I sometimes feel I am beyond shock at the iniquities that the system delivers. the inquest into his death in custody and listened to evidence that stunned and angered me. verdict delivered last Friday.
The jury at Bolton coroner's court had listened to five weeks of evidence about the circumstances of Jake Hardy's death though he is not an IPP there has been 16 IPP deaths . He was 17 years old and life had not dealt him the best hand. He had mental health problems, learning difficulties and suffered from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHDHe was charged with common assault. He was then involved in a brawl and charged with affray. Tried separately, he received a total of six months' imprisonment and was sent to Hindley young offenders institution (YOI) near Wigan. It was his first time in prison.
Almost from day one, he became a target of bullying. He was a big lad, 6ft 4in, but his mother says he had the mind of a child. Other inmates told him that he smelt, threatened to "stab him up" and made disparaging remarks about his mother and family. He complained to various members of staff, but no action was taken against his abusers.
Bullying is rife in YOIs and there are supposed to be measures in place to combat it. Jails have safeguarding teams but Hardy received no protection from them.
He was also allocated a "personal officer". This role was created in the 1990s and was seen as raising the status of uniformed staff. Officers are allocated a small number of prisoners to support. They are supposed to know the history of their charges, so as to help them through problem periods.
Hardy's personal officer gave evidence at the inquest. He told a clearly shocked jury he had not read about Hardy's background, so knew nothing of his learning disabilities, his mental health issues or history of self-harm. He thought Hardy was a big lad who could "look after himself".https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/168137
The jury found that Jake's death was contributed to by failures to give him enough support, record his suicidal thoughts and reports of verbal abuse, and move him to another cell. On the day he died, there were also failures to let him use the phone his mum to protect him from other inmates.
Forty four days into his sentence, Hardy cracked under the abuse. He smashed his television up and cut his arms. But even that did not raise alarms.
Two nights later, staff forgot to allow Hardy to phone his mother. He did not associate with other prisoners because of the bullying. He often cried when on the phone to his mum, resulting in further abuse.
He was told he could use the phone after the association period ended. The jury were shown CCTV footage of the association period, and inmates are clearly seen winding Hardy up through his cell door. The two officers on duty, including his personal officer, do nothing to prevent the abuse. Hardy responds by kicking his door and was told he would not be allowed his phone call. Nor, when association ended, was he given hot water to make a hot drink. All the other inmates, including Hardy's abusers got their hot water as usual.
His personal officer told the jury the phone call and hot water were refused because the staff could not "reward bad behaviour". Hardy killed himself an hour later.
His personal officer told the jury he no longer worked at Hindley. The prison service will not tell me the circumstances of his departure.
Earlier this year, the government announced the setting up of an independent inquiry into the deaths in custody of 18- to 24-year-olds. Some 156 young people in that age group have ended their lives in custody in the past 10 years. Shamefully, the inquiry will not cover the deaths of children under 18 who have died behind bars in YOIs and secure training centres. So the Labour peer, Lord Harris, who will lead the inquiry, will not look at the shocking neglectful treatment handed out to Jake Hardy.
Deborah Coles is co-director of Inquest, which supports the families of those who meet their deaths in custody. She says a full review of all the deaths is needed, looking at not just the fatalities, but at the reasons why young people end up behind bars in the first place.
I said Jake's vulnerabilities dealt him a bad hand in life; a psychiatrist at Hindley told the jury that a "high proportion of inmates at the jail presented with similar problems". We also know that about 60% of young people in custody have been in care at some stage in their lives; was ever a word so misused as care, in that context? It's bad enough that we jail kids who need treatment and not punishment, but to fail them then, in the way that Hindley failed Jake Hardy, is nothing less than a state-committed crime.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/apr/04/prison-officer-failings-death-jake-hardy-hindley-bullying?CMP=twt_gu
DEATH IN PRISON THIS YEAR 2016 IS A RECORD HIGH OF (32)
http://www.inquest.org.uk/statistics/bame-deaths-in-prison
A disabled person is defined as having "a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities." Substantial is defined as ‘more than trivial’.
"In some cases, people have coping or avoidance strategies which cease to work in certain circumstances (for example, where someone who has dyslexia is placed under stress). If it is possible that a person’s ability to manage the effects of an impairment will break down so that effects will sometimes still occur, this possibility must be taken into account when assessing the effects of the impairment."
organisations therefore carry a responsibility for identifying those affected and for making suitable provisions for helping to overcome its negative effects (HMG, 1995)
by aiding and accommodating under the disability act.
“Dyslexia is a learning difficulty it does not just effect accurate word reading and spelling the characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed. Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculations, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia. The most significant problem with this and most other definitions of dyslexia, however, is that it loses sight of the fact that dyslexics are people having difficulty in coping this being a snap shot.
Dyslexia Co morbid is more than one disability overlapping others being Dyspraxia Asperger's and ADHD. Effects you expressing yourself cognitive and sensory abilities phonological awareness.Comorbid subjects show a neuropsychological profile characterized by failure of various cognitive functions with an additive-effect that can determine more severe functional deficits. Comorbid a marker for ADHD with more severe cognitive deficits, and a worse neuropsychological, academic, and behavioral outcome.
Failed Twice
Failed by the school failed by the prison. Those with dyslexia or other are failed in schools BECAUSE they given a one way or know way learning system that does not fit all. Number land up in prison. It is a well known that those with disability's stay in prison 2-3 times longer than other prisoner, often unable to assert themselves and unable to cope with the stressful situation or environment there in that suicide becomes there only answer .His disability was ignored by unstrained members of staff who failed in his act and dismissed his cry's. Unnoticed until an inquest?
Accountable for further failing to prisoners
The most common complaint in prison came from those who – like an estimated numbers of prisoners – identified as having learning difficulties and disabilities.
Often, they said, they had gone undiagnosed during their early education (42% of all prisoners have been excluded from school) and there had been no proper screening when they entered the prison system, no tailored provision at the jail, and therefore no means or incentive for them to engage in education.
The hard-pressed head of learning and skills at the prison looked away. Later she spelled out the problem for us. If her prison – and prisons across the system – assessed and then responded as best practice to such large numbers with learning difficulties, it would swallow the whole education budget of around £130m for a prison population of 86,000. And where did that leave the other inmates? It was a stark illustration of the strains on the system.
Heads of learning and skills don’t even sit on the senior management team in most jails. When Ofsted turns up at the gates, as part of a wider evaluation carried out by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, it can rate education provision as inadequate or requiring improvement (as it did in 34 out of 45 inspections in 2014-15) without it having any effect on the establishment being rated good or outstanding. Indeed, in those prisons where education is repeatedly judged inadequate by Ofsted, there is apparently no consequence at all for the governor. In a school, the head would be lucky to keep his or her job, but that is presumably because education matters there. Social development Providers get paid by putting bums on seats in classes for English and maths. But they know – as some of their senior officials told us – that the set-up isn’t working.
And what of the impact on reoffending by those serving longer sentences when they are released from internet-free prisons without any of the IT skills that are obligatory to get a job or claim a benefit?
Comments
Menard My daughter has been diagnosed with Autism and other overlaps but yet since from the schools stand point her grades are good and she seems OK their not doing anything. They totally disregard what a psychiatrist has diagnosed her with and a doctor. This system is flawed and I feel like I am always fighting for my daughter. I feel for everyone going through this it's so heart-breaking.
Dyslexia increase awareness and understanding
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