenues for GEO. Additionally, the Centre will be expanded by 364 beds bringing its capacity to 620 beds when the expansion is completed in June 2010. Upon completion of the expansion, GEO’s management contract is expected to generate approximately $19.5 million in annual revenues.

March 17, 2009 Worthing Herald
The Government was wrong not to order an independent inquiry into allegations of mistreatment at Harmondsworth immigration detention centre in west London 2006, the Court of Appeal has ruled. But the appeal judges held it was now too late to hold an effective investigation and the question of whether the state had breached the human rights of detainees fell to be decided by way of pending civil damages claims. Human rights group Liberty brought the case against the Home Office and the managers of the centre, Kalyx Ltd, on behalf of three detainees who claimed they were subjected to "inhuman or degrading treatment" during disturbances caused by other detainees at the centre near Heathrow Airport on November 28 2006. Referred to only as "AM and others", the detainees allege they were denied food and water for up to 40 hours; locked in overcrowded, pitch-black rooms flooded with water for more than 24 hours; forced to urinate and defecate in front of each other; and strip searched in front of several officers. Their appeal, in which lawyers argued that their alleged treatment was sufficient to trigger the UK's legal obligation to hold an official investigation, was upheld by Lord Justices Sedley and Elias, with Lord Justice Longmore dissenting. Anna Fairclough, legal officer at Liberty, said after the judgment: "With so many people languishing in immigration detention, it is shameful that the Home Secretary refused to investigate these very serious allegations of mistreatment. "The judgment leaves the Government nowhere to hide should anything of this nature happen again."

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.

July 31, 2004
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 21, 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 20, 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 thecentre 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)

October 11, 2003
A report issued by the chief inspector of prisons in England and Wales into conditions at the Harmondsworth Detention Centre in 2002 has called for a police investigation into reports of detainees being beaten by staff. Several detainees are alleged to have been assaulted during transfers in and out of the centre, often as they are sent for deportation. On several occasions during detainee transfers, prison service Tactical Intervention Squads—armed with riot gear—have been called in to assist the private security guards that man the centre.  The author of the report, Anne Owers, met one asylum-seeker who had required hospitalisation for injuries sustained during an attempt to deport him and others who had suffered serious assaults at the hands of guards. She acknowledged that allegations by detainees of assault were “common” but that few were referred to the police.  “It is extremely important,” Owers said, “that such claims should be fully investigated and, if necessary, prosecuted, but we are told that police and prosecutors were reluctant to act. If so, this is unacceptable.”  Of the nine assaults against detainees reported to the police in the past year all were dismissed as unsubstantiated.  The report also criticises the centre as being an “essentially unsafe place for detainees and staff.” There were “increasing levels of disorder” in the facility and a detainee-on-detainee assault rate of approximately seven attacks per week. There is an average of one self-harm incident a week officially recorded by the centre, a figure likely to be far higher in reality. Despite this the inspectorate found that “suicide, self-harm and anti-bullying procedures were not efficiently managed.” There was also found to be insufficient mental health support for detainees held in the centre’s medical unit.  Owers claimed that Harmondsworth was “frightening and potentially dangerous” and “not well equipped to ensure detainees’ protection.” Levels of desperation among detainees at the centre are understandably high, with many having been resident in one or more detention centre for months. Harmondsworth is situated next to London’s Heathrow Airport and serves as the last port of call for thousands of asylum-seekers before their forced removal from Britain.  The report criticised staff shortages and poor health and safety protection. It pointed out that a number of small fires at the centre had “severely tested the fire response capability” there. Like the Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre that was ravaged by fire in 2002, Harmondsworth is not fitted with a sprinkler system. During the blaze at Yarl’s Wood staff were unable to cope, leaving the panicked detainees to their own fate. Conditions in Harmondsworth are directly comparable to those that existed in Yarl’s Wood prior to its near destruction—an event that could have claimed the lives of scores of detainees and staff.  Harmondsworth has a family unit capable of holding dozens of families with children. There were 25 children held at the centre at the time of the inspection. Owers found that the educational, recreational and developmental requirements of young people at the centre were being inadequately provided for. Furthermore, the lack of personal security for detainees and the presence of many traumatised adult asylum-seekers created an environment wholly unsuitable for children. “Given the inherent insecurity of the centre as a whole, we remain of the view that, as in other centres in England, children should only exceptionally be detained in Harmondsworth, and not for any period longer than seven days,” the report stated.  The children of asylum-seekers, whether at a single centre or cumulatively by being moved from one centre to another, often spend large portions of their childhood in these grim and dangerous facilities prior to being deported.  The report comments that many of the problems at Harmondsworth are common to all the asylum centres: “Many of the systematic problems that detainees experienced at Harmondsworth have already been covered in the Inspectorate’s six previous reports.”  These include: “the inability of the Immigration Service to progress cases efficiently or communicate effectively with detainees; the absence of sufficient competent legal advice and representation; the need for independent welfare advice to assist detainees to deal with practical problems during detention and on removal; and the need for more activities for detainees, including the ability to work.”  It is not the first official report to criticise Burns International, the private security firm contracted by the Home Office to run Harmondsworth until earlier this year. In April this year a Home Office report—only published following pressure from the human rights group Liberty—on an investigation into the suicide in 2000 of Lithuanian asylum-seeker Robertus Grabys exposed some of the conditions facing vulnerable asylum-seekers in Harmondsworth. The Home Office concluded that there had been insufficient care for Mr. Grabys who was known to be suffering from severe depression. Found hanging in his cell on the day he was to be deported, he had been dead for over an hour. Burns International had not placed him on a suicide watch, and the centre was found to have no formal policy to prevent suicides.  In February Burns International—a division of the Swedish-based multinational security company Securitas—was outbid for the Harmondsworth contract by Premier Detention Services Ltd., which currently runs the much criticised regime at the Dungavel asylum centre in Scotland.  (www.wsws.org)

September 26, 2002
A private company that runs the Harmonsworth detention centre for asylum seekers and provides services to many NHS health trusts warned yesterday that "serious errors of management" in part of its British business would blow a near pounds 20m in profits.  Shares in French-based Sodexho Alliance plunged 30% on the Paris stock market, sending in a shockwave across the support services sector that dragged rival Compass down 10% in London.  Sodexho had dismissed a number of top executives from its UK food and management business and accused its auditors, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, of being "insufficiently vigilant".  Sian Herbert-Jones, chief financial officer at Sodexho Alliance, said there was no evidence of fraud and she was confident the problems would be solved by restructuring.  Sodexho would tighten up management of food and personnel costs, renegotiate some contracts and reduce overheads.  About 85 staff are to lose their jobs and there would be tighter controls on wages, but Ms. Herbert-Jones insisted that key services should not be hit.  But the latest profit warning is the third year and investors are wary of all unexpected announcements in a jittery stock market enviroment.  "A company can't afford this kind of news in this kind of market," said one trader.  The Harmonsworth centre in west London, which was hit by an embarassing breakout by nine asylum seekers earlier this year, is run by Sodexho's UK Detention Centre Services, which has its own management seperate from the food and management group.  (NWOM-news)

Harrow Crown Court
London, UK
Serco
January 20, 2012 UKPA
A former Harrow Crown Court prison guard has been jailed for four years for trying to smuggle heroin. Dean Nelder, 28, was caught taking a package containing cannabis and heroin into the court in April last year. Police were alerted to the plan after a note was left in a cell at Wormwood Scrubs prison tipping them off. Passing sentence at the Old Bailey, the Recorder of London Peter Beaumont QC said: "You've let yourself down, you've let your family down, and those who care for you, and you've made it very difficult to get a responsible job in the future." Nelder was jailed for four years for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, two years for conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and three years for possession of a class A drug with intent to supply, to run concurrently.

