Legal News

The riot at Maidstone prison in Kent on Saturday (01/11/13) is thought to have been the result of a shortage of prison officers at the jail.

The incident was resolved peacefully by 6.30pm on Saturday evening and no injuries were reported. The disturbance is thought to have involved around 40 inmates who ransacked a wing of the prison. The prison service’s Tornado Team of negotiators was called into diffuse the situation.

Maidstone jail is a Category C men’s prison, housing sex offenders and prisoners who are not British nationals but have at least 18 months of their sentence remaining.

In recent months an alleged shortage of prison officers at HMP Maidstone has meant an uneven delivery of prisoner services, including reduced access to the prison gymnasium and televisions for personal viewing in cells.

Vice Chairman of the Prison Officers Association, Ralph Valerio said:

“Prison officers have been warning for some time at HMP Maidstone that because there are less of them available, in order to deliver the regime that the prisoners living in Maidstone prison expect, there's growing discontent.

“If that information is not taken seriously, bad things can happen. Bad things did happen at Maidstone today and ultimately the taxpayer bears the burden.”

Another prison dispute also occurred at HMP Rye Hill Prison in Warwickshire on Saturday, when 60 inmates refused to return to their cells. The incident at the Category B prison – which is run by GS4 – was also resolved peacefully.

The Prison Service and the Prison Reform Trust publish a guide to prisoners’ rights in England and Wales, which is issued to new prisoners.

Prisoners have the right not to be physically abused in prison, for example – and to have access to the courts. Act of Parliament or using another piece of existing legislation (such as the Prison Act 1952) are the only way in which prisoners’ rights can be withdrawn.