By Ashley Young-
Fresh plans by the Ministry Of Justice to grant prisoners a day release to work and train with employers earlier on in their sentence are a great step reforming prisoners. The new measures announced by the government aimed at cutting the annual £15bn cost of re-offending will help establish a renewed mindset for prisoners that give them a hope of improving their life prospects.
A large percentage of offenders in prison have either been substance abusers, brought up in dysfunctional homes, raised in criminal neighbourhoods, or all of the above. Most have never had any role models, were single parent homes, and suffered from low self esteem. None of the set backs mentioned can be used as excuses for committing offences, many offenders have never had the right kind of mentoring to help them focus on a professional future path.
A scheme set up to establish and hone hidden skills in law breakers heading for a future in ruins. Prison governors will be granted greater flexibility to release offenders from open and women’s prisons on temporary licence to undertake employed work and improve their chances of getting of employment when they have served their sentence.
The Ministry of Justice has also announced that 230 additional businesses, such as Pret A Manger, a high street sandwich shop chain, have joined the New Futures Network to hire ex-offenders. The network is part of the government’s education and employment strategy, which was unveiled a year ago.
Those in open or women’s prisons are eligible to undertake paid work immediately after they have passed a risk assessment. The new provision was previously only allowed if the prisoner was within 12 months of release. Restrictions in the first three months after transferring to open conditions will be lifted, while overnight release from open prisons can now be considered at an earlier stage
The aim of the changes is to give prison governors more autonomy to grant ROTL to offenders following a “rigorous” risk assessment.
ROTL is a system under which prisoners spend time in the community for short periods, normally towards the end of their sentence. It was designed to help prepare offenders for life on the outside by taking part in work or training and firming up family .
Plans to expand the use of workplace ROTL were originally set out in the MoJ’s education and employment strategy in 2018. Justice secretary David Gauke said: ‘Broadening access to training and work opportunities is a vital part of our strategy to steer offenders away from a life of crime and ultimately keep the public safe.
‘Many organisations are recognising the value of giving offenders a second chance, and we have carefully listened to their feedback before making these changes. I urge more businesses to join this movement and help ex-offenders turn their backs on crime for good.’
Research conducted for the ministry, based on 2012 and 2013 data, shows that releasing prisoners under temporary licence reduces re-offending rates.
For those granted one temporary licence, additional licences granted in the six months prior to release were associated with ‘small but statistically significant’ reductions in re-offending rates. Each additional resettlement day release was associated with a 0.5% reduced re-offending odd over a one-year follow-up period. A resettlement overnight release reduced the re-offending odds by 5%.