I know all prisons and jails are different but I can let you know what prison was like in England. I suppose I'm unusual in that I've been in prison both as a prison officer and a prisoner.
I was a prison officer for 3 years but left when another job came up.
Then about 2 years later I was back in prison but this time as a prisoner. I got a 3 year sentence and served 18 months of it.
I felt very ashamed and embarrased when I got sentenced in court. My family and my girlfriend were there and I could barely look at them as I was taken away. I knew how upset they were and that made me worse. The first few days were the worst as it is like entering a new world, even for me who had worked somewhere similar before.
Even the trip from court to prison is rough. I was taken from the court cells, handcuffed and put in a 'sweat box'. It's basically a prison van with tiny individual cubicles as cells and you are transported in a tiny cubicle about the size of a shower with barely enough room to stretch your legs and sitting on a really uncomfortable bench.
When I got to the prison it really is like you are no longer a person. After getting paperwork down it's time to hand over all your property - phone, wallet, watch - anything you have on you and it all goes into a box that you don't see again until you are released. Then I got strip searched, showered and given prison uniform - everybody just starts to look like everybody else. When I was a prison officer I remember just going through that process with the lads arriving and it was just part of the job but when you are the prisoner it is very different. Over here you get to spend a few nights on an induction wing for new prisoners so you have a few days to settle in before you get onto your proper wing.
I remember the first night in the cell just thinking about how I had ended up there. I had locked up plenty of cell doors but when it is you behind the door it is a big thing to know you are stuck there until they open it the next morning. All the smells, shouting and noise is much worse when you are locked up.
There are loads of different types of people in prison - some are grand and some are mad and some are just bad. You have to get on with your cell mate and realise that you are both in the same boat and just have to get on with it as best you can - same for the other prisoners.
You soon realise that you have no privacy. You can get searched anytime and your cell gets searched too. You're told when to eat, when to sleep, when you can have a shower, when you can make a call. You can't just go for a walk to clear your head or go down to the shop for a pack of smokes. The first few weeks was harder as I hadn't got a job and was waiting to do courses so I was locked up maybe 20 hours a day in a stinking cell with someone I didn't really get on with. But you just have to make the best of it.
After a few weeks I got a job as a cleaner so at least I got to spend a good bit of time out of my cell. Once you worked you got paid a few pounds a week which you could add to your canteen account (how you buy things like phonecards, sweets, smokes, shower stuff). Some people there would spend the whole day just hanging around in their cell - but I wanted to be out of it as much as possible.
The way it works here is that there are levels of privileges you get. You start off on standard but can get up to enhanced or even super enhanced or put down to basic. Whatever level you are on depends on the privileges you are allowed - if you get on enhanced you can get a better cell, longer visits, extra association time, allowed games, slightly higher allowance etc. I know some people give out about this but it works for both sides - when I was a prison officer we were totally outnumbered by prisoners so it was good having something to encourage lads to stay in line. As a prisoner it means you feel you are getting somewhere and it is in your own hands to make things a bit easier on yourself.
I was lucky that my family and gf stuck by me while I was in prison. I really looked forward to calling them and having visits when I could. You really look forward to visits but then they are over so quickly. The first visit with my parents was terrible when they come in and see you in your prison clothes and all teh guards around. I remember telling them I was fine and was getting on OK but it was so hard. It is desperate seeing them go back and yet you are still stuck in your cell when they are doing normal things. For the first while I was always thinking about what they were probably doing in the real world but that can drive you mad and get you down, better to focus on doing something useful to get through the day inside.
I was worried that my gf might dump me when I was in prison - she said she was going to stick by me - but you think all sorts when you have so much time to think. 2 weeks after I got sentenced she told me she was pregnant which was great news to me. It hurt alot to miss teh birth and not be there for her when she needed me but lie they say if you can't do the time, don't do the crime.
Everybody is very suspicious of each other in prison - guards and prisoners. The guards don't really trust prisoners and prisoners always think teh guards have it in for them. People hang around with people like them - colour, area where they are from, ages, football teams that they support and there can be hassle at times. I've seen TV about American prisons and it seems that gangs are huge there but not over here. The things taht get people into trouble are drugs, gambling, borrowing, trying to be the hard man or being seen as a grass. You can stay out of that **** easy enough. You have to do your best to avoid it - but most people I found are just trying to do their time and get back out and don't want to make trouble. Depending on who you are hanging around with things can just kick off and it is hard to just keep out of it but you have to try your best .
It is the most amazing feeling getting released, getting your personal things back and walking out that gate a free man. You can't understand it unless you've been through it. I am out nearly 3 years out now and finished being on license (parole) and things have been going alright. My girlfriend stuck by me though and having a kid now is the biggest reason to stay out of trouble and not go back inside.
I actually started studying for a degree in prison - something I never would have done before so there are always some good things to come from any situation.