I didn't really get along with this book for two reasons. One, there was no coherence; stories weren't grouped around any particular theme, and it all felt a bit like, let's try to make some money, rather than a compelling story that needs to be told. Secondly, the guy comes across as a bit of a dick. I used to be a Prisoner Custody Officer back in the day so I have dealt with the people he talks about, except I did it with very little back up in insecure environments. He just comes across as whiny, he knows best, no one else has to deal with these issues. Actually the things he was complaining about happen in a lot of environments, not just prisons and there was no concession that maybe he should move with the times rather than see the past as the golden years.

I have met a lot of officers like him and for the most part they are just sad that they can't get away with some of the actions that would have been applauded previously. They can't get away with calling prisoners names or taking away their rights because they're arseholes. Newsflash a lot of prisoners are arseholes but if you treat people like animals they will behave like animals. Just call them Mr and get a grip. Also talking about mentally ill people trying to hurt themselves in such a derogatory fashion makes you an arse, even if they are sometimes horrible to you.