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Posted: 2018-12-08 19:00:00

Posted December 09, 2018 06:00:00

At first listen it sounds just like any other radio station, with an upbeat breakfast show and lively guest appearances.

But this tiny station broadcasts directly and exclusively to the cells of 80,000 inmates across England and Wales.

National Prison Radio runs 24/7, and while it's entertaining and informative, it also serves a deeper purpose.

"The aim…is to offer a voice to prisoners, to offer support to people while they are living in prison and ultimately to contribute to a reduction in reoffending," says the station's CEO, Phil Maguire.

It's also about keeping "young lads company at night when they [are] at their most vulnerable in a cold, dark cell".

"Radio can stir people's emotions. You know, we can do so much with radio," Mr Maguire says.

'Owning up to the impact your crimes had' — on air

Before Prison Radio, the only network of its kind in the world, information was delivered to prisoners through leaflets or posters.

"When you consider that the average reading age of a prisoner in the UK is lower than the average 11-year-old, it's not a great way of reaching a wide audience," Mr Maguire says.

The station, he says, takes "often very difficult and complicated messages" and turns them into ones that are "very easily understandable, informative, engaging [and] entertaining".

Those messages, it seems, are resonating.

Of the English and Welsh prisoners who are physically able to listen, 86 per cent do — for around 10 hours every week.

They hear popular music, alongside discussions about how to open a bank account, claim benefits or find accommodation.

There are also some "really tough conversations" — about staying safe, drug use, suicide, self-harm and violence.

And the conversation isn't just one-way.

In one segment, the parents of a murdered young man, Chris Donovan, were invited into the studio.

"[Chris] was dragged into the middle of a four-lane road, hit by a car, dragged 40 feet up the road and died in hospital shortly afterwards," Mr Maguire says.

"And his parents were brave enough to come into the National Prison Radio studio…a tiny little radio studio in the heart of a prison."

The prisoners listening in studio then responded to what they'd heard.

"The impact on those men is palpable and it's audible, you can hear it in the program," Mr Maguire says.

"I think owning up to the impact that your crimes had on yourself, on your victims, on your family, on society as a whole is a crucial part of the rehabilitation process, and we wanted to find a way of doing that on air."

'They are people that live in prison'

Prison Radio has a book club, supported by the Booker Prize Foundation, and celebrities and authors come in to the prison to talk about their own books or what they're reading.

"It's really powerful stuff," Mr Maguire says.

Russell Brand, for instance, talked to prisoners about the escape books can offer.

"If you're free in your mind… no-one can cage that, no-one can impede your freedom," Brand said.

There's also a program on poetry, one encouraging people to write letters home to their loved ones, and a spot on mindfulness and yoga.

"It's surprisingly popular," Mr Maguire.

"I guess if you are locked in a tiny cell, eight-foot by 10-foot cell, there's not a huge amount you can do in there."

Whether discussion is about victims of crime or yoga stretching, Prison Radio is underscored by the same aim: to humanise an environment that can be dehumanising.

"We have a team of people who live in prison. Some people call them inmates, I occasionally refer to them as prisoners, but they are people that live in prison," Mr Maguire says.

"And we give a voice to those people…to be brave enough to express themselves and seek help where they need it."

Topics: law-crime-and-justice, prisons-and-punishment, radio, radio-broadcasting, broadcasting, media, crime-prevention, crime, england, wales

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