Prisoner experiences
HMP Belmarsh
Prisoner A
In order to get a point of view from both sides, I interviewed a male who had previously been held at HMP Belmarsh. He explained how difficult he found it to get a job or educational activities in prison, as on arrival he was put on a two-month waiting list “When you first go in there you have to go on a two-month waiting list to get on the normal wing, and that’s the educational wings, the workshop wings, the ones that get education. If you’re stuck in the first wing its 23-hour bang up a day… for 2 months. There very bad resources on the first wing” (PRISONER A, 2017). Although prisons are offering these programmes that are hugely important for inmate rehabilitation, not all inmates have access to them. “Some days you get locked up for 24 hours. Some times there’s three days in a row that you don’t come out your cell”.
Prisoner A found one disadvantage with Belmarsh Prison was that they would integrate remand inmates with Category A, life time prisoners. This caused a lot of friction between the two “they haven’t got anything to lose. Us people who are on B cats and C cats are ready to go home soon, A cats will just chop you up one time or do some madness to you, like leave something in your cell. They just don’t give a s***” (PRISONER A, 2017).
When asked if he felt he had enough support in preparation for his release, he revealed that prior to being release he advised that a flat had been arranged for him to live in. However when being released. Prisoner A arrived at the housing association to collect the keys, to his surprise, was told they knew nothing of it– “we prepared this a month/ 2 months before I got out of prison. When I got to the place with my girlfriend, they told me nothing had been set up, there’s no rooms available and they didn’t know who I was talking about. When I told my probation officer, she was like there’s nothing we can do about it, but we’ll try sort something out. But they never did. They gave me no help. I had to stay with friends” (PRISONER A, 2017). Not having stable accommodation or being homeless after release from prison is one of the biggest causes of reoffending along with unemployment (PRISON REFORM TRUST, 2016).
Ashfield Young Offenders
Prisoner B
The experience of Prisoner B was slightly different, as he was held at a young offenders institute. However, similar to Prisoner A, he found a lack of time outside affected his mental well-being – “Its weird you feel like a sardine, you’re just in this metal tin for ages then you get let out. Now, I spend so much time out side a day and you realise how much you value time outside … massively” (PRISONER B, 2017).
When asked what the three most negative aspects of the prison layout were, Prisoner B stated “It looks like a mental asylum and every ones in cage”. As 80 percent of information that humans take in is from their surrounding environment, appearance of the prison is essential for a positive outcome. Prisoner B thought more communal areas, or more time in communal area would have benefitted him as “It makes you feel like you’re not alone” . Communal spaces also strengthen prisoner/officer relationships – “Good staff-prisoner relationships are important for the manageability and safety in prisons”(JACOBS, 2014).
Prisoner B also struggled with his mental well-being post-release. “Sometimes I have dreams I’m going back, not a lot but from time to time. I have the same feeling I’m going back to jail and ill tell my self ‘Oh, you need to speak to this person’ or ‘ I have to sort this out first’ and then ill wake up and I’m like ‘Oh its not real’. Ill feel as though I’m non-existent again. You feel like you non-existent in jail” (PRISONER B, 2017). He found re integrating back with his friends challenging as they had all made new friends whilst he was serving his sentence. Whilst he was held at the prison, Prisoner B felt reluctant to ask for help regarding his mental health as there was no privacy to do so - "There are people you can talk to but that isn’t done in a private place, its done in an open space. Every one will know your seeing a councillor. The only privacy you get is being locked up in the cell by yourself” (PRISONER B, 2017) this can leave vulnerable adults experiencing mental health difficulties at further risk of worsening their health.
Background Wandsworth Prison Razors: Fig 4