Preparing for the Next Stage - Advice from a Safer Lives Client Who Has Been Through Investigation and Prosecution

The time between being arrested and your case coming to a conclusion, whether that is in court or as no further action, can be extremely stressful and difficult for you and for your family. The anxiety, stress and trauma can negatively affect your physical and mental health if you don’t proactively take steps to look after yourself. 

I was lucky to have support from Andy at Safer Lives which started a few days after my arrest and which continued all the way through the investigation process, the court process and then, in my case, a prison sentence. Andy helped me through that time and gave me valuable advice on how to prepare myself for each stage of the process. Based on that advice and my own experience here are some things I learned: 

Focus on your mental health.  

I use techniques such as journalling and mindfulness to help manage anxiety, stress, shame and negative thoughts. I hadn’t used these techniques before my arrest, but they massively helped me all the way through the process and through my time in prison.  

Get the help you need.  

This is an opportunity to really understand the factors in your life which caused and contributed to the behaviours which have led to this situation. It may well be painful and difficult to face those issues but help is available and it works.  

Being able to describe why you behaved as you did and to demonstrate that you have strategies to avoid that behaviour reoccurring is important for your own long-term health and well-being. It also really helps when dealing with the judicial process and the Prison and Probation Service if you can authentically explain the work you have done and the insight you have gained to avoid reoffending in the future.  

Get as physically healthy as you can.   

Exercising regularly is good for your mental and physical health and will help you get through the waiting period. If your case does not lead to a prison sentence, then you have the chance for an immediate fresh start and being fit and healthy will give you the best platform to start this new period of your life. If the outcome is a prison sentence, then you will do much better in prison if you are fit and healthy at the start of your sentence. Healthcare services in prison are not always great so being as healthy as you can will limit your dependency on services such as prescription medication or GP help and make life in prison less stressful. 

Reduce the things you depend upon.  

It can be tempting to rely upon alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, tobacco or other addictions to help you get through one of the most difficult periods in your life. However, being dependent on these things will make it harder for you to move forward whatever the outcome of your case and will especially make your life harder if you do go to prison as you will be dependent upon things you can’t access.  

Save money (if you can) 

You might find it harder to work as your case gets closer to a conclusion and there are costs related to criminal cases such as court fees and legal fees. If you do receive a prison sentence then you won’t be able to work and you will also have costs such as phone calls, money to buy toiletries and food in prison and the costs to your family of visiting you in prison. If you can save some money while you are waiting for your case to complete, then it will help you later whatever the outcome.  

Try and look forward

The period of waiting for my case to complete was the most stressful and anxious time of my life. Serving a prison sentence was hard and difficult. However, through the support of Safer Lives and being proactive in following advice and guidance I survived both experiences and I am now able to start rebuilding my life and important relationships.  

However dark things seem at the moment, try to look forward to a time when you will want to move forward and use that as motivation to get yourself as ready as possible to deal with whatever the next stage demands from you and your family.