Task 3 (P3, M1, D1)
Control Measures
In this report I will be describing the control measures put in place in a custodial environment then
justifying the use of adjudications and incentive schemes in ration to addressing offending behaviour
and maintenance of control. It is important to have control measures put in place to ensure there is
an effective response in the event that prison rules are broken. A verbal caution is the first type of
control measure. They are not usually noted on the prisoner’s records but they are given out for
breaching prison rules such as fighting, racial abuse, failure of a mandatory drugs test, stealing
property or possession of illegal items.
The second control measure is the use of report writing. Prison officers will be required to write
reports on a prisoner when they breach prison rules and these are also known as incident reports.
They can be helpful when it comes to the adjudication process because it will give the adjudicator a
list of all the offense they have committed inside the prison and will help them make their decision.
Incident reports will be written by staff who have witness the incident or been the victim of one.
The third control measure is restraint techniques. All prison staff are specially trained to use restraint
techniques when necessary and they need to understand why it is important to maintain control
over the prisoners and when it is appropriate to use restraint techniques. The aims of restraint
techniques are to try and restore control while using as little physical intervention. When using these
restraint techniques, prison officers need to be able to assess the need for control and restraint
before putting it to use to ensure they use them properly, otherwise it can lead to some negative
consequences which can involve them getting into trouble. While they assess a situation, they will
need to think of which restraint technique is appropriate to that specific situation.
Adjudication and punishment is the forth control measure and it is used to help maintain control
within prisons. There are set prison rules that apply to all prisons but the Governor can also decide
to have some local rules specific to that prison. When a prisoner breaks one of these rules, it is
known as an offence and as a result, they will be given a punishment. Prisoners can be punished in
several ways. A verbal caution can be given as a warning for breaking prison rule, such as fighting for
example, and they cannot be combined with any other punishment for the same offence. The main
way prisoners receive punishments is through adjudication, which is a system used in prisons and it
acts as a mini court where adjudicators decide their punishments. A few examples of punishments
they can receive are additional days, confined to their cell, loss of privileges, removal from the wing
and loss of earnings. For most prisoners, prison rules can be quite difficult to understand which is
why they can read a copy of the ‘PSO 2000 Prison Discipline Manual.’ A copy of this book should be
in the library and on each wing within the prison to allow prisoners to get easy access to it. This book
will outline the rules and procedures taken when being punished in prison.
The fifth control measure is the incentive scheme which is a scheme created to earn privileges and
rewards through good behaviour. Incentive rewards can include the privilege to wear their own
clothes, gain an in-cell TV, have access to their own cash which they are able to spend on the
canteen and phone calls, have more time out of their cells, allowed additional visits and they are
made eligible to participate in higher rate schemes.