Episode 1 The Prisoners

This programme contains strong language.

HMP Pentonville in London is one of Britain's toughest prisons.

Over a whole year, for the first time on television,

the BBC has followed repeat offenders inside jail...

You bastards!

..outside on release...

Freedom!

..and even back inside again.

As mad as it sounds,

I felt happy when I come back to jail.

Mick is stuck in a cycle of homelessness and petty offending.

The only way I can survive outside for longer than Friday

is to commit crime.

This is where we live, cos at least we're under the shelter there...

Senol wants to put a violent past behind him.

Armed robbery, burglary,

offensive weapons, and that sort of stuff.

But life in prison is easier to cope with than life outside.

You're not helping me, Dan.

I've come out of jail, man. I want to stop drinking.

I need help.

Half of prisoners from Britain's jails reoffend within one year.

Each one has their own story.

7,500 offenders come in and out of Pentonville every year.

Affray, criminal damage.

Norman, on the left hand side, me old mate.

Mick Norman is a regular.

He's 43 and has 119 offences on his record,

most linked to crack and heroin use.

-Norman.

-Norman?

This time he's inside for stealing bottles of spirits,

which he sells for cash.

Right now, Mick would rather be locked up in Pentonville than free.

In here I'm safe, I'm clean and sober,

I've got a bed, my food's here, I've got a job, I've got tobacco,

I've got friends, I've got staff I know.

Out there I'm living at the bottom of a block of flats in a bin shed.

No money. I've got no ID, so I'm not claiming.

All I need is...

..a cuddle, you know?

That's all I want, someone to say it'll be all right, you know?

It ain't going to be like that, is it?

so my safest place is Pentonville.

Staff do try to prepare repeat offenders for release,

but every day there are more urgent challenges to face

from Pentonville's many difficult and dangerous inmates.

JP... anyone in Healthcare got a radio, please? Out.

Today's duty governor has to deal with a mentally disturbed prisoner

who's refusing to take his medication.

He's incredibly aggressive and won't even entertain any staff

attempting to help him, which is when we see him spitting at staff

and punching staff and throwing things, and he secretes weapons

to try and use against the staff, so it's very, very tricky.

A team is taken away from normal duties

and sent to the Healthcare wing,

just to make sure the prisoner gets the treatment he needs.

He's very, very volatile. Even if he is compliant at first,

please remain on your guard,

because he does have a history of staff assaults.

Keep your shields down, cos he spits.

Officers must give the prisoner every chance to comply

but make sure they are protected if he hits out.

Keep going. One more step. Keep to the left.

Take some steps to the left.

Again. Again.

Wait there.

Put your left hand down the base of your back.

Good man. And now the right.

Well done.

Since he refuses medication,

staff must manoeuvre him into a position

where it can be safely administered.

Walk out. Walk out. Walk out.

On A Wing, another new arrival.

Senol Bicer is 36.

Take a seat.

He's been in and out of jail since he was a teenager

for robbery, burglary and assault.

-Have you been here before?

-Yeah.

-When was the last time you were here?

-Last year.

What's your offence?

Offensive weapon, a lock knife.

-Possession of offensive weapon, yeah?

-Yeah.

He's hoping a spell inside can set him straight.

'Well, I'm 36, so realistically,

'I've done 22 years of my life in jail.'

Outside, it's hard, because you've got this to do...

It's hard. When you come to prison, it's easy.

Do you know what I mean?

Like, you've got your telly, you've got your kettle,

you've got your meals three times a day...

You know what I mean? It's easy.

You've got no bills to pay, no nothing. Do you know what I mean?

So that's how it is.

I wanted to come to prison today, do you know what I mean?

Because it's too much for me out there,

because I'm an ex-heroin addict and an alcoholic,

so for me to come to prison,

it helps me come out clean, you know what I mean?

That's why I'm here, cos I want to give myself a break and...

you know?

Outside prison, Senol has fallen out with his fiancee.

He wants his mum to contact her.

Did you speak to Nina?

And what she say?

We can start again, Mum.

Just tell her that we can start again, and...

You know what I mean, Mum?

Yeah, but Mum, I still love her and that, you know what I mean?

I'm going to go, right. Do what I asked you.

Just tell her that I love her,

and tell her to write me a letter so that I know what's happening.

Senol will be in Pentonville for two months.

On C Wing, staff are monitoring a prisoner

who is creating a major disturbance.

LOUD BANGING

We have a chap on here, Mr Kieran. He's been here for several weeks,

-he's...

-BANGING CONTINUES

-That's him now.

-That's him now, yeah.

He's going home in the next few days,

but he seems to be getting maybe anxious about that as well.

The prisoner will be let out of his cell to get his lunch,

but Principal Officer Bartley has concerns.

He's been banging his door, he's quite irate, he's asking,

making demands about all manner of things.

If it comes to a restraint,

then I expect three officers to be doing the restraint

and Mr Lawrence to oversee it.

SCREAMING

Outside the servery, the prisoner has thrown a plate of food

at another inmate and officers are forced to restrain him.

