Prison Officer

cordub

Salmon wrote: »

Well, An board snip are currently in a lot of prisons and are looking to reduce staffing levels. As a result there will probably be less requirement for new recruits unfortunately. It remain to be seen what the extent of these cuts will be, but if the initial leaked cuts come to pass its not good news for the safety of those working on the landings or for the sanity of those waiting on the call to beladd.

its a bloody disgace , we are all now working understaffed due to retirements and another couple of hundred reckon to be going by the end of the year not being replaced, the workload has doubled with prisoners sleeping on the floor !!!!! its only time till onr=e of us are seriousl injured or killed,

slim1919

i heard from an unreliable po that they had got funding for a new class he said he had herad it from a mate but he is prone to telling porkys so dont know how true it is

somehope11

sodbuster77 wrote: »

Hi guys. Any of you PO's hear anything about no more recruits being taken on. Got a txt off a PO friend of mine today saying that I'm in for a long wait. (I just missed out on the last class in Beladd thanks to the vetting process)

Cheers.

Does anybody know how many people are left to go into Beladd from the last interviews.For the last two years theres been lots of stories about taking on new recruits one day and the next day they're not been taken on,i have four friends in the prison service and they're telling me about the pressure they're under every day in work due to the pressure of understaffing.The IPS cant let the prisoners take over the jails,they'eventually have to take on recruits,we will just have to wait it out and keep the fingers crossed.In the 2007 recruitment people with interview numbers as far up as 1500 got interviews so anybody below that should take heart from that.

Shield

Question for experienced POs: How well is your prison equipped for disabled people? For example, say you get a paraplegic inmate who would require a lot of adaptations to a cell, toilet, bath/shower and so on - would it be a nightmare to manage or have you got all the necessary bits and pieces ready for use if needed?

cordub

psni wrote: »

Question for experienced POs: How well is your prison equipped for disabled people? For example, say you get a paraplegic inmate who would require a lot of adaptations to a cell, toilet, bath/shower and so on - would it be a nightmare to manage or have you got all the necessary bits and pieces ready for use if needed?

We had someone in a wheel chair and it was a nightmare, there are no ramps to most places which meant he was either confined to his landing or had to be lifted in and out of places, mind you the ol wheelchair was ALMOST a godsend as when it was searched a massive amount of drugs were found within its structure!!!! there is nothing at all in place in our prison for a dealing with people with disabilities unless you count the wheel chair parking spaces outside the jail that is :):)

Shield

So I'm gathering there'd be potential for human rights complaints left, right and centre then?

Lawros Tache

psni wrote: »

So I'm gathering there'd be potential for human rights complaints left, right and centre then?

The short answer i suppose, is "Yes" although it does depend on the prison i'd say.

The older gaols (Mountjoy, Limerick, Cork, Portlaoise etc.) are the wrong side of 100 years old so i suppose it wasn't an issue in those days & so would require serious renovation & hence money... (interesting to note that the same cant be said of in-cell sanitation however, Mountjoy originally had in-cell toilet facilities over 150 years ago but they were since removed)

The newer prisons (CloverHill, WheatField, Midlands, Dochas etc) i would imagine are more wheelchair-friendly. I work in one of the latter & I know from experience that we have had many wheelchair-bound prisoners without major problems (perhaps easy for me to say however seeing as i was not the one in the chair...). They are assigned cells on the ones obviously, but all are easily wide enough to negotiate a chair. There are no steps at doorways etc & only stairs are to the twos, however there is an elevator to facilitate access to medical & education units.

With regards to the Human Rights breaches, you can just add them to the list of existing ones... (CPT Report 2011)

Hope this helps.

bitter_lemon

psni wrote: »

Question for experienced POs: How well is your prison equipped for disabled people? For example, say you get a paraplegic inmate who would require a lot of adaptations to a cell, toilet, bath/shower and so on - would it be a nightmare to manage or have you got all the necessary bits and pieces ready for use if needed?

not really. house him on the ones. access to most things. no big deal. he should have thought about that before commiting crime anyway :rolleyes:

cordub

WELCOME back bitter lemon hope you had a good rest ;);)

bitter_lemon

cordub wrote: »

WELCOME back bitter lemon hope you had a good rest ;);)

thanks!
i'm still a bit bitter but feel a lot better. i will try and be nice

Shield

bitter_lemon wrote: »

he should have thought about that before commiting crime anyway :rolleyes:

What if, in 1972, he was a member of a crack commando unit and was sent to prison by a military court for a crime he didn't commit?

cordub

psni wrote: »

What if, in 1972, he was a member of a crack commando unit and was sent to prison by a military court for a crime he didn't commit?

