Incidences of Magilligan wrecking property

OVER the past three years there were 44 reported incidences of prisoners destroying prison property at HMP Magilligan with inmates variously smashing, setting fire to or deliberately flooding their cells and fittings.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Jan 2011, 10:58 BST

The prisoners responsible were variously punished by either being confined to their cells for a period or by forfeiting privileges such as gym and sports time, evening association and earnings.

According to details released by the Prison Service this week under the Freedom of Information Act one prisoner back on New Year's Eve 2008 was found guilty of tampering with a dictionary in order to hide a prohibited article.

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In August of the same year two prisoners were found guilty of "painting" and "daubing" offensive slogans on prison walls.

The most common offence was deliberately activating the sprinkler systems in the jail causing flooding to cells.

But a number of prisoners were also rapped for wrecking their television sets and furniture and fittings in their cells whilst otherwise were caught setting fire to items in the jail.

And in August 2009 one prisoner was given a six day suspended cellular confinement and lost evening association for a month because he "smashed a television in (his) cell and spread excrement on the inner side of the cell door."

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Last year there were 11 reported incidents in the County Londonderry prison the most recent in late November when an inmate "smashed fixtures and a television in cell 11, Special Supervision Unit, HMP Magilligan." The details have been newly-released by the NIPS under the FOI Act.