PAC right in calling for more support for ex-prisoners
Crime reduction charity, Nacro today backed the Public Accounts Committee’s call for more to be done to resettle released prisoners.
Paul Cavadino Nacro’s chief executive said,
“The facts speak for themselves. Research shows that prisoners released with a job are half as likely to reoffend as unemployed ex-prisoners. Getting released prisoners into stable accommodation cuts their likelihood of reoffending by one fifth. Prisoners who have had education in literacy and numeracy reoffend at one third of the rate of those who have not. Prisoners released without family support are up to six times more likely to reoffend than those without it. Drug addicted ex-prisoners who take part in treatment programmes reoffend at one-fifth of the rate of those who do not. In short, improving prisoners’ resettlement can play a vital part in cutting crime.
“Today’s Prison Inspectorate report on High Down prison warns that effective resettlement services are being seriously compromised by overcrowding. It is time for the government to adopt a determined high profile strategy to talk down the prison population by persuading the courts to reduce their overuse of jail sentences.”
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Contact: Adrian Thomas, 020 7840 6497 (w); 07974 189 979 (m)
Notes
1.Nacro, the crime reduction charity, is dedicated to making society safer. It has an unrivalled expertise in developing effective solutions to crime and stimulating fresh thinking on how best to reduce it, based on over 30 years of experience. Combining practical services to individuals, communities and organisations with pioneering campaigns, Nacro lobbies for better ways to reduce crime, while demonstrating how this might be done in practice.
