Proactive progression
Prisoners would derive many benefits from preparing a personal CV says David Silver
Post Sentence, OASys and wing reports, along with a host of other reports, can leave you feeling frustrated and stressed out, particularly if you take them too much to heart. Very often they're riddled with inaccuracies and inconsistencies which are negative in the extreme.
For indeterminate sentenced prisoners these reports can often mean the difference between regaining freedom and staying incarcerated. They're supposed to be fair and balanced yet, as we all know, they rarely are. So how do you try to offset this negative bias?
I kept asking myself that question until eventually I came up with an idea and decided to compile a Curriculum Vitae - or CV for short; charting everything I'd accomplished during my time in prison.
Of course, most of this is listed within the various reports compiled by the prison, yet I hadn't seen one single report where all the positive stuff I'd done was listed together. The more I thought about it, the more the idea appealed to me. I recalled my last sentence planning board: I'd felt completely unprepared and left the room kicking myself because I'd forgotten to tell them about all the stuff I'd accomplished since my previous board.
A CV made perfect sense. It was time to get proactive. In another lifetime, before coming to prison, I'd compiled a number of CV's but even though I vaguely recalled the basic format, I wasn't entirely sure exactly what to include. Trawling the business section of the library turned up several helpful books.
Suddenly the ideas started flowing. The first section I thought to include was an introductory passage briefly explaining what the document was and why I had created it. I wrote, `The following is a Curriculum Vitae of my prison career since my incarceration in March 2006. It is intended to highlight the positive steps I have taken to learn, grow and develop as a person and reduce my perceived risk factors.'
Next, I included a section entitled ‘Work Experience’ in which I listed the various jobs I've had in prison, culminating with my current employment.
That's when something strange happened: it began feeling almost like I was writing a real CV. Seeing the progress I had made up to my current red-band status made me feel like I had actually accomplished quite a lot.
I included a section detailing the voluntary work I do. At first I felt a bit awkward including this section. I was always brought up to believe that you shouldn't brag about the good deeds you do in life. Then I thought to myself, ‘I'm proud of the voluntary work I do, so why shouldn't I include it on my CV’?
Then I listed all the educational qualifications that I've achieved in prison. I actually didn't realise I'd accrued so many until I listed them. Seeing how far I'd come boosted my self-esteem and gave me renewed enthusiasm for the degree course I'm hoping to embark on this year.
Including Offending Behaviour Courses was an easy decision to make. The only problem being that I haven't actually done any. However, this is not through lack of motivation. I have been assessed for several courses and found to be not suitable. I detailed this and included the psychologist's remarks in each instance.
I also included a list of other non-accredited courses I'd taken, such as Get Fit For Life and The Goals Programme. In my time I've won a couple of Awards so I stuck a section on for that too; before finishing with my hobbies and interests.
I tried my level best to highlight all the positive steps I'd taken during my time in prison. Whether or not it will actually help me in any way remains to be seen. I've sent a copy to my outside probation officer and my prison law solicitor, and I'll definitely be taking a copy on my next sentence planning board. Whatever happens, I feel as though my efforts have already been rewarded if only from the pride and satisfaction I get seeing, at a glance, how much I've actually accomplished. It's reassuring to know that I have used my time inside as productively as possible.
That's why I highly recommend to all prisoners having a bash at creating a CV, particularly indeterminate sentenced prisoners who have to convince the parole board they deserve another shot at life.
I believe it will help you feel more positive and in control of your progression. Even if you don't feel that you've done enough to compile a CV then have a bash anyway; you may surprise yourself with how much you've actually achieved.
For those unfamiliar with creating CVs there are a couple of great resources to help you. If you have access to a computer with Microsoft Word you can use something called Resume Wizard (Resume is another word for Curriculum Vitae, usually favoured by Americans). Using the Wizard is relatively simple but for those with limited I.T skills it's probably best to get someone to help you. Alternatively, there are a number of good books available through most prison libraries explaining exactly how to compile a CV. The ubiquitous ‘For Dummies’ series produces an excellent book.
Perhaps those of us who are experiencing lack of progression through our sentences need to stop bemoaning the system and get a little more proactive!
* Daniel Silver is a pseudonym for a prisoner currently resident at HMP Gartree
Education
Prison Writers
Resettlement
Progress is threatened by cuts
Conservatives ‘want change’
All-white juries do not discriminate
Unexpected ‘special’ Legal Visits
Influenced by inner anger
250 prison teaching jobs to go
Petition to make trainee psychologists answerable to a higher body
Month by Month
Methadone concerns
Double invisibility
Twice the punishment
The forgotten victims
The best brains?
Doing Things Differently
Public persona … private person
Current page: Proactive progression
The inside story
POCA’s furry feline friends
Supporting evidence
Prosecuting Serious Fraud
Transfers from prisons to mental health units
War Torn
Cycles of the Planets
PSO Watch - It's political
insidetime
|
|
Issue : September 2010
Back Issues
Browse and Search Tools
View headlines by category
Search headlines | All headlines
Search mailbag | All mailbag
Search poems | All poems
September 2010 Headlines
£2bn Cuts
Guilty until proven innocent - historic cases
Prison psychologists - biased practitioners
What’s in your file?
Abuse of Process
Parole woes!
Recent developments in The Law of Confiscation
Month by Month
My Precious
Halden Prison, the stuff of dreams
The lamp must still burn
Sentencing review: what’s it all about?
‘Shout OXO’ before you die
What’s a ‘psychopath’, a ‘DSPD’ and should Peter Sutcliffe ever be released?
The innocence of prisoners’ children
Your Children Your Rights
The rules are simple, choose your own loophole
Lie detector tests and you
Rule 39 Correspondence - guidance
About Us
About insidetime
Directors
Editorial Team
InsidePoetry Book
The
insidepoetry book
is a collection of 213 poems by 202 prisoners of all backgrounds.
Availabe to buy from this site!
Subscribe
You can subscribe to insidetime Newspaper and get the paper each month delivered to your door!
Advertise
Advertise your business or solicitors office to a highly defined target audience.
Other Publications
Inside Time has produced a number of books and publications you can purchase online.
Contact Us
All contact info for the Operations office and the Editorial Team.
Site Map
Our site map page contains links to all pages on the insidetime site.
External Links
These links open external websites which you may be interested.
WikiCrimeLine
Banks On Sentence
insideinformation
Prisons
Everything you need to know about visiting people in prison; procedures, opening times, directions etc.
Comprehensive information about each prison regime; lock down times, facilities, healthcare etc.
insideinformation Book
Help and Support
Various pages of information for help and support organisations and networks for those in custody as well as recently released. Also information for friends and family.
Grants and Funding
This grants and funding pdf document aims to meet the need of prisoners and ex-offenders for accurate, up to date information on the supplementary funding available to prisoners.
Rules and Regulations
Information on rules & regulations used throughout the prison service.
Glossary of Terms
The Glossary of Prison Related Terms explains what all the acronyms and terms stand for with prison related matters. Includes links to external sites to further explain things.
Fact Sheets
We have produced many Prison Related Fact Sheets inc. Legal Fact Sheets, Parole Fact Sheets and Other related information.
Find a Solicitor
You can search our solicitor database for listings of solicitors in your area that provide the services you require.
Address Finder
You can search our address database in many ways to retrieve contact information for all those elusive addresses you need in a hurry.
Prison Law pdf
This document provides details of leading training providers who offer sound professional training.
Other Publications
Inside Information has produced a number of books and publications you can purchase online.
Site Map
Our site map page contains links to all pages on the insideinformation site.
Contact Us
Use the Contact Us Feedback form to send us suggestions, plus our address and phone numbers.