Tomorrow...Home Affairs (and Jersey Oak's Christmas Sale!!!)

If Ian Le Marquand gets in tomorrow I am giving up.

The police are investigating Les Chene and this guy used to send kids there to be kept in solitary confinement for 28 days.

He has already stated that the Police need to be under more political control.

What's the point................................

Just to cheer me up a little I want to change tact on my blog.

I have kept it purely professional up until now.

But there is something I need to tell you....................

Whats occurring? Well, its.........

Jersey Oak's, first ever 'Sale'.

Thats right, my company Jersey Oak, this weekend in the Royal Square.

25% off Everything.

Come and see me there.

That cheered me up a little bit.

Simon

p.s. Agent 315, if you come to see me you will have to wear a disguise!

My Response - Part 4

The Grand Prix System

Senator Shenton chooses in his opening paragraphs to criticise the GP system because it is male orientated.

Well done Ben for seeing that it was not perfect after all. No wonder you are Health Minister (for the moment) you really do know your stuff!

Interestingly he chooses a criticism that was levied by the Howard League.

Even more interesting that he chooses to cite this criticism instead of the other one quoted by the Howard League;

"9.26 As we have previously stated at para 1.1, we certainly believe the Grand Prix regime was unlawful."

Shenton goes on to say that it was very affective at reducing the levels of violence and absconding.

So were the guns used by Hitler's army!

The next bit I like the best though.

He says,

"[Simon Bellwood's]...first job was to formally discontinue the Grand Prix system and to build a modern system which reflected modern practice as per the Department of Health's Children's Homes - National Minimum Standards".

Ben Shenton you are the lowest of low. This has been fed to you be Joe Kennedy and Phil Dennett. What a bunch of idiots the three of you.

He goes on to write,

"He [Simon Bellwood] was delegated the task of dismantling this sytem by those who recruited him".

'Those that recruited him' - that was Phil Dennett and Joe Kennedy.

Joe, Phil, you're a pair of lying bastards.

When I hear things like this is motivates me further to bring these lying, deceitful and incompetent idiots to justice.

They think they can ruin my 15 year career, do a hopeless job themselves for years and just get away with it.

Not a chance boys.

Joe, Phil you will get what you both deserve trust me.

The truth is they both bullied me when I changed the GP system.

As if they ever told me to stop it. Why would they? Joe was so proud of it!

I am finishing at this point tonight because this really does piss me off.

I am now going to drink a bottle of wine and relax in front of the TV.

I want any staff who are reading this, you know the truth, to tell someone.

Phone the Police and tell them the truth.

You don't have to do it on here but do not stand by and let these two evil people ruin any more lives.

As for the rest of the equally useless and corrupt senior civil servant that conspired to cover this up and get rid of me, I am not going to stop until they have been brought to justice either.

This time next week, you wait, they will not be looking so relaxed

Don't worry, nothing sinister going on, this is not a threat or anything like that.

I would not stoop so low.

I have always played by the book and always will.

Just watch this space!

Justice will be done.

Simon

Frankly, I don't give a damn!

A letter from Frank, click on it to enlarge!

I did a live interview on BBC Radio Jersey's Breakfast Show again this morning responding to Senator Shenton's Letter. You can click the link below to listen.

I will do a more substantive post tomorrow with my Response - Part 4.

I will also be responding to Frank. Let me know if you have any messages for him, I will be happy to pass them on!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p001kkqy/Jersey_Today_02_12_2008/

My Response - Part 3

Part 1 - This covered the Letter from Senator Shenton

Part 2 - This covered the section 'What is Greenfields'.

Part 3 - This will cover 'Les Chene Boys Orgy of Destruction', and more importantly, 'Instructions to Les Chene from The Magistrates Court Greffe'.


Senator Shenton, through his own admission has chosen to cite paragraphs from the JEP instead of citing 'considered and worthy departmental reports...'.

Why?

Why would he use the JEP paragraphs instead. Maybe because their headlines have a greater impact than the wording of a departmental report? A report which talks about young children, a 12 year and a 14 year old!

'Les Chene Boys Orgy of Dustruction',

This does have a much greater affect a report called,

"Incident at Les Chene involving two young boys aged 12 and 14".

