Is Employment the Key to Breaking the Cycle of Reoffending?

The Anglican Bishop for HM Prisons, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek gathered MPs, business leaders, Lords and charity representatives in the House of Lords to consider the challenges and opportunities of reintegrating prison leavers into society through employment.

Sophie Baker from the Southwest Reducing Reoffending Partnership explained, “Reoffending costs the economy over £18 billion per year. When we provide job security, allow people to learn a trade and give them accommodation, we see people develop a sense of pride in their ability to contribute to society.”

Rosie Brown, Joint CEO of Cook, employs ex-offenders among her staff and spoke of the huge potential businesses can have for societal change. She said, “If we change the way we do business, we change the world. When businesses lean into the problem it’s a massive part of the solution.

“When you see someone who came to you broken, you see them build relationships within a team, doing purposeful work, they are able to pay for things again, to pay for a ticket for their child to go to the cinema again, you see their self-esteem growing. I believe that if we can see the worth and the value in everybody, everyone benefits.”

“If I could have one wish, it would be for the government to incentivise and engage businesses seeking to get ex-offenders back into work… perhaps an apprenticeship levy or national insurance relief.”

Paul Cowley, Director of Rehabilitation for Iceland Foods, who has himself had first-hand experience of the difficulties of getting work after prison, talked about Iceland’s mission to employ prison leavers. “I have done over 1000 face to face interviews with people in prison, sent out 650 job offer letters and employed 37% of those people.”

Craig was recently released from prison but had been in a work placement prior to his release.

“Through the support of Dragonheart Homes, I gained a routine, a sense of wellbeing and my mental health skyrocketed. I have done my NVQ2 in Construction and Forklift and now I am equipped to take those skills to other workplaces.

“Going into the workplace was daunting to begin with – you don’t know how people are going to take you, but they were so welcoming. It’s an honest place to work.”

Lord Timpson, the Prisons, Parole and Probation Minister said, “My belief is that a lot of people in business want to do something to help, but they don’t know how. From personal experience I can tell you that there is no better feeling than finding someone in prison, at their lowest ebb and then seeing them in your company uniform as a proud and valued colleague.

“In addition, it helps businesses to perform and make money. When I first went into prisons with Timpson, no one was going in and now we’re competing with other businesses to find staff! Now 30% of people have a job six months after leaving prison. The people who are ready for jobs are going into work. Now we need to move on to helping the people in more complex situations.

“The good news is that we have so much evidence demonstrating what works. The sentencing review will be really important, and I am confident and excited that we can make change.”

Bishop Rachel said, “If we focus on capacity in the prison system, we aren’t lifting our eyes to the bigger picture. It’s a more complex picture about building strong and healthy communities.

She challenged her guests: “As we leave here today, I want to bring us back to that big question of what our prisons are for. I want to encourage you to think in terms of one-degree shifts… What’s the one thing you could do in your sphere of influence to make an impact?”