Prison

Prison

Friday 11 July 2014

The Kindness of Strangers

In the popular imagination prisons are dark places full of violence and hatred. Of course, like any other human institution - schools, the armed services, sports clubs, workplaces, office environments - there can be unkindness, spitefulness and bullying. However, when it comes to actual violence, there's a great deal less than most outsiders might imagine. I think I've probably seen more potentially dodgy situations at London taxi-ranks in the early hours when young men have had a skinful, than I have in prisons.

Of course, that doesn't mean violent incidents don't occur... they do, but to a much lesser extent than is usually supposed. In my experience, there is more damage done to prison property than other prisoners. At one B-cat I well remember a young inmate on the 3s (third floor landing) who had what could be described as serious "anger management issues". Whenever someone or something set him off he would literally rush back to his single cell and slam the door behind him. Then we'd all hear the familiar sound of him smashing up anything that was locked in with him. Locker, table, chair, bedding, his own portable stereo, the rented TV set, china mug... within minutes it would all be reduced to wreckage.

The wing screws occasionally checked through the flap in the door that he wasn't injuring himself too much, but usually kept well clear until the storm had subsided. Then one would venture up to the door and ask him if he had calmed down yet. When he said that he had, the door would be opened and he'd be given a broom and a bin bag and told to sort his cell out. Once this had been done, a list of the damaged furniture would be made and, if there was anything beyond repair, he'd be put on a charge for damaging HMPS property. If he'd smashed up the cheap, ageing TV set, then he'd probably have to wait a few days before a replacement would be issued. And that was about it.

Another con once decided to demolish his pad (cell) after bang-up one weekend evening. He neatly reduced practically everything except the actual metal bed-frame to matchwood and then posted it out of his window. (This was a prison that still had proper opening windows, rather than the newer-style sealed units with side vents). In the morning, the duty patrol found a sizeable pile of wreckage under his window. He was 'nicked', but there wasn't a big drama. He had calmed down and no-one had been injured.

Perhaps it is amazing that there isn't more serious violence in prisons, particularly when two or even three inmates are crammed into a cell that was originally designed for one occupant. Imagine the tensions over simple things like what programme to watch on TV, or if one prisoner snores so loudly that his pad-mates can't get a wink of sleep. Yet, by and large, these problems do get tolerated or else solutions are negotiated.

A lads' night in... every night
One of my friends inside once aptly described cell-sharing as "a loveless forced marriage between two total strangers who have to live together in a toilet". In its way, I think this is pretty accurate. Two or three people who have often never met before can be locked in a small concrete box for anything between 16 and 23 hours per day, seven days a week. They eat together, sleep together (not usually literally), wash, shave and use the toilet in front of each other; it's definitely as intimate - if not more so - than life for many married couples.

And yet, people who find themselves in such extreme situations, whether innocent or guilty, sometimes show that they are capable of great acts of kindness and generosity. Humans, as a rule, are pretty social animals. They are programmed to live in groups - couples, families, tribes, nations - and prison is in many respects an ideal environment in which to test the validity of certain social theories.

During my time in prison I also realised that people who had committed terrible crimes, including murder, were usually very unremarkable. I've met some fairly infamous prisoners (including a few known in the media by their nicknames) and yet in person they seem as ordinary as anyone else. Some of them were a bit odd or eccentric; others pretty quiet and boring. None had horns or forked tongues. Among them, I also found human beings capable of kindness and good humour. To be honest, I probably laughed more during my time in prison than I had for years prior to being sent down.

I worked for months alongside a notorious multiple murderer who regularly had me and our co-workers in stitches with his banter and jokes. As a lifer he has already served nearly 30 years and I have my doubts that he will ever be released on parole, even though he isn't serving a "whole life" tariff. At a personal level, I always found him to be generous and a pleasant bloke with whom to have a coffee or watch TV. That isn't to detract from the appalling crimes he has admitted he committed when he was barely out of his teens, but even in a prison environment people do grow up, mature and can change for the better. I think that much of that can be attributed to the positive influence of people around them... more often than not other prisoners.

6 comments:

  1. It's important to concentrate on the person and not the crime.

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    1. Thanks for your comment. I definitely agree with you. Sometimes it can be all about helping another person to rediscover their own humanity before they can move forward.

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  2. Hi. Your article slightly reassured me. I read your blog to find out anything about life in prison. About life in a place where suddenly, a few days ago began to live my Love. I do not know anything. I have no contact with him on this moment. Scares me missing for him and fear about him. He's intelligent and smart guy. But I'm afraid about him. You know, I'm woman so I have a little different thinking. Thank you for your blog. I wish you good luck. A.

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    1. Thanks for your comments. I'm glad to read that you are finding the blog helpful. It's natural to worry, but in most cases prison is not as bad as people outside tend to fear. I hope all goes well for you and your loved one. Alex

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    2. Hi Alex. Thank you very much for your answer. I'm very grateful to you. You're doing a great thing by writing this blog. Thanks to you, I'm a little calmer. Many of your posts, gave me a little peace and knowledge about prisons in the UK. Many people are not supposed to be there. My partner also did not deserve prison. But it happened and we did not change this. Today it's only been 20 days as he is in prison. He got 12 months. So according to the laws go out after 6 months, am I right? I still don't know where he is. I still have no contact with him. I try but I can't get through to his lawyer, he is still busy. It's all so heavy. I'm writing a diary for him, it helps me. It's a form of my speaking to him. For now, listen to me only my notebook, he read it when already come back home. Thank you for what you are doing. You're a smart man. I wish you a wonderful life. I greet you. Aga (A.)

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    3. Hi Aga, thanks for your kind comments on the blog. I'm glad that you have found it useful.

      I'm sorry to hear about your partner's situation. It is always very difficult for family left outside, but believe me the time should pass very quickly. Obviously, I'm not a lawyer and I don't know the specifics of your partner's case, but in general he should be eligible for release at the halfway point (so after six months). He would then have a period of six months on licence during which he would be liable to recall to prison anytime in that period if he commits any further offences or fails to keep to his licence conditions.

      Depending on the type of offence he might be eligible for Home Detention Curfew (HDC) for the final six weeks or so of his custodial term. This would involve him agreeing to be electronically tagged and having to stay in the house between set hours each day (unless he gets special permission in advance from the supervising officer).

      In this case, he would probably serve around 4.5 months in prison, followed by 1.5 months on HDC and then the remaining six months on licence (without tag). However, certain offences are specific excluded from HDC. Best to check with his solicitor.

      I hope all goes smoothly for him and that he will soon be back home with you. Alex

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