Prison officers told new regime will tame prison gang violence

The prison service is facing down prison gangs and for the first time breaking their power, the head of the Irish Prison Service has said.

Speaking at the Prison Officers' Association annual conference last week, Michael Donnellan said while he accepted some level of violence would always be a feature of the prison system, his regime of enhanced privileges for those who complied with prison rules would win out in the end.

Under the regime – in place since he took control of the service two years ago – prisoners who demonstrate they are non-violent, can be trusted and are willing to engage with educational and rehabilitative services enjoy a range of extra privileges.

Benefits include longer telephone calls and more visits from loved ones, plus an increase in time off for good behaviour from 25 per cent to 50 per cent of sentences.

Bullying
"While in the past we have tried to integrate some of these high-level criminals into the general population, we have had to segregate them again because they do start intimidating and bullying and we are not going to tolerate that," Mr Donnellan said.

“But in time they will come around because they are going to be in prison for a very long time. They are going to be with us for the next 15 or 20 years. In five or six years’ time the penny will drop and they’ll join the system. We see this time and time again.”

Gangs were well organised outside the prison system, he said, so it was no surprise that they imported their rivalries with other factions into prison.

However, despite suggestions at the conference that gangs had control in some prisons and that the Irish Prison Service was dealing with troublesome prisoners by simply transferring them around the system, Donnellan insisted his officials and staff were making history in getting on top of the gangs and calming violence.

The number of prisoners who had requested segregation for their own safety had plummeted as a result.

“Today we have 43 on 23-hour lock up that’s down from over 200 this time last year,” he said.