4 x 2’s
One element that is underwritten by us and our prison life is about the people men who actually locked us up, turned the keys and either made life easier or harder for us. I know some people still are scarred by the experiences at the hands of the screws. And I know many officers are scarred by their experience at the hands of the prisoners. I will be talking about my experiences, stories and recollections of screws in the Crum and the compounds of the Kesh. To be clear, this article is not going to say all are bad. Nor will it paint them as all angels. I will give examples of both. No names appear in this article!
The first usual point of contact is the reception in the Crumlin Road prison. I have since revisited the Crum and done the tour with guide. Be under no illusion, the tour is nothing like reality. I found the few times I was in reception there was an underlying tension. This was a meeting of worlds. The screws would know who was who i.e. paramilitaries or ODCs! And if a screw wanted to give you a hard time here, well maybe he could be seen later in a situation where he would have less control and backup. The Crum had a regime and procedure which, with good will, worked. When good will was withdrawn the protests started and that’s another whole story on its own.
While on remand in C wing a prison officer was shot dead as he left the prison. We were in the rec (recreation) room. A system worked whereby the loyalists and republicans organised ‘day about’. One day they got association and walks the next day the situation was reversed. While sitting in the rec room we knew there was something happening. You soon learn to read situations and atmospheres to know something bad had occurred. The screws came in to us and said ‘lock up’. This was before our allotted time. We were not happy and less so when we heard the news. A rumour quickly raced round that one of the officers had been shot at the front gate hence the high tension within the staff. It transpired that it was a PIRA job (They had already shot dead some staff including Crum staff) We were annoyed because we got part of the backlash and we felt that why punish us if the PIRA done it? Go and punish them.
The Crum was a not a place to show humanity or be nice. I personally hated it. The staff done their jobs. Lock and unlock doors. Requests. Escorts to visits. Searches. However while awaiting to return to the Kesh after my trial 2 heavies came to me and said ‘put on the prison uniform’. I said ‘no, I was a Special Cat(egory) man’. Pure intimidation. Conversely while I and another young prisoner were locked up waiting to go to the Kesh one officer went out of his way to get us to a bath. We had been simply side-lined. Forgot about. He was polite, caring and wanted to do his job. As this point I have to make a huge difference between the prison staff. There were local men and then you had the English, Scotch and Welsh who had come over for the good money. This screw was a jock. And I appreciate his help and decency when it was in short supply.
I was told a story of two loyalist prisoners humiliating and intimidating a local prison officer in the early days of the Kesh when things where a bit madder. Later that night under the cover of darkness a number of prison officers came into one of the huts and dragged the two men out. They proceeded to give them a kicking. They were then delivered back to the cage. Both the men refused to make a complaint as it was part of the fabric of the prison at that time. There is one story of a loyalist prisoner who attacked a Governor in the H blocks. He used a screwdriver. (As a strict rule the loyalist ‘special cat’ prisoners did not attack staff unless ordered to. The H Blocks was a different story. ) The man in question, a lifer, was taken to the punishment cell. Where, in a fracas he sustained a fractured skull. I can’t help but recall the case of Barry Prosser, an ordinary prisoner, in England who died in Winson Green prison, Birmingham after 3 prison staff entered his cell. No finding has ever been held on his death. No one has been convicted of any offence in relation to his death which had left him with horrific injuries according to a local newspaper?
Once in the Crum I witnessed a piss pot being poured over a prison officer who was standing on the ground floor. Humiliating and embarrassing. I didn’t feel comfortable with that even if he was a bad screw.
During my time in the cages no prison officer was attacked or hurt by loyalists. And while there were tensions there were often funny and humane moments. I seen a staff member throw the keys of the compound to Billy Mitchel to let himself back INTO the cage. Billy came in, locked the padlocks, then threw the keys back over the wire to the staff. One day a prison officer (English) was invited in to have a game of table tennis with our best player. I went down to watch it and it was very competitive. Hand shakes at the end. What the prison system didn’t realise was that by building up relationships and communication we were less likely to attack staff doing their job. There are a couple of staff I would love to meet again and have a cup of tea for the decency and respect they showed to my parents.
