i News: Why Would A 21-Year-Old Want To Be A Prison Officer?

The i’s Pascale Hughes interviewed Sam about her first year as an Unlocked Graduates prison officer:

Sam was still a teenager when she decided she wanted to work in the prison service. She knew little about life behind bars, but it seemed like a place where she could make a difference. “You see on the news how people get lost in the system,” she says. “By being an officer you’re able to change someone’s life – even if its one out of a million.”

Her parents thought she would change her mind. But at the age of 21 – armed with a psychology degree from Aston University – she signed up to a pioneering training scheme that has seen her working for a year in a young offenders institution in south east London.

Organised by the charity Unlocked, it is based on the Teach First scheme which places graduate teachers in schools in low-income areas. Both projects aim to get ambitious graduates to work in sectors that have not traditionally appealed to high flyers. This year, more than 900 applied for 100 places.

Source: i News
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