St Giles Chief Executive, Tracey Burley, takes a look at our current prison crisis and argues why rehabilitation and support are so crucial.
Fortunately, most of us will never have to see the inside of a prison. Little is known or understood about the realities of life behind those underfunded and overcrowded walls, which hold some of the most disadvantaged, discriminated against people in our society.
The dedication and difficult work of staff in prisons gets lost in the narrative about where the system is in freefall, and now this is so severe it justifies the alarming headlines. The House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee has described the UK prison system as:
“overcrowded, often in bad and unsanitary condition, and facing issues such as a shortage of funds, gangs operating with impunity, drones undermining security, an alarming availability of drugs and over-stretched, demoralised staff.”
Years of underfunding and a lack of focus on rehabilitation is evident.
It is in the interests of us all to have a well-functioning Justice System and our current re-offending rates tell us that things are not working at several levels – from courts and sentencing through to supervision post-release.
Re-offending annually costs the state £18billion – enough to employ over 486,400 nurses on £37,000 per year or give each person in the UK £258*
St Giles’s Peer Advisor Programme, first developed in 2002 to address the problem of prisoners being released homeless, utilises one of the most important and often overlooked resources in prison – serving prisoners themselves.
It provides people in prison with the opportunity to train to become externally accredited, Level 3 qualified advice and guidance professionals who put their learning and skills to use in prison. This could be advice on housing and debts on the outside, induction to prison or a range of other factors specific to the prison and regime inside.
One of the most important elements of the Peer Advisor Programme is that it changes the narrative on people serving time. It demonstrates that they can be agents of positive change and progress – in both themselves and those around them. For many, this isn’t just a second chance – it’s the first chance they’ve ever had to show they are keen to contribute to a society which has judged, discriminated and held them back.
Here is where charities such as St Giles can make a real difference and the importance of the third sector was highlighted in the Lords Committee’s report. By lifting some of the most entrenched, excluded people out of the complexly negative cycle they are stuck in, we can make a huge impact on individuals, wider society and the economy. An evaluation into our prison-based Peer Advisor Programme found that it delivered £8.54 in societal savings for every £1 invested. This is money that is badly needed in our economy and could be being re-invested into services preventing people from ending up in prison.
The constructive use of lived experience in the Justice System gives hope and opportunity. Harnessing somebody’s ‘past’ and turning it into a strength brings about huge changes. It demonstrates that we must invest people in prison and give them opportunities and hope.
The tone of the debate is turning and public consciousness on the need for rehabilitation alongside punishment is growing. There are calls for an end to ‘lock ‘em up and throw away the key’ from many quarters, including The Times Crime and Justice Commission report launched this year. They found that “prisoners are often the most damaged, distressed people in society but the system is doing too little to deal with their underlying problems and in some cases it is actively making them worse.”
One day, all but a handful of the current 87,300 people in our prisons will be released. If they are denied the things many of us take for granted – somewhere to safe to live and a means of earning a legitimate income – we will keep our current cycle of re-offending, crime and untapped potential ongoing.
There are already solutions from a range of providers, but we need collaboration, funding and vision to make them happen.
Thank you to all our funders who already generously support our work. You are playing a direct role in transforming people’s lives and preventing some of today’s problems from continuing.
*based on the Worldometer population figure of 69.55million