Guest Blog 59

The last time a Probation Officer offered a client a cuppa?

There has been a few posts by 'old lags' on this blog over the past week. I originally started writing this post in response and titled it "don't do the crime if you can't do the time!" I think I have good reason for having mixed thoughts over what I've read, which includes Ben Gunn's experiences after 3 decades behind bars and his relationship with his probation officer.

I think it's fair to say that most experiences of imprisonment will be unique to each and every prisoner/ex-prisoner. I've written briefly about my time in prison on this blog before too. Looking back I wish I had been sent into the Army instead, even running away to join the Foreign Legion would have been better. Maybe things would have been different if there had been more investment at a school age, which is the best time to divert youngsters away from offending whether it be for one-off mistakes or emerging criminal careers. 

Going to prison was one of the worst things things that happened to me; both on remand and following sentence, it was a hostile environment, a shock to the system and the stigma of having a criminal record still affects me today. I always encourage myself and others to not dwell on that one bad life-changing decision, while knowing that it will never fully be left in the past. Sometimes we all feel like Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando);

"You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it".

The prison conditions all those decades ago were just as bad as they are now. I didn't expect prison to be nice and the first and last time I moaned about my sentence another prisoner said "you did the crime, now do the time". There is no better rationale that can be applied to a prison sentence and I've studied the theories on crime, punishment, imprisonment, rehabilitation and desistance. Good conditions, bad conditions, nothing works, prison works and what works; being locked up in prison with hundreds of (aggressive, addicted and mentally ill) prisoners and a handful of low paid (brutish) staff has never and is never going to work until the entire direction of penal policy shifts away from incapacitation. Until then, well, don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

The problem is that many people can do the time despite the conditions, and because living like a caged animal is not a healthy position, many will continue to 'do the crime' too. It is hard to find any meaning or purpose in the wasted time spent in rotten prison environments that offer very little in terms of rehabilitation or personal development. If we think about the current prison overcrowding crisis, the privatisation of the probation service, the cuts in welfare, the lack of social housing, rising unemployment and the looming post-Brexit recession, the future doesn't look bright for prisoners and released prisoners. 

It doesn't help that re-entry into society is viewed as such a negative event, and resettlement is further hindered by the 'ex-prisoner' brand and the criminal record noose that is never removed. For prisoners and ex-prisoners to change there has to be support and opportunities, mainly with addictions, accommodation and employment. The use of imprisonment as a punishment comes with a huge responsibility, and part of this means helping to rebuild better futures for the lives that imprisonment took away.

Prisons have always been a place of degradation and despair, but we used to have a system of supporting the vulnerable, the needy and the destitute. We were once world leaders in rehabilitation and justice but this changed as our penal policies increasingly followed America, as our justice system has become overrun by civil servants and non-legally trained justice ministers, and prisoners and offenders have become commodities for private probation companies and charities seeking huge revenues to provide services that are worse than doing nothing. 

In this climate we hear the stories of the community and welfare organisations that have reorganised to hinder rather than help, the prisons and detention centres that are riddled with abuse and corruption, and the new breed of justice professionals, the probation officers, offender managers, offender supervisors, responsible officers and even social workers that are trained to tick boxes, be tough on offenders and hide behind the disproportionate and discriminating decisions that are made under the guise of security, risk management and public protection.

It is a sorry state of affairs, but against all the odds many prisoners and released prisoners do change. I do know many probation officers, social workers and professionals that still hold the old values and are committed to getting and keeping people out of prison. It's impossible to count how many times I've known probation officers to help with accommodation, employment and all the other needs they are presented with. This is even after all the in-house probation-trained accommodation, employment and addiction advisors were taken away. There are still many gems amongst probation officers and they should be given a chance because many 'on probation' find that "my probation officer" can be a much needed supporter, advisor and friend.

A recent commenter on this blog wrote "I recall the days when I used to bring half a dozen problems to my PO on appointment days with the hope of getting some help with maybe 2 or 3 of them. You'd sit and discuss them quite often with a cup of tea". I was so pleased to read this comment because this is what much of us still do every day. Despite the huge changes ongoing in the probation NPS and CRC's, there is hope that the government has not changed probation beyond recognition or whitewashed it out of history just yet. Probation clients will be lucky to get a cup of water though, as budget cuts and health and safety means that a hot cuppa in a probation office has long been a thing of the past.

Probation Officer
15+ years to retire