As a Prison Visitor

It's a while since I served as a prison visitor. Prison visitors come in three shapes and sizes. First there are friends and family, that visit maybe once a month under supervision in a room set aside for the purpose. Then there are members of the Board of Visitors, the ones who determine whether a prisoner gets early release on probation. Then there are the ordinary "official" prison visitors. This is the motley crew that visits prisoners week in week out in the cells. The best of them, usually the women, visit the Young Offenders' Units, where children theoretically above 16, though I've visited many a 15 year old, get gaoled for a short sharp shock. Their offences vary, often it's driving and taking away or some such. They are a sad lot, divided into the boasters and the browbeaten. It is not the best environment for young offenders and I lament the loss of the old farm school system, the "Borstals" or youth prisons designed to reform. Nothing could be more of a factory for crime than the modern "Young Offenders' Unit". It is an issue that needs addressing urgently in a Britain with the highest level of prison occupancy in Europe.

Prison visitors in the adult wings visit in the cells. You slam the lock with your fist when you enter so that it springs in such a way as to stop a prisoner locking himself in with you. To be honest, it is one of the most rewarding forms of voluntary work possible and I commend it to you - there is an acute need for prison visitors.

One of the more striking issues (apart from the fact that up to a third of those "banged up" are in for non payment of fines - something wrong there maybe) was that those in for violent crime were almost always people who had been on drugs, or more commonly drink, when they committed their offences. Almost all violent crime in Britain is drink or drugs related. Are these issues sufficiently exposed? Where are we going as a society when we virtually encourage underage drinking?

Interested in Prison visiting? Either phone your local prison and speak to one of the chaplains or check out the Napv website and start from there.

Who am I?

My name is William Morris and I am a prospective candidate for the post of Police and Crime Commissioner for the South West, the Devon and Cornwall Force.

I am from Penzance in Cornwall. I have lived in London, Wales, and of course Cornwall, as well as overseas in the Middle East. I stand, now, as an independent. I believe that it is probably best if the candidates for Police Commissioner are independent of any political party. But it is one of those issues for which there are counter arguments, and Boris, our London Police Commissioner, has proved reasonably competent so there are exceptions that prove the rule.

I have worked as a farmer (owning a sheep farm in South Wales), a miner and a publisher. Currently I head up a charity called The Next Century Foundation which works at conflict resolution in the Middle East and on which my role involves handling sensitive second track negotiations on peace process issues. I also chair the International Council for Press and Broadcasting which hosts the annual International Media Awards in London. Formerly I chaired the West Cornwall Marine Forum and have always taken a personal interest in marine and fisheries issues (and am a qualified diver).

My interest in crime prevention developed during the ten years I lived and worked in South Wales, at which time I volunteered as a Prison Visitor at Swansea Gaol, visiting the Young Offenders Unit as well as the adult wing. I am acutely aware of the unique problems of the South West, and believe that social deprivation is a key cause of crime.

I am married. My wife Veronica was a teacher and now works with me at the NCF. We have three children, Joseph, Loveday and Samuel, and one grandchild, Florence.