OK, relax.

SCREAMING CONTINUES

Release your right arm.

You bastards!

Right, stand him up. Stand him up.

SCREAMING CONTINUES

Right, OK. Mr Lawrence.

Right, OK.

Just nice and easy.

I'm going to take you to the segregation unit now.

You're going to give me a right kicking, aren't you?

No, not at all. Not at all.

Down in the segregation unit,

Sean Kieran will be searched, then led to a cell.

He is nearing the end of a short sentence for a drunken fight.

After two hours, Sean is calm enough to explain

his fears about leaving jail.

He has a drink problem and suffers from depression,

and he's wanted more help from the prison.

What's worrying you about getting out?

'I've got a lot to not look forward to.

'I'm probably going to lose my flat.

'I don't know if the gas and electricity's on.'

One thing I'd been given help for in the past was about utility bills,

getting in touch with gas and electricity people

to say, you know, "Yo, I'm in prison."

And this time round it's been like I've been asking for someone

to amputate an arm off themselves.

The point is I'm an alcoholic,

and I've been trying my best to stop drinking.

And I'm terrified of going out, picking up, as I threatened to do,

a bottle of Jack Daniel's and this time chugging it

like it was just water and to hell with the consequences.

In here you can stay clean and sober.

Yeah, exactly, but once you're out in the real world,

it's a different matter.

I'd get roaring drunk and end up dead somehow, under a car.

Someone kill me, thinking I'm going to hurt them. You know.

At Pentonville, prisoners can do courses

or attend education classes,

but many are locked up 23 hours a day.

Right, gents. Let's have you away, G wing.

On G Wing, Mick Norman is allowed out of his cell

to work as a cleaner.

'I shouldn't say it, but I have got a bit of a soft spot for Mr Norman.'

Norman, you know what they say, a woman's work is never done.

I don't know what he does outside.

Maybe he's a total pain the arse outside.

And his victims probably would have a different thing to say about it,

but in here, he's as good as gold.

Mick is currently is drug free.

But years trapped in a cycle of prison,

addiction and homelessness

have left him estranged from his family.

Where do you stay when you go out there?

-Bin shed.

-Awww!

-Unless I've got safe housing...

-Yeah.

-..I'm going to be back.

I'm better off here.

-I've got my food, I've got a bed...

-Yeah.

-I've got you...

Awww. It's a sorry state of affairs, isn't it?

I'm not the only one, am I?

You've got family outside and everything, haven't you?

-I don't see them.

-Where are your kids?

With their mums, with my family.

-I don't even see them.

-Why?

What am I going to do? Come out of jail and say,

"I'm back again for a couple of weeks," and piss off again?

I'm better off not seeing them.

-I ain't seen my boy for nearly two years.

-How old is he?

He's 16, he ain't even got a mum. He lives at my mum's house.

I've had him since he was a baby.

How do you know that he feels like that?

How do you know he doesn't want you to come round?

It doesn't matter what he wants. My mum don't want it.

You could write her a letter and just explain how you feel.

I've said it all before, Miss. I've said it all before.

Yeah, but I just don't think you can sort of give up, really.

I just don't think...

I think you've just got to keep trying, basically.

Keep trying.

Perhaps I will.

My son hasn't got a mum or nothing. He's at his grandmother's house.

I stay out of contact with him because that's better for him.

The best thing I can do is stay away from my mum,

cos then I'm doing the right thing by my son.

Until I can be a responsible parent again,

and a productive member of society, I've got no right to be around him.

At the moment he's safe, he's doing well at school,

he plays music, he's a mentor for other kids.

I'm really proud of him, but...

And I miss him. Don't get me wrong, I...

Erm...

He's my boy, isn't he? You know what I mean?

Mick will be out in just three weeks.

Local councils seldom offer immediate housing

to newly released prisoners,

so it's up to the prison's drugs support team

to try and find him somewhere to sleep.

Down in segregation,

officers deal with a dirty protest every few weeks.

Sean Kieran has now become so desperate

about his imminent release that he's started one too.

He's put shit on the observation panel,

so there's two things there -

we can't see in so we can't do for his protection and his welfare,

but we've got to see in.

Because of the level of excrement in there,

-we should get kitted up, yeah?

-Right.

We'll get the white suits on, cos it could end up...

It's all over the door.

Gloves. Access to keys...

Mr Kieran, to the back of the cell.

The rules are that dirty protesters must stay in the same cell

until they have ended their protest,

so staff have to clean up around Sean Kieran.

It's nothing we've never seen before.

It's nothing we'll not see again.

We'll just see it every other day. It happens once or twice a month.

Even if they're on a dirty protest, prisoners must be offered food.

Right, Mr Kieran.

Stand to the back of your cell.

Sean Kieran is becoming increasingly disturbed.

-You have lost now.

-What?

-If I get out of here,

I'm doing to do something really off the fucking grid.

-All right. Stand to the back of the cell.

-Fuck you.

Fucking hard man, come in here

and I'll give you a fucking Glasgow kiss to lay you low.

Dirt fucking nap!

