An inspirational woman has told of her incredible journey from her tough childhood on the council estates in Bristol to being in charge of a prison. Jade Sampson left school at 13, with no qualifications.
After sofa surfing and even spending time in a hostel, Jade eventually got a job in the prison service and has never looked back. With a female governor and deputy governor running HMP Bristol for the first time in its 141-year history, Jade said she was given the support to climb the ranks quickly since joining the service just six years ago.
And ahead of International Women’s Day (Saturday, March 8), the 35-year-old is sharing her story to inspire others. 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 per cent of staff in post across HMPPS are women, including 41.7 per cent of staff within prisons.
Jade joined HMP Bristol in 2019 as a prison officer and says a career in the prison service can be for anyone. She said: “I had a difficult childhood in Bristol and we did the loop of Bristol council estates. I left school at 13 and lived with friends, sofa surfed then was housed at 16 by the local authority.
“I was in a hostel room on my own, which could be quite scary but then I got my own place and had my children and that changed my life. I had different jobs, like teaching judo to children with behavioural difficulties and running after school clubs but I wanted a full-time role and saw a job advert for a prison officer.
“It turned out that I was good at it and now I am a duty governor, which means I take it in turns with other senior colleagues to be responsible for the running of the prison.. I’m a huge advocate of lived experience. My background and my personal life helps me and being a black belt in judo has taught me how to control my emotions which is so important.
“I genuinely care and prisoners know that. There’s a story behind every prisoner.”
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Accelerate Action’, with a call to speed up gender equality.
Like Jade, all 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. They will play a crucial role in supporting the prison system through challenging times, with prisons until recently close to full.
Some 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.
Jade added: “I was nervous on my first day but also excited. My supervising officer was a woman and seeing that straight away gave me the faith that I could progress.
“There are lots of things you can learn on the job but the ability to see people for who they are and never losing sight of the person is the biggest skill. Every day is different and you get snippets of seeing people changing. There are 20 to 30 prisoners here who I know I can speak to and de-escalate in any situation.
“I have had handwritten cards from prisoners, which feels amazing, and is why I do one of the hardest jobs. In an ideal world every prisoner will have somebody. The prison service has been great to me. The flexibility and support I received last year during a difficult time personally was second to none. I put in but they gave it back.”