Ford Prison from one who knows

They are not specialist staff, as the letter implies that riot control is their sole task.

They are not “big tough tornados” (in fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if there were some female officers among them), they are regular prison officers who have taken extra training and are willing to make themselves available in case of trouble.

They are drawn from many prisons in the south-east and, in this case, were probably phoned individually at home in the early hours of the morning and told to report to their local establishments.

The fact that they arrived at Ford by 8am, ready for action, was remarkable.

Inside the prison were dozens upon dozens of prisoners in an orgy of violence and destruction, so to have sent the fire service in before the prison staff got there would have been the height of stupidity.

There was no mention of the police because they did not attend.

Their responsibility ends at the prison gate – if there was fear of a mass breakout, then the police would have been deployed outside the prison to make arrests.

I served at Ford from 1974-2008. In that time, staffing levels of trained officers were reduced by 50 per cent, replaced by civilians and operational support grades.

Add to that “targets” (box ticking), political correctness, human rights, prisoners totally unsuited to open conditions and a history of poor management, then the only surprise is this did not happen sooner.

Every day of the year, prison officers nationwide suffer assaults, ranging from mere punches to stabbing. Staff go to work hoping their personal skills will see them through and yet they go back and do the best job they can.

I can promise you, Mr Wright, they show far more backbone every day than fools who write childish letters to a newspaper about things they know nothing about.

S. Stone

Oakcroft Gardens

Littlehampton