has anyone on here been in prison would be interested to know if the items listed above are given out and how good it is inside.
My mrs is a probation officer, she visits regularly and obviously know lots of inmates.... the 'easy life' line is outdated, 2 days ago the news was telling us about a suicide in woodhill.... I doubt he did that because of too much playstation
1 suicide all be it sad although i will hold my judgement until i know what crime it was, on social media there is a LOT of videos of inmates with phones, drugs, takeaway meals, tellys, xbox. i dont envy those that work in the sector paid pittance to do with some of these vile shits.
the ross kemp docu on barlinney ( the big hoose ) the lads featured on that offended because they think they are gangsters looked up one of the people featured he is back inside for armed robbery, the other older chap featured believed that abused children enjoyed it - i would have no qualms dispatching of someone like that, he said he is ill and will re-offend was serving his 4th sentence for child abuse.
99.99% of sex offeners have been abused themselves
fabricated statistic
ok its slightly out for effect, but most have been abused... took me 10 seconds to google just now and read that upto 80% of juevenille sex offenders had been abused.
40%-80% is correct.
Hense the 'upto' bit. Im sure those numbers are still much higher than people would presume... picking apart my points doesnt change the fact that a huge % of offenders are victims too.
Yes, I saw the 'upto' bit but added some factual clarity to the figures being presented as it would have been just as unclear if someone had said 'over 40%'.
Wasn't picking your post apart at all so feel free to put your paranoia away.
Hold on, forgot that we're only allowed to repeat made up info, opinions picked up down the pub or the upper figure of a range told to us by our partners.
Anyway, so long as you're sure.
not just you so you can hide your parranoia too ..over 40% is fine, just no need to be a pedantic cunt
'paranoia'
Glad that 'over 40%' is fine as it paints a different picture to '99.99%' and 'upto 80%'.
I've just bought one of these to not only hide it, but to lock it away. Do you think it'll be big enough?:
Id be happy if you dropped it on your head
sure does, makes it sound like people abuse kids out of choice
I think you might have misjudged this one quite badly. Sure, there's often reasons for people to commit the crimes they do beyond being evil, but you can't just make up statistics to suit your agenda, that devalues your whole argument. The 99.99% statistic was made up by you. There's a real statistic. A real, troubling statistic that shows how sex offenders end up offending based on previous trauma. It's not 99.99% though, that's objectively wrong. No-one is trying to devalue the argument by introducing accurate statistics so I don't know why you've started throwing abuse around. You may want to chill a bit.
I think some people are putting too much emphasis on rehabilitation and not punishment for the crimes. The punishment element still needs to be a big part of it, surely
Nobody is saying it isn't but you also need to cut reoffending.
I think some people are putting too much emphasis on rehabilitation and not punishment for the crimes. The punishment element still needs to be a big part of it, surely
Nobody is saying it isn't but you also need to cut reoffending.
has anyone on here been in prison would be interested to know if the items listed above are given out and how good it is inside.
My mrs is a probation officer, she visits regularly and obviously know lots of inmates.... the 'easy life' line is outdated, 2 days ago the news was telling us about a suicide in woodhill.... I doubt he did that because of too much playstation
1 suicide all be it sad although i will hold my judgement until i know what crime it was, on social media there is a LOT of videos of inmates with phones, drugs, takeaway meals, tellys, xbox. i dont envy those that work in the sector paid pittance to do with some of these vile shits.
the ross kemp docu on barlinney ( the big hoose ) the lads featured on that offended because they think they are gangsters looked up one of the people featured he is back inside for armed robbery, the other older chap featured believed that abused children enjoyed it - i would have no qualms dispatching of someone like that, he said he is ill and will re-offend was serving his 4th sentence for child abuse.
99.99% of sex offeners have been abused themselves
fabricated statistic
ok its slightly out for effect, but most have been abused... took me 10 seconds to google just now and read that upto 80% of juevenille sex offenders had been abused.
40%-80% is correct.
Hense the 'upto' bit. Im sure those numbers are still much higher than people would presume... picking apart my points doesnt change the fact that a huge % of offenders are victims too.
Yes, I saw the 'upto' bit but added some factual clarity to the figures being presented as it would have been just as unclear if someone had said 'over 40%'.
Wasn't picking your post apart at all so feel free to put your paranoia away.
Hold on, forgot that we're only allowed to repeat made up info, opinions picked up down the pub or the upper figure of a range told to us by our partners.
Anyway, so long as you're sure.
not just you so you can hide your parranoia too ..over 40% is fine, just no need to be a pedantic cunt
'paranoia'
Glad that 'over 40%' is fine as it paints a different picture to '99.99%' and 'upto 80%'.