You're only fucking hard with other men behind you.

-I know you. Playground.

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

-Went to the same school?

No.

It takes another day in the segregation unit

for Sean Kieran to bring his protest to an end.

I freaked out...

..again.

But I'm all right now.

-You're all right now.

-Yeah.

So you woke up this morning and things felt better?

Yeah, I was thinking a lot more clearly.

Making stupid remarks like Glasgow kisses and all that,

you know...

I suppose, in a way, it's like false bravado, if you like.

Senol has been in jail a fortnight.

He's sobered up, and started thinking about

what keeps dragging him back inside.

I know what has triggered me off to be like this.

When my dad passed away seven years ago this August.

I do think about my dad, but it's hard.

I still think my dad's at home drinking his whisky and that.

But he ain't.

'That's what made me go a bit cranky.'

So I've got to let go, but I don't think I've let go yet.

Though he's calmer inside prison,

Senol is anxious about what's going on outside.

'Obviously I love my girl, innit?

'I was going to get married to her, but I don't know what's going on.'

She ain't even sent me a letter or nothing.

I dunno, I'm just... I'm irritable, you know what I mean?

Oh, man.

It's horrible, man.

'I'm worried about her.

'I don't know if she still loves me or not, I don't know.'

Just have to find out, wait and see.

I don't know.

Mick Norman will be freed today,

but because his sentence is under 12 months,

he'll have no probation officer.

He may also have nowhere to stay,

and weeks of delay before he can access benefits.

The only way I can survive outside is to commit crime.

Where am I going to sleep the night after?

What do I eat the day after?

Where do I go? What do I do? Where do I wash?

I'm not a street beggar, I'm a grafter.

So I'm going to out to graft to earn me bloody money...

Why am I going to sleep on the street when I can go and

earn myself one and a half, 200 quid in a morning?

And I can do the same in the afternoon

and pay for an hotel for a week or something.

But it's still the wrong road, isn't it?

The worst it can get for me is here.

It's the worst that can happen is this,

and I ain't got to pay for this, have I?

Sad, I know, but it's true.

Good luck. Hopefully, we won't see you soon.

Hopefully, but I've left my bed as it is.

No, that's not the attitude.

Me cell's on hold for the day.

-I hope we don't see you back.

-I won't.

-Take care.

-See you after, Miss. Thanks for everything, yeah?

-See you.

You've got £15.67 of your own money.

We're given you £7.70 fares, £46 discharge grant.

That's a total of £69.37.

-You happy you've got everything?

-Yes, Miss.

Right, you going to behave yourself?

We won't hold our breath on that one then, eh?

The prison has set up a meeting for Mick at a housing charity,

but - even if he can tackle all the bureaucracy involved -

he has no guarantee of a roof over his head tonight.

Well I'm out. So...

The plan is go and get my birth certificate,

shoot to Tooting Bec, get my final assessment,

try and get my housing benefit forms in. If they accept that,

I might be able to get in a property today.

If they don't and I've got to wait more than four or five days

to get in anywhere, I'm not prepared to stay out on the street

for four or five days, so I prefer to come back to Pentonville.

So what do you think your chances of staying out of this jail

for the weekend are?

This time round, 60/40.

60/40 in your favour?

Yeah.

It's out of my hands. I've done what I can do.

I'll give you a call, meet you over there.

Mick never did call.

A few weeks later, we were to discover why.

Sean is leaving too.

After getting help from the prison's addiction support team,

he feels calm about re-entering the world outside.

On the day of his release,

he even takes time to write a farewell letter.

This is a letter for Mr Monaghan, the governor.

"Thanks to all at the "Ville" for their tough love.

"In no particular order of any kind..." blah blah blah...

"Thanks in the final analysis for looking after me.

"Yours sincerely, peace and love, Sean Kieran."

So you feel you've been well looked after here?

Yeah, really. Because, you know...

..things are done for a good reason while you're here.

You don't always understand why.

A happy customer?

So to speak, yeah.

HE SIGHS

Freedom!

Mel Gibson, Braveheart.

Secure, yeah? Prison number?

Bye-bye. Peace.

Look after yourselves, lads.

Despite his anxieties inside jail, Sean still has a home to go to.

Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig.

'I've got lots to keep me active.

'Keep me away from trouble.'

That's my, you know, release from prison to back home.

-So far so good?

-Yep.

Senol Bicer has been waiting for news from the woman

he hopes will one day be his wife.

It's been a good week for me so far.

I've got two letters.

She's saying...

..that when I get out, we're going to start again,

try for a baby, get married, that sort of thing,

so yeah, she's telling me she loves me, which is a good thing,

do you know what I mean? Cos I was paranoid.

Cos when you come to prison, you do get paranoid.

You think... like, they're doing something else out there,

you know what I mean? But all girls ain't the same.

And she's even put "Nina Bicer",

so I'm just waiting to give her a big kiss.

You know? A cuddle.

Reassured, Senol now gets to work,

and takes up some of the opportunities

the prison has on offer to prepare for life outside.

No one can say I've been sitting down doing nothing.

