We all know that prison, particularly when used for short sentences, results in a revolving door of reoffending. Many prisoners, upon release, find themselves unprepared to fit back into society and this lack of readiness is exacerbated by insufficient support and opportunities for rehabilitation, leading many to reoffend. Many struggle to find employment, which is one of the key factors in reducing recidivism, especially in men. Without jobs, they often return to criminal activities, unable to contribute positively to society.
This insane repeat of a pattern that clearly does not work to rehabilitate anyone doesn’t just have human damage, there is huge financial damage. The cost of imprisoning the current 95,526 people is ginormous enough without further factoring in the cost of reoffending to the taxpayer, estimated at more than £18bn annually.
Only 17% of ex-offenders are in work within 12 months of leaving prison, putting further strain on the welfare system.
Various bodies and personalities such as Lord James Timpson have gone out of their way to persuade employers that recruitment of ex-offenders is a good thing to do, is good for business, and could help to fill the 1.1 million vacancies in the UK job market. They talk about what great employees they make, how it is a win-win, but employers aren’t listening. Plus, the barriers upon release are just too high to jump for most.
So why don’t we turn the whole thing upside down?
We need to see the thousands of people stuck within the prison system, locked in cells for most of the day, languishing, self-harming with their mental health deteriorating by the day and learning how to be better criminals; as a resource.
Why not keep all but the most dangerous, who do need to be locked up to protect the public, outside in the community, but working?
We have canals and rivers that need maintaining, streets strewn with rubbish that need clearing. We have houses that need building and a shortage of labour. The list goes on.
We could task the Third sector, many of whom have years of experience supporting people caught up in the CJS or on the cusp, to provide proper work programmes with training and support as a package. We could have prisoners building houses that they could then also live in while they do their community sentences. We could have people engaging in care work, under proper supervision of course, to look after our elderly and disabled. Businesses could be incentivised to offer internships to those on community sentences to learn anything software skills to roles in the leisure industry.
Lord James Timpson, newly appointed Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, supports this already saying: “It is too easy for talented people to be held at arm’s length because they may have a criminal record, are neurodivergent, or have a physical disability. I have seen first-hand how looking past such issues and hiring on talent and character alone not only benefits society by giving people a second chance but helps businesses thrive too.” As former chair of the Prison Reform Trust, Timpson identified homelessness and lack of employment as key factors causing reoffending.
He has proved that supporting those upon release can work, but it would be so much better to not lock them up in the first place and use that money saved to pay the third sector to administer the community sentence.
The link between skills’ development and social mobility, prosperity, and success is life-changing, particularly in helping unlock the skills potential of the UK’s prison population. The relationship between high-quality skills training, access to employment opportunities, and community integration is clear.
At a time when employers face critical skills shortages and prisons are overcrowded, it is too big a problem to tinker round the edges. We need wholesale reform.
This might be too hard a sell for male prisoners, so let’s start with the female estate.
The majority of women in prison are not violent, and if they were it is often related to fighting back after years of domestic abuse, they are no threat to society or the general public. There are 11 women’s prisons of which at least 9 could be closed. This would save more money than the scheme to deploy these community work sentences would cost. They would work alongside Probation who would still be responsible for compliance with the Orders but the third sector are ideally placed to provide the holistic support, the work placements and the supervision. Women’s centres nationally have proved this over many years – we can reduce offending; we can turn women’s lives around and we can change society for the better. Give us the opportunity to show you.