Prison Officers condemn media glare on beating claim
The Prison Officers Association has condemned the media attention given to the case of the four prison guards who were charged with beating an inmate, saying that the press coverage has been prejudicial against the guards' presumption of innocence.
The four guards were charged with beating Dutch drug trafficker Perry Toornstra after he allegedly tried to escape on his return from an hour's prison leave. He was charged with violently resisting the officers as well as trying to escape prison.
The association said that the media attention given to the case amounts to pre-trial publicity, adding that it is not fair that the public are being given a "distorted" picture.
The association also criticised the fact that a request for an interview with the inmate was approved last week, saying it cannot understand the attitude of the section of the press which sought this meeting, given that the cases in which Mr Toornstra is concerned are still ongoing.
At the same time, the association invited journalists to seek permission to enter the prison in order to be able to gain first-hand experience of the sort of difficulties prison guards are faced with.
"This exercise will give the public the background inside prison where the association's members are spending a lot of time with people who are deprived of their freedom, and who (at least some of them) do not see the officers in a good light."
The association pointed out that there are several incidents in which prisoners assault the guards, saying that the media never report on these. "Had this been done, the public could understand how difficult it is for its members to exercise control and implement its orders with prisoners... This is a reality that one must keep in mind, because it is very much easier to criticise than to find yourself in the midst of these great difficulties."
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jOE cORDINA
Aug 25th 2008, 16:09
I suggest that a journalist be given a prison guard uniform and work covertly for a week in prison without anyone knowing his true identity. Then I would be eager to read his report
Joe Grima
Aug 25th 2008, 15:16
While I have every sympathy for officers like prison guards who have to deal with difficult, frustrated people every day of their lives and sometimes pay a price, media attention is vital in spotlighting all those who have physical power over others. The press is there to oversee power wherever it is exercised, in order to ascertain that, in a democracy, that power is not exceeded in its application. The case of the six prison officers who allegedly beat the Dutch inmate is one of the few that has come to light because of an attentive press. God knows how many similar cases around the island, not just behind prison walls, lie buried in people's silent suffering because the victims have been unable to speak out..
While two magesterial enquiries into the Azzopardi incident while in police custody exonerated the police from Azzopardi's brutal death while in their custody, I must join the multitude of people who still feel very queasy about the whole incident , including some of the conclusions of the two reports.
Generally speaking, Power in the hands of people, who turn themselves into Gods on earth because of it, is a very dangerous and frightening prospect.
Ramon Casha
Aug 25th 2008, 11:31
People who are given special authority by virtue of their job, including police, prison guards, wardens, officials and so on, are held to a higher standard and placed under greater scrutiny than the rest of society for precisely that reason. The media did the right thing in shining a spotlight on this story. The public needs to know about these things to ensure things can't be quietly swept under the carpet.
Franco Farrugia
Aug 25th 2008, 09:29
With all due respect at the Prison Officers, they have to realise that in spite of the special circumstances around which they work, they are not above the law and that they have to be seen to be working within the framework given to them by law.
Wherever such officers are assaulted, this too should be penalised by the existing penal code!