Den13

Har Har!! Yep, thats my old Army nickname, for pretty obvious reasons!

I'm home - at bloody last. I swear the pilot went around the World twice just for the hell of it.

I'm doing my washing, had my first shave for about 2 weeks and am going through the transformation from bum to respectable member of the community. I also came back to bills, a tax demand and no food. And to cap it all off, while I was in the bath I discovered I'd grown a fledgling beer belly.

Ain't reality a pisser?

I just found the karma everyones sent!! Wow!! Didn't know that was there. D'oh! Thanks...

footloose

Aint real life a b!tch. Bills, bills and more bills.I have had more than a fledgling beer belly for a couple of years now. I have 4 months to try and get rid before basic training.

heard news today that makes leaving the English service even more appealing. The proposed changes to the rank structure are being implemented in the new financial year in April. The old adage of more for less again.

Scott

Den13

They've been talking bout that since they got rid of Chiefs. Merging PO's and G5's and basically handing most things to OSG's so Officers just unlock doors and fight. All about money.

They don't have anything like OSG's or Auxilleries over there - yet. I'm sure it'll come though. I'm just chuffed they call cells cells, not rooms like we're being made to do or being threatened with poor performance if we don't refer to cons as 'MR'. 25 year old young offenders?? Mad.

footloose

If it takes NZ 15 years to get to the state we are in when KPTs and KPIs mean more than people, then I will be 15 years closer to retirement. It will be manageable then. just cant see me doing another 24 years the way we are going.

Scott

Sugo

whhoooa you are made to call prisoners 'MR', i suppose its like us in AE when we are spat at or sworn at we have to ask them nicely to leave, oh and if they hit a nurse they have the 'three strikes' and your 'red carded' thing.

So you can hit two nurses and get away with it, hit the third and your out.

Isnt workinging in the UK lovely.

Anyway welcome back matey, good to here you had a great time !!!

Sugo

Den13

Not only call them Mr, we have to write it if we refer to them. If an Officer has the temerity to place an inmate on report and fails to write Mr, the adjudication is deemed incomplete and not proceeded with.

We also have a similar '3 strikes' thing - the Incentive and Earned Privelidge scheme. When enforced it works well. When someone smashes a cell, sorry room, up, assaults 3 staff and is restrained to the segregation unit and then is given 1 IEP warning, which means 2 more of them and he loses his tv for 3 days - it clearly ISN'T working.

If the public knew the truth about the penal system and the way it's going here, you'd be horrified. I've been doing it 13 years and I'm getting frightened. 5 investigations to my name this year - all foundless. I've been told not to respond to incidents by a Governor otherwise the investigations will continue. And he was on my side......

Sorry, I'm a bit tetchy...lack of sleep. or maybe beer withdrawal...

Pinkie Pie

Den, you've been an absolute bloody star with your roving reports and it's been great 'following' you around NZ...got any piccies????

Get a good night's sleep (and maybe a beer or three!) and 'you'll be right mate'...

Welcome 'home' (for now...)

Sugo

ooh yeah i second that for the pics Pinkie,

Im off in two weeks. and hope to get a decent SLR digital camera on the way through singapore so will be happy snappy and once on the internet will put the pics on the forum

Pinkie Pie

Crikey, not long before you go then Sugo!!! Have a great time 'down under' and look forward to hearing your first impressions and seeing some pics...get yourself an avatar too!!!

dekajack1

Hi

know what you mean, have just worked in the Scottish Prison Service for 10 years and the changes in that time are unbelievable, not to call the prisoners cons, it upsets them, putting prisoners on report for threatening three members of staff for him to be "progressed" through the system, the more noise and a nuiscance a prisoners makes of himself, the more the management seem to want to give them, and dont get me started on methadone.

We dont have SOs and POs up hear they got rid of them year ago, we have a Hall Manager (supervisor) and a basic warder (1 - 1 post) runs the hall, more work for less pay, although we are getting "ex gratia" payments if we work overtime just now ( just below hourly rate) because of the number off sick, but hey the public dont know about those things do they.

Got visas through yesterday, cant wait until January when I fly out to New Zealand and I might even know before then what jail I am going to in Wellington.


Good luck every one and dont let them get us down, they dont know how good the staff they have are.


Ann

Beef Wellington

Congratulations on the visas Ann
I will be starting in Wellington Region in January too but you can call it Rimutaka for short!! if you know what I mean . From what research I have done we would be better off there anyway, especially if you want to live on the Kapati coast
See you next year and congrats again
Beef

Den13

I reckon the 3 of us will be on the same course then!! They initially said November to me, but realistically that only gives me a few weeks to sort everything out and I haven't got my visa yet, so I'm going to seek the Jan/Feb course I think.

BTW: How do you post pictures here??!!

Pinkie Pie

Get yourself a Photobucket account here Den... http://photobucket.com/ it's free and you can then show us all your lovely pics

Nice Avatar Sugo btw...

sunshine_and_rain

Hope you gonna up the pay!!!! Sorry but read how bad pay can be here in prison service - new recruits won't notive for about 18 months - depending on how many POUNDs they bought wi em - once they start earning real $'s - thats thats the testing time.........

Den13

Ok....then what??