Heathrow Airport
England
Group 4 (formerly run by Sodexho/UK Detention Services)
April 15, 2009 The Independent
Thousands of foreign visitors and refugees who are detained at Heathrow airport each year are forced to endure degrading living conditions and "deep-seated" negative attitudes about their welfare, an independent report concludes today. The findings will add to growing concerns about the treatment of foreign people held in detention in the UK before they are granted entry clearance or sent home. The report by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) makes note of cockroaches in Terminal 4 kitchens and the absence of proper washing facilities for detainees held overnight. The monitors were so angered by one case, the comprehensive failure to care for the needs of a disabled visitor who was travelling to the UK with her young son, that they sought personal apologies from the staff concerned. Some of the visitors held at Heathrow are incoming passengers detained for questioning or refused entry to the UK. Others are brought to Heathrow from immigration removal centres, prisons or police stations to be deported. The authors said: "The generic term 'detainee' casts no light on the humanity of the men, women and children to whom it is applied. The IMB perceives a deep-seated negative attitude towards their wellbeing while in detention at the airport, at both policy and operational levels." Other language which the report said reflected these views included the use of the phrase "these people" to describe visitors held in what staff inappropriately referred to as "pens". Between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport, of whom 22,000 were detained in holding rooms and 11,100 in Queen's Buildings, which is mostly used for holding failed asylum-seekers before they are returned to their own countries. The UK Border Agency has hired G4 Securicor to staff the short-term detention facilities but the report makes it clear that the IBM thought the Government had "failed repeatedly to supervise its staff in key areas, all impacting on detainees' welfare." The IMB called on G4 Securicor to address these issues urgently. It said: "We urge the [UK Border Agency] to take necessary steps, whether in terms of their own processes, or the performance of G4S as escort contractor, to drive down the length of time many are detained. Action is overdue."

June 15, 2008 Sunday Mail
SUSPECTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARE BEING HELD IN "HOLDING rooms" at UK airports and ports without regular independent scrutiny of their welfare and human rights, three years after the prisons watchdog recommended in a report to the home secretary that detainees should be monitored. The situation is affecting thousands of people detained each year over visa and other document irregularities by the UK Border Agency at three non-residential facilities run by Group 4 Securicor at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports, and Scotland's immigration reporting centre at Festival Court in Glasgow. Anne Owers, the chief inspector of prisons in England and Wales - who has responsibility for inspections because immigration is reserved to Westminster, - recommended monitoring of the facilities after spot checks on Glasgow airport and Festival Court in 2005. Heathrow, which has holding facilities at each of its five terminals, is the only UK airport which has set up Independent Monitoring Board (IMD) committees - members of the public who visit the facilities every week. The UK justice department has not even begun talks with its Scottish counterpart, which must approve the proposal, and it is feared it could take another year to set up. One insider said: "It's shocking they have been allowed to get away with this at a time when the Border Agency is targeting more people coming into regional airports. "This is as big a political hot potato as dawn raids. Even if these people are only detained for a matter of hours before their cases are rejected and they are put on planes home, they are still entitled to basic human rights, which includes access to full legal representation. "There would have been an outcry had this happened at Dungavel detention centre, which does have independent monitoring." John Wilkes, chief executive of the Scottish Refugee Council, said: "In 2005, the chief inspector of prisons had many reservations about the holding facilities in Glasgow airport. She found people were not being given adequate information in their own language about their reason for detention. Crucially, people were not offered information on their legal rights and, as they had no access to phones, email or fax, legal or other assistance was impossible. "In this report, three years ago, she strongly recommended the need for independent monitoring, but this has not yet happened in Glasgow. This must happen as a matter of necessity." Asylum lawyer Fraser Latta said: "It's not uncommon for claimants to be detained on a Friday and spend several hours in one of these places, and it must be extremely frustrating if they can't get access to legal help." Latta said it was an example of the breakdown of Westminster-Holyrood relations following former first minister Jack McConnell's failure to win a separate asylum protocol for Scotland. There has also been a sharp rise in the number of people being held at the Glasgow facilities. Between January and the end of March 2005, 34 people were detained. This year, over the same period, 242 people were held, including some at Edinburgh airport. Most were held for less than eight hours, but one person was held in Edinburgh for more than eight hours but less than 12, according to the UK Border Agency. The August 2005 report claimed legal information for detainees was "deficient"; childcare and child protection provision was inadequate; and staff had not undergone enhanced Criminal Records Bureau checks. Those held in Glasgow were not routinely seen by a health professional, there were "insufficient" activities to relieve boredom and there was no hot food available. Glasgow airport did not even have a television. The inspectors could also see no evidence of notices or leaflets "designed to inform detainees about legal rights or how to get immigration advice". At the airport, accessing legal advice was "impossible" as no free phone calls were automatically offered. Neil Powrie, head of the Association of Prison Visiting Committees in Scotland, which hopes to help the IMB find volunteers, revealed he has only recently been sent an email by the organisation asking him for "a chat" about the plans. "When people are being detained there are always concerns if their conditions are not being monitored," he said. "The fact the chief inspector made the recommendation three years ago and nothing has been done since is down to the Home Office. It would be a lot smoother if these issues were devolved." Norman McLean, head of the IMB Secretariat, said: "We are rolling out the programme gradually and it is a major exercise. I don't want to be seen as intruding in Scotland and that's why we must have approval from the executive." Tayside Police chief constable John Vine, who has been appointed the first chief inspector of the UK Border Agency, said: "I am very conscious of the fact we are dealing with human beings who in many cases have a legitimate right to come to Britain and seek a better life. Although I will principally be reporting to Westminster, I will have to establish good relations with the devolved government as well." A UK Border Agency spokesman welcomed monitoring of the facilities and added that Edinburgh airport's holding facility is currently being refurbished.

