Has anyone here been to prison? If so, what was your experience like?
Posted by TheRebelPercy@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 88 comments
I’ve been watching Inside Barlinnie on iPlayer. Bleak but powerful, it has gives an insight not only into prison life but the social issues that result in people ending up there.
Has anyone served any prison time and what was your experience like?
Imaginary_Finger7844@reddit
Sentenced for a year. Out after 4 months on tag.
Pentonville then standford hill open prison.
I kept my head down, mouth shut, was respectful, never borrowed and minded my own business. I got on well with most people and never had any trouble. Can't stress enough how important this is.
It was always close though. Violence was always kicking off. You have to walk the thin line between standing up for yourself or making yourself a target to be challenged.
CryNumerous6307@reddit
Did you ever have to be violent yourself? Or could you get away with just fronting it?
Imaginary_Finger7844@reddit
Nope.
I never had to front it but I would defend myself if I had to. I survived it. Saw lots of violence though.
I was polite and respectful to everyone. Nothing borrowed and nothing to lend. It was unbelievably stressful tbh.
Gsdgjnzarh@reddit
"Nothing to lend" is interesting... so maybe it's best too avoid some comforts so people don't ask anything of you?
smot100@reddit
I gave up smoking when I did 4 months. Too much hassle from people scrounging roll ups.
DunKno420Gang@reddit
If someone seen you had pg tips you would have every nitty on the wing at your door asking for a tea bag as apparently they smoked nicer than the ones you get in your breakfast pack 😂
Imaginary_Finger7844@reddit
Yep.
DunKno420Gang@reddit
Had a very similar experience, i did see a few poor sods get taken advantage of tho things like canteen being taken each week.
The other horrible thing I remember was the prison I was in had just gone no smoking, so prisoners would smoke dried tea bags in bible paper and cut up nicotine patches to stick to the side lol
PPK_30@reddit
You’ve got to respect that sort of creativity!
Imaginary_Finger7844@reddit
I got minimal canteen so I wasn't worth it. Saw lots of people get followed and robbed. Also saw a lot of people get hooked by double bubble.
I may have been guilty of picking up cigarette butts one week.
DLTBB2@reddit
Answered this same question recently so will copy and paste.
Served 10 months of a 3 year sentence. Had some time taken off for curfew. Served the sentence in the North East (from North West). Was in during COVID so 23.5 hours locked in cell daily due to lock downs. Single occupant cell so lots of time alone. Didn’t see much in terms of fighting, no bullying etc. Saw some people self harming or out of it on drugs and hooch. It’s not ‘hard’, just very boring and not a productive use of time. The food sucks. You can cook your own food in your kettle if you buy the ingredients and want to take the time to do it. Kept my fitness up with body weight circuit training and improvised some weights using broom handle and water jugs, pulley systems with shredded bed sheets and water jugs. Read 110 books. Got a job cleaning the medical wing which earned me an extra £30 a week or so on top of my £20 or so personal allowance from home, that’d be spent on food/toiletries which are delivered once a week. Most prison officers were sound, many surprised I was even in there. Met some good lads, crossed paths with some animals and idiots but never had any bother myself. It’s what you make of it. You can rot all day and eat terribly and watch TV or you can try to learn and keep some semblance of routine. Wouldn’t be in a hurry to go back, that’s for sure.
Jack_202@reddit
What sort of things do they cook in kettles?
DLTBB2@reddit
Curries, stews, pho/noodle dishes, pasta dishes, that kind of thing.
Batter-Baby@reddit
I need to see how to cook a stew in a kettle 😂 It's the kind of thing youtube was made for.
RugbyValkyrie@reddit
Rice, pasta, eggs to name but a few.
Jaded-Grass6986@reddit
Kettle eggs? Sounds absolutely vile , especially for your next cup of tea or coffee 🤢
tommybhoy82@reddit
It’s only boiling in the water
SnooCrickets4032@reddit
My grandad when he was alive, did this every morning 🤣
BradPanos@reddit
What books did you read?
DLTBB2@reddit
All LOTR books, all Song of Ice and Fire books, like 40 Stephen King books, some Tom Clancy, Ian Fleming and then random autobiographies etc. I found in the library.
BradPanos@reddit
Awesome - especially ASOIAF and LOTR. That is not what I pictured tbh. Hope you can carried on with the reading
DLTBB2@reddit
I had a couple of years off reading but back to 50-80 books a year now!