On the other hand, there were staff who had poor attitudes, personal issues and a chance to exert power over people. I hope, I do not meet them. One story that is pretty sad is that one screw took the money belonging to the families of dead prison officers. (Who had been killed by PIRA). After spending it in the USA he returned home, took his punishment in court and then topped himself. Given the number of prison staff, the hostile climate and the pressures involved it was no wonder there were rotten apples. However I was dismayed recently by a senior prison officer who has been convicted of child porn offences. Not great for instilling trust and faith in people with a huge responsibility. I personally spoke several times to the senior officer who betrayed his colleagues to the republicans and ended up in prison where he eventually died through a progressive disease.
One situation where I have mixed feelings concerned a screw asleep on his post. I was sitting in the sun studying. At the back of the cage away from the front gate was a wood and glass booth where, through the day, the screw would sit or patrol about. This beautiful summer day the man had his cap down over his eyes. His feet were up on a crate and the chair was balanced back against the booth. He was fast asleep. Over to his right the wicker gate opened in the large steel gate. In stepped a governor, an assistant governor and chief officer in uniform. They would do a walk about every now and then. Had it been a screw I liked I would have shouted over but I decided to let the situation develop. The small group walked up to the sleeping screw. The chief was the most displeased looking. They obviously knew I was looking on.
The chief kicked the crate away from his feet and the screw shot forward. Talk about waking up. His face was a picture of shock first (had we got out and attacked him?) Then he looked at the Governor and the face got redder and redder. Then he was plain scared. Then the embarrassment set in. He was told to stand at his booth and soon a replacement came to relieve him. We heard later he was ‘half sheeted’. The first stage of their punishment process.
I have met many of the officers since my release. We have had many amiable discussions. My attitude is, that was then, this is now. Its gone as far as I’m concerned. They were victims and players in the game like the rest of us. One way that the screws had to really annoy prisoners especially, the paramilitaries, is through the parcels. One common way of messing us about was through interfering with parcels. These contained food, books and clothes. Just prior to my trial my parents left in suit, shirt, tie, etc. Some unknown person poured a lovely dark liquid over my shirt. Nice one. Another favourite opportunity for the nasty brigade was search time. Usually once a week sometimes more, we got herded to the canteen and the screw team where left on their own in our rooms /cubes. Many times we returned to find our place wrecked. All in the name of security, so that makes it OK.
One excellent way of judging the screws was to be on punishment. I was on the boards 3 times in all for 3 days. It is as plain as day to us off the attitude that a screw brings to the cell door. There were good screws that did their job. There were others who were enjoying every moment of our situation and seeing what they could do to make the experience more painful. I recall on my third spell of punishment that a principal officer was arguing for me. The assistant governor, a real Mr Nasty, was just wanting me locked up as quick as possible. Fair play to the officer for standing up.
Towards the end game of our time Special Cat prisoners moved over to the H Blocks. It was obvious that all of us, staff and prisoner, wanted an easy time. We certainly were not going to escape knowing that release was around the corner. Many of our number had been released between 1985 and 1988. It was a strange situation. We talked with staff we had got to know well. We exchanged banter and talk. However that all changed when I went to the Crumlin Road prison to get released. (That reception again!) It was like going back to the start of my sentence. It was not pleasant. Again there were very good prison officers who would pertain to be professional. And then there were others. I recall being woke one night during my pre-release phase at 3am. He wanted to see if I was there?? Not great for getting someone ready for the real world. Nor does it leave a good memory. But overall the unit staff were good at their job.
There are many other (funny) stories to tell but maybe not in this forum. I would love to hear some of their stories and recollections, both good and bad.
Jason M.
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