bullied by their cell mates. Speaking
to the Prison Reform Trust* an
anonymous inmate explained, “I have
bladder trouble and I often wet my
bedding. I'm very embarrassed and
don’t want to be a nuisance. When I
mentioned it to my officer he laughed
and said we all have problems like
that as we get older, but now I’m
wetting myself in the daytime... Some
of the younger men and officers are
teasing me about the smell.”
Though punishment is certainly an
objective of incarceration—alongside
rehabilitation and public safety—
some conditions in which elderly
prisoners are currently living border
on the inhumane.
The charity RECOOP (resettlement
and care for older ex-offenders and
prisoners) aims to promote the care,
resettlement and rehabilitation of
older prisoners, offenders and ex-
offenders. Founded in 2008, the team
recognised that some older men were
being manipulated and neglected.
One of their first solutions was to
implement an informal buddy support
system, followed by day centres,
providing purposeful activities for
a cohort that were presenting with
needs that weren't catered for within
the existing regimes.
“It’s a contentious but important
area of work,” Paul Grainge, RECOOP’s
chief officer sighs, “few are interested
in prisoners.” He nods to the prevailing
lock-them-up-and-throw-away-the-
key mentality that pervades much of
public opinion. “A lot of people say,
‘Well they’re offenders, why should
we be trying to make conditions more
comfortable for them?’”
For Peter Clarke, it comes down to
human decency. As he told the Prison
Service Journal in late 2017, “My role is
to see how prisoners are being treated
and what conditions they’re being
kept in. There’s a particular emphasis
on decency at the moment as there's
an imbalance between prisoner
numbers and the ability to provide a
decent custodial environment.”
Says Grainge, “Before the Care Act
of 2014 there was little to no social
care for this population, so it was
tough. One man we worked with
wasn't able to wear shoes because
he couldn't cut his toenails and
they'd become long and painful.78 • AUGUST 2019
DOING TIME
Her Majesty's Chief
Inspector of Prisons,
Peter Clarke