January 16, 2007 IC Coventry
Conditions in holding centres for immigration offenders awaiting deportation still need to be improved, the jails watchdog has said. Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers published reports on four immigration short-term holding facilities at Colnbrook near Heathrow Airport, Sandford House in Solihull, and Liverpool's Reliance House and John Lennon Airport. Inspectors found that detainees at Colnbrook spent unacceptably long periods locked in single rooms, and there was a lack of information and independent advice for people facing removal. But it had avoided some of the problems seen in other facilities because it was managed by the Immigration Removal Centre, offering access to healthcare facilities, welfare and race relations support, Ms Owers said. Staff at the three centres in Liverpool and Solihull - all run by Group 4 Securicor - needed more training in the care and protection of children, her report found. The facilities also required reorganising for a mixed population, it added. Ms Owers said: "Accommodation still remains inadequate in many centres and the needs of detainees in relation to healthcare, information and advice, and preparations for release are not yet sufficiently met." Home Office Minister Liam Byrne said: "I take very seriously the recommendations, and action plans responding in detail are currently being drawn up to ensure further improvements are made. "It is important to remember that non-residential short-term holding facilities are intended to accommodate people for very brief periods of time." Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Nick Clegg said: "The inspector's report confirms what has been apparent for some time: that, for the Government, these people are out of sight and out of mind. "Any society should be ashamed when people are treated like this just because they are to be deported."

April 6, 2006 Gulf Daily News
Holding cells used by British immigration officials at a French freight terminal were so crowded and filthy that staff called them "the dog kennels," a prison watchdog said yesterday. Chief Inspector of Prisons Anne Owers also said staff were unsure whether they could stop a detainee from fighting, trying to escape, or committing suicide because they did not know whether English or French law applied. Her report concerned the centres at Calais seaport and the Channel tunnel freight and tourist terminals at Coquelles, which were set up on French soil under an international treaty to hold detainees seeking entry to Britain. Accommodation at Coquelles freight terminal was described by staff as the "dog kennels," Owers said. The six 13 feet by 10 feet cells at Coquelles freight terminal featured hole-in-the-ground toilets and on busy days one cell could be used to hold six people. Furnishing, ventilation and heating were all inadequate, her report added. Records suggested average detention time was seven and a half hours, with the maximum nearly 12 hours. The chief inspector made 49 recommendations for improvement, including one that an independent monitoring board should have regular access. Figures for May to July last year showed 661 detainees had been through Calais Seaport detention centre, 11 of whom were children. The average period of detention was four hours, although the longest was 17. In all, 17 per cent were given permission to enter Britain. At the third centre at Coquelles tourist terminal, average detention time was three hours but the maximum recorded was nearly 16 hours. None of the facilities, run by private firm Group 4 Securicor, could appropriately separate men, women and children. The chief inspector also published a report on detention facilities at Heathrow airport, including the Queen's Building, which handles the greatest number of forced removals from Britain. People could be detained there for up to 36 hours, the report said. Owers complimented the staff's approach to welfare of detainees but called the system inhumane. "Some of those we observed in detention had been dealt with as though they were parcels, not people, and parcels whose contents and destination were sometimes incorrect," Owers said.

September 1, 2001
Britain's policy on asylum seekers was engulfed in fresh controversy last night after a French company behind a new detention centre was set to be given the go-ahead to pay refugees 34p an hour for cleaning and cooking.  In a move branded 'inhumane' and akin to forced labour camps in Communist China, the Government plans to grant the company a unique opt-out to save staff costs by paying refugees at the centre less than one-tenth of the minimum wage.  Confidential Home Office documents obtained by The Observer reveal that UK Detention Services, a subsidiary of the French catering conglomerate Sodexho, has been waived the legal obligation to pay the minimum wage to refugees at a detention camp which will hold 500 people near Heathrow airport when it opens later this month.  Norman Baker MP said that if asylum seekers were allowed to work they should be paid the minimum wage. 'It is a disgrace that the Government is prepared to pay millions to a company that is prepared to exploit asylum seekers in such a cruel manner.'  (The Guardian)

Home Office
November 22, 2011 The Guardian
Serious injuries or other life-threatening warning signs have been detected on 285 occasions when children have been physically restrained in privately run jails over the past five years, according to Ministry of Justice figures. The figure reflects the number of "exception reports" submitted by the four privately run secure training centres to the youth justice board since 2006. The warning signs triggering an exception report include struggling to breathe, nausea, vomiting, limpness and abnormal redness to the face. Serious injuries are classified as those requiring hospitalisation and include serious cuts, fractures, concussion, loss of consciousness and damage to internal organs. The MoJ figures, which have been disclosed for the first time, show that there were 61 such exception reports made last year. There have been 29 so far in the first 10 months of this year. Their disclosure comes as a two-day High Court challenge is due to get underway over the MoJ's refusal to identify and trace hundreds of children who have been unlawfully restrained in the privately run child jails using techniques that have since been banned. Children's rights campaigners believe they should be entitled to compensation. The Children's Rights Alliance for England (Crae) has brought the case challenging the justice secretary, Ken Clarke's, refusal to contact former detainees dating back to 1998, when the first secure training centre opened. The legal challenge follows a second inquest earlier this year into the death of 14-year-old Adam Rickwood, who was found hanging in his room at Hassockfield Secure Training Centre, where he was on remand in 2006. It concluded there was a serious system failure which gave rise to an unlawful regime at the child jail. The use of several "distraction" restraint techniques, that involved inflicting pain with a severe blow to the nose or ribs, or by pulling back a child's thumb, were banned in 2008. The use of physical restraint techniques to control teenagers simply for the purposes of "good order and discipline" was also ruled unlawful by the court of appeal. Carolyne Willow, Crae's national co-ordinator, said their lawyers will argue there had been a chronic failure by the authorities to protect vulnerable children over many years. "It was not children's responsibility to know about, challenge and stop unlawful and abusive treatment," said Willow, adding there were potentially thousands of former detainees who should now be contacted. "Children in custody are among the most disadvantaged in society and they were held in closed institutions where unlawful restraint was routine and ordinary. It was the state, and the private contractors, who were duty-bound to protect the welfare and rights of vulnerable children." She said that government officials now had a duty to notify potential victims that their rights had been infringed. The abuses should no longer remain hidden and unchallenged. The security company, G4S, which operates three of the four child jails is also joining the case as an 'interested party'.

November 13, 2011 The Guardian
The privatisation of public services has been branded a scandal by unions who say that leaked tender documents reveal that the opening-up of the prison system to competition is "heavily biased" in favour of private firms. The Ministry of Justice has introduced competitive tendering for five jails as ministers seek to expand the role of the private sector. They claim that competition will result in more efficient services and a better deal for the taxpayer, but unions fear that it will result in widespread redundancies, poorer working conditions and reduced pensions for workers. Prison governors warn that expanding the private sector's role in the custodial system will create a profit-maximising culture that favours incarceration and cutbacks to rehabilitation. Internal documents seen by the Observer show that the in-house public sector teams seeking to run the first five prisons subjected to the new competition process were forced to increase the total cost of their bids by more than 21%. An earlier document, in 2009, forced an increase of only 13%. Unions claim the substantial "add-ons" rendered the public sector bids uncompetitive compared with those put forward by their private sector rivals. The Principles Of Competition document, updated in August 2010, applies to Birmingham, Buckley Hall, Doncaster, Featherstone II and Wellingborough prisons. The document's terms have prompted claims that Tory ministers are seeking to outsource the entire prison system to the private sector. Currently in the UK, there are 13 private prisons holding 15% of the incarcerated population. "Prison privatisation is no longer based on efficiency, it's now ideological," said Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation union, Napo. "It's extraordinary that the public sector is forced to take into account huge additional costs. It puts public prisons at a total disadvantage. If this continues, there will be no state-run prisons in five years."

