Less than one week after Corrections Minister Rob Sampson’s return from the land of Guiness, a riot broke out in HMP Forest Bank, a privately run prison near Manchester, England.

Last Sunday night, 30-40 prisoners refused to go back to their cells, then barricaded themselves into their wing and began lighting fires. It took negotiators seven hours to restore calm in the prison.

Private company United Kingdom Detention Services (a division of Corrections Corporation of America) runs HMP Forest Bank, located in the town of Agecroft. The jail has only been open since last January.

Police and specially trained teams of prison officers had to remain on stand-by during the incident.

Neither police nor UK Detention Services will comment on what triggered the disturbance.

On Wednesday, prison officers from every jail in Great Britain staged a one-hour strike to protest the creeping privatization of the prison service.

The nationwide action was called by the prison officers union over government plans to test the running of Brixton prison in south London. The union fears the trial project will lead to privatization of the prison.

The action comes after a critical report last month into conditions at Scotland’s only private prison in Kilmarnock. Sections of the report written by Scotland’s chief inspector of prisons were deleted on the grounds that the information was "commercially sensitive." The report criticized low staffing levels, prompting union officials to claim officers were at serious risk of attack because the jail was understaffed.

Perhaps the ability to conceal problems in the private system was what Sampson was referring to when he said the British way was the way to go.

Corrections Minister Rob Sampson was apparently none too happy after Liberal MPPs toured the Sarnia Jail.

The tour took place on Thursday, July 27 and reporters got an earful from Corrections Critic Dave Levac, Sarnia MPP Caroline Di Cocco, Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley and Local 128 president Mark Kotanen.

Levac slammed the Corrections Ministry for tinkering with the system and putting public safety at risk. He also condemned the closure of the Chatham Jail, saying that a regional detention centre is needed for that area.

Mark Kotanen says that the government is creating a lot of damage with its privatization plans. "Rob Sampson’s agenda of replacing professional correctional officers with security guards is destroying the morale of every employee," Mark said.

Mayor Bradley and MPP Di Cocco were also shocked at the number of mentally ill inmates that are housed in the jail. Thanks to Tory cuts to mental health funding, Bradley said that warehousing inmates with psychiatric problems will only grow worse when psychiatric facilities close in London and St. Thomas.

After the news article on the tour appeared last Tuesday, Sampson was allegedly furious and ordered managers at the jail to write reports detailing what was said by whom during the visit.

Always check for the horse first Rob, before you lock the barn door.

On July 18, the Ministry of Correctional Services signed a memorandum of settlement at the Ontario Labour Relations Board (OLRB) halting the privatization of inmate transportation for at least two years. The settlement provides that inmate escorts will continue to be performed by public servants in OPSEU’s Corrections Category during that time.

Exactly two weeks later, Assistant Deputy Minister John Rabeau sent a memorandum to all ministry staff stating that this agreement does not include escorts originating from a privately-run facility.

In fact, the signed agreement makes no mention of excluding these escorts.

"We strongly disagree with the position the Ministry is now taking on the July 18 agreement," said Barry Scanlon, chair of Corrections Employee Relations Committee. "We will stand by the agreement as signed, including its enforcement provisions."

This week the Ontario government created a huge fanfare promoting its summit on new approaches to fighting organized crime. Titled "Taking the Profit out of Crime," the summit drew speakers from the U.S. and abroad.

Our own Rob Sampson was there, but was relegated to a minor role of merely introducing a representative from the U.S. Federal Department of Justice. According to Ministry insiders, Sampson was not given a higher profile because summit organizers would have had to change all the signs to read "Taking the Profit out of Crime…and Giving it to Your Business Friends."

Millbrook Correctional Centre will be hosting an anti-privatization demonstration on Wednesday, August 30, 2000 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Guest speakers will include Corrections Critics Peter Kormos (NDP) and David Levac (Liberal). A barbecue lunch will be provided. Set this date aside on your calendars and plan to attend.