Prison cellmates

[DuesToTheDirt]

Anyone know how they're assigned?

I was wondering this after someone made a comment about transwomen in women's prisons, but my question is broader than that. Is there some kind of matching going on? By crimes, age, taste in wall-posters or music (are they allowed wall-posters and music?) Or is it just random? Do the prisoners get any choice?

I googled but couldn't really see an answer - most info was from the US and contained some rather horrible reports (don't go away and google this!)

I worked in a prison some years ago and it was random. There were single cells and 4 bed cells. There was often a reason for allocating a single cell bur the shared cells were randomly allocated.

My understanding is that it is mostly random, except where it would be unwise/unsafe for the two people to share a cell (eg rival gangs, past history of bad blood, etc).

Part of a prisoners "first night care" is to complete a cell sharing risk assessment (CSRA). The first night receiving officer will complete part of it and then the nurse will complete their part.

Certain crimes may make a prisoner high risk, previous convictions, certain health conditions, certain vulnerabilities. The assessment is reviewed regularly but any high risk prisoner should be allocated a single cell.

There are examples of high risk prisoners being allowed to share (eg. Brothers) but I've never known this happen on initial reception.

Prisons are very different to how they were before the staff cutbacks of the past 10 years or so. Staff retention and morale isn't great either.

Prisoners used to be allowed things like posters only on the picture board. Now it's like fighting a losing battle. Yes, they're allowed radios and music but musical taste is nothing to do with CSRAs 🤣

Thank you all! It sounds scary, being put in with random people who've committed random crimes!

I really should go and collect my new glasses. I thought you were asking about tradeswomen in a women's prison. I was thinking about female plumbers 🤣

A lot of them know each other already. More often than not they're regulars.

Prison should be bloody scary but for many it's a second home 🙄

See for me it would be my worst horror in the world. I'd rather die than go to prison. But some people seem to thrive on it.

Yes, because you are warm, you are fed, you aren't under coercive control at home, you're not being hit by your partner, you're not being pressured/forced into unwanted sex. It can be a huge relief to get away from the utter shit that is real life for some.

Also, chances are you'll get to see a doctor or dentist reasonably promptly, plus there are classes, activities and some working roles - none of which might have been available/possible on the outside

This is why there are different levels of prisons (security levels),if your in high security it’s likely you are in for a worse crime than those in lower security, though those in high security can end up in low security when they get closer to release. I think a lot of the the well known murderers are kept in single cells for their own safety?

I have a relative who has recently been in prison and he shared with someone who committed a similar level crime to him.

Exactly.

”There are examples of high risk prisoners being allowed to share (eg. Brothers)”

That is so sad 😞

Couldn't have put it better myself

👋🏻Cat B Hotel 1 here

I have been in prison, I am white, middle class and held a professional post. I shared cells with a Jamaican drug mule, 8 years for third conviction, and a Nigerian drug mule first conviction. The Jamaican lady was very kind to me and very protective, we got on very well, though I was a bit worried when she tried to track down whoever stole my fabric conditioner from our laundry room! The Nigerian lady was very disoriented by her conviction but also lovely, she organised a prayer party for my appeal. I met some kind, funny and very interesting people during my sentence, none of them were prison officers. In contrast all of the teachers in the education dept were very supportive.

That almost sounds like a positive experience!

"Yes, because you are warm, you are fed, you aren't under coercive control at home, you're not being hit by your partner, you're not being pressured/forced into unwanted sex. It can be a huge relief to get away from the utter shit that is real life for some.

Also, chances are you'll get to see a doctor or dentist reasonably promptly, plus there are classes, activities and some working roles - none of which might have been available/possible on the outside"

Mate, trust me. The vast majority of prisoners I'm referring to, (all of them in the male estate by the way), aren't thinking thank god, now I'm warm, Susie can't control me for a while and I can finish that waste management course I was on. I do actually talk to them you know, I know this isn't the case.

Hi @anybloodyname 👋🏼

It varies a lot. I work in criminal justice. Some people like to keep up their single cell status and worry about sharing. So they would argue about it with staff and threaten to harm themselves if padded up with someone else. Some prisoners would be awful to share with due to their MH problems (serious self harming, shouting all night, paranoia etc). Some prisoners like the company and accept cell sharing - often the younger ones who aren't so damaged. I've worked with cousins who've shared a cell and co-defendants who've shared (probably not brilliant from a risk management/ rehabilitation POV). Normally it's fairly random but based on risk.

@Lovemusic33 adult male prisoners are categorised A-D with Cat D being open prison.

Females, juveniles and young offenders are not (YOs can cross over into the male estate and be categorised but a dedicated YO establishment is not).

Your categorisation does not only apply to your current offence but your pre-cons, your risk level and your behaviour throughout your sentence. You can be "starred up" which means moved from a Cat B to a Cat A jail for example due to poor behaviour.

Ideally we would work towards a prisoner moving down categories as he works on his sentence plan ready for release. Often the reality is very different to the ideal.

Because they have never had a structure, care and welfare, an eye test or a medical professional to
fix their pain.

Prisoners aren't all hapless urchins but fml, you need to check your privilege.

@KickHimInTheCrotch there was a time when we would never put co-d's in together. I've seen it happen more these days.

Brothers and cousins are pretty commonplace though.

As for them being happy to see a dentist 🤣. They call him "the butcher" for a reason. The hairdresser isn't their favourite person either. She gets a very low uptake on certain wings!

I work with people on licence. None of them would admit it outright but prison can be a break from the stress of day to day life for people who are already quite institutionalised. You haven't got to pay the bills or steal to feed your habit. You haven't got to get yourself to appointments or explain to people why you don't see your kids. No one goes to prison to get help - doctors and dentist appointments are just as hard to get and forget things like MH help or a much needed ADHD assessment. You get medicated and shunted about, but it's fairly stress free.

I would often go through someone's licence and point out they can't have contact with Mr X who they caused an affray with (or whatever) and they tell me they've just spent 8 months sharing a cell with him!

Weird, when I was a community dentist with several prisons in the area, it was routine to have patients chained to my chair because the prison dentist couldn't see them soon enough. They were priority service users. But that's just my experience. This covered Broadmoor as well as other, lower risk institutions.

We would shuffle our whole list around to accommodate them. Not entirely uplifting when they masturbate in the surgery but no one deserves to live in pain.

My apologies

I should have stated I was referring mainly to female prisoners

But those of either sex with very chaotic lives can prefer the greater (relative) stability in prison