The year the seams bulged – insidetime & insideinformation
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The New Year is traditionally a time for new beginnings: turning over a new leaf, writing a new page, righting past wrongs. ‘We look backwards to go forwards’ as the coach proclaimed at a rugby match I attended in Portland Prison at the end of the year. (For those who don’t know the rules of rugby, throwing the ball forwards is forbidden.) So how does 2023, the post-Covid era, line up with recent years? How easy to find Highs? How difficult to pinpoint Lows?
Sadly, it is only too easy to find Lows, under the twin headings of Overcrowding and Understaffing. To make the point about overcrowding, I’ve attached the prison numbers for each month, both for England and Wales and, separately, Scotland. These figures must be seen against a background of constantly rising numbers, from 45,000 in 1990 to a position dangerously near prison capacity.
Understaffing, the other half of the wicked twins, emphasises and increases all the problems of overfull jails. Numbers tell a story, but the story can also be told in cells, built for one, used by two, men and women, locked up for long periods, particularly at weekends; visits to education, libraries, outdoor exercise, or gym, limited or missed altogether. Even with the best will in the world, an officer can’t be in two places at once, which leads to other losses as men are confined to one wing.
Yet, over the past year, I have left a prison from a visit exhilarated by what I have witnessed. I watch men of all ages up to 90 putting their heart into singing ‘I believe’. I see people discussing books as cogently as any radio panel. I admire paintings, poetry, good fellowship and, where they’re allowed it, the hope and determination and dignity that should be every human being’s right. These are the Highs, the majority due to the work of charities and trusts working with individual governors, and energetic and motivated staff who battle for the time.
Now and again there are the other sort of Highs, the political sort, when the Prisons Minister, or Justice Secretary, suggests, for example, that short sentences are a bad idea, or a judge wonders whether sentences have become too long – so let’s hope those ideas become reality in 2024, and the £4 billion set aside for prison building turns out to be a bit on the High side.
Meanwhile, here comes the past…
January prison numbers: England & Wales 82,212, Scotland 7,303
Low
Police cells have been put on standby and governors have been told to create more spaces in their jails to cope with a surge in prisoner numbers. It led to a warning from a watchdog that accepting more men at an already-crowded prison “poses a serious risk to safety and security.” The number of prisoners in England and Wales increased by 800 in October and November – the biggest two-month increase on record. Prison governors accused the government of ‘being in a panic’.
Low
Prison staff shortages increase, particularly in the South East. During the last 12 months, 23.8 % of staff have left.
‘Seeding Hope’ is an exciting new social enterprise, established to grow trees within prisons, at the same time growing people and helping generate hope.
Low
Food budget cut by 14%, to £2.54 per prisoner per day.
February prison numbers: England and Wales 83,188, Scotland 7,423
Low
The Governor of Berwyn Prison, Nick Leader, tells his local paper that he has 117 staff vacancies out of expected 730.
High
I interview Kyle in a smart office near Oxford Circus in London. But not so long ago he was in prison with a drugs conviction. With the help of the Longford Trust, Kyle was able to continue his university reading maths and come out with a 2:1 degree. Just as important, his mentor, a successful start-up entrepreneur, gave him a job. An illustration of where education and determination can get you. A prison sentence doesn’t have to be the end.
Low
IPP figures still stand at 3,000, of which half are on recall. The Ministry of Justice, still led by Dominic Raab, rejects the Justice Select Committee inquiry findings which recommended a re-sentencing exercise that would have seen those convicted resentenced and given a fair punishment under present law. The IPP sentence was abolished in 2012 when it was found to be illegal.
High
I go to HMP Stafford and see the effect that being part of a choir has on men, most of whom have never sung before. When the three sections – tenor, baritone and bass – launch into ‘I believe’, I want to stand up and cheer. Best of all is to see how they watch each other and work together as a team. It was organised by the charity Beating Time.
March prison numbers: England and Wales 83,990, Scotland 7,495
Low
Compared to men, there are far fewer women in prison than men, but there are still several thousand, so it’s shocking to see levels of violence. Every day there are 52 incidents of self-harm, a rate eight times higher than in men’s jails.
