What's life really like in prison?

What's life really like in prison?

Author
Discussion

giblet

8,824 posts

176 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
quotequote all
mph1977 said:
giblet said:
Pommygranite said:
My mum was a nurse in Wakefield (?) woman's prison. She said it was amazing how many were in for sexual crimes, specifically against children.
HMP New Hall? Worked there up until Feb last year along with a few other prisons with DHL. First experience of prisons and overall they didn't seem that grim to me.
the female prison population is different from the male prison propulation . there are a lot of emotionally inadequate and a bit guillible women in the prison population - often becasue they do things to get approval of their brighter and manipulative friends of either gender... while there are some men in prison who fit that picture there's alot more men in prison who are there for other reasons.
Yup, I worked in both male prisons as well, New Hall was the only female prison I worked at. Granted I was only in each prison for about 5-6 hours on most days they didn't seem that bad. Got to know a few inmates who were seemingly keeping their heads down and getting on with it.

As for the folks discussing drugs inside prisons, a lot of the officers I spoke with admitted it was easier for them to let the inmates get high and stay calm as a result. Met plenty of dodgy screws too who were probably involved in the drugs getting into the prisons in the first place.

0a

23,879 posts

193 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
quotequote all
jimreed said:
I've never been into a prison as a convict, only as a visitor, when both my younger brother and my elder brother served a long sentence each. They were in partnership in a company that was making very good money in the early nineties, and the place began to go to the wall. An acquaintance offered them a quick and very illegal way out of the mess they were in and, both mortgaged to the hilt as they were, they agreed.

The deal went sour and very unpleasant folk felt that they were owed money, police, arrests, etc.

My older brother was absolutely broken when he got out, he seems prematurely aged and sad, his health is very poor.
Our brother killed himself in the sixth year of his sentence.

It seems that certain people can thrive in jail, I don't know if you need a particular type of attitude or life experience. People my brother knew who found life easy in prison had been brought up with the outlook that it was 'easy' and a normal experience, rather than a punishment.
I realise I'm not expressing myself well, but whatever the outcome for my brothers - they deserved that sentence and both of them felt ashamed and utterly humiliated, some people don't seem to find prison to be a punishment or a deterrent.
That's my take in the subject, which has bothered me for a long time and I have stopped myself from writing more, because I have no answers really.

One last thing. I found visiting prison to be awful and frightening and shameful, yet I saw others entirely blase and unconcerned about the whole thing - some of these people seemed to treat the prison staff with contempt.
Very interesting and another take on this subject, thankyou for posting and my sympathies.

Phil Dicky

7,162 posts

262 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
quotequote all
giblet said:
Pommygranite said:
My mum was a nurse in Wakefield (?) woman's prison. She said it was amazing how many were in for sexual crimes, specifically against children.
HMP New Hall? Worked there up until Feb last year along with a few other prisons with DHL. First experience of prisons and overall they didn't seem that grim to me.
I live less than a mile from New Hall and have done all my life,although when I was a kid it was a Youth Offenders prison.

giblet

8,824 posts

176 months

Saturday 13th September 2014
quotequote all
Phil Dicky said:
I live less than a mile from New Hall and have done all my life,although when I was a kid it was a Youth Offenders prison.
Nice area, stopped off at Blacker House Farm a few times for cake. Some fun roads too.

King Herald

23,501 posts

215 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
pork911 said:
King Herald said:
pork911 said:
King Herald said:
I did two days in jail in Thailand, and 24 hours in jail in the Philippines. It was a doddle....... paperbag




Cue jokes about billy boys etc. I know it has to be done gents, so hurry along.
How much was the tea money?


Did a few weeks in Burma - t'was all a misunderstanding wink quite an experience though
I ate and drank nothing, as the toilet was but a public hole in the ground, in a courtyard, in the centre of all the cages, in full view of everybody, and no wall around it. I didn't want to have to use it..... yuck

Friends held sarongs up for other inmates, but I had no friends. And I was the only foreigner.
I meant tea money so that the stint was short wink

I asked for a single room preferably with a/c or fan at a push, but strangely they had none available.

Felt like an animal in a zoo....within a zoo.

I left before my novelty wore off.
Oh, I see. heheI eventually coughed up 7000 baht, about 100 quid, to pay the 'fine'.

