The Fragility of Relationships

Moving a chair can rarely lead to a major shift in relationships, at least not in the outside world.  But in prison...

Our visits room is small, maybe 15 tables at most.  It was one of the most relaxed visits rooms in the closed estate.  It allowed men and their partners, children, families, to huddle together and share that physical affection that is so sustaining and yet whose absence is the very essence of imprisonment.

Now, our chairs have been moved.  Each table - a low coffee-type, circa 1976 - has three chairs.  One now has a shabby white cover affixed to the back and must be occupied by the prisoner.  His visitors must sit, barely within reach, on the other side of the table.  What was once a sustaining experience is transformed, thoughtlessly, into a torment.

The argument made for this change is "security" - the mantra which is the first refuge of any idiot manager.  Obviously, there is a duty to prevent contraband being smuggled on visits.  But this is Shepton; fewer than 200 men and what appears to be a proficient network of informers. Any serious smuggling enterprise is inherently doomed.

There is also a duty to help us maintain our relationships, and to reduce re-offending.  Prison visits have become a disgusting, miserable experience across the whole system in recent years, with the concomitant collapse of relationships.  Has anyone in management ever considered the balance between contraband and our relationships?  I see no evidence of it.

Their mantra could easily be "stop the spliff, kill the marriage".  Job done, and they pat themselves on the back.