BradPanos@reddit
Nice! One book a week is impressive whilst working and life shit
Aromatic_Lettuce5603@reddit
When i was 19 fell in with the wrong crowd and ended up in a young offenders. I tried to keep my head down but because of it was bullied so ended up snapping 1 day and ended up hitting 1 of the bullies which earned me respect not only from other prisoners but from the screws(guards) as well. Because they thought the person in the next cell to me had hit the bully I confessed to the screw it was me and he said its about time you stuck up for yourself we could see what was happening but couldn't do anything about it. We will say no more about it. I then was sentenced to 2 years in prison( as I was on remand before). I ended up being shipped from reading young offenders to Doncaster and stopped for 2 days in Bedford adult prison(dont think that was technically legal but hey I was a prisoner what could I say). It seemed a lot calmer in there as there wasn't a load of young men with to much testosterone trying to be top dog. I then done 2 months in Doncaster which the northerners hated the southerners so was watching my back constantly. Was shipped back to reading where as I was a model prisoner was entered into the "kennet" program which meant I was housed in a secure wing with a key to my door and was offered a blue band or red. Blue you worked round the prison cleaning the officers quarters hospital or handing out clothing and could walk around the prison mostly unescorted or the red you worked outside the prison in a charity shop sort of rehabilitation. I chose blue. The day I was released was great. Yes ive had a minor brush with the law years later which was a caution but never been inside again and now have a wife 3 grown up kids and a proper life.
cocacola999@reddit
I know someone that did and he seemed to think it was a holiday resort. Not sure on crime but must have been minor. He had a private room with a TV in it and 3 hot meals a day... It's really sad to hear people think of the situation positively and learn nothing, all in the tax payers dime as well. I expect stories to be different based on prison and level of crime
RugbyValkyrie@reddit
Given the length of time people are locked in their cells, don't you think it's a good idea to have a TV?
cocacola999@reddit
Depends on the crime and punishment really. I was just pointing out they had a lot of luxuries and actually wants to go back. It wasn't a deterrent at all
tommybhoy82@reddit
Do you consider a tv a luxury😂
cocacola999@reddit
30yrs ago in a prison ? Yes I do to be honest. But I'm clearly missing something as Ive clearly struck a cord with a few people
RugbyValkyrie@reddit
You've struck a chord because you are talking rubbish.
tommybhoy82@reddit
You must live a luxurious life then if you have a tv😂😂😂😂😂
RugbyValkyrie@reddit
What luxuries do you think prisoners get? Regardless of crime, all prisoners are treated the same. The fact that they have a TV in their cells is to mitigate the fact that they are locked up for large parts of the day & night. I wonder how long you would cope without one.
As for "a private room with tv and 3 hot meals a day." Most prisoners are housed in double cells, It depends on the prison. 3 meals a day? Do you think we should starve them instead?
I suspect that your mate was talking out of his arse!
Flippin_Heckles@reddit
Nope.
But the first time my dad went to prison, he was sucker punched in the gut for not referring to the screws as sir.
My sister went in for a year and only complained about the boredom. It doesn't appear to have had any lasting impact on her, and I believe she keeps in touch socially with others who served time with her.
CharlemagneKidding@reddit
Maybe prison is very different for women than men?
fauxfawx26@reddit
Women’s prison, it’s probably like one long hen night .
rd_93@reddit
You should see the other girl.. cos she can’t see you EHH
Flippin_Heckles@reddit
Different time periods.
Virtuous-Patience@reddit
Sounds like the army cadets of my youth! Or actually my form tutor at school (although he was more provoked!). If that’s the worst that happened, didn’t he get off lightly?
Flippin_Heckles@reddit
Tossed into the care system as a kid with psychopathic tyrants in charge, that was his beginning. He didn't get off lightly.
when_music_hits@reddit
That's a very familiar story to me. My brother and I both can attest to it, I chose to graft and graft so that I'd never know what prison is like, he didn't. Turns out I had to go to many different prisons over the country visiting my brother over the years anyway. I found squatting over a mirror so the screws can see if I'm bringing anything In for my brother really quite humiliating and depressing. Brother would make light of everything because of course he didn't have to pay rent or tax or bills or buy food, to him it was just a holiday. Institutionalised.
pixielou7@reddit
My partner is currently in prison.
The prison someone is in can make such a difference to what their experience is like. All are bleak, broken places but some are “better” than others.
He had been in a Cat B for quite a few months and that was really traumatic for him. Lots of violence & drugs were very prevalent. Not many meaningful / purposeful activities to do and not much outdoor or exercise time which had a big toll on his mental and physical health.
He’s been in a few different Cat B prisons which have all been pretty awful, but some much much worse than others. As a visitor, I also found Cat B’s to be very hostile and I was treated terribly (like I was a criminal) for simply visiting a loved one.
