According to a 2015 Ministry of Justice statement, around half of all crime is committed by people who have already been through the criminal justice system, and the cost to the taxpayer of reoffending is estimated to be £9.5 to £13 billion per year.
Education Development Trust as prime contractor for the National Careers Service in the North East is working in all of the North East prisons to support prisoners with impartial careers advice and guidance, helping them set realistic skills and employment goals for their release and plan how to achieve them.
Through its ‘Supporting Inspiration’ work the service is also seeking to broker links between Her Majesty’s Prison Service and employers. A number of employer visits to prisons have been organised to raise awareness of the training provided to those in custody and of how offenders, under special circumstances and robust risk assessments, can be released on temporary licence to undertake employment opportunities and add real value to local businesses.
Improved links between the Prison Service and the labour market were called for in the report “Unlocking Potential: a review of education in prison” produced by Dame Sally Coates earlier this year. Two North East prisons Kirklevington Grange and Holme House have been selected by the Ministry of Justice to pilot recommendations made in the report, providing both prisons with greater autonomy regarding the provision of skills and training.
Carly Hinds, Partnership Manager in the North East for the National Careers Service, said: “We need to challenge the misconception that people with criminal records are not employable. There are 9.2million people in the UK with a criminal record, and there is nothing to suggest that most of these people are any less capable of holding down productive employment than any other group. In fact, 60percent of employers surveyed by Nacro said that employees with offences worked as hard, if not harder, than those without.
“The Ministry of Justice considers employment as one of the main pathways to reduce reoffending. Providing impartial careers advice and guidance and increased links with employers can help prepare individuals for life outside of the prison walls. There can be real benefits for the employers who get involved too.”
One of the first organisations to join the scheme is County Durham Furniture Help Scheme, which collects, repairs and redistributes items of furniture from the County Durham area, which would otherwise go into landfill, making low-cost items available to people throughout the region. Its Chief Executive Officer, Steve Mitton, said: “It’s wrong to think people with a criminal past are less able than anyone else. In my experience most of the people who are leaving custody work harder than those without convictions, almost as if they have something to prove.
“In fact, my Operations Manager, Lee, first started working with us whilst he was on day release. Once he left prison, he continued to volunteer with us to keep himself busy. He proved himself a hard worker and as soon as a vacancy came up, he was top of the list to interview. Since then he’s proved himself an invaluable member of the team, and now works full-time overseeing a large portion of our operation.
“I’m yet to come across anyone who wants to return to prison, but a lack of experience and opportunities leaves some people with limited choices. By providing experience, training and skills, Supporting Inspiration improves the chances of finding work and ultimately turning lives around.”
Carly added: “I would encourage business leaders to come along to one of the visits. There are no demands made of employers attending them, they are purely an opportunity to learn more about skills and employability provision in prisons and the work of the National Careers Service and the Prison Service to prepare individuals for employment and to learn how they can get involved.”
The visits will be held at Durham Prison Low Newton Prison on the 14th September and Durham Prison on the 18th October.
For more information on Supporting Inspiration, or to attend a prison visit, businesses can contact Carly Hinds on 0191 334 9954, or email chinds@cfbt.com