Will the Minister advise members how many disciplinary cases there have been in the past 10 years at the HMP La Moye Prison for employees, and in how many of those cases the employee was either dismissed or resigned pending, or after, the action?
Will the Minister provide a summary of any alleged misconduct, in terms of its nature (i.e. sexual, drug dealing etc?)
Will the Minister, in particular, inform members whether the former member of staff in charge of the drug and alcohol counselling services who is alleged in a national newspaper to have had an inappropriate relationship with a prisoner was the subject of a disciplinary investigation and, if so what was the basis for, and result of, that investigation? Will the Minister make the case notes, if any, for any such disciplinary action available?
Answer
Prior to 2007, data on the number and outcome of disciplinary cases was not collated. Therefore the information requested could only be extracted through an examination of all staff personal files. Further to discussion with the Assistant Minister for Home Affairs, I believe Deputy Tadier has helpfully agreed that I should focus on Gross Misconducts where dismissal is a disposal available to the Prison Governor.
Between 1 January 2007 and 26 February 2014, 16 Gross Misconduct Investigations were initiated. The outcomes were as follows:
· 1 Prison Officer dismissed
· 2 Senior Officers reduced in rank to Prison Officer
· 1 Senior Officer, 3 Prison Officers and 1 Civilian grade given Final Written Warnings
· 3 Prison Officers given Written Warnings
· 1 Senior Officer, 2 Prison Officers and 2 Civilian Support Grades resigned before the disciplinary process was concluded
The nature of the offences committed included:
· 7 of the 16 Gross Misconducts and 2 of the resignations arose as a consequence of events while off duty in the community. 2 related to inappropriate behaviour in public and 5 due to criminal charges;
· 2 involved trafficking (1 x mobile phone and 1 x confectionery and stationery items);
· 1 related to a breach of the States Information Systems policy;
· 1 involved inappropriate use of a Dictaphone;
· 1 inappropriate disclosure of confidential information;
· 1 failing to report a significant breach of security;
· 1 leaving a part of the prison insecure and failing to complete core duties;
· 1 harassment of a prisoner;
· 1 breach of security while on an external escort (left a prisoner locked in the escort vehicle unsupervised).
With reference to the specific questions related to the ex Manager of Drug &Alcohol Counselling service at La Moye, on 14 September 2010 the Prison Governor would have suspended this individual pending an investigation into whether she had been trafficking items into Prison but she immediately resigned and is believed to have left Jersey within a matter of days thereafter. Because this matter did not proceed to the stage of a disciplinary investigation, it is not included in the figure of 16 Gross Misconduct Investigations set out above.
There has not been an investigation related to any form of sexual activity in the prison.
It is not appropriate to make the case notes in relation to disciplinary matters, or potential disciplinary matters, available.
******************************************************
Each year the Prison Governor submits an Annual Report to the States. His report includes a Mission Statement which is as follows.
H.M. Prison La Moye will provide a healthy, safe, secure and stimulating environment for all who live and work here. Prisoners will be encouraged to address their offending behaviour and to become involved in education and work related training, which will enable them to live a law-abiding and purposeful life in custody and after release.
• Supportive relationships with families will be facilitated in order to maintain the positive links that will ensure a successful return to the community. In partnership with other agencies the prison will provide effective ways to reduce crime and its resultant social and economic costs.
• Our aim is to be a model of best practice and an example to other prisons.
These are fine words but seem to be easier said than done.
I know a number of people who work in a variety of jobs in the Prison and they are a credit to them selves and the Prison Service. Unfortunately there will always be a few bad apples who bring the prison and their colleagues into disrepute. This is now evident by the information provided above which has had to be eked out thanks to Deputy Tadier.
In the Prison Governor's latest Report R41/2013 (see below) He reports on the misdeeds of the inmates but completely ignores those committed by his staff, why? Running La Moye Prison costs the Jersey Tax Payer over £10m a year, has on average 157 inmates and around 157 staff which includes drug councillors and other ancillary staff. I believe that the number of known disciplinary offences are disproportionate to the number of staff particularly as they are expected to be highly trained and disciplined.
Whilst the Minister has provided some details and the number of disciplinary cases one is left to question their validity because a person claiming to be a member of the prison staff has circulated an email which includes the names of personnel who appear to have committed a number of misdeeds but have not really been taken to task. Some do not appear to match those given in Senator Le Marquand's answers above.
As the email contains allegations which have not been investigated the names of the individuals have been omitted and the following is the redacted version.
