INSIDE HYDEBANK
I remember the date November 19 for a few reasons.
It is someone I used to know’s birthday, it is World Toilet Day, and of course it is International Men’s Day...
And now it also marks the first time I went inside a prison.
As you would expect from a Belfast-based journalist I have covered countless court cases, and have lots of contact with former prisoners through the course of my work in news and politics.
Hydebank prison has just received top marks in two independent reports by the Criminal Justice Inspection so when the invitation came through to check out the prison, and talk to serving prisoners, I took it.
I am planning future prison related stories for elsewhere in due course so this website post is just a reflection on what I made of it all.
Pics by me
As you get closer to the entrance for ‘Hydebank Wood College’ if you didn’t know what it was you could be forgiven for thinking it is merely a place of learning.
The weaving road up to it made me think a little bit of the initial drive through Cave Hill Country Park, but as you approach your end destination, the high security, fences and barbed wire quickly let you know that it’s not a Castle that lies beyond the trees.
I was pleased to see art work is everywhere among the heavy doors, metal, cameras and locks. Another reminder of the value of art.
I had my ‘reporter’s notepad’ and ‘I am a feminist’ pen with me. Old skool, yes, but there is merit in scribbles and there was so much to absorb I needed it.
There are under 200 prisoners are on site.
Record numbers of women are imprisoned there, (around 128), and in separate blocks are some young men aged 18 to their mid 20s.
My focus for the hours that followed was on the women’s experience but the young men I encounter, from somewhat of a distance, are courteous or craic.
On my way to the library I learn about or see signs for art workshops, a recycling plant, gardens, a barbers, the kitchen, the chapel, the garage, and all the academia that takes place in the prison.
There are Irish language, Polish, Spanish, Italian and Portugese books in the “Learn a new language section”.
Among the shelves are the novels of John Le Carré, Brian O’Driscoll and Tony Blair’s books, the Inside Times newspaper, Bridgerton books, some ‘quick and easy romance reads’, and an array of health leaflets.
Painted on one library wall is the quote “A room without books is like a body without a soul”, and on another a William Shakespeare quote from Measure for Measure, that brought a small smile to my face.
“They say best men are moulded out of faults, and, for the most, become much more the better for being a little bad”.
The female accommodation is increasingly seeing women with complex needs and a diverse age range enter it.
As we walk through the garden on the way to low supervision cells I see a therapy dog, and also a giant wooden clock on a tree, so immediately think of watching time go by when you don’t have freedom.
On arrival in some of the living accommodation I smell a bit of stale tobacco smoke, and then after seeing some cells (they are small) head into a communal area to chat with prisoners.
In a small kitchen I speak with three women of different ages who are baking a lemon cake together. It’s a surreal experience.
They talk about missing their families and children, and the benefits of Zoom calls (a positive of the pandemic) and phone calls beyond weekly in person visits.
Prison is “scary” when you first arrive but if you “keep busy and keep your head down” it helps time pass, I am told.
Just across the hall in the hair and beauty salon, where Belfast Met tutors oversee qualifications, I chat to two other women.
A woman having her hair washed talks about missing her children.
Her friend, doing the hair washing, talks about missing simple things like a Chinese or Indian takeaway but that keeping busy with knitting helps. She was recently making poppies, and also trauma teddies for the fire service.
I purposely don’t ask the women what they are in for but when we speak about how far away release might be it’s clear for some the prospect is “a long time” away.
In a different area of the prison for women with disabilities and/or behavioural challenges and complex needs I learn that staff working closely with healthcare in prisons “do wonders” and are increasingly needed.
I thank everyone I speak to for being generous with their time, and can’t stop myself feeling a sense of sadness.
When someone is sent to jail the punishment is the loss of liberty so I have never understood the hostility towards rehabilitation or the consideration of nuance.
You know what I am talking about.
People who complain about prisoners improving themselves and their lives. For me it’s a no brainer. Not only is it for a prisoner’s own good but also the good of the wider society they reenter upon their release.
I get the argument about the lack of services outside of prison for those who don’t have criminal convictions but as ever - it’s a complex discussion.
I learn that an increasing number of vulnerable women are ending up in prison.
I am not making light of the experiences of victims of crime and the lives impacted by crime but it is clear to me that many women end up behind bars for such desperate and tragic reasons.
