Purely medicinal
September 29th 2009 Alcohol hand gel brought in to a prison to help protect against swine flu has been banned after inmates started drinking the stuff and then getting into drunken fights.
Prison officers at Verne Prison on Portland, Dorset, became concerned that convicts seemed to be drunk after fist fights broke out, reports the Daily Telegraph.
It turned out that instead of using the gel to clean their hands, inmates at the category C prison were consuming it. It is thought one prisoner became aggressive after downing the gel and started brawling with another inmate. The prison governor has now removed all of the dispensers from the prison.
"These canisters were originally put out because of the swine flu threat," explained Andy Fear, a member of the Verne's Prison Officer's Association committee. "It was subsequently reported by some association members working here that the inmates had been incorrectly using them, for want of a better phrase.
"The suspicion that was reported to us was that some of the inmates had drunk them. Of course some of the officers expressed concerns over potentially having to deal with prisoners who have had a drink."
Tim Roberts, branch chairman of the POA, said the association had raised concerns when it was first announced that the gel dispensers were being placed in the prison. "We had reservations when the plan was first mooted," stated Roberts. "Our members have been concerned and the latest incident seems to bear out those concerns." More articles from Cleaning Matters: | 
