Prisoners deplore attack on officers —Addington inmate

Press, 23 August 1977, Page 1

Prisoners deplore attack on officers —Addington inmate

’’The Press’* lias received a letter bearing the address Addington Prison and the nom-de-phime. ”An Inmate,” saying how deeply sorry anti distressed most of the inmates are by the attack on five prison officers last Thursday night.

The letter also carries the signature of the writer but has an accompanying note: "Please do not use the name."

Prison officers at Addington and Paparua say they know nothing about the letter, as outgoing mail is no longer censored. Officers and prisoners had not discussed the attack publiclv, and the letter appeared to be spontaneous, two senior officers said yesterday. “It is not that I am a screw-lover,” said the writer (‘screw’ is the name given officers by some inmates), ‘‘but one must

be realistic and honest. These are not only my feelings but are shared by many othei inmates, that the attack on the five officers was unwarranted."

“That’s made my day a wee bit,” said the acting superintendent at Paparua (Mr M. Leimon). “It is most encouraging to hear something like that." The writer said that Addington Prison was overcrowded and understaffed. and that any attempt to relieve conditions there by transferring inmates to North Island prisons would only transfer the problem.

It would also separate prisoners from “their families and loved ones here in the South Island. This sort of thing builds resentment and animosity in an inmate who does not wish to be parted from his relations who visit him at the weekends," the writer said.

“It will be interesting to see what the Government will do. Will thev, as in the past, ignore the seriousness of the situation and say ‘She’ll he right, mate’?”

The writer said the conditions in which the prisoners were forced to live were far from exciting or homely, especially at Addington and with the overcrowding did not make it anv easier on inmates or officers. “But most of the officers at Addington will go out of their wav to make life more bearable for us. “Occacionallv there mav be an officer who is loudmouthed and what one would term a bully, or standover. but he is soon put in his place bv other officers, who, like Mr Peter Crichton, have a genuine concern for the welfare of the prisoners is well as the officers. “Their iob is not an easy one, for at times they are subject to abuse, ridicule, and degradation. I hear some inmates and others saying: ‘No-one asked them to do the job,’ but equally true is the saying: ‘lf you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.’ “Most officers I have found are more than tolerant, and if one treats them in a humane way and with civility, the officers themselves will reciprocate. 1 am a great believer in treating people how I would like to be treated, and 1 can honestly say that in the time 1 have been here I have never been mistreated bv anv officer.”

The writer said other inmates agreed with him that as a chief officer, Mr Crichton was well liked and respected by most. He was always fair, understanding and sympathetic, having a genuine concern for the prisoners. “One cannot blame the wives of officers for being apprehensive, but may I say that not all prisoners are aggressive . . . Most of us are human and are compassionate towards our fellow man. The oftenheard cry of: ‘We are not getting a fair deal,’ or ‘We are not being fairly treated,’ are normally mouthed by those few inmates who refuse to conform to authority and the rules of the prison.” Mr Leimon said that although officers and prisoners had not publicly discussed the attack, he and other officers had been approached by individual prisoners who said: “We did not agree with that, it was shocking, there was no need for it.”

“We are not a rough, tough, bunch of thugs,” said Mr Leimon. “We are an ordinary cross-section of men dealing with a cross-section of the community. We try to be as humane as possible. “The biggest majority would be behind the sentiments of the letter. But we do have that element that will stop at nothing.” Chief Officer Crichton, the prison officr who was severely injured in the Addington jail break last Thursday, is now in a fairly comfortable condition in Christchurch Hospital. After the attack by prisoners armed with warders’ batons, Mr Crichton was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care ward with a depressed fracture of the skull. He is now in an ordinarv ward.