A Level Psychology Trip, Tuesday 26^th January 2010

Criminology is an important component of the A Level Psychology course. Along with the Headmaster and Mrs Beck, the Head of Department, several Sixth Formers studying Psychology were fortunate enough to gain a rare insight into the structure and ethos of prison organisation when they visited Erlestoke Prison recently. They did so at the kind invitation of Mrs Southwell – a long-standing friend of this school and wife of the former Chairman of Governors. Mrs Southwell works at Erlestoke Prison on behalf of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) – her role as a volunteer is to monitor the day-to-day life of the prison and to ensure that proper standards of care and decency are maintained. Many thanks to her for setting up what proved to be a fascinating visit.

Introduction

A bitterly cold, cloudy winter morning, 6 teenagers from Warminster School waiting outside the daunting gates of Erlestoke prison….. passport in hand for ID, temporarily parted from their constant companion, the mobile phone - mobiles are strictly prohibited in the prison. Of course it is forbidden to take in weapons, drugs or alcohol but a camera, chewing gum, lip balm, cough sweets…..were just a few of the items unwittingly in our possession that were not allowed to be taken into the prison and were left with the prison reception for safekeeping.

Once through the first gates, all were searched and instructed to walk past the awaiting dogs. Through the second gates and we were ‘inside’.

For us, as visitors, we knew that all our possessions would be waiting for us to pick up just a few hours later; for those sentenced within the prison, all would have to wait much longer – weeks, years, life. Erlestoke is home to those with sentences across this range, the crimes committed vary from non-payment of fines to murder.

Some facts and figures….

The prison population is 470, the cost is £23,000 per prisoner per year, that’s a total budget of £11 ½ million per year (the budget for the day’s meals for one prisoner is £1.81). Every week there are approximately 20 inmates who leave, often for transfer to other prisons, maybe nearer to home, maybe an open prison as they near the end of their sentence. For each person that leaves another will arrive, the prison runs at full capacity. Within this changing regime runs the education facility, workshops, a variety of training programs co-ordinated by the prison psychologist alongside the day to day logistics of feeding, housing and caring for all (the medical facility and chapel are just two of the additional facilities on site).

What did we see?

We met with a variety of staff, from the prison’s Senior Governor, Andy Rogers, through to those, like Prison Officer Mark Cole, who look after the prisoners on a day-to-day basis. We gained a fascinating insight from Senior Psychologist, Marc Kozlowski, about the work done to prepare the prisoners for release and the latest thinking from the coal-face of criminology. We also walked amongst and between the prisoners as they circled around an exercise yard in time-honoured fashion – as visitors we were no doubt a curiosity to them and a variation to their daily routine. Later, we visited “Wren Wing”, a stark and distinctly unwelcoming building in which small single cells with barred windows are home to some for between 22 and 23 hours a day. Graffiti on the walls revealed the affiliations of many to gangs operating on the outside.

At meal times the prisoners go down to the servery – 8.30, 11.30 and 4.30; apart from this some days warrant association time when there may be a period of socialising permitted. Books are available and some will have a small T.V. for the cost of £1 per week but, living in such close proximity to others, there is little feeling of personal space – the loud music or persistent banging from a neighbouring cell is inescapable and oppressive, even for those of us who were only there for a short time.

The system is based on reward and once trust has been proven there may be work available in the horticultural department, in industrial production lines or in the kitchens. Other blocks are classed as ‘enhanced accommodation’ and a more relaxed regime is in place. For the less compliant, the segregation unit – and ‘adjudication’, in which their grievances are aired and judged in a quasi-court hearing – was a less comfortable alternative.

Lasting impressions…

On the ‘outside’ again….and our lasting impression? To ensure that we would only enter prison as temporary visitors.

More positively, we were struck by the dedication and professionalism of all the staff, from Andy Rogers (the senior Governor, pictured), through Marc Kozlowski (Senior Psychologist), Susie Richardson (Governor), Christine Trafankowski (Head of the Education Department) to Prison Officer Mark Cole. Many thanks go to all these people for making time to talk to us so generously.

We felt that the governors, educationalists and prison officers were united in their commitment to the maintenance of a healthy ethos. Erlestoke houses an atmosphere of respect, respect of all; the people whom we met undoubtedly aim to provide the best care that they can, the overarching goal being to minimise reoffending and prepare those inside for a successful life when they rejoin society. Yet in Britain the current prison population is 82,000 and it is estimated that this will rise by as much as a further 20,000 by 2014 - possibly taking the UK's prison population above 100,000 for the first time; current statistics indicate that 55% of children of adult male prisoners will enter prison before the age 15. Whilst that is in itself a depressing statistic, the ‘jailcraft’ (as they called it) of the prison guards and other staff was an inspiration.