I'm doing things in jail, while I'm in jail.

By the end of next month, I will be drug-free.

I've got three certificates already.

I've got "Change in possible"...

"Change IS possible", sorry.

And I've got relaxation, and now I've got hoovering.

That was the main one. That was my main one.

For my drug use, you know?

Hopefully, you know, I'll get a job.

Know what I mean?

And just live a normal life like other people,

cos I'm fed up with this.

It's not me no more.

I've done my time. I've served my time.

Another repeat offender, Graham Shiels,

is nearing the end of a 16 month sentence for robbery.

Graham is 32 and has been a shoplifter for over a decade.

He had a steady job, but gradually, crack cocaine took over.

I feel kind of guilty in the way that I've turned out.

But crack's quite a powerful drug,

and it drains your soul, kind of thing.

I was working for a commercial artists company at the time, Korean.

I lost my job there. I became unreliable.

I stopped eating.

So then I started going out shoplifting every day

like it was a job, kind of thing, getting up...

..go and hit a couple of shops, go and sell that,

put that money in my pocket...

go and smoke crack.

Graham's just one of those people who I've probably seen him

coming into prison probably six, seven times

in the space of 18 months.

We always have a bit of a conversation

about what had gone wrong for him this time.

How many times have you been in jail, Graham?

About 42 times.

Since '98, I started coming to jail,

so it's quite a few times.

42 times?

Yeah, including this time.

I know.

Graham will be out of prison again in three weeks.

This time, the authorities have him in their sights -

because he's a prolific offender,

it's a top priority to stop him committing crime.

Senol Bicer completes his prison sentence today.

He leaves Pentonville sober and focused.

Going home this morning.

Can't wait. Can't wait. Can't wait to get out of that door.

Can't wait.

Did you sleep last night?

No, not really. Not really. It's hard.

Yeah, I feel positive.

I don't want to do what I used to do,

come out and smoke drugs and drink and this, that and the other.

I want to come out straight-headed

and, know what I mean, want to change my way now.

Put your index finger on that red light...

Unlike many who walk out of these gates,

Senol will at least have somewhere to stay -

with his fiancee Nina.

You all right, babs?

I missed you so much.

I missed you.

Oh, baby.

In recent years, Senol has failed to stay out of jail for long.

Now he will try again.

Mick Norman lasted just two weeks outside jail.

Homeless, he shoplifted to get himself put back inside.

But this time, he was sent to a prison

where he didn't feel at home, and now he's out again.

-How are you?

-Hello, Michael. I'm very well. How are you?

All the better for getting out of there.

I've been all around the country,

-and I think it's the worst one I've been to.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

Was it different from Pentonville?

Different, I mean you get fed Sunday lunchtime,

you don't get another hot meal tillMonday night.

29 hours between meals.

Take me back to Pentonvlle. That's put me off jail.

Put me off from coming back.

Send everyone to Norwich!

Send everyone to Norwich, innit.

I've spent 14 and a half years, near enough, in prisons,

most of it on remand.

It's a fucking long time.

I'm getting nowhere fast. I'm getting older, slower,

chances of getting caught are a lot greater.

There's cameras everywhere. I'm known.

I'm sick of it.

Hopefully, it's my last look at a jail. Hopefully.

I can't remember what fucking normal was.

We're all mugs in prison.

I'm a mug for being in prison.

That's all I fucking know.

We all get on, we all know each other.

I've never gone to prison... 30 odd prisons I've been to,

I've never walked into prison and not known someone.

Always know someone.

"Hello, Mickey, how's it going, son?"

Same shit, different fucking day.

I live that side of the stadium.

They never show this side of the stadium.

Come here and have a look.

£10 billion. What, and they can't find me a fucking bed?

This is the proper Stratford.

That's the new stuff. Built for the image.

This is the old stuff. Stratford centre.

Come. Take you into my world.

I get my breakfast over there every morning, cos it's free.

If there's a big queue,

you can easily nick sandwiches and a bottle of Coca-Cola.

Life of a shoplifter, that's what it is.

Hey, look. I could sneak in here, walk there, I'm out of there.

Look, look, look.

Look.

Know what I'm saying?

There you go, there's 40 quid. I could go and get 15 quid on that.

No-one would notice, do you know what I mean?

So it all depends how it works.

I could say today,

"Fuck it, I'll be all right till after Christmas."

Go back to Pentonville, go to Belmarsh, I'll be all right.

Know the officers. Get on all right.

I don't want to.

I've done my last day in prison, as far as I'm concerned.

I've made me mind up.

Mick is homeless and has only his prison discharge grant to live on.

But, for once, he'll now seek money and shelter the legal way.

INAUDIBLE

Graham will shortly be released from prison,

and will complete the last eight months of this sentence

outside in the community.

At the local probation office,

plans are being made to handle his release.

Yep, Graham's coming out and we're going to take him

straight to Norman House.

Kevin's coming as well, the police officer,

so he's going to come with us in the car.

'He has a really poor record of compliance with probation,'

and he is literally a revolving door,

where it really is catch and convict,

catch and convict.