Thankfully my partner was later transferred to a Cat C which is so much better. Again, he’s been to a few Cat C’s which vary but on the whole are much more pleasant than the Cat B’s we’ve encountered.
At his current prison, he has better access to things like the gym, library, outdoor space, jobs, and education. It’s far from perfect and is still a difficult and depressing place, but certainly much more manageable.
I also find that visiting him where he is now is a much more relaxed and comfortable experience. Staff are so much kinder and more understanding. From what I understand, officers & staff inside are also mostly respectful, understanding, and supportive which is so important and makes a huge difference.
It’s incredibly lonely being in prison, but for loved ones on the outside it can feel just as isolating. It’s not something you can talk about much as there’s so much judgement and stigma attached to it all.
Undiluted36@reddit
How many times the guy being locked up.... In all different cats.. no offence but he sounds forever in trouble
pixielou7@reddit
It is common practice for prisoners to be recategorised and moved from prison to prison during a single sentence, so it is likely that people (especially those serving longer sentences) will experience more than one prison.
My partner has unfortunately found himself in prison on more than one occasion due to various circumstances. He has not reoffended or committed another crime, but was recalled whilst under license / probation.
I understand many people may believe that prison is what people like him deserve, and it can be difficult to explain things from an alternate perspective. He has certainly done things he shouldn’t have and is rightly paying the price for that, but by not rehabilitating prisoners like him we fail the victims and society as a whole.
Supporting and helping prisoners does not mean condoning or defending their offences, but it is actually a way to help the victims indirectly. Quality rehabilitation leads to better post release outcomes and significantly decreases the likelihood of them offending again.
Undiluted36@reddit
I understand thanks for reply
Snoo_23014@reddit
Prisoners are moved around constantly to facilitate space. Cat B prisons are where you first land when you are sentenced / remanded/ recalled and so fill up incredibly quickly.
Familiar-Woodpecker5@reddit
I think they mean they he has been moved around to different prisons
Shtifff@reddit
Interesting to hear the other side. What do you mean when you say all prisons are broken?
RugbyValkyrie@reddit
I would hazard a guess and say that what she means that there is a woeful lack of funding for prisons and probation. So much so that prisoners are often housed in accommodation that in some cases is unfit for habitation, overrun with rodents and there is very little funding for education and rehabilitation. Noisy, too hot/cold, overcrowded
grandhighblood@reddit
Yeah, and people don’t respond well to talking about more funding for prisons, better conditions for prisoners, etc. People want to write off all prisoners as deserving whatever they get.
MelodicAd2213@reddit
And if there was more funding for prisons to enable improved quality of life and rehabilitation, plus assistance with accommodation and employment for after, post release outcomes would very likely improve.
pixielou7@reddit
This is absolutely spot on. The prison service is sadly not set up for rehabilitation and once someone has served their time inside, they are often released with little to no support which makes it incredibly difficult to move forwards positively. Unfortunately, funding for prisons is not a popular subject and many people believe offenders do not deserve any support which just exacerbates the cycle of re-offending.
Of course, there is a reason why these people are in prison and there should be an element of punishment and deterrent for their crimes, but if we do not rehabilitate prisoners then we are just continuing to fail the victims and the rest of society.
iffyClyro@reddit
I’ve never been to prison as a prisoner.
Did work in prisons and criminal justice, watched the same documentary and actually recognised some of the guys.
When I worked in criminal justice the project I ran had funding to run for twelve months and work with fifty men(or women) coming out of prison.
The objective being, keeping them out of prison.
A lot of the guys I worked with had pretty traumatic childhoods others it was more of a chaotic upbringing than a traumatic one.
A lot of them weren’t guided well into adulthood a lot of them made big mistakes by getting involved in smack or other substances.
One thing that always stuck out for me was how holistic an spiritual a lot of recovering addicts are, there’s something missing in their life and crystals and incense seemed to be a much healthier gap filler than heroine.
Anyway long story short, it was deemed a successful project if I could keep 1 in 10 out of prison. The project actually achieved a rate of 1 in 50.
Still pulled my funding in the end though.
veganfoolsdontrule@reddit
1 in 50 is basis to pull this program. That 1 probably wanted to turn his life around regardless.
iffyClyro@reddit
68.4% of people being released from prison reoffend within the first twelve months.
My project had that figure down at 2%.
Just shows what the right support can do for people, very good value for money to the public as well. Prison and the entire criminal justice system is expensive.
