Bipolar Mum Journey

As you know I grew up surrounded by crime, not just hearing about it, but living it. The people in my world weren’t just criminals; they were family, friends, the ones who shaped my understanding of right and wrong. In that world, almost anything was fair game, with just two unbreakable rules: no rape, no crimes against children. Everything else? That was just life.

One of my closest friends is a traveller. Without saying too much, he once took a hammer to a man and beat him to death. He served his time, more than enough of it but that’s just one story among many.

As for me, I’ve done my fair share. Some things I’ve been caught for, plenty I haven’t. Most of my friends have seen the inside of a cell. In fact, I probably know more ex-cons than I do law-abiding citizens. That’s just the way it is.

I’ve witnessed more crime than I care to recount, and I’ve taken part in enough to know how the game works. The things I’ve seen on Chalkhill Estate in Wembley Park alone could fill a book, but some stories aren’t mine to tell.

Even my kids haven’t been spared from it. They’ve seen murder up close, witnessed the kind of chaos no child should ever have to experience. They’ve lived through things most adults will never understand. My son was even stabbed in the arse.

Maybe that’s why true crime has never fascinated me. For those who’ve never touched that life, I get it, it’s thrilling, mysterious, almost addictive. But when you’ve lived it, when you’ve seen the blood on the pavement and heard the cries in the night, it stops being entertainment. It’s just reality.

That being said, there’s one thing I’ve never quite understood, the obsession with prisoners. Some of society thrive on writing to prisoners, prison officers and staff can’t seem to keep their hands off the inmates. Time and time again, we see headlines about professionals crossing the line, getting involved with inmates. Just the other day, another officer was caught in the act.

What is it about prisoners that draws people in? Is it the danger? The power imbalance? The thrill of the forbidden?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Does true crime fascinate you? And if so, why?