Articles and Related Media

The British Prison System ¹

By Véronique Boissonnet, Correctional Officer, Regional Reception Centre
(December 2001)

To learn about the various aspects of the British prison system, I took part in the work of many different teams and I visited several of Her Majesty's Prisons.

I have always wanted to understand criminality and how different societies deal with it, hence my studies in educational psychology and criminology. I am also a great traveler and love the challenge of living in other countries. This may explain why the idea of setting up an employee exchange project came to me while I was serving as an inmate escort during an international transfer to London, England, in 1998.

Despite a considerable amount of red tape, the project did come to fruition, and my big adventure began on March 30, 2001. I was met in Manchester by the person in charge of training and development at Sudbury prison. I soon realized that I was going to have a hard time trying to improve my English; each region of England has its own accent, and the English themselves have difficulty understanding each other, so you can imagine the problems for me!

Sudbury prison is located in the town of Sudbury, some two hours north of London. There is a huge difference between life in the capital and in the rest of England. The glorious, verdant countryside is brimful of stories and legends. The inhabitants are friendly and full of good humour. And then there are the pubs - at least one in even the tiniest village - where people go to meet friends.

I lived with Paul, a correctional officer, and his small family in Derby, the nearest city to Sudbury. They were considerate and friendly, and without their assistance, I would not have progressed very far in learning local expressions. At the prison, I was received warmly by both officers and managers. Everyone was very patient with me as a francophone who was still some way from mastering their language.

Just before I arrived, the officers placed an announcement in the institution's newsletter and made arrangements for me to get to and from work. They soon got me involved in their professional activities, and I was invited to all the social events. I served as an officer in a living unit at Sudbury, a class 'D' prison, the equivalent of a minimum-security institution in Canada. I also spent one week at Aberford Road staff college in Wakefield, where I joined a group of recruits and discussed our respective practices.

This was an enriching experience, both professionally and personally. To learn about the various aspects of the British prison system, I took part in the work of many different teams and I visited several of Her Majesty's Prisons, each with a different security classification. I also visited Cleland House, the central headquarters in London; there I saw the "Gold Suite," where a special team meets to deal with emergencies at any institution.

I found few differences between the Canadian and British systems. Our missions, values and programs are similar. However, there are some specific operational differences that should be mentioned. For example, prison and police officers do not carry firearms; instead they use batons. Each officer has one, but surprisingly, they are not used as often as one might think. Only certain special squads who may be called to the scene of an incident are authorized to carry weapons.

Training includes learning how to bring people under control by the pressure point method. Its effectiveness is surprising. Individuals can be brought under control quickly and without injury. I know, because I was a guinea pig!

What most impressed me was the way respect and discipline are enforced. Offenders must address officers respectfully. I don't want to give the impression that British offenders are angels, but I witnessed very few situations where inmates used vulgar or disrespectful language toward officers, even in the maximum-security institutions. Not only do the inmates have respect for the uniform, but civilian personnel do, as well. I found that the work of the officers is highly valued there.

I don't claim to have fully understood all aspects of the British correctional system. That would have been an impossible task to achieve in just three months. However, thanks to Paul, his family, and all the officers I worked with, I learned things that I was able to apply in my daily work as a correctional officer in Canada.

Three months was too short a time for me to become perfectly bilingual and integrate myself into British life and the British correctional system. I was sad to leave England at the end of June, but I have many good memories of the things I saw and learned. I made some close friends, with whom I'm still in contact.

I encourage anyone with a desire for a professionally and personally enriching experience to follow in my footsteps.

1 Let's Talk, Volume 26, number 4, p.30-31