I’m going to be spending time in one of Britain’s most notorious prisons. HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow. This top jail has a formidable reputation. Ross Kemp Behind Bars – Inside Barlinnie, ITV 2017
8,000 prisoners come through these doors every year. ibid.
This could be the most frightening day of their life. ibid.
The prison population in the UK has doubled in the last 20 years … £36,000 to keep a prisoner in jail for a year. ibid.
There is always the potential for violence. ibid.
Over 7,000 [UK] assaults on staff. ibid.
E Hall holds up to 280 sex offenders. That’s 4 times as many as a decade ago. ibid.
The financial and human cost of jail. ibid.
Brazen prison escapes captivate the imagination but leave local communities terrified. From behind bars only a few have shown the ingenuity, the patience and the sheer nerve to achieve what’s supposed to be impossible – escape from America’s most secure prisons. America’s Greatest Prison Breaks, History 2017
June 5th 2015: prisoners Richard Matt and David Sweat slip out of their cells through holes they began carving five months earlier. ibid.
There are 10.5 escapes per 10,000 prisoners – half as many as fifteen years ago. ibid.
Alcatraz Prison, 11th June 1962: at 9.37 p.m. prisoners Frank Morris and brothers John and Clarence Anglin slip through holes in the 6 x 9 inch vents they’ve been chiselling out and widening for months. ibid.
1July 11th 2015, Mexico: El Chapo Guzman, the head of one of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartels … ibid.
Over 8,000 men serving a life sentence in UK jails. Lifers Behind Bars I, Channel 4 2017
George will serve the whole of his sentence [8 years] locked up with some of Scotland’s most violent prisoners … In the barren heart of the Scottish central belt, halfway between Edinburgh and Glasgow, HMP Shotts was built exclusively for long-term male offenders. With a population of just over 500 prisoners. Violent Men: Behind Bars, Channel 4 2017
‘Your mind doesn’t need to be locked up; you can be wondering the universe.’ ibid. James
Nearly half of all prisoners report being under the influence of drugs or alcohol when they committed their offence. ibid.
‘A silly life; a waste of a life I’ve had.’ ibid.
Broadmoor: a word that makes people shiver. Most think that Broadmoor is a prison: in fact it’s a high-secure psychiatric hospital and home to some of the country’s most dangerous and violent offenders. Broadmoor: Inside Britain’s Highest Security Mental Hospital, ITV 2016
Many won’t even admit to working here. ibid.
Many of the men here have been front-page news. ibid.
This is Cranfield – the intensive care ward. ibid.
All of the men in Broadmoor present a grave and immediately risk to the public … They have no release date. ibid.
Broadmoor can feel like a ghost town. ibid.
The reminder of the threat of violence is ever-present. ibid.
‘Cut my own throat a couple of times.’ ibid. ‘Alex’
Food is the only thing they have free rein over. ibid.
It costs £300,000 a year to keep a patient in Broadmoor. ibid.
Whenever force is used, staff take time out to re-appraise. On average there are five physical assaults a week on staff. ibid.
Broadmoor is home to 200 men, each carefully assigned to one of fifteen wards. ibid.
After many critical reports the government sent in new managers to reform the hospital. Inside Broadmoor, 2002
In 2000 Broadmoor used arm and leg shackles as part of the treatment for a mentally retarded man. ibid.
It costs £60 million a year and has 1,200 staff. ibid.
Broadmoor let Dadd have a studio. ibid.
When a patient escaped, the local schools were closed. ibid.
‘Three pairs of size-ten boots started to go into me.’ ibid. ex-patient
People still had to slop out. ibid.
After the allegations of the 1980s the government set up the Mental Health Act Commission to protect patients’ rights. ibid.
We’ve talked to seven ex-patients: all complain of neglect or abuse. ibid.
Seclusion is still a problem we discovered. ibid.
The Prisoner was the ultimate cult hit: a TV series about a secret agent who is kidnapped and held captive in the mysterious village ... He is Number 6, and from the village there is no escape: ‘I am no a number; I am a free man’. Dominic Sandbrook: Let Us Entertain You IV: Me, Myself & I, BBC 2015