No Easy Road

Originally published in 1969, Sallie Trotter was the first woman social worker ever appointed in Britain to work inside an all-male prison – Wandsworth, in fact – with more freedom than had hitherto been offered to anyone not strictly of the prison staff. She was made responsible for the welfare and rehabilitation of over 1,500 men, none of them first-offenders. No Easy Road is the product of an experience that is quite unique.

The first part is an account of her experiences within the prison walls, of the prison and its staff and of the criminals themselves; also of the day to day routine and problems raised by her unusual situation as a woman among so many tough and possibly dangerous men. The second part considers the theories of others with regard to treatment of the criminal and the author’s own attempts to analyse them. The third part is devoted to the author’s own ideas, for instance, on rehabilitation, the moral issues, and the factors that turn a man into a criminal.

It is a serious book, but the author brings a completely fresh mind to bear on problems which have for too long been a male monopoly, whether the writers have been former officials and inmates, or outside critics and reformers. This new viewpoint seems to have been highly successful in the prison itself, and it certainly makes her book wholly absorbing. She has many valuable ideas to contribute and many interesting stories to relate, and the way in which her own personality emerges is particularly striking.

With prisons and prisoners still very much in the public eye, this study continues to hold relevance today.