A Response to Frank O'Donnell
Frank O'Donnell gives an interesting overview of the role of the Irish prison officer but it does not go far enough. At Mountjoy Prison, the Governor told the delegation that there were some prison officers working in the establishment whose services he would prefer not to retain. More than one third claimed to have been physically assaulted by a prison officer and a very small minority said that they had been sexually assaulted by a prison officer.
Mr. O'Donnell presents selected quotations from Prison Visiting Committee reports to illustrate the high regard in which prison officers are held. For example, the Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee Report for 1996 declared: "We must say that allegations of ill treatment of prisoners by prison officers is one of the most disturbing aspects of our work ... many prisoners regularly report taunting by officers, and name calling, which can cause serious provocation, but the prisoners' statements are seldom investigated. In one instance this taunting took the form of a prison officer reading sections of a counsellor's report to other prisoners. Overtime made up thirty per cent of prison service pay in 1997, compared with sixteen per cent two years earlier.
A Review Group established to examine prison operating costs reported in August 1997 that, "... some of the Prison Service's work methods are inconsistent with best practice. This state of affairs is exacerbated by obsolete Prison Rules, dating from 1947. It is difficult to imagine that prisoners are ever charged with attempting to whistle, which is a breach of prison discipline under the Rules. Nor is it appropriate today to prescribe that: "An officer shall not allow any familiarity on the part of a prisoner towards himself or any other officer or servant of the prison ... An officer shall not speak to a prisoner unnecessarily". The rules governing prisons should be modernised. They should contain a mission statement for the prison service, which as an absolute minimum should stipulate that prisons have a null effect. Prison officers should know what is expected of them.
The transfer of prison management from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to a new Prisons Authority is underway. At the very least it will provide an opportunity to reconsider the role of prisons in society and the role of staff within prisons. The need for a prison inspector has been evident for years. The government is committed to a massive prison building programme. The lack of communal dining facilities in our new prisons is also a cause for concern.
In our committal prisons life is chaotic and without great meaning. Prisons by their nature are pernicious environments. Prisoners often emerge bitter and without much hope. Human rights education should be an integral part of any training programme for prison officers. We must ensure also that prison officers are adequately paid and not overworked. There is no doubt that the key to a humane prison service is its staff.
Ian O'Donnell is Director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust
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