Safe – taking the best steps out of lockdown
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Prisons The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC), in collaboration with National Prison Radio (NPR), undertook a project to gather views from people in prison on their feelings about – and concerns about – emerging from lockdown.
This follows on from two pieces of work carried out last in 2020, delivered through the same partnership. The first report, ‘Keep Talking, Stay Safe’ was published in June 2020, followed by a second briefing ‘Just One Thing: Prison Safety and Covid-19’ in September 2020.
In June 2021, three interviews were recorded with a Samaritan Listener, an academic expert and IAPDC chair Juliet Lyon They were broadcast on National Prison Radio on Fridays across the month. They include:
- Samaritan Listener experience – Lewis
Lewis admits he initially applied to be a Listener because he did not want to be transferred from the prison he was in. However, he says that it ended up being a rewarding experience, particularly as listening to each person’s problems helped him with his own. It felt good helping people, as he previously came from a selfish place. This job helped him to become more patient and learn a lot about himself.
- Expert experience – Jenny Shaw
Jenny comments that the pandemic has showed us what is important in our lives and raised the question about what prisoners would want to see changed in the future. She discusses how the prison service needs to create channels of communications to find out exactly is needed from prisoners, along with what further research is required.