Disclosure, Pressure and a Simultaneous Alarm
You are the sole officer on a landing of 28 prisoners at 19:50. Prisoner A (23, on remand, six weeks in) asks to speak privately. He says two prisoners on the landing are pressuring him to carry a package from the visits area tomorrow and that he has been told he will be 'looked after' if he does. He is visibly shaking and says: 'If you move me or write this down, everyone will know I spoke and I'm done.' He refuses to name the two. As he finishes, the landing alarm sounds from the shower area and two prisoners are shouting. Your radio is working; the wing is locked up at 20:30; the night shift arrives at 20:45.
1. Rank your immediate actions in order and justify the first one.
Read the worked answer
Order of priority:
- Respond to the alarm - radio for assistance, state location and that you are single-officered, and move towards the shower area while keeping sight of the landing. An alarm plus shouting is a potential live injury; A's disclosure is a future risk, the alarm is a present one.
- Secure A - direct him to a safe position (his cell or the office) rather than leaving him standing on the landing where his conversation with you is visible.
- Stabilise the shower incident - separate, check for injury, no investigation on your own.
- Hand over the intelligence formally to the ACO/Chief Officer before 20:45, including A's exact words and the visit threat for tomorrow.
- Record in your notebook before the end of shift.
Justification for 1: duties are ranked by immediacy of harm. A prisoner being assaulted now outranks a package that has not yet moved; and a single officer leaving an alarm unanswered risks the situation escalating before the night shift arrives at 20:45.
2. What do you say to A about confidentiality, and how do you handle 'don't write this down'?
Read the worked answer
Say:
- 'I can't promise to keep this between us - I have a duty to act on it, and that is to protect you.'
- 'I will only share it with the people who need it to keep you safe, not with the landing.'
- 'If you are threatened, the risk to you is worse if nobody knows.'
Do not:
- Promise confidentiality you cannot keep, or say 'this stays here'.
- Promise a move you cannot authorise.
- Interrogate him for names under pressure, or suggest he 'sort it out himself'.
On 'don't write it down': explain that the note protects him - it is evidence that he raised it before anything happened, and it means any later decision (separation, transfer, visit restrictions) is documented rather than informal. Record his words verbatim, including the fear of being labelled, and record his refusal to name the two - refusal is itself information. If he still objects, that is noted; it does not remove the duty to record.
3. Who needs to know, what exactly do you record, and what should you not do?
Read the worked answer
Who: the ACO/Chief Officer on duty before 20:45 (orally, then in writing); the Governor or duty governor for any decision on separation, transfer or visit handling; the visits supervisor, because the threat is attached to tomorrow's visit. Need-to-know only - not the landing staff as a group, not other prisoners.
Record:
- Time, place, who was present, and that A asked to speak privately.
- A's account in his own words, marked as his account, not as established fact.
- His physical presentation (shaking) - an observation.
- The threat as described: package from visits, 'looked after', tomorrow.
- His refusal to name the two, and his stated fear of being identified as the source.
- Action taken and who was informed.
Do not: confront the two prisoners on a hunch; search A's cell as a first move; discuss the disclosure in the office in front of others; or decide the separation yourself. Also avoid recording speculation such as 'A is a known liar' - that belongs nowhere in an intelligence note.