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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to work inside a prison? This International Women’s Day (8 March), two female prison officers who are rising through the ranks at HMP Gartree tells their story of a working life in a challenging and rewarding environment.
Despite public perception that it’s a male-dominated profession, there are now more women working for His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service than men. Currently, 55% of staff in post across HMPPS are women, including 41.7% of staff within prisons.
Cherelle MacGregor, 34, joined the prison service ten years ago and works as a custodial manager at HMP Gartree, a high security men’s prison near Market Harborough in Leicestershire.
Cherelle has worked in a variety of roles since joining the service at HMP Moorland in South Yorkshire, including in drug treatment and setting up a drug-free unit. Since joining HMP Gartree in 2019 she has secured promotions first to supervising officer, then custodial manager, which is her current role.
She’s recently passed her exams for taking on a governor role in a prison, which means she can apply to lead departments within the prison, such as security, residential or health and wellbeing.
She says: “You might think you haven’t got what it takes, but you have. It’s not about the qualifications you have, it’s about the qualities you have, whether you’re a mum, a teacher, a nurse, a pub landlord – there’s no one size fits all when it comes to working for the prison service.
“I’ve recently become a mum and my current role suits being a working parent, so I’ll look at opportunities for taking on more responsibility when my son starts school.
“For me, Gartree is quite a special place. There’s a great sense of community created here. Being a gay woman hasn’t had a negative impact on my career. Prisoners tend to respect female officers and as long as you’re assertive, respectful and fair, you can deal with those who don’t.
“International Women’s Day is important to me. I’d like to see more women working in senior operational roles. Working for a female governor inspires me to believe I can achieve my dream of being a deputy governor one day.”
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Accelerate Action’, with a call to speed up gender equality. Women are able to progress in the prison service, with female Governors in charge of many prisons in the country. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is currently running a national recruitment drive with a range of adverts running across television, radio and online.
As well as prison officer vacancies there are roles in catering, teaching, psychology and support services across the service. All staff will play a crucial role in supporting the prison system through challenging times, with prisons until recently close to full.
Most jobs do not require any previous qualifications, but staff need resilience, confidence and excellent communication skills in all roles. These key skills will help staff to have a meaningful impact on the lives of others.
Cherelle’s colleague, Mary, 26, joined the prison service aged 19 and has progressed to a custodial manager role. She’s enjoyed a variety of roles, which have included being a new colleague mentor, helping more than 100 new officers in their first years in service, as well as working in offender management with the Probation Service and now as a custodial manager, leading on rehabilitative culture in the prison.
Mary says: “Being a young female when I joined, brought its own challenges but I made sure I was challenging the prisoners fairly and appropriately. I had great support early in my career, and I’ve learned so much from my female colleagues.
“I have family members who work in the service, who gave me a great insight to ease a lot of worries.
“We had a friends and family day at the prison, so we could show our loved ones around and put minds at ease. My friend attended and was only 17 at the time but she really liked it. That led her to join, first in the operational support grade role, and she’s now progressed to a prison officer role. It was nice to encourage someone else to join the service and I’ll enjoy watching her progress in the role.
“Whatever your skillset there could be a great new career waiting for you at HMP Gartree. I have been supported since I started and there is always a chance to progress. People are always surprised to hear that I work in the prison but they don’t know what opportunities are available to everyone here.”
HMP Gartree is looking for compassionate, creative people with excellent communication skills who can make decisions effectively. Those who would like to take the first step towards a rewarding career can apply or find out more by visiting Prison and Probation Jobs.
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