Somewhat confusing really, because the name of the bar I had allegedly refused to pay the bill in and had allegedly caused a fight in, had been forgotten in the stress of my beating and arrest, and nobody could produce a copy of the bill. And when I demanded to be taken to the bar to argue my case, or even to see the bar owner, they actually offered to simply put me back in the cage for a week. confused

hehe

Another odd thing, when I finally got out and went back to my hotel room, there was a pile of money on the bedside table, and a Polaroid picture of me sat in a bar with a fkin' massive snake live wrapped around my neck!!!???

King Herald

23,501 posts

215 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
There is a website I used to frequent about prisoners in jails across the world, and some of those places really make British jails look like Disney world, unimaginable horror and torment.

There is a long list of these hell holes, with details of western guys incarcerated therein.

For some reason some English prisons are on that list...... confused



http://www.phaseloop.com/foreignprisoners/

Fishtigua

9,786 posts

194 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
Suprised to see that there are no South American or Caribbean jails on the list. I know that some them have a vile record for human rights.

I met one South African who had been in a Columbian jail for 7 years. He was an accountant for a large SA tiling supply company and was asked if he could move a bit of money around for a 'mate's mate'. Quickly, he got suckered into shifting millions around, scooping a bit off the top. When his Colubmian masters found out, he got ushered there pretty sharpish. While he was having a little chat to Pablo, they got raided by the fuzz.

Bang, sent down for 15 years. In South American jails they are shared cells, maybe 40 odd to a cell. No food is provided so it's either brought in by family or bought from the guards. It is then cooked in the cells on open flamed coalpots and homemade BBQs from old oil tins. The cells are broken up by hanging old blankets up for a bit of privacy. Now guess what, fires happen a lot. Sometimes the guards let them out, sometimes not, when a fire occurs. He said he spent $40k inside just to stay alive.

Murder, riots, hookers and even gambling on cock-fights are the norm. Escapes are plentiful, the prisoners go on murderous rampages afterwards. The authorities wonder why this happens.

These are real crapholes.


King Herald

23,501 posts

215 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
Plenty of South American ones mate. Not a nice place to stay......

http://www.usp.com.au/fpss/prison-south-america.ht...

Gazzas86

1,707 posts

170 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
My old man (now retired as of last year) worked at Long Lartin, every prisoner was assigned a prison Officer, my dads we're Charles Bronson (when he was there) and Ronnie O'sullivans dad. He had some good stories from when he worked there.

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
Engineer1 said:
Public school sets you up for prison or the army.
I strongly agree.

GC8

19,910 posts

189 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
Prep school even more so, as youre far younger and the shock is greater.

Of course, most of the old-type prep schools are now long gone and you will probably only get a hint of the real experience from established public schools now (as a full time boarder).

Fishtigua

9,786 posts

194 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
I went to Prep school and Public school followed by 20 years at sea. My 3 hard weeks clanked-up was a breeze. I think my prison psychologist was slightly worried about how easily I slid through my time, well we were thrashing the Aussies in the Ashes at the time. Would never have had time to watch it otherwise.

Tony427

2,873 posts

232 months

Sunday 14th September 2014
quotequote all
I recently packed in working in the prison service on the "occupational training" side, trying to train ex offenders so that they can cope on the outside and use the training and skills they have expensively gained on the inside to ensure they didn't come back.

Prisons are divided into four categories, A Category for maximum security high esca[pe risk, B Cat for slightly less violent/ dangerous offenders medium escape risk, C Cat for Low risk prisoners, D Cat very low risk preparation for pre release prisoners.

I worked in C category.

C Category prisons are easy.

Single cells, Sky TV, 3 relatively decent meals per day, prison canteen to buy luxuries using weekly spend or wages earned in the prison workshop. Prices are high however compared to outside.

Drugs are very easy to come by, either over the fence or via a "bent" officer or other prison worker. "Mamba" was a particular problem I remember. Failing that so many prisoners were on medication ( some of them, although very few, were even genuinely ill however most used the drugs gaines as an income source) that it was easy to get any amount of prescription drugs so that an offender could take a "day trip" on his birthday or some other occasion. Brewing hooch ( illicit alcohol) was also a common pastime.

A large percentage of prisoners were mentally ill, poorly educated and lacked any real self control or moral compass. Their parents completely failed them in their upbringing and unfortunately the cycle is continued as the offenders breed like rabbits once outside and then abandon their kids. Its not unusual to have a bloke of 25 on a long sentence, probably drug suuply related, to have 6 kids on the outside with four or five "baby mothers". Who supports these mothers I wonder? And what happens to their kids who have no father figure at all, or perhaps one in jail. "When I grow up I want to be like my dad".