Sorry Senator Shenton but this section of your report is complete garbage.

If there are any States Members who cannot see through your spin and diversionary tactics then God help us all.

I am really pleased that you have decided not to go for Chief Minister post.

If this report were to be used as an example you would have the transparency of a house brick.

You would be better off reading story time at the local library; when it is closed!

Moving on, the next section says;

"18 escapes in a five month period".

Did it not occur to anyone that if they keep escaping then the building should be improved. If your rabbit escapes from your garden you fix the fence. Yes?

We have heard time and time again that the Les Chene building was not fit for purpose; It was simply a farmhouse.

It was in use for more than 25 years, why did it not occur to anyone to made some changes? The secure children's home I managed in Essex, UK for two and a half years had no bars on the windows. It has no cell doors. It has no Pits area.

Since it opened in 1994 not one child escaped, not one.

Also, since it opened in 1994 not one child was held in solitary confinement as a punishment.

I have watched a 14 stone young man run at one of these windows that was about 8ft high and 4 ft wide and he bounced off, repeatedly.

All that was needed at Les Chene was proper doors and locks and reinforced double glazed windows.

This, along with better investment in staff.

The very people who the unit is most dependent upon.

The very people who have suffered the most in the past two years.

The very people who are the least to blame for all of this.

It is not rocket science.

So it was just a farmhouse, well you know what, this might work for some readers but in my book this is just a lame excuse. An excuse to justify locking up Jersey's most vulnerable children.

But hey, why spend money on these children when you can just lock them up instead.

To me, this sounds a little like the recent refusal on the part of Senator Shenton, to send three siblings to the UK as it was too expensive. There is no service is Jersey than can provide these three with the specialist treatment that they so desperately need.

We could put the £600,000 per year needed in the rainy day fund instead!

Or, maybe we can invite a few more 11K's to Jersey and charge them virtually zero tax because that would be better for the island wouldn't it?

So, we have seen that its a lack of investment that forced young people to be held in solitary confinement for long periods.

Senator Shenton, when these siblings become so out of control due to the States neglecting their needs will you see that they are locked up in solitary confinement too?

Senator Shenton, when you were a foster carer and they were naughty did you send them to their room? Probably.

What is wrong with this you may say.

Nothing. No until you send them to their room,

lock the door,

remove their personal belongings,

strip them to their boxer shorts,

remove all items from the room apart from a crash mat and a bottle of water,

leave them there for 28 days other than when they want to use the toilet and have some exercise.

Then is it okay?

This brings us to the next section called, 'Instructions to Les Chene from The Magistrates Court Greffe'

The solitary confinement at Les Chene was so effective that the magistrates decided why stop it.

What did they do?

Did they help develop better alternatives to custody?

Did they provide more wide ranging community sentence options?

Did they look at preventative interventions such as working with the family?

No.

They formally ordered that vulnerable children should be locked into solitary confinement as they saw fit.

That's right, the Magistrates, only five years ago, ordered children into solitary confinement.

That meant the next "12 and 14 year old [who] went on the rampage" would now be ordered into solitary confinement until the magistrates decided otherwise.

Cast your mind back to a few weeks ago, who topped the polls?

Ian Le Marquand.

Yep, one of the magistrates who masterminded the whole thing.

What does that tell us?

Not only was this guy allowed to do this but the people of Jersey liked him so much that he topped the polls!

Now he wants to run the Home Affairs department!

This is all mad. Seemingly, the majority of Jersey people support this approach.

I don't actually consider myself to be liberal but when you consider this, it could be argued that Hitler was liberal!

In this section of the report Senator Shenton does not use the words 'solitary confinement' or 'single separation', but do not be fooled.

The statement refers to 'secure unit', 'secure room' and 'locked part of the school'.

This area later became known as the Pits.

This was solitary confinement.

Let me remind you of the interview I did with a young man a couple of weeks ago at the JEP office.

He was given a 'secure remand' as it was know then. This is exactly what Senator Shenton refers to above.

In the case of this young man, solitary confinement for 28 days.

Yet despite this information, many people in Jersey still consider this practice to be okay?