" Dear all,
First I will apologise for sending this information in this way, I do not have the strength to identify myself as I will be subjected to persecution by prison management and will lose my job which […] I cannot afford to do but I cant stay silent any more.
The story instigated by Theresa Rodrigues is on the whole a fairy tale but it opens up other questions that should be asked.
Rodrigues was suspected, investigated and challenged for numerous acts including sexual activity with numerous inmates(not warren) supply of drugs phones and pornographic materials. She was allowed to leave with pension reputation and a pay off from management.
Officer AA was suspected investigated and found guilty of the same and again was allowed to leave with reputation pension intact and move too another states job
Officer BB found guilty after investigation for supply of drugs no action taken, still states employee.
Counsellor CC guilty of supplying mobile phones to inmates no action taken
Civilian DD guilty of supply of drugs, phones and pornographic material. no action taken
Officer EE Guilty of having improper relationship with Curtis Warren, passing and smuggling items and mail in and out of prison. no action taken
Officer FF having affair with inmate, no action taken
The questions asked should be why have all these incidents been covered up X, ultimately the buck stops with the Governor but it is common knowledge X who runs La Moye and makes the decisions.
Several Officers convicted of violent offences and kept job because of personally protected by X
The moral in the prison is the lowest by far in the 10+ years I have been there, the management especially X run a regime based on corruption, bullying and lies and deceit."
It will be for readers to question the validity of the contents of the email or the author's authenticity as his/her spelling and grammar is suspect. However some of the allegations even if they come from an anonymous source are too serious to be ignored and as the names of the staff are in the email it should not be difficult to verify some of the allegations.
Questions have been asked as to Ms Rodrigues' motives for talking to the Mail on Sunday, could the answer be found in relation to Officer EE who it is claimed was found guilty of having an improper relationship with Curtis Warren, passing and smuggling items and mail in and out of prison. whereby no action was taken. Is it a case of "Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned?"
Senator Le Marquand was subjected to a number of questions during yesterday's Question Time and can be found on The Jersey Way website. look for question 8 which was asked by Deputy Le Herissier. It is evident that the Minister is slowly having to concede that all is not all sweetness and light at the prison. The fact that some of his Prison staff have been found guilty of a whole raft of dishonest acts cannot be ignored. It is now evident that Ms Rodriques' claim is not in isolation and the Minister must have been aware of the number cases of misconduct including hers so how can he say her claim was fantasy? If as it is claimed, another Prison Officer has been found guilty of having an inappropriate relationship with Curtis Warren what is to say that Ms Rodrigues did not?
What is evident is thanks to the persistence of a small number of people, the truth is slowly emerging along with a loss of confidence in the Minister and Prison Governor who must come up with answers to ensure that the prison is a safe and secure one for inmates and those employed there.
What is evident is thanks to the persistence of a small number of people, the truth is slowly emerging along with a loss of confidence in the Minister and Prison Governor who must come up with answers to ensure that the prison is a safe and secure one for inmates and those employed there.
La Moye Prison is a small but very expensive place to run but it is apparent that despite the Governor's glowing report and his Minister's reticence the public is being short changed and need to know what is really going on at the Prison.
Curtis Warren has been detained in many prisons and if stars were awarded for catering for ones overall needs it would be interesting to know how many stars he would award to Jersey's La Moye Prison which affectionately is given the tag "Hilton."
The Prison Governor Bill Millar was appointed in March 2008, he is required to publish an Annual Report which is usually presented to the States in the Spring. His last Report presented to the States in May 2013 can be read here
The Jersey Way website can be read here look for question 8 asked by Deputy Le Herissier.
The Jersey Way website can be read here look for question 8 asked by Deputy Le Herissier.
In relation to that anonymous letter, I would paraphrase an anonymous reply from VFC blog:
ReplyDelete“Waawwwww that letter is just amazing... so Ms Rodrigues comes publicly saying she had a relation with Curtis but the officer says that “is on the whole a fairy tale” however she “was suspected ... of sexual activity with numerous inmates (not warren)”
Sorry but is this officer on the pay role of Curtis Warren, or was another female officer who was so jealous of Ms Rodrigues, maybe a Senior officer who was downgrade to officer rank, or even an officer who was really pissed off because he wanted to be a senior officer and didn’t get the post, maybe is a prisoner with a serious grievances against prison or even one of the blogers who are in a crusade to put down all the current politicians just because they can..... I am sorry but just the start of that letter gives no credit what so ever to the rest of the allegations.
