I was in prison in my early twenties, AMA

[Lexibletheflexible]

I was in prison about 18 years ago, between the ages of 19-22. I now volunteer with charities supporting female prisoners. AMA

So you come from a well to do family? Parents stable, father making money. How did you get a council house? Something happened? You left home?

I hate them as a role. I hate the system. It isn't personal but I do think a certain personality is attracted to this specific authoritarian role. It's a bit like bailiffs. Would you date a baliff?

Some are kind and decent and stuff. But they tend not to rock too many boats. Perhaps that's how they remain able to avoid compassion fatigue. It's easier to be nice when you're not always at war.

If you changed the system to one that was more therapeutic for the vast majority of prisoners, then I think you'd get a different breed of person who wants to staff them. Someone who is more like a nurse than a police officer.

Someone told me that the current recruitment drive for POs that we all see is all well and good in terms of attracting people who are more about rehabilitation than punishment. But the actual application process favours those who are more authoritarian to advance.

The problem is that people see these "bleeding heart" type calls for POs with compassion in TV adverts and feel that it is the wrong approach and their punishment style stance would be better. The application process is designed to find these "gems", intentionally or not.

So the end result is actually going to be POs who hate the idea of the "compassionate, friendly PO" you see on TV and have literally applied to be the opposite of that.

What does "well to do" really mean?

They're financially comfortable, yes. They're even totally legitimate in terms of income. But they are from rough parts of London and sound like it. One has been to prison and the other has seen the inside of a cell more recently than me! 😂

But They've got a nice house, don't annoy the neighbours and help the oldies when their backs allow them to.

They've also brought me up not to blame others for my mistakes and to stand completely on my own two feet when I have to.

What category prison were you in?

And you don't have to answer this as it may derail your thread. What do you think about transwomen being in female jails? Does it expose women to more risk?

What age were you when you left home? You didn’t reply on the question of how you got a council flat?

OP has already said- her parents kicked her out

16. I just said my mum kicked me out and she agreed to back me up if they called her. I had a hostel type place first for a few weeks. Then I was in a semi independent place for people leaving care (mostly). Then I got a flat when I was 18. But I was already mostly living with my boyfriend who had a flat. I just didnt want that to be my only home for obvious reasons.

Thank you, I missed that post. You were very independant young.

16. I just said my mum kicked me out and she agreed to back me up if they called her. I had a hostel type place first for a few weeks. Then I was in a semi independent place for people leaving care (mostly). Then I got a flat when I was 18. But I was already mostly living with my boyfriend who had a flat. I just didnt want that to be my only home for obvious reasons.

They didn't really kick me out. I just wanted my own space and possibly the chance to buy a council place down the line.

I was a Cat B prisoner and then Cat C.

If you go to the sex and gender part, you'll find my views on threads there about prisoners.

How did you get involved in drug dealing? Did it escalate? If so, do you think it would have continued to escalate if you hadn't gone to prison?

What other criminal behaviour were you involved in?

A lot of people were dealing around me and I wanted to make money. I chose to stick to the kind of weekend party drugs. I was good at it so I did make a lot of money

@Lexibletheflexible

what made you good at it do you think?

Work ethic. Same reason I have a full client list for cleaning. It's just hustling.

Well, if I did have to I would be massively embarrassed and uncomfortable.

I suppose that's part of the punishment

@Lexibletheflexible

i don’t really get what you mean when you say the word ‘hustling’… you’ve said it in re to your family and to your self. What do you mean by it? Thank you!

@RJ2023

you would definitely have to if you were in prison for I dunno anything more than 2 days
like you say all part and parcel of it

Criminals are just humans who fucked up and got caught. Try to remember they are people.

For the most part, they're the scum of the earth. That's why they're in prison. Try to remember that. And their victims. Sex offenders, murderers, rapists, hit and run drivers, drunk drivers, domestic abusers, knife wielding bastards who don't give a fuck who they hurt and many who PLAN to hurt. They're all people. They might be your kind of people, they're not mine.

In 2023, theft from shops was the most common indictable offence for female defendants. Not fabulous behaviour, but I don't find it too hard to forgive, especially considering the background a lot of them will come from.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/women-and-the-criminal-justice-system-2023/statistics-on-women-and-the-criminal-justice-system-2023-html

Do you think that drugs should be legalised and taxed like cigarettes. It’s clear they are rife in all walks of society. It would cut offending massively

Of course i have a moral code.
Yes, I was asking what it is. Where do you draw the line? I ask because you've made clear that e.g. drug dealing is just a job like any other - a lot of people would find that immoral. Presumably you do not.

I'm not a sociopath.
Your responses are completely flat and emotionless. And your moral code is unclear.

😆 How on earth did you get through vetting?

I think in most countries the vast majority of people in prisons are there because of drug-addiction, and poor choices involving drug-related crimes, and the vast majority of them are severely traumatised children in adult bodies.

You seem to lack a spot of compassion.

This just pisses me off. I remember a researcher of women's prisons saying pretty much every woman she met was doing time because of a man.