22-12-22, 07:54
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Harsh Reality of Working in UK's Most Notorious Prisons
The Harsh Reality of Working in UK's Most Notorious Prisons
With overcrowding, understaffing and rising levels of violence, why would anyone want to work in a prison?
BBC News 22 DEC 2022.
HMP Belmarsh
ITV News was given rare and exclusive access to new recruits working on the frontline in the country’s most notorious prisons.
Officer Brown, 23, is on an early shift at HMP Belmarsh, a maximum-security male prison in South East London with a fearsome reputation, housing 700 inmates from terrorists to sex offenders.
Across the prison service serious violence is on the increase - on average 20 prison officers are assaulted every day.
When Officer Withers, 24, told his family he was going into the service they were ‘shocked’ and some friends ‘didn’t think I could do it.’
An economics graduate, he’s swapped a career in finance to work at HMP Manchester.
“I found working in the city a bit dull and boring. When lockdown hit, I ended up working with young offenders in care homes and I found that was much more suited to me and my personality,” he said.
“When I came first came in to prison I thought, it was crazy, then you just get used to it. Situations can be very stressful, you have limited resources, but it’s all part of the job. It's incredibly exciting at times,” he added.
The officers are all part of the government-backed Unlocked Graduates scheme where high-flying graduates who could have pursued a career in law or medicine, are instead recruited to become prison officers.
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