Arbeit macht frei: - Fredrick Töben

inging along two visitors, Christopher Steele and David Brockschmidt.
Luckily I had in my memory information concerning their residential
addresses, something that’s a pre-requisite when placing anyone on your
visitors’ list. But just to make certain I was permitted to ring Peter to
confirm the details.
In England I had been snatched off the plane in my travel attire and so my
address book was on me and it had become a part of my Valuables held by
the Wandsworth prison authority in Property, from which it was later
extracted and handed back to me. In my current matter I had attended the
court without anything on me because I did not wish to have any personal
property accompany me to prison. Now, all my years of deliberately not
remembering phone numbers was no good to me!
On my first weekend at CTC the Cell Block Office staff advised me that I
had visitors for Saturday. After lunch, around 1 p.m., a mild commotion
begins around the Cell Block Office and outside where individuals are
already seeing some visitors enter and settle down at the tables in the
outside Visitor’s Area.
I waited inside the Bottom corridor for my name to be called – Töben, Cell
Block Office! I march out of the corridor and stand at the office window
while an officer exits the office to take my ID card and anything I may have
in my pocket, then frisks me from top to bottom – patting only. Later, on
return from visits several individuals are taken to the room opposite the
Cell Block Office for a thorough search, meaning total strip and ending up
in the squat position.
All this is necessary, as the General Manager David Oates explained in a
circular of 14 September 2009:
As of 15 September 2009 Cadell Training Centre will no longer allow
visitors to bring cans of soft drinks onto the prison visit area unless
purchased from the Visitor Reception. This is due to several incidents
where soft drinks have been used to conceal contraband.
Please be mindful that no soft drinks despite purchased from the Visit
Reception can be taken from the Visit Area back to the accommodation
units.
I apologise to those who have done the right thing in the past, but the
risk of the introduction of contraband needs to be managed.
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