‘N’ OUT
Inside Issue 10 November 2011
EDITORS FIRST WORDs Welcome to all our readers. We continue to grow as a magazine and our readership is ever growing. We are now receiving more and more requests for copies of Inside ‘n’ Out Magazine. It looks very hopeful that the magazine will be available in most, if not all, UK prisons. Will Hall is our new Graphic Designer, so you will see some new designs. Why not give Will a challenge and send in your items. We are actively seeking articles, artwork, poems,ideas for puzzles. Also any feedback of what you like and dont like about the magazine and what you would like to see in the future issues will be appreciated. Remember this is your chance to express yourselves in a positive way.
The Team Editor Mark Clark Proof Reader Layout & Design Will Hall Marketing / Distributor Tomorrow together Sponsored by Zinthiya Trust Leicester City Libraries
Contact Inside ‘n’ Out Central Library Bishop Street Leicester LE1 6AA Tel: 0116 2995413 Mobile: 07762695983 E-mail: editor@inomag.org.uk
CONTENTS Page 3-4
Spot light on... Page 5-6 Page 7-9
St Giles Trust SOS Page 10
Daylight Prison Trust Page 12-14
Catch 22 Page 15
SWMPT Community Payback
Spot light on .... Prisoners’ Earnings Act 1996 The Act was passed in 1996 but the John Major Government sidelined enforcing it; saying that it was too expensive to administer. At the 2010 General Election, David Cameron showed his intention of reserecting the Act and secured an agreement with the Liberal Democrats to make it a reality. It came into force September 26th 2011. The Act will enforce a 40% pay cut for 500 prisoners working outside of the prison, and is expected to raise around £1m a year. The scheme is part of Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke’s rehabilitation revolution. The Government are considering of extending it to those working within the prison but the average wage earnt ‘inside’ is only £10 and therefore will pay nothing. Under the Prisoners’ Earnings Act which comes into force today, 40 per cent of prisoners’ wages over £20 per week - after tax, National Insurance and any court-ordered or child support payments - will be deducted and given to Victim
Support. Victim Support is is a charity which helps the victims and witnesses of crime, including offering counselling, and helping them apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. The Boss at Victim Support, Javed Khan, said “I think we should celebrate that, for once, we’ve got an initiative that puts victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. “It’s rhetoric we’ve heard for many years. With this initiative, the victims will recognise that the Government is doing something to make offenders put back some of what they’ve done to society.”
Continued on page 6
The plans is part of Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke’s rehabilitation revolution
Policing Minister Nick Herbert said: ‘For too long the financial burden of repairing the damage done by crime has fallen to the taxpayer alone.
She added that the real problem was the issue of 30,000 males serving long sentences spending “20 years lying on their bunks in pyjamas” rather than working.
‘Making offenders pay financial reparation to victims will require them to take personal responsibility for their crimes and go some way towards making redress to victims through the funding of crucial support services.’
Commenting on the scheme, she said employers might not co-operate and prisoners might not work, adding: “So Victim Support will lose out, the community will lose out and people won’t have a job to come out to when they are released everybody will lose.
Others however say that it will discourage Offenders from working. Director of campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, Andrew Neilson, said ‘Focusing on the few prisoners working in the community is a mistake. ‘The proposals risk taking away the incentive for this group to work and will be burdensome for the businesses employing them.’ And Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the work with victims should be funded in other ways. ‘I’m very dubious that this is going to raise anything like a million pounds from people who are working already in the community,” she said.
So what do you think to this new Law? Should offenders pay their way? Is it right that offenders should relieve the burden of the tax payer? Would it put you off from working and gaining new skills? Would it make you think twice before commiting a crime? We at Inside ‘n’ Out would love to hear your comments’ good and bad. Remember we can’t print swearing rants but all comments welcome. Send you comments/letters to: Mark Clark Inside ‘n’ Out Magazine, c/o Leicester Central Library, Bishop Street, Leicester. LE1 6AA
ADVERTISEMENT
New Hope There are harsh facts you must face on release from prison
The Bad News When you return to the family home, any insurance on the property Building or the Contents may become invalid as soon as you step through the door!! All that training will be pointless as you will not be able to get the Public Liabillity insurance needed to safely run your business nor Employers Liabillity needed if you trade as a limited company or take on staff!!
