Prisoners stage rooftop protest at Oakwood prison

Six prisoners at G4S-run Oakwood prison staged a seven hour rooftop protest yesterday, BBC news reports. Last month three prisoners mounted a rooftop protest at the same prison.

Last month the Chief Inspector of Prisons described his latest report into Oakwood as 'unquestionably a concerning report'. There was, he wrote in his Foreword:

'a palpable level of frustration among prisoners at their inability to get even basic issues addressed. The inexperience of the staff was everywhere evident, and systems to support routine services were creaky, if they existed at all. The quality of the environment and accommodation mitigated some of the frustrations and without this risks could have been much greater. Against all four of our healthy prison tests, safety, respect, activity and resettlement, the outcomes we observed were either insufficient or poor.'

At the time of the Chief Inspector's report Gerry Petherick, Managing Director of G4S Custodial and Detention Services, said: 'The mobilisation of any prison is a complex and challenging operation but the size and scale of Oakwood – the largest prison in the country –made this even more acute.'

This prompted our Director Richard Garside to tweet:

The @G4S_UK line on Oakwood scandal seems to be: Gee! This prison business is more complicated than it looks isn't it?

— Richard Garside (@RichardJGarside) October 8, 2013

Related items

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Private prisons. The state they're in (October 14, 2013)
Drugs easier to get in G4S prison than soap (October 8, 2013)

Given the Government's tendency to move things around on their websites, you can download the Chief Inspector's report on Oakwood below.