Kent Tonight Special: Life Beyond Bars
With so many prisoners ending up back on the wrong side of