Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service has written for The Scotsman to pay tribute to her staff on Hidden Heroes Day.
While other emergency services have the blaze of sirens or the visibility of a public incident to remind the public of the vital work they do, its true that the prison service is more hidden away in comparison.
We are unique, I believe, in working with people on a 24/7 basis.
The people we care for live in our places of work. The cells and prisons are their homes and communities.
We are involved in their lives in a way that no other profession is. We see people at their lowest, we get to know them, their families, their past experiences, and their hopes for the future.
Managing a near record population has placed extraordinary demands on every aspect of the prison service this year. Severe overcrowding, and a myriad of challenges around serious and organised crime, illicit substances, mental health, and trauma have made the job of our prison officers more challenging than ever before.
Prisons thrive on relationships – relationships with partners, with colleagues, and from one prisoner to another.
It can take weeks, months, even years to build, but once established it can break down barriers, create hope where it was lost, and give a glimpse of a better future.
All that follows – rehabilitation, recovery, vocational training, life skills – is built on that foundation of trust, respect, and understanding.
Sadly, it is what is lost when prisons come to resemble warehouses, stockpiling lives instead of having the opportunity to try and rebuild them.
And it is not just important to us, our staff, and those in our care.
It leads to a situation where people return to their communities – which the vast majority of prisoners do, sooner or later – with their issues unresolved and their risk of reoffending still high. Then, we all lose.
Despite Emergency Early Release last year, and the Prisoners (Early Release) Scotland Act coming into effect earlier this year, she describes the situation in our prisons as "simmering on the brink of crisis"
Read the full article here
