Behind Bars by Anna Leask drops the reader into the chilling reality of prison life.
BEHIND BARS
Anna Leask
Penguin Random House
By PATRICIA THWAITES
Prisons. Prison life. More than 10,000 New Zealanders are experiencing it now. Their accommodation is costing us twice what we'd pay to stay in a four-star hotel. How many of us know what we're paying for? How many of us have seen the inside of a prison, or even the outside of one?
Despite our horrific incarceration rate, life in prison as an inmate will remain a mystery to most of the population. But though having no wish to be committed to one, how many of us are nevertheless curious to know more about what goes on inside?
Anna Leask, an award-winning senior reporter covering crime and justice for The New Zealand Herald, has written stories about some of our most notorious criminals. In Behind Bars, she goes some way toward satisfying our curiosity. And her account, she assures her readers, will not match the picture we might get through television or in movies.
From the beginning, it drops the reader right into the chilling reality of prison life: "Every freedom you had on the outside is gone. Every person is a possible threat - one mistake could get you maimed or killed. The worst part is, there is nothing you can do to change anything.''
The book is a compendium of stories from ex-prisoners who consented to be interviewed. Some names are familiar. Others are referred to as "Inmate A'', or pseudonyms. Given the scenes graphically described in one of the most intimidating sections of the book- involving violence towards fellow prisoners, "narks'', and guards - it's not surprising that many refused to be identified.
Only "Inmate A'' is still inside. He consented to a mate relating his experiences secondhand. Otherwise, Leask was constrained by law into interviewing only those who are now free.
The 12 chapters divide into aspects of custodial life, ranging from how families are affected, to descriptions of our most notorious prisons.
Like any society, prisons have a hierarchy. It's usually within a mob structure, where the top dog is described as "a violent gang thug who could make a grown man wet himself with just a look''. The gang culture appears throughout the book as a powerful and pervasive influence.
Occasionally, there will be someone not connected to any gang whose conduct commands respect because of his mana. In one of the most affectingly tragic parts of the book, Leask describes the murder of one of this rare breed; a "standalone'' who was murdered in his cell, causing distraught prisoners to "let out deafening howls; they screamed, yelled, banged their cell doors like wild animals in a frenzy''.
Noise echoes throughout Behind Bars: there's the barking of the Mongrel Mob, the clang of cell doors, screams, moaning, abuse, profanities.
The author doesn't spare readers when describing the violent aspects of prison life. Her descriptions were vivid enough at times to make me wince. And, shockingly, much of the violence was ignited by seemingly trivial incidents. These descriptions heighten awareness of other mental and physical aspects of incarceration besides lack of freedom.
Leask's account of prison life is clear-headed and unsentimental. She states that "none of the inmates who spoke about their experience asked for or expected pity or sympathy. And, if I'm honest, they would have gained neither from me. But they did want people to know that prison is much more than what it appears to be on the surface, darker and more complex than we might possibly imagine''.
I had many questions nagging at me while reading. Among them:
Why do those on remand seem to get such a raw deal? While waiting to be judged, they appear to be in a kind of limbo, which can last from days to months to years.
Why is the ratio of male to female inmates so uneven? More than 90% of inmates are male. [I checked on the Internet, and it's a worldwide phenomenon].
Why, when conditions inside are so disagreeable, do so many reoffend, time after time?
Reading Behind Bars is like a tough sentence in itself - frightening, horrifying, sad. But it paid to persevere and not cheat the system, to open my eyes to some sort of understanding of a hidden world.
The book's Epilogue rounds off by posing one of the writer's own questions. Looking at the large and growing numbers inside, the "many harrowing experiences of the inmates'', Leask reflects on something we should all consider: "One must wonder if the people running our prisons are getting it entirely right.''
Patricia Thwaites is a retired Dunedin schoolteacher.
