PO21: International Conference Insights

“As ambassadors of the Unlocked programme, we shared the benefits of having a mentor and having a space for structured supervision with frontline colleagues.”

Unlocked Ambassador and Mentoring Prison Officer, Jack Isaac, recently attended the ‘PO21 Prison Officers for the 21st Century’ conference in Lisbon alongside Unlocked CEO and founder Natasha Porter and other ambassadors. We caught up on his experiences of the event:

“I was fortunate enough to be selected to attend the ‘PO21 Prison Officers for the 21st Century’ conference in Lisbon alongside two other Unlocked Ambassadors. The day before the conference, I was able to explore the beautiful city of Lisbon and get a feeling of its history and culture (and indulge in eating an excessive amount of custard tarts).

The conference itself was an all-day event, which brought together prison staff and experts from countries across Europe to share best practice and experiences of the criminal justice system. Throughout the day, there were panels and guest speakers delivered by experts from a range of countries on different topics including staff retention, the creation a standardised ‘European Prison Officer’ and how to raise the status of the prison officer role.

Unlocked Graduates’ CEO Natasha Porter was a keynote speaker at the conference, and delivered a speech about the approach that Unlocked Graduates takes to recruiting and training graduates to become prison officers. Natasha spoke about the focus that Unlocked has on offering continuous mentoring and development for staff once they have started in the prison. Staff on the Unlocked Graduates programme are given access to fortnightly mentoring sessions where they discuss their practice and seeks guidance on areas that they can improve. Ultimately, this enhances their development as an officer and ensures they are supported to deliver outstanding care to the prisoners in their care.

Speaking to both my fellow ambassadors, as well as staff from other countries, I was struck by how similar the challenges facing prisons across Europe area. I was able to speak to prison staff from other countries and a recurring theme was the need to provide better training and support for new and existing prison staff. Staff retention was cited as one of the biggest challenges facing prison systems across Europe as it leads to disruption to the regime and prolonged time in cell for prisoners, reducing their access to education and purposeful activity.  

I had discussion with a range of prison staff who were interested in the Unlocked model and wanted to know more about how it worked, and the impact that it has had on the participants. As ambassadors of the programme, we shared the benefits of having a mentor and having a space for structured supervision with frontline colleagues. I was able to speak to staff from other countries and ask about how they support staff effectively, and the approach they take to making sure new staff are equipped to do the role.

Travelling to the conference has broadened my perspective on the prison system across Europe, and I look forward to using the learning and advice I got to enable me to better support staff working on the front line. I will certainly be thinking about more ways that we can raise the status of the prison officer further, and more widely advertise the benefits of the job and the impact that you can have doing it.”