Around 40 percent of the women in prison are there for crime involving violence against others, and will often have a long history of violence against them.
It makes me think about how silo working is bad for everyone and that health, crime, education, justice and the rest should be working together more on holistic approaches to pretty much any issue you care to think of.
Not only is there a moral case for it, but if you need to hear it there is also an economic/business case for it too.
Many stories I hear are alarming and it just doesn’t feel right for some of the women in Hydebank to be there but in some instances there really is nowhere else for them to go and be safe.
There was a recent pilot of ‘Trauma Talks’ - exploring childhood trauma - in Magilligan prison, and the same programmes will be launched soon in Hydebank and Maghaberry.
I hear about the humanity of prisoners.
We discuss the ‘hard sell’ that prison stories can be for journalists, the lack of sympathy there is for prisoners, and how complicated those discussion points can be.
Staff talk about the importance of seeing prisoners as “people” and as “humans” and the value of helping them build “confidence”.
Despite the expanse of space it is by no means a luxurious environment, and I still feel the oppressiveness of the prison spaces, of being closed in, and when my visit is over, and I am out the front doors I can breathe again.
Even something as basic as not being able to fully open a window gives me anxiety.
I didn’t know exactly what to expect from visiting a prison but what I saw and felt surprised me in many ways.
I was glad I had control of leaving whenever I wanted.
Hydebank is winning plaudits which is welcome. It has made a remarkable move from failing to top rating and feels nurturing in many ways, but it is still of course a prison and not without flaws.
There is impressive work being done in prisons but as ever there remains room for learning and improvement on a whole range of issues.
A big thank you/GRMA to everyone who spoke to me yesterday.
Amanda
FURTHER READING:
You can read below a statement from Stormont’s Justice department on the ‘first’ for prisons in the north/Northern Ireland.
Picture by Michael Cooper: Justice Minister Naomi Long pictured with Richard Taylor, Governor of Hydebank Wood Secure College and Women’s Prison, and Beverley Wall, Director General of the NI Prison Service.
‘Top marks Hydebank is a model of excellence’ - Long
Hydebank Wood Secure College and Women’s Prison is a ‘model of excellence and good practice, transforming lives’, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said.
The Minister was responding to the publication of two independent reports by Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland and HM Inspector of Prisons in England and Wales, in which both the facility for young male offenders and the women’s prison at Hydebank received top marks – a first for a prison in Northern Ireland.
Naomi Long said: “The outcome of today’s reports is a culmination of many years hard work by the Prison Service and its partner agencies. Just over ten years ago inspectors described Hydebank as a failing prison – today it is a model of excellence and good practice.
“There is no doubt the exceptional work being done at Hydebank is transforming lives. Rehabilitation is working. Young men and women are choosing to turn their lives around through education and learning. Academic and practical skills in industry-focused subjects including catering and hospitality, barbering, horticulture and animal husbandry are helping them to find employment when they leave prison. Importantly also, re-offending rates are reducing, which again confirms these young men and women are turning away from a life of crime, making our communities a safer place to live.”
Minister Long added: “I want to thank the inspection teams, led by Jacqui Durkin and Charlie Taylor, for their work. Their independence is key in ensuring our prisons are held to account.
“Many people coming into prisons do so with hugely complex issues, addiction and mental health problems. We, as a society, should never underestimate the challenges our prisons face on a daily basis, to support and challenge those people to change their behaviours.
“Of course, with any report there will be learning, and the inspectors have explained where we can further improve.”
Director General of the NI Prison Service Beverley Wall said: “At its heart, prisons are about people – those who work there, and those who reside there. Our staff are among the most dedicated and professional people working in the public sector. That is not often recognised on the outside. I am hugely grateful to the Inspection teams for recognising the ‘excellent quality’ of relationships between prisoners and staff in both parts of Hydebank.”
Hydebank Governor, Richard Taylor said: “This has truly been a team effort by everyone at Hydebank. In particular, the partnership with Belfast Met has been transformational since we became a secure College almost ten years ago. Inspectors have reported that over 90% of the people in custody are involved in education, skills and work. In the last year we can also say that more than 600 certificates of achievement have been presented. People leaving Hydebank are doing so with qualifications and skills which they can use to help them find employment.”
Me in the reflection of a prison poster inside Hydebank.
For more of me online see: https://linktr.ee/amanda.ie