‘It’s important to treat people like human beings’
Agolden statue of Buddha and stained glass windows aren’t the first things associated with incarceration. But behind the walls of Maidstone Prison there has been a hidden world of its own stretching back 200 years.
In April Judith Feline became the latest governor to take charge of the all male, foreign national prison.
Her arrival came months after a damning report into drug use, which determined one in 10 prisoners found it “very easy” to get contraband behind bars.
The former Kent County Council chief isn’t afraid to say there’s a problem with drugs behind bars.
She said: “However small the drug use is, it’s a problem. “There are drugs now which can be smuggled in on bits of paper. It leaves all prisons vulnerable when drugs can be disguised as something as simple as a letter home.
“It can cause behavioural problems, it can cause bullying. If a resident is unwell and needs to be taken to hospital, I have to sign a prisoner officer out to accompany them.”
Residents is the former prison officer’s favoured term for the 600 men held at Her Majesty’s pleasure at Maidstone Prison, all of whom are preparing for the possibility of deportation at the end of their sentence.
She explained: “I really don’t like referring to someone as an inmate, or an offender. It defines them.
“Yes, they’ve committed an offence, that’s why they’re in prison, but we’re trying to move toward something else.
“If you work with people in custody to make life as normal as possible they’re more likely to leave as a law abiding citizen. “It used to be residents were referred to by their surname, now everyone, including myself and prison officers, go by their first name. I can’t stand being called Ma’am.
“Prison is a very artificial environment, you’re told what to do and when to do it every day, but it’s important to treat people as human beings and model the right behaviour.”
Ten years ago the governor started life as a prison officer in
Cookham
Wood,
she went on to work at all three of Sheppey’s prisons, before spending time as deputy director at HMP Isis, in the grounds of Belmarsh Prison.
When former prison governor Dave Atkinson was transferred to HMP Exeter in March, Mrs Feline saw her chance to pounce on this job. She said: “There were six candidates for this job, I was the only woman. “When women began working on the wings with men there was a softening of the culture.
“Some people say we’re better at de-escalating situations, I think that’s too simple. It depends on the individual. “One thing I would like to see is more prison officers from BAME [black and minority ethnic] background. It would really help give a role model to anyone from the same background in prison.” Having turned 200 years old in March, Maidstone Prison is a far cry from HMP Isis, which opened in 2010 for men under the ageof30.
Ms Feline said: “Maidstone is a completely different environment and one I really enjoy working in.
“There are so many opportunities for prisoners here, we have bricklaying and print workshops so residents can pick up vital skills.
“We have beautiful gardens and a chapel.”
A recent survey found 93%
of residents