ABSTRACT
This chapter makes comparisons between my experiences in Durham prison in the 1980s and Holme House prison in the 1990s. Exactly ten years to the day in 1985 when I was released from HMP Durham, I was sent to HMP Holme House in 1995. The changes that had occurred were a direct result of the prison riots at Strangeways prison (now Manchester) and although most of the changes were for the better such as in-cell sanitation, for example, there were just as many new and dangerous problems such as drugs. This chapter takes a look at the new systems that were brought in place during my sentence in the 90s such as Mandatory Drug Testing (MDTs) and Incentive Earned Privileges (IEPs). There was also a completely new type of prison officer culture which included female officers working on the prison landings. I recall looking back at the more simplistic times in the 1980s Durham albeit within degrading conditions. It seemed that the balance couldn’t be struck, it was from one extreme to another.