I've just bought one of these to not only hide it, but to lock it away. Do you think it'll be big enough?:
Id be happy if you dropped it on your head
What a lovely individual you are. Posts half facts and then gets abusive when it's pointed out.
I thought Devon was supposed to mellow people out.
Gets pissy with me and screams abuse when I return it lol grade A gammon, youl be flagging me next.
Wtf is a gammon?
It’s on the menu at Belmarsh tonight.
Do they serve pig products in prison?
I doubt it in Belmarsh, most of the inmates do not eat Pork if you get my drift.
it was a genuine question as i think all the meat served in prison is halal for that very reason
has anyone on here been in prison would be interested to know if the items listed above are given out and how good it is inside.
Whether this study is correct or not, imo prisons aren't only there to stop people reoffending, they're there as a punishment and a balance needs to be drawn. We could go a couple of steps further and close prisons and try and sweeten up offenders in their own homes to convince them not commit crimes again, whether it worked or not ain't the point, where's the punishment?
Community Service?
There is no real answer to the problem, if there were somewhere in the world it would be doing it. Serious crimes and crimes in general obviously need to have consequences but the reality is most people we lock will be out one day. I for one would hope we try to make these people blend back into society better than when they went into prison. May be some of them will become tax payers rather than tax takers. We should try and find a way to break the reoffending cycle.
Community service 'punishment' for murderers, rapists, robbers, thieves and drug dealers? Seriously??? Surely their being back in the society eventually doesn't mean they can just be 'punished' in such light way?
I wasn't I was suggesting that. The bit at the top was a reply and the bit underneath was my ramblings. But it's a fact only a handful of people get whole life terms so that leaves an awful lot of awful people who will be let out at some point. What we have been doing for years obviously doesn't work for some so may be a fresh approach might.
I like the idea of a fresh approach. Castrating some violent/sexual criminals prior to release would be one solution. It would help the offender manage his aggression/impulses and law abiding citizens would find it easier to buy into non custodial oversight. It would also act as genuine deterrent which current sanctions seem incapable of providing.
There is a balance to be had between rehabilitation and punishment IMO. It feels to me that people on both sides of the argument don't have that balance. Inmates that want to better themselves should be given every opportunity to do so, but prison shouldn't be pleasant. I also have a view that for life serving prisoners such as Levi Bellfield (who has been in focus recently), prison should be as unpleasant as you can possibly make it. I think he should lose all rights and the Police should be able to extract information about other crimes from him using lie dectectors/drugs etc... Not to take cases to court - he is never getting out, but to find out the full extent of his crimes which I am sure have been underestimated.
I think some people are putting too much emphasis on rehabilitation and not punishment for the crimes. The punishment element still needs to be a big part of it, surely
I don't think there necessarily has to be a situation where a focus on rehabilitation mitigates punishment. It certainly can if there's not enough thought put into it, but they don't have to be mutually exclusive and a balance can be struck. Limiting someone's freedom, reducing their privileges, forcing them onto a routine and cutting off regular contact with friends and family is itself punishment, and rehabilitation can take place alongside this. We're currently in a self-perpetuating cycle, where the prison population is so high, and as a result money can't be put into rehabilitation and instead is being used to barely cover the basics, which ensures that the population stays high, and this has a knock on effect into society.
To a prisoner seeking to change his/her life in a positive way, every support should be open to them. It seems to me to be cost effective to find the money to provide this.
I think some people are putting too much emphasis on rehabilitation and not punishment for the crimes. The punishment element still needs to be a big part of it, surely
I don't think there necessarily has to be a situation where a focus on rehabilitation mitigates punishment. It certainly can if there's not enough thought put into it, but they don't have to be mutually exclusive and a balance can be struck. Limiting someone's freedom, reducing their privileges, forcing them onto a routine and cutting off regular contact with friends and family is itself punishment, and rehabilitation can take place alongside this. We're currently in a self-perpetuating cycle, where the prison population is so high, and as a result money can't be put into rehabilitation and instead is being used to barely cover the basics, which ensures that the population stays high, and this has a knock on effect into society.
Maybe for someone from a stable background, but I don't think it is for hardened criminals, whether they're violent or not
There is a balance to be had between rehabilitation and punishment IMO. It feels to me that people on both sides of the argument don't have that balance. Inmates that want to better themselves should be given every opportunity to do so, but prison shouldn't be pleasant. I also have a view that for life serving prisoners such as Levi Bellfield (who has been in focus recently), prison should be as unpleasant as you can possibly make it. I think he should lose all rights and the Police should be able to extract information about other crimes from him using lie dectectors/drugs etc... Not to take cases to court - he is never getting out, but to find out the full extent of his crimes which I am sure have been underestimated.
has anyone on here been in prison would be interested to know if the items listed above are given out and how good it is inside.