High
The Synergy Theatre Project came into being in 2000 when its founder, director Esther Baker, won a Butler Trust award. Her vision, of working with prisoners and staging plays both inside and outside prison on subjects that relate to the men and women she meets there, has grown into a great educational and artistic venture. When I interviewed her at a production of ‘He said she said’, which tackles the reasons for knife crime among young people, she emphasised that drama could be ‘transformative’. She should know. She’s made it happen.
Low
Go Home, Jails are Full.
High (optimistically)
Lord Justice Edis said courts should now “have an awareness of the impact of current prison population levels” when passing sentence. He added: “It will be a matter for Government to communicate in the courts when prison conditions have returned to normal.” The Senior Presiding Judge is obviously an optimist.
April prison numbers: England and Wales 84,436, Scotland 7,507
Low
A prisoner at HMP Manchester faces punishment after a rooftop protest at the continuing of the IPP sentences.
High
Steve Gallant, who was serving a life sentence for murder and whose bravery stopped an armed terrorist on a killing spree, and Darryn Frost, a civil servant, met during the Fishmongers’ Hall attack. Now they are planning to set up a string of hostels where newly-released prisoners will live and be helped to find jobs.
A pamphlet written and illustrated by prisoners in HMP Pentonville collects memories of ‘Changing London’ from 1946-2022. Carl writes: “At its best, my home has always been a place where immigrants could make their mark and build their lives. The fusion of cultures can’t fail but impress its mark upon you. I am an African Caribbean man brought up on Turkish pizzas, Portuguese custard tarts and Mauritius curries as much as pasties and coco bread.”
High
Jason Knowland from HMP Lindholme paints a superb portrait of King Charles to honour his coronation.
May prison numbers: England and Wales 84,772, Scotland 7,588
Former Conservative Prime Minister John Major points out that the UK has the highest rate of imprisonment in Western Europe. He argues that too many people are jailed on ‘pointless’ short sentences when they should be given community punishment or be treated in hospital. Speaking at the Old Bailey, he adds: “To have inmates held in worst conditions than in Victorian times is an indictment of policy that is hard to ignore.” The event was organised by the Prison Reform Trust.
Low
The latest report from the Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, describes “prisoners locked in their cells or aimlessly stuck on the wings.” He writes that “… prisoners who have not had sufficient opportunities to become involved with education, training or work, and have spent their sentences languishing in their cells, are more likely to reoffend when they come out.”
June prison numbers: England and Wales 85,407, Scotland 7,703
High (Optimistically)
As part of a special report on IPPs, our columnist Raymond Smith expresses the hope that new Justice Secretary Alex Chalk, replacing the disgraced Dominic Raab, will tackle problems in prison, including IPPs. When a minister in the Justice department in 2017 Chalk spoke convincingly about the need for change.
July prison numbers: England and Wales 86,035, Scotland 7,775
High
Happily, I see a brighter picture when I visit HMP Dovegate and get Anna-Marie, not an officer, but holding the keys, to give me a short course on Distance Learning. We end up talking to MB, a young man with a long sentence who is on the third module of a Criminology and Sociology course. He tells me: “Distance learning is singularly the greatest tool available to any prisoner.” Funding comes from the Prisoners’ Education Trust, the Open University’s own funding, or the Longford Trust.
The campaign to free men and women still serving endless imprisonment on IPP sentences made a new kind of appearance in the House of Commons with an exhibition of photos, artworks and poems. It was organised by Donna Mooney of UNGRIPP, whose brother Tommy took his own life while serving an IPP sentence.
August prison numbers: England and Wales 86,763, Scotland 7,887
I am wowed, in HMP Wormwood Scrubs’ magnificent chapel, by violinist Kerenza Peacock. Twenty men from the Prison Choir Project are in the audience. From Vivaldi to stories of smuggling her violin into the Great Pyramid in Egypt, she keeps us enthralled. The top choice is Meditations by Massenet, the very piece Kerenza played in the pyramid’s subterranean chamber. ‘Very calming’, as Germaine described it afterwards; quite true, and better above ground.
Low
One in eight prison officers in England and Wales took time off for mental health reasons in 2022, according to figures from HM Prison and Probation Service. The number has almost doubled in five years.