Who was the AG at this time. Who was it before 2000?

I know it was William Balliache from 2000, he was in charge at the time when the Magistartes order them into solitary confinement.

As the AG he must have endorsed the order.

Getting back to resources and money.

Senator Shenton concludes this section by pointing out once again that the building, staffing, training and behaviour management were lacking.

So much so that children were locked up in solitary confinement.

I am sorry that I have used the word solitary confinement so many times but it is needed. We need people to really understand what this was like. Young children locked in a room on their own for weeks, with limited staff/child interaction and virtually no stimulation whatsoever.

Whether they were horrible little brats or not is irrelevant.

I would not subject my dog to such treatment.

Would you?

Joe Kenendy has not been mentioned yet, and lets face it, it is no secret that he is not very high up on my Christmas list.

It has to be said, there are few people in this world that I dislike. In fact, I could count them on one hand.

I have said publicly before, he bullied me, this man literally reduced me to tears.

He really is a bully and a control freak through and through.

He is also ill equipped to be doing the job he is doing.

Since his return from suspension he has not been seen by staff from one month to the next.

Some staff have not seen him since his return four months ago.

However, I do have one good thing to say about him.

He put an end to the Magistrates locking the children up.

Yes, he stopped them doing it. Well done Joe Kennedy.

But before you get too excited, I wrote earlier that he is a bully and a control freak.

Yes he is.

Although he stopped the Magistrates locking them up, he did it himself instead.

He brought along the Grand Prix system which meant that young people were locked in solitary through this system instead of the Magistrates doing it. More of that in Part 4.

Enough of my rant this evening.

If you (States Members included) cannot see that this whole thing is a cover up then there is something wrong.

I have a question to end on.

When the Howard League for Penal Reform first visited Jersey in May of this year they came arrived on a Sunday evening.

Who invited himself to see them 9am on Monday morning?

The Bailiff, Sir Phillip Ballaiche.

Why?

Simon

My Response - Part 2

Over the coming days I will write my response to Senator Shenton's report.

In my post yesterday I discussed the letter from Senator Shenton but there is one element which leaves me confused.

At the top of the letter is says;

"Our ref: BES/JLP/LAW"

Can anyone tell me what this refers to?

My thoughts are that 'LAW' suggests that it was written or checked by the States of Jersey Law Department. Can anyone shed light on this for me?

I also think that Senator Shenton's numerous references to confidentiality within his letter was intentional. I believe that he did this to offer himself some protection should there be any dispute about defamation etc, knowing full well that the letter would be leaked to the media.

I don't suppose he expected that the leak to the JEP would have been from me though!

The Report

Greenfields - Time for the Truth

That's the first lie, right there in the title, a good start Senator!

In the opening paragraph Senator Shenton suggests that the truth has not been conveyed accurately and this needs to be rectified. He goes on to say, "This task falls to me".

Clearly Senator Shenton is taking full responsibility for the content of both the letter and the report.

What is Greenfields?

This section is very confusing and I apologise if I do not make it any clearer for you. I will try my best to explain things as clearly and simply as I can.

At the start of this section Senator Shenton's report suggests that the detractors (assuming he means me and Senator Syvret), 'either mischievously or out of ignorance seek to confuse..."

I agree that Les Chene/Greenfields is an area which has left some people confused and the majority, but not all, of what Senator Shenton writes here is true.

However, in this section Senator Shenton simply seeks to further confuse people as this is a red herring.

Whether it is called Les Chene or Greenfields makes no difference whatsoever to the allegations that I made in January 2007.

Remember this, my allegations were about the practices that took place and not what the building was called.

One of the things that Senator Shenton seeks to achieve in this section is for people to believe that the Grand Prix system did not take place in Greenfields Secure Unit.

This is merely spin.

That said, this is an important part of the report and I will return to this in a moment.

Senator Shenton, refers to the report written by Dr Kathie Bull, which was commissioned by the Education Sport and Culture Committee.

What Senator Shenton fails to point out is that the Kathie Bull report was commissioned following a complaint from a child who was resident at Les Chene.

The complaint was against the Headteacher and the Deputy Headteacher.