Even if they are true he lost all his credibility by saying Ms Rodrigues was having sexual relationships with numerous inmates, hell who is she, superwoman? I was in prison and can tell you that to be a manager, the time they spend in all meetings, panels, running therapeutic groups, staff etc, and to have sex with several prisoners are you people insane!!!!!!!!!
The Governor presented all the 14 or 16 misconducts to ILM and he gave it to the States.... Move on, there are serious issues happening in this Island with teenagers taking all sorts of legal high drugs and alcohol, damaging themselves for life, children’s being abused while you are doing nothing. People living in poverty so they can pay your bills. MOVE ON.
If you go and check that prison, you have one of the most secure prisons at this moment. There were mistakes and misconduct in the past, yes, no doubt. But lessons have been learned and a lot have changed (BELIEVE ME I KNOW, I WAS THERE)”
I am confused by this comment and others I have not published because they were offensive to people not involved with this matter.
DeleteI would ask that you read the anonymous email because the author does not say that Ms Rodrigues was having sexual relationships with numerous inmates. the email says "Rodrigues was suspected, investigated and challenged for numerous acts including sexual activity with numerous inmates(not warren) supply of drugs phones and pornographic materials. She was allowed to leave with pension reputation and a pay off from management."
You say you know what was going on because you were at La Moye, but because of the size of the building it would be impossible to everything that was going on.
You may be right about the author having a bitch about the prison, but by saying to move on, you could be Senator Le Marquand because that is what he wants to do.
If you claim to know so much why don't you contact Senator Le Marquand and tell him what you know perhaps he will believe you once you have given him your name.
For those interested, there are some data from Ms Rodrigues work
ReplyDeleteLetters of recommendations
http://www.cv-teresarodrigues.blogspot.pt/p/palavras-de-recomendacao.html
Cuts from newspapers of Ms Rodrigues Work
http://www.cv-teresarodrigues.blogspot.pt/p/artigos-nos-jornais.html
Certificates from Ms Rodrigues
http://www.cv-teresarodrigues.blogspot.pt/p/certificados.html
CV
http://www.cv-teresarodrigues.blogspot.pt/
Readers might be find it easier to access the blog below by clicking her
ReplyDeleteCLICK HERE
CLICK HERE
I am absolutely delighted by the outstanding reference letters that Ms Rodrigues (my son´s counsellor) has. I never had no doubt about her professionalism as an addictions counsellor. She committed a major unprofessional error, that I have no doubt she is paying a high price for it. But who of us did not, at some point in our lives, committed an error either professionally or personally. This does not excuse her and myself condone her for that. But has a professional and after reading letters from the director of Silkworth, the Director of Drug and Alcohol services Mike Gaffoor, the director of Health Care at La Moye the Senior Manager of la Moye The HR manager of La Moye and so many others. All speaking highly of her work I can say that all the gossip around her other misconducts (a part of the one she confessed) are just gossip, revenge, jealousy, she is with no doubt a great scapegoat for everything that went wrong at La Moye. I am sorry you can crucify her for having the affair but do not judge her as a counsellor and great professional because the letters from 2003 till her leaving date are highly regarded from highly qualified professionals who are not laying. If you condone her as a counsellor you condone all the other professional in this field.
ReplyDeleteFrom a very grateful mother, thank you so much for your commitment and all your work during all these years in Jersey.
Thank you for your balanced comment. One wonders why she has made the claim and what she hoped to achieve because there does not appear to be any witnesses and no one wants to believe her.
DeleteThe blog above is impossible to read when you click the letters and enlarge they are impossible to read.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have read the language skills stand out I see no professional study or qualifications?
If you click both hyperlinks they will open
DeleteThank you for sharing valuable information. Nice post. I enjoyed reading this post. The whole blog is very nice found some good stuff and good information here Thanks..Also visit my page The Phone Book directory enquiries provides local directory enquires services. Find UK telephone numbers.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your link which should be helpful to UK readers.
DeleteI cannot make the list add up to 16. Why hasn't ILM given us details of all of the 16 Gross Misconducts?
ReplyDeleteThe Beano is not the Rag
Senator Le Marquand's failure to full answers is nothing new.
DeleteJersey Prison Service Association
ReplyDeleteAs Spokesman for the Jersey Prison Service Association, I have to express the concern and disgust our Association’s members feel at the JEP’s recent coverage of malicious and groundless allegations made by a previous civilian employee. It is really sad to see the standard of reporting deteriorating to the levels of the gutter press in the UK where they are willing to pay huge sums of money to create a story out of nothing.