The Good News We offer a complete package of insurance policies for ex offenders. On full disclosure, we will offer you a sensible premium and will not penalise you, unlike the rest of the insurance industry who will probably say No! as soon as you mention a conviction Telephone: 01206 821330 The Insurance Centre Clacton Road, Elmstead Market, Colchester Essex CO7 7AT Allstyles is a Trading Style of T R Youngs Insurance Brokers who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
St Giles Trust SOS Awards We covered St Giles Trust’s SOS Project in the last issue of Ino Mag.
Owen.
Inside ‘n’ Out was invited to cover the SOS Awards just by Tower Bridge in London at the Price Waterhouse Coopers building at the begining of October.
Other guests was Liberal Democrat Mayoral Candidate and former Deputy Commissioner at the Met Brian Paddick and Debbie Pippard from the Barrow Cadbury, which sponsors the project.
A great night was had by all. The guest list included the obvious SOS Team, past and present service users, Tamsin Gregory, St Giles’s very own Communications Manager and of course CEO, Rob
The event was introduced by Junior Smart an ex-service user that went on to be manager of the St Giles SOS team. The event then started with some live music from one of the SOS service users.
Next Rob Owen CEO of the St Tiles Trust went into a little about the trust then a series of speeches were made by those supportive of or connected to the project, including London Mayoral Candidate and
former Deputy Commissioner at the Met Brian Paddick and Debbie Pippard from the Barrow Cadbury Trust. Lastly we heard successes stories from many of the people the St Giles Trust have touched. After
the event the group went to a local pub to celebrate Junior’s last day on licence. Rob Owen, Chief Executive of St Giles Trust, said: “I’m immensely proud of each and every one of the SOS Team. They have helped over 400 heavily disadvantaged, excluded young people to turn their lives around. The work they do is intense, demanding and pressurised yet they rise to the challenge with professionalism and commitment. They shone especially brightly last night and their efforts and achievements deserved such celebration.’’ The Award winners were Ex/ Service Users Charlotte Boys, Wayne Smith and SOS Teacher Kate Hunter.
Daylight Christian Prison Trust – Bringing change from the inside out Release day for prisoners is something that is looked forward to from the day the prison gate closes behind them. When it finally comes, the waiting around to be told you can actually leave to start your new life on the outside is almost unbearable. But what awaits outside the prison gate? For some it is friends and family longing for their return, for others it is dubious looking friends waiting to draw them back into a life of crime, and for others there is no-one waiting at the prison gate. No help with finding accommodation, no help in identifying job opportunities, no help in getting to probation appointments, no help in finding local services for addiction or family support, and no-one to talk to about the daunting prospect of beginning again in a society that might have significantly changed while they’ve been inside.
benefits forms and ongoing mentoring if requested to help reduce the likelihood of someone ending up back inside.
Daylight operates across the UK and supports prisoners during their sentence by writing letters or visiting them on a one-toone basis to help maintain contact with the outside world in partnership with prison chaplains and through this can identify prisoners nearing release who want postrelease support. Daylight is then able to refer a prisoner nearing release to the nearest regional support group which provides practical ‘through-the-gate’ support to ex-offenders including help to find accommodation, addiction, family and employment support along with support to complete
To find out more about Daylight’s work with prisoners and ex-offenders email our office: office@daylightcpt.org or write to us at Daylight CPT, Freepost rsha-tryr-uyyx, 126 New London Road, Chelmsford, CM2 0RG.
The media and politicians are continuously talking about the need to mend ‘Broken Britain’ and create a rehabilitation revolution to tackle Britain’s reoffending problem. But in reality what does this mean? It means that an individual prisoner needs to receive tailored support to tackle their own needs and the obstacles they face as they try to settle back into a local community. Daylight is able to provide some of this support, and works with other organisations to provide additional support where needed. Behind the big claims of Government and politicians, there needs to be someone helping each ex-offender take the initial step of walking through the prison gate on release day to their new life.
