downsmail.co.uk
‘Daily drug-testing and forced labour in prison’
FORMERMaidstoneMPAnnWid- decombe says prisoners in Britain’s drug-riddled jails should be made to work all week and be subject to daily drug-testing. The former shadow prisons min-
ister said if her suggestion for a regime of compulsory weekday labourwas adopted in the late 1990s prisons “might be presenting a rather different picture” today. Earlier this year, Downs Mail re-
vealed how Maidstone Prison was harbouring a worrying drug prob- lem, where vulnerable inmateswere used to test smuggled “legal highs” to see if theywere safe. The use of drones to deliver drugs
was also noted in an independent monitor’s report. Miss Widdecombe says idleness
takes up too much of the day and is behind the recent outbreak of disor- der in some jails in theUKaswell as the continued threat of industrial ac- tion by prison officers. She argues that education and re- habilitation can go a long way to preventing reoffending, ultimately saving the tax-payer money.
In an article for a daily newspaper,
MissWiddecombe said: “Rehabilita- tion is prisons is not…a manifesta- tion of a soft, wet, ultra-liberal approach…if themanwholeave the prison gates is no better prepared to live a law-abiding life.” She adds: “A prisoner found with
drugs in his or her system should automatically lose remission rather than just privileges, but they have to believe they’ll be caught and that means vastly expanding the pro- grammes of random testing and, if necessary, testing every day.”
Former Maidstone MP Ann
agreed with MissWiddecombe’s as- sessment and called for a far tougher regime in prisons. Cllr Powell added: “We need to
hire another 10,000 prison officers. “We need to be tougher on drugs.
I’d like to see single cells for prison- ers and a regime of work and activi- ties, aswell as education. “You hear stories of people with mobile phones, Facebook accounts and computer games. That can’t be right. Prison should mean prison and the sentence served in full.”
Ukip councillor Eddie Powell Mixer thief
Widdecombe and left, Maidstone Prison
A42-YEAR-OLDWest Mallingman has been jailed after stealing two kitchen mixers. Anthony Bashford, of Ewell Av-
enue, stole the goods valued at £900 from a store in Kingstanding Way, Tunbridge Wells, Medway magis- trateswere told. He was sentenced to 30 days in
prison, and because hewas subject to a suspended sentence, the overall jail termwas 120 days. He must also pay £900 compensation.
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Polio bale MALLING Rotary is planting thou- sandsofcrocusesthroughouttheareato raiseawareness of the fight to eradicate poliofromthe world. Polio was once a disease feared worldwide, paralysing children for life. For more than 30 years, Rotary mem- bershavebeencommittedtofightingto eradicatepoliobyprovidingvaccinesto morethan 2.5 billion
children.Thefight is almost won, with only two cases last year.
Theyhavedonethisbyraising£1bil-
lionworldwide,with£19million raised by Rotary UK and £15,000 raised by Malling Rotary. Thepurple crocus represents thedye
used to mark the fingerprint of a child whohasbeenimmunised. For details of Malling Rotary email
Lizsimpson55@outlook.com.
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Malling December 2016 15
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