I had the misfortune of being in strangeways aged 17 or 18 in 1982.Got slapped off my feet for smiling when a screw was singing Dont laugh at me going through reception.Just a kid a horrible place got a cockroach in my food the screw said shut up they will all want one.Sounds funny I know but the screws where bullies back then or just totally indifferent.With the cons it was dog eat dog the weakest getting bullied exploited just a horrible miserable place.40 years older wiser and having never been convicted since yes I see it differently the screws had a thankless job and no one can understand how it feels to do their job unless they’ve done it been there and no doubt anyone would become hardened/indifferent dealing with that routine every day.Eventually the roof did go off with the strangeways prison riots it needed change but albeit I was not there I’m sorry for anyone from either side who got hurt.There is a simple solution to the problems of the prison environment and it’s this STAY AWAY DONT GO THERE .

Fair play to that one screw trying to make his working conditions better 4 him and the prisoners 👏👍

Prison Governor: "you are not here to lock up and unlock prisoners". Prison Officer: "I'm here to lock up prisoners and if they don't like it...." Oops.

Back in those days, prison governors were ex military men, and not social workers.

Go Mr Sutton "tales from the jails"

A great series. I saw it when it was repeated in 1990. I think they only showed 6 of them then.

Love the ash trays on the desk. 😂😂😂

John Sutton was way ahead of his time and the establishment shut him down.That was so sad to watch.

10:37 In the late 1970s there was a good deal of controversy centring around the high level of National Front membership amongst prison officers at Strangeways. The NF's chief organizer at the prison was Brian Baldwin. Interesting that no mention is made of this in the documentary.

Quality documentaries like these, show how bad, & dumbed down today's documentaries are.

I wonder how many of these screws were at strangeways. In 1990 ? .

£8-11k a year. Doesn't sound a lot, does it? However, my parents bought a lovely big, victorian 4 bedroom house in the early '80s for around £17k. In 2021 the average house would be 10+ times the annual salary of a prison officer. We've all be screwed by the system, not just prisoners.

I like how some of the ex Military slash their peaks (pushing the peak of the service cap back into the hat thus reducing its overhanging size). This enables the hat to fit squarely on the head in a good parade manner.

The MUFTI instructor comes across as a fine fellow.

Bloddy pigeons flying about at 9.35 bloddy hell sets the tone really

John Sutton is on the real porridge podcast talking about his time in strangways interesting bloke who challenged the status quo and got kicked out of the the prison officers association for it, check it out

Lol.......I’m an ex squadie......did that job for 14yrs......I could bang on for hours about it........it’s a fucking joke in this day & age......glad I jacked it in!

PLEASE upload the remaining episodes of this series. I remember the poignant final episode was about Christmas inside. M

*According to the bank of England, £8000 in 1980 is now £35,082.29p in 2021 (Inflation averaged 3.8% a year) and £10000 in 1980 is now £43,852.86in 2021 (Inflation averaged 3.8% a year)* 😲

For anyone whos interested. John sutton has an autobiography and a KZfaq channel with some very enlightening stories of his time working for the prison service

Governor Brown trying to stitch a decent officer like John G Sutton up.

remember in 1987 having to put your bedding and mattress on landing till teatime had to lay on metal bed no wonder ive got a bad back now

We will make sure they behave themselves in here. Haha. Wheres your roof gone. Dont say you went warned.

John Sutton is amazing as is his book Psychic Screw 👏🏼👏🏼

Back in the good old days where there was an abundance of prison officers and they had the power. Now the lunatics have taken over the asylum

5:02 Bob Ross from 'The Joy of Painting'.

The good ol boys club -

Alan Lord put a few dints in that bell 🔔👍

1982 in there 3 in a cell a bucket in the corner banged up 24 hrs a day . Todays like a holiday camp

A breed, screws.

Was that a young Neil Warnock training the Mufty squad ??

"what do we want?!" "Baked potatoes!!" "When do we want em?!" "NOW!"

They look like GPO postmen from the 70s

Imperial service medal!!! They had strange way them days.

The Woolf report after the riot stated that in future prison officers uniforms should be less militaristic. Peaked caps should be phased out, and until this happens, the practice of wearing the peak 'slashed' should be discontinued.

30:05 formation of 'MUFTI' teams (Minimum Use of Force and Tactical Intervention). This SCREAMS British Army riot tactics as used in Ulster! Amazing!

0:07 all the Bulls patting themselves on the back before those windows. Guessing the population isn’t privy to the ceremony! 😂

@5:03 - Lookit that Barnet !

11:08 This is when Little & Large started out.

I like the cut of johns cloth, i was a union man for years, and i challenged the management at every turn, and just like on here, they dont like it. I loved fighting what was right not what was wrong.

if thats the chief from thorp arch..he was a great guy..

