What’s it like in prison?

[Redhairgreeneyes]

I know lockdown is nothing like prison, but it has made me curious.

How long do prisoners typically spend in cells? What do they do in them? Do they have to share, or do they have their own space?

When they leave their cells, what for? Gym, work, church, food?

Just curious. No plans to go to jail.

My husband is in prison what do you want to know?

Some comments on here are discusting. Yes they should be punished but they are people too that have made mistakes, stupid choices or needed help! Except for child abusers, rapists etc that's different in my opinion but the thing is those people get treated better than someone that's committed a far less serious crime! If the prisoner didn't have mental health problems going in guaranteed they will when they get out. It's supposed to be about rehabilitation not breaking them to the point they can't take it anymore!!

Not an apologist in the slightest, but I think we have a shitty attitude these days towards prison and probation services. The reality is that many, in fact most, prisoners follow the trajectory they're on from a young age because of the life they've been born into or the trauma they endured as children. If we better understood trauma, if we had comprehensive mental health support and identification at a much younger age I would bet my left arm on it that we wouldn't have so many people committing crimes in future generations.

This!!

Also probably doesn’t help that paedophiles get minimal sentences, no incentive to break the chain of abuse meaning a further generation of children experience adverse childhood experiences and grow up ‘rebelling’ or end up in the care system

Deprivation of liberty that we're all experiencing now to a certain extent

What utter nonsense. You can still go out when you want to, get on a train or bus or drive your own car. You can come home when you want. Eat when you want watch tv when you want. Contact who you want look at websites you find interesting the list goes on

Even if restrictions tighten we shall still have a huge amount choices that when Liberty is deprived you simply don’t have

I work with ex offenders (with mh diagnosis) not one isn’t traumatised in some way even the most hardened gang members by their time of having their life totally controlled and freedom taken away

I have been in prison it was a few years ago so can't comment on the current situation but actually I found it relatively easy.

I come from a very stable background, no MH issues owned my own business and house (mortgage free) never been in trouble with police, I was very scared about the kind of people I would come across but on the whole it's like a small community. Most people look out for each other, sharing canteen, phone credit, stamps (all very important inside)

We were out of our cells for a good 14 hours each day. If we worked on the wing most of the days were spent playing pool, watching movies, listening to music or often sunbathing outside. We had good access to the library, could wear our own clothes, have items sent in by family. I had a tv, DVD player, radio in my cell.

When I moved to open prison it was unbelievable, a huge Mannor house in the countryside, no locks on any of the doors, huge amount of outdoor space, indoor sports hall, pool tables, wii games, karaoke, gym classes, arts and crafts, even a farm. It was very relaxed and nothing like you would expect of a prison.

I did see a few things in closed prison which will haunt me forever, but on the whole it really wasn't bad at all.

I have worked in prison education for many years. At the moment we are all at home and I worry about my learners. Many have mental health issues and are vulnerable. The loss of liberty is their punishment not to be degraded. Bullying and violence does go on - many take drugs just to get through the day. If I had toothache and was told you’ve missed the dentist this month- I would do anything to stop the pain. One company has the monopoly on canteen - charge ridiculous amounts. Limited phones and they eat up credit. There are rats in the older prisons. Prison staff are at their wits end as they are underfunded and not appreciated by society. Prisons were in a bad state before - I fear this situation will just escalate. Like society as a whole there are good and bad - some of the men have made stupid mistakes and I would have no issue them being my neighbour. Please don’t believe it’s a holiday camp - it really isn’t.

I used to teach in a category B prison in England. About 50% of the men were functionally illiterate.

@Brokensouls76 what were you in for?!

@horehound I don't think that's the point of the thread

Some make prison wine in the toilet.

I've been in a few prisons in a couple of countries for work and volunteering. And I worked in housing for men leaving prison as well.

Hell is other people. You have men (vast majority of prisoners) pretty much all of whom have a mixture of abusive childhoods, addictions, bereavement (really common), witnessing violence as children (almost all of them), head injuries, mental health issues and personality disorders. Then you bang them up together.

Frankly it's a miracle some of them don't reoffend when they are released.

My friend has just done 6 years... she is not the person she used to be put it that way, her mental health was bad before she went in... it's now shockingly bad!
She said it was hell

Is there any way we can send, for example, new art materials to women’s prisons?

