[Older prisoners - Feature 3]
Engaged with age
People over 60 are the fastest growing age group in prison. This week we considerthe challenge this poses across the estate.
As the prison population ages, the problems associated with older offenders are becoming more common for frontline staff to deal with.Melvyn Owen, a prison officer on HMP Wymott’s Elderly and Disabled Prisoner Unit, discusses the challenges involved in this increasingly important area of work.
After 20 years working with young offenders and younger adults within the prison estate, Melvynfancied a new challenge. So when the opportunity to work with elderly prisoners came up two years ago, he took it.
Not every officer likes the idea of working with elderly prisoners, Melvyn admits – “usually because of the physical and mental deterioration some are experiencing” – but it’s a role he enjoys immensely.
“I find I can engage with the older prisoners in a different way to the younger ones, and there are some interesting characters on this wing,” he says.
“We have 65 men here, and the average age is 63. Our oldest is 89, and he’s been in and out of prison all his life. His first time in custody was in 1933!
“He’s served the whole gamut from youth custody to penal servitude and hard labour. He can’t get out of bed much these days, but his mind is as sharp as ever.”
The ground floor landing on the wing is occupied by prisoners with walking difficulties, some of whom are in wheelchairs, others with walking sticks.
Working with these men takes extra care, time and attention, and two full-time social carers work alongside the eight officers of the wing to perform tasks like changing bedsheets, dressing and bathing the less able.
Dementia and other age-related mental health conditions present their own specific issues.
“One of our prisoners has a tendency to whack people with his walking stick when they’re on the phone, as he wants to be the one having a conversation,” says Melvyn.
“We’ll sit him down and explain why he can’t do that, but he doesn’t quite understand and will quickly forget it ever happened.”
Melvyn has become adept at dealing with such episodes, and he knows the signs to look out for if something is about to go wrong. Fortunately, violence is infrequent and not a major problem.
“There are plenty of upsides working with the elderly, one of which is the lack of fights and physical attacks,” he says. “Drugs and alcohol aren’t an issue either. I can’t remember the last time we found any hooch on the wing, and the only drugs our men take are of the prescribed variety.
“Our prisoners are a diverse bunch, and we have a lot of educated and professional people here. They are mainly vulnerable prisoners (VPs) and they include doctors, teachers, priests, engineers – all sorts.”
Many of the prisoners are serving sentences for historical offences or cold cases, and some have found themselves in custody for the first time at the age of 60 or over.
“You can have interesting banter with them, and you don’t have to watch your back in the same way as with young offenders.
“But of course you have to always be on guard with them, like with any category of prisoner. VPs can have a tendency to be devious, and all our prisoners have been around the block a few times. They’re more worldly wise and you can’t talk to them like you would a young lad. They’re also often very set in their ways.”
To date Melvyn hasn’t had specific training tailored to working with the elderly and disabled, but the recently arrived new Senior Officer on the wing is lining up several courses for the team.
“The plan is for us to do advanced first aid, mental health training, and manual lifting, which will give us a bit more scope to deal with our prisoners’ needs.
“My advice to colleagues working with elderly and disabled prisoners would be, make sure you employ social carers, as they are indispensible to us. They carry out some fairly unpleasant jobs that aren’t within an officer’s remit.
“I’d say do all you can to accommodate the prisoners in single cells. We have some older men here sharing cells in bunk beds. We allocate those spaces to the more physically able men, but it’s really not ideal for any of them.
“Lastly I’d recommend ring-fencing the staff. None of us here want to be rotated off the unit, but under the current system we will be – and our collective knowledge and experience will be lost.
“I can honestly say you’d have to drag me kicking and screaming from this unit. I really loveworking here.”
For more on older prisoners
Old on the inside
Age old solutions
Caption
Extra care: Melvyn Owen on HMP Wymott’s
Elderly and Disabled Prisoner Unit