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What to expect in Prison, some ins and outs
First of all let me say this, prison is mostly what you make it. You can to a degree make it fairly tolerable, or you can be miserable and make it unbearable as a result. I've had both extremes.
Prison is full of legendary myths, the biggest being worthy of a Hollywood cliche in that there's a large hairy biker-type in there who wants his wicked way with anything that moves and a few things that don't. It's not true. Your rear end will remain a one-way street for as long as you would prefer it to be.
Do NOT discuss your offence with anyone other than prison staff. People have been known to share a cell while on remand and confide in their cellmate. When it goes to trial, there's the cellmate claiming you admitted your offence to him. If you don't discuss it, then no one will have any knowledge of your case to embellish.
Seriously, if you are remanded into custody or convicted, you will automatically become a Rule 43/Rule 46 prisoner. This basically means you are a Vulnerable Person, and will usually be kept in Segregation/Seg Unit, or a VPU in your local prison. This means you will be in with other people with similar backgrounds, so you will rarely, if ever, come into contact with the Normal lot. Basically, no prison governor these days can afford for you to be assaulted, for which you could sue for substantial sums due to their failure to protect you. You must ensure that they (the prison) are under NO illusions and that you ARE a "Rule" prisoner. In the 90's I knew of someone who was in for murder of his girlfriend while on drugs, should've been on the Rule, but the governor at HMP Lewes stupidly put him on the normal wings, where he was attacked with a pool ball in a sock. He survived, but it's so unlikely to happen now.
Generally, the normal prisoners can't get to you other than verbally, and if the VPU is below or above a normal wing, they like to shout Nonce, Bacon, or such. Just ignore it. The worse thing you can do is give them a response. In fact, don't get involved in shouting/conversations with anyone out of your window. Firstly you don't know who you're talking to, or who else is listening, and also some prisons will put you on a charge for it.
I've been in several prisons on the Rule - Downview, Lewes, Albany and Winchester. They are all much of a muchness. Most of the time the screws in VPUs are fairly decent and won't give you any hassle as long as you don't cause any. There's always an air of 'you' and 'them' between inmates and prison staff; ie they're not your friend, but mostly you'll get on. Treat them with respect and generally they will treat you decently
The common factor in VPUs is that out of the inmates accused of sexual offences are usually as you are - professional, polite, quiet, 'house-trained' for want of a better word. The ones who have an attitude - both inmates and officers - just avoid them - you won't win any battles, and arguments are to be avoided at all costs. In normal life we would argue and walk away, agreeing to disagree. In prison it often degenerates into violence, so bite your tongue and walk away. If it means the other party is left with the upper hand, so be it. Far better that than to end up sporting lumps.
Generally you'd be in a local prison to your address first for a month or so before being moved to a dedicated VPU, this could be anywhere in the country. Albany on the IoW is one, Littlehey in Cambridgeshire is another, Grendon too, Usk in Wales. When you get to one of these, you'll find most are in the same boat and the only causes for conflict would be personal ones, not because of your past.
Cells are often shared 2 to a cell in local prisons due to overcrowding, in dedicated VPUs they're usually single cell. If you have to share, you'll usually get on with the other guy - he knows as much as you do that he could be robbed/assaulted/stitched up etc by you, so often the guy you share with is your main ally. I've had times where (and thieving does happen) one watches the cell while the other showers/gets meals etc. Get on, but do NOT discuss your case.
When it comes to toilet facilities, it varies. Many older prisons have been updated to include toilets and sinks in the cell, while modern ones have communal toilet areas on each landing, and a computerised request system lets you press to be let out of your cell up to three times a night, for about 7 minutes at a time.
It is rare for some prisons to still provide you with just a bucket for a toilet, known as "slopping out," but some may still do for all I know.
Food is generally bland and tasteless. Imagine hospital food, well that's often better. You can usually spend money once a week to buy nibbles, tobacco, stamps etc by filling in a canteen sheet and the prison gets those items in and you collect from a shop in the prison, or very rarely it's brought to your cell door. It's once a week on a set day, so if you're a smoker it'll be the first thing you ask about.
The one thing I would say is, it is NOT a holiday camp experience as the Sunday toilet roll would tell you. Yes, some can have Playstations in their cells, but what the NoTW won't tell you is that it is only Enhanced prisoners who can. To be enhanced you have to complete all of your Offender Treatment Programmes, ie SOTP, and as you are maintaining your innocence (as I did) you will be ineligible for SOTP and thus Playstation-LESS. You will, however, usually have a TV in your cell. It costs £1 a week per cell and the prison take it out of the money you get each week from the prison, which is about £2.50- £4 per prison. You will be amazed that once you are locked in a cell for hours that even a TV or a Playstation will not relieve the boredom, and is really an over-hyped luxury.
On the whole I wouldn't say I'd go there every year - Ibiza it isn't - but it wasn't that bad. I made some friends, people I really wanted to keep in touch with, both inmates and staff, and many I'd happily forget. What I missed was my family, and the taste of decent food.
