HMP Ford Prison Riot

[AgnesIO]

Specialist prison guards in body armour have been tackling rioting inmates at an open jail in West Sussex.

Firefighters were also sent to HMP Ford after 40 prisoners smashed windows and started blazes at around midnight.

At least two fire engines and 140 prison staff are on the site near Arundel after flames spread from one block to another.

The Prison Officers' Association said the violence began after staff tried to breathalyse some of the 200 prisoners.

View the full article here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12102266

--

Answer; ban alcohol in prisons.

[Suspective]

Isn't alcohol banned in prisons anyway?

[flatface]

They make their own alcohol don't they? I don't think they're actually allowed to buy it legally within the prison , hence why they were being breathalysed.

[AgnesIO]

They make their own alcohol don't they? I don't think they're actually allowed to buy it legally within the prison

That is something I don't and won't ever know

I know there have been things in the past when they can have 'limited amounts'

Isn't alcohol banned in prisons anyway?

Not sure, but you would have thought it is slightly poor monitoring for at least 40 empty bottles to be found

[Suspective]

Instead of breathayizing them, they should of been confiscating the alcohol ;l

[flatface]

I watched this documentary on one of the biggest prisons in the country on TV earlier last year and it said they had a massive problem with inmates producing their own alcohol and were possible they do try to confiscate it, they did stress that it would be incredibly difficult to constantly observe and confiscate alcohol especially when most prisons have 500+ inmates and in comparison a tiny amount of prison officers.

[GommeInc]

I'm more interested to know how they get their hands on the equipment needed to make alcohol, and the necessary ingredients :S Either that or I've missed out on how to make alcohol with as little time possible :/ I guess they won't need anything to make the taste enjoyable, seeing as they'd no doubt be getting drunk to pass time than to actually enjoy it

Just a case for increasing prison staff, or doing something about the prison/court system.

[flatface]

I'm more interested to know how they get their hands on the equipment needed to make alcohol, and the necessary ingredients :S Either that or I've missed out on how to make alcohol with as little time possible :/ I guess they won't need anything to make the taste enjoyable, seeing as they'd no doubt be getting drunk to pass time than to actually enjoy it

Just a case for increasing prison staff, or doing something about the prison/court system.

I'll see if I can find the doc I watched online because it went into detail on how they make the alcohol. I definitely know it's from stuff like apple peel etc because they were confiscating a lot of fruit from inmates cells that they classed as an excessive amount. Also sugar, ketchup and generally anything they could get their hands on. Apparently their home made alcohol is really dangerous and tastes absolutely foul but as you said it's probably more for getting drunk rather than taste

Oh and apparently it's made in a carrier bag lol

Edit:

In UK prisons this stuff is called 'hooch'

Anything with any form of sugar content can and is used, suger from the kitchens is the most common, but molasses feed used for farm animals is used too.

More sophisitcated prisoners can use grain boiled and mashed up, but these last two are only found in prisons with farms attatched.

Sugar is by far the most common method of producing alchohol, inmates will collect it and store it for use.

It is usual for oranges, or pretty much any fruit to be used to give it some kind of passable flavour.

The places selected for brewing determine how quickly it can be consumed, anywhere warm is favourite, but staff know this and so the best places are always under surveillance.

Containers are very often 5 litre containers which normally contain cleaning fluids such as disinfectant, floor polish and the like.
These are rinsed out but can leave the mark of their previous contents on the brew.

Prison staff try to ensure that empty potential hooch containers are slashed apart, I have seen rubbish bags used as liners for holes in the ground for the fermentation stage, these are camaflaged over with a thin layer of soil, greenhouses are the favourite place for this activity.

Many prisons make their own bread so yeast is not a problem, but if this cannot be obtained then mouldy bread yeast cultures are used, also yeast extracts such as marmite are used to start of the frementation process.

Hooch is often adulterated even more to make it more potent, I have heard of cases where anti-freeze has been obtained from prison vehicles to fortify it.

In low category prisons getting hold of alchoholic beverages is not difficult so hooch is fairly uncommon, but the higher security rated prisons it is a consant hunt for the stuff.

Inmates try to make it for certain times of the years, such as Christmas and news years eve, and since it usually takes about a week to ten days fermentation before the hooch can be decanted we usually do sweeps to find it during the run up to known hooch festival times.

Hooch is not the major problem in UK jails as it once was as it has long been surpassed by hard drugs, still, it does cause staff hassle as inmates are not the most intelligent of drinkers(or indeed as examples of humanity) and they can become aggressive, or make themselves seriously ill.

Interesting

[-:Undertaker:-]

No no no people you're getting it all wrong, this is an open prison (would you believe they exist, my personal favourite oxymoron) - by being in an open prison which is in other words free housing, we are punishing criminals and ensuring that they will never ever commit crimes again.

So the question 'how did they get alcohol' is rather simple, its an open prison!!

[GommeInc]

Ah, and because this prison is an open air prison they can pretty much do the whole process. It's pretty interesting, and might be of use for some students out there who want to make their own cheap alcohol

HMP Ford just need to focus on proper waste management by the looks of things, why the prisoners are anywhere near carrier bags is one question. Another is, maybe they should keep a nose out for any dodgy (er than usual) smells coming from cells, and look out for any prisoners stashing stuff they shouldn't. It does make you wonder how they can hide all these things, when prisons should be pretty basic - rooms lacking any sort of furniture etc. I can't picture the grounds without thinking of American prisons, but I'd assume they should be a bit basic too, afterall teachers at school can point out suspicious behaviour with children in the playground, so you'd think this wouldn't make much difference