Whether this study is correct or not, imo prisons aren't only there to stop people reoffending, they're there as a punishment and a balance needs to be drawn. We could go a couple of steps further and close prisons and try and sweeten up offenders in their own homes to convince them not commit crimes again, whether it worked or not ain't the point, where's the punishment?
Community Service?
There is no real answer to the problem, if there were somewhere in the world it would be doing it. Serious crimes and crimes in general obviously need to have consequences but the reality is most people we lock will be out one day. I for one would hope we try to make these people blend back into society better than when they went into prison. May be some of them will become tax payers rather than tax takers. We should try and find a way to break the reoffending cycle.
Community service 'punishment' for murderers, rapists, robbers, thieves and drug dealers? Seriously??? Surely their being back in the society eventually doesn't mean they can just be 'punished' in such light way?
I wasn't I was suggesting that. The bit at the top was a reply and the bit underneath was my ramblings. But it's a fact only a handful of people get whole life terms so that leaves an awful lot of awful people who will be let out at some point. What we have been doing for years obviously doesn't work for some so may be a fresh approach might.
I like the idea of a fresh approach. Castrating some violent/sexual criminals prior to release would be one solution. It would help the offender manage his aggression/impulses and law abiding citizens would find it easier to buy into non custodial oversight. It would also act as genuine deterrent which current sanctions seem incapable of providing.
Are you the editor for the Daily Mail per chance? ;-)
No matter how many comforts or privileges you are given in prison, the real punishment comes from not having your liberty, you adapt, there were days when I had non stop laughs because me and my friends made the most of it, we couldn’t change it, there were big walls and the screws had the keys. Even had a charlton supporting screw transfer us to the hospital wing as he felt with our rep we could or would protect him, and he would let us have our perks (real coffee, and a clean shower room were perks, trust me). However, some people could not cope in the general population, too weak, mentally or physically (some took advantage of weakness), but for all of us, TV, library, phone calls or real coffee, the door still got slammed at night, I couldn’t pop down the pub on a Friday, go to a mates BBQ during the summer, cuddle my kids, be with my partner or go on holiday, that’s the real punishment, or it was for me.
It’s a tough job being a screw I would imagine, I never had an issue with 99% of them, just doing a job, I saw their buttons being pushed every day, deliberately by the same people. People have to make their mind up what they want from their prison service, rehabilitation or tough punishment, neither is a catch all and happy balance has to be met.
I think some people are putting too much emphasis on rehabilitation and not punishment for the crimes. The punishment element still needs to be a big part of it, surely
I don't think there necessarily has to be a situation where a focus on rehabilitation mitigates punishment. It certainly can if there's not enough thought put into it, but they don't have to be mutually exclusive and a balance can be struck. Limiting someone's freedom, reducing their privileges, forcing them onto a routine and cutting off regular contact with friends and family is itself punishment, and rehabilitation can take place alongside this. We're currently in a self-perpetuating cycle, where the prison population is so high, and as a result money can't be put into rehabilitation and instead is being used to barely cover the basics, which ensures that the population stays high, and this has a knock on effect into society.
Maybe for someone from a stable background, but I don't think it is for hardened criminals, whether they're violent or not
I was going to respond more but there's a very interesting post from DA9 above that's better than what I could write. Honestly, I think as mostly law-abiding(?) people you and I can't really speak from the perspective of hardened criminals. Much like how a lot of us think that deterrence should be effective, because we wouldn't fancy it; but we weren't planning on committing crimes anyway so it's worthless as a tool for us. That's why I tend to go by the data when looking at crime and punishment, because what other perspective can we offer?
For what it’s worrh there’s a lot of people in jail that deserve hard Labour there’s others where circumstances have dictated their incarceration whose crimes haven’t been show stoppers and the removal of liberty is punishment enough
But regardless of rehabilitation or not when you give things to cons that keeps the mood sweeter on the wing you do end up saving the poor easy target inmate from getting a good hiding or worse who is vulnerable to the bully who wants to kick off over conditions , it’s a fine line between control , rehabilitation, and punishment
OK, I'll probably get pelters for this. I went to prison for 14 days once (I know, no biggie). It was terrifying. If I had had to stay there for months or years I don't think I would have managed and would probably have ended up yet another suicide statistic, like so many others. if you seriously think prison is so cushy how do you explain the massively disproportionate level of suicides, self harm and psychiatric problems?
