The Art Of Incarceration

One thing that people often underestimate in modern society is how difficult it is being incarcerated. In Grime and Rap culture "catching a bid" is almost seen as a mark of respect, I will never understand how being dumb enough to get caught and imprisoned makes you some sort of respected member of the criminal fraternity. 

It isn't just about taking someone and locking them in a room as there is a lot more to it.

The first thing they do is break your psychology, long waits and desperation to get out of the excruciating boredom of being stuck in a blank room will make you more liable to talk and become compliant. You are told why you have been held in custody but you will not be given the opportunity to make your statement to defend yourself until a sufficient amount of hours have passed that you will tell them whatever you need to get out of that situation. 

You could wait up to 10 hours before even being interviewed, so that's 10 hours of constant boredom in 4 blank walls and a concrete floor and nothing but your thoughts and fears as company. If you are innocent this will drive you mad as you can't figure out for the life of you why you are in that situation in the first place. 

When you finally do get interviewed your interviewer will be viewing you with a critical mind and in your exasperated state they are hoping you will trip yourself up with your own statements. This can be a nightmare if you are innocent as you feel like you are already assumed guilty anyway which increases your anxiety and if you are guilty well get a solicitor as your dumb for getting yourself in that situation. 

Your interviewer will present you with evidence and it's your job to dispute the evidence so you have to look at it and take your time, look for inconsistencies or holes in the evidence. You have to have Actus Reus (To have committed the act) and Mens Rea (The intention to do so) to be charged for a crime so if it was an accident you didn't have intention (Mens Rea) or to provide an example of Actus Reus you accidentally pick up someone else phone that's identical to yours so you stole it but unintentionally and they accuse you of theft. 

Your every word is recorded and often you will be filmed during the interview process so you have to be mindful that anything you say can potentially be used against you in court. This interview process can feel very oppressive but you have to be clear and concise with your answers and consider the evidence objectively. 

Once the interview is over they will often try and charge you, most of the time they will try and charge you regardless to be honest and they are just doing their job they don't make the decisions. 

You will then spend a few more hours waiting for an organisation such as the CPS to decide whether or not they wish to charge you and this again will drive you insane. It's the anticipation of not knowing whether you are free and clear, being released on bail or being remanded in custody to attend court. 

If you are innocent you may still be released on bail while further investigations are undertaken and if you are caught bang to rights guilty well be expected for a stay at her Majesty's pleasure as they say. 

The Police and Military understand that often rather than hard interrogation techniques such as torture, the mind of the person in custody will often defeat them long before you do by giving them physical persuation promoting resentment and a reason not to tell you anything. 

The Ninja would use this technique by locking a person in a sell and putting food just out of reach and allowing the hunger to do the work for them. Then when the prisoner couldn't take it anymore and the starvation was kicking in they would tell their captors anything. 

The lack of physical stimulus in custody cells leaves you to ruminate for hours on end on every possible outcome and considering you are already in custody it feels like you may never get out. You have two options, sit and ruminate or try and sleep and that is no easy task on a hard plastic mattress. 

In the military they will even take this away from you, not allowing you to get any restful sleep and putting you in stress positions intermittently to make it excruciating to simply stand up straight. 

The long hours and no sense of time make an hour seem like 3 and the lack of freedom to go about your day is a major imposition. The psychological aspects of being in custody are used and leveraged to the full extent to make sure that you are more than willing to say just about anything just to get out of there. 

My point is more than simply being locked in a room incarceration is a mental game of endurance, can you take the hours upon hours of boredom, the desperation to get out, your mind making you ponder every possible negative outcome of the position you find yourself in? It's not easy and rather than and officer coming in and giving you a kicking to extract a statement from you, they will leave you until you defeat yourself mentally, all whilst playing the caring captor. 

My advice, don't get in that situation in the first place, but if you are innocent just be clear and concise and don't let them catch you out. If you are guilty, well you probably need a change of vacation or an epiphany and sorting your damn life out. It definitely is not a sign of respect being dumb enough to go to prison and losing your freedom.