Simon Fell is the MP for Barrow and Furness and chairs the APPG on Cyber Security. 13-19 November 2022 is International Fraud Awareness Week.
When we release people from prison on a Friday or on the day before a bank holiday, they face a race against the clock as they struggle to access key support services – such as housing, benefits, and healthcare – before they close for the weekend.
Being able to access these services is absolutely vital to ensuring that people leaving prison can successfully re-integrate back into society. By leaving already vulnerable people to fend for themselves in the critical first days following their release from prison, we are making resettlement for people leaving prison unnecessarily harder, as well as creating a significant strain on public services.
Around a third of people are released from prison on a Friday, placing severe and unnecessary pressure not just on those leaving prison, but on our local public services.
We know that access to ‘stable’ accommodation reduces a person’s likelihood of reoffending by nearly 50 per cent. Yet I am told by resettlement workers and those who have left prison that accessing accommodation following a Friday release is one of their biggest challenges. We are therefore simply setting people up to fail.
Reoffending costs the taxpayer £18bn a year. If we support people as they come out of prison, we can play a key role in reducing the significant societal and individual costs of reoffending, leading to fewer victims of crime and fewer communities dealing with its impact.
That’s why I have taken on this issue. I see it in my constituency and know this effects communities across the country. It is why I’m taking my Private Member’s Bill to the Commons on 2 December.
We need to end the practice of Friday releases for the most vulnerable, so they have the vital extra hours and days that they need to get support in place before the weekend arrives.
This small, but significant, change would build on existing government funding and support for people coming out of prison – including the funding of temporary accommodation for prison leavers at risk of homelessness.
I have spoken to prison leavers who were released from custody on a Friday. Some were lucky and managed to get support, but the majority were left facing severe issues accessing key resettlement services, with some ending up on the streets over the weekend, waiting for housing services to reopen on Monday.
Even worse, I have spoken to people who are greeted by the smiling face of their drug dealer at the prison gates. Criminal gangs know just how hard working through your release checklist (parole officer, housing, pharmacy etc) can be, so they offer a hand out – at a very steep cost. And so, the merry-go-round continues.
Nacro has championed and campaigned on the issue of Friday releases and I’m pleased to be able to support them in their work. Their support workers, assisting people when they are released from prison, have detailed the despair that lack of access to services can cause, and the resulting poor outcomes – particularly in terms of increased risk of reoffending
When one resettlement worker was helping a man leaving prison on a Friday, he said delays in release meant he missed his appointment with the housing office. This then delayed his appointment with the Job Centre. Nacro tried to source a night shelter, but this was on a first come first served basis and there was no available space. He had not been given a discharge grant so had no money. He had no access to food. As a result, he was caught shoplifting and returned to prison.
The Local Government Association has backed the plans to end Friday releases saying that they will reduce reoffending and anti-social behaviour, while reducing pressure on staff and services. Cllr Nesil Caliskan, Chair of the Local Government Associations Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said:
“With staff limitations at the weekend across a range of services, delays in accessing accommodation and a lack of early intervention from support services, vulnerable prison-leavers are at considerable risk of reoffending. In bringing release dates forward, this will ensure prison-leavers have enough time to access the right help and support to prevent them heading back towards previous criminal activities.”
I couldn’t agree more; if we want safer streets, we have to start by making access to vital services that reduce reoffending easier.
If people don’t have a support structure in place upon release, including housing and healthcare, then we simple risk depositing vulnerable people back into the hands of those who will encourage harm over good. This is a point that was hammered home again and again by the Governor of Wormwood Scrubs and her amazing team when I visited recently.
The Bill – if successful – will ensure that prisoners who face barriers such as addiction, mental health issues or homelessness are eligible to be released up to 48 hours earlier than their original release data. This a small change in practice, but, it is a difference which will change lives, reduce crime and help stop the merry-go-round in our prison estates.
Simon Fell is the MP for Barrow and Furness and chairs the APPG on Cyber Security. 13-19 November 2022 is International Fraud Awareness Week.
When we release people from prison on a Friday or on the day before a bank holiday, they face a race against the clock as they struggle to access key support services – such as housing, benefits, and healthcare – before they close for the weekend.
Being able to access these services is absolutely vital to ensuring that people leaving prison can successfully re-integrate back into society. By leaving already vulnerable people to fend for themselves in the critical first days following their release from prison, we are making resettlement for people leaving prison unnecessarily harder, as well as creating a significant strain on public services.
Around a third of people are released from prison on a Friday, placing severe and unnecessary pressure not just on those leaving prison, but on our local public services.
We know that access to ‘stable’ accommodation reduces a person’s likelihood of reoffending by nearly 50 per cent. Yet I am told by resettlement workers and those who have left prison that accessing accommodation following a Friday release is one of their biggest challenges. We are therefore simply setting people up to fail.
Reoffending costs the taxpayer £18bn a year. If we support people as they come out of prison, we can play a key role in reducing the significant societal and individual costs of reoffending, leading to fewer victims of crime and fewer communities dealing with its impact.
That’s why I have taken on this issue. I see it in my constituency and know this effects communities across the country. It is why I’m taking my Private Member’s Bill to the Commons on 2 December.
We need to end the practice of Friday releases for the most vulnerable, so they have the vital extra hours and days that they need to get support in place before the weekend arrives.
This small, but significant, change would build on existing government funding and support for people coming out of prison – including the funding of temporary accommodation for prison leavers at risk of homelessness.
I have spoken to prison leavers who were released from custody on a Friday. Some were lucky and managed to get support, but the majority were left facing severe issues accessing key resettlement services, with some ending up on the streets over the weekend, waiting for housing services to reopen on Monday.
Even worse, I have spoken to people who are greeted by the smiling face of their drug dealer at the prison gates. Criminal gangs know just how hard working through your release checklist (parole officer, housing, pharmacy etc) can be, so they offer a hand out – at a very steep cost. And so, the merry-go-round continues.
Nacro has championed and campaigned on the issue of Friday releases and I’m pleased to be able to support them in their work. Their support workers, assisting people when they are released from prison, have detailed the despair that lack of access to services can cause, and the resulting poor outcomes – particularly in terms of increased risk of reoffending
When one resettlement worker was helping a man leaving prison on a Friday, he said delays in release meant he missed his appointment with the housing office. This then delayed his appointment with the Job Centre. Nacro tried to source a night shelter, but this was on a first come first served basis and there was no available space. He had not been given a discharge grant so had no money. He had no access to food. As a result, he was caught shoplifting and returned to prison.
The Local Government Association has backed the plans to end Friday releases saying that they will reduce reoffending and anti-social behaviour, while reducing pressure on staff and services. Cllr Nesil Caliskan, Chair of the Local Government Associations Safer and Stronger Communities Board, said:
“With staff limitations at the weekend across a range of services, delays in accessing accommodation and a lack of early intervention from support services, vulnerable prison-leavers are at considerable risk of reoffending. In bringing release dates forward, this will ensure prison-leavers have enough time to access the right help and support to prevent them heading back towards previous criminal activities.”
I couldn’t agree more; if we want safer streets, we have to start by making access to vital services that reduce reoffending easier.
If people don’t have a support structure in place upon release, including housing and healthcare, then we simple risk depositing vulnerable people back into the hands of those who will encourage harm over good. This is a point that was hammered home again and again by the Governor of Wormwood Scrubs and her amazing team when I visited recently.
The Bill – if successful – will ensure that prisoners who face barriers such as addiction, mental health issues or homelessness are eligible to be released up to 48 hours earlier than their original release data. This a small change in practice, but, it is a difference which will change lives, reduce crime and help stop the merry-go-round in our prison estates.