Two thirds of prisoners have literacy and numeracy skills below Level 1 or those expected of a two year old. Many have disabilities or learning difficulties and three quarters of young male prisoners are re-convicted within two years. The two thirds of inmates who serve short sentences commit two thirds of all crime.
The huge prison population is continuing to climb beyond 72,000 and the emphasis on security within prisons has historically militated against rehabilitation. Much natural entrepreneurial flair does exist amongst offenders and ex-offenders that with the right development could enable them to establish modest legitimate enterprises.
The Prince’s Trust have been working in a small way over the last two decades in various institutions to provide development and training amongst offenders and ex-offenders. InBiz one of the commercial providers to Jobcentre Plus has been involved in a modest project in Reading and they are now involved in the Excel project for offenders who settle in Southampton.
Certain needs however precede the need for employment or support into business, such as secure and settled accommodation, esteem and confidence building and the establishment of positive personal objectives in life to aid moving forward. Only at this point can the positive influences of self-employment work as a clear and achievable objective before they are ready to start into business.
The implications are that time and adequate budget are perceived as essential to move this group forward. Clearly early intervention which is being experimented with is a logical move forward. One of the greatest restrictions does appear to be the operational regime within the Prison Service which is inconsistent and individual Prison Governors may have a very different concept from each other. Inevitable frequent change within the regime at the highest levels may result in sweeping months or even years of work and goodwill being swept away overnight.
The pressures on the system certainly need a new look from the top down with a consistent national policy.
