Would YOU Want to Work in a UK Prison?

Prison overcrowding has been mentioned so often in the past few years, but what does it actually mean to the men and women who work in Prisons? I recently talked to a Senior Prison Officer; I shall call him ‘Harry’, to find out more. 

Harry initially answered from the prisoner perspective. He said; “Overcrowding has many effects but, probably the worst effect for a Prisoner is they can be kept long distances from their family for too much of their sentence, reducing access for wives and kids to visit. This can cause some ill feeling among inmates.” 

I asked what the impact was on the people working in UK prisons. Harry pondered the question a while before continuing; “There are so many issues for staff in our Prisons at the moment, it’s hard to give you an answer”. 

I enquired about these issues and what I learned was shocking; “It’s not uncommon for officers to be working 13 hour shifts on several consecutive days at the moment. There is a severe staff shortage where I work and I’m sure my Prison is not unusual. Morale is at rock bottom among the staff in many Prisons”. 

So why are there staff shortages? Harry explained; “Recruitment seems to be difficult at the moment. A newly qualified Officer is not particularly well paid, well below the national average. Our Union recently had a vote which overwhelmingly came out for action due to pay review procedures. But, looking how the Government has treated us in recent years, few colleagues expect a pay review any time soon that will recognise the stress, hours and work we do”.