Hiding ‘Problem Prisoners’ to Pass Inspection

by Matt Kelley

categories: international criminal justice, Overcrowding, prison conditions

Published October 20, 2009 @ 03:48PM PT

A fresh scandal in the U.K. reveals that officers at two London prisons routinely shuffled prisoners between facilities in order to pass inspections.

Reports released today from an independent examiner find that the practice -- known as “ghosting” -- was commonly used at two London facilities, where prisoners were transferred from one to the other in anticipation of an audit, and then returned immediately after the review. Justice Secretary Jack Straw ordered a nationwide investigation.

The frequent moving of prisoners is a common practice around the world, and under normal circumstances it can be destructive -- interrupting medical care, education and positive relationships, moving prisoners far from families and support networks and causing violence by forcing prisoners to repeatedly prove themselves to new populations. But hiding prisoners from inspectors is a new low.

I’ve known people who have been moved more than ten times during a 15 year sentence -- some in New York call it the “upstate tour.” Of course, there can be legitimate reasons for moves as well -- prisoners can request transfers to facilities with certain programs or to avoid violent circumstances.

The U.K. practice was "disgraceful in its intent and its execution", British Justice Minister Jack Straw said. "In its misguided effort to present the prisons in a better light, it neglected one of the service's primary responsibilities - to treat those in its custody with decency and care.”

Some prison administrators fought back against the allegations, saying the reliance on ghosting and other tricks to avoid audits is a natural result of the bureaucratic culture of quotas and constant review under which they operate.

"The alleged transfer out of prisoners before an inspection is clearly regrettable but is understandable given the pressure that prisons are under to produce excellent results, inspection after inspection after audit," said Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the probation union.

This scandal and increased awareness of constant prisoner moves in the U.S. and the U.K. should lead to more reasonable policies on this issue -- allowing prisoners to get the services they need without being constantly shuffled from one cell to the next.