Call for ‘gangland prison’ to house crime bosses

The country should have a dedicated “gangland prison” to house convicted crime bosses, according to prison officers.

The Prison Officers’ Association (POA) said gang leaders ruled over inmates in what were akin to mini-empires in jails.

“There’s actually a huge difficulty for us to try and manage these people, especially those involved in gang warfare, because they exercise a huge degree of control over other prisoners within the system,” Jim Mitchell, deputy general secretary, told the POA annual conference in Athlone.