August 5, 2011 The Guardian
Separate investigations into three deaths in immigration removal centres (IRC) in the past month have been launched by the police, amid growing concern about the treatment of detainees. The spate of deaths has caused alarm among critics of the government's detention policy, who warn that the system is at "breaking point" with poor healthcare putting people's lives at risk. Two men died from suspected heart attacks at Colnbrook near Heathrow airport and the third killed himself at the Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire on Tuesday. John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, who has two detention centres including Colnbrook in his constituency, said he feared there would be more deaths as the system struggled to cope with the number of people being detained. "The government is now detaining people on such a scale that the existing services are swamped," he said. "It is inevitable if we put the services under such relentless strain that there will be more deaths as a result … we are dealing with people who are extremely stressed and extremely vulnerable and the services are not able to cope and not able to guarantee their safety." The first man who died was Muhammad Shukat, 47, a Pakistani immigration detainee who collapsed at around 6am on 2 July. His roommate Abdul Khan says that in the hours before he died Shukat was groaning in agony, had very bad chest pains and was sweating profusely. Khan, 19, from Afghanistan, said he began raising the alarm around 6am and pressed the emergency button in the room 10 times in a frantic effort to get help. Khan claimed that on three occasions members of the centre's nursing team entered the room and found Shukat on the floor where he had collapsed. Khan said they put him back into bed, took his temperature and some medicine was administered, but did not call emergency assistance immediately. According to Khan, the nurses initially said that Shukat could go to see the centre's doctor at 8am. According to the London Ambulance Service, Colnbrook staff called an ambulance just before 7.20am. Attempts were made to resuscitate Shukat, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Hillingdon Hospital. A postmortem found the provisional cause of death to be coronary heart disease. Shukat's body has been returned to Pakistan and his family are understood to have no concerns about the medical treatment he received. The second man to die at Colnbrook has not yet been named. According to the Metropolitan police he was 35 and was found dead in his cell at 10.30am last Sunday. London Ambulance Service officials pronounced him dead at the scene. "A postmortem held on 1 August found the cause of death to be a ruptured aorta. The death is being treated as unexplained," said a police spokesman. Colnbrook IRC is managed by Serco. In a statement to detainees about Shukat's death, deputy director at Colnbrook, Jenni Halliday, described her "deep regret" and extended her condolences. In a statement to detainees about the second Colnbrook death, Serco's contract manager, Michael Guy, informed detainees that a resident in the short-term holding facility had died and that the death was thought to be from natural causes. On Tuesday, a 35-year-old man hanged himself in the toilet block at Campsfield House detention centre in Oxfordshire. A fellow detainee, who refused to give his name, said the man had been hours away from being deported and had become very anxious. "He was normally a very quiet person … but the pressure is too much for people in here." It is understood the man had only been at the centre for a few days before he died. The Home Office refused to give any more details saying his extended family had yet to be informed. Emma Ginn, from the campaign group Medical Justice, said the deaths had heightened concern about the poor healthcare on offer to those being kept in UK detention centres. "Based on medical evidence from many hundreds of detainees, Medical Justice has documented the disturbingly inadequate healthcare provision that often vulnerable immigration detainees are subjected to in Colnbrook and other immigration removal centres... [this] combined with the perilous and frightening conditions of detention, is a lethal cocktail, a disaster waiting to happen." The UK Border Agency declined to comment on the specific circumstances of each case. It said the police and the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman always investigated deaths in immigration detention centres and it would be inappropriate to comment until these were complete. David Wood, director of criminality and detention at the UK Border Agency, said all detainees at immigration removal centres have access to health services seven days a week. "All detainees are seen by a nurse within two hours of arrival and are given an opportunity to see a GP within 24 hours," he added. "The health of all detainees is monitored closely, and the healthcare professionals are required to report cases where it is considered that a person's health is being affected by continued detention. "The UK takes its responsibilities seriously, which is why we consider every case on its individual merits and will continue to offer protection to those who need it. However, detention is an essential part of our controls on immigration in the UK." A groundbreaking ruling -- A man with severe mental illness was unlawfully locked up in a UK detention centre for five months and subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment, according to a high court ruling. The man, a 34-year-old Indian national, was detained in Harmondsworth immigration removal centre between April and September last year. On Friday a judge ruled that his treatment amounted to a breach of article 3 of the European convention human rights. The man's lawyer said the ruling – thought to be the first of its kind – raised wider questions about how the government treats people with mental illnesses in the immigration and detention system. "The court's decision that my client suffered inhuman or degrading treatment at a UK detention facility sends a very loud and clear message to the authorities," said. "We would urge the minister to conduct a fundamental review into how people suffering from mental illness are treated in the immigration detention estate." The man, referred to as "S" in the ruling, had a history of serious ill treatment and abuse before arriving in the UK. He served time in prison for wounding and assault before being transferred to a secure psychiatric hospital until his discharge in April 2010. Following his release the UK Border Agency said there was "no evidence" he was mentally ill and he was detained in Harmondsworth where his health deteriorated and he began to have psychotic episodes and self harm. The high court intervened and he was released on bail. His lawyers said he had been living with his family since then and had fully complied with the conditions of bail set by the court. In the ruling judge David Elvin said: "S's pre-existing mental condition was both triggered and exacerbated by detention and that involved both a debasement and humiliation of S since it showed a serious lack of respect for his human dignity. It created a state in S's mind of real anguish and fear, through his hallucinations, which led him to self-harm frequently and to behave in a manner which was humiliating…" A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: "We regularly review our detention policies and will look at the findings in this case to ensure lessons are learned. Detention is an essential part of our immigration control but we recognise the importance of ensuring it remains appropriate on a case by case basis."

May 23, 2011 Daily Mirror
PRIVATE jail bosses paid from the public purse are putting profits offshore to avoid tax, MPs will be told this week. Firms making millions out of the privatisation of British justice are not paying their due, says a Prison Officers’ Association report. Taxpayers pick up the bills for land and buildings of these jails. But the people running them have parent companies which the POA has traced to tax havens such as Jersey and investment banks. The report says: “Billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is being diverted from essential public service provision that could benefit society as a whole. “Often those that benefit most are registered in tax havens.” POA general secretary Steve Gillan said it was “a national scandal”. Justice Secretary Ken Clarke recently announced plans to let contractors run large prisons in Birmingham and Doncaster plus ¬a new one near Wolverhampton. They will join 11 jails in England and Wales and four young offender units which are run privately. The report says: “Making a profit out of incarceration is morally repugnant. Companies have a vested interest in keeping the prison population high to maximise profits.” It says firms have no incentive to go along with Mr Clarke’s “rehab¬¬ilitation revolution” – aimed at cutting the ¬crippling expense of ¬prisons by ¬reducing the number of inmates. The POA paper, being sent to all MPs, says the true costs to the nation are “hidden behind a -smokescreen of ¬commercial secrecy”. The report demands an inquiry into private prison finances. The Ministry of Justice said: “Contracts to run prisons have been awarded through open competition to deliver best value for the taxpayer without ¬affecting standards.”

