tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post5075950863041192870..comments2024-03-19T08:48:37.047+00:00Comments on Prison UK: An Insider's View: Things I Missed while I was in PrisonPrisonUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-16809038158255348652016-04-05T18:29:14.715+01:002016-04-05T18:29:14.715+01:00On a less serious note, though more closely relate...On a less serious note, though more closely related to the original topic; aside from the obvious things like my girlfriend and going to the pub, I really felt the absence of something that is normally taken for granted. Cold drinks, ice cubes, condensation on the glass or can. Everything was lukewarm, especially in the summer. it's only when you don't have them that little things mean so much.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-71123051186394311372015-05-18T23:17:51.560+01:002015-05-18T23:17:51.560+01:00The way you describe imprisonment similar to a nau...The way you describe imprisonment similar to a naughty child falls under the negative reinforcement, where people get punished so that they won’t commit the same mistakes again. Though there are some who take things to extremes, which leads to two common reactions by the inmates: to feel helpless, or to lash back. And as you have said, such extreme measures not only limit positive change, but can also prove detrimental in the long run. Anyway, thank you for sharing your thoughts on the matter, Alex.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://jrsbailbond.com/" rel="nofollow">Eliseo Weinstein @ JR’s Bail Bonds</a>Eliseo Weinsteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06407697057363434395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-37583819477141739742015-01-22T15:43:57.923+00:002015-01-22T15:43:57.923+00:00Very interesting post. Very interesting post. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-37238087403760769462014-08-29T11:47:12.049+01:002014-08-29T11:47:12.049+01:00Thanks for your contribution. Like many public ser...Thanks for your contribution. Like many public services, HMPS is top heavy with bureaucrats, HR advisors, policy wonks and 'senior managers', yet it desperately requires frontline staff to operate prisons on a day-to-day basis. The culling of experienced operational staff is just one of the reasons for the current crisis in UK prisons - despite Mr Grayling's repeated denials. If the Prison Service was a commercial operation it would have gone bust years ago. <br /><br />As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, the vast scale of the failure to address drug, alcohol and gambling addictions, as well as inmates' mental health, during prison sentences leaves thousands of 'ticking time bombs' waiting to go off on release. This doesn't help to reduce reoffending and does nothing to protect the public from further crime. <br /><br />As far as positive activities in prison are concerned, the sad fact is that there are plenty of voluntary organisations that would be willing to come into prisons on a regular basis in order to make a difference to prisoners' lives and aspirations. However, the prison system seems to make this as difficult as possible owing to "security" concerns, even though many individual wing officers are supportive of such activities. <br /><br />I remember that even in an open prison, life was made so difficult for the local voluntary welfare officer from the Royal British Legion - a retired serviceman - whenever he came to visit veterans in custody that he eventually threw in the towel and declined to visit. This deprived ex-servicemen and their families of much needed assistance with planning for resettlement, including accessing training, advice and small loans that could be used to set up new businesses. Entirely counter-productive.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-81307561325766255522014-08-29T09:06:40.649+01:002014-08-29T09:06:40.649+01:00Sadly I think that the Prison Service, just like e...Sadly I think that the Prison Service, just like every other government department is run in a way that makes ordinary folk scratch their heads in wonder. <br /><br />For example, the annual £35K+ it costs per prisoner seems a ridiculous sum that as someone who has been involved in the hospitality industry I can not reconcile with outside 'maths'. <br /><br />For that sort of money there should be more staff, more classes, better health care, more mental health services and better end of sentence planning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-34180158594390567762014-08-28T22:55:47.256+01:002014-08-28T22:55:47.256+01:00Thanks for your interesting contribution. I agree ...Thanks for your interesting contribution. I agree that imprisonment is a very tricky issue. <br /><br />As I make clear in quite a few of my blog posts, I have met quite a few very dangerous people in prison from whom the public definitely need protecting. I really wouldn't want them as my next door neighbours! <br /><br />On the other hand, I am very conscious that all but around 56 prisoners who are serving 'whole life tariffs' will be released at some point, even if on life licence. If prison has failed to make any positive impact on those who will be released, or has actually made them worse or less mentally stable, then society as a whole is being badly served.<br /><br />In the end the Prison Service we have in the UK has official aims and objectives which include rehabilitation. If it consistently fails to achieve these then it is an expensive fraud on the taxpayer. I would be less critical if the declared aim of HMPS was simply human warehousing, because this is essentially all that is achieved - in my humble opinion, based on personal experience.PrisonUKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05060870139110580938noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8623255227619374869.post-81511730499297256692014-08-28T17:58:23.554+01:002014-08-28T17:58:23.554+01:00The concept of imprisonment as a punishment / dete...The concept of imprisonment as a punishment / deterrent / source of rehabilitation is a tricky issue. <br /><br />Some need to be locked up to protect the public whilst others are no threat at all, some of the public refrain from crime as the fear of imprisonment is great whilst others may see the risk as the price of doing business and yet others will have acted in a manner that the possible negatives were totally unconsciously disregarded. <br /><br />Every single incident is unique and prison is simply society's best attempt at dealing with those who break the law, just as the 'naughty step' may be a parents. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com