I can tell you it is nightmarish, frightening and boring by turns with little or no respite. Locked up for several hours (at least) every day, usually with someone you would do your best to avoid on the out.
Were you guilty?
Yup.
I was not taking the piddle. I was curious to see if you were another wrongly charged person.
No problem - I was basically "caught" with a tiny bit of cannabis on me. I was taken to magistrates court and the mag, bless him thought it was big deal and gave me a £100 fine. I was living rough at the time, didn't pay it, moved to London and was picked up hitchhiking with ID on me. They took me to the magistrates court. he gave me 14 days and I spent it in the nearest Category B prison.
My story.
Forest away years ago.
A steward pulled me up in the ground whilst I was having a coffee. He asked if I had been drinking and I said yeah(coherent but absolutely hammered). Next thing I know is plod taking me out the ground and charged.
Weeks later I'm back up there in court and given a £75 fine for being "drunk in a designated sports stadium". I was p***** off with this as my appearance was delayed due to two locals being called back into court after unpaid previous fines on top of their latest offence of burglary. Their punishment was £150, so does that make me half as bad as them?!
What I will say is that I have never gone into a football ground p***** since.
OK, I'll probably get pelters for this. I went to prison for 14 days once (I know, no biggie). It was terrifying. If I had had to stay there for months or years I don't think I would have managed and would probably have ended up yet another suicide statistic, like so many others. if you seriously think prison is so cushy how do you explain the massively disproportionate level of suicides, self harm and psychiatric problems?
I can tell you it is nightmarish, frightening and boring by turns with little or no respite. Locked up for several hours (at least) every day, usually with someone you would do your best to avoid on the out.
Were you guilty?
Yup.
I was not taking the piddle. I was curious to see if you were another wrongly charged person.
No problem - I was basically "caught" with a tiny bit of cannabis on me. I was taken to magistrates court and the mag, bless him thought it was big deal and gave me a £100 fine. I was living rough at the time, didn't pay it, moved to London and was picked up hitchhiking with ID on me. They took me to the magistrates court. he gave me 14 days and I spent it in the nearest Category B prison.
My story.
Forest away years ago.
A steward pulled me up in the ground whilst I was having a coffee. He asked if I had been drinking and I said yeah(coherent but absolutely hammered). Next thing I know is plod taking me out the ground and charged.
Weeks later I'm back up there in court and given a £75 fine for being "drunk in a designated sports stadium". I was p***** off with this as my appearance was delayed due to two locals being called back into court after unpaid previous fines on top of their latest offence of burglary. Their punishment was £150, so does that make me half as bad as them?!
What I will say is that I have never gone into a football ground p***** since.
Generally speaking, I'm more for a rehabilitative approach wherever possible, but I recognise there are some that will never be rehabilitated and in those cases the prison service is (or at least, should be) more about segregation from society. I think there is going to be an increasing problem in the future with the rehabilitative approach though. Rehabilitating individuals to the point where they have no desire to re-offend and wish to play an active and honest part in society is hard enough, but that's only part of it. They have to have somewhere to go and something useful to do when they get out. A very real problem is that there are less and less low-skilled jobs that can be done without a both qualifications and experience. At the manual-end of the job market people are being replaced by robots, machines and self-scan equipment. It's hard enough finding real meaningful work for traditional working class people, let alone for those with cvs full of black holes. I cannot offer any solutions to this, but I don't think it's a situation that's going to improve.
2019 sees me enter my fifteenth year of being a prison officer. A screw. A kanga. Fifteen years of working with some of the nations worst at a Catergory A High Security prison in the north. Serial killers, terrorists, gangland bosses, drug importers, paedophiles, murderers and rapists have been under my charge. I have been on duty when a colleague has been taken hostage, witnessed extreme acts of violence, found prisoners in shower rooms who have been cut to ribbons. I have had to cut prisoners down when they’ve attempted to hang themselves or entered cells where a prisoner has cut themselves and their blood has pumped onto the walls and floor. I have been called a c***, prick, wanker, f***ing idiot etc etc on a regular basis. Now, I’m no expert on holiday camps but I’m pretty certain your average Red Coat doesn’t have to deal with that on a regular basis. If any of you fancy a change in career then come and join me and my band of white shirts and experience what it’s like to be a social worker, a nurse, a mental health worker and a enforcer of rules all rolled into one. All for a couple of hundred quid more than a full time Tesco worker.
It’s easy for those who have never set foot in a prison to picture a place where prisoners sit around all day, enjoying a few games of Fifa on their top of the range tellies, getting pleasantly high with their mates on illicit substances before sitting down to enjoy a slap up meal. The tabloids have done a cracking job in cultivating this image, which has had a detrimental effect on having any kind of grown up discussion about prisons and what their actual purpose is imo. The reality of prison life is different. By a huge degree.
