Alexia Voicu | Content Writer

Thanks to Professor Nick Hardwick, Dr Emily Glorney, Dr Melissa Henderson, Dr Erin Condirston, and PhD candidate Jeanette Hall, students enrolled on the Prisons module, along with other students in the Law and Criminology Department, had the unique opportunity to visit a prison of their choice. Students split into smaller groups, and each group visited one of three prisons: HMP Bronzefield, HMP & YOI Feltham and HMP Wandsworth.

HMP & YOI Feltham (children aged 15-18, and adults aged 18 and over held separately)

I was in the group who visited HMP & YOI Feltham and I must say I am now convinced that I want a career in the Criminal Justice System – it was an incredible learning experience. The staff members who welcomed us were friendly and obviously passionate about their jobs, they made our visit smooth and interesting. They happily answered all of our questions and they talked us through a typical day in HMP & YOI Feltham – both from the prisoners’ perspective and from their perspective as members of the staff.

We mostly visited the adult side of the prison. We witnessed several of their rehabilitative programmes in action. We got to see learners in bike-fixing workshops, working out in the gym, and caring for the estate’s gardens. We learned more about the volunteering and extra-curricular activities that help the prisoners gain work experience which will be valuable for getting a job once they are released, such as DofE (Duke of Edinburgh’s Award) and Parkrun.

We had informal talks with some of the prisoners whilst they were attending workshops; this helped us see the reality of the prison and learn about inside rules and “unwritten rules” that we could not have otherwise had access to. We had positive interactions with the prisoners and with the staff members, and we noticed the good relationships that they developed with each other.

The staff gave us a comprehensive tour of the estate; we saw the dining area, the sports centres, the rehabilitation centres, we passed by the medical centre and the segregation unit, and lastly we saw some (unoccupied) cells. The cells made us feel claustrophobic; they were small and there was no feeling of privacy, as the staff could peer through an external small window located on the cell door or outer wall. A cell had a dummy prisoner on the floor, which startled some students but it definitely added to the authenticity of the experience.

Outcomes: The students in my group left the prison with a good impression of HMP & YOI Feltham, how it is run and how the staff helps the offenders with rehabilitation. As a result of the visit, over half of them said they are more likely to get a career in the Criminal Justice System. This visit provided me and the students in my group with practical knowledge about prison life and prison staff, which supplemented our learning in the Prisons module.

HMP Bronzefield (women)

I did not partake in this visit; however, the students that I interviewed found it insightful. ‘I thought it was going to be very depressing but instead I felt the opposite (I’m aware I only saw it for 2 hours and everyday is different) but it was refreshing to see women prisoners working, learning or chatting together they seemed quite happy with the way things were run’, said a student who was pleasantly surprised by the facilities. The students interviewed were glad to witness positive prisoner-staff interactions in HMP Bronzefield.

Other students compared it to male prisons that they have previously visited (mainly HMP Brixton), and described HMP Bronzefield as ‘more like a school or college than a prison from the outside’. ‘The staff focused on the trauma experienced by the women’, which represented a great interest for psychology joint-honours students within the department. 

The students had overall good impressions about the visit; they learned to be more empathetic: ‘you almost don’t expect prisoners to be relatable to you but they definitely are’, they were reminded about the role and importance of rehabilitation: ‘I left the visit feeling more hopeful about the rehabilitative process for prisoners’, and they found the experience to be ‘surreal and emotional at times’.

However, not all students felt positive about the visit. A student claimed that ‘whilst a focus on rehabilitation is important but as is the element of punishment’, since they felt like the modern on-site facilities and the prisoner-staff relationships ‘may also be irritating to every-day people. Prisoners were paid to go the the gym as it is considered a job, there is a sensory room (something that many schools don’t even have), and free education’.

Outcomes: Half of the students who were interviewed said they are more likely to consider pursuing a career in the Criminal Justice System as a cause of the visit. All of the students interviewed claimed that the visit has enhanced their learning experience: ‘It has given me such a greater understanding of the issues dominating the criminal justice system from the overworked staff, mental health crisis in prisons, over-populated prisons. It is easy to forget those in prisons are real people with real lives, traumas, histories, upbringings, and cultures and not just “criminals”’, ‘it was evident that what Nick teaches us in the module is exactly how things happen. It was also interesting to hear how different women’s prisons are to men’s’. The students enjoyed learning about the rehabilitation-focused approaches of HMP Bronzefield.

HMP Wandsworth (adult men, category B)

Issy Mullin and Aimee Prunty visited HMP Wandsworth and they gladly shared with me details about their experience. Issy felt that the visit helped her overcome the bad stereotypes about the prison: ‘I thought it would be filled with tension, staff would be on edge, etc. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that there was legitimate relationship building between the prisoners and staff’. Aimee also claimed to have enjoyed the experience and she found it insightful.

Outcomes: The students felt safe and supported by staff throughout their visit. Aimee described the experience as ‘eye-opening’ and ‘surreal’. Both of the students interviewed described the visit as a ‘whole different experience’ and are happy that they ‘learnt a lot ranging from prison jobs, how much free time they are allowed, so many things’. Both Issy and Aimee claim that the visit has convinced them to steer towards a career in the Criminal Justice System: ‘it reignited my passion for representing those within prisons who need it’.

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All in all, it was a unique and useful learning experience for the students involved. Nevertheless, the visits showcased the good parts of the prisons, and there are still many underlying issues in each of the prisons visited. The prisoners we interacted with were those on their best behaviour, and we did not get to see any of the day-to-day unfortunate incidents that are a common part of prison life.