The Prison Governor has publicly expressed his confidence in his staff and the JPSA reciprocates by confirming that he has our full support. It is deeply disturbing to hear that ex uniformed members of staff may be feeding the media with unsubstantiated allegations. If this is true, the JPSA distances itself from any such allegation and I would like to make it clear that these individuals do not represent the Jersey Prison Service or the JPSA.
Our Association has worked extremely hard in partnership with the Governor to ensure that Jersey has a prison that is fit for purpose and that Jersey can take pride in. We’ve also tried to improve the public perception of La Moye prison and prison staff. Our community should understand that La Moye prison is no longer just a place of incarceration but a place of education and rehabilitation and operates to high standards. We will continue to promote the professional work carried out by uniformed and non-uniformed staff.
It is deeply disappointing that no states Members are willing to defend publicly the hard working and professional staff here at La Moye.
The Jersey public do need to know that we run a secure prison in a professional manner and on behalf of our members I give you that assurance.
Jersey Prison Service Association
The fact the JPSA want this brushed under the carpet without any sort of investigation into the allegations tells all we need to know about them!
DeleteThe spokesman contacted me and said that whilst the JEP had printed some of the contents, to date it has not published his letter.
DeleteWhilst it is laudable that he should come to the defence of his Governor and point out that no States Member has been in contact with the prison, the real fly in the ointment is his Minister and Assistant who have failed to accept that the claim should be investigated. Had they done so it is likely that no questions would have been asked and the misdeeds of some bad apples would have never come to light.
The prison governor has a vested interest and would obviously want to distance himself from any claims made involving himself or his staff.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteAn interesting and well meaning letter from the Jersey Prison Service Association.
No doubt there are some excellent caring staff employed. The questions still remain unanswered as to who provided the phones and the top up cards for CW to phone who ever he liked, and the issues raised using names in an email.
If the writer of the JSPA is correct, then they have nothing to fear from an investigation into the workings at the Prison by a qualified outside, non conflicted, non friendly organisation.
Government and all it's departments must be seen to be operating whiter than white including the prison.
Boatyboy.
You are right to point out that there are some excellent caring staff at La Moye and It is they and the Spokesman who should be pressing for an investigation because they are unfairly being tarred with the same brush.
DeleteAt Curtis Warren's most recent trial the Crown Officer said that Warren had made some 35,000 calls across 41 countries between 2008 and 2009. One assumes that the Crown Officer was speaking the truth, so if that is the case how was Warren able to do so. Was it via collusion with a "bent" employee or via a "legitimate" source?
As days go by more issues are coming to light. Those tasked with responsibility for the overall wellbeing of the Prison should be made accountable. Saying that they are wonderful chaps is not good enough.
It's all cods wallop
ReplyDeleteWhat is?
DeleteBob, from Hansard Deputy M. Tadier question to Senator Le Marquand:
ReplyDeleteTo follow on from that, will there be a whistle-blowing facility offered by the Minister so that any concerned current staff or former staff, or even prisoners, may be able to come forward to give information anonymously, obviously to be identified to the Minister or his departmental staff?
Senator B.I. Le Marquand:
I am not aware as to whether or not such a facility already exists within the prison; I simply do not know whether there is a whistle-blowing facility within the Prison. What I do know, of course, is that information is gathered by Prison Officers and forwarded to the senior officers, and that happens routinely. I will need to consider whether there is a need for a specific process by which a person could make a complaint at a higher level than that of the Prison Governor. If that was so, then at the Civil Service level that would have to be for the Chief Officer of Home Affairs at the Ministerial level, obviously to myself. I will need to consider that.
From the answer given, do you think that the Minister is on top of his brief???
Does not look too good does it?
DeleteGiven that the issue has been in the public domain for some time and Senator Le Marquand has been a Minister for over 5 years he should know that there is no whistle blowing policy and that is why there are anonymous emails flying around.
Bob.
ReplyDeleteThe first in-depth, and exclusive interview, with Reform Jersey Members and recently sworn in Deputies Sam Mezec and Nick Le Cornu will be published on VFC soon. In the meantime here is a short TRAILER
Bob.
ReplyDeleteReform Jersey's Deputies Le Cornu, and Mezec, EXCLUSIVE.
Bob.
ReplyDeleteBloggers to be marginalised by Jersey Child Abuse COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY?
Bob.
ReplyDeleteMore misinformation from THE BBC