Inmates join feud to ‘make a name’

Prison officers say inmates are getting involved in the Kinahan-Hutch feud to make a name for themselves, to climb the ladder in the gangs, or because they are being forced to do so.

The Prison Officers’ Association said management needed to adopt a strategy to remove and isolate gang bosses from the general prison population. The association also said prison officers who are assaulted and unable to return to work on the advice of State doctors have had their pay cut and are left “on the breadline”.

Speaking at the association’s annual conference in Athlone, Co Westmeath, deputy general secretary Jim Mitchell said the Kinahan-Hutch feud was a reality within prisons before it exploded on the streets.