'Pretty' prison officer wins case

Tut, tut! The Prison Service has been caught out in a discrimination case. This time it's about age and sex. Of course, they are upset. "The Prison Service takes all allegations of sexual harassment very seriously," says a spokesman, adding that the Prison Service said it was "disappointed" by the tribunal's findings and said it would study them "carefully". But no apology or a simple "sorry"? Not in today's world. That would be too much.

The prison officer concerned is 22 year old Amitjo Kajla. She only wanted to "try to uphold the HMPS purpose statement, which clearly states that their duty is to 'look after prisoners with humanity' and I sought to apply that in my work by treating prisoners with respect. However, one officer didn't like my way of working, which was counter to the macho approach he favoured." Now there's the real problem for the HMPS. Still too many macho guys strutting around. Shouting abuse at anyone has long since proved to be a waste of time.

The Prison Service should have taken Will Hay's sentiments to heart, when he told his inmates in Convict 99, "These prison walls are not to keep you in. They're to keep the riff-raff out!"