No names mentioned here but consider this, if a man-sells his dog then he will have to wag-it himself!

Senator Shenton's report clearly suggests that the commissioning of Kathie Bull was a proactive 'realisation' by the Education Sport and Culture committee.

This was not proactive and my point is further evidenced on page 318 of the Kathie Bull report in paragraph 10, which states,

"Since the incident which prompted the 2001 Review of the remand provision...".

This complaint (or incident as Kathie Bull suggests) resulted in a police investigation where both the headteacher and the deputy headteacher were interviewed.

Interestingly, one of the comments made during these interviews was, "Do you know who I am?"

What Senator Shenton also fails to point in his report is that Kathie Bull's findings were highly critical, particularly of Les Chene.

A view that has been recently echoed by the Howard League for Penal Reform.

Senator Shenton goes on to suggest that following the Kathie Bull report, Les Chene, was redesignated as a remand centre and renamed Greenfields.

Finally he says that the Greenfields Secure Unit opened in October 2006. This point needs to be considered further.

At the start of this section called, 'What is Greenfields', Senator Shenton stated that 'the detractors' sought to confuse by misusing the term 'Greenfields'.

Senator Shenton has done just that. Are you confused? You should be.

His report suggests that from 2003 when Les Chene was redesignated as a remand centre and called Greenfields, nothing changed further until the new building opened in October 2006.

This is simply not true.

Not that this is significant but the new 'Greenfields Secure Unit' did not simply appear when the new building opened. Nothing changed in October 2006 other than staff and residents moved from one building to the other.

Senator Shenton goes on to say, "... I wish to make it clear that at no time did the Grand Prix system operate in the Greenfields Secure Unit."

For me, this is the most interesting point.

Why would Senator Shenton wish to make this point so very clear'?

What does this achieve?

During the past few weeks Senator Shenton and others have made it clear that they do not consider that the Grand Prix system was abusive or illegal.

The reason for this is very obvious and I will go into this in detail at a later date (this is why I need to know who the Attorney Generals of Jersey have been. Has anyone found the full details yet?).

Joe Kennedy, Senator Perchard, Senator Walker, Senator Vibert, Deputy Lewis and others have all defended the Grand Prix system, saying that there was nothing wrong with it other that the 'unfortunate wording'!

Has anyone spoken to the children or staff about it or have they just spoken to Joe Kennedy and Phil Dennett?

Andrew Williamson, Madeleine Davies and the Howard League have all spoken to staff and young people.

I will go into more detail about that another time but if any staff or ex-residents want to comment on here that would be great.

Getting back to the point, why would Senator Shenton want us to believe that the Grand Prix system did not operate in the new building?

What would his point be?

He reinforces his point further in the final paragraph of this section where he writes,

"Unless you understand these fundamental distinctions, you will understandably be confused about whether policies and practices which were in use in the Les Chene farmhouse were also operating in the new and modern Greenfields Secure Unit".

The point, regardless of what the building was called, regardless of whether it was 2003 or 2006, is to avoid the question of whether the Grand Prix system was abusive. I think his report answers this itself.

Senator Shenton is not stupid, the man used to be a foster carer. If he fostered a fractious child would he have put them in the Pits for three days?

My concern is that we have been hearing what the politicians think about whether something was right or wrong.

Do we really care what a politicians opinion is on such a specialist subject?

They are politicians, not experts in this field.

They are advised by people like Joe Kennedy and Phil Dennett.

This is not a criticism of Senator Shenton or Senator Perchard but simply a statement of fact.

Who feeds them with this information, it is not the staff on the cold face, it is not the children!

Why do some people choose not to listen to the experts?

These experts have made comments publicly, they have published their reports, surely we should be listening to them and not the politicians?

Whilst some would argue that the Howard League for Penal Reform are liberal in their views, one cannot argue that their interpretation of the Law is less informed than two politicians with backgrounds in finance and farming!

The Howard League for Penal Reform wrote in their report,

9.26 As we have previously stated in Para 1.1, we certainly believe that the Grand Prix system was unlawful. However, some of the most serious allegations we heard, related to events prior to the establishment of the Grand Prix".

So they think that although the Grand Prix system was unlawful, what was there before was even worse?

