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Description
Ronnie White is from Belfast and left Knockbreda High School in 1973 with five O Levels and one A Level. He joined the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) in 1979 and worked as a Prison Officer in Belfast Prison (Crumlin Road Gaol) until 1984 when he was transferred to Maze Cellular (the H Blocks the Maze and Long Kesh Prison). He was Class Officer in H4 'B' wing and in this capacity worked with Republican prisoners many of whom were Open University students. In 1985 he was promoted and began Assistant Governor training at the Prison Service College before transfer to the H-Blocks as an Assistant Governor. In 1986 he went to the Maze Co...mpounds to conduct the first ever life sentence reviews for Special Category prisoners. He returned to the H-Blocks after 12 months and worked there until 1989 when he was posted back to Belfast Prison to set up an Assessment Unit for newly sentenced prisoners. In the summer of 1993 Ronnie was sent to Germany to develop his research on counter-conditioning techniques against convicted paramilitaries with the Bavarian Prison Service. He then wrote a training package to assist staff and returned to teach this at both Crumlin Road Gaol and the Prison Service College. Later in 1993 he was transferred to Maze Cellular as head of the Operational Training Unit and in 1995 wrote the first Advanced Control and Restraint Manual specific to the NIPS. In 1997 he was transferred to Prison Service Headquarters Security Operations Division and wrote the Hostage Incident training manual after working on secondment during the Mountjoy hostage siege in Dublin. He was transferred to Magilligan as Head of Security in 2003 and returned to Prison Service Headquarters in 2007. Ronnie retired from the Prison Service in 2011 and completed four ‘A’ levels in Psychology Sociology History and English Literature before enrolling as a part-time mature student at Queen’s University Belfast in 2013. He graduated in 2018. As a result of his interview in 2016 for The Open University Archive Ronnie became interested in oral history and founded the Warders Archive Group (WAG) which is documenting the experiences of prison officers since 1970.
Ronnie White is from Belfast and left Knockbreda High School in 1973 with five O Levels and one A Level. He joined the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) in 1979 and worked as a Prison Officer in Belfast Prison (Crumlin Road Gaol) until 1984 when he was transferred to Maze Cellular (the H Blocks the Maze and Long Kesh Prison). He was Class Officer in H4 'B' wing and in this capacity worked with Republican prisoners many of whom were Open University students. In 1985 he was promoted and began Assistant Governor training at the Prison Service College before transfer to the H-Blocks as an Assistant Governor. In 1986 he went to the Maze Co...mpounds to conduct the first ever life sentence reviews for Special Category prisoners. He returned to the H-Blocks after 12 months and worked there until 1989 when he was posted back to Belfast Prison to set up an Assessment Unit for newly sentenced prisoners. In the summer of 1993 Ronnie was sent to Germany to develop his research on counter-conditioning techniques against convicted paramilitaries with the Bavarian Prison Service. He then wrote a training package to assist staff and returned to teach this at both Crumlin Road Gaol and the Prison Service College. Later in 1993 he was transferred to Maze Cellular as head of the Operational Training Unit and in 1995 wrote the first Advanced Control and Restraint Manual specific to the NIPS. In 1997 he was transferred to Prison Service Headquarters Security Operations Division and wrote the Hostage Incident training manual after working on secondment during the Mountjoy hostage siege in Dublin. He was transferred to Magilligan as Head of Security in 2003 and returned to Prison Service Headquarters in 2007. Ronnie retired from the Prison Service in 2011 and completed four ‘A’ levels in Psychology Sociology History and English Literature before enrolling as a part-time mature student at Queen’s University Belfast in 2013. He graduated in 2018. As a result of his interview in 2016 for The Open University Archive Ronnie became interested in oral history and founded the Warders Archive Group (WAG) which is documenting the experiences of prison officers since 1970.
| Gender: | Male |
|---|---|
| Project person ID: | 099_O |
| Interviewee role: | Worked in prison, 1979-2010 |
| Location: | Compounds The Maze and Long Kesh; H Blocks The Maze and Long Kesh; Magilligan Prison Limavady; Crumlin Road Gaol Belfast |
