PETER HAKALA - HMP WAKEFIELD
DSPD: The name alone speaks volumes. it's dangerous, very dangerous, but I'll let you be the
- judge. Some years ago, I felt I needed a change in my sentence and agreed to go to Frankland DSPD Unit after I had received two invitation letters from two different people from their Multi-Disciplinary team who are not psychologists and who were telling me early in 2007 that my assessment would take place at Frankland DSPD Unit in August 2007.
On 20th July 2007 i arrived at Frankland and was seen by a trainee psychologist. After showing her the two invitation letters, the young psychologist fluttered her large eyes a few times and said to me, 'Peter, I have to inform you that your assessment will not happen before 12 months because we have a long waiting list.' My instant reply was if you have a long waiting list that is not my issue, I have in writing that my assessment should happen in August 2007.
A little time later I also found out that a psychologist had sent a letter to the Wakefield governor stating that my assessment would happen in 12 months, and pointing out that the Ministry of Justice wanted clarification on why I am a foreign national and so many years past my tariff and held in a DSPD Unit? Furthermore, the Ministry of Justice clearly pointed out that everyone in a DSPD Unit should have counselling and therapy days and weeks leading up to their assessment. The DSPD Unit psychologists totally ignored this and put themselves higher than the Ministry of justice.
Finally my assessment started not on August 12th, or even 12 month after arriving at the DSPD unit, but much much later. And, believe me, I did not like one moment of it. They started to do a risk assessment by using my overseas past historical factors and using PCL-R to make this risk assessment, which tome serves to be one way traffic, their way. Please note that I have served numerous sentences overseas — and not one psychologist or psychiatrist has ever made a risk assessment on me, so who or what gives the DSPD Unit psychologist authority to do a risk assessment on my past criminal activities and under which law are they carrying this out?
I am now on this OSPD Unit for interviews with psychologists for different reports but strongly disagree with the wording in their reports, which were always different to what took place during the interviews. I requested a copy of the interview and each time I got the same answer - `sorry - we don't have them. After using them to write your reports we destroy them.'
When I committed crime overseas and lived off the earnings of crime I was a criminal. I'll put my hands up to my overseas past, but because I am not in English prisons for my past, who gives the DSPD Unit psychologist the authority to paint me with this brush? I've been locked up in English prisons since 1986, and I have not once used any violence against another prisoner or staff. This should indicate tam not a psychopath like the DSPD Unit psychologist states. Ask yourself who are the psychologists working for? Certainly not for your best interests?
When the DSPD Unit opened it was for political reasons and nothing more. Another point worth noting is that not one person from Frankland DSPD Unit has been released on recommendation of their psychologist. We only have to listen to professional people like Professor Peter Tyrer's findings which clearly indicate nothing positive will ever come out of of the DSPD Programmes, especially those within prison.