Cos he doesn't engage and he's never complied with any type of orders.

Graham has been put on a new scheme

called integrated offender management

which targets the most prolific criminals to stop them reoffending.

'This is the biggest stick and the biggest carrot that he's had.'

Inside jail, Graham gets work experience.

Outside, he'll have a job placement and a hostel place.

But if he doesn't play ball,

probation will send him straight back to jail.

If you reoffend, you'll be recalled till the end of your sentence.

-I feel different this time, I do.

-Yeah.

I don't know what it is, to say what I've done different

or anything like that, inside. I don't know whether it's to do with

maybe having been away a bit longer,

because in the past, prison hasn't worked for me.

If Graham can leave them prison gates

and stay clean for the first night,

then I'll be really, really happy with that

and really, also pleasantly surprised.

Senol has been out for 11 days.

He has got a place to stay with his fiancee, Nina,

but he's started drinking, and today he's been involved

in a serious car accident, which he can't remember.

HE GROANS

I just see you bounce off the fucking bonnet,

roll onto the top and roll off the back.

-Mm.

-All right? And I mean this kid's come quite fast,

I don't know what speed, but it was fast.

People weren't...just stopping in the street, everyone's like that,

women are crying, holding their mouths.

I'm screaming with blood all over my hands.

It just seems like nothing ever fucking happens right for him,

do you know what I mean?

Like many newly-released offenders,

Senol is also struggling to get his first regular benefits payments.

-I come out of prison about 14 days ago, yeah?

-Yeah.

It was, like, I'm due my money

and cos my claim ain't been sorted out, Miss,

basically, I've had to ask people on the streets for money and that,

which I have been doing. They're telling me

I've got to go back to the Job Centre, they've paid me incorrectly.

They give me £36 and I've got to go back

to put it in writing so they can fax it over, and then...

That's why I'm going to fucking commit crime.

Senol, you're too old for this shit now, man. Come on.

Just...it's not worth it.

Right, I'm not fucking having it, I'm not happy,

I'm not fucking happy at all.

I'm not fucking happy.

Fucking hell. So I've got to phone these people up

and try and get a crisis loan.

But you can't give me no money...?

Right, so how do I get my-my-my...my crisis loan done, then?

Fuck. That's a joke, man.

That's where I got knocked over. This is where I was, here.

That's where I was, here.

I was dead. I was dead.

I was dead, man.

I was dead.

I was dead, but...I'm still living.

How much is your Super Skol?

Senol has stayed drug-free,

but alcohol has him in its grip once again,

and he soon finds all his plans falling away.

If my dad was here, he would have helped me.

Yeah, but he's not, honey, so we've got each other, haven't we?

I just wish my Dad was here, man.

She's trying to say, "Are you all right?"

-No, I'm not.

-She knows that.

She can see Daddy's hurting. She can see Daddy's hurting.

I told you I'll come to bereavement counselling with you,

we'll deal with all that, we'll go anger management,

keep you occupied, and myself, you know?

We can get through this, hon, we can. HE SNIFFS

Do you know what I mean? We can, Bubba, we can.

(Baby.)

HE SIGHS Yeah? We're going to do this, yeah?

Try, yeah.

All right. Well, trying's better than nothing.

Three months after his release, Sean Kieran hasn't gone back to drink.

-How's it going?

-Good.

-Yeah?

-Good.

With help from a local charity,

he's taking the first steps to free himself from addiction.

At the moment, you're in a good place

and I haven't seen you in this place since I've known you.

'Bottom line, I'm turning my back on the booze.'

It sounds a bit vague but, you know...

..I've had sort of glimpses of happiness, you know?

Whereas before, I was just sort of like muddling through

and just coping and just...going through the motions,

if you like, of life.

Every time I see a bottle anywhere, every time I see a pub

or an off-licence, I mentally say "expeliamus" to it.

-Where's that from?

-From Harry Potter.

-From Harry Potter?

-Yeah.

That's a defensive spell. Yeah.

Graham will leave prison tomorrow.

Once he's out, he wants to stay clean

and rebuild bridges with his family.

See, my relationship with my dad's not...not a good one, kind of thing.

He's kind of old school, my old man is.

"What's drugs?" kind of thing, like.

"If you want to stop taking them, just stop taking them," kind of thing.

"It's easy. Just get a job." And I think that's what he thinks.

I don't know what he thinks cos I've never actually asked, kind of thing.

But he's not well.

And...I don't want to just go and fix up relationship

because he's not well, but I want to fix up relationship

so we can have a relationship, kind of thing.

Whether that means just coming round every couple of days to see

that they're all right, maybe take him to church or something.

I think he would like to do that if I could somehow do that.

What I need you to do is sign and date the copy of your licence.

16/3/12.

'My stomach starts churning butterflies, kind of thing.

'I'm excited, is what I am. I'm really excited about getting out.'

But that still doesn't take away the fact that...

..it's a bit of a frightening experience.

Most repeat offenders walk alone from the prison gate.

-HE LAUGHS

-The road.