December 26, 2010 The Guardian
A security company has recruited two former senior civil servants, sparking an outcry about the "revolving door" between Whitehall and the company. G4S, formerly Group 4 Securicor, hired Dr Peter Collecott, the one time director of corporate affairs at the Foreign Office, and David Gould, the Ministry of Defence's former chief operating officer in charge of defence equipment, according to a government report. The company, whose guards are under investigation over the death of deportee Jimmy Mubenga, supplies armed guards for embassy staff around the world. It has recruited former ministers including Lord Reid as well as senior figures in offender management. The disclosure comes two weeks after Sir George Young, the leader of the Commons, said he would examine the "revolving door" between Whitehall and defence companies. Denis MacShane, the Labour MP for Rotherham, called for a closer examination of civil servants before they are allowed to take private sector roles that may overlap with their former public duties. "There is great excitement over politicians and outside interests but the real issue is the gilded path from Whitehall where billions of pounds worth of public spending decisions are made into employment with companies that gained from such contracts and contacts," he said. "We need new rules so that anyone in public service cannot go straight into employment with companies to which they previously awarded contracts." Harry Fletcher, the assistant general secretary of the probation union Napo, who has been critical of the way G4S has recruited senior civil servants from the Home Office, said: "Appointments such as these give G4S a commercial advantage over their rivals and will encourage others to go down the same route." The appointments are listed in the latest report from the Advisory Committee of Business Appointments, released earlier this month. Collecott, 60, was the ambassador in Brazil from 2004 to 2008. He was a member of the Foreign Office's senior leadership forum that brought together the most senior heads of mission overseas. G4S said he has worked for their company on two separate domestic projects – once in 2009 and again this year, a contract which ended in September. The company has declined to explain the nature of the project. Gould, the MoD's former chief operating officer of defence equipment and support – which put him in charge of billions of pounds worth of procurement contracts – took up a consultant post with G4S last year. He left the MoD in 2008, and has also had roles at Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems Ltd. A spokesman for G4S said he worked on a specific project with G4S in 2009. Last month, G4S prompted an outcry by hiring Philip Wheatley, the former director general of the National Offender Management Service. Wheatley's G4S role, which he takes up just as Ken Clarke launches a plan to privatise much of the probation service he managed until June, has been criticised by probation unions. Wheatley's appointment is part of a pattern of G4S lobbying over probation privatisation. The company paid for a meeting at the last Conservative conference, where G4S "offender management" executive Jerry Petherick, spoke alongside the prisons minister, Crispin Blunt.

July 18, 2010 AP
Brutal techniques to restrain children held in private prisons have been made public after mounting pressure from children's rights groups. The Observer disclosed details of the techniques used to train staff in restraining young offenders in the country's four privately-run secure training centres. The secret manual, Physical Control in Care, was created by the HM Prison Service and approved by the Department of Justice in 2005. The government's Youth Justice Board (YJB) had initially fought the Information Commissioner's order to hand over the documents. When the Children's Rights Alliance (CRAE) called on the Justice Secretary to hold an independent judicial inquiry, YJB finally relented. The Observer revealed that control measures authorised for staff to use include "an inverted knuckle into the trainee's sternum and drive inward and upward," "alternate elbow strikes to the young person's ribs until a release is achieved," and "drive straight fingers into the young person's face, and then quickly drive the straightened fingers of the same hand downwards into the young person's groin area." The manual went so far as to warn staff that some techniques risk a "fracture to the skull" and "temporary or permanent blindness caused by rupture to eyeball or detached retina." One passage states in regard to administering a head-hold that "if breathing is compromised the situation ceases to be a restraint and becomes a medical emergency." Carolyne Willow, CRAE's national co-ordinator stated, "Until now, we've seen a compulsive reliance on secrecy and an absolute failure to face up publicly to the disgraceful and unlawful treatment of children the State officially describes as vulnerable." The campaign to make the information public came after the deaths of two children, Gareth Myatt, 15, and Adam Rickwood, 14, who died in the custody of Rainsbrook and Hassockfield secure training centres in 2004.

September 4, 2009 Morning Star
Leaders of the prison officers' union have accused the government of "corruption at the highest levels" for colluding with privateers to sell off Britain's jails. Prison Officers Association (POA) general secretary Brian Caton made the damning accusation as he exposed exclusively to the Morning Star the defection to security privateer Serco of the head of a public-sector bid to run Buckley Hall jail near Rochdale. Former prison governor Steve Hall, who had been appointed by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) to lead the bid, was revealed to have taken up a position with the huge multinational despite government rules insisting that civil servants must "put the obligations of public service above your own personal interests." Mr Caton declared that the government "wants to auction off the prison service and is fully aware that civil servants like Steve Hall take the information that they have gathered and defect to the private sector. "This is corruption at the highest levels," he stressed. "This is not first time this has happened and it comes despite Justice Minister Jack Straw giving us an absolute assurance that it would not happen again," Mr Caton added. The Civil Service code explicitly states that government workers "must not misuse your official position, for example by using information required in the course of your official duties to further your private interests." But Mr Caton insisted that NOMS director of human resources Robin Wilkinson had admitted that Mr Hall, who was appointed by the head of the government's public-service bids unit Colin McConnell, had done exactly that. Calling on NOMS director Phil Wheatley, Mr Wilkinson and Mr McConnell to all resign, Mr Caton said that "the POA believes that this affair represents a conspiracy to act in a corrupt manner and we will be demanding that an independent inquiry should be conducted by the police - that's how serious this is." The revelation comes just days after the POA announced that its members had voted by a crushing four to one to strike against the government's drive to sell off the Prison Service and hand jails over to private security firms such as Serco. Mr Caton pointed out that Buckley Hall prison had to be renationalised after its previous experience with privatisation proved a failure. "Of 11 private prisons in Britain, 10 are in the bottom quarter of the government's prison performance league - that's how bad they are," he asserted. "Privatisation is about driving down standards and paying prison officers less because all these companies care about is profits," Mr Caton added. "It is an insult to our members at Buckley Hall, who gave information to Steve Hall to support the bid to keep the jail in the public sector, that he has now stuffed that information into a briefcase and taken it to Serco." Mike Nolan, president of Civil Service union PCS prison service group, emphasised that such a breach of the Civil Service code was "undoubtably immoral. "This has happened a few times, but what is worse is that prison managers are actually being targeted by the private-sector companies that want to take over prisons - and Serco in particular is now riddled with them," he added. Serco and the Ministry of Justice had not responded to requests for information as the Morning Star went to press.

