“Staff appear reluctant to challenge inappropriate behaviour … for fear of doing the wrong thing.”
“Muslim prison gangs ‘taking control’,” by Duncan Gardham for the Telegraph, May 27:
Muslim gangs are threatening to take control of one of Britain’s top security prisons where inmates include al-Qa’eda terrorists, a report reveals.
Staff at Whitemoor jail, Cambs, believe a “serious incident is imminent” as several wings become dominated by Muslim prisoners.
There is an on-going theme of fear and instability among employees, says the Prison Service’s Directorate of High Security report.
“There is much talk around the establishment about ‘the Muslims’,” it says.
Some staff believe the situation has resulted in Muslim prisoners becoming more of a gang than a religious group.
“The sheer numbers, coupled with a lack of awareness among staff, appear to be engendering fear and handing control to the prisoners,” the report says.
The situation has become so bad that white prisoners are warned about the Muslim gangs by staff on arrival.
The concern about Muslim prisoners is in danger of leading to hostility and Islamophobia, the report warns.
What a strangely worded and ultimately meaningless sentence: Whose concern? The guards? They’re duty-bound to enforce regulations professionally and equitably, and to keep prisoners safe from one another.
If anything, when they do take action to reduce the level of tension and the eroded sense of control, they certainly will be accused of hostility and Islamophobia.
“Staff appear reluctant to challenge inappropriate behaviour, in particular among black and ethnic minority prisoners, for fear of doing the wrong thing,” the report adds.
“This is leading to a general feeling of a lack of control and shifting the power dynamic towards prisoners.”