Reading into Senator Shenton's report, what was there before must have been before Joe Kennedy arrived in 2004?

Who were the managers before Joe Kennedy.

Can anyone provide a chronology of managers?

Going back to the experts views, Andrew Williamson cited in his report;

5.11 However, to use single separation/isolation, the process whereby children are forcible removed from association with others and confined to a room on their own as a form of punishment for misbehaviour, is clearly inappropriate and should never be sanctioned by any care regime.

He went on to say;

5.16 There are at least two versions of what happened there and the only comment that we can make on the subject is that, if a prima facie case exists or emerges that the system, and therefore children, were abused, action should be taken against those responsible.

On that note I will end.

On a different point - it has been almost a week since I wrote to Senator Walker informing him that I have the evidence that he has asked for.

He has not replied.

I have the evidence, much of which has not been reported publicly.

His refusal can only be seen as a gross failure in public office.

A stance which clearly supports the cover up instigated by a number of senior civil servants and politicians who are responsible for the welfare and protection of the islands most vulnerable young people.

Sorry that this post is so confusing, it is a complex area which is extremely difficult to explain in simply and clear terms.

I will continue with the next section tomorrow and answer any questions you may have.

Simon

My Response - Part 1

The letter and report, supposedly written by Senator Shenton and co-signed by Senator Perchard, is as it suggests a statement of fact. The letter states,

“…we have had to describe in the attached report all of the facts relating to this man’s employment so that a full and balanced consideration can be made by you [States Members]”.

Senator Shenton also re-emphasises this point in his next paragraph,

“…understand these matters because unless you have the full facts before you, you will be unable to reach balanced and considered judgements…”

I think we can assume therefore that the Senator is making it clear that what is written in this report is factual.

I have sent this document to the Police as further evidence in their ongoing investigation.

In March of this year the States of Jersey submitted written statements and reports to the Employment Tribunal. This tribunal is a Court of Law, in doing so their actions moved away from being civil matters to being possible criminal matters.

If anyone knowingly lied in statements or reports which were later submitted before the tribunal they could now face criminal charges. This includes any person employed by the States of Jersey regardless of their seniority.

This may concern anyone who wrote a witness statement for the tribunal.

If it was me, and I had lied, I would now be seeking legal advice or going to confession this Sunday.

If anyone wrote a statement but never got a copy of it then let me know as I have them all on file.

I will happily send you what was written, perhaps what they wrote on your behalf and then put your name to it even!

To date, I have given two separate statements to the police, the most recent one was on Tuesday this week. The day that the report was sent in the post to all States Members by Senator Shenton.

I cannot say any more at this stage because it is subject of an ongoing police inquiry, however, in a couple of weeks time I will be able to discuss this in more detail – all will become clear in due course!

Senator Shenton states in his report that he will be making no public comment on the matter in either the letter or the report.

We will have to wait and see; I bet he does.

I will of course dissect this letter and report on here in due course.

This report is cleverly written, I will admit that, but the report is full of lies and diversionary spin. The lies will be proven to be so; that I can promise.

Lets face it, if you were me and you had lied, would you write a blog? Would you go live on TV? Would you do live interviews on the radio? Would you have done a Saturday Interview in the JEP? I doubt it.

I will be offering to meet with States Members in due course so that they can see the evidence that I have available (as Frank Walker has refused to see it) and provide them with an opportunity to ask me any questions.

I am happy to share this meeting with Senator Shenton, Senator Perchard and Joe Kennedy if they would like to. I would be more than willing to be questioned together.

During the last two weeks I have also asked the local TV stations, radio and JEP to interview me alongside anyone they wished.

I offered to be interviewed with Joe Kennedy, Phil Dennett, Mike Pollard, Senators Shenton, Perchard and Walker. I was happy to do live interviews with any of them.

It never happened

None of them wanted to know.

I have written to Senator Shenton with my appeal. I have written to Senator Walker offering the evidence. I have not received a response from either of them.

The JEP said today that they will be publishing a news story about Senator Shenton’s letter tomorrow and asked me to respond.

How nice of them to give me 6 hours notice in which to prove he is lying and clear my name, All this before 50,000 people read his lies.

