Prison governor suspended over inmate assault allegations

Mark Allen, deputy governor of HMP Brixton, accused of assault, excessive restraint and attempting to influence witnesses A prison governor has been suspended over allegations he assaulted an inmate and tried to persuade staff to lie about the incident. Mark Allen, deputy governor of Brixton prison in south London, has been removed from his post following an incident in which a prisoner is understood to have been injured while being restrained. The Guardian has learned that the allegations against Allen include assault, excessive use of restraint and trying to influence witnesses. The Ministry of Justice has appointed Carol Draper, former governor of Parkhurst prison, to carry out an investigation into the incident, which is believed to have taken place last week. Earlier this year Brixton, which has a capacity of 500, was the subject of a critical report by Nick Hardwick, the chief inspector of prisons. The inspectorate said the jail was 250 prisoners over normal capacity, with many sharing small cells described as “dirty and in a poor state of repair … [and many] spending 21 hours a day locked up.” The prison is currently believed to be holding almost 800 prisoners as a result of arrests arising from the London riots. Last month the total number of people in prison in England and Wales passed 86,000 for the first time. Prison Service chiefs have expressed alarm internally over potential unrest and violence in overcrowded jails in England and Wales owing to extra pressures resulting from the riots. There have been concerns that prisoners detained in connection with the disturbances last month may be targeted by others and staff have been asked to be vigilant. Allen is understood to have been promoted from a smaller jail to take the post of deputy governor at Brixton, a position seen as a stepping stone to governorship. Previous governors at Brixton, one of the oldest jails in the system, include Amy Rees, who received a Civil Service leadership award for her work at the jail and Paul McDowell, currently chief executive at the crime reduction charity Nacro. A Prison Service spokesman confirmed a senior manager at Brixton prison had been suspended following allegations concerning the treatment of a prisoner. “An investigation has been commissioned and is being carried out by a governor from headquarters,” he said. In his report on Brixton, Hardwick singled out the jail’s inpatient mental health care unit for particular criticism, describing it as a “disturbing sight”, with many young men who had been sectioned waiting up to six months for a place at a secure mental hospital. Many of the cells were dirty, with ripped linoleum floors and dirty toilets without seats, the report said. The inspection team spoke of a prisoner who was was unable to care for himself in even the most basic way. Hardwick said: “It was a disgraceful way to hold someone who was little more than a boy and extremely sick.” Carol Draper, who will investigate the allegations against Allen, has governed a number of jails. She was widely regarded as having turned Parkhurst around after a scathing inspection report of the Isle of Wight jail in 2002. Prisons and probation UK criminal justice Eric Allison guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 5, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.