MelodicAd2213@reddit
That’s prisoners on shorter term sentences, those who spend more than 12 months in custody have a lower likelihood of reoffending. Short custody sentencing is being addressed in the new sentencing act, rehabilitation is better managed in the community oftentimes, prison’s main purpose should be protecting the public from dangerous people.
iffyClyro@reddit
You’re talking about England and you’re assuming I am too.
Fluffy_Ad2274@reddit
Only one of the fifty reoffended.
tvthrowaway366@reddit
Completely agree with this. Out of all the recovering addicts I know, the ones who are able to stay clean for long periods of time all have a very strong moral and spiritual foundation.
It’s really surreal to sit with some of them and see what are, frankly, big, scary, and sometimes dangerous guys sitting, talking openly about their feelings and thought processes and giving each other moral guidance.
Sorry to hear your program got pulled. It sounds like it was doing really important work
Tennyson-Pesco@reddit
Interesting project, though as a scientist I do have a question:
For your project, you focused on the (presumed) spiritual side of many recovering addicts. Could you absolutely prove that it was specifically yoga and other spiritual things that kept them out of prison? Because to me, it sounds like they were keeping themselves busy and taking their minds off crime, but it could have been literally anything
I don't know, maybe they were spiritual people but they could've instead done something like join a running club or done a bit of volunteering, and this could've also had the same effect. How far were you able to show for definite that it was specifically the spiritualism that kept them out of crime, not just them doing other stuff?
iffyClyro@reddit
I think you need to read my comment again.
I mentored people and helped them with employability, tenancy sustainability and generally navigating life.
I don’t teach yoga or mindfulness.
TheRebelPercy@reddit (OP)
Yes, for people on the documentary who had traumatic upbringings and little education, there does seem to be some emotional intelligence and understating there.
CharlemagneKidding@reddit
The project achieved 1 in 50, how does this compare to general released prisoners? No surprise the funding was pulled if it was 5x off of the target...
iffyClyro@reddit
5x better than the target.
CharlemagneKidding@reddit
Holistic doesn't mean what you think.
Far_Kaleidoscope_102@reddit
HMP Barlinnie is still open btw, despite iplayers description of it “finally closing its doors”
Jamsie82@reddit
It’s no holiday camp. It’s brutal. You are in with violent criminals, petty criminals( in for their 9th sentence)
People are broken. There is a lot of drug taking.
Where you hear people say it’s a holiday camp. Well it is if you are unused to 0 star accommodation.
The people that want to end up back in prison do so because they can’t cope outside.
Bar-L is particularly bad due to overcrowding and lack of staff. The staff want to do thier best but there just ain’t enough of them.
So aye it’s great if you want to hear 24/7 noise from shouting etc, be bored and locked up for up to 23hrs a day and just be around people who are emotionally unstable and MWI as they can’t handle reality.
That being said there are some good prisoners and staff.
clarets99@reddit
Just out of curiosity, how do they drugs "get in"?
Is it just shoved up the arse during a family visit?
Or is there a network of bent screws taking bribes etc? Or 3rd party deliveries / workmen / drivers etc who just get asked to take stuff in.
I'm always fascinated. I just keep thinking of the old cartoons where there is a file in a birthday cake delivered by the wife.
lukemakesscran@reddit
Synthetic drugs are dissolved and absorbed into paper, which is brought in by visitors or drones. The paper is then put into a vape. From the docs I've seen you can't get regular drugs in so everyone is out of their minds on the synthetics.
Jazza330@reddit
I’m an addict in recovery and, when I was still drinking I performed live music in prisons in Scotland. There were some genuinely frightening, unnerving moments.
I’ve not stayed over, and I know that I wouldn’t thrive in there.
Next_Presentation432@reddit
Served 2 years of a 4 year sentence when I was 19. Granted I only went to a Cat C then a Cat D so was never in the higher security ones, but in my experience prison is what you make of it.
For me it was probably my most productive time. I got into shape, learnt to play guitar, learnt to cook, read loads of books.
In the cat D prison I started working with a charity that would go round to schools to speak to kids about your experience and the pitfalls that you fell down that they should try and avoid. This was an incredibly fulfilling experience.
I also met some absolute gems in there. Most are the kind of people you would imagine, but you also get all sorts in prison, some of the best people I've ever met.
A lot of the time it's very boring, especially around Christmas.
thierry_ennui_@reddit
It's my understanding that prison is very easy - every cell has a TV and a playstation and the prisoners get free foot massages and eat like royalty. At least that's what the newspapers told me, and I can't see why they would like about it.
