Learning the Right Lessons

It is entirely understandable that families whose lives were so tragically torn apart by the actions of Hashem Abedi should find it so hard to believe he has allegedly caused yet more serious harm, while serving his sentence. Our thoughts should primarily be with them, and with the prison officers seriously injured at Frankland High Security Prison. Let us all hope they make a full recovery.

Less understandable is the rush to judgement from some commentators about the lessons to be drawn from the awful event. One former Prison Governor and Inspector has written for example that the concept of self-catering facilities in ultra-high secure units is “utterly insane.” Their use in Separation Centres has now been suspended.

But the Prison Inspectorate expects prisoners in Separation Centres “to have a varied, healthy and balanced diet which meets their individual needs, including religious, cultural or other special dietary requirements and safety and hygiene regulations.” One indicator that this expectation is being met is that “prisoners can cater for themselves.”  So there is a rationale for the policy. It is not insane, though it looks to have been badly implemented in this case.

After a shocking assault, it is easy to argue that the risks posed by a particular prisoner should have meant they were prevented from accessing the means of committing it, in this case culinary items.

I have never visited the Separation Centre at Frankland but according to the Inspectorate report three years ago, it was “on a narrow corridor. There was a small room for association and an area for prisoners to cook and prepare food.”  In a small unit, how feasible would it be to stop one prisoner there from using that area?

With hindsight, that is what should have been done in this case. Perhaps, the alleged perpetrator was unsuitable to be placed in a Separation Centre, whose primary purpose is on preventing the radicalisation of others. Should he have been in another form of unit with closer supervision?

We need to trust the police investigation and independent review announced by the Ministry of Justice to answer those questions. They need to get to the bottom of what happened in the Separation Unit and to produce necessary recommendations for changes in how it is run.  I do not think it is helpful to anyone to speculate in advance.