I understand that included in the Queen's speech  shortly will be the government's proposals on people deemed to have Serious and Dangerous Personality Disorder (DSPD). I typed in '' prisoners with personality disorder'' onto the net and managed to download a 25 page Home Office document entitled'' A Feasibility Study into using a Randomised Controlled Trial to Evaluate Treatment Pilots at H.M.P. Whitemoor''  From what I have read it appears that 'Special Units' to deal with prisoners are to be available at HMP Frankland, HMP Broadmoor, and Rampton costing millions of pounds.

I am concerned that this could lead to prisoners falling out of the regular legal channels into the new domain of the forthcoming and updated Mental Health Act should they be diagnosed with SDPD by a prison pyschologist/psychiatrist. I understand that it only takes 2 psychiatrists and 1 social worker to ''section'' someone. Before they know it they could be legally ''sectioned without time limit'' under the new proposals.

It is interesting to note how psychologists ''diagnose'' DSPD and in the Prison Special Units it will include prisoners who according to the Offending Behaviour Treatment Programmes (run by prison psychologists), are not responding to (their) ''Treatment''.

The new proposals should worry all of us who know that prisoners protests of innocence are seen by prison psychologists as '' prisoner delusions of innocence''. I understand that some prisoners are now facing a catch 22 situation - volunteer for the Special Unit, or stay static in too high a security category ever to be released by any future Parole Board.

My observations are that the Home Secretary was steeling himself for the possibility of losing his right to keep people in jail who were deemed suitable by the Parole Board. The Home Secretary may lose the House of Lords Case. Lifers with increased Tariffs could have them reduced to what was originally set by the trial judge, but what does it really mean for those are being held back in the system? Prisoners waiting for treatment courses that are according to the Prison Service ''voluntary'' are deemed by prison psychologists to pose a risk to the public, so kiss Parole goodbye.

The Government have spent millions of pounds on these units so naturally they will want to justify their existence, even though some psychiatrists see the scheme ''as  a flawed political gesture and fear it will turn them from doctors into jailers''. (Guardian April 17th 2002).

The pending Reform of the Mental Health Act suggests that people with DSPD should be detained without time limit, and using that as a measure are we to see an increasing number of subsequently diagnosed already incarcerated people serving a Whole Life Tariff should the new powers contained in the Government proposals for the reform of the Mental Health Act become law?

According to Guardian columnist David Batty ''DSPD currently has no legal or medical basis and many doctors regard it as a political invention. A survey of nearly 1,200 psychiatrists published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2000 found almost two-thirds disagreed with the plan for detaining people with personality disorders, and almost a third said they might boycott it''.

However The Mental Health Act may be given the power to rob prisoners of hope for release in some cases in a ''back door fashion''. While prisoners will be given the right to appeal the appeal panel will no doubt be made up of psychiatrists. It is tempting to think back to the T.V. Documentary on Broadmoor earlier this year when one solicitor said '' The day that one client was due to be released from prison he was sent to Braodmoor on the basis that the he was suffering from a mental disorder that had according to the authorities been missed''. This translates to a potential Whole Life Tariff when a Whole Life Tariff was not imposed at trial. An overriding of the Trial Judges decision by the Mental Health Act it  seems who effectively became the body to ''throw the key away''.

Karen Walsh

[email protected]

From:

Officer John Hopkins

H.M.P.Usk

47 Mary port street

Usk

16th October 2002

Dear Mrs XXXXXX

I have been asked by the governor to reply to your letter dated 15 October 2002 concerning your son xxxx xxxxxxxx.

Usk prison is, as you probably know a prison totally dedicated to the treatment of sex offenders. We run courses at the prison to address inmates offending behaviour. These programmes are designed to stop any more victims and prevent any further crimes

Unfortunately xxxx is in total denial of his offence and therefore is unwilling to take part in any of the programmes we run at the prison. Whilst we are deeply concerned about the fact you have difficulties in visiting him you must realise xxxx is taking up a valuable space of an inmate who is willing to address his offending behaviour.

The only prison in our region that will take inmates in denial of their offence is HMP Dartmoor and that is where we have to send them when space is available to us.

I apologise for the negative aspects of this letter but unfortunately as I have already stated due to the work that we do at the prison our hands are tied. If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely

John Hopkins officer H.M.P. Usk