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Original poster

What the hell was he doing in an open prison?!

34 replies

Spudlet · 14/02/2022 16:27

Sex offender Paul Robson on the run from HMP North Sea Camp

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-60372887

I won’t post details of his crime but please be aware that they’re on the above link if you click. They were awful, and committed when on licence, only 3 weeks after being released from a prior prison sentence. He was jailed for life after this, ‘with the sentencing judge describing him as a "menace to females".’ And now he’s escaped, the police are describing him as a danger to women and young children, and warning people not to approach him… so why was he in a minimum security prison in the first place? Angry

OP posts:
RoseRedRoseBlue · 17/02/2022 09:00

@mummykel16, it does work for the majority.

prh47bridge · 17/02/2022 09:25

@mummykel16

Yet it doesn't work.

And some prisoners are far to high risk.

Your comments fly in the face of research that clearly shows that it does work. If you want to increase the rates of reoffending, closing down open prisons would be a good way to do it.
Mischance · 17/02/2022 09:52

I have nothing against open prisons as a stepping stone to moving on in life and hopefully having a law-abiding future life.

But, as soon as this man absconded it was made clear that he presented a serious danger to the public. He should therefore not have been in the open prison in the first place, as he would have been out and about prior to him absconding.

If he had ceased to be a danger, the news would have been "Man absconds from open prison" - end of.

ldontWanna · 17/02/2022 10:00

@Mischance

I have nothing against open prisons as a stepping stone to moving on in life and hopefully having a law-abiding future life.

But, as soon as this man absconded it was made clear that he presented a serious danger to the public. He should therefore not have been in the open prison in the first place, as he would have been out and about prior to him absconding.

If he had ceased to be a danger, the news would have been "Man absconds from open prison" - end of.

This really. They can't have it both ways.
mummykel16 · 17/02/2022 10:11

[quote GlitterSquid]@mummykel16 He wasn't in Kirkham was he? [/quote]
No idea, but what absconds from there regularly is more than worrying

mummykel16 · 17/02/2022 10:15

Your comments fly in the face of research that clearly shows that it does work. If you want to increase the rates of reoffending, closing down open prisons would be a good way to do it.

I don't agree.
For the reason already given.

prh47bridge · 17/02/2022 10:19

@Mischance

I have nothing against open prisons as a stepping stone to moving on in life and hopefully having a law-abiding future life.

But, as soon as this man absconded it was made clear that he presented a serious danger to the public. He should therefore not have been in the open prison in the first place, as he would have been out and about prior to him absconding.

If he had ceased to be a danger, the news would have been "Man absconds from open prison" - end of.

The parole board was clearly wrong in assessing the likelihood of him absconding. Whether they were wrong about the danger he poses is less clear. What we are hearing at the moment is the views of the police. They think he is still a serious danger. That doesn't mean they are right. It is possible the parole board got this one completely wrong. It is also possible they were right that he isn't a danger to the public any more even though they were wrong about the likelihood of him absconding.

I'm not defending the parole board here. Roughly every 3 days a prisoner absconds from an open prison, so they clearly get that wrong regularly.

Original poster
Spudlet · 17/02/2022 10:44

@Mischance

I have nothing against open prisons as a stepping stone to moving on in life and hopefully having a law-abiding future life.

But, as soon as this man absconded it was made clear that he presented a serious danger to the public. He should therefore not have been in the open prison in the first place, as he would have been out and about prior to him absconding.

If he had ceased to be a danger, the news would have been "Man absconds from open prison" - end of.

Yes, that’s pretty much what I feel about this. Open prisons? Fine as a concept - we need to rehabilitate people, we should be doing that. But the massive flap about this individual surely shows that he should have been somewhere far more secure - and the quote about him posing a particular danger to women and young children just makes me furious. What on earth was the decision making process there if his escape has caused such a massive panic and news headlines?
OP posts:
Original poster
Spudlet · 17/02/2022 10:45

Happily he has now been recaptured

Paul Robson: Sex offender who fled HMP North Sea Camp recaptured www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-60382854

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