1. "Essentially societies that do not believe that offenders can change will get offenders who do not believe that they can change" (Maruna, 2001, p.166)
Citizenship and the Opportunities for Social Justice in the Criminal Justice System

2. Introduction Practitioner’s perspective on work in prisons
What are prisons required to do?
What can prisons do about citizenship and what opportunity can they provide?
What are we asking our staff and our partner organisations to do?

3. The Prisons and Courts Bill 2017
“In giving effect to sentences or orders of imprisonment or detention imposed by courts, prisons must aim to—
protect the public,
reform and rehabilitate offenders,
prepare prisoners for life outside prison, and
maintain an environment that is safe and secure.

4. Rehabilitative culture
settle
Address
Attitudes &
thinking
Address drug and
alcohol
problems
Rehabilitative culture
Safety & Decency
Hierarchical components of a rehabilitative prison

5. Who are our prisoners? Social characteristic
Proportion (%) of prison population
Proportion (%) of general population
Unemployed in the month before custody
68%
(81% for women, 67% for men)
8% of the economically active population are unemployed
Have used Class A drugs at some time
64%
13%
Regularly truanted from school
59%
5.1% (England) 4.8% (Wales)
Had children before age of 18
54%
27% approx. of those over 18
No educational qualifications
47%
15% of working age population
Expelled or permanently excluded from school
42%
(32% for women, 43% for men)
In 2005 <1% of school pupils were permanently excluded (England)

6. What is the impact of imprisonment?
World Health Organisation seminar 1999.
It was acknowledged that for some people whose lives were in chaos and who were causing serious harm to others, a time in prison could have beneficial consequences. Despite this, the WHO Mental Health in Prisons Project agreed that for the majority of prisoners, imprisonment was likely to have the following effects:
Isolation from families and social networks
Austere surroundings, loss of privacy and poor physical and hygienic conditions
Aggression, bullying, fear, suspicion and the attitudes of unsympathetic and uninformed staff
Lack of purposeful activity, of personal control, of power to act and loss of identity;
Pressure to escape or to take drugs
Shame and stigmatisation
Uncertainty, particularly among remand prisoners, and concern about re-integration into the outside world.

7. Reoffending by People Released from Prisons
Adults released from custody had a proven reoffending rate of 44.7%
A decrease of 1.1 percentage points compared to the previous 12 months and 3.9 percentage points since 2004.
Source MOJ 2017

8. (Some) Components of Rehabilitative Culture
Staff promote future orientation & identity shift
Shapes behaviour through reward rather than punishment
Staff have hope
Mutually respectful staff/prisoner relationships
REHABILITATIVE CULTURE
Prisoners have hope
Legitimate authority
Staff coach prisoners to take responsibility and solve problems
Staff encourage participation in rehabilitation
Safety allows headspace
Commissioning Strategies Group 2015 8

9. HM Prison Kirkham

10. HMP Kirkham: Served 12 months or more
Percentage of offenders who reoffend

12. CONNECT Graduation to ‘GROW’ Welcome and first impressions
Success stories on arrival
Environmental and behavioural standards
Art/ photography imagery and Décor
Adjustment, planning and support
Engagement with Substance Misuse Services
Graduation to ‘GROW’

13. GROW Graduation to ‘Thrive’ Learning Training Restorative justice
Community work
Citizenship/ contribution to society
Making the best use of your time, music,
Art, sports and games, allotments!
Changing identity (tattoos?)
Graduation to ‘Thrive’

14. THRIVE Getting ready to join society Temporary release
Studying/ working in the community
Charity and community work schemes
Time with family
Role models/ champions
Representatives
Graduation to mark departure

16. Key ingredients Predictable, reliable, consistent, fair regime
Clean, tidy, organised environment
Decent, courteous interpersonal behaviour
Progression recognised through simple ‘visible’ stages. Graduations to celebrate
Connect, Grow and Thrive: (Someone said, “A bit like being a parent”)
Except facilitating choices and options with consequences (adults)
Messages and stories of hope, integration, success, recovery (Events)
Opportunities to lead by example
The opportunity to modify identity
The right options for a diverse group of people

17. “The light bulb moment was when I accepted that I am in prison because I broke the law, and that is why I am being punished and the only way I can change my life for the better is by embracing every positive opportunity, and giving back to society.
For the past several years my society has been the prison so I decided to give back all that I could. Thankfully I was at an establishment that reciprocated my every positive action with an equally positive reaction – and for that I am grateful.”
Yousaf Amin