Cui Bono – Who Benefits?

Agnieszka left Poland 15 years ago and built a successful career in education administration in England. For over a decade she worked in senior roles, building a stable life. But three weeks ago everything changed. She was picked up off the street by the Metropolitan Police and told she was wanted on an extradition warrant from Poland for a historic offence.

When she was very young and struggling with severe depression, Agnieszka was exploited by men she barely knew. They set up companies in her name, took out loans, and left her bankrupt. Fifteen years later, their crimes have come back to destroy her life.

At Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the judge granted her bail but set a very high cash amount. She could not pay it immediately, so she was remanded to HMP Bronzefield, a private women’s prison run by Sodexo Ltd.

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Thrown Into Chaos

From the moment she arrived at Bronzefield, Agnieszka was rushed through reception while still in shock and completely traumatised. She was given no information about her rights, what she could do, or what to expect. She managed to retrieve only one phone number from her mobile before it was taken and stored away. At the reception counter, an officer warned her that they were watching her and told her not to try using her phone for anything else.

That one number was not enough. Her banking app, the only way she could transfer her bail money, is on her phone which is still locked in reception. Since her arrival she has repeatedly contacted the prison’s Offender Management Unit (OMU) using the electronic pod system, asking for help so she can charge her phone, access her banking app, and pay her bail. No one has assisted her.

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A Broken System

Three weeks have now passed. The holiday period is over and Agnieszka has had to inform her employer that she is incarcerated. Every Friday she has been brought to Westminster Magistrates’ Court by Serco, the company that holds the prison transport contract. Each journey costs the public around £1,100 one way.

She has stood before the district judge three times. Each time, the judge has scolded her for failing to pay her bail. Each time, she has tried to explain that she has no access to her phone, no internet, and no way to transfer funds. Each time, the judge has refused to believe her.

This shows a disturbing disconnect between what judges assume about prisoners’ situations and the reality of life in custody, especially for women. It is not as simple as picking up a phone and making a payment. Without access to contacts, bank details, or online banking, arranging bail is almost impossible.

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Ignored, Isolated, and Forgotten

Agnieszka has begged her prison offender manager, Isobelle Rodriguez, for help. She has written complaints to Charlotte Wilson, the governor of HMP Bronzefield. She has also appealed to Natasha Munsford, the head of the Offender Management Unit. Not one of them has replied.

She has been told she cannot go back to reception to retrieve more phone numbers and that she should have taken all the numbers she needed at once. Without access to her phone, she cannot contact her friends, her bank, or a solicitor. She does not qualify for legal aid because she has savings, yet she has no way to access them from inside prison.

Even Women in Prison, a charity that came to see her, ticked some boxes and left. “Nobody cares about me,” she said. “My whole life is ruined. I have been asking them to help me pay my rent. I just need to make one phone call. They will not even let me do that. I am going to lose everything. I am going to lose my job, my home, and I will be stuck here until they extradite me.”

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The Cost to Everyone

There used to be a bail officer in every prison, but the Ministry of Justice cut that post to save money. Now the responsibility lies with the prison offender manager. In a private prison like Bronzefield, which is run for profit by Sodexo, there is little incentive to help prisoners secure bail and leave.

So far, Agnieszka’s incarceration has cost the taxpayer £2,500 per week, totalling £7,500, plus four round trips to Bronzefield at approximately £4,400. That is nearly £11,900 spent to keep a highly paid professional, who poses no risk to the public, locked up instead of allowing her to return to work and continue paying taxes and contributing to society. If she loses her job and her home, the cost to the public will only grow.

When justice is privatised and punishment becomes a source of profit for companies like Sodexo, Serco, and G4S, we must ask the question: who benefits?

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Have information about HMP Bronzefield?
Are you a former officer, a current staff member, or do you know someone incarcerated there? Please get in touch.

Issue 14 of The View out now: https://theviewmag.org.uk//product/the-view-issue-14/

📧 Email: hello@bronzefieldactiongroup.org.uk
 @PrisonersForPalestine, @MoJGovUK, @HMPPS, @ShabanaMahmood, @JamesTipson, @SolidarityApothecary