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Criminal

How Our Prisons Are Failing Us All

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Criminal

By: Angela Kirwin
Narrated by: Angela Kirwin
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About this listen

 'Compelling, urgent and devastating. A triumph' The Secret Barrister

'Funny, heart-breaking and utterly authentic' Dr Amanda Brown, author of THE PRISON DOCTOR

'A breath-taking account of the UK's crumbling prison system. Every politician and decision-maker involved in our prisons should be placed on 23-hour lockdown and made to read this book' Nick Pettigrew, author of ANTI-SOCIAL

"I was what the older generation of prison officers called a 'care bear'. It was my job to work with the prisoners most in danger of falling through the cracks and, if not deliver them safely to the community upon release, fully rehabilitated, then at least stop them from killing themselves or anyone else..."

Come with Angela Kirwin for a journey inside prison like no other. For over a decade she was a social care worker in some of Britain's most notorious prisons.

Now she wants to tell the stories of the men she met, because she believes that prison is failing everyone, damaging the most vulnerable people in our societies, creating habitual criminals, leaving us all less safe and contributing to a society that is immeasurably less humane. Every year, we spend billions of pounds on a system that fundamentally doesn't work.

Rather than a separate world full of people that aren't like us, prison is where the most damaged and vulnerable people in our society end up and we all need to urgently care about that, so we can change it. Because the state of our prisons is criminal.©2022 Angela Kirwin (P)2022 Trapeze Crime Social Sciences Inspiring

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All stars
Most relevant  
A wonderful book. Covers so much, and actually comes up with workable solutions, if only the people in power will read it. I very much hope they do.

A must listen!

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This book is fascinating & emotional, the perfect balance of statistics with personal stories but most of all it is inspirational to see how much better we could be and how it would benefit everyone.

Incredible

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This intensely personal book is skilfully written with a powerful combination of stories, statistics and calls to action.
The writer’s (and reader’s) humanity shine through in every chapter. I was drawn in and couldn’t put it down.
I want to thank Angela Kirwin for sharing the truth about our broken prison system and for ending with some very practical ideas for what we can do to support positive change.

Compelling and important

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This book was inspiring, challenging; both gripping yet repulsive.
Working as a leader in education, it has challenged me to consider my role in this conduit more than ever before- it will change things. Thankyou.

Inspiring

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Thank you to a work colleague who told me about this this brilliant but distressing book. It is evidence based, humane, compassionate and most of all deeply disturbing. As a social worker myself It didn’t tell me anything I didn’t know about how people come into contact with the criminal justice system and I suspect if our politicians were to read it they would say the same. It is deeply disturbing because in spite of those in power knowing this they do what (Micky??) says and follow the definition of madness - doing the same thing over again expecting different results. A succession of Politicians have eroded public services and communities. Neo-liberalism has a significant part to play. Angela’s reading of her book is excellent and I congratulate her on this important piece of work. I have recommended to many other people.

Damning indictment of our society

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Ms Kirwin has written exceptionally candidly about her charges inside prison as a 'care bear'. She provides many reasons, reinforced with first hand evidence, for why custodial sentences do not work, and refreshingly, provides a clear blueprint for how to change things for the better. An excellent listen.

A must read

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Shocking and important, this book calls truth to power and must be read. Thank you for writing it Angela!

We should all read this book

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If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like inside the UK’s prisons, this is the book you need to read. The stories in here are sometimes uplifting, deeply sad, and enraging when you learn how far these men have been left behind by the state. You too will probably be gobsmacked at how things in our justice system could be so easily improved without big spending or effort!

Required reading

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This inside view of our failing prison system should be compulsory reading for every politician.
Angela Kirwin’s narration of her intelligent & compassionate writing adds further impetus and immediacy to the importance of her words.

Should be compulsory reading

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In my view this is a must read for anyone who has given the slightest thought about our prison system. As a prison chaplain working across two prisons, I’ve seen all that is written about here and felt profoundly sad that despite the very best individuals working in that environment can offer, it goes nowhere in a system that is dysfunctional.

Stunning and accurate summing up of the failures within our criminal justice system

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