Victor’s shift was almost over. Persuading the men in his care to return to their cells for the night was all that lay between the prison officer and the end of his shift. Then things took an unexpected turn.
“A few of the prisoners started dragging their feet and arguing,” he says. “Obviously no one really wants to go back behind doors after dinner – and the next thing I knew, several more prisoners were right beside me.”
But rather than stirring up trouble, the other prisoners had come to help. “Before I knew what was happening, they had persuaded the other men to go back to their cells and calm was restored.”
Victor was “lost for words”, but says that unexpected snapshot was a highlight of his life as a prison officer so far. “I leave with a smile on my face at the end of every day because someone makes me laugh or takes me by surprise in some way,” he says.
Founded in 2016, Unlocked Graduates is an initiative that seeks to reform the prison system from the inside, by recruiting high-calibre graduates and career changers to a two-year prison officer training programme.
Alongside training in the practicalities of maintaining prison routine and handling a high-pressured environment, candidates embark on a leadership development programme and a fully funded master’s degree.
The starting salary is between £27,224 and £30,064, and trainees have the opportunity to contribute to policy on prison reform during the second year. Following the programme, there’s no obligation for prison officers to continue working within the prison service – some will, but others pursue leadership roles in other sectors, and are fully supported in this process by Unlocked Graduates.
“Candidates work in groups of six or more, so there’s a great deal of peer-to-peer learning and reflection, as well as individual mentoring support from a highly experienced prison officer,” says Maria Donovan, recruitment director for Unlocked Graduates.
“Those on the frontline of the prison service have an incredible opportunity to effect change and help solve some of society’s biggest problems,” says Sarah Pearson, external relations director at Unlocked Graduates.
She adds: “The job not only gives officers a chance to immediately help some of the most vulnerable people in society but, by understanding the challenges in prisons, we believe our they will be uniquely placed to come up with long-term systemic solutions. The master’s degree gives them a space to think about the theory, and they also have the chance to write a policy paper – which will be shared with the Ministry of Justice – as part of a team in their second year.”
In the UK, adults released from custodial sentences of less than 12 months have a proven reoffending rate of 64.5% (pdf). Reoffending cost the taxpayer £15bn in 2015, but if just 1,800 fewer prisoners reoffended, the charity estimates that £1bn could be saved every year.
“Serving as a prison officer is ultimately about becoming an influencer in the lives of offenders, at a point where intervention can help prisoners to turn their lives around and lessen the risk that they’ll reoffend,” adds Donovan.
“The prison system rarely gets any positive exposure,” says Victor. “You only ever hear about attacks on staff, escapes or deaths in custody – there’s never any mention of the amazing work being done, the lives saved through the prison service, or the people who work incredibly hard against challenging odds to keep a prison going day-to-day.”
A career changer, Victor graduated in 2012 and worked for the Department for Work and Pensions, followed by an education charity, before joining Unlocked Graduates. He had no reservations about becoming a prison officer.
“Prisoners have had their liberty taken away from them, so it’s a scary environment for them, not for us,” he says.
That is not to say it is not a challenging workplace. Another officer on the leadership trainee programme, Cambridge graduate Clo, makes it clear just how demanding prisons can be: “The most important quality you can bring to being a prison officer is definitely resilience, because it is a challenging job. It’s not easy, and no one should go in under the illusion that it will be, but it is very rewarding and definitely worth it.”
Pearson believes the skills officers gain will also stand them in good stead for the future: “If you can influence and persuade prisoners, dealing with your future boss or difficult clients will be no problem.”
It seems that she’s right about this; law firm Clifford Chance, professional services firm KPMG, and management consultants PA Consulting are among the corporate partners supporting the programme, including by offering work placements to participants.
If developing your leadership skills and applying fresh thinking to help improve prisons sounds inspiring, Unlocked Graduates could be for you. You don’t need to have studied criminology or a related field, and no prison experience is required. The scheme needs people from every stage of their working lives and from all backgrounds.
“If you love a challenge and want to do something with impact that benefits people’s lives, it’s a path worth considering,” adds Victor.
At the end of his shift, he went to the cells of the prisoners who had helped him that day. He wanted to say thank you. “Being a prison officer is about relationships,” he says. “The better the relationships you build, the easier and more impactful your job is going to be.”
