Duty Prison Governor
Former clergyman Martin Kettle enjoys the reaction he gets when he tells people what he does for a living. Since 2006, he’s been in charge of reducing re-offending amongst inmates at Cambridgeshire's top security prison.
It’s a huge responsibility but Martin enjoys the challenge – and it makes for great conversation around the dinner table.
“It’s very good at parties,” he says. “People are genuinely interested in what we’re doing to reduce crime.”
As Head of Reducing Reoffending at HMP Whitemoor, Martin’s responsible for working out sentencing plans with prisoners.
He organises intervention programmes to address the reasons behind their criminal behaviour, such as drug and alcohol addictions.
Martin also runs offending behaviour programmes, getting prisoners to think about the consequences of their actions and seek alternatives to crime.
It’s a big undertaking – but the prison’s seeing real results.
From parish to prison
Martin was a London vicar for 20 years before deciding on a complete career change. In 1998 he joined Her Majesty’s Prison Service as a prison officer, based at HMP Woodhill in Milton Keynes.
Although the two roles are quite different, Martin draws parallels between them.
“I had parishioners who’d been imprisoned. I felt there was a similar job to be done in supporting people who were in trouble without ever forgetting what they’d done or downplaying it. You’ve got to remember the victims.”
Martin quickly discovered there are endless opportunities for career progression within the Prison Service. A year after joining HMPS, he was transferred to HMP Whitemoor, a top security prison near March.
Just two years after his move to March, Martin was posted to the Prison Service headquarters in London in 2001. His role was to advise and develop offender behaviour programmes and an offender management Information Technology programme.
In 2004 Martin returned to Whitemoor to lead the prison’s Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder unit before being promoted to Head of Reducing Reoffending in 2006.
Three to four times a month, he acts as Duty Governor, responsible for the prison’s operational decisions.
HMP Whitemoor
Whitemoor’s one of eight high security prisons within the prison estate, housing up to 458 category A and B prisoners serving sentences of at least four years.
The prison runs vocational training in construction industry, furniture craft and industrial cleaning. Its workshops involve assembly, packaging and recycling work. There are also domestic, laundry and kitchen work opportunities.
Whitemoor also offers educational programmes ranging from access courses to Open University degrees, drug and alcohol treatment programmes and Enhanced Thinking Skills. The gym offers courses in volleyball, basketball and NVQ basic skills.
Drug rehabilitation programmes include a new initiative called Peer Advice on Drugs (PADS), in which prisoners support other prisoners. Voluntary drug testing operates on all residential units at Whitemoor.
Groundbreaking initiatives
HMP Whitemoor’s implementing groundbreaking initiatives to tackle serious offending.
It has a Close Supervision Centre (CSC), a therapeutic centre providing a supportive, structured environment for eight offenders considered too dangerous to live on a normal prison wing.
Martin, who heads the CSC, says: “We work with them to try to reduce the risk so they can go back to a normal location.”
Whitemoor also has one of four Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) pilot units in the country. It accommodates up to 84 prisoners posing some of the biggest risks to the public. The risk of re-offending has to be linked to a severe personality disorder.
Those on the programme are monitored so that the Government can develop future ways of dealing with this challenging group of offenders. All prisoners receive individual therapy and a range of group work interventions in a secure, safe environment. Staff are starting to see real changes in men who’ve worked therapeutically within the programme.
Martin, who headed Whitemoor’s DSPD unit before being promoted to Head of Reducing Reoffending, says: “Mental health nurses and educators work alongside prison officers on a five-year intervention therapy programme.”
Reducing Reoffending
Most of the prisoners at Whitemoor are “lifers” – prisoners serving a life sentence for crimes such as murder, serious sexual offences, armed robbery and in a minority of cases, terrorism offences.
Motivating serious offenders to change their behaviour is challenging – but not impossible, Martin says.
“To get to Whitemoor, they’ve had quite a long criminal career in most cases. They’re imbedded in a criminal lifestyle. Some have committed just one very serious offence. There are people who’ve killed in a fit of anger. There are big-time drug importers. For them it’s a business.”
One of the keys to reducing reoffending is getting prisoners to look at the consequences of their actions. Often they see their crimes as victimless and have problems understanding how they’ve harmed other people, Martin says.
“Prison psychologists help them to understand why they react the way they do. Their behaviour’s often embedded in childhood.”
To see prisoners making positive changes, however slight, can be very rewarding.
“Often offenders come to a stage in their life when they think they can’t go on like this. They can’t see their children, relationships are breaking down and they want to change. It’s about being there to support them when they want to change their lives.”
The decency agenda
Prisons exist to punish offenders for the crimes they’ve committed and protect the community. But they also aim to rehabilitate offenders so they don’t go on to commit further crimes on release.
Although some prisoners at Whitemoor have committed horrific crimes, the role of staff is to treat them with humanity and respect, Martin says.
“The decency agenda is very important. In the past people have been treated as just numbers. It’s important to have an ethical dimension to everything we do.”
The prison recently received Investors in People accreditation, recognising its commitment to prisoner care.
Recognising diversity is an important part of running a modern and efficient prison. Whitemoor employs a fulltime fulltime diversity manager and race equality manager to cater for its multicultural population. Almost 40 per cent of its prisoners are made up of black and other minority ethnic groups.
Popular misconceptions
There are popular misconceptions about prisons but the reality’s very different, Martin says.
“People are always cynical and say the Prison Service is in chaos. In fact a really good job is being done. The number of escapes has plummeted in recent years.”
The Prison Service has also been successful in giving prisoners the chance to reform.
“We’re building up relationships with prisoners, getting them in touch with their families, getting them to engage in education and training, and other aspects of rehabilitation.”
Those working within the Prison Service aren’t interested in being soft on crime, Martin says.
“Our purpose is to prevent the next victim. Just being harsh with people isn’t going to do that. You have to enable them to want to change."
A rewarding career
Martin enjoys the camaraderie, diversity and challenges his job entails.
The Prison Service offers a large range of careers, from administrative posts to management and support roles.
“The job of a prison officer in particular is very engrossing because you’re working all day with prisoners and a small group of colleagues. You learn to deal with the pressures. We have a lot of resources for staff support.”
Martin says it’s important to have self-confidence to work inside a prison.
“You’ve got to have integrity, an ability to get on with all kinds of people.”
One of the most rewarding parts of his role is seeing hardened criminals start to change.
“When someone who’s had a longstanding drug problem manages to come off the drugs, it’s very encouraging.”