And in anticipation of that debut, a new 3-minute long clip has been released online, which I embedded below. I’m curious about this, and hope it travels west. Mary Bastholm, 15, disappeared in January 1968. Last seen in Bristol Road at a bus stop. She is widely believed to have been killed by Fred.

Yet despite this obvious market for books describing prison conditions there has been a surprising absence of any account of prison life by Prison Officers, as opposed to Prison Governors – and even these are relatively rare, with the best remaining Andrew Coyle’s (1994) The Prisons We Deserve. Then, for no apparent reason – just like buses – along comes Jim Dawkins (2005) The Loose Screw, Robert Douglas (2007) At Her Majesty’s Pleasure and “Ronnie Thompson” (2008), Screwed: The Truth About life as Prison Officer. What do these three autobiographies (the latter of which was written under a pseudonym) and which cumulatively cover the period 1962-2007 tell us about the skills and qualities that it takes to be a good Prison Officer, about life in jail more broadly and the relationship between prison staff and prisoners more specifically? Ronnie Thompson was just an ordinary guy. That is, until hebecame a prison officer. By the time he started work at HMP Romwell, he realised he was actually a nurse, a copper, a probation officer, a carer, a councillor, a social worker and, of course, an incarcerator all in one. Oh, and a punch bag for the cons and bosses. Shirley Hubbard, 15, abducted from a bus stop in Droitwich in November 1974. Dismembered remains were found in the cellar in Cromwell Street. These omissions notwithstanding, the three books do provide us with a view of prison from the perspective of a Prison Officer from the days when Capital Punishment was still practiced (Douglas attended an execution at HMP Bristol) to almost the present day. What do they reveal? Perhaps it is best to look at what we learn about prisons through the lens of the Prison Officer by considering this in two ways. First, the effect of Prison Officers on prison life – and specifically the effect of Prison Officers on the lives of prisoners, and secondly the impact that prison has on Prison Officers.

Reg Traviss’ reactionary prison drama doesn't add much to the argument of what to do with our inmates

Ronnie Thompson was just an ordinary guy. That is, until he became a prison officer. By the time he started work at HMP Romwell, he realised he was actually a nurse, a copper, a probation officer, a carer, a counsellor, a social worker and, of course, an incarcerator all in one. Oh, and a punch bag for the cons and bosses. Rena Costello, 27, Fred's first wife, also killed in 1971, buried at Letterbox Field in Much Marcle. Therese Siegenthaler, 21, abducted in 1974 while hitchhiking. Buried under an extension built by Fred at 25 Cromwell Street.

Rosemary West was found guilty of 10 counts of murder relating to bodies found at Cromwell Street and Midland Road. So too we should note that these autobiographies all describe local prisons – specifically HMPs Winson Green, Durham, Wandsworth, Belmarsh and Wormwood Scrubs, and “Thompson” calls the prison that he served in as “HMP Romwell”. Again, from the descriptions that he provides, this would appear to be a busy London local, and in all likelihood HMP Pentonville. Thus we have a partial view of the Prison Service contained within these accounts given that they do not describe training prisons, Cat Ds, Young Offender Institutions, the female prison estate, or the therapeutic regime at HMP Grendon. Shirley Robinson, 18, a former lodger who was eight months pregnant with Fred's child. She was killed in May 1978. These books were and remain popular and appeared on a number of “best-selling” lists at the time of their publication, and unsurprisingly there are new books in the offing from Noel Smith (about, most immediately, his time at HMP Grendon) and so too Erwin James continues to write in the Guardian. We’ve seen a trailer and poster for Screwed– the British prison drama that stars Mr Noel Clarke and James D’Arcy ( Master And Commander), which is an adaptation of a novel called Screwed: The Truth About Life as a Prison Officer, a bestselling work, both acclaimed and controversial, by British ex-prison officer-turned-author Ronnie Thompson (not his real name by the way).

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includes the alleged offences of named individuals unless it is considered to be already common public knowledge The first point to note is an absence. Douglas joined the Prison Service in 1962 and resigned in 1977; Dawkins served between 1992-1999; and “Thompson” for approximately seven years from 2000, and thus their record of service does not include the 1980s when there were major changes introduced into the management of prisons through a series of reforms known as “A Fresh Start”. This was an important time for the management of the service when, for example, the old ranks of Chief Officer and Assistant Governor were unified, and the practice of directly recruiting Assistant Governors was abolished in favour of an Accelerated Promotion Scheme. Anna McFall, 18, killed by Fred in July 1967. Discovered June 1994 at Fingerpost Field near Much Marcle. She was eight months pregnant at the time of her death. Juanita Mott, 18, a former lodger at Cromwell Street. She was last seen in April 1975. Her body was found buried at Cromwell Street.