HMP Doncaster Payment by result pilot Catch22 is pleased to annouce the launch of a four-year scheme, developed with Serco and Turning Point, which aims to reduce reoffending rates among former prisoners. The payment by results scheme at HMP Doncaster will deliver rehabilitation services both within the prison and, for the first time, ‘through the gate’ in the community.
management unit within the prison to provide a joined-up approach to rehabilitation encompassing the ‘through the gate’ approach which is unique in terms of employed prison staff.
Offenders will now be allocated a dedicated Case Manager to support them for the duration of their sentence and crucially, on release. This is important as the majority of prisoners at Doncaster, having served The pilot scheme has been designed so sentences of 12 month or less, are it can be adapted to meet the specific not entitled to any statutory support needs of individual offenders. The on discharge meaning many fall Ministry of Justice has facilitated this back into a life of crime. They will by providing Serco with the flexibility offer advice and help on a range of to make decisions at a local level and practical matters such as employment truly innovate to reduce reoffending. options, housing and benefits through Serco has already integrated regular meetings at the prison and via resettlement and the offender phone calls and visits on discharge.
Offenders will also have access to a 24-hour helpline for support and guidance at any time. John Biggin, Director of Doncaster prison, added: ‘Ex-offenders are most vulnerable in the first three months after release – they may have lost their homes and jobs and have little to return to. This is when they are most likely to reoffend, and why the support we can provide them with is so important. This innovative scheme, which we have developed with our voluntary sector and social enterprise partners, allows us to make decisions at a local level and target our resources to provide tailored support to offenders both inside the prison and, crucially, when they leave custody.’
offers the consistency of support needed back in the community. This will include housing and accommodation advice, routes to employment, education and training as well as restoring links with family and other supportive networks such as the use of volunteer mentors.’
Chris Wright, Chief Executive of Catch22 commented: ‘We know that the period from prison to community is critical in an offender’s life. Our Case Managers will be focused on providing a quality service both inside Lord Victor Adebowale, Chief and outside the prison system that Executive of Turning Point said: ‘We are pleased to be working as part of an alliance with Serco and Catch22, in order to meet the individual needs of those within the criminal justice system and thereby reduce reoffending.
Churchill House, 142-146 Old Street, London EC1V 9BW, T:020 7336 4800,
Jess- A New Lease of Life
jobs. With the support of a grant she’s getting, Jess’s now going to train to be a qualified lifeguard.
When Jess came out of prison, it felt like the world had forgotten about her. Her parents couldn’t care less, she knew that. But all those professionals who’d been there to help her stay afloat in her deeply troubled life had gone. There was no one.
Now it’s plain sailing for Jess.w
Apart from Catch22’s Inspire Resettlement Service, this specialist service of ours gets to know vulnerable young people in custody, and helps them find a job, training or even housing when they’re released. When the system spat her out, Jess strung out her days wandering the streets, dossing around in the local snooker hall. She’d started to self-harm, and looked like she might go under. Against great resistance, Catch22 managed to get Jess a council flat of her own, in a safe area. We helped her join a gym, start swimming, and enrol with a dentist and doctor. Then we helped her look at
Catch22 Churchill House, 142-146 Old Street, London EC1V 9BW http://www.catch-22.org.uk/
Rowley Regis church “an oasis of peace and beauty” thanks to Community Payback By SWM Probation, October 14, 2011
engagement and pleasantness of everyone giving help.
May I express to the Probation Trust the deep gratitude of St Giles Rowley Regis for Hopefully the project will be completed, and the fine work that your ongoing work in our the probation service has made a significant churchyard has achieved. improvement on the facilities for Rowley and its community. The exceptional leadership of the Community Payback supervisor, and the incredThank you. ible work and attitude of those he’s been The Vicar of St Giles Rowley Regis supervising, have transformed what was beginning to look like a jungle into an oasis of peace and beauty. What has been heart-warming has been the commitment of all involved, and the respectful and conscientious way in which a sensitive area has been restored to proper use. I hope everyone will feel that their work has made a real difference, and that we are extremely grateful, and delighted by how the project has been managed and the
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