Inside Broadmoor.

This documentary in two parts is about Broadmoor; the hospital and prison or 'criminal lunatic asylum'. The programme looks at some of the infamous inmates and goes back to the archives of the organisation. After John Straffen's escape in 1952, the hospital stepped up its security. A newspaper journalist comments on the public's appetite for stories about serial killers and the fear which surrounds mental health. Edgar Jones corroborates this. Dr Pat McGrath brought his famiy to Broadmoor; his son, now a screenwriter, remembers his childhood there. Block 6 was notorious for the seriously disturbed patients. Tony Madden tells us about the inmates of Block 6; mostly schizophrenics. With the introduction of anti-psychotics such as chlorpromazine, this looked to be the answer to this erstwhile untreatable condition. The drug 'tones down' delusions. Frank Mitchell, one of the Krays, was described as a 'mental deffective' and incarcerated at Broadmoor. He was violent and extremely hard to control; he escaped despite the extraordinary security. The army were called in - he got 5 miles and terrorised a family before he was caught. There was pressure to move the hospital to an island, fuelled by the media. McGrath chose his patients and declined to take on Ian Brady on the grounds that he was evil and untreatable. Tony Black, retired clinical psychologist, talks about his experiences as a member of staff. Broadmoor was however grossly overcrowded; built to house 500 inmates, there were 850 inmates. A notorious case of an inmate who was released, 'cured' was Graham Young, a 14 year old school boy, who developed an interest in chemistry which led to him poisoning his stepmother. He was sentenced and sent to Broadmoor; he was an unusual case. Professor Laurence, forensic psychologist, Alison talks about Young's psychological profiling. Young was released and took a job in a photographic laboratory in Bovingdon; amazingly he poisoned about 60 people with 2 dying before he was discovered. He wasn't returned to Broadmoor - he died at Parkhurst aged 42. McGrath retired after 25 years and then stories from the prison in the 1980s indicate that bullying, intimidation and brutality were rife. Twins June and Jennifer Gibbons were treated with anti-psychiatric drugs; they were incarcerated for their selective mutism and misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, even though they had not committed any serious crime - this is as a result of their unusual but mostly benign behaviour. Professor Pamela Taylor who was Head of Medical Services at Broadmoor between 1990-1995 outlines the terrible conditions she discovered, particularly regarding the standard of accommodation (for example, dormitories) - the medical staff were wearing prison officer uniforms. Taylor was particularly interested in drama therapy; she bought Shakespeare to the patients. Mark Rylance remembers his performance of Hamlet to the prison - all the pins in the costumes had to be counted in and out. The staff were understandably nervous about the performance. In fact the plays had the opposite effect. Robert Napper was already in Broadmoor when developments in forensic technology indicated that he had also killed Rachel Nickell and is thought to have committed over 100 violent rapes. Broadmoor then found that a different class of criminal - those with severe personality disorders - psychopaths were incarcerated there. Michael Stone is an example of a severe personality disorder, who was released from prison then re-offended. Inmates who are paedophiles are given anti-libidal drugs, also known as chemical castration. There was a specific unit dedicated to this category. Treating a patient at Broadmoor is very expensive - over £300k per patient. Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper, has been at Broadmoor for over 30 years. To start with, he was sent to Parkhurst prisoner but was attacked and the authorities realised that his presence was a problem. He arrived at Broadmoor and was given anti-psychotic treatment; his appalling crimes ensure that he will never be released.