Making your way through an application form for a job, you hesitate briefly when asked if you have any previous criminal convictions. You ask yourself if they mean getting a ticket for driving through that red light or being fined for drunkenly urinating on a lamppost on a night out. You tick no and hope they don’t dig deeper in the interview.
The applicant you are up against is filling out the same form, but instead of pausing due to a red light or a lamppost, they pause because they broke into a house and stole a flat screen television.
It’s a situation that a huge amount of Welsh ex-prisoners find themselves in.
The latest Ministry of Justice figures show that 51.6% of prisoners in Wales will reoffend. The North East of England, where this figure is 56.6%, is the only region in the UK that trumps Wales. Unable to find a job or accommodation upon their release, this number leaps up to 74%, suggests The Clink Charity.
This astonishing rate is for those prisoners serving sentences of less than 12 months. These ex-offenders aren’t subject to any form of supervision or support upon their release and so for many, the cycle of crime continues. Some however are trying to break the cycle.
Breaking the cycle
“It is up to the ex-offender whether they want the support or not,” says Sarah Brampton of Trail Blazers, a pioneering charity with a mission to reduce reoffending.
“It has to come from within them, you can’t tell them to change, they need to want to change,” echoes Cardiff University Professor Mike Maguire, author of Getting Out and Staying Out: Results of the Prisoner Resettlement Pathfinder.
“People don’t just stop reoffending due to one factor,” Mike continues, “it’s a journey.”
The desire to get on the straight and narrow is the first step of the journey. The next step is seeking the support they need.
Mike suggests that seeking this help needs to be done prior to their freedom. “It’s really important to engage them before their release,” he says. A point that Sarah claims “definitely decreases reoffending.”
Help is on hand to those locked up however as organisations are offering their support as well as aid with finding employment upon their eventual release.
Chuck ‘em in The Clink
Cue The Clink. No, not the clink with barred windows and prisoners clasped in chains; The Clink with neatly laid tables and prisoners in suits and chef hats. This Clink is a restaurant open to the public, but the food is cooked and served by prisoners.
Images of gruel served on plastic trays spring to mind and you’d be wary of getting your wallet out to pay in case it got nabbed. The prisoners however, grow most of the ingredients themselves to create British classics, and it operates a one-strike-and-you’re-out policy with the prisoners, so you needn’t fret.
Located in Cardiff prison, it has proved successful in reducing reoffending since it opened in 2009. The restaurant is part of The Clink Charity that is “focused on reducing reoffending through the provision of training, mentoring and the securing of employment,” says Alex Bertram of its PR company.
“Training and working in a professional environment ensures prisoners reach the required level to succeed in the hospitality industry,” Alex continues. “Trainees work in a similar environment to that of a 4-5 star hotel for 6-18 months prior to their release, in preparation for employment beyond the prison walls.”
In doing so, the reoffending rates of prisoners working 40-hour weeks in the restaurant has been slashed to just 12.5%.
The railway track to success
Kitchen work isn’t the only option for prisoners. Network Rail teamed up with Cardiff prison to create a training scheme for inmates.
The program trains prisoners not only to work on trains as all the skills are highly transferrable, including first aid and administration.
Stephen Jones of Network Rail boasts, “of the 30 prisoners who have completed the course so far, 65% have gained employment upon their release and only 11% reoffend.”
With a wealth of new skills and guidance from these organisations, prisoners are more likely to find a job and break the cycle.
The ex-con is back to filling in the application form. Yes they hesitate at the previous convictions question, but when they get to the previous work experience section they don’t. Every inch of the space provided is jam packed with skills and qualifications that they’ve picked up over their remaining time behind bars.
They were once a criminal, now they are employable.