Prison cell modifications (FOI)

Request

At a recent Royal Court hearing, it was mentioned that the prison cell facility for Mr Russell King had to be modified.

A

Please state what those upgrades were and how much was spent on completing them.

B

The total amount spent on any other changes to prison facilities to accommodate [name redacted] and state what these were in each case.

C

How much has been spent on Mr Russell King beyond usual expenditure on those residing at La Moye, and what this additional expenditure was in each case (specialist medical expenses, additional expenditure on accommodating his dietary requirements, for example).

D

Total travel expenses incurred for Mr Russell King when extradited to Jersey, detailing in which class the prisoner travelled and which vehicles were used for transport, as well as the cost of meals.

Response

A to C

The States of Jersey (SOJ) Prison Service will not answer any request on a specific prisoner as such information is exempt under Article 25 (Personal information) of the Freedom of Information (Jersey) Law 2011 (the Law). It is considered that there is not a substantial public interest which is significant enough to outweigh Mr King’s right to privacy in relation to data concerning his health, and that the release of such data by the Prison is likely to put into the public domain more information regarding his health than is currently disclosed.

Should any modification be required to accommodate a prisoners needs then the SOJ Prison Service will address those needs. Such medical requirements that have recently been installed for use by the prison population includes:

• disabled alarm phone fitted priced £85.00

• grab rail for the toilet priced at £20.00

These items are kept in stock and used and fitted when required. Once no longer required the items can be re-used. On site Engineers will fit the items at no extra cost.

Additional items may be required for prisoners such as hiring of a medical bed or assistance with daily hygiene/dressing and washing, however these are assessed on a case by case basis.

D

The extradition of Mr Russell King from Bahrain was undertaken by the Metropolitan police extradition team. This was considered to be the most effective and efficient option due to their previous experience in this region and the local contacts already established. A team consists of three officers.

The subject was under the care of medical professionals in Bahrain who declared that such a lengthy flight to the UK should only be undertaken if the subject could be allowed to lie flat (Business class). This was a condition of the medical sign off to allow the subject to fly. This required the purchase, at short notice, of business class flights to the UK. The flight to Jersey was considered short enough to be facilitated with a normal seat.

The Metropolitan police did not charge the States of Jersey Police for the officers time, only the cost of flights. The total cost of all flights to and from Bahrain, returning with the subject and continuing to Jersey was £18,862. Meals are inclusive of the flight costs.

Article applied

Article 25 Personal information

(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.

(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –

(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and

(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.