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| Report: Britain Considers Prison Ships as Violence in Overcrowded Jails Continues |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 05/20/2002 |
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British officials have confirmed that disturbances by unruly inmates had broken out at three prisons in the last week, and a newspaper reported the government is considering renting three prison ships to ease widespread overcrowding in the country's lockups. The disturbances occurred at Ranby in Nottinghamshire, Guys Marsh in Dorset and Lindholme near Doncaster, the Prison Service said, as the overall inmate population continued to grow, now standing at a record 71,000 in England and Wales. The first disturbance broke out at Guys Marsh on May 2, when about 30 prisoners refused to return to their cells, a Prison Service spokeswoman said. They barricaded themselves in and damaged fixtures and fittings. One bruised prison officer was treated at a hospital. No inmates were reported hurt. At Lindholme jail on Monday morning, 25 prisoners refused to go back to their cells. The standoff ended eight hours later when they surrendered. In the most recent incident, which broke out at Ranby on Tuesday morning, 48 prisoners took over their residential unit. Extra prison officers were brought in to contain the situation, which ended early the next day when the inmates surrendered. No one was injured in the incidents at Lindholme and Ranby. The Prison Service would not rule out a news report that it was looking for more prison ships to ease overcrowding. In a front-page story, The Times newspaper said that prison officials have asked about hiring three ships, each one capable of housing 500 low-risk offenders that would be moored at ports. |
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