Around 1750 prisoners were released on Tuesday 10th September as part of the government’s strategy to alleviate overcrowded prisons. High levels of media attention on the government’s early release scheme has thrown a welcome spotlight on prisons forced to operate “hand to mouth”.
Just four days before the mass release, official prison population figures were alarmingly close to the system’s operational limit. The total number of prisoners stood at 88,521 against an operational capacity of 89,619. These numbers reflect a prison system unable to cope with demand.
However, the solution is more complicated than simply freeing up space. The early release programme might temporarily reduce the pressure on prisons, but the probation service and small charities providing support after release are now facing unprecedented pressure.
As the union for probation staff, Napo, put it, the early release scheme risks shifting the problem from one place to another. Insufficient through-the-gate support risks setting up people for failure.
1. Overstretched probation services
The probation service is not in a position to handle an excess of prison leavers. Resources are stretched due to understaffing and inadequate training. The probation service’s priority is to provide wraparound support and to ensure public safety. However, housing and employment are often given low priority, despite offering a possibility for stability which is key to reducing recall and reoffending rates. Homelessness can often be grounds enough to recall someone released from prison. Around 800 people a month are currently released into homelessness.
2. Emotional toll
“Integrating back into society is a struggle at the best of times,” says Jamie, one of the Inside Job leads in the West Midlands, “but being released early and in some cases being unprepared heightens the anxiety levels.” It’s difficult, he points out, when you’ve wrapped your head around a given time frame and that suddenly changes.
Having a job can be crucial to getting back on your feet. Reflecting on his own lived experience, Jamie felt intense shame on release, and initially avoided friends and family. “It wasn’t until I managed to secure employment and started providing for my family again that I felt like a man, husband and father again. That enabled me to be more confident and start to hold my head up instead of hiding away from the world.”
3. Need for comprehensive support systems
There is currently very little emotional and practical support available to people leaving prison. There are many holes in the road to employment, from ‘hard’ barriers like IT access, a decent CV, travel issues and work experience, to ‘soft’ barriers including low self-confidence, limited work history, and addiction. As Scott, another of our Inside Job leads, observes “if people have not got right to work documents, or haven’t had a bank account created for them, it adds to the barriers they already face.”
Beating Time aims to fill these holes. Inside Job has proven to be a highly effective employment and resettlement programme to offer Candidates a fresh start.
The reoffending rate for Inside Job participants currently stands at under 5%, compared with the national average of 33.2%, or 55% for short sentences. This success indicates the power of ongoing, reliable support. As Scott explains, “Inside Job will always try to support people to be best prepared for release as we physically can, but with the numbers of releases increasing it’s becoming more and more difficult.”
