I work in a prison. AMA.

[hjhjhjhjhj]

Never done this before. Ask away!

How many of the inmates have mental health issues and do you think if they had better support, they wouldnt be there now?

Can someone really be "evil"?

what kind of a prison is it? I’m interested in what support women who end up in prison get.

Are prisons in as bad a state as the media makes out?

What is your role and do you work with female or male prisoners?

Hi, I would say a LOT have mental health issues. Some aggravated or caused by drug addiction. Lots of people are in poor health, come from difficult backgrounds or have learning difficulties.

I don't think people are evil. I think people do bad things and circumstances lead people to do bad things. That said, I find it hard working with paedophiles.

I work in a men's prison so I don't know what support women get in prison. (There are ten times more men's prisons than women's prisons in the UK.) Men get support around lots of different things - drugs, gang, education, health, housing etc. I don't want to give too much away about where I work, but just to say that the majority of men are on remand (with a lesser number of sentenced prisoners), so our population is ever changing.

I'm not sure how to answer that. Can you more specific about what you mean by bad?

Male prisoners. And I work in education.

I always think paedophiles have a certain look about them (I’m generalising I know) but do you spot any common factors between them all? Or are their characters sly and cunning?

Also do you think the majority of paedophiles were harmed themselves as children?

Do the prisoners generally get on with each other or are there a lot of fights/violence?

What is the food like, similar to hospital food/school dinners?

What do prisoners do for fun?

Are the beds comfortable?

I'm curious as I've been watching porridge on tv and I'm wondering if prison is like that now or if there are more home comforts these days.

Do you enjoy your job and would you recommend other women to work in a men’s prison?

how common are affairs with staff and inmates ?

OP works in education in prison. S/he won’t be on the wings

Do you get scared ? Do you have officers in with you whilst you’re teaching ?

Prison doesn't work for short sentences right?

Is prison able to make a material difference to literacy for most people happy to engage?

@hjhjhjhjhj where did u go? It’s a bit criminal in itself starting a thread an disappearing

Probably at work in the Prison lol

Not sure about a 'look'. But often an older men who appear otherwise 'normal' (55+?) are the ones who I can often identify. That's vague, I know. But many of the young guys are in for drugs/other stuff.

Sometimes it's very surprising, though. There may be someone who I am sure is a paedophile and then it turns out that they are in for something completely different when I check. Other times I am very surprised that the young guy who had claimed that he was in for burglary (or whatever) is actually a child abuser.

I don't always check why they are there. And obviously they are not going to reveal why due to risk of bullying/getting attacked.

Overall, I would say it is important not to make assumptions. It's important not to judge (sometimes difficult). It's not my job to punish people - just to help rehabilitate.

That I don't know. But I do know that lots of the people in the prison have had shit childhoods. Many have untreated MH issues, drug issues, learning difficulties etc. Working there has really made me appreciate the importance of a stable childhood/good upbringing.

I'm here! Just haven't had time to reply to everyone in the last few days. Will reply asap! :-)

So you're a teacher who works in a prison, hardly an expert on criminal justice

For God sake, paedophiles all look normal. I've dealt with hundreds

@awfulapril at no point has the OP claimed to be an expert on anything. Merely answering questions based on their experience.

Maybe you need a tad more sleep?