The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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What can we make of the most recent announcements on prison policy? And what are we likely to see from a Starmer government over the longer term?

Lord Ken Macdonald KC was Director of Public Prosecutions immedately before Sir Keir Starmer took up that position. Since then he's been a practicing criminal defence barrister and been involved in the development of criminal justice policy, especially in relation to terrorism and national security. He is currently Chair of the Orwell Foundation and President of the Howard League for Penal Reform.

He is also a co-host of Double Jeopardy - the law and politics podcast.

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760

We need your help! Please visit www.prison.radio/survey to tell us about yourself and what you want to hear on The Secret Life of Prisons. Thank you.

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Duewaine Marshalleck-Baker spent many years in prison, and during those sentences he witnessed and perpetrated violence. During his last sentence he worked on National Prison Radio and we're proud to call him a friend of the Prison Radio Association.

Conroy Harris is the Chief Executive of A Band Of Brothers, a charity that was born out of concern at the escalation of self-destructive behaviour among young men, which looks to find solutions to the sort of violence that takes place on prison wings.

https://abandofbrothers.org.uk

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760

We need your help! Please visit www.prison.radio/survey to tell us about yourself and what you want to hear on The Secret Life of Prisons. Thank you.

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Caroline was released from prison with low hopes for the future. Then she met a probation officer from a surprising background and with her support she built a successful life for herself. Caroline is now a co-researcher on a research project being run by Liverpool John Moores University and the Universities of Nottingham, Sheffield and Southampton looking at the future of probation services.

Professor Lawrence Burke (Lol Burke) is a Professor in Criminal Justice at Liverpool John Moores University and previously worked as a probation practitioner.

A further two episodes will be released later in the year.

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760

We need your help! Please visit www.prison.radio/survey to tell us about yourself and what you want to hear on The Secret Life of Prisons. Thank you.

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Andrew Malkinson spent 17 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit. In this very special episode he tells us about his time in prison, and how others serving sentences reacted when he told them he was innocent.

Emily Bolton is Andrew's solicitor and the founder of Appeal, a charity that challenges wrongful convictions and campaigns for a fairer justice system

www.appeal.org.uk

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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In general election week, the Secret Life of Prisons finishes our series of guests who have knowledge and insight about the role criminal justice plays in politics as the major players fight for our votes.

We've asked this week's guest to ask the organisations who work closest to prisons what they'd like to see from our next government.

Anne Fox is Chief Executive of Clinks, which represents hundreds of charities and voluntary sector organisations that work with people in prison and their families. She has worked in the voluntary sector in the Republic of Ireland and in the UK since 1999. She joined Clinks in 2015.

www.clinks.org

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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James Phillips was in prison in 2014 when he first heard National Prison Radio's Rock Show. He decided he was going to become its next host, and managed to get a transfer to the prison where the show was based.

Fast forward 10 years, he had been released from prison, joined the Prison Radio Association's staff team, and his show had become the most inventive, innovative, riotous music show on any radio station, anywhere. He won Gold for Best New Presenter at the ARIAS – the Radio Academy Awards, which are the radio industry's 'Oscars'.

Last year James received a diagnosis of terminal cancer.

In true Rock Show spirit, James took his listeners, the Rock Show Family, on the journey with him. That journey came to an end in May 2024.

To remember James, and to introduce the uninitiated to the joys of National Prison Radio’s Rock Show, and the magic that James would create using nothing but sound and the spirit of rock music, Phil and Paula are joined by Ollie Brookes (the producer of the Rock Show) and Scout Tsofiya Bolton (a paid-up member of the Rock Show Family while she was in prison).

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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As we approach the next general election, the Secret Life of Prisons is bringing you guests who have knowledge and insight about the role criminal justice plays in politics as the major players fight for our votes.

We've asked this week's guest to come up with five pieces of advice for the next government to improve our justice system.

Andi Brierley is an author and educator. He was the editor of last year's book, The Good Prison Officer. He spent several years in prison as a young person, serving time for offences fuelled by a drug addiction. Today he teaches at Leeds Trinity University and he trains prison officers through the Unlocked Graduates programme.

Find out more about Unlocked Graduates here.

The Good Prison Officer

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760

The Secret Life of Prisons is produced by a charity, the Prison Radio Association. To make a donation please visit prison.radio/donate.

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If you have been to prison you are fourty times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population.

Michael Sloane spent three decades in and out of prison, addiction and homelessness. He was once given a tent to live in on release from prison. He now studies politics at Ruskin College in Oxford.

Matt Gannon is from the Centre for Homelessness Impact, a charity that uses data to understand the factors that lead to homelessness and improve the lives of those who are most at risk.

Find out more about The Centre for Homelessness Impact

You can read the report Prison Discharge and Homelessness here.

You can read The Ballad of Rochester Jail by M A Sloane here.

Presenters:
Phil Maguire – Chief Executive, Prison Radio Association
Paula Harriott – Head of Prisoner Engagement, Prison Reform Trust

Producer: Andrew Wilkie

The Prison Radio Association runs National Prison Radio, the world’s first national radio station for people serving prison sentences. We employ people in prison to develop their skills, find their best voices and help them discover ways to lead crime-free lives after release.

Registered Charity in England & Wales 1114760