You all right, Rachel?

Because Graham is on the IOM scheme, he is met by probation

and a plain clothes police officer.

The first hours and days outside are a critical period.

# So how can you tell me you're lonely? #

Mick Norman has been out two days.

He's still homeless and his prison cash is running out.

# I'll show you something that'll make you change your mind. #

This is where we live, at least we're under the shelter there.

Through that hole then through there's a big room,

but we ain't sure what's in there.

Get some candles in there, might be able to brighten it up. Bit of paper.

-Can you show me that?

-Yeah, of course.

In here, we've got a big lump of carpet, we haven't put it down yet,

We ain't sorted the floor out yet,

but we might put a bit of white emulsion on it,

get a few candles in there.

Brighten it up, that'll do for the winter if we've got nowhere.

-This is where we'll all be living.

-So you slept here the other night?

I've slept here since I come out, yeah.

-David's a ham-and-egger.

-Yeah, I beg, believe it or not.

-That's what he does.

But before that, I was in and out of jail all me life.

-How long have you been here, David?

-Six months?

-Six months.

-Yeah, this time. Six months on the road.

What's it like sleeping here every night?

Bad! Very, very bad.

It ain't nice cos you get people coming into the car park

and they look at you like you're a bit of shit.

But anyone could... They could all be homeless tomorrow.

Yeah. So that's life in Stratford.

DOGS BARK

Over the next days,

Mick persists with his attempts to get housing and benefits.

There's no possibility of housing anywhere coming out of that, is there?

Yeah. Don't laugh!

So are you ringing up about the Job Centre appointment

or about the community care grant?

I'm looking to see if there's accommodation available with you, still.

Then, Mick gets some welcome news.

His son, whom he hasn't seen for nearly two years, wants to meet him.

He's made contact with me, and since then we've been texting.

Hopefully, over the next day or two, I'll go and meet him when he's not busy and I'm not busy.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to it.

He said, "Dad, don't do it for Nan, for the family, for me.

"Dad, just keep with it." And that's really given me a boost today

and I've got to cos I was...

You need that support, you need a cuddle now and again,

you know what I mean? Yeah.

SIRENS BLARE

Today, Senol is at court.

He's due for sentencing on an old public order offence.

There's a risk he'll be sent back behind bars.

The outcome is crucial for his and Nina's future,

but he's drinking again.

In the middle of the hearing, Senol storms out of court.

What's going on, Senol?

My solicitor's saying now that cos they're saying

I ain't been cooperative with these lot, I could be going to prison.

The details of the court case become a flashpoint.

-You know, Senol, you don't listen to shit, mate.

-Babe, if you go in...

-How bout you do it, Nin?

-It's about the one down the St John's Way.

-Go over there...

-That's not the one. It's the St John's one they're on about.

Yeah, but they've got access to the computer.

You're taking that fuck over mine as well.

HE SHOUTS Yes, you are.

You're letting him talk to me like a piece of shit.

-She didn't take nothing out of his bank...

-Nah, fuck her.

Shut up, Senol, cos it's no-one else's business, yeah?

In the end, Senol wasn't given another prison sentence.

Instead, the court gave him a strict community order.

He must get treatment for his alcohol problem

under weekly supervision from probation.

Nina is now desperate for Senol to change.

It's fucking affecting me. I'm so upset.

Today even, again he was going to cause more trouble,

and we were waiting for a verdict sitting outside a fucking court.

I've made my fucking mistakes, I have, please believe me,

I have fucked up in my life, big time.

I have fucked up. Do you know what? I just want my life back

and it don't seem to be happening with this man.

Don't seem to be happening.

If you want to make a change, make a fucking change, man, do it.

Don't blame it on everyone else.

It's everyone else's fucking fault, innit?

"It's the system, it's this, it's that."

Fucking deal with it yourself. Sorry, that's nothing...

SIREN BLARES

Graham has been out three days.

Today, he is booked for a work placement as a trainee gardener.

MAGPIE CHIRPS

Every time he's left jail before,

he's gone straight back to crack cocaine, heroin and shoplifting.

But this morning, he's at work on time.

This is a Norway maple, yeah?

That's chickweed and I don't know what this one is.

-That's a leaf.

-BOTH CHUCKLE

This is positive, this is change, what I'm doing, I don't do this.

I don't... In the past, I haven't come out of prison

and gone into work or...anything like that.

I'm keeping myself busy and out of trouble by doing this, ain't I?

That's not to say I'm saying I've cracked it or anything.

It's the first day, but I hope it's the first of many.

In three days' time, Graham is due at probation.

In the past, he's never managed to attend.

-Half an hour late now.

-How long you going to be?

Hello?

Oh, brilliant, OK, thank you, bye.

-Graham Shiels is here.

-He's quick, he was quick.

I couldn't sleep last night.

Graham has got through his first five days out of prison.

How do you feel about how far you've come already?

I feel, I feel good about it.

You're going to your meetings, you're doing everything

that's required of you as well on your licence.

Just keep taking it one day at a time, but so far,

-I'm feeling really positive. Do you know what I mean?

