In reality, “doing time” is a lot closer to the old sitcom Porridge than it is to Bad Girls. Every prison runs on the day-to-day cooperation of both staff and prisoners. The best source of practical, ground-level information is a fellow prisoner known as an Insider – someone the prison has vetted as trustworthy and willing to help new arrivals settle in. Prison staff tend to specialise in one area of prison life – Sentence Planning, Security, Reception and so on – so don’t expect any one officer to have all the answers about parts of the prison outside their own patch.
The information on this page is based on the law in England & Wales. If you’re in Scotland, click here for the guide for your jurisdiction. (Northern Ireland guide coming soon.)
| Accommodation | Cell Life |
| Getting things done | Phone and letters |
| Meals and Food | Drugs treatment |
| Personal clothing and equipment | Self Improvement |
| Learning to read | |