SOCIAL CARE IN PRISONTHE REALITIES NIGEL IRONSIDE AGEING

SOCIAL CARE IN PRISON…THE REALITIES NIGEL IRONSIDE

AGEING POPULATION AND SEXUAL OFFENDING ARE LINKED “In Western countries, the numbers of older prisoners are rising faster than other age groups and around half of the male prison population of the over 60 s are sex offenders” (Fazel et al, 2006: 159). “In general, this lower age classification (50) is utilized as the average prisoner may experience accelerated decrements in their health equivalent to community-dwelling adults who are 15 years older” (Maschi et al 2013).

48 Shotts 45 Perth Open Estate 53 Low Moss 19 Kilmarnock 12 Inverness 67 Greenock 182 Grampian 162 Glenochil Prison 57 Edinburgh Dumfries Cornton Vale Barlinnie Addiewell Over 50 POPULATION BY ESTABLISHMENT 193 88 106 55 4

Warrants Unconfirmed 57 STP 32 OLR 182 Life Recall 243 Life 8 – 12 Years 4 - 8 Years 12 Years + OVER 50 population by SENTENCE 306 221 49 1

NUMBER OF CUSTODIAL SENTENCES FOR SEXUAL CRIMES 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 2006 -07 2007 -08 2008 -09 Rape and attempted rape 2009 -10 Sexual assault 2010 -11 2011 -12 2012 -13 Other sexual crimes 2013 -14 2014 -15 2015 -16 Crimes associated with prostitution

AGE-CRIME CURVE - MALES

THE CHANGING FACE OF THE PRISON

STANDARD ACCOMMODATION

THE CHANGING FACE OF THE PRISONER

HOSPITAL BED CELL

DISABLED ADAPTATION

SOCIAL CARE PROVISION

WE ADAPT THE HALL

THIS IS WHAT WE NEED

DOUBLE CELL – FIT FOR PURPOSE ?

RESEARCH FINDINGS - RESPONDENT THEMES § § § § Social Bonds – Social interaction is critical Staff reliance – Absolute dependence on staff Agency – Independence, determination, defiance Healthcare – Dominant - NHS/SPS expectations Dignity – Privacy and embarrassment Activity – Appropriate, accessible, important Peer support – Essential but not always welcome Fear of Death - Dying in prison is a reality, elasticity of sentence

“The neglect of research in this area is a latent form of ageism that says that the problems of this group can be disregarded, or that ageing criminals are simply not worth discussing” Wahidin 2006 “Many officers, however, are reluctant to acknowledge that specific age-related problems exist or, rather, that they should be concerned with them” Crawley 2005 “Respondents described how being infirm, of being mobility-impaired, impacted upon almost every aspect of their participation in the traditional prison regime” Ironside 2015

LIMITED UK RESEARCH “There are some evident respects in which prisons have never been designed with older people and their needs in mind. Their very fabric (the stairs and steps and walkways, the distances, the gates, the football pitches and gymnasia; the serveries and queues; the communal showers; the incessant background noise) is, in general, constructed in blithe unconsciousness of the needs and sensibilities of the old. ” Crawley and Sparks 2005: 350

QUESTIONS…. ?