Like your blog! Do you think you will ever go back to prison?
I read somewhere that in HMP / British prisons you get a "Welcome pack" when you first enter the prison and get processed. What does that mean and what does it include? Hope you don't mind me asking but I don't know much about UK prisons
Hi. Thanks ever so much. I'm very pleased you like my blog!
Yes, I know what you are referring to. Things vary a bit depending on which prison you end up in over here in the UK but generally it's the same sort of things you will receive. Please bear in mind that the things I am about to list apply to when I was in prison 8 years ago so what I describe may have changed a bit now but it will be mostly the same sort of stuff.
One of the questions you get asked when being processed at reception and intake is wether you are a smoker or not and this will determine what type of welcome pack you get. For instance I was and still am a non-smoker so I had the non-smokers welcome pack which consisted of a toiletries bag with soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, hand towel, hand sanitiser, roll of toilet paper, tea bags, coffee sachets, some cartons of long life milk and some suger sachets. Also had a phone card with £3 worth of credit on it and your prisoner rule book. You also get issued with your own plastic plate, cutlery and mug. The smokers pack is virtually the same but you get less tea bags, coffee etc in that pack and you get some vape sticks instead (used to be tobacco and papers but replaced with vapes now). Even if you don't smoke I advise you to still ask for the smokers pack because vape products are a extremely useful form of currency in prison. I regularly bought vape products from the prison canteen list / commissary because of it being a useful form of currency even though I didn't smoke.
The other things I got at the same time as my welcome pack was my prison clothing issue. This consisted of the following:
1 x short sleeve HMP prison stripe shirt, 1 x long sleeve HMP prison stripe shirt, 2 x green t-shirts, 2 x HMP prison blue denim jeans, 2 x grey sweatpants, 1 x grey sweatshirt, 5 x white boxer shorts, 5 x white socks, 1 x wolly hat, 1 x outdoor jacket. A little tip with HMP prison issue stuff... always size up one size with the prison issue jeans and shirts. They always seem to be a bit smaller than the size they should be. I was a 32 inch waist and when I tried to put the prison issue 32W jeans on I couldn't even do up my button and zip on them so size up one usually. Same applies with the shirts because they shrink a bit in the wash. In some UK prisons these days you can also wear items of your own clothing with certain restrictions and this will be explained to you at intake but back when I was in prison a few years ago I was in prison issue stuff.
As for the question of if I will ever go back to prison, the answer is probably not even though I admit I do miss it sometimes. My life is completely different and settled now and I've not been in trouble at all since my release 8 years ago so no I probably won't ever go back but can never say never as you never know what life throws up!
Thanks for the questions and if you need further information please message me.
Best wishes.
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