Street-prison-street-repeat

My work as a doctor in a busy London remand prison includes evenings spent welcoming and caring for newly detained prisoners. It’s always busy, but especially during the winter when these shifts can go on until the small hours. Many prisoners have come (via police custody) from the cold streets. Often they are in a shocking state.

A huge number of the British homeless population has been imprisoned, and some even commit (or confess to) crime simply to get off the streets. A classic example is Anthony Kemp who, facing the prospect of homeless, decided to confess to a murder that he’d got away with for the previous 38 years! Unsurprisingly, he was then found guilty and sentenced to 15 and a half years in a jail equipped with heating and beds. Whilst we may be glad that he finally received justice, his story highlights the level of desperation experienced by people facing homelessness.

We need to do everything we can to improve prisoners’ rehabilitation and aftercare. Then they will leave prison with a far lower chance of becoming a frequent flier. Everyone deserves a warm, safe bed - but preferably outside of the bars.

The original version of this article was published in October 2021 by Fiona Woodhead (then a medical student and our IT & Social Media Assistant). We republished it on April 2026 after Dr Rachael Pickering gave it a refresh.

‘Depart from me… I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
Matthew 25:41-43