Letters Written by Young Prisoners
Hello....
I'm writing this letter to tell you what it's like in prison. I'm 18 years old and this is my first time in prison, I got 14 months for a stupid night out with some friends. I've been in trouble with the police a couple of times but not for anything serious, and I can guarantee that this will be my last time in prison.
The thing I miss most in here is my family and friends because you don't get to see them often twice a week if you're on track but only for half an hour. I'm coming up to my 7 month and so far it's been the worst seven months of my life. Before I came to prison I had a full time job and a small flat of my own, now I'm in here and I lost everything I had. Being in here has made me miss out on so much like going on holidays with mates, Christmas, birthdays, friends and family, and your freedom.
The worst things about being in here is the foods rubbish, now and again we get a half decent meal but 90% of the time its rubbish. Every Friday we have to clean our cell so it's immaculate, when the officer checks your cell and doesn't think its good enough then you loose your TN for the whole weekend and then banged up at 5 o'clock. And then there's the people you have to put up with when you're in here, most of them are idiots that don't care about nothing, and when they get in trouble they will drag you down with them.
Anyway if nothing else please take on board what I say prison is not a place for teenagers to spend their time. Think before you do things cause you don't want to end up in here.
Hello I'm 17 years old and I have been in prison 6 or 7 times now. I don't think I'm big for what I have done to be in here it's so stupid and I would not wish this on anybody. It's a bad place to be because you don't know what sort of mood the other inmates will be in. The prison officers are nice but they do let u know whose boss. You can lose friends and family though coming into prison. You only get one visit per week with two people for half an hour which isn't very long when you think about it.
You get canteen once a week and that's when you can buy shower gel, food, shampoo and other things you need. What annoys me is that you can't see what you are buying.
You are locked up most of the day and even longer if you don't have a job on the wing. In prison you don't have control of your life, your told when to eat when to shower and when to exercise.
We all make mistakes in life and we are not bad people for doing that we just have to learn by them. If prison me no way was around when I was at school I might not be here right now. I hope that nobody who is reading this never ends up in prison because it's a bad place to be and it hurts your family and your friends to see you in here trust me I know from experience.
I'm 20 years old and I have been to La Moye Prison 6 times, I have spent nearly all my teenage years in prison but this time I didn't think that I would be back here for these offence because I have a ten month old baby and I have twins on the way also I did have a job when I was out. I'm in here for committing various driving offence, I'm serving a 3 month sentence and I was disqualified from driving for 6 months, all I can say is that nothing is worth coming to prison for and losing everything you have when you are out, prison is not a life it's a very strict regime, you do as your told there's no ifs' no buts'. I only wish I could turn back time and restart and mend everything that I've done wrong, and change it for the better.
The most important things in life are you family and yourself, the sooner I and other people around me realize this the better because you're not only affecting yourself but your family as well. I hope that you can take what I'm saying on board because I don't like to see people in the same situation as myself and other inmates are in now.
Some people treat prison like a home because they don't have one on the out and I really feel for those people, you have people who leave prison and think that they are big and hard and most of them really aren't they just put it on as a front, prison is a very daunting place and it's like most things in life you only get out what you put in.
The worst thing is that you can't even go to the shop or go and meet your friends and have a good time. Prison can destroy you in some ways I mean it can be very painful for some people mentally and sometimes even physically, I really miss my family most of all my daughter and I look forward to seeing my girlfriend who is pregnant with our twins. I can only look forward to the future and do my best in advising anyone who is reading this, just think before you do things because it's not only you your affecting.
Hello, I'm 19 years old and I've been in prison for eight months on a two year sentence. Prison is a place that makes you think about your life and your family. If you come to prison your life goes on hold until you get out, you're in your cell for around 13 hours a day and in there you have a TV and a radio, prison is just one big routine everyday is the same apart from the weekend when you get locked up at 5 o'clock, it gets really boring so I try and work most of the day to pass the time. There is nothing good at all about prison or police stations for that matter, so all I can say is do your own thing and don't let people drag you down with them because the bigger person will always walk away.
If you do come to prison there are loads of rules that you have to follow, if you don't follow them then you will have to pay the consequences, so please think about what you do before you do it and be able to stand on your own two feet, prison isn't the place to be believe me I'm here, the place to be is out there with your mates having fun.