Last week I gave the JEP two interviews. One person resided at Le Chene in 1995 and the other at Greenfields in 2006.

The JEP have yet to publish them; saying that they are doing further investigations into the story.

They received the letter written by Senator Shenton today and they are going to print tomorrow!

What does that tell you?

My response for the JEP is this,

“I feel deeply saddened and disturbed that Senator Shenton has unashamedly lied and intentionally misrepresented events.

I believe that Senator Shenton, through his actions, has actively conspired to cover up the abuse that many children have suffered under a regime which saw children held for long periods of time in solitary confinement.

It is for this reason that I have submitted his letter and report to the Police who are currently conducting an investigation into related matters. I am sure that Senator Shenton’s report will help them with their inquiries.

Senator Shenton's letter serves no purpose other than to attempt to divert attention away from the real issues; that vulnerable children were routinely locked in solitary confinement for long periods of time whilst in the care of the States of Jersey. Furthermore, these long and pre determined periods of solitary confinement, often over three days at a time, were often initiated through petty matters such as swearing or being rude to staff.

It has to be acknowledged that this is not the first time that Senator Shenton has acted in this manner. We have previously witnessed his unprofessional comments regarding the former Deputy Chief of Police as well as comments aimed at current colleagues, the Council of Ministers,
Senator Shenton’s time as a minister will no doubt come to an end very shortly. In part I believe this is due to his behaviour and actions whilst holding such a privileged position in public office.

This latest attack will serve to do nothing more than to secure his legacy.

A legacy which leaves States employees with no choice but to stay silent when faced with poor practice.

A legacy which sends a clear message; if you blow the whistle, we will do to you what we did to Simon Bellwood.”

.

Health Service offering Free Smears!

Updated 27th November @8pm.

What you have all been waiting for, the moment of Truth about Simon Bellwood and Greenfields etc.

http://justice4survivors.org/The_Letter_to_All_state_members/intro.htm

I didn't think he had it in him, but Senator Shenton has today affirmed his place in the ranks of the Establishment.

To the right you will find the real truth about Greenfields, as written by Senator Shenton yesterday, on 25th November 2008. This letter was submitted to all States Members.

When you read this you must keep it a secret as the letter is written in the strictest confidence. The letter was leaked to me today, posted through my letterbox in an unmarked envelope. Thank you.

I have placed the letter on my blog. I am sure that it will be of interest to the police officers who are investigating issues relating to the peversion of the course of justice, and misconduct in public office, during my employment tribunal. The tribunal concluded with a settlement on 12th March this year.

I will be writing a more substantive post tomorrow. For tonight, just read the letter. Form your own views, make an unbiased decision based on "the Truth" as reported by Senator Shenton. Read his balanced, fair and honest rendition of events, and make up your own mind, just as all States Members who received this document have been politely advised to do.

Did Senator Shenton pen this letter himeslf? I recognise the hand of Joe Kennedy within its smearing prose, and no doubt Mike Pollard played a substantial role as the 'evidence' presented about my mal-practice has come directly from Mr Pollard's "Bellwood Tribunal Witness Training Programme'.

Just so you are aware, I have not had a reply of any kind from Senator Walker to my letter offering to show him the evidence that he so sincerely seeks.

Nor has Senator Shenton endeavoured to respond to me. Nor his parter in "Truth", Senator Perchard.

Can we now conclude that Senator Walker is refusing to see, hear, or admit the existence of, the evidence? See no evil, hear no evil ...

Can we now also conclude that Senator Shenton is not intending to re-investiagte my complaint into abusive childcare practices at Greenfields, despite the existence of highly credible evidence, as stated by the Howard League?

Enjoy the letter.

It paints a rosy picture of me as a raving, ranting, cussing racist, who didn't have a clue how to look after children in secure accommodation. Even when the children were allegedly very big, heavy, violent and threatening. Which, by the way, they weren't. But does being a big, heavy child mean that you are no longer a child? Apparently so ...

Well done, Senator Shenton, us parents can sleep soundly knowing that you are at the helm of Social Services and that deadful, useless Bellwood chap is...erm...not.

Speak tomorrow

Simon