June 29, 2009 Independent
Figures obtained by More4 show four of Britain's 10 private prisons received the second-lowest rating in Government tests. Britain's private prisons are performing worse than those run by the state, according to data obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. The findings, based on the overall performances of 132 prisons in England and Wales, appear to undermine claims by ministers that the greater use of private jails is raising standards for the accommodation of more than 83,000 prisoners held across both sectors. Separate figures, also released under the right-to-know law, show that nearly twice as many prisoner complaints are upheld in private prisons as they are in state-run institutions. The Government is committed to building five more private prisons to accommodate the growing prison population, which is predicted to rise to 96,000 by 2014. But the poor performance ratings among 40 per cent of private prisons in England and Wales throw into question the cost savings and other benefits of using outside businesses to tackle the prison crisis. The data obtained by More4 News shows that four of the 10 private prisons scored the second lowest rating of 2, "requiring development", and only one above an assessment of "serious concern." The Ministry of Justice introduced the Prison Performance Assessment Tool (PPAT) last year, providing the first direct comparison between public and private prisons. It ranks the prisons out of four gradings using a wide range of measurements, including escapes, assaults and rehabilitation. In the second quarter of last year, the average overall score for prisons in the private sector was 2.7. For the 123 public sector prisons the average was 2.83. In the following quarter this gap had widened to 2.6 and 2.85. This is a difference of almost 10 per cent. No private prison attained the top mark of 4, defined as "exceptional performance." There were also disparities in the number of complaints upheld in private and state-run prisons. Rye Hill Prison, a private prison run by G4S, which has been a focus of particular criticism since it opened in 2001, saw a total of 22 complaints, well above the average in both the public and private sectors.

March 14, 2009 Sunday Mail
Former Defence Secretary John Reid faced fierce criticism yesterday as it emerged the world's largest security firm had won a huge contract from the Ministry of Defence weeks after taking him on as a consultant. Mr Reid - who ran the MoD until May 2006 before resigning from the Cabinet while Home Secretary in June 2007 - was hired by G4S three months ago for £50,000 a year to offer 'strategic advice'. This week, it was awarded a four-year contract to supply private security guards for around 200 MoD and military sites across Britain in a deal thought to be worth tens of millions of pounds. While many former ministers have taken private-sector jobs, it is unusual for such a senior Government figure and sitting MP to work for a company so closely linked to their former department. Opposition MPs last night said Mr Reid's earnings from G4S were 'totally inappropriate', while the Taxpayers' Alliance campaign group called for the rules governing employment for ex-ministers to be reviewed urgently.

January 22, 2009 Morning Star
DAVID Miliband said that the war on terror was an error, but some people don't regret it. Private security companies like Group 4 made a mint. Now, it wants to spread its good fortune - this month, Group 4 Security gave a £50,000 position to former Labour minister John Reid as an "adviser." Reid fits in this part-time job when he isn't too busy representing the good people of Airdrie and Shotts as their Member of Parliament. Group 4 has plenty of reasons to want access to the contact book of a former home and defence secretary - the firm now supplies the armed guards looking after British officials in Iraq and Afghanistan while locking up prisoners, asylum-seekers and "terror suspects" in Britain, so Reid is worth every one of the five million pennies that they are giving the man. Reid was once a Communist Party member, but abandoned Marxism in favour of new Labour. This is odd, because his career seems to illustrate the crudest and most determinist kind of Marxism. For years, Marxists have been grappling with the subtle and sophisticated ways in which the capitalist class dominates society, but Group 4 opted for a very unsubtle approach - the capitalists just hired Labour's representative. Reid hasn't always hawked his brawn for the money men. Back in 1992, Reid signed a House of Commons motion calling on Sir Norman Fowler to resign from the board of Group 4. The motion said that the House "regrets that the right honourable Member for Sutton Coldfield (Norman Fowler), chairman of the Conservative Party, has not seen fit to resign his directorship of another Group 4 company, Group 4 Securitas, and urges him to do so." It added: "The government should suspend all further moves to privatisation within the criminal justice system." Reid's call for Fowler to resign from Group 4 and for the government to shun the firm came after the company let a number of prisoners escape from their vans on the way to court. Whizz forward a decade and a half and Reid, having demanded that Fowler abandon Group 4, has himself taken a job with the firm. In the meantime, Conservative and Labour governments have not stopped their "privatisation of the criminal justice system," they have expanded it. Group 4 has men with truncheons in Britain and men carrying guns in Iraq. Nor has the firm become any less accident-prone. Group 4 Security prefers to be called G4S because, in ad people's language, the brand is tarnished. Group 4 was even described as a "national laughing stock" by the government's own lawyers in court in 2003 after a riot at an immigration detention centre that it ran which was later burned to the ground. Things haven't improved since. Reid himself sent the firm to new frontiers, where the firm ran new fiascos. When Reid was home secretary, the Law Lords told him that just labelling foreigners "terror suspects" didn't mean that he could lock them up without trial. Reid turned to Group 4 for help. It cobbled together something called "control orders," a house arrest for these "terror suspects" administered by Group 4 and other private firms. Control orders were simultaneously too draconian and too lax - prisoners, including vulnerable men who had been tortured in their home countries, were tagged and monitored by Group 4. Those who stuck by the rules were pushed to the edge of mental illness by the isolation of the strict house arrest. At the same time, Group 4 allowed another prisoner to simply disappear. This may have been embarrassing for the firm and for Reid, but they manfully hid their red faces and entered into a new relationship when Reid left government. Group 4 has risen thanks to the crudest economic determinism - Reid, who authorised the signing of cheques for Group 4 as a minister, ends up getting cheques from the firm. Reid is not alone. A small squad of politicians worked to get Group 4 where it is today. First, Tory chairman Fowler helped the firm get into the prisons business in the 1990s. Group 4 tightened its grip on British jails last year when it took over rival private prisons firm GSL. It bought GSL from an investment company called Englefield Capital, which employs another Labour ex-minister, former defence secretary George Robertson, as an adviser. Group 4 then broke into the international mercenary trade by buying a company called Armor Group, whose armed men guard British officials in Iraq and Afghanistan. Up until this, Armor Group's chairman had been another top politician - leading Tory MP Malcolm Rifkind. Twenty years ago, the idea that a private company would run our jails and wars would have looked like science fiction. By hiring politicians, the "security industry" made it a reality.

January 14, 2009 Politics.Co.UK
An official investigation into those working in the immigration services has begun after it was revealed two members of staff are British National party (BNP) members. One guard was revealed to be a member after his name was discovered on the membership list released on the internet last year. Another has been suspended while his links to the party are investigated. The only two services where membership of the BNP constitutes grounds for dismissal are the police and the Prison Service. Anyone who works in immigration or removals must sign a declaration saying they are not a member of any far-right group, including the BNP. The UK Border Agency said: "All allegations are investigated and the UKBA can revoke an individual's accreditation to work for the agency or have any contact with detainees." Labour MP and anti-racist campaigner Diane Abbott told the Independent - which broke the news following a long-term immigrant rights campaign - that the use of private contractors for detention and deportation was at the root of the problem. "If it is true that staff employed to work with asylum-seekers and immigrants are members of the BNP then it is yet another sign that the Home Office are allowing for the mistreatment of immigrants in this country," she told the newspaper. "For years, campaign groups and my colleagues and I have been pointing out that hiring private contractors to work as immigration guards is a bad idea. It seems we will now have more proof of this." The suspended security guard is being investigated by a private contractor.

