Friday, September 16, 2011

Playing in Prison with the Governor!

"WELCOME TO PRISON, JSBP Students!" was what the big welcome banner across the prison said as we approached the entrance. I myself, felt quite welcomed into the Prison. Just kidding, there was no sign, but I did feel quite welcomed by the friendly Governor. After we checked in and had our identities checked, and Mary told the guy she had a few guns on her, we were brought into a conference room, connected onto the Governor's office where we sat down for a presentation on the institution. Located in Eger, the capital city of Heves county, this prison is a small one, holding up to about 200 inmates. It is 103 years old. It has 2 floors of cells, one with males and one with females. We learned that the prison offers programs, such a Storybook Mums- female inmates can read stories and record them on a tape recorder and send them to family, and also Prison for the City- inmates go out working all over Eger showing the community how they are giving back through community service. Sometimes the projects involve working with other community members. The Governor explained to us how this is very important because they are trying to show the people in the community that the inmates are trying to give back and they are trying to make a difference and when they can recognize that, and give direct feedback to the inmates it is seen as a very rewarding experience for both the community and the inmates. We all asked lots of questions covering all sorts of topics. A few of the more interesting things I learned was that there has only been 1 escape from the prison and that was in 1981- blows my mind. Ever been to an American prison? The escape rate is through the roof compared to that. Another interesting thing was that the highest percent of female inmates are in there for murder. Either killing their babies when they are first born or killing alcoholic/abusive husbands to escape and save themselves from so many years of pain and abuse. I could not believe it when the Governor told us that there are just about as many female murders in the institute as male. Drug related crimes do not account for much of what inmates are serving for. It is mostly murders, theft,  and robbery. We continued discussion and the presentation, learning the layout of the prison and seeing many statistics for the different county prisons in the country. This one in Heves not only holds the sentenced, convicted inmates but it also serves as a holding facility- remond- until the inmates are waiting to be sentenced or have not gained release on bail.
 On a side note, as I escaped into the Governor's office during one of extensively obnoxious coughing fits, I happened to see across the room on his wall a UNH Banner! YAY UNH! That was exciting. Anyway, as we began our tour, I would never have expected to see what I saw. I have visited Concord Prison in NH and that was this huge, extensive, very high security institute, NOTHING like what I saw here in Eger. This prison was like a heaven compared to this prison in Concord. The rooms were huge, they were allowed to keep food in there they didn't eat, they had windows in their cells and they were allowed to be out freely working during the day. The restrictions in Concord Prison are much higher. They are mostly separated into smaller rooms and they are separated by their convictions on different floors and levels of their dangerous-ness. They are rarely let out of their rooms and their food is slid through the door and the try must be returned in a quick amount of time. Here in Heves, I learned that men who are pedophiles are on the bottom of the food chain and women who murdered their babies are on the bottom of their ladder. But that's about the extent of the separation. In Concord, they were separated by wing, floor, even building as their crimes got worse and worse. We saw one female room and one male room, both spacious with about 12 beds in them. We saw a holding cell, also used as an isolation cell. When inmates first enter the prison they are held there while administrators decide where to place them. If they go insane and need to be put into isolation, they are also placed in this cell. It was interesting to learn that they are allowed to smoke in prison and purchase their cigarettes. One thing VERY common with American prisons that I learned is that their currency matches! Cigarettes and coffee! The Governor told us something extremely fascinating: A CELL PHONE is the most common thing trying to be smuggled into the prison. They have a very minor problem with drugs coming in, which in America, that's the main thing trying to get into the prison. He told us that people come up with the most insane ways to get phones in there- through salami one time!, fish, shoes, hairbrushes- you name it, they probably did it. Another HUGE difference from American prisons- THEY GET A VACATION! If they are on perfect behavior and meet all the requirements they are allowed a 7-10 day break from prison. The police check the environment they will be going to ahead of time, as if it is approved they can return home for a short break.  You will absolutely not find that in America.
Overall, this prison compared to the other prison I have visited in Concord, NH, is on a whole different planet. It is a haven, a quick little vacation. It was a world of a difference. Security is lower, the building is less technologically advanced, there were not SWAT teams camping out in front of the max security  wing like in Concord. But the one of the main things I found in common between the two, which I believe is a general theme in any properly run institute, was the general attitude of the Governor, Superintendent, big man on campus... etc. The man I talked to here and the Superintendent I spoke with in Concord both believed that although many of these people have done terrible things, if they have any hope in making in the real world once again, you need to give them the chance to prove they can do it. Whether it's through programs, excelling in their work in the prison or just showing they are ready through their daily life, you need to give them the space and opportunity to develop themselves to survive in the one world one day again. They need to prove they have learned their lesson. The Governor told us a quote that a Dutch friend of his says and I don't think it could make my point any clearer. "If you treat them like animals, they will come out like animals." Of course in America, there is less freedom, less of a room to grow, if you will, than here in this particular institute but treating them as people who will one day be living a life out on the streets again, is a universal theme practiced to an extent everywhere I believe.

I had a very interesting experience here, learned quite a lot, and was quite intrigued as always. Learning about anything to do with law enforcement fascinates me, and seeing how other countries compare to America is very interesting. The Governor is a highly intelligent man and could not have been more informative in his tour and was so generous to share all his knowledge with us. I can see how he became the Governor at such a young age. Oh and our welcome banner must have fallen down.

FREED FROM PRISON! 

Oh, and the dog we met was very friendly and cute. He was quite a nice, charming young dog.

2 comments:

  1. First and foremost: that dog terrified me. I am a dog lover, but that dog...was not a lover.

    Second: when the Governor said that the most popular item smuggled in was a mobile-phone I was completely surprised. Cell phones hardly existed 20 years ago! And now they are a hot commodity in Hungarian prisons. Not only did it remind me of how important technology has become, but, I mean, it is a pretty modest item to be smuggling in, right? They could be smuggling in drugs. Instead, they are just trying to talked to loved ones (I mean, there might be other motives as well, but I tend to believe that all people are good, ha). Do you know what I mean? It's just sooo different than the U.S. Blows my mind even four days later.

    Okey dokey, Happy Sunday girlfriend and great blog post as always!

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