Woman who are placed on the Basic regime as punishment for breaking prison rules are being allowed to keep their in-cell televisions, in a policy change aimed at preventing self-harm.
The new approach, being trialled at two women’s prisons, marks a significant shift in the approach to prison discipline. The Incentives Policy Framework, which applies to male and female jails in England and Wales, states: “Prisoners on Basic are not permitted in-cell television.” Governors can override this, but only on a case-by-case basis where an individual prisoner is judged to be at risk of suicide or self-harm.
One of the prisons trying the new approach is HMP Styal, in Cheshire. A report on Styal published in March by HM Inspectorate of Prisons noted: “There were 32 women on the Basic regime of the incentives policy. Removal of their TV was punitive, especially given individuals’ mental health problems and having to be locked in their cell for much longer.”
In response to criticisms from the inspectors, HM Prison and Probation Service published an Action Plan for Styal in April. It states that, with immediate effect, “All prisoners, including those in the Care and Separation Unit (CSU) and on basic regime, will have access to a television.”
Styal holds 400 women and recorded 5,262 incidents of self-harm in the past year, meaning it has the second-highest rate among the 12 women’s prisons in England.
The Prison Service told Inside Time that Styal and one other unnamed women’s prison have changed their policies to permit women on Basic to keep their TVs. It said the approach was justified due to the high rate of self-harm across women’s jails, which is eight times higher than in the men’s estate. No male jails allow prisoners on Basic to keep their TVs.
My View.
This article is one from The Inside Times. and it really got my back up, this is sexual discrimination. Male young offenders who are on Basic, are NOT allowed their TVs, so why are women
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