Post 2: Diary of a prison reformer

In 2014, I started a three year research project, investigating why exceptional prisons grow people and effectively rehabilitate those who have offended. It focused on recruiting people who live and work in prison as researchers and we carried out a photo-essay project to capture the principles of growth. There were over 6,000 photos taken in three prisons but I wanted to share this one from Bastoy, the famous island prison in Norway. This was taken by the governor, who features in the middle of the photo, with two prisoners on either side of him. The statement he attached to this photo was "equality". It was simple and powerful. I think about how equality and inclusion are so central to our work and yet, authentic equality, where we genuinely seek out and act on the views of those who live in prison, needs significant work. We can have countless meetings and take great minutes but what we do with someone's voice and idea tells us more about our commitment to equality and inclusion, than anything else.