Started here as an officer in 1975 was even worse then

@23:06 - Eh ? Is that a Yates bar outside the prison ??

At 07:40, he almost seems like a character from a comedy show or something. Can you imagine being like that at the age of 9 or 15? I've never heard anyone of his age speaking like that before.. The thing is that he doesn't look that old, maybe 30??

A young Peter Kay getting his point across at 11:09

Muff Training?

Mark feely favourite place he like to go

Sad thing is not much has changed , we had the Poa , and the prison union , both as useful as a chocolate fire guard

HMP is Unrecognizable now 2024

Were some of those peaked caps issued with slashed peaks of did the guys see it fit to re shape them themselves?

That guvnor was doing so well until he said you are not here to lock them up

I wanted to be a prison officer but they said no so I asked him why and they said it's because your parents were married when they had me 😂😂😅😅😅 can't beat the old jokes

Was in that prison on th borstal wing

That governor with the big glasses appears to have half the tops of his ears missing, was some geezer called Norman Brown I believe. Was he some survivor of a tank attack or fire during WWII or something?..

i saw so called officers throw a young boy down 2 flights of stairs heros dont make me laugh

Are you sure this is Manchester.? It’s sunny and no rain in sight. The weather has some strangeways especially in the dark gloomy atmosphere that is Manchester.

I wonder if any of them new guards are still there .

Just leave us alone this guy frightens me in a democracy like uk we dont just leave the forces of law and order alone that attitude belongs in totalitarian societies where human rights are non existant the good poeple of uk fought and won a brutal war precicely so that those who uphold the law are not just left alone being constantly scrutinised and watched closley goes with the job thats the price of freedom for us all

Paul Sutton was so courteous

POA bosses at Strangeways were also leaders of the north west National Front who had guest speakers from the American Democrat run KKK at their meetings. Got to love these leftist unions 😅

maybe one or two cons then lol

1:46 How many ex-Guardsmen? :D

8K a year and the stink of slop 😁 , disgrace how goons close ranks when someone points out peoples rights! nothin changed there

Spent 5 weeks in strangeways back in 99...was still a shit hole.

"Judges must beware of hard constructions and strained inferences, for there is no worse torture than that of laws."---- Francis Bacon.

total toe rags..

The new government had good intentions. Getting to no prisoners by there name .talking to them .some a these government. Live on a diff planet than prisoners .

7:46 this man is pissed as a fart. from lunchtime boozing.

When did we start jailing pigeons?? 09.26

Whose with blue collars

does anyone know what happened to govenor browns head...ww2?

These old screws were propper,, when you look at the shower of shit we have now locking up our criminals thay aint worth a penny,,ive seen for my self the new breed of screws and trust thsy would never walk a mile in these old screws shoes,,, for one theres no respect for them, thay are so easily manipulated, and you can see the fear in there eyes,, some of them are ok,, but most of em come from the new training regimes,,you need people skills to gain the trust of prisoners,the new breed are like little children in there mind set,, petty and want to make a name for there selves,, old screws from back has far had the 60s to the late nineties were good old tuff but fair,wot you saw you got from them, thay earned their respect, and thay would give you respected iff you earned it,,

Screws would earn, on avearge, in 1980, 8 grand a year. That's about 36 grand a year nowdays, in 2024. That is'nt bad is it?

Wow, "prisoner officers are seen in a bad light" "I canf think why" I think I can mate!!

Seriously who gives a fuck about prisoners, shouldn't do the crime

Stop shouting on the landing at night time the bloody kids are in bed..

They should have listened to Sutton

Knock you for 6. Them lot would. Now. They send you painting.

These prisons are holiday camps compared to south America and russia

Eh?!? No female officers in the staff back then?? What about searching female partners and relatives when they visit; would the male staff have done that?

This is how it was years ago ..HELLO i would like to be a prison officer ,ok what have you done before i was in the army 12years ,i was a drill instuctur and a physycal training instuctur. ok when can you start monday if thats ok . .Now in the yaer 2021 i would like to be a prison person officer please . .Ok what have you done before .well i was at collage 2 years then i got 4 o levels .And i am 5ft 8 inch tall and i weigh 12 stone ..I live at home with my mum and dad and i have 2 rabbits .ok start tomorrow . Its might be a bit rough but you will be ok love ,if you are feeling threatand ,just fill a form in and have 6 months off . full pay dont let them prisoners shout at you . no sex either haver you got that .

Free Palestine!!! Sorry, wrong channel..

not even one black screw? or con ive seen

That Governor looked like a right 🔔 end

WTF was a white collar officer doing mixing with blue collar workers discussing union business anyway.

John g Sutton rules

sticks had no effect on the riot..rasss