This book offers a solution-focused and strengths-based guide to becoming an effective Prison Officer. Written and developed by a collection of ex-prisoners who are all now professionals, practitioners, and educators in the criminal justice field, the book draws on lived experience and the diverse literature on prisons and penal policy to explore good and bad examples of professional practice. The book is informed by the belief that those with direct experiences of custody and incarceration offer a vital perspective on the efficacy of penal practice. While these voices are often accessed through research, it is rare they are seeking to lead the conversation. This book seeks to reset this balance. Drawing on themes such as discretion, respect, relationships, and legitimacy, it offers recommendations for best practices in developing a rehabilitative culture in prison. This book will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, and educators alike. It is essential reading for all those engaged with prisons, punishment, penal practice, desistance, and rehabilitation.

This book offers a solution-focused and strengths-based guide to becoming an effective Prison Officer. Written and developed by a collection of ex-prisoners who are all now professionals, practitioners, and educators in the criminal justice field, the book draws on lived experience and the diverse literature on prisons and penal policy to explore good and bad examples of professional practice. The book is informed by the belief that those with direct experiences of custody and incarceration offer a vital perspective on the efficacy of penal practice. While these voices are often accessed through research, it is rare they are seeking to lead the conversation. This book seeks to reset this balance. Drawing on themes such as discretion, respect, relationships, and legitimacy, it offers recommendations for best practices in developing a rehabilitative culture in prison. This book will be of interest to practitioners, researchers, and educators alike. It is essential reading for all those engaged with prisons, punishment, penal practice, desistance, and rehabilitation.

The challenging story of a young person's progress through care, prison and social rejection to youth justice specialist. It charts failures to connect with and modify the author's chaotic early life moving from place to place, school to school, fragmented parenting and poor role models. Encircled by crime, drugs and baffling adults, Andi Brierley ended up first in a young offender institution then prison where he learned to think like a prisoner for his own survival, making everything harder for everybody on release. Until he determined to change and others saw his unenviable past could be put to good use. Shows how small things can make a difference. Contains many insights for professionals, students and others interested in young people in trouble. An addition to Waterside's acclaimed turn around stories, including Alan Weaver's So You Think You Know Me?, Ben Ashcroft's Fifty-one Moves and Justin Rollins' The Lost Boyz.

This powerful critique of youth justice based on lived experience, theory and practice looks at the topic through a refreshing new lens, suggesting that some existing ways of dealing with children and young people may do more harm than good. After making readers aware of Risk Relation Paradox, the author shows that positive outcomes cannot be imposed or directed but that they can stem from ‘presence, attunement, connection and trust’ (PACT). Then priority should be given to buffering the impact of familiar but questionable relationships in a youngster’s own ‘village’ that may have led to toxic stress, complex trauma, criminal or anti-authority attitudes and other adverse childhood experiences. In arguing for change, Andi Brierley brings his extensive experience on both sides of the justice fence as prisoner and professional to bear — and whilst he champions the engagement skills of others who have travelled a similar journey, he also explains how the approach can be used by anyone.