TO THE LAYPERSON. TO GET SOME IDEA OF JAIL. WITH SOME UNDERSTANDING TO WHAT IS PRISON REFORM... In simple terms, a real basic outline is all anybody could give you without having the real personal experience yourself. Therefore, I shall get as close to an understanding of prison, thus everyone involved in the system seems... Continue Reading →

For those unfortunate enough to be up for sentence then, this is a brief overview of what to roughly expect. After your trial or even if you have pleaded giulty and its sentencing day then this may apply to you. When you are sentenced you will be taken straight out of the back of the... Continue Reading →

House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts Mental health in prisons Eighth Report of Session 2017–19. This is their (in red) summary of that report.  Summary Record high numbers of self-inflicted deaths and incidents of self-harm in prisons are a damning indictment of the current state of the mental health of those in prison and... Continue Reading →

What (NOT) to Expect The most important thing to keep in mind is to expect that things will not go as planned. Before you go in, you might find many people will offer advice – and you should take as much as you can. But don’t bank on any of it being right. From the... Continue Reading →

People that are in prison are not the wealthiest in Britain. Sadly a large percentage of prisoners live below the poverty line. Hence, poor social skills and social-economic depravation coupled with the criminality. The reality is it is only a very small percentage of prisoners that actually gain from criminality. The majority live from hand... Continue Reading →

There is still 90% of prison estates that do not have in-cell phones yet. Therefore, I will give you a quick overview of how the phone system really works in our prisons. The way you phone people from prison (right from the start – no exceptions, no “one phone call allowed”, nothing like that) is... Continue Reading →

This is certainly not the answer... Last month, Prisons Minister Rory Stewart announced that every officer in an adult male prison will be equipped with PAVA – a synthetic pepper spray which can be used to incapacitate violent prisoners. The £2 million investment followed what was described as “a successful pilot”. The government made no... Continue Reading →

Most released prisoners can expect to be accommodated in what used to be called ‘hostels’ and are now called Approved Premises, or APs. When I was released in 2013 after 12 years banged up I arrived at Bristol AP, Bridge House, in the grip of joy and resentment in about equal measure. The resentment was... Continue Reading →