Porridge or the Shawshank Redemption?

My image of prisons used to be based on a combination of the TV series Porridge and the film Shawshank Redemption. Prisons are like oil rigs, we all know they exist but we have no idea what really goes on inside them or what kind of person really goes there.

We’ve recently been doing some work for Samaritans(www.samaritans.org ), exploring how to encourage prison inmates to get over the stigma associated with talking about their feelings (prisons are supremely macho environments). Suicide, self-harm, bullying and drug use are endemic in UK prisons, so the service Samaritans provides is sorely needed.

Part of the work has involved interviewing prisoners, both in adult prisons and Young Offenders Institutions). We’ve talked to those in for GBH, ABH, crack and heroin dealing, robbery and burglary.

The interviews have been profoundly depressing and I thought I’d share some insights into what is a closed world to most of us:

First off, a few of statistics:
– 65% of adult male prisoners have a reading age of less than 8
– 55% of women in prison have a child under 16, 33% a child under 5 and 20% are lone parents (think about that last one for a minute and what it implies)
– 58% of all prisoners re-offend within in 24 months of release and for those aged 15-18 the figure is 88%.

The younger you are when you go to prison the more likely you are to re-offend

For many, their prison ‘career’ begins at a young age (12-15yrs). Some have been convicted of robbery or burglary or a minor drugs offence. It can be a hard cycle to break – if you are in a gang, they will be there for you upon your release, expecting you to get involved in their activities again. This is one of the reasons why young boys who are determined not to re-offend end up by doing exactly that – they have no-where else to go.

Prison can be a violent, frightning place:
Many prisons are designed to recieve inmates from local courts. This means they spend their sentence closer to where their families live, thereby making it easier for them the visit. The downside is that it also means it is more likely that you will meet people on the inside that you had problems with on the outside (“I recognise you, you stabbed by cousin”). This can lead to considerable violence, including being ‘kettled’ (take one kettle of boiling water, add one bag of sugar, tip over your target = the boiling water sticks to the skin and causes permanent scarring).

For some, the prospect of being released is as frightening as that of being arrested
– some may have been disowned by their family or may have lost their council home, leaving them with literally no-where to live
– others fear meeting their enemies and rivals again
– for many there is simply a fear of ‘will I be able to cope with the outside world?’

…and yet for others people, Prison is no longer a deterrent
Having been imprisoned a few times, some inmates know what to expect and regard it as an ‘occupational hazard’ – boring but not a deterrent to re-offending

…and yet there are signs of hope:
– whilst inside, some manage to gain additional qualifications (or even learn to read for the first time)
– Samaritans run a scheme called the ‘Listeners’ scheme, whereby they train volunteer prisoners to be Samaritans inside prisons. These inmates are on call 24 hours a day to be with a fellow prisoner and to listen to what they may have to say.

My top tip to you all – keep your nose clean – going to prison…it ain’t worth it!