Founded 1980
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Graham Smith
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AN EX-PRISIONER governor has released her debut memoir detailing her time in some of Worcestershire’s toughest prisons.
The book, entitled ‘Gate Happy: The Extraordinary Life and Times of a Prison Governor’ centres around Barbara Treen’s time as Governor of HMP Brockhill in Tardebigge.
It describes her 29 year career as a Prison Governor, working in four male and two female prisons, eventually becoming the most senior person responsible for Women Offenders in the Prison Service.
Barbara said: “Throughout my time as a governor I had to establish my authority as a woman governor in the service and to improve terrible conditions.
“I investigate corruption and experience nerve-wracking episodes such as escapes, riots, bomb threats, assaults, hostage taking, industrial action, serious self-injury and suicide.”
As a Governor she worked at HMP Lewes, HMP Wormwood Scrubs, HMP Aylesbury and HMP Woodhill and was appointed Governor of HMP Brockhill in 2002.
Barbara added: “After I retired from the Prison Service my children often tried to nag me into writing about my life and career.
“I hid much of it from them at the time due to their age. The arrival of lockdown took away any excuse for delaying longer.
“Prison life is full of excitement, violence, humour, pain and a daily effort to keep people safe.
“I hope that the book helps shed some light on what life is really like ‘inside’ both for the incarcerated and for the prison staff who have to deal with often extremely challenging and harrowing situations.”
She retired from the Prison Service in 2013.
Barbara works now as a jobbing professional actor.
(Bromsgrove Standard 24/09/2022)
Committee Members
An elected body drawn from RPGA members are responsible to the Association members for the day to day running of the RPGA.
Members are elected at the AGM and serve a four year term of office, but may be re-elected to serve further terms of office at the end of their four year term.
The current committee members are:
Barbara Treen
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Barbara was born in 1962 and grew up as an only child in Brighton Sussex. In 1983 after graduating from Aberystwyth university with a degree in International Politics and Political Science she joined the Prison Service as a trainee Assistant Governor. She began her service, as she was under 24, with a year as a Prison Officer at HMP Holloway. As a Governor grade she then worked at HMP Lewes, HMP Wormwood Scrubs, HMYOI Aylesbury and HMP Woodhill.
She then spent two years as Staff Officer to the Chilterns Prison Service Area Manager and two years seconded to the Thames Valley Partnership - a crime reduction charity. Barbara became Governor in charge of HMP/YOI
Brockhill in 2000 and in 2005 she was appointed Head of the Women’s Team for the Prison Service. She retired from the Prison Service in 2013 as a Senior Manager B. Barbara now spends much of her time volunteering for the Samaritans which includes regular public speaking engagements at schools and colleges and other organisations, and is an occasional jobbing professional actor. She is married to Robert and they live in Warwickshire.
They have two daughters one of whom, Jennie, is a Chartered Engineer for Transport for London and the other, Lorna, who is a character comedian, performing as Lorna Rose Treen.
Barbara has published a book: ‘Gate Happy - The Extraordinary Life and Times of a Prison Governor.
Publications by Barbara Treen