There must be a number of prisoners who have no-one to support them on the outside.

My dad is a prison officer, and has been for over 30 years. He has worked in Barlinnie and Peterhead, both pretty infamous Scottish prisons. He lives in a fairly 'rough' town, and he can't go anywhere without bumping into ex prisoners! Going for a walk with my dad is quite the eye-opener They are, without exception, genial towards him. He is liked and respected.
He said the most depressing aspect of the job is having generations of the same family passing through the doors. It's inevitable, I suppose.
The job has become very different to what it used to be, now that drugs are a major part of life for many. Mental illness is rife. Interestingly, dad said that when he first started, there was a rigid moral code amongst the prisoners. This has become very much diluted over the years.
Dad never talks much about his work. but I know he has been attacked before. I know that he has felt the heaviness of a body on the other side of the door.
My dad adores his grandchildren. They are the light of his life. But he still jokes that his day job is a much easier shift than looking after the kids!

Oh I know @catinb0oots and she doesn't have to say but her story is so intriguing!

@FredaFrogspawn yes, lots of prisoners have no support. If you want to donate hobby materials etc. best thing to do would be to contact a church or befriending service attached to your local prison for advice.

My BIL1 killed himself in prison. He was frequently in and out. Addiction, mental health issues (refused diagnosis). Same for BIL2, he says he didn't mind the routine but the food wasn't great and it's hard to be alone with your own thoughts so much.

@FudgeBrownie2019 I’m sorry for the hand life dealt you and your family
@Bucketgarni I was a foster carer who was asked to resign over a child I fought hard for in my experiance it was a corrupt system

@FudgeBrownie2019 I think you have hit the nail on the head. And I am deeply sorry for the experiences you and your family have experienced.

I have a friend who is a probation officer. She works with female offenders. One of the things that she says is that a lot of the people she deals with dont realise they have the capability to make their own decisions and influence their own lives.

@Horehound if you advance search my username, I've put it in detail before. You'll see that physical prison was a walk in the park compared to the mental prison I have been living in since that day.

As part of my psychotherapist training I was a PT intern in a women’s prison for a year. Most of my patients were habitual offenders but one was a very respectable middle class woman serving a very long ft sentence for being a drugs mule. She didn’t get a hard time from the other offenders, she was quiet and shy and kept herself to herself. The person who did get a hard time was a traveller. As travellers have a reputation for being hard other inmates would pick on her as it was seen as a bit of a coup to beat her up.
She seemed to take it in her stride, she’d had a genuinely hard life at a level us settled people can’t understand. Being a traveller had taken her out of the usual U.K. safety net of school, social services and nosy neighbours. She had some mild learning difficulties and as such was treated like an animal by her family and wider community , including being subjected to incredible levels of physical abuse, incestuous rapes and forced prostitution from childhood. She was the only person I met who liked prison, she told me ‘I love it here Miss, you get your own bed, three meals a day and no-one can lay a hand on you’. It made me sad that that was all she needed to be happy.

On paper prison life there was ok. The grounds were lovely (gardening was a very popular job and inmates were very proud of their work), there were good education facilities etc. The reality was very different, staff shortages, or a visit from a dignitary could put the whole place on lockdown when people could only leave the cells for 30 minutes a day. There was also so much uncertainty - prisoners could be moved to another facility at a days notice leaving behind their network of job, friends and medical help.

Prison in my (very limited) experience is totally shit. Having a tv and DVD player in your cell doesn’t make it a holiday camp.

I have family in prison, but they are in a therapeutic community prison. So a bit different to your regular HMP.

So my knowledge of a regular HMP is limited.

The therapeutic prison is very different, and modelled more on a Scandinavian approach, they also have to engage in daily therapy sessions. Overall prisoners in this therapeutic prison report a 90% better standard of life than regular HMP's

The way I see it, you committed a crime (for various reasons) you do the time. I also don't care what the crime was murder, rape or white collar, a crime is a crime.

The prison system is there for rehabilitation alongside punishment. Many many of the men and women released from our prison systems will go back to the community. They need to be given a chance to succeed. They have paid their price, we do not need a pound of flesh also.