Tough . once hes convicted its not our problem . Thats up to his legal team to fight that one. Once convicted it our job to make sure he serves his time safely and securely!!

bitter_lemon

psni wrote: »

What if, in 1972, he was a member of a crack commando unit and was sent to prison by a military court for a crime he didn't commit?

ha! i ain't getting on no plane!
if you have a problem, if no one else can help and if you can find them maybe you can hire the A-team.

lakes1985

can i ask what ( beladd) mean? also i was supposedto be in last interviews just before xmas, i was number 431, & they sent my letter to let me know to my old address even tho i had given them my current address, they admitted it was there mistake & said it had something to do wit public jobs new system for there website! anyway needless to say i was told i have 2 wait until next recruitment! Does anybody know if this will be a long time?

cordub

lakes1985 wrote: »

can i ask what ( beladd) mean? also i was supposedto be in last interviews just before xmas, i was number 431, & they sent my letter to let me know to my old address even tho i had given them my current address, they admitted it was there mistake & said it had something to do wit public jobs new system for there website! anyway needless to say i was told i have 2 wait until next recruitment! Does anybody know if this will be a long time?

Beladd is where you do your training as a Prison Officer, its in Portlaoise!! have not a clue when they are training more, all I can say is we would welcome all trainees thet are badly needed lots of lads retiring and NOT being replaced due to cutbacks!!! It will soon get the danger levels in the prisons if they dont cop on , Prison staff is not where you cut back!!!!

lozzy23

definitly agree with cordub here, cutting prison staff is not the way to be saving money, some1 is going to be seriously injured, and i dont think there'll be new recruits for a good while yet, but think this shouldn't be talked about on here, what if there is people on this that we have "rehabilitated" doesn't look good for us talking about it does it?

slim1919

not to sound smart but everyone knows whats going on inside and out its the same in the garda when people retire and are not replaced you are going to be weakend and i dont think talken about it on this is going to surprise anyone everyone all ready knows

480905

IPS don't give a f''uck if the Prisons are understaffed. They want to privatise the whole f"ucking lot. There's a system that operates in England and NI Prisons, auxiliaries, part timers that do nights and external posts etc for a third of the wages. Thats what they want to introduce . Anyone pre April "95 will possibly be offered an incentive to leave (happened in NI) They want us gone so they don't have to pay pensions and wages. And maybe then re-hired on different contracts.

cordub

480905 wrote: »

IPS don't give a f''uck if the Prisons are understaffed. They want to privatise the whole f"ucking lot. There's a system that operates in England and NI Prisons, auxiliaries, part timers that do nights and external posts etc for a third of the wages. Thats what they want to introduce . Anyone pre April "95 will possibly be offered an incentive to leave (happened in NI) They want us gone so they don't have to pay pensions and wages. And maybe then re-hired on different contracts.

I think you might be right there as they are already talking of privatising the escorts and I reckon that could happen sooner than later , thank god Im near the end of my working life . would be gone like a shot if i got a good deal ;)

slim1919

thereal wrote: »

anyone know what number they are upto in the interview process

i was in the early 400s when i got call for the interview and as far as i know they haven called any more for interview since then that was oct last year

480905

A little insight in regards to the interviews etc....When the last Govt was dissolved, there were instructions not to recruit or promote anybody until the new Govt was in place. So anybody waiting may be in for a long wait.

somehope11

thereal wrote: »

anyone know what number they are upto in the interview process

They've interviewed up to 480,they generally interview in batches of 120.Are you in the next batch or further up the waiting list.

slim1919

thereal wrote: »

im 511 totally forgot about it to be honest until i read this forum so irish waiting 3 years to maybe be called to interview ridiculous really, anyone know if there will be new interviews anytime soon

i dont think there will be any for a long time i done interview oct last year and cant do pct till they have funding for a new class and i have been told i could be waiting months b4 they get funding so cant see them doing anything anytime soon

senordingdong

lozzy23 wrote: »

definitly agree with cordub here, cutting prison staff is not the way to be saving money, some1 is going to be seriously injured, and i dont think there'll be new recruits for a good while yet, but think this shouldn't be talked about on here, what if there is people on this that we have "rehabilitated" doesn't look good for us talking about it does it?

