The Prisoner Who Won't Come Out
At 14:10, prisoner Khan (cell 22) refuses to leave for his education class. He has been on the wing for three weeks and has been increasingly withdrawn; staff have noticed he is not eating much. He is shouting that 'there's no point' and that staff are 'all the same'. He has not been violent. There is no intelligence suggesting weapons or self-harm, but he has an ACCT history from a previous prison.
You are the officer on the landing. Two colleagues want to 'go in and get him' before the class register closes at 14:30. The education department will mark him as refusing. The wing is otherwise calm.
1. What is your approach, and what do you say to your colleagues?
Read the worked answer
Approach: this is a de-escalation and welfare situation, not a forced-extraction one. There is no immediate risk to life and no weapon intelligence, so a physical entry at 14:10 would be disproportionate and likely to escalate.
Say to colleagues: 'He's not violent and there's no intel - going in now makes this worse and we'd own that. Give me ten minutes to talk to him through the door.'
Do:
- Speak calmly through the door, use his name, acknowledge the frustration ('sounds like things feel pointless right now').
- Ask open questions; listen for self-harm risk given the ACCT history and not eating.
- Offer a smaller step (come out for 10 minutes, or a chat with an officer) rather than 'go to class or else'.
- Keep colleagues briefed and nearby but not crowding.
Reasoning: the goal is compliance and safety. Force is lawful in the right circumstances but should be the last resort, not the first response to shouting.
2. He still won't come out by 14:25. What do you do now?
Read the worked answer
Do not force it to beat a register deadline. Log him as not attending education and explain why. Escalate to the duty manager/security and request a welfare and ACCT review, flagging the not-eating and the previous ACCT history.
If risk indicators escalate (e.g. he says he will harm himself, or stops responding), treat it as a potential emergency: follow the ACCT/emergency response procedure, summon healthcare and the manager, and consider a cell entry only under proper authorisation.
Reasoning: a class register is an administrative deadline; a prisoner's safety is not. The exam is testing whether you can resist false urgency and escalate correctly.
3. What safeguarding and equality considerations apply?
Read the worked answer
Safeguarding: withdrawal, not eating, hopeless statements, and a prior ACCT history are recognised risk indicators - he should be considered for ACCT/open plan and a mental-health referral, not just treated as 'non-compliant'.
Equality/diversity: consider whether language, cultural or religious factors, or a disability/neurodivergence, are affecting his engagement - ask, don't assume. Ensure any intervention is applied consistently with how other prisoners would be treated.
Recording: document what you observed (not eating, statements made) factually and pass it on through the correct channels.
Reasoning: the exam tests that you can spot vulnerability behind behaviour and act on it, rather than labelling the prisoner as difficult.