How Drugs and Mobile Phones Get Into British Prisons
This is a list of key vocabulary and expressions from the video in order of how useful they are. The student must choose 6 items from the list to study in the lesson.
To come clean (about something)
To be riddled (with something)
A swathe (of something)/ Swathes (of something)
15 conversation-provoking questions related to the article.
Who are Richard Holmes and Heidi Blake, and what was their mission?
What two sets of documents did Richard obtain, and what did they show?
What did the prison guards say to Richard?
According to Richard, what are the three ways that a prison officer can become corrupt?
What happened after Richard’s article was published?
‘Corrupt prison officers are evil people.’ Do you agree?
‘If I were in charge of a prison, there would be no drugs inside it.’ Is this true for you?
‘If they raised the starting salary of a prison officer from £24,000 to £30,000 per year, there would be no corruption in British prisons.’ Do you agree?
‘My country is far more corrupt than Britain, so British journalists should stop complaining.’ Is this true for you? Do you agree?
‘It’s impossible to create an environment where prison officers are happy at work.’ Do you agree?
‘People should only be sent to prison for violent crimes.’ Do you agree?
‘School children should be invited to do tours of local prisons.’ Do you agree?
‘There aren’t any criminals in my hometown.’ Is this true for you?
‘Male guards should not be allowed to work in female prisons.’ Do you agree?
‘Private companies should be allowed to employ prisoners within the prison.’ Do you agree?