DrunkenMonk-1@reddit
Done a couple of sentences, one in Barlinnie. It's not too bad when you're settled in tbh. Can be boring but that makes it the best time to start reading books imo. It's also full of addicts, which is a horrible environment to be in if you're not one yourself, and it's even worse if you get one as your cellmate. When I was in Barlinnie, Al Megrahi was visited by Nelson Mandela and the entire prison got to their windows and started shouting "Beast, beast beast, Hang'em Hang'em Hang'em" and that was one of the craziest atmospheres I've ever experienced. Other than that you'll get random stabbings, scoldings and slashings. Suicide attempts are common also, seen a couple of guys fight with the screws also(don't recommend). Walking out to freedom at the end is easily top 5 feeling ever.
fookreddit22@reddit
It's really fucking boring. I'm lucky I went in before mobile phones became computers and rewired my brain to have the attention span of a horse fly otherwise I don't know how I would have coped. Depending on your background the violence is either shocking or entertaining. If your cellmate is a dick it will make things a lot harder but other than that it's just really fucking boring.
Western-Nature-5413@reddit
Not in this country, but 30 days in China
louisvanthall@reddit
Curious as to what that was like, and why if you don't mind me asking?
Puzzled-Mention-7113@reddit
I worked 1 shift in Reading prison when it was a young offenders, I was an agency chef. It was grim. They didn't search me, when I got there I had to wait for an escort to the kitchen. When I got to the kitchen my phone beeped. The head chef lost his shit that I had walked through the prison with a phone, he really lost his shit when I showed him all the knives I had with me. Apparently if the guards found out, the prison would be locked down and no one would get out for hours. He locked my knives and phone in his office and said I was on my own if I got searched on the way out.
I did the shift, it was shit. As the shutter opened the chef said to dodge quick if the prisoner threw his tray at you as it really hurt.
I did the shift and told the agency to never send me there again
retyfraser@reddit
My company is asking me to come into the office 5 days a week !!! So yea.. I'll update the thread next week
Enough-Ad3818@reddit
My comment from when this question was last asked, 19d ago:
9mths in Wakefield in '01, but as an OSG rather than a prisoner.
The guys that were working in jobs around the site were always good banter. They weren't going to do anything daft because jobs were precious, and if they had a good one, they didn't want to lose it.
I realised how much drugs and alcohol can absolutely trash someone's life. I ended up chatting a few times to a guy about my age. He and I had similar music tastes and enjoyed going to gigs. He never said why he was in, and I didn't ask, as I was a little nervous as to if it was disrespectful to ask. Instead, I asked one of the officers who I knew.
Turns out, this mild guy, who liked finding unsigned rock bands, and played bass, had killed an old man by smashing a paving slab over his head, just so he could rob him of £6, all whilst desperate for a hit. I knew Wakefield was Cat A, and I'd done all the briefings etc, but I think the persona of the guy vs his offence was so wildly different, I was still shocked.
emgeehammer@reddit
Addiction is a hell of a drug
alexanderbeswick@reddit
I've been to prison. Story below.
A couple of years ago, one night, I was about to propose to my girlfriend when my roommate Joseph barged into the room out of nowhere, tripped and fell over, breaking a glass table with his face:
Totally ruined the mood.
Now, I didn't know Joseph that well, don't even remember where he was from, but let's just say I put my plans on hold to help him through his injuries.
Joseph had got a big glass shard in his eye, making him completely blind in that eye. He was walking around with one of those cotton pads on his eye for a couple of months.
Then suddenly, he disappeared, along with my girlfriend.
Apparently they had bonded during the time after his injuries, and eloped together , left me behind without as much as a note.
I tried to track them down, but never could.
In conclusion, if it hadn't been for cotton eye Joe, I'd have been married a long time ago. Where did you come from, where did you go?
Where did you come from, cotton eye Joe?
MaleFeministActuary@reddit
I knew where this was going halfway through reading it. I thought it was decent.
Uk-guys2@reddit
Was in an holding cell, in Manchester when I was 16, for street racing, was there for an day, and night, was very boring.
MadisonRosebud35@reddit
i haven’t, but i feel a bit anxious about it like my rescue dog feels about the vacuum. just seems rough.
JustJoshwaa@reddit
Ruff*
essexeasy@reddit
Yep 3 years in total. 9 months in hmp Wandsworth, 15 months in hmp the Verne ( before it became a nonce hotel) and finally 12 months at hmp standford hill. Category B,C and D respectively. My experience was that if you kept your head down, didn’t cause problems for the screws, got yourself a job which helped the income and the time pass then it wasn’t too bad.
Matchaparrot@reddit
Remindme! 12 hours
Lion-Resident@reddit
Yes. And the rumours are true. My arsehole has never been the same 😭
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