Criminal (Paperback)

'Compelling, urgent and devastating. Criminal tells the stories from within our prisons that many - not least those in power - would rather went untold. How we treat the vulnerable, the broken and the irredeemable defines our humanity. Angela Kirwin's heartbreaking, beautifully rendered true-life tales forensically expose uncomfortable truths about how we order our society, how we relate to each other, and what we must change. A triumph' - The Secret Barrister

'A funny, heart-breaking and utterly authentic journey inside prison. Everyone needs to read this book' - Dr Amanda Brown, author of The Prison Doctor

'A brilliant, heartfelt, deeply moving and utterly enraging account of life inside Britain's failing prisons system. The chasm between the political rhetoric of 'Prison Works' and the reality of a system shredded by austerity is growing ever wider and this book from someone who has worked on the frontline should act as a wake up call for radical change. We are wasting billions on perpetuating failure, making rehabilitation harder than ever, destroying lives and contributing to crime rather than bringing it down' - Alastair Campbell

'Fascinating and necessary, Criminal is a deeply humane look at an often inhumane system' - Sarah Langford, author of In Your Defence

'This is an astonishingly powerful and authentic portrait of today's fatally flawed prison system. Angela Kirwin writes compellingly and researches meticulously. She weaves together her eyewitness narrative and her reforming zeal into a compelling story which should shake our national conscience' - Jonathan Aitken

'A breath-taking account of the UK's crumbling prison system. Kirwin's wealth of experience matches insight, moral clarity, compassion and the ability to find humour and hope in even the darkest of corners. Deserves to be spoken of in the same breath as The Secret Barrister as an unflinching breakdown of how our criminal justice system is failing society. Every politician and decision-maker involved in our prisons should be placed on 23-hour lockdown and made to read this book' - Nick Pettigrew, author of Anti-Social