Prison Governor Interview

There was an interview with the governor of HMP Cornton Vale, Scotland’s only women’s prison, on the radio last Sunday, which you can listen to here

The most obvious thing to come through the interview is this individual’s clear feeling that she is more of a social worker than a prison governor, indeed, a career in social work was her first choice when she left university (she said she decided against social work after being advised that she would need to maintain professional detachment!)

I was recently having a conversation with someone who has contact with prison governors across Scotland and we agreed that many of them are quiet (or not so quiet) penal reformers, trying to do what they can in their own prison within the confines of pressures of overcrowding, the churn of short term sentences, and the very wide range of problems that prisoners present with. I wonder whether these governors arrive in their post with these feelings or whether they emerge as an inevitable consequence of their experiences in their job. I also wonder whether prison officers have similar motivations in their job, and if they don’t, why this might be.

Incidentally, in the interview, she was also very honest about the macho culture of the prison service, saying she had nearly resigned at an earlier stage of her career because of it. This was an honest answer, given that many women who reach senior positions deny there is sexism or a macho culture within their organisation, because to do so would make them appear in some way ‘weak’. I read an interview with the newly appointed first female Scottish Chief Constable recently (which I can’t seem to find online any more, sorry), who said that, while she knew from others that sexism existed in the police force, she had personally never been aware of it, which I felt very strongly was motivated by her need to be respected by her (male dominated) force at the beginning of her tenure.