By Caroline Smith
Having worked for ten years as Senior Chaplain for Prisons in Western Australia, Paul Gill was in a good position upon retirement to write about the experiences facing chaplains and the people they encounter – be they prisoners, their families or even victims of crime.
And, with his 2015 book, Opening the Doors: A Prison Chaplain’s Life on the Inside, Gill did exactly that – knitting together stories and facts about the prison experience to provide an insight into this world, and a helpful guide to anyone wanting to work within it.
Gill began his chaplain experience in 2000, after working as an Anglican Minister in Australia and Birmingham in the UK, with the latter experience in particular bringing him into contact with homeless people and those in equally difficult situations who came to his church for help.
However, in the book, he acknowledges that working with people in prison is different, saying that chaplains need to be “in it for the long haul” in order to build trust with prisoners, as well as acknowledging that their role is different from that of a social worker or psychologist because they must “embody Jesus Christ as far as is humanly possible, and give people a sense of hope”.
Of the book’s nine chapters, the longest is Living in the Nick which describes the way prisoners live, how they are perceived by outside society, and the problems of violence, self-harm and suicide. It also details the different issues of young and older prisoners, looking in particular at what it might be like to spend your 18th birthday in prison, or what it means to live out most of your life there.
Gill also dedicates an entire chapter to the issue of drugs and alcohol – discussing the prevalence of drugs in the wider community and in prison, how those incarcerated come to be addicts, the role drugs play in their lives, and the interplay between drug addiction and prison life. Perhaps surprisingly, he also criticises war on drugs-type policies and uses Holland as an example of how treatment and prevention can be combined to discourage people from taking drugs while not locking them up for minor drug offences.
The role of faith in prisoners’ lives is also addressed, with Gill proposing that Christianity contains a certain earthiness in its approach to God, which may resonate with those in prison and other tough circumstances. In particular, he refers to Jesus’ life, being born in a stable and associating with many of the downtrodden and rejected of society. Also discussed is the prisoners’ response to chaplains generally, the value of meditation, and some prayers and Psalms which may help them reflect on their experiences.
One particularly valuable aspect of the book is its discussion of issues affecting Aboriginal people, not only in prison but the wider social environment as well. This is done through a discussion of Aboriginal people’s place in Australian history, their experience of colonialism, and the role of Indigenous culture and spirituality in the lives of prisoners. For example, Gill tells the story of lore man, Jacko, who is valued by other Indigenous prisoners because of his connection to cultural traditions and knowledge.
While the book gives ample information on prisoners’ past and present – how they came to jail and how they experience it – there is also a strong focus on where they will go in the future, and how their crime impacts on other people, including family members and victims. It also touches on different approaches to justice (punitive, rehabilitative and restorative) and gives some examples of the latter.
Opening the Doors, published by Make Your Mark Publications, is available for $24.95 from St John’s Bookshop in Fremantle, Fremantle Prison Gift Shop, the State Library bookshop, St George’s Cathedral Bookshop, The Subiaco Bookshop, Crow Books in East Victoria Park and St Philip’s Anglican Church in Cottesloe, as well as Koorong booksellers.