First and foremost, despite what my first paragraph may suggest, prison life is boring. It’s the same routine everyday for a prisoner. Same mealtime, same time you have your shower (staffing levels permitting), same time you have to do anything. If you work you go to the same workshop to do the same repetitive chore for no real end purpose. On association you have the same conversations because you’ve done absolutely nothing new to talk about in surroundings made up of steel, concrete and despair. Natural lighting is a luxury and fresh air is breathed deep when the chance arises. Peace and quiet? Nope, just the constant soundtrack of shouting, banging and metal gates clanging shut. That alone would be enough for me to do all I could do stop myself getting sent down. I couldn’t deal with having no real control over my own life.
On top of the boredom prison isn’t a nice environment at all. There is the constant threat of violence, bullying is rife, you might have your few meagre possessions robbed. You never really know who you can trust and friendships are often made through necessity rather than mutual liking. If you don’t already have it then you have to develop a front because if you show any signs of victim hood then a victim you become. Weakness will be exploited by the vultures who will pick on your bones given the chance. Even when the cell door closes at night you can’t really escape your surroundings. The bed will have seen better days and the wind whistling in through the broken cell window means two sets of clothes to sleep in that night. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a single cell you have to put up with a cell mate(s), who a lot of the time there is no say in who that may be. There is no privacy and you get used to taking a shit in front of other people and having to experience the same after which you have to sit in the aroma of.
This is just an overview and I really want to explain more but I’ve had a twelve hour shift today and I’m flagging. If anyone is interested I’ll happily post some other musings tomorrow.
2019 sees me enter my fifteenth year of being a prison officer. A screw. A kanga. Fifteen years of working with some of the nations worst at a Catergory A High Security prison in the north. Serial killers, terrorists, gangland bosses, drug importers, paedophiles, murderers and rapists have been under my charge. I have been on duty when a colleague has been taken hostage, witnessed extreme acts of violence, found prisoners in shower rooms who have been cut to ribbons. I have had to cut prisoners down when they’ve attempted to hang themselves or entered cells where a prisoner has cut themselves and their blood has pumped onto the walls and floor. I have been called a c***, prick, wanker, f***ing idiot etc etc on a regular basis. Now, I’m no expert on holiday camps but I’m pretty certain your average Red Coat doesn’t have to deal with that on a regular basis. If any of you fancy a change in career then come and join me and my band of white shirts and experience what it’s like to be a social worker, a nurse, a mental health worker and a enforcer of rules all rolled into one. All for a couple of hundred quid more than a full time Tesco worker.
It’s easy for those who have never set foot in a prison to picture a place where prisoners sit around all day, enjoying a few games of Fifa on their top of the range tellies, getting pleasantly high with their mates on illicit substances before sitting down to enjoy a slap up meal. The tabloids have done a cracking job in cultivating this image, which has had a detrimental effect on having any kind of grown up discussion about prisons and what their actual purpose is imo. The reality of prison life is different. By a huge degree.
First and foremost, despite what my first paragraph may suggest, prison life is boring. It’s the same routine everyday for a prisoner. Same mealtime, same time you have your shower (staffing levels permitting), same time you have to do anything. If you work you go to the same workshop to do the same repetitive chore for no real end purpose. On association you have the same conversations because you’ve done absolutely nothing new to talk about in surroundings made up of steel, concrete and despair. Natural lighting is a luxury and fresh air is breathed deep when the chance arises. Peace and quiet? Nope, just the constant soundtrack of shouting, banging and metal gates clanging shut. That alone would be enough for me to do all I could do stop myself getting sent down. I couldn’t deal with having no real control over my own life.
On top of the boredom prison isn’t a nice environment at all. There is the constant threat of violence, bullying is rife, you might have your few meagre possessions robbed. You never really know who you can trust and friendships are often made through necessity rather than mutual liking. If you don’t already have it then you have to develop a front because if you show any signs of victim hood then a victim you become. Weakness will be exploited by the vultures who will pick on your bones given the chance. Even when the cell door closes at night you can’t really escape your surroundings. The bed will have seen better days and the wind whistling in through the broken cell window means two sets of clothes to sleep in that night. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a single cell you have to put up with a cell mate(s), who a lot of the time there is no say in who that may be. There is no privacy and you get used to taking a shit in front of other people and having to experience the same after which you have to sit in the aroma of.
This is just an overview and I really want to explain more but I’ve had a twelve hour shift today and I’m flagging. If anyone is interested I’ll happily post some other musings tomorrow.
