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Both SERCO and G4S were banned from bidding, however both companies have recently been awarded new MOJ  contracts, G4S now control many police custody cells. In a bizarre twist of fate our prisons are so over crowded we almost had to use the police cells now controlled by G4S, guess what? The government would need to pay extra to use our own cells because that was never part of the original contract. How does this save the country money?

payment by results is a smoke screen, who will do the counting? It is possible to make figures read in any way you want them to read....

Well.....first of all G4S overcharged this country by £168 million for tagging, they lost the contract and were barred from bidding for the probation contracts. 

Phase 2, G4S gave the MOJ a credit note for the overpayment, they were forgiven and can now get involved in the feeding frenzy that is the Justice system.

payment by results....how do you measure crime? The British crime survey recently reported 150,000 more crimes than were actually recorded by the police, why was that? One of them was embellishing the truth.

secondly, in order to mAke a profit you must cover your costs (without performance bonuses) add in your profit and any extra the government wants to give you is simply a bonus for the share holder. Biggest overhead? "Staff" easiest way to save money reduce staff costs, just like oakwood prison (run by g4s). Net result, extra cost in police time who often attend to resolve the frequent riots, assaults on staff and inmates alike. Why, because they employ untrained, unqualified staff who are stretched beyond breaking point. 

Ok let's look at not for profit organisations? The theory is simple, back the not for profit "mutual" but ensure you and your company supply all of the admin staff, the paper, the it equipment and the infra structure at a healthy cost. The mutual pays the bill (to break even on it's agreed budget). The parent company then makes huge profits from the supply contract with the mutual. Why else would private enterprise invest in the new community rehabilitation companies? They are in the business to make money so don't let anyone tell you they are doing this country a favour..

Government rehetoric claims they want innovation, new ways of doing things and private enterprise efficiency. In reality it is an open invitation to government sponsors to carve up 700 million per year in fat juicy MOJ contracts.

Can it get any worse? Oh yes, this government is set to sign those contracts over to the likes of g4s for 10 years, that's 700 billion and the next three governments can't do anything about it even if the Tories are voted out in 2015. Is that constitutional no it is not, is it immoral, I think it is.  

Albert Pierrepoint Born in 1905, lived in Clayton, Bradford. His father and uncle were part time executioners and this occupation became his goal as a young child. He liked to have a drink in the local working men's club and I am told my dad and grandad both knew him. He was accredited with dispatching over 400 prisoners.... I think a film called the last hangman was released in 2005, I am going to find it and watch it. 

Feedback to follow....

Ha ha, very good. Thankfully I dodged the bullet and after some very complicated scoring the Service decided my talents are more suited to the most dangerous and unpleasant offenders (high risk of harm, mental health issues, personality problems and mostly aggressive). Guess G4S didn't fancy that group so no car for me just yet, going to buy my own tomorrow....

Many would argue that the victim never got a choice so why should the killer...? Again the argument must be based on the reason for making that choice in the first place. Are we looking for revenge? If so let's be honest about it and burn the buggers slowly, if we are simply looking to reduce cost, a large mechanical mincer would do the job quite quickly and turn them in to fertiliser. If it is simply about reducing the death row population because they serve no useful purpose they could be used for medical experimentation, being non-human we can justify doing anything we like to them. 

Like you, I am appalled by what Lee Rigby's killers did to him, I also accept their actions were deliberate and the killers should never be released, some would even argue that fate is a worse punishment, knowing that you will never have your freedom again. I hope it is, I hope those men think about Lee Rigby every single day, I hope they get attacked in prison often, I also hope they never have a good nights sleep ever again, worrying about when the next assault will happen. Is that cruel? Am I wanting those killers to suffer a fate worse than death? Yes I think I am.

Seriously, I spend a lot of time in prisons and they are not as nice as the media would suggest. Yes some long term inmates get play stations etc, most don't. Many spend up to 20 hours a day in a cell 12x6. Don't think I could do that for very long without going insane.

For me, the best response towards the terrorist, the psychopath or the bully would be to raise a glass of iced cold beer to the memory of Lee Rigby (and others) on a warm summers day while flipping your index finger to those who would try to take our freedom away. Smile in the knowledge that you have your family near, enjoy your Christmas Turkey and rejoice knowing that scumbags like Lee Rigby's killers will never hurt anyone ever again.

Rant over....

looking for a new car this fine bank holiday weekend...

And that is why it is such an emotive topic and no real solution. The media drives the thirst for revenge. However not many reporters would have the guts to flick the switch or pull the lever. How can you ever be 100% sure you have the right man? Is killing someone in the heat of the moment more serious than abusing a child over many years? For many both should carry the death penalty but where do you draw the line? Death by Dangerous driving, drink drivers kill more people than murderes? Drug users cost tis country more money, it woul make more sense to see them off. 

Don't get me wrong, I am no tree hugger and in my day job I do have a tough, unforgiving reputation "but" you simply can't correct a mistake or miscarriage of justice when the victim is dead. I would never risk condemning one innocent man to death in favour of killing thousands of guilty offenders because their lives will never equall that of an innocent man.

just a thought.

I like the notion that our inmates can undertake low skilled work and the assumption that they can't be skilled in any way. One prison that I visit allows a private company to run an affiliate marketing scheme from inside the prison. Other prisons do use inmates as a source of cheap labour, regrettably it is the private companies that benefit from paying inmates as little as £1 per day. This also undermines legitimate firms doing the same job... Prisons are expensive, we should save places for those who need to be there, those who do pose a risk of serious harm to society. We need to find another way for the rest. 

No I never got in to ecigs, I do however see them more and more now and if I am honest they annoy me. As a smoker I would often think of others, never smoke while eating meals and would try to smoke outside. Ecig smokers however take great delight in smoking anywhere, they seem to be making a point of "this is legal"try stop me smoking". Well I can't do that everywhere but in our shop we have banned ecigs.

in the longer term it may be a stepping stone to real smoking for the younger generation, but then again I could be getting old...

Quality....