FORMER PRISON OFFICER ALEX SOUTH GIVES US AN INSIGHT INTO LIFE BEHIND BARS
Alex South worked as a prison officer in men’s high-security prisons for ten years, where she came face to face with some of the UK’s most high-profile and dangerous criminals. She started at Category A maximum-security facility Whitemoor when she was 22, later working at Wormwood Scrubs and the infamous Belmarsh. Now 33, she has relived her experiences in memoir Behind These Doors, in which she reveals stories of strength, suffering and survival…
What first drew you to this line of work ?
I started volunteering at Littlehey Prison when I was 19. I was a uni dropout and felt stuck, and I looked up local volunteering opportunities as a way of trying to alleviate those feelings. The mentoring role was one of the first I saw and I knew immediately I wanted to apply. I did some really interesting work there – mentoring, relationship building, and practical problem solving – and really enjoyed it. I couldn’t wait to go each week. I felt like it was having a wide impact, like I was doing some good, which sparked my interest in going into that line of work.
How was it becoming a full-time prison officer?
It was a huge culture shock. It was very different, and I was terrified. I was 22 years old and petite, and I was very conscious of my size and my physicality. I’d hoped to use the mentoring and relationship building skills I’d found successful, but Whitemoor was a whole different ballgame. There were a lot of very violent people in there, so I was nervous. But it was also incredibly interesting. I was excited, keen, and curious to be there. I did find those early weeks tough. Walking onto the landings for the first time was nerve-wracking. I remember thinking, “I don’t know if I can do this”.
But you stuck with it…
It took me about six months to settle in. Those months were harsh, with the normal anxieties like any new job, multiplied by a million because there was this real undercurrent of things could happen at any moment. What helped calm my insecurities was that, over that time, there were only one or two violent incidents. It showed me that, despite what I may have thought, prison wasn’t an overly violent place.
What was it like meeting men who had committed violent crimes?
It was the opposite of what I might have expected. As strange as it may sound, it was almost a pleasant atmosphere most of the time. Everyone was very polite and friendly. Very few people gave me any trouble. Despite my initial fears, it actually felt very safe and nowhere near as daunting.
After three years at Whitemoor, you left for Wormwood Scrubs…
Somebody said Whitemoor was the prison service’s best-kept secret, which aligned