-All right, Graham.

But Graham was about to get some tragic news.

One week after release and Mick is still on the streets.

But he's about to see his son for the first time in two years

and he wants to look his best.

-Look, this is a nice American pair of shoes.

-Reminds me of Steptoe and Son. Any old rags?

-Have a look. I don't know what size.

-They're nice shoes.

They're a bit worn off but... That doesn't matter.

Yeah, they fit as well, that'll do for me. Thank you.

-Yves Saint Laurent, look at that.

-Thank you.

-How are you feeling about it?

-Excited, nervous.

Um...he's a young man now, ain't he?

-There he is... Fucking hell!

-HE LAUGHS

-Hello, boy.

-You all right?

-You all right, yeah?

-Yeah.

-How've you been?

-I've been...

-The size of you!

-Huh?

-You look like your uncle, you do.

-SON CHUCKLES

-You do.

-All right. You all right?

-Good, yeah.

-All good, then?

-Come on, let's walk up here.

-Look at the size of you! Wow.

-Six foot two.

Fucking...

All Nana's done is praising you

and saying about how well you're doing,

and that you're actually trying.

Yeah, but college ain't going too bad, either.

-What are you studying?

-Performing arts.

Just performing arts?

-Yeah, it's a performing arts college.

-Oh.

-That's why I love it.

It's full of dancers.

There's, like, 40 or 50 girls going round the college in tutus all day.

I don't care what happens to me. If you never spoke to me again,

Nan didn't, Jackie didn't, everybody didn't,

I'd get on with it, I still wouldn't go back to prison.

I can't make fuck all up for you,

all I can do is tell you, I'll be there in the future.

-You will do. Don't get upset.

-I can't help myself, do know what I mean?

I fucking love you to bits, you know what I mean?

-You're me boy.

-You all right?

-Yeah, it's...just emotions, innit?

Oh, by the way, you're Little Michael, now!

I know, Little Michael now. I know! Yeah.

Whatever happens, I'm not going back to prison.

The drink and drugs is out the window.

If I have to sleep up a tree for the next three weeks, I will.

-I'm off, son.

-All right.

-I love you.

-OK.

-Listen, I'll give you a ring tomorrow, I'll give you a text.

-All right.

It's only when you get a bit older and you look at what you lost,

and the time you missed out on things,

that you realise what really matters.

At 43 now, I realise that what matters

is your mum and your dad and your family and your kids

cos without them, you've got fuck all.

Blinding, seeing him.

That's just given me the boost for the next few weeks, whatever I face.

I could not let that boy down again.

When we met Senol again, he'd spent the previous night sleeping rough,

believing his relationship was over.

-You're not in the flat any more?

-No.

So you've been sleeping on benches?

In the park, yeah, around Highbury.

I'm that close from committing a crime.

I haven't done it for five months, but I will.

I'm telling you, I will.

I just want my life on track.

That's all I'm crying for, man. My life on track.

It just seems I'm not getting it.

As part of his sentence, Senol's progress must now be

monitored every week by a probation officer.

Senol's - particularly his most recent offending issues -

are all linked to his alcohol very much.

Getting into altercations with people, becoming violent,

being threatening and abusive in his language and his behaviour

so that, I guess, is why the court was so keen to throw this opportunity

for the alcohol treatment because if Senol can look at that

and address that, a lot of the risk, you know, may dissipate.

Detox IS available for Senol,

but first he must attend group assessment

and so far, he's told probation that although he desperately wants detox,

he won't go to the group.

-SHOUTING:

-You're meant to be putting me in a fucking detox!

-What's going on, mate?

-OK...

-You're doing nothing.

Where's my detox? I want a detox!

-I know, we've talked about...

-No, no. You know what, Dan?

Let me tell you something.

Breach me, mate, breach me. Cos I'd rather do my detox in jail, innit.

-I want to do my detox in jail.

-OK.

Right, I'm getting pissed off waking up like this every fucking morning.

Dan, you know what, mate? Do what you've got to do,

I've come here, I've seen you, you're talking shit to me.

You haven't, you haven't let me talk at all.

All right, all right. Talk.

OK, look. So my understanding of the situation is there's also this thing

called the Options Group, which is down at the Margaret Centre,

which I think you would have to go to that as part of the...

What am I going to go and sit in a group for? For what?

-Because that's part of the process of being referred to a detox.

-No, no, no-no-no, no!

I'm not going, and I'm telling you that now.

Right, I've got a drink problem and I want help with it.

I'm not going to sit in a fucking group and talking shit.

Sorry, Dan, I'm not doing it.

It's really hard for me to help you when you come in like this,

-when you come - because...no...

-Hold on, are you blaming?

-I'm not, no.

-I'm sleeping in the park.

-OK. There's a lot of stuff...

Where are you sleeping? Where were you sleeping?

-That's not really relevant.

-No, it is irrelevant.

-Why is that relevant?

-Where are you sleeping? In a house or a flat?

-Yeah.

-Right, and I'm sleeping in the park.

-OK...

-Ha ha!

