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Panorama: Entertainment for dummies

By John Hirst

Panorama: Entertainment for dummies

Last week it was being claimed that prisons were too cushy that prisoners did not want to escape.

This week they are claiming that prisons are too cushy and prisoners are escaping.

Do you get the feeling that somebody is shit stirring?

Violent criminals 'escaping from open prisons'

"Hundreds of dangerous offenders, including murderers, are being sent to low security open prisons to ease jail over-crowding and then escaping, a television documentary will claim".

Criminals convicted of violent offences tend to go to prison. This does not mean that they continue to be violent once in prison. Part of the reintegration into society for prisoners usually involves their being sent to a resettlement prison, which is what open prisons now tend to be called. They tend to be risk assessed and generally speaking dangerous offenders will not be transferred to resettlement prisons. Legally, prisoners do not escape from open prisons. Escape involves a breach of security, those walking out of an open prison merely breach trust therefore they are absconders and not escapees.

All this just goes to show that the BBC has dumbed down Panorama. It used to be a factual programme. Didn't somebody at the BBC question what agenda NAPO and POA are trying to push through?

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on May 05, 2008 (boomark / email).