January 11, 2009 The Observer
John Reid, the former home secretary, has cashed in on his ministerial experience by taking a £45,000-a-year job with private security company G4S, the Observer has learnt. His appointment comes just days after a parliamentary committee warned that former ministers have been exploiting their insider knowledge "with impunity". Formed from a merger of Group 4 and Securicor, G4S is Britain's largest security firm with contracts ranging from private prisons to the armed guards defending British officials in Iraq. The appointment was disclosed by the advisory committee on business appointments, which polices former ministers' job applications. Reid has been judged free to lobby ministers and officials on behalf of the security company. The public administration committee (PAC) called last week for all lobbying activity to be registered and monitored by a tougher watchdog - claiming the industry's attempt at self-regulation had entirely failed. "We are strongly concerned that, with the rules as loosely and as variously interpreted as they currently are, former ministers in particular appear to be able to use with impunity the contacts they built up as public servants to further a private interest," said a statement from the PAC.

June 11, 2008 Mail on Sunday
The Home Office squandered £29million of taxpayers' money on a flagship giant asylum centre which was never built - including hiring in a 'financial advisor' who charged almost £16,000 a month. A scathing report from MPs exposes a catalogue of costly blunders and lambasts the failing department for a 'startling absence of common sense' in one of its most embarrassing fiascos of recent years. Seven years after officials started working on the ambitious plans to house thousands of asylum seekers on a former RAF station at Bicester, Oxfordshire, the site remains empty and derelict with 'no benefit' to the taxpayer. Vast sums were paid to consultants, private advisors and contractors and when ministers pulled the plug on the entire project in 2005 they were forced to hand over millions more in cancellation fees. Officials failed to understand how fierce local opposition and legal challenges would drag out the process, and made no attempt to plan for future uses of the site or the risk that other immigration policy changes would scupper the scheme. Last night the Home Office claimed the disaster had led to an 'overall positive impact for the public' because officials had learned important lessons. Former Home Secretary David Blunkett announced the scheme in 2001, as part of a strategy to speed up and streamline the creaking asylum system by housing applicants in a series of huge accommodation centres across the country. Thousands were to be placed in the first centre at an isolated site outside Bicester, but crucially it would not be secure and the immigrants would be free to come and go as they pleased. The plans brought a storm of protests, not only from local residents but also from refugee support groups who claimed leaving so many asylum seekers to languish at a remote site, far from any local community, was a disastrous plan. Planning inspectors rejected the plans, but John Prescott used his powers to overturn their decision, further infuriating locals. Finally ministers realised in 2005 that the centre was unnecessary and unworkable, but not before almost £30million of public money had been wasted. The PAC report reveals how the Home Office hired a Financial advisor at a cost of £15,743 per month, and a procurement advisor who was paid £15,559 per month, because no civil servants were judged to have the right expertise. The pair, who have not been named, were paid more than £1.1million for less than three years work, on top of £6.3million paid out to consultants. MPs complained that the Home Office was unable to show whether the highly paid consultants 'added value'. Private contractors Global Solutions Limited were paid £7.6 for design work, but claimed almost £8million in termination fees when the Bicester scheme was axed. PAC chairman Edward Leigh said the project 'embodied lack of foresight, poor business planning and a startling absence of common sense.' He said the scheme was 'always going to provoke opposition in the local community' but the Home Office took no account of that, or of objections from refugee groups, and made no effort to make contact with local interest groups or MPs to discuss objections. Nor did the department realise - until it was too late - that a decline in the number of asylum seekers and some success in speeding up the system meant the centre was increasingly pointless. Last month the Home Office announced plans to build a secure immigration detention centre on the Bicester site, although it will not be open until 2012 at the earliest and will require planning permission. Shadow Immigration Minister, Damian Green, attacked the Bicester debacle as 'a symptom of long-term incompetence by immigration ministers, who failed to notice that asylum numbers were dropping just when they were planning this new centre. 'Their latest plan is to turn the derelict site into a detention centre. I hope they have done their homework better this time.' A Home Office spokesperson said: 'At the time, we believed accommodation centres to be the right decision but as circumstances changed and the project was delayed, we reviewed that decision. 'Our experience with this project has taught us some important lessons, and this, along with the other improvements put in place, has led to an overall positive impact for the public.'

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.

September 27, 2007 BBC
A detention lorry that will hold suspected illegal immigrants is being trialled at a Dorset ferry port. Up to 10 people can be held in the privately-owned truck for a maximum of 12 hours while their details are checked out. The purpose-built lorry was unveiled at Poole, Dorset, on Thursday and will be used at ports along the south coast. The Border and Immigration Agency said similar trucks could be used around the UK if the trial was a success. The five-month trial of the mobile unit will test whether it can speed up the processing of offenders so they can be deported more quickly. The lorry is operated by GEO Group Inc, a multinational company that specialises in correctional and detention management.

February 1, 2006 The Guardian
The Home Office yesterday became the first Whitehall department in living memory to present accounts to parliament that were delivered so late and so flawed that the National Audit Office is unable to tell MPs whether they are correct. The department, which spends £13bn a year of taxpayers' money, will be hauled before parliament to explain "spectacular" errors and a failure by senior management under Sir John Gieve, the former permanent secretary and now deputy chairman of the Bank of England, to put together proper accounts. The report by Sir John Bourn, the comptroller and auditor general, reveals that two versions of the accounts from the Home Office were presented to the NAO which were so different that no single account balance was the same. The report says: "The accounts were riven with numerous inaccuracies." The figures were so disparate that one set says the Home Office overspent by £68m while the second set said the Treasury owed the Home Office £112m, a difference of £180m. Other examples included wrongly putting the cost of the private prison estate, which is paid by contractors, on the taxpayers' account.