In fairness, I think keeping the problems a secret is the wrong way to go about getting them fixed.

somehope11

thereal wrote: »

im 511 totally forgot about it to be honest until i read this forum so irish waiting 3 years to maybe be called to interview ridiculous really, anyone know if there will be new interviews anytime soon

Your in the same batch as me,we'l just have to wait it out and see what happens.My worry is that if it goes on for too long they'l have a new recruitment drive and get a fresh pool of people.

sodbuster77

somehope11 wrote: »

Your in the same batch as me,we'l just have to wait it out and see what happens.My worry is that if it goes on for too long they'l have a new recruitment drive and get a fresh pool of people.

That would be unfair in the extreme.

Lawros Tache

sodbuster77 wrote: »

That would be unfair in the extreme.

Promotional panels in the IPS run for 18 months. If the applicant is sufficiently low on the panel so as not to be called within the 18 months (regardless of the amount of people called above him/her) then the panel is scrapped & a new competition started.

I dont see why the recruitment panel would be run any differently.

I suppose you could argue that economics would play a factor but IMO everybody processing the new applications are already employed by the Dept of Justice and so the only new costs would be advertising & suchlike. There is already a budget alocated for same, hence the costs would not be prohibative.

As has been mentioned above, and as any serving officer will tell you, the cuts proposed by the Transformation Team in the last few weeks (and due to be implemented in my prison at the beginning of the next quarter) will result in the cutting of drastic numbers (i'm not prepared to go into the details on a public forum) of staff from the rosters.

As the serving officers jobs must be considered to be safe from redundancies (at least for the time being!) then the cuts can only come from retirees not being replaced and the prisons running down-staffed.

This obviously means less recruitment in the future.

If you do happen to be successful in your application then i'm sorry to say that "unfair" is something that comes as standard in the IPS and is something you will get very used to...

cordub

Lawros Tache wrote: »

Promotional panels in the IPS run for 18 months. If the applicant is sufficiently low on the panel so as not to be called within the 18 months (regardless of the amount of people called above him/her) then the panel is scrapped & a new competition started.

I dont see why the recruitment panel would be run any differently.

I suppose you could argue that economics would play a factor but IMO everybody processing the new applications are already employed by the Dept of Justice and so the only new costs would be advertising & suchlike. There is already a budget alocated for same, hence the costs would not be prohibative.

As has been mentioned above, and as any serving officer will tell you, the cuts proposed by the Transformation Team in the last few weeks (and due to be implemented in my prison at the beginning of the next quarter) will result in the cutting of drastic numbers (i'm not prepared to go into the details on a public forum) of staff from the rosters.

As the serving officers jobs must be considered to be safe from redundancies (at least for the time being!) then the cuts can only come from retirees not being replaced and the prisons running down-staffed.

This obviously means less recruitment in the future.

If you do happen to be successful in your application then i'm sorry to say that "unfair" is something that comes as standard in the IPS and is something you will get very used to...

Unfortunatly I have to agree with L T . I dont see many more people being trained in the near future. Amazing as it is though there is supposed to be an Embargo on staff recruitment and promotions but contrary to this CERTAIN grades are being promoted :rolleyes::rolleyes: so theres the Fairness of the IPS for ya . look after the top dogs !!! I think it will take a major incident before things change , not one to look forward to. These cutbacks of course will never effect the prisoner of course that could never happen , give them all they want seems to be the motto , more taxpayers money down the drain:mad::mad:

somehope11

thereal wrote: »

I reckon its all the one anyway, heaps of recruits left after their first payslip as it was so low. Ridiculous really expecting people to start a job on 300 when your 8-5 then knock it up to 380 when your on the roster and have to live in dublin where 20-30% of your wages are payed on rent alone not to mind petrol food,bills and all the other miscellaneous costs of living. I would be impossible to save a cent for 10yrs not to mind even think about buying a house, car or even jocks haha

On a more positive note,lakes1985 notice of interview was sent to the wrong adress and when he rang the ips they told him that he'd have to wait till the next batch of interviews so at least they didn't tell him they'r wasn't goin to be any more interviews.In the words of the monty python song "Always look on the bright side of life" ha ha.

slim1919

thereal wrote: »

I reckon its all the one anyway, heaps of recruits left after their first payslip as it was so low. Ridiculous really expecting people to start a job on 300 when your 8-5 then knock it up to 380 when your on the roster and have to live in dublin where 20-30% of your wages are payed on rent alone not to mind petrol food,bills and all the other miscellaneous costs of living. I would be impossible to save a cent for 10yrs not to mind even think about buying a house, car or even jocks haha

but people know this when they go for the job they know how much the wages are and how much they could earn and its not a secret that u have to work in dublin you are told this over and over so people cant really complain about it they know it when they go for the job as for the money ye i think its low but not as low as you state and i think it would be bit silly to quit a good career and go on the dole after waiting years to get it in this day and age