Interesting post AUN. Have you ever worked in a Cat B/C/D prison?
@ValleyGary no mate, I’ve only ever worked in Cat A fortunately. I’ve spent a couple of days at HMP Leeds and HMP Hull and that was enough for me. Different world to my place.
@ValleyGary no mate, I’ve only ever worked in Cat A fortunately. I’ve spent a couple of days at HMP Leeds and HMP Hull and that was enough for me. Different world to my place.
Yeah i think this is where people are getting mixed up with what they hear re playing playstation etc. Ive had a couple of mates that went Cat C then to Cat D before release and they said it was a doddle.
2019 sees me enter my fifteenth year of being a prison officer. A screw. A kanga. Fifteen years of working with some of the nations worst at a Catergory A High Security prison in the north. Serial killers, terrorists, gangland bosses, drug importers, paedophiles, murderers and rapists have been under my charge. I have been on duty when a colleague has been taken hostage, witnessed extreme acts of violence, found prisoners in shower rooms who have been cut to ribbons. I have had to cut prisoners down when they’ve attempted to hang themselves or entered cells where a prisoner has cut themselves and their blood has pumped onto the walls and floor. I have been called a c***, prick, wanker, f***ing idiot etc etc on a regular basis. Now, I’m no expert on holiday camps but I’m pretty certain your average Red Coat doesn’t have to deal with that on a regular basis. If any of you fancy a change in career then come and join me and my band of white shirts and experience what it’s like to be a social worker, a nurse, a mental health worker and a enforcer of rules all rolled into one. All for a couple of hundred quid more than a full time Tesco worker.
It’s easy for those who have never set foot in a prison to picture a place where prisoners sit around all day, enjoying a few games of Fifa on their top of the range tellies, getting pleasantly high with their mates on illicit substances before sitting down to enjoy a slap up meal. The tabloids have done a cracking job in cultivating this image, which has had a detrimental effect on having any kind of grown up discussion about prisons and what their actual purpose is imo. The reality of prison life is different. By a huge degree.
First and foremost, despite what my first paragraph may suggest, prison life is boring. It’s the same routine everyday for a prisoner. Same mealtime, same time you have your shower (staffing levels permitting), same time you have to do anything. If you work you go to the same workshop to do the same repetitive chore for no real end purpose. On association you have the same conversations because you’ve done absolutely nothing new to talk about in surroundings made up of steel, concrete and despair. Natural lighting is a luxury and fresh air is breathed deep when the chance arises. Peace and quiet? Nope, just the constant soundtrack of shouting, banging and metal gates clanging shut. That alone would be enough for me to do all I could do stop myself getting sent down. I couldn’t deal with having no real control over my own life.
On top of the boredom prison isn’t a nice environment at all. There is the constant threat of violence, bullying is rife, you might have your few meagre possessions robbed. You never really know who you can trust and friendships are often made through necessity rather than mutual liking. If you don’t already have it then you have to develop a front because if you show any signs of victim hood then a victim you become. Weakness will be exploited by the vultures who will pick on your bones given the chance. Even when the cell door closes at night you can’t really escape your surroundings. The bed will have seen better days and the wind whistling in through the broken cell window means two sets of clothes to sleep in that night. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a single cell you have to put up with a cell mate(s), who a lot of the time there is no say in who that may be. There is no privacy and you get used to taking a shit in front of other people and having to experience the same after which you have to sit in the aroma of.
This is just an overview and I really want to explain more but I’ve had a twelve hour shift today and I’m flagging. If anyone is interested I’ll happily post some other musings tomorrow.
2019 sees me enter my fifteenth year of being a prison officer. A screw. A kanga. Fifteen years of working with some of the nations worst at a Catergory A High Security prison in the north. Serial killers, terrorists, gangland bosses, drug importers, paedophiles, murderers and rapists have been under my charge. I have been on duty when a colleague has been taken hostage, witnessed extreme acts of violence, found prisoners in shower rooms who have been cut to ribbons. I have had to cut prisoners down when they’ve attempted to hang themselves or entered cells where a prisoner has cut themselves and their blood has pumped onto the walls and floor. I have been called a c***, prick, wanker, f***ing idiot etc etc on a regular basis. Now, I’m no expert on holiday camps but I’m pretty certain your average Red Coat doesn’t have to deal with that on a regular basis. If any of you fancy a change in career then come and join me and my band of white shirts and experience what it’s like to be a social worker, a nurse, a mental health worker and a enforcer of rules all rolled into one. All for a couple of hundred quid more than a full time Tesco worker.
