I am fairly confident that my writing today will resonate with many people. I will pose a question: do you remember that teacher at your school who was utterly horrible and treated you, and maybe everyone else, like dirt? If you have been to hospital, do you remember that one nurse who seemed to hate all patients? Do you remember that negative interaction at the supermarket with that individual assistant or even that one damaged strawberry in the punnet which seemed to make them all taste worse?

In prison, it is no different. To be completely fair and objective, most prison guards are gruff, unapproachable and unhelpful but they aren’t abusive. A tiny minority do seem to genuinely care and a similar minority are downright nasty individuals. However, the effect of those few really horrible bullies can be catastrophic in here.

There have been a few examples recently of things being “okay” but then one individual chooses to act in a particular way which destroys the ability to cope. Sometimes, it’s very serious, like witnessing a guard assaulting a prisoner which I have seen more than once and at others it could be classed as minor like getting a black and white photocopy of your child’s drawing.

This is a tightrope in here and it is so difficult to maintain balance. From the “accidental” shredding of that birthday card from your mum to the clearly purposeful failing to add your name to the list for the gym, those actions can be really damaging.

I do accept that I have sensitivities to figures of authorities actively taking steps to inflict pain – I would imagine every victim of a wrongful conviction feels the same. However, the careless loss of an important form leading to delays and increased emotional trauma can surely be appreciated by all.

At the end of the day, we are talking about relatively low numbers of nasty guards but the negative ethos can spread, particularly among the new staff. I’ve seen many examples of new guards straight from training who become changed people as a result of the ethos displayed by more experienced staff.

The bottom line is that their job is quite easy. The fact that sometimes they make a complete arse of it is testament to them and their attitudes.

NaN.