Lowdham Grange Prison
England
Serco (bought Premier)
May 23, 2010  The Daily Telegraph
Under the scheme, the publicly-funded broadcaster handed over footage to inmates who earn just £30 a week rather than members of its own 23,000 staff. Convicts at a privately run Category B jail, the second-highest security level, transferred tapes of old television shows to computer to save them for posterity. Senior staff in the BBC’s archives department visited the jail to watch the work in progress while meetings were held to discuss a landmark deal for the prisoners to digitise all 1million hours of programmes in its vaults. Fearful about the controversy the scheme could cause, the BBC never discussed it publicly and even the broadcasting union, Bectu, was unaware of it. Details were obtained by this newspaper through a Freedom of Information request that took more than four months rather than the usual 20 working days. The BBC insists that it has not given any money to Serco, the private jail operator, for the secret scheme nor signed any contracts, following the pilot project last year. However emails disclosed by the corporation show that it had shown considerable interest in the innovative project proposed by Serco, which runs four prisons in England. The BBC owns more than 1m hours of historic content, some of it decades old and at risk of being lost. It employs 66 people to look after it, at a cost of £5m a year, in its Information and Archives department. The corporation estimates it would take 10 years to safely copy all 100m items in its collection into longer-lasting digital formats. In December 2008 it was approached by Serco to become involved in Artemis – Achieving Rehabilitation Through Establishing a Media Ingest Service – a new project for prisoners to transfer archive documents to computers. Serco said it would provide “high-quality employment” and the chance of an NVQ qualification for inmates and HMP Lowdham Grange, a 628-capacity jail near Nottingham all of whose inmates are serving at least four years. The firm said this would mean it could provide a “stable work force”. The BBC was told it would prove a “very cost-effective” way of digitising its archive, and several meetings were organised to discuss plans. Managers agreed to hand over 20 hours of old videos, including episodes of Horizon and Earth Story, so prisoners could transfer them to computer and also add “meta-data” – typed detailed descriptions of the footage to help producers search through it more easily. The British Library and National Archives also provided material for the pilot project. In September last year, five members of BBC staff visited the jail, where a production workshop had been built, and were reported to be “pleased” with what they saw of the prisoners’ work and enthusiasm. However David Crocker, the driving force behind the scheme at Serco, admitted: “The major concern was around the potential negative newspaper headlines that the BBC may attract.” The company did discuss the scheme with one newspaper and one trade magazine but made no reference to the BBC’s involvement. In November, Mr Crocker told the BBC: “I can’t thank you enough for finding a project for us to kick-start Artemis.” He said his staff were drawing up “terms of reference” and would then “cost the project” of a full-scale digitisation of the BBC’s archive. However no deals have yet been signed. The BBC said: “The BBC did hold discussions with Serco about their planned project to digitise archives. As part of this the BBC, alongside other organisations, provided some material for Serco to use as part of its feasibility study for the project. “No payment was made to Serco as part of this, nor was any guarantee or promise of work entered into. “The BBC has no plans to work with Serco to digitise its programme archive and has not come to any agreements nor signed any contracts with any firms about utilising the prison workforce on any project.”

December 17, 2009 Liverpool Daily Post
A LIVERPOOL prison is among five in the country allowing its inmates to watch satellite television. More than 4,000 prisoners enjoy the privilege in private jails nationwide. Altcourse Prison, in Fazakerley, is among the contractor-run prisons allowing access to a “limited number” of satellite channels. The number of prisoners allowed to watch satellite varies according to behaviour. But Justice minister and city MP Maria Eagle revealed the number was currently around 4,070. The Garston MP was responding to a written question from Tory MP Philip Davies. She said no inmates in public sector jails have access to satellite in their quarters. But they do at Altcourse and other GS4-run prisons in South Wales and Warwickshire. The other private prisons offering satellite television are run by Serco in Staffordshire and Nottingham. Ms Eagle said: “In these establishments, satellite television in cells is generally only available to prisoners on the enhanced or standard level of the incentives and earned privileges scheme.” There are 84,500 prisoners in England and Wales, meaning around one in 20 has access to satellite TV.

March 28, 2005 Nottingham Evening Post
An investigation has been launched after a man was found hanged in his prison cell. The discovery of Thomas Maughan's body at Lowdham Grange Prison was made by officers on a routine check at 11.45pm on Saturday. He was pronounced dead shortly after midnight, the Home Office said. A spokeswoman for the prison service said: " A staff patrol found him hanging from his cell's toilet door. "They tried CPR and paramedics continued when they arrived, but he was pronounced dead at 12.20am." The 45-year-old, from Sheffield, was jailed for six years in 2003 for burglary. Premier Custodial Group spokesman David Bandey said: "I can confirm he was found dead. It will now go to a full inquiry." In January, a report by the Prison Reform Trust called Private Punishment: Who Profits? said private prisons like Lowdham - one of ten in the country - were missing key targets on reducing serious assaults, drugs and 'purposeful activity' among inmates.

Medway Secure Training Centre
Rochester, UK
Group 4 Securicor
January 5, 2009 Kent News
Inmates at the Medway Secure Training Centre – which houses some of Britain’s most hardened criminals – enjoyed a weekend of tropical fun, playing bongo drums and limbo dancing, and even being given access to an alcohol-free beach bar. During the two-day knees-up, the convicted criminals were also allowed to play games including Scalectrix in a specially-themed youth club and each wing of the jail took part in a competition to come up with the best Hawaiian decorations. Group Four Securicor, which runs the centre, has not revealed the full cost of the party. Taxpayers’ Alliance spokesman Susie Squire branded the weekend event “a waste of money” given the current economic crisis. She said: “Every penny of public money is now incredibly precious. “We’re all tightening our belts in the recession – the public sector should be doing the same. “While we must encourage young offenders to improve themselves and keep busy and active, there’s no need for this sort of frivolity. “I would view this very much as a luxury."

National Health Secretary
January 21, 2011 The Northern Echo
MORE than a year after a company chairman’s wife donated £21,000 to the office of Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, the same company has been awarded a £53m NHS prison health contract. The contract, awarded by the North-East Offender Health Commissioning Unit, has been awarded to Care UK rather than current NHS providers. Last night, Grahame Morris, the Labour MP for Easington and a member of the Commons Health Select Committee, said it represented a clear conflict of interest. Trevor Johnston, North- East head of health for the Unison union, said: “Questions have to be asked why it would go to this particular company.” A year ago, it was revealed that Mr Lansley’s private office was given £21,000 by Caroline Nash, wife of the then chairman of Care UK, John Nash, to help fund their operations. The November 2009 donation was part of a total of £203,500 given to the Conservative Party by Mr Nash and his wife over the past five years. Mr Nash is no longer chairman of Care UK, but remains a consultant to the company. Until the contract was put out to tender last year, the primary health care service for 5,000 inmates at eight North- East prisons and young offender establishments was provided by more than 400 NHS staff. Care UK provides services for about 500,000 people including hospitals, walk-in centres, care homes and GP practices. It also runs 59 residential care facilities. About 96 per cent of its business is on behalf of the NHS.

Northhampton Crown Court
Northhampton, UK
Group 4
May 25, 2004
A violent criminal who escaped from prison guards while being taken to jail was arrested this evening, police said.  Carl Townsend, 22, was being transported by Group 4 security guards from Northampton Crown Court to Bedford prison after being sentenced to three and a half years for aggravated burglary and assault when he escaped on April 30, this year.  (Scotsman)

Nottinghamshire Prison
Premier (formerly Group 4 prison)
December 17, 2009 Liverpool Daily Post
A LIVERPOOL prison is among five in the country allowing its inmates to watch satellite television. More than 4,000 prisoners enjoy the