The Secret Prison Governor

by Anonymous

An eye-opening, thought-provoking and mind-blowing account from a genuine prison governor (warden) of what it’s really like behind bars. How do you bring order to the lawless?

The Secret Prison Governor has spent decades surrounded by every type of prisoner known to man, from petty thiefs and common drug dealers to crime bosses and dangerous serial killers. Since starting as a rookie, he has experienced the reality of the UK’s harsh prison system and the hard challenge of ruling those within it. In his own words, the Secret Prison Governor spares no detail of prison life, whether that’s breaking up shiv fights, investigating and crushing vast networks of contraband, negotiating with hardened criminals or dealing with full-scale cellblock gang wars.This is the brutal truth of what life is really like behind bars.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Memoir, Audiobook

320 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2022

About the author

Books can be attributed to "Anonymous" for several reasons:

* They are officially published under that name
* They are traditional stories not attributed to a specific author
* They are religious texts not generally attributed to a specific author

Books whose authorship is merely uncertain should be attributed to Unknown.

See also: Anonymous

Reviews

[Petra X]

Update This book is a slow burner. It starts off good, but unremarkable, gets better and then descends into eye-widening reality that if it was in a movie would be low farce, an MI5 bungle operation in a high-security prison. Very enjoyable.
__________

More self-reflective than most in this genre, very much about the prison officer (haven't got to him being a governor yet) and somewhat less about the prisoners. The author isn't any kind of hard man, but one who seeks to understand. It isn't wildly different from any of the other nice-decent-man prison officer, but at the same time the author is very engaging and it's an enjoyable read.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting and easy to read account of life behind bars, from the perspective of a prison officer and governor.
This officer was a green, wide-eyed new recruit to the prison service. He believed that he could single-handedly change the whole system from inside out, but soon realised that 'radical' thoughts like his would not always be welcomed by his colleagues and senior officers.
Throughout the book runs the theme that prisons, whilst a necessary part of society, should be run in a better way than they are. As this former governor states, a lot of prisons were built many years ago, when it seemed more acceptable to incarcerate someone in filthy and degrading conditions. Some prisoners may deserve that type of treatment, but it's not right for all of them. Some prisoners actually come out from jail and are reformed characters.
It's also stated that not all the criminals are locked up in the cells. Some of the prison officers can be bought. They supply the little 'home comforts' that the inmates can't gey any other way. Tobacco, drugs and sex are commonly traded for money or as a means of getting the prison officers in your debt.
The life of prisoners in general shouldn't, in my mind, be made too easy. But for those who genuinely show remorse for their crimes should be given the help, support and respect that they deserve for wanting to be better people on leaving prison at the end of their sentences.
I enjoyed this book. I couldn't work inside as a prison officer, as I'm to gullible and naive to be dispassionate. I only hope that, in the future, there's more funding to make any and all necessary alterations to living conditions and to prison officers' pay.

[Wendy Clarke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love memoir audio due to getting an insight into situations we’d not normally have witness to.

This audio gives an interesting perspective on prison life as both a Prison Officer and inmates predicaments and covers mental health within prisons.

However having read some of the other reviews mostly from other prison officers now I’ve finished, I’m questioning the validity of accounts and whether the author was in fact a Prison Officer.

Very disappointing ufortunately.

[TOM D · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book written without an Author is an affront to hard working professional
prison service staff and management. It lacks credibility and appears to be
written by an ex prisoner with an axe to grind. Please dont waste your time and money
on this diatribe.

There are a couple of books in this genre written by Officers who give their name and have
the courage of their convictions will give the reader a more accurate reflection of the service
but only accurate at the time. Things have moved on.

33 years served by 2005

[John Newby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very strange read

Having worked in the prison service for over 30 years around the same time as the author, I do not recognise some of the terminology i.e. canteen was prisoners receiving their weekly shopping, not eating their meal. As for working in the governors office on the computer and IT laughable.

[Bex]

Thank you, easy-to-read airport book

[F Begum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book dragged me out of a bad reading slump.

Easy to read and interesting! Am itching to hear more of the author's experiences.

[Leslie Graham Leek · Rating 5 out of 5]

An Interesting Perspective on Prison Life

I fully expected this book would be a tell all book including the names of all concerned but because it was the opposite it made it even more interesting.
As a retired senior police officer I have dealt with the most violent ,devious ,wicked criminals personally as a Detective but I would not like to have been a prison officer where they are locked up with these people 24/7 and I take my hat off to those officers for their courage and fortitude.
Having said that, there has to be another way of dealing with all those incarcerated to lower the rate of reoffending. There are those who will never change their violent wicked behaviour but if the government is serious in their actions in this direction then they must provide the funding for education, training in work and life skills I fail to see why non- violent prisoners with no history of drugs, escape, deviation or mental issues are placed in the general prison population where they they are mixing with violent, drug addicted recidivists many of whom will never change. What is the point of this ? There needs to be a top level rethink into the prison service asap.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. I have read many many books based inside prisons but this was among the best. It's not often prison governors write biographies, but this one has! It's a shame he decided not to reveal his identity as I think he deserves credit for this considering he is not an author, it's very well written.