I could go on, but I could write a book on it (and some have) when I just want to give you a brief overview of what and what not to expect. I hope I haven't put the fear of god into you, but given a balanced view.
LS
Prison is full of legendary myths, the biggest being worthy of a Hollywood cliche in that there's a large hairy biker-type in there who wants his wicked way with anything that moves and a few things that don't. It's not true. Your rear end will remain a one-way street for as long as you would prefer it to be.
Do NOT discuss your offence with anyone other than prison staff. People have been known to share a cell while on remand and confide in their cellmate. When it goes to trial, there's the cellmate claiming you admitted your offence to him. If you don't discuss it, then no one will have any knowledge of your case to embellish.
Seriously, if you are remanded into custody or convicted, you will automatically become a Rule 43/Rule 46 prisoner. This basically means you are a Vulnerable Person, and will usually be kept in Segregation/Seg Unit, or a VPU in your local prison. This means you will be in with other people with similar backgrounds, so you will rarely, if ever, come into contact with the Normal lot. Basically, no prison governor these days can afford for you to be assaulted, for which you could sue for substantial sums due to their failure to protect you. You must ensure that they (the prison) are under NO illusions and that you ARE a "Rule" prisoner. In the 90's I knew of someone who was in for murder of his girlfriend while on drugs, should've been on the Rule, but the governor at HMP Lewes stupidly put him on the normal wings, where he was attacked with a pool ball in a sock. He survived, but it's so unlikely to happen now.
Generally, the normal prisoners can't get to you other than verbally, and if the VPU is below or above a normal wing, they like to shout Nonce, Bacon, or such. Just ignore it. The worse thing you can do is give them a response. In fact, don't get involved in shouting/conversations with anyone out of your window. Firstly you don't know who you're talking to, or who else is listening, and also some prisons will put you on a charge for it.
I've been in several prisons on the Rule - Downview, Lewes, Albany and Winchester. They are all much of a muchness. Most of the time the screws in VPUs are fairly decent and won't give you any hassle as long as you don't cause any. There's always an air of 'you' and 'them' between inmates and prison staff; ie they're not your friend, but mostly you'll get on. Treat them with respect and generally they will treat you decently
The common factor in VPUs is that out of the inmates accused of sexual offences are usually as you are - professional, polite, quiet, 'house-trained' for want of a better word. The ones who have an attitude - both inmates and officers - just avoid them - you won't win any battles, and arguments are to be avoided at all costs. In normal life we would argue and walk away, agreeing to disagree. In prison it often degenerates into violence, so bite your tongue and walk away. If it means the other party is left with the upper hand, so be it. Far better that than to end up sporting lumps.
Generally you'd be in a local prison to your address first for a month or so before being moved to a dedicated VPU, this could be anywhere in the country. Albany on the IoW is one, Littlehey in Cambridgeshire is another, Grendon too, Usk in Wales. When you get to one of these, you'll find most are in the same boat and the only causes for conflict would be personal ones, not because of your past.
Cells are often shared 2 to a cell in local prisons due to overcrowding, in dedicated VPUs they're usually single cell. If you have to share, you'll usually get on with the other guy - he knows as much as you do that he could be robbed/assaulted/stitched up etc by you, so often the guy you share with is your main ally. I've had times where (and thieving does happen) one watches the cell while the other showers/gets meals etc. Get on, but do NOT discuss your case.
When it comes to toilet facilities, it varies. Many older prisons have been updated to include toilets and sinks in the cell, while modern ones have communal toilet areas on each landing, and a computerised request system lets you press to be let out of your cell up to three times a night, for about 7 minutes at a time.
It is rare for some prisons to still provide you with just a bucket for a toilet, known as "slopping out," but some may still do for all I know.
Food is generally bland and tasteless. Imagine hospital food, well that's often better. You can usually spend money once a week to buy nibbles, tobacco, stamps etc by filling in a canteen sheet and the prison gets those items in and you collect from a shop in the prison, or very rarely it's brought to your cell door. It's once a week on a set day, so if you're a smoker it'll be the first thing you ask about.
The one thing I would say is, it is NOT a holiday camp experience as the Sunday toilet roll would tell you. Yes, some can have Playstations in their cells, but what the NoTW won't tell you is that it is only Enhanced prisoners who can. To be enhanced you have to complete all of your Offender Treatment Programmes, ie SOTP, and as you are maintaining your innocence (as I did) you will be ineligible for SOTP and thus Playstation-LESS. You will, however, usually have a TV in your cell. It costs £1 a week per cell and the prison take it out of the money you get each week from the prison, which is about £2.50- £4 per prison. You will be amazed that once you are locked in a cell for hours that even a TV or a Playstation will not relieve the boredom, and is really an over-hyped luxury.
On the whole I wouldn't say I'd go there every year - Ibiza it isn't - but it wasn't that bad. I made some friends, people I really wanted to keep in touch with, both inmates and staff, and many I'd happily forget. What I missed was my family, and the taste of decent food.
I could go on, but I could write a book on it (and some have) when I just want to give you a brief overview of what and what not to expect. I hope I haven't put the fear of god into you, but given a balanced view.
LS
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