Banged Up

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett presents this hard-hitting documentary series in which ten youths spend ten days in prison. Each teenager has convictions ranging from theft to assault, but none of them have ever served time behind bars.

In a unique experiment, they find out what life in prison is truly like for the first time – but will it be enough to change their ways? In the final instalment, with two days remaining in the experiment, the inmates must prove to the parole board that they have sworn off a life of crime.

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett presents this hard-hitting documentary series in which ten youths spend ten days in prison. Each teenager has convictions ranging from theft to assault, but none of them have ever served time behind bars. In a unique experiment, they will find out what life in prison is truly like for the first time – but will it be enough to change their ways? In this instalment, the inmates face the parole board for the first time.

Former Home Secretary David Blunkett presents this hard-hitting new documentary series in which ten youths spend ten days in prison. Each of the teenagers has convictions ranging from theft to assault, but none of them have ever served time behind bars. In a unique experiment, they will find out what life in prison is truly like for the first time – but will it be enough to change their ways? In the opening instalment, the ten youths arrive at Scarborough Prison and face a tough time settling in to their new routine.

Criminal Activities: Burglary and street robbery

Daniel’s mum is very concerned about her son who has been in trouble with the police. Both her ex-husbands are in prison as is her brother. She feels that due to Danny being bullied at school he now bows to peer pressure and will do anything people ask of him to get their approval.

Criminal Activities: Criminal damage and drunk and disorderly

Benjamin hasn’t lived with his parents for two years. He is a constant source of worry to his parents and they hope that he will soon sort himself out and move back home. They are concerned about Benji’s drinking and feel that it is out of control and has a direct consequence on his behaviour. They want him to curb his drinking and hopefully that will keep him out of trouble.

Benjamin said: “I reckon I’m going to cope with it, I reckon I’ll probably have a bit of a riff with some of the boys and tell them who’s boss, but I don’t reckon it’ll be that bad.”

Criminal Activities: Robbery and assault

Curtis’s father is currently serving a thirty year prison sentence. Curtis’s behaviour is already showing early warning signs that he may follow in his father’s footsteps. Growing up in a deprived area it is easy for Curtis to meet the wrong people.

Curtis said: “I reckon if I did end up getting locked up, if I just kept my head down and do what I had to do and then I’m out, I could handle it alright. Some people can handle it, they don’t mind because it’s another way of earning status.”

Dr Kennedy is Consultant in Clinical & Forensic Psychology at the Northern Forensic Mental Health Service for Young People at St Nicholas Hospital, Newcastle. Jack works in one of the only national services dealing with young people with mental health issues.

His expertise is in dealing with youth offenders who have committed a range of crimes from serious sexual or violent crimes to more minor offences. He enjoys working with this age group the most and is the reason he came to work in Newcastle. He sees this age group as the more creative with more possibilities for change.

Criminologist Martin Glynn has a masters degree in criminology coupled with 20 years experience as a practitioner working with offenders. During this time he has worked as a consultant on a variety of projects with different prison services across the country including Manchester and West Midlands.

This has involved working in all categories of prisons and coordinating a variety of different workshops including one centred on gun crime and gang affiliation.

He is currently working on a ‘Desistence’ programme and works with youths to try to get them to turn their backs on crime. He has written comprehensively on male hierarchy in prisons and also runs a number of workshops in prisons which are centred on gang affiliation.

Dr Baffour a Chartered Clinical Psychologist is the Managing Director of Ace Psychology Ltd. Dr Baffour also holds positions as of Head of Psychology for St Luke’s Hospital Group and is one of the Board of Directors for BUBIC; a substance misuse service for people in the community.

Dr Baffour graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology from Middlesex University. Soon after graduating she was employed as a Visiting Lecturer at Metropolitan University and began reading for her PhD.

She graduated from the University of East London with a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Before becoming the MD for Ace Psychology she worked in the NHS as a clinical psychologist with clients with a range mental health problems.

Dr Baffour has delivered a number of training sessions on the following issues; Eating Disorders, Child Sexual Abuse, Learning Disabilities, Psychosis, Substance Misuse, Personality Disorders, Stress Management and Confidence Building.

Professor David Wilson is currently Professor of Criminology, Member of the Centre for Criminal Justice Policy and Research at Birmingham City University. David has worked as a Prison Governor at a variety of establishments and at the age of 29 became the youngest governing Governor in the country.

In 1995 he became Head of Prison Officer Training for England and Wales, and as such was responsible for all training related to riot command, physical education, induction training, and specialist training related to serious incidents.

David has represented HM Prison Service all over the world. He has published widely on the Criminal Justice Service (CJS) and is the Editor of The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice. He appears regularly on the TV and radio both as a commentator and as a presenter.

Rt Hon David Blunkett MP is a British Labour Party politician who was born in Sheffield. He was educated at schools for the blind in Sheffield and Shrewsbury. He then went on to win a place at the University of Sheffield, and became the youngest-ever councillor on Sheffield City Council at the age of 22. At the 1987 general election he was elected MP for Sheffield Brightside.

He became a party spokesman on local government, joined the shadow cabinet in 1992 as Shadow Health Secretary, and became Shadow Education Secretary in 1994. At the start of the Labour Government's second term in 2001, Blunkett was promoted to Home Secretary.

Banged Up is a ground breaking new series featuring former Home Secretary David Blunkett. The show, made by Shine North, tackles head-on the sensitive issue of juvenile behaviour and rehabilitation.

In a bold social experiment, Blunkett heads the ‘parole board’ of a ‘prison’ that mixes reformed criminals with juveniles on the cusp of a life of crime.

This four-part series works in conjunction with pupil referral units, charities, youth groups, community projects and concerned parents to offer an insight into life ‘inside’, identify the youngsters who could benefit from the experiment and offer a whole new perspective on the debate surrounding youth crime – and punishment.

Each contributor has a very different story to tell and we follow them on their own personal road to rehabilitation. First-hand accounts and testimonies from former criminals underline the consequences of what you can expect if you choose a life of crime.