These, shall we call them Scrotes, are the vast majority of the prison population, from my experience number a good 70%, and they will reoffend because that is what they do. These are the prolific offenders, if your patio doors are forced open this evening its probably one of these gentlemen doing it.

The Scrotes view society as victims, we are meal tickets, and prison as a worthwhle risk.

This is a large section of society that we try to forget about and the majority of law abiding citizens never have any dealings with them, unless they are a victim of crime.

Then there is the other 30% of prisoners that perhaps we can do something with. These are just normal guys. Of these, long term prisoners are generally institutionalised and terrified of leaving prison, its all they have known for many years.

"I dont want to leave, its dangerous out there".

Of the rest many will do their time and never come back. They did something stupid, a mate asked for a favour, they thought that they could make some easy money, they got drunk and hit someone , got caught, got sentenced and got out keeping a low profile.

For the vast majority however prison is a revolving door. This vast majority, the Scrotes, has no regard or interest in society, has no desire to behave properly with regard to others or to concequences and as a result we all pay the costs both in crime and in prison budgets.

Conversely we have the prison system that is motivated to keep the prison service as is.

"Hurry back, bring a friend" is the parting thoughts of each prison officer as a guest leaves after his stay.

Tattooing in a prison is illegal and will earn loss of privileges. It doesn't stop the prisoners though.

However, why is it that some of the most tattooed people in prison are officers ? I've even seen female govenors with highly visible tattoos. Why?

Violence is common in prison. The pool ball or tin of tuna in a sock is a useful weapon. The last thing you need in prison is a extremely well built, unstable, highly violent thug.

So what do we do in prison.

We equip them with good gyms and prisoners take full advantage building themselves into mountains of muscle. And guess what, who sells body building powders , drinks, dietery supplements etc to prisoners?...yep the prison service.

"But they are quite safe dietery supplements aren't they" I hear you ask.

I was so worried about what some of the guys were taking that I took the product packaging and googled what was in it.

How about cattle growth hormones and steroids that are illegal for farm animals in EU but legal in the US?

How about extremely high dosage level testosterone and steroids in a "power additive" to be taken before and after a workout.

Obviously this is just what the prison service needs to sell to its population of body builders. Instant testosterone boosters and steroid rage indusers. Just whats needed in a jail. More testosterone.

I may appear to be jaundiced but I am far from alone in my views. The suppliers to prisons make a fortune, the regime continues as it is in its own interest to do so, the Scrotes continue to wreak havoc throughout the land and nothing changes.

So I escaped.

Cheers,

Tony















Andy_mr2sc

1,223 posts

175 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
quotequote all
Thanks to me having a mentalist X GF I spent 5hrs in custody in a cell yesterday. How the heck people cope with years in these rooms is beyond me. Got to be the most depressing place to be. I started finding the cardboard coffee cups interesting due to their bright red colour. It must destroy people spending a long time in cells. No wonder so many re offend or can't cope when back out.
Just for the record released without charge.
Note to self, avoid mental women.

Hilts

4,382 posts

281 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
quotequote all
Andy_mr2sc said:
Thanks to me having a mentalist X GF I spent 5hrs in custody in a cell yesterday. How the heck people cope with years in these rooms is beyond me. Got to be the most depressing place to be. I started finding the cardboard coffee cups interesting due to their bright red colour. It must destroy people spending a long time in cells. No wonder so many re offend or can't cope when back out.
Just for the record released without charge.
Note to self, avoid mental women.
Police cells are way worse than prison.

JimmyConwayNW

3,056 posts

124 months

Thursday 18th September 2014
quotequote all
Prison is far better than police cells.

To see what prison is like stay in an ibis budget. It's similar.

thetrash

1,847 posts

205 months

Friday 19th September 2014
quotequote all
Tony427 said:
I recently packed in working in the prison service on the "occupational training" side, trying to train ex offenders so that they can cope on the outside and use the training and skills they have expensively gained on the inside to ensure they didn't come back.

Prisons are divided into four categories, A Category for maximum security high esca[pe risk, B Cat for slightly less violent/ dangerous offenders medium escape risk, C Cat for Low risk prisoners, D Cat very low risk preparation for pre release prisoners.

I worked in C category.

C Category prisons are easy.

Single cells, Sky TV, 3 relatively decent meals per day, prison canteen to buy luxuries using weekly spend or wages earned in the prison workshop. Prices are high however compared to outside.

