A Turnkey or Not?

By Tony Levy

A chance meeting on holiday in Majorca changed Tony Levy s life forever and launched him into a 25-year career in a job that he never would ve considered previously: working in Her Majesty s Prison Service. This book catalogues Tony s personal experiences of working as a prison officer, from his early days at high-security HMP Pentonville to his final years in therapy-based HMP Grendon. Filled with interesting observations and incidences, hilarious wind-ups and memorable characters, this autobiography is the story of a journey, from the happiest days in what will always be a potentially volatile environment to a complete state of disillusionment as an old dinosaur that no longer fitted into the modern prison service world. Tony gives an honest account of his feelings, as someone who would never be a yes man and toe the party line, in the face of a constantly changing environment that had become increasingly controlled by political correctness gone mad and by budgetary needs rather than human needs. He was a man who cared, and even though his heart was sucked out of his job, he never lost his dignity or respect. Most importantly, he would never allow himself to be reduced to just a turnkey.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tony Levy
• Release date: Jun 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781908582607

Tony Levy

I am a 69 year-old cancer survivor from Tottenham. A family man and former prison officer. After spending 25 years in the UK’s prison service, and having become increasingly disillusioned with stifling modern prison service politics and practices, in 2008 I took my pension pot and ran, moving to Spain to spend my early retirement in the sun. This autobiography A Turnkey or Not? is about my prison service life is my first book. My wife and I, however, temporarily moved back to the UK due to the economic climate, at the time. And I returned to working life. I have completed a second book all about working at a major UK airport as a security officer, based on true facts it is an observational look at how staff, passengers and management treat being subject to modern airport security. This is my third book to be published not bad for a man who started life as wanting to be a soccer star and won a writing competitiion when I was just 13 years of age