The Loose Screw by Jim Dawkins

Author:Jim Dawkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: bronson, criminal, luton, bouncer, bodyguard, mad, fitness, prison, nightclub, respect, respected, prisoner, kidnap, hostage, wormwood, belmarsh
ISBN: 9781907792403
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited
Published: 2010-09-27T04:00:00+00:00

CATEGORY A UNIT

I and the other lads from my course all asked to be put in the Category A unit, a request that baffled most of the staff we told. The reason for this request was because we all agreed that, although the unit held the highest category and some of the most dangerous prisoners in the system, it was a lot smaller and seemed less daunting than the chaotic scenes we saw on the main house blocks. It was true to say that, although the unit had fewer daily incidents than the house blocks, when it did kick off you could expect it to be on a much larger scale. This was due to the type of prisoner held within its walls. There was a large Irish contingency convicted of various terrorist attacks carried out on mainland Britain, and the very nature of their training within their organizations meant they all stuck together during any acts of disruption. Most of the other prisoners at that time were what I would class as the 'old school' or 'gentlemen villains', who rarely complained so long as they got what they were entitled to and no one gave them any unnecessary grief.

I held a great deal of respect for many of the men in this category and like to think that I earned some of their respect in return for treating them with decency. In addition to these two groups, there was also a small group of nutters and one or two what just hated screws for different and possibly very valid reasons. This minority took every opportunity to join in any of the other inmates' attempts to disrupt the regime when they felt they had cause to do so.

One such incident was to greet me on my very first day as a fully trained officer on the unit and kicked off not even one hour into my shift. We had unlocked spur one on the ground floor for breakfast and one of the inmates who was due to appear in court that morning approached us and declared that he was not going. He was informed that we could not make the decision to honour his request and he would have to go to court and take it up with his solicitor once there. He stated quite clearly that the escort staff would have to drag him onto the van by force if he did not get to see his solicitor before he went. I nervously told him that his solicitor would not make it as he was probably already on his way to the court. I then made a big decision, bearing in mind it was my first day, and told him I would try to arrange a brief phone call to his solicitor before he left.

He seemed happy with this compromise, but it was short-lived as my request was disapproved by the unit senior officer who favoured the alternative of dragging him onto the van. No sooner had I delivered the news to him than he and the rest of the inmates began to smash up the spur with some ferocity.

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