Drugs are very easy to come by, either over the fence or via a "bent" officer or other prison worker. "Mamba" was a particular problem I remember. Failing that so many prisoners were on medication ( some of them, although very few, were even genuinely ill however most used the drugs gaines as an income source) that it was easy to get any amount of prescription drugs so that an offender could take a "day trip" on his birthday or some other occasion. Brewing hooch ( illicit alcohol) was also a common pastime.

A large percentage of prisoners were mentally ill, poorly educated and lacked any real self control or moral compass. Their parents completely failed them in their upbringing and unfortunately the cycle is continued as the offenders breed like rabbits once outside and then abandon their kids. Its not unusual to have a bloke of 25 on a long sentence, probably drug suuply related, to have 6 kids on the outside with four or five "baby mothers". Who supports these mothers I wonder? And what happens to their kids who have no father figure at all, or perhaps one in jail. "When I grow up I want to be like my dad".

These, shall we call them Scrotes, are the vast majority of the prison population, from my experience number a good 70%, and they will reoffend because that is what they do. These are the prolific offenders, if your patio doors are forced open this evening its probably one of these gentlemen doing it.

The Scrotes view society as victims, we are meal tickets, and prison as a worthwhle risk.

This is a large section of society that we try to forget about and the majority of law abiding citizens never have any dealings with them, unless they are a victim of crime.

Then there is the other 30% of prisoners that perhaps we can do something with. These are just normal guys. Of these, long term prisoners are generally institutionalised and terrified of leaving prison, its all they have known for many years.

"I dont want to leave, its dangerous out there".

Of the rest many will do their time and never come back. They did something stupid, a mate asked for a favour, they thought that they could make some easy money, they got drunk and hit someone , got caught, got sentenced and got out keeping a low profile.

For the vast majority however prison is a revolving door. This vast majority, the Scrotes, has no regard or interest in society, has no desire to behave properly with regard to others or to concequences and as a result we all pay the costs both in crime and in prison budgets.

Conversely we have the prison system that is motivated to keep the prison service as is.

"Hurry back, bring a friend" is the parting thoughts of each prison officer as a guest leaves after his stay.

Tattooing in a prison is illegal and will earn loss of privileges. It doesn't stop the prisoners though.

However, why is it that some of the most tattooed people in prison are officers ? I've even seen female govenors with highly visible tattoos. Why?

Violence is common in prison. The pool ball or tin of tuna in a sock is a useful weapon. The last thing you need in prison is a extremely well built, unstable, highly violent thug.

So what do we do in prison.

We equip them with good gyms and prisoners take full advantage building themselves into mountains of muscle. And guess what, who sells body building powders , drinks, dietery supplements etc to prisoners?...yep the prison service.

"But they are quite safe dietery supplements aren't they" I hear you ask.

I was so worried about what some of the guys were taking that I took the product packaging and googled what was in it.

How about cattle growth hormones and steroids that are illegal for farm animals in EU but legal in the US?

How about extremely high dosage level testosterone and steroids in a "power additive" to be taken before and after a workout.

Obviously this is just what the prison service needs to sell to its population of body builders. Instant testosterone boosters and steroid rage indusers. Just whats needed in a jail. More testosterone.

I may appear to be jaundiced but I am far from alone in my views. The suppliers to prisons make a fortune, the regime continues as it is in its own interest to do so, the Scrotes continue to wreak havoc throughout the land and nothing changes.

So I escaped.

Cheers,

Tony
Lots of inaccuracies in this post. For a start no public sector prisons have Sky TV available for prisoners to watch. What difference does it make that a female governor has tattoos on show either? And most Officers I know parting words to prisoners who are being released is dont come back.

211lover

60 posts

115 months

Friday 19th September 2014
quotequote all
thetrash said:
Lots of inaccuracies in this post. For a start no public sector prisons have Sky TV available for prisoners to watch. What difference does it make that a female governor has tattoos on show either? And most Officers I know parting words to prisoners who are being released is dont come back.
Don't get too angry and stop speaking to him! rofl

jdw100

4,067 posts

163 months

Friday 19th September 2014
quotequote all
Fishtigua said:
A mate is vicar of Dartmoor prison. That is very much not a holiday camp. He does his best for them but some are beyond even God's help.
What on earth does that mean?


Andy_mr2sc

1,223 posts

175 months

Friday 19th September 2014
quotequote all
jdw100 said:
What on earth does that mean?
+1

The only person who helped me was the duty solicitor.