Dochas Centre

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back onto Boards and let you all know how I got on!

I only had to spend a day in the Dochas center… although that was definitely enough for me. It is not a nice experience at all and I found it an eye opener. I met a lot of other girls during the days and some of the stories are sad. The center itself is ok and the staff were nice enough.

I made arrangements with the Garda to go into the station at 9am to be brought to the Dochas Center. when I got there I was brought into the station and arrested officially and then they go through the warrant to make sure you understand. They then put me in a cell until we were ready to leave. The cell is f*cking horrible. There is a toilet in the floor and this was not flushed properly and there was piss all on the floor. There was spit on the walls and the "bed" is this plastic blue mattress with an old looking blanked and there was blood and urine stains at the end of the bed! I stood in the middle of the cell trying not to breath!!!
I was brought to the prison with another girl (who had no tv license and didn't pay the fine) in a "paddy wagon"!!! I had never seen the inside of one of these and I was shocked. You are put in a cage at the back of the van. It is made of metal and there are no seat-belts or handles to hold onto … we had to drive for almost two hours to get there and we were sliding around the back of the van. The other girl with me also smoked and was smoking away.
When we got to the center we were handed over by the guards to a prison warden and she gave the Garda a receipt for us! You are then patted down and have to go through a metal detector and they take anything you have and keep it for you. We were brought to a really small room where there were another two girls and locked in by a prison guard. About half an hour later we were called out individually and processed. They measure your height, weight and take your photograph. They also ask why you didn't pay the fine etc… I explained how I had found it hard to save the total amount but that I have saved 450. They took the 450 as payment towards the fine and said that they would send the paperwork through and we would see. We had arrived at the prison at about 12 and this was around 1.30 or so. At about 2 they came and took us out of the little room and moved us into another waiting room that had about another 10 girls waiting. Some had come from court and were waiting to see if they could get bail and some were on fines. I have to say that I found it very intimidating .. there was a heroin addict that was scratching and coming down and a couple of really rough inner city girls who had been fighting and then a couple of travelers… the mood was very tense. The room were you are locked into is small and has only a tiny window up at the top of the wall that is not open. Most of the girls were smoking and my eyes were stinging from the smoke (not that I was going to complain) I was suppressed that you are allowed to smoke.. there are no ash trays so everybody just puts the butts out on the floor. They brought in lunch and it was some sort of pie and peas. I am not sure what was even meant to be in the pie (I didn't eat any), I am a fussy eater but this smelled disgusting… You also get a carton of low fat milk to drink! At about 6 pm a couple of us were called out of the room and told that we were being given temporary release and could go. You get a TR sheet with your picture on it and your prisoner number and details. Mine for 14 days and you have to carry the form with you at all times and you are not allowed into licensed premises and have to keep the peace. Once I don't get into any trouble in that time then its over for me!

Overall it may not sound too bad but its not something I want to repeat!!!