It was nice to read the first half of the book based on the early part of his career as a Prison Officer and then gradually we get to the second half as he was finally made governor.

This man has worked in a large number of prisons in his time, even overseas. Some of the stories in the book were harrowing, but extremely well documented. It was great to read both perspectives of his career and I found it really nice that as a governor he tried to even change some archaic rules inside prisons and seemed very well thought of with the changes he did make and the difference it made to the inmates.

A very interesting read.

[Scout Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a lot of books like this. They're easy-to-digest, fast reads about a particular person's job in X system or career, and each chapter is like a mini story. Some of this legitimately surprised me, some of it I assumed or outright knew already, but it was a very good book. If you've read my other reviews, you'll know that my main gripe with these is that we see so many different mini-tales that we don't ever get into the meat of any of them. It would have been nice to have slightly less stories, but more information and depth into them.

[Sean Flatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A throughly recommended non fiction book on British life in the HM Prison services

I throughly enjoy reading this autobiography book of a young man who rose through the rank from a prison officers to a prison governor.
It straight to the point and holds no barriers about life behind bars, some shocking and some funny.
I definitely recommend this book anyone studing psychology as you get to understand the mentally of both the inmates and the staff, or who works in the emergency services.
Overall a great read of a book. Best wishes

[MrsB · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m enjoying the deluge of anonymous books regarding British law, hospitals, and prisons. Although it seems that anonymity is needed/preferred when writing bluntly about the difficulties within each sector, it is also nice to know that they are being addressed by those who have lived and worked intimately in each profession.

The Secret Prison Governor seems to strike a good balance between sharing personal stories, comparing British prisons to others around the world, and looking at how things have changed.

[Danielle Amor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Secret Prison Governor is a real-life memoir of life working within UK Prisons.

Some of the accounts within the book are shocking and I can definitely understand why the Author remained anonymous along with changing several details on stories he was telling.

I really enjoy books of peoples careers, especially within the Prison Service and this one is no exception. This book will be perfect for fans of Kerry Daynes and Amanda Brown.

[Cathy Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting insight into life as both a prison officer and then as a prison governor. The author brings his commentary on the state of the British prison service to life using stories from his own experience on the front line. This is shocking, sad, funny and hopeful. The ultimate upshot is that the prison service requires major investment and reform to make it fit for purpose and to support both staff and offenders.

[J.B. Hollows · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Compelling. Honest. Terrible. This Gov tells a no holds barred account of what it’s really like in prisons without trying to shock or scare. It’s a shame he has to be anonymous. He should be recruited to help transform the system.

Ps Anon if your still looking for meaningful work we’d love you on our board at Beyond Recovery :)

[✰matthew✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’ve read a number of books about prisons and this is definitely one of the very best of them.

the author does not sensationalise anything but is consistently truthful and careful with what they are saying but it doesn’t feel strained.

on occasion i did find some chapters stopped quite abruptly, i guess this could be because the author wasn’t able to share any more details.

[Imogen Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading the variety of stories and issues the secret prison governor had to deal with. It gave me insight into how a prison works and identifies the issues in them and what needs to be done to help rehabilate prisoners. Would potentially like to hear about parole decisions and the views of the governor on early manadated releases. Would enjoy further books by this author.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absorbing

Informative, interesting and educational. I have gained a more objective understanding of the world behind prison walls. Well done Annonymous, will keep a lookout for a sequel.

[James Tidd · Rating 4 out of 5]

From his time as a junior officer, right through to being governor in various prisons, the anonymous author of this book describes to the reader in very vivid detail his experience of three decades of working in the United Kingdom Prison Service.

[Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was alright. Unlike other books like this, I didn't feel that prisoners stories were woven into it. You do learn a lot about the prisons in general though. And there are some staff stories about corruption etc.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite an easy read but super interesting deep dive into prisons in the UK. I know a few other reviews have said it gets unbelievable towards the end, but I highly suspect the majority is true and just not spoken about.

[Matthew Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, worth a read. 10/10

[Diana Opoku · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Katie Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of my memoirs, and liked the sound of this one. But the more I got into it, the more I was bored, and wasn't enjoying it as much as I hoped.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting read. Quite different scenarios than prisons in America though.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

We are only as good as our worst performers. This book does a nice job of detailing experiences of both inmates and peacemakers inside the Prison system.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

- loved it
- truthful and honest book
- pace of the book is perfect and it's soo interesting

[Gaye Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scary

[Marcela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting

[Sharlene Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not my usual read. However was a great insight in to the life as part of the prison service and the comings and goings of both the staff and prisoners