An outsider on the inside

Like nine million other people, I watched the ITV prison drama Bad Girls religiously, never missing an episode.

Im not really sure what actually attracted me to the show in the first place, so in an attempt to discover the root of my fascination I decided to visit a real female prison.

Since becoming a women-only prison in August, Downview has had to adapt quickly to accommodate its new residents.

At the time of my visit last week, 127 women had been moved in and five weeks from now the prisons board of visitors assigned to question and scrutinise the prison and the way that it runs with total objectivity annual report will be released to the public.

Report

It is highly likely it will not be a glowing report so I ventured inside the steel fences to witness first-hand the newly crowned institute.

Walking in I had my passport ready and was prepared for a frisking; they checked my passport but settled for a bag search.

The board of visitors publicity officer Peter McLaren took me through the reception and showed me the grounds.

The prisoners are in charge of doing the gardening and are given a set amount of time each week to work on the grounds, with impressive results.

Peter has clearly been happy in his work he showed a good strong knowledge of the prisons facilities and needs but is now gearing up to retirement and a quieter life at home.

We also met up with the chairman of the board of visitors Simon Morrison, who insisted I saw everything at the prison in its raw state.

Downview is a closed, female prison made up of four wings with facilities for five-a-side football, basketball, netball and gym workouts.

Women at Downview can do whatever they want sport-wise and all the leisure facilities are clean and fresh smelling.

But I realised it was not all rosy when our tour reached the now infamous C-wing.

Filthy

The building is huge with 200 vacant cells. Two of the floors were filthy and inhabited by pigeons and window sills were rotting with old age. I was told part of the building was built in the 1800s, although I had trouble determining which part.

Inmates are due to be moved into this block at some point, but there is uncertainty about whether it will be knocked down or refurbished first.

More positive activities are going on at the prisons education department, where inmates can take courses in computer skills, hairdressing and DIY and even achieve registered certificates from hard effort.

The part of the prison which really deserves credit is the DIY house.

Imagine the Big Brother house in the middle of the prison and you are not far off. The house has been built for inmates to practise and master their skills in the art of decorating, plumbing and designing.

The DIY course has been going for 11 years and is currently run by Leon Beaumont, who said: Im into my fourth week with the women. The way they have taken to this activity has truly amazed me.

They seem to be jumping at the chance to get into the house and learn DIY.

When I entered the house eight women were hard at work installing kitchens and bathrooms into the mock rooms.

Women here seemed different from the others in the prison, and appeared content in what they were doing.

Through visiting just one of the three occupied wings I had managed to wipe the Bad Girls image from my mind.

Women at Downview are spread between A, B and D-wings.

D-wing is known as The Ritz; the building looks like a large, wood cabin and second floor inmates have a view over a horses field.

There were plump duvets and pillows, toiletries and televisions in every cell. As I was shown a couple of these relatively plush pads I couldnt help but think about how comfortable it looked compared to the rest of Downview.

I asked my two guides how prisoners progressed to get to The Ritz.

They have to prove a number of things to work their way from the worst wing through to the good one, said Peter, They start in A-wing and work their way through to D. They must prove they are sorry for the crime they committed, they are able to cope with jail life and that they are emotionally stable.

Moving on from The Ritz, I visited B-wing which is currently occupied by 47 people according to the chefs cooking numbers list.

B-wing is more like a prison with proper cells and communal showers, although the women do have some added luxuries such as curtains around their toilet and shower.

Certainly a lot more privacy than men ever get in prison, according to Peter.

Privacy

Men do not have as many privacy needs when it comes to sanitary needs, they never had curtains around the toilets or private showers, he said.

The B and A-wings are attached by two giant iron doors. Visiting A-wing I had my first close encounter with some of the inmates. I was conscious people were looking at me.

Want an exclusive? Ill tell you what this place is really like, one woman asked.

While my guides were being quizzed by the inmates, I stood back to take in the scene. I realised freedom is something to be treasured. I could walk out of here at any time, I couldnt imagine not having that choice.

We briefly spoke to a guard before moving out of the wing who explained he was tired and that all the staff were struggling to cope with the pressure of quickly moving the girls into the prison since the mens departure.

This has certainly been a learning experience. It helped me value my freedom and showed me how dedicated the staff are to making sure things run smoothly. Not at all like Jim Fenner, the evil screw in Bad Girls.

Overall Downview seems genuinely eager to help inmates get prepared for the outside world by educating them. Likewise, the prisoners are, on the whole keen, to progress their studies and make use of their time while inside.

The real question is whether Downviews women will be equipped to face the prejudice they will face when trying to get a job.

While it is progressing into what will hopefully end up a top-class prison establishment, everyone involved is only too aware they still have a long way to go.

By.dpiper@london.newsquest.co.uk