Hello, I am in prison current serving 10 months out of a 15 month sentence on the young offender's wing. Firstly I want to tell you that being in prison doesn't make you cool, big or hard. Your nothing, if you come into prison with a bad attitude then than will just make it worse for yourself, when you come into prison your whole life comes to a stand still. If you have a job when you are on the out you will probably lose it, if your at school then the situation doesn't help you do get lessons whilst you are in prison but it's nothing like you should be getting.
I spent Christmas and my birthday in prison and it's not nice but I feel that since I have been in prison that I have sorted myself out and seen where I was going wrong, I'm getting out soon, back to my life, family and also I get my freedom back which, I've come to respect the time that I have spent in here because it has opened my eyes to a lot, I will never forget, I wish that I had said Prison Me No Way.
Hello, I'm 19 years old and have been to prison around 15 times. I have been in and out since I was 15 years old and it has been a complete waste of my teenage life it really isn't worth it trust me. It's so boring and being away from your family and friend destroys you inside.
This time I got 7 months and 2 weeks and I really think that I have changed, I'm going to get out and sort myself out, I have split up with my girlfriend because of my behaviour and it's not really worth it, so just stay out of here and try not to get into trouble with the police. All I can really say is that there is
nothing to do in here and it make you realise what you have got on the outside, its like that old saying you don't know what you got till it's gone.
I'm 19 years old and this in my fourth time in prison although this time and my last time were for the same offences as I spent time on remand.
I first came to prison when I was just 15 years old and in year 10 at school. It was a daunting experience coming onto the wing and being forced to mix with other inmates up to six years older than me. I was subject to mental and physical bullying which is an experience I will never forget,
I served 8 months. I came back again when I was 16 for breaching a community service order for a couple of weeks and vowed that I would never return, however I'm now back for a much more serious offence and I'm currently serving a 3 year sentence. I have let a lot of people down over the years but now that I'm older the person I have let down the most is myself, when I was in year 8 I averaging a grade A in most of my subject at school and was predicted to go on to university. The reality is I left school with 6 GCSE's, I severely underachieved, and I am going to struggle to gain employment when I get out due to my criminal record.
Because of coming to prison I have lost my job, my flat, and more recently my girlfriend, which is very hard to accept. I would do anything to turn back time but that is easy to say with hindsight.
Prison is a hard lesson to learn and one that really will make an impact on your life. It's not glamorous, cool or even clever, it's boring, monotonous and "painful" at times. One of the worst things about prison is the simple matter of having no control of your life. On a Saturday and Sunday you are banged up at 5 o'clock and you have your dinner at half four. What kind of a life is that! Being in prison is not a life it's a mere existents.
Your life goes on pause for the duration of your time in here. Sometimes you forget just how fast time goes on the out and you get left behind. I miss being able to do what I want when I want, like simple going to the shop and doing things you take for granted.
I'm lucky to still have the support of my family although they have told me this is the last time. So I guess my advice to anyone starting or thinking of getting into trouble it isn't worth it. You always get caught and for the sake of a bit of fun, money or revenge, the consequences outweigh by far the risk. Don't think that you will never go to prison, five years ago I said that, just don't do the crime unless you really are prepared to do the time.
Hi
I'm 19 years old, this is my first time in prison. I was sentenced to 5 years for one stupid mistake which I will regret for the rest of my life. For most of my life I've been independent so to get all of my choices and responsibilities taken away is a very big shock, even to this day I find it very difficult to get used too.
I miss my family more than I ever thought possible, it's hard hearing about my sisters growing up and going through things without me there to help them. There's nothing I can do to change how I got in here, so I'm trying to make the most of it and get everything I can from this place. I've started education, GCSE maths and I have just completed a computer course.
This letter is just to let you know about everything you will miss out on if you make a bad decision and end up in prison i.e.: good food, comfy bed, family, freedom, birthdays and Christmas with family and friends and a social life, so basically a hole chunk of your life.
When I was younger I never thought I would end up in prison, just like you probable do now, but once you get in to the habit of committing small crimes that you think are nothing serious then its hard to see what's coming, in fact I didn't see it coming! It just comes out of nowhere and the next thing you know you're in here wasting your life away.
Please just try to think about things before you make any big decisions, trust me you don't want to end up in here rotting your life away.