It’s easy for those who have never set foot in a prison to picture a place where prisoners sit around all day, enjoying a few games of Fifa on their top of the range tellies, getting pleasantly high with their mates on illicit substances before sitting down to enjoy a slap up meal. The tabloids have done a cracking job in cultivating this image, which has had a detrimental effect on having any kind of grown up discussion about prisons and what their actual purpose is imo. The reality of prison life is different. By a huge degree.
First and foremost, despite what my first paragraph may suggest, prison life is boring. It’s the same routine everyday for a prisoner. Same mealtime, same time you have your shower (staffing levels permitting), same time you have to do anything. If you work you go to the same workshop to do the same repetitive chore for no real end purpose. On association you have the same conversations because you’ve done absolutely nothing new to talk about in surroundings made up of steel, concrete and despair. Natural lighting is a luxury and fresh air is breathed deep when the chance arises. Peace and quiet? Nope, just the constant soundtrack of shouting, banging and metal gates clanging shut. That alone would be enough for me to do all I could do stop myself getting sent down. I couldn’t deal with having no real control over my own life.
On top of the boredom prison isn’t a nice environment at all. There is the constant threat of violence, bullying is rife, you might have your few meagre possessions robbed. You never really know who you can trust and friendships are often made through necessity rather than mutual liking. If you don’t already have it then you have to develop a front because if you show any signs of victim hood then a victim you become. Weakness will be exploited by the vultures who will pick on your bones given the chance. Even when the cell door closes at night you can’t really escape your surroundings. The bed will have seen better days and the wind whistling in through the broken cell window means two sets of clothes to sleep in that night. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a single cell you have to put up with a cell mate(s), who a lot of the time there is no say in who that may be. There is no privacy and you get used to taking a shit in front of other people and having to experience the same after which you have to sit in the aroma of.
This is just an overview and I really want to explain more but I’ve had a twelve hour shift today and I’m flagging. If anyone is interested I’ll happily post some other musings tomorrow.
Nail on head, i did edit my post where i was pretty peeved with the perception based on what the papers/media write. A close member of family was inside (wrongfully) and ended up for 2 years and its not as they paint the picture, he was in a few different prisons and even the Cat D which is the least at risk was still pretty much nothing for them to do other than day jobs which they get paid nothing. one visit a month which gradually got to day visit , home visit, definitely isn't one for the faint hearted working there let alone being a prisoner.
Yes i know people will say if you do the crime, but in my case he didn't and it would have been bad enough if they did.
has anyone on here been in prison would be interested to know if the items listed above are given out and how good it is inside.
My mrs is a probation officer, she visits regularly and obviously know lots of inmates.... the 'easy life' line is outdated, 2 days ago the news was telling us about a suicide in woodhill.... I doubt he did that because of too much playstation
1 suicide all be it sad although i will hold my judgement until i know what crime it was, on social media there is a LOT of videos of inmates with phones, drugs, takeaway meals, tellys, xbox. i dont envy those that work in the sector paid pittance to do with some of these vile shits.
the ross kemp docu on barlinney ( the big hoose ) the lads featured on that offended because they think they are gangsters looked up one of the people featured he is back inside for armed robbery, the other older chap featured believed that abused children enjoyed it - i would have no qualms dispatching of someone like that, he said he is ill and will re-offend was serving his 4th sentence for child abuse.
99.99% of sex offeners have been abused themselves
fabricated statistic
ok its slightly out for effect, but most have been abused... took me 10 seconds to google just now and read that upto 80% of juevenille sex offenders had been abused.
40%-80% is correct.
Hense the 'upto' bit. Im sure those numbers are still much higher than people would presume... picking apart my points doesnt change the fact that a huge % of offenders are victims too.
Yes, I saw the 'upto' bit but added some factual clarity to the figures being presented as it would have been just as unclear if someone had said 'over 40%'.
Wasn't picking your post apart at all so feel free to put your paranoia away.
Hold on, forgot that we're only allowed to repeat made up info, opinions picked up down the pub or the upper figure of a range told to us by our partners.
Anyway, so long as you're sure.
not just you so you can hide your parranoia too ..over 40% is fine, just no need to be a pedantic cunt
'paranoia'
Glad that 'over 40%' is fine as it paints a different picture to '99.99%' and 'upto 80%'.
I've just bought one of these to not only hide it, but to lock it away. Do you think it'll be big enough?:
Id be happy if you dropped it on your head
sure does, makes it sound like people abuse kids out of choice
I think you might have misjudged this one quite badly. Sure, there's often reasons for people to commit the crimes they do beyond being evil, but you can't just make up statistics to suit your agenda, that devalues your whole argument. The 99.99% statistic was made up by you. There's a real statistic. A real, troubling statistic that shows how sex offenders end up offending based on previous trauma. It's not 99.99% though, that's objectively wrong. No-one is trying to devalue the argument by introducing accurate statistics so I don't know why you've started throwing abuse around. You may want to chill a bit.