Low
It’s all very well watching prison numbers rise, but when one of those numbers is an innocent man serving 17 years for a crime he didn’t commit, despite appeals, that’s a different matter. How did it happen? Why did it happen? How many other numbers relate to innocent men? Could it happen again? Our front page told Andrew Malkinson’s shocking story and we tried to answer some of the questions inside.
September prison numbers: England and Wales 87,124, Scotland 7,954
HMP Dartmoor was enveloped in a cloud as I approached over the moor. But inside, a celebration was being held for the 20th birthday of Storybook Dads. During speeches, founder Sharon Berry described the journey to the present high-tech presentation as men read a book for their child or children, which is then edited to include full illustrations. As a volunteer from HMP Erlestoke said to me: “For a few precious minutes, the men are as focussed as anyone who has been sitting with a child reading a story, building a lifelong bond…” Incidentally, The Gruffalo was top choice book, followed by – The Gruffalo’s Child.
October prison numbers: England and Wales 88,016, Scotland 7,918
Low
A daring escape from Wandsworth prison made the Justice Select Committee decide to announce an inquiry into prison capacity. How did an ex-soldier and suspected terrorist manage to strap himself to the underside of a food delivery lorry and exit through the gates? Overcrowding leading to lax running of the prison was the obvious answer.
Three of the Inside Team who know what they’re talking about – Noel Smith, Matthew Williams and John Bowers – told their own escape or failed escape stories; all of them advising it wasn’t worth the retribution, including longer sentences, lower categories and solitary confinement. Matthew adds: “History shows it rarely pays off.”
Nottingham’s Museum of Justice is built over layers of criminal history. On the ground floor are two splendid Victorian courts, next floor down, the cells from the county jail dating back to medieval times and below that, black pits where men were dropped down holes and left to die. The place of nightmares and feeling prison conditions have improved – since the fourteenth century. I had actually come to see an exhibition of artefacts made in modern prisons. My top picks were a man’s head sculpted out of bread and a giant’s red heart enclosed in a huge cage.
High
I attended a toughly-fought rugby match between Dorset’s Portland Prison and Lytchett Minster, a local team. But more of that in next month’s Inside Time.
Low
Crisis Steps. Releases 18 days early. Ban of short sentences. Plans to hire cells abroad.
November prison numbers: England and Wales 87,764 Scotland 7,968
Low/High
Poetry continues to come into Inside Time, telling stories of dysfunction and loneliness but also the determination to change lives for the better. ‘I’m Just a Wee Guy’ by Michael Hulme was read out at the Longford Lecture. It opens: “I’m just a wee guy from a council estate/Nobody important/Nobody great/A broken boy with broken dreams/A broken childhood with broken screams…” This year the lecture was given to 700 people who were inspired by ex-prisons minister and famed podcaster Rory Stewart.
The Koestler Awards put on its annual exhibition at London’s Southbank, proving the amount of talent behind bars. Blank faces stare out from behind glass-topped boxes. Charming stuffed animals soften the tone, a ceramic scorpion looks for its tale, and a prison officer is caught smoking.
December prison numbers: England and Wales 87,891 Scotland 7,958
Low
Homelessness continues to be the most unwelcome side of Christmas. ‘Homeless Ash’, back in HMP Nottingham, describes being released from an earlier prison visit onto the streets in 2019. He asks why migrants get a place to live before the British.
High
Fine Cell workers have been stitching beautiful cushions, lavender bags and other elegancies in prisons for over 25 years. At the end of the year, I admired their latest work in St. Peter’s, Notting Hill.
High
Finally, a New Year quiz taken from Noel Smith’s ‘Myths, Legends and Downright Lies,’ in prison; ‘There is a huge King Rat that has a den under one of the wings in Wormwood Scrubs and controls all the vermin in that prison; you can bend the bars and escape with a wet towel; porridge being served is actually Grade 3 Canadian pig-meal; if you don’t eat breakfast on the day of your release you’ll be back soon; HMP Wandsworth has the last working gallows and test it every six months; the Home Office gets paid by commercial airlines to designate all inner-city prisons as crash landing sites for aircraft in trouble…’ No prizes for guessing the true one!
I wish you all a Happy, or at the very least Happier, New Year!