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The Blurb On The Back:
Assaults. Riots. Cell fires. Medical emergencies. Understaffed wings. Suicides, Hooch. Weapons. It’s all in a week’s work at HMP Parkhurst.
After 28 years working as a prison officer, with 22 years at HMP Parkhurst, one of Britain’s most high security prisons. David Berridge has had to deal with it all: serial killers and gangsters, terrorists and sex offenders, psychopaths and addicts.
Thrown in at the deep end, David quickly had to work out how to deal with the most cunning and volatile of prisoners, and learn how to avoid their many scams.
Inside Parkhurst is his raw, uncompromising look at what really goes on behind the massive walls and menacing gates.
Both horrifying and hilarious, David’s diaries will shock and entertain in equal measure.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
David Berridge worked as a prison officer at Parkhurst and its sister site Albany for 28 years between 1992 and 2019. This book, based on notes that he took as part of his job, paints a bleak picture of a tough job dealing with violent and manipulative men but also men who are suicidal. While strong on the job, I wanted to know more about Berridge, who he is, what drives him, and how the service can be improved to give it a human aspect.
After 28 years working as a prison officer, with 22 years at HMP Parkhurst, one of Britain’s most high security prisons. David Berridge has had to deal with it all: serial killers and gangsters, terrorists and sex offenders, psychopaths and addicts.
Thrown in at the deep end, David quickly had to work out how to deal with the most cunning and volatile of prisoners, and learn how to avoid their many scams.
Inside Parkhurst is his raw, uncompromising look at what really goes on behind the massive walls and menacing gates.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
David Berridge worked as a prison officer at Parkhurst and its sister site Albany for 28 years between 1992 and 2019. This book, based on notes that he took as part of his job, paints a bleak picture of a tough job dealing with violent and manipulative men but also men who are suicidal. While strong on the job, I wanted to know more about Berridge, who he is, what drives him, and how the service can be improved to give it a human aspect.
