Inmates at HMP Parc were gifted dartboards to improve their lives whilst banged up, but many are complaining after they were told they cannot buy darts to play with
Prisoners are fuming after dartboards were handed out…but no darts. Inmates at HMP Parc, a 1,600-capacity jail in Bridgend, Wales, have complained to officers that the dartboards are ‘pointless’ without darts to play with.
Writing in the latest edition of lags’ mag Inside Time, a prisoner – calling himself Joseph H – said he and other inmates had asked if they could buy their own arrows – but told ‘no’. He said: “There are dartboards on wings, but no darts are provided…and we’re not allowed to order them.”
Darts are generally not allowed in UK jails, but some allow them, including some open prisons and in enhanced units – for the best behaved inmates – in other jails. Inmates who are allowed real darts – rather than magnetic or rubber suction ones – have to ‘sign’ for them, with guards ensuring they are all returned after a game.
The most recent report into HMP Parc – which is run by G4S – stated that table tennis and dartboards were available, but made no mention of darts themselves. It stated: “Residential units had some recreational equipment available, which included table tennis tables, dartboards and some board games.”
According to prison rules, lags are allowed table tennis bats and balls, footballs and basketballs, as well as badminton rackets, shuttlecocks and net – with no mention of darts. A prison source said that allowing darts in prison was a ‘no go’.
He said: “For some prisoners in open jails or on super-enhanced wings – those who know that any bad behaviour will mean they lose all privileges – darts are allowed. “But imagine the chaos if they let prisoners have darts at a maximum security jail – it would be carnage.”
It comes as further details of some of the privileges given to prisoners in high-security jails are given by officers in exchange for good behaviour. Throughout the course of their prison stint, inmates can earn rewards and privileges for being cooperative and keeping their head down.
For example, notorious killer Ian Huntley ― known for the murder of two young girls in 2003 ― has been able to earn an Xbox to play whilst in prison, due to his “enhanced” prisoner status. However, these privileges can be taken away if behaviour slips, which is what happened to the caretaker killer, after he appeared to taunt his victims whilst wearing a red t-shirt with the number 10.
But while prisons can be a great source of rehabilitation for some criminals, some inmates and some prisons are simply unable to implement such privilege systems due to their level of violence. Some jails are used to gang rivalries and prison breaks, which result in prisoners and guards alike being killed.
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