News
Prison life today: world's apart from that during the Troubles
by Seanin Graham, Irish News
In the second of two reports, health correspondent Seanin Graham speaks to the governor of the women's section at Hydebank prison, on the stark differences in prison regimes during the Troubles and now
December 20, 2006Thirty years ago republican women prisoners housed in Armagh jail staff didn't speak to prison officers. The "screw's" job was that of a turnkey – someone who locked inmates into their cell. It was there the contact ended.
Today, on a tea-break in between cutting the grass at the women's unit at Hydebank Wood in south Belfast, two young prisoners are trying to get the attention of their governor.
"Do ya want a piece of toast gov, we've got a brew on. Don't worry, we're getting back to work soon."
A short distance away, one of the north's three female life-sentence prisoners is busy putting the finishing touches to her hand-made Christmas cards. She is in a ground-floor room, unsupervised.
For governor Isobel Millar, who first entered the prison system at the same time convicted IRA bombers the Price sisters were transferred to Armagh jail, there has been a seachange.
"Really a prisoner officer's job in those days – well, it is nothing remotely like it is now," she said.
"In the seventies, you had an IRA OC [Officer Commanding] on the landing who looked after everything. A lot of republican prisoners didn't acknowledge staff... so it was just your job to lock them up.
"Now we do resettlement programmes and try to get them jobs and houses on their release. Two of our lifers also have 'soft keys' that gives them access to store rooms to make crafts – that would have been unheard of even two years ago."
As the north's longest serving female prison officer, Ms Millar has served as governor at Hydebank women's prison for the last 18 months.
Formidable, straight-talking and clearly confident in her role, there is also a down-to-earth approach in her manner. Prisoners speak freely about their gripes in her presence.
"I joined the prison in 1976 at the height of the Troubles. I was originally going to join the police but
I changed my mind, I thought a prison officer was a good job," she said.
"My first 10 years were in Armagh. It was a completely different time from now as nearly all the prisoners were republican. I can remember the Price sisters had just been transferred from England whenever they had begun their hunger strike. Maire Drumm [pictured] was also there.
"What sticks in my mind was that they [republican prisoners] were very disciplined. They looked after their own mental health needs... in those days I cannot recall a single suicide."
Following the suicides of two women prisoners in Maghaberry jail between 2002 and 2004, mental health provision across the north's jails has been under the spotlight.
An independent review released earlier this year warned of weaknesses within the system and concluded that mental health care in jails wasn't "high enough on the agenda".
For Ms Millar, the differences in managing the psychiatric needs of men and women prisoners are stark.
Following a decade in Armagh, she moved to Maghaberry where she remained for 20 years in the men's prison.
"I had a house with 150 men and they didn't have any of the significant problems that the females have," she said.
"They are not as demanding as their female inmates. While they're on the outside, women have so many more things to occupy them.
"Whenever they come in here, all the small issues become bigger ones.
"Also, 90% of the women coming in here are on prescription drugs.
"It is not unheard of for some of them to have gone to two or three different GPs to get extra tablets. We are trying to reduce their medication and offer alternative therapies."
The initial move from Maghaberry to Hydebank was met with controversy due to conditions, principally sanitation problems.
"There were no toilets in the cells and women had to buzz to get access and then queue," Ms Millar said.
"Thankfully that problem has been rectified. We are also busy refurbishing the main women's unit at Ash House with the hope of opening it next year."
The biggest sticking point for the governor is the housing of women on the same site site as a Young Offenders Centre.
At present, there are almost 200 young men and 45 women on the site.
"What works for young boys does not work for adult women. We currently cross-deploy staff and we need to get them to understand that difference," she said.
"For example you can tell a young boy to 'go to his room and cool down for 10 minutes' but you can't treat adult women like that.
"We are in the process of writing new policies for female prisoners.
"We are getting there but we still have a while to go.
"It is my view though that conditions have changed dramatically since we came here two years ago."
While she admits the problems inherent in governing two sets of prisoners under the one regime, Ms Millar is adamant in her opposition to the creation of a women-only prison for the north.
"Because of the low numbers of women, it would not be an economical solution.
"That is not set in stone but for now I cannot see it happening.
"What we would like is to upgrade conditions on our committal landing for first night prisoners. It is then they are at their most vulnerable and there is greater risk of self-harm."
But she stressed that no matter how well conditions are improved the central difficulty revolves around what type of prisoners are housed there.
"There are times when I look at that landing and think if I was an ODC [ordinary decent criminal] coming in today, it would frighten the life out of me.
"There are other weeks when there are nice people coming in with nice CV's.
"The problem is there is no way to legislate for the type of person coming into prison.
"No matter how much you change the environment you can't change the individuals."
History
- Northern Ireland's female prison population has more than halved in the past 30 years. It has now one of the lowest rates in Europe (the Netherlands has the highest per head of population). In the last three months the age range has gone from late teens to 60
- female inmates were moved to the young offenders centre at Hydebank from Maghaberry prison in Co Antrim in 2004. It was decided it would offer them a "more comprehensive female specific regime"
- a surprise inspection at Hydebank for the Criminal Justice Inspectorate found that conditions did not meet the specific needs of women prisoners
- since then gender specific programmes and polices have been drawn up. Prison Governor Isobel Millar said that improvements are continuing.
This includes:
Suicide and self harm: Since September 17 a revised suicide policy has been in operation. All staff have been made aware that the welfare of prisoners is "everyone's responsibility". A key focus has been on the "inclusion of specific information on feelings, thoughts, physical changes and situations/triggers which might be used to identify someone at risk"
Resettlement: In the final three years of a woman's sentence a series of programmes are available as part of a reintegration policy. Two life sentence prisoners are about to embark on their programmes
The Management of Mothers and Babies: two fully equipped mother and baby cells are at Hydebank. A female prisoner and her child sleep in the same cell. It is an extended version of a normal cell. It is equipped with a cot, toys, extra blankets, nappies etc. Lock-up time is 7.30pm.
However, mothers and babies are not locked in.
Earlier this year a Romanian woman gave birth in what was an emergency delivery at Hydebank. It was the first birth in the north's jails in 30 years
- child-centred visits are being further developed. Additional monthly "child-centred" visits are available for life-sentence prisoners. Officials are discussing the possibility of allowing children an overnight stay with their mother in prison "occasionally"
- efforts are being made to upgrade facilities on the committal landing to make 'first nights' less traumatic for women
- Ash House, which is being refurbished to make conditions more comfortable for female prisoners and to allow them more privacy from the male juveniles, is due to reopen next year
- it has a distinct 'gender specific identity'. A female governor was seconded on June 20 last year to lead the development
- three-quarters of staff in the unit are female.
________________This article appeared first in the October 31, 2006 edition of the Irish News.
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