-What, that's not irrelevant?

-OK...

-Thank you.

-OK.

Graham was working at the garden centre

when his boss received a call.

'I had a phone call from this woman who introduced herself

'as Graham's mother.'

She said, "I've got some awful news, Graham's father's died."

I just said, "Graham, would you come back with me to the office?"

And he looked at me not knowing what's going on and I just said

"Sit down, I've got something to tell you."

'And I just did think, "Mmm, this is a likely trigger for him

'"to go back on the drugs again."'

Graham's not doing so well at the moment,

so he's been recalled on his licence.

Um... He provided three positive drug tests in a row.

You know, it's tragic. You see, you work with these offenders

and just as they're getting their foot on the ladder,

something else tragic happens.

Once probation have recalled Graham to prison,

it's the police's job to arrest him.

But Graham cannot be found at any known address.

He's on the run.

SIREN BLARES

For Senol, things are starting to go right, despite all his problems.

Seven months after leaving prison,

he is co-operating with probation and has got assessment for detox.

He has stayed off drugs, out of trouble,

and his bond with Nina survives.

He's my baby, I love him, I love him to bits.

'We want what I suppose everyone wants,

'we just want a normal life.'

I don't want to be meeting any other people, anyone else.

Do you know what I mean?

Can I talk to someone about getting married?

-Yep, just go to the registry office.

-Right.

-If you go straight down, first door.

These are the documents you need to bring,

you need to make an appointment for it,

you need to come in together for the appointment.

-We're getting married!

-HE LAUGHS

I can't wait, I can't wait, man.

It's the longest I've ever been out of prison.

Thanks to Nina, you know. If it weren't for Nina,

I don't know what I'd be doing now.

After four weeks of trying, Mick Norman finally got a place to stay.

Then, things moved on quicker than he could ever have imagined.

The place I've got, which is a studio flat,

it ain't Buckingham Palace but I'm grateful, you know?

It's big enough for me.

In that time, I've moved in there.

Within two weeks me boy's landed on me, my mum's rang,

"Can I take my son back?" Over the moon.

Who would've said that three months ago, or two months ago,

that you'll have your son live with you?

Mick's new role is to get a teenager out of bed in time for college.

I bet he's still asleep.

-DOLLAN:

-Morning.

-MICK LAUGHS

Things in the fridge, Dollan.

This is my place, anyway.

Yep. Nice, big room.

Yeah, got my kitchen there, got a decent bathroom there.

Decent shower, got plenty of toiletries up there and there,

plenty of towels, what else do you need?

When you're used to living in an eight-by-twelve cell for years,

I mean, this is like luxury, innit?

I spawned that.

DOLLAN AND MICK CHUCKLE

No, he's all right, he's good stuff. He's on his own journey, you know.

-What have you lost?

-Nothing.

-The blue ones are there.

I'm not looking for the blue ones. I've got them, got them.

-I've got to sort out the laces on them.

-Right.

Cos they got that tight the other day, yeah,

I literally had to cut the laces in order for me to get it off.

When we grew up, we used to have to undo our laces

-and then do them up when we put them on.

-No...

-Not just tie them up once, then slip them on.

First of all, my dad's been walking around in these, yeah?

Yeah, a £70 pair of exclusive Adidas trainers. Whose are they(?)

-Yours.

-Mine.

-Who cooks?

-Huh?

-Who cooks? Who does the shopping, who does the washing?

-Eh?

-No comment.

-"No comment"! Go have a shower!

My life revolved around crime, around addiction, around alcoholism.

Everything in my life that I thought was gone, lost,

never coming back,

for the last couple of years when I've been going back to prison

cos I've been homeless,

everything I've lost, I've suddenly got back.

I'm not allowed to fail. I don't want to fail.

Graham Shiels had been recalled to prison

after the death of his father

but he evaded arrest by the police for a month.

Now, he's back at Pentonville.

I was engaging this time, I know I mucked up.

-But I was trying...

-You were engaging brilliantly.

It was just a shame that you couldn't maintain that.

As mad as it sounds, I felt happy when I come back to jail

-cos I knew that was it.

-Yeah, it was over.

That was it. I thought,

I knew I didn't have to look over my back no more

-cos I'm walking down Holloway Road thinking, "Is this the time?"

-Yeah.

-When I did use, I weren't enjoying it, kind of thing.

-Yeah, yeah.

It's different if I was going out and enjoying the smoking

-or having a good time on it... I weren't.

-Yeah.

-We live and learn, don't we, Graham?

-Yeah, of course.

Graham's brief period of success on the outside

has given him some consolation.

He died five days after I got out, so...

I didn't get a lot of time with him

but...I'm just glad that he's seen me going to work

and doing positive things rather than...

I come out, spend my money on crack and heroin

and then I'm only coming round to borrow money, for instance.

The good news is, in my experience of probation,

the fact he went that far means that next time, he'll go that far

and hopefully we'll just keep getting a bit further each time.

Coming in and out of prison, things like that...

I know if I don't change, I'll be doing it again and again and again and again.

So, that's it.

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