Russell Brand instructed to ‘watch his step’ in jail as he’ll be ‘lowest of the low’
Convicted rapist Russell Brand has been warned to keep his head down in prison – as fellow inmates will regard him as the “lowest of the low”. The serial sex predator will be seen as a target due to his fame, a prison advisor claims.
The disgraced comedian, 51, could also be targeted by those wanting to extort money from him. Ex-prisoner Chris Atkins said of HMP Wandsworth, where Brand is reportedly being held: “It is a form of hell.”
The Category B security prison holds around 1,300-1,500 inmates – almost double what it was originally designed to accommodate when it was built in 1851.
HMP Wandsworth, where Brand is being held(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Chris, now an adviser to Prison Consultants, a privately-run advice service staffed partly by ex-offenders, said: “He’s over the worst but what he’s got to do now is watch his step.
“In the league table of prisoners, sex offenders are considered to be in the relegation zone, they are the lowest of the low. The two worst things you can be in prison are a former police officer or a sexual offender.
“He will be seen as a target because he’s a name or they will say they will look after him if his family pays their family and if he doesn’t he will have an accident.”
Brand is warned to keep his head down in the nick(Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Brand would have been woken this morning at 8am and been offered an hour of exercise on his first day banged up. He would then have undergone a medical examination by the prison doctor and been given the chance to visit the prison chaplain.
Chris told the Mirror: “He will then remain in his cell which will have a sink and toilet. Maybe he will be able to have a shower but he is such a high profile prisoner he will probably avoid that.
“He will also be entitled to a legal visit when his team will ask if he wants to appeal his conviction and sentence.”
Brand is serving a 10 year jail sentence (Image: Getty Images Europe)
Brand will also get a welfare phone call to family or loved ones, strictly limited to two minutes. He will likely be classified as a “Category C” or “low-risk” prisoner after undergoing an assessment in the next ten days.
That may see him transferred to spend the bulk of his sentence in a Category C prison such as HMP Coldingley in Surrey.
Cells in such prisons are typically equipped with single or bunk beds, along with a partially partitioned toilet and a TV with basic terrestrial channels. Brand will probably have to share a cell for at least part of his sentence.
Brand was convicted of rape(Image: Getty Images)
He will only be eligible for a move into open prison conditions if he completes specialist treatments designed to address sexually predatory behaviour.
Inmates are expected to work, often in the laundry or kitchens. Brand is likely to be given a backroom job away from other prisoners, perhaps in reception or in the governor’s office.