Nobody was trying to add anything, just argue against everything I said. Instead of acknowlaging my point about offenders usually being victims too, my stats were more important.
I do know that not all victims become offenders, or id be punching fuck out of mrs like I grew up watching my dad do... but the majority of offenders have become victims. Do many people grow in in safe perfect enviroments and then decide on a career of domestic abuse ? probably not. Do happy people decide to become junkees a sell themselves for a score ? no probably not either.
As for chiiling out, you must have missed my bit about starting therapy last week for depression and anxiety, although most people usually do.
Comments
Even had a charlton supporting screw transfer us to the hospital wing as he felt with our rep we could or would protect him, and he would let us have our perks (real coffee, and a clean shower room were perks, trust me).
However, some people could not cope in the general population, too weak, mentally or physically (some took advantage of weakness), but for all of us, TV, library, phone calls or real coffee, the door still got slammed at night, I couldn’t pop down the pub on a Friday, go to a mates BBQ during the summer, cuddle my kids, be with my partner or go on holiday, that’s the real punishment, or it was for me.
It’s a tough job being a screw I would imagine, I never had an issue with 99% of them, just doing a job, I saw their buttons being pushed every day, deliberately by the same people.
People have to make their mind up what they want from their prison service, rehabilitation or tough punishment, neither is a catch all and happy balance has to be met.
For what it’s worrh there’s a lot of people in jail that deserve hard Labour there’s others where circumstances have dictated their incarceration whose crimes haven’t been show stoppers and the removal of liberty is punishment enough
But regardless of rehabilitation or not when you give things to cons that keeps the mood sweeter on the wing you do end up saving the poor easy target inmate from getting a good hiding or worse who is vulnerable to the bully who wants to kick off over conditions , it’s a fine line between control , rehabilitation, and punishment
LOL.
It’s easy for those who have never set foot in a prison to picture a place where prisoners sit around all day, enjoying a few games of Fifa on their top of the range tellies, getting pleasantly high with their mates on illicit substances before sitting down to enjoy a slap up meal. The tabloids have done a cracking job in cultivating this image, which has had a detrimental effect on having any kind of grown up discussion about prisons and what their actual purpose is imo. The reality of prison life is different. By a huge degree.
First and foremost, despite what my first paragraph may suggest, prison life is boring. It’s the same routine everyday for a prisoner. Same mealtime, same time you have your shower (staffing levels permitting), same time you have to do anything. If you work you go to the same workshop to do the same repetitive chore for no real end purpose. On association you have the same conversations because you’ve done absolutely nothing new to talk about in surroundings made up of steel, concrete and despair. Natural lighting is a luxury and fresh air is breathed deep when the chance arises. Peace and quiet? Nope, just the constant soundtrack of shouting, banging and metal gates clanging shut. That alone would be enough for me to do all I could do stop myself getting sent down. I couldn’t deal with having no real control over my own life.
On top of the boredom prison isn’t a nice environment at all. There is the constant threat of violence, bullying is rife, you might have your few meagre possessions robbed. You never really know who you can trust and friendships are often made through necessity rather than mutual liking. If you don’t already have it then you have to develop a front because if you show any signs of victim hood then a victim you become. Weakness will be exploited by the vultures who will pick on your bones given the chance. Even when the cell door closes at night you can’t really escape your surroundings. The bed will have seen better days and the wind whistling in through the broken cell window means two sets of clothes to sleep in that night. Unless you’re lucky enough to have a single cell you have to put up with a cell mate(s), who a lot of the time there is no say in who that may be. There is no privacy and you get used to taking a shit in front of other people and having to experience the same after which you have to sit in the aroma of.
This is just an overview and I really want to explain more but I’ve had a twelve hour shift today and I’m flagging. If anyone is interested I’ll happily post some other musings tomorrow.
Yes i know people will say if you do the crime, but in my case he didn't and it would have been bad enough if they did.
Good post @AddickUpNorth
Nobody was trying to add anything, just argue against everything I said. Instead of acknowlaging my point about offenders usually being victims too, my stats were more important.
I do know that not all victims become offenders, or id be punching fuck out of mrs like I grew up watching my dad do... but the majority of offenders have become victims. Do many people grow in in safe perfect enviroments and then decide on a career of domestic abuse ? probably not. Do happy people decide to become junkees a sell themselves for a score ? no probably not either.
As for chiiling out, you must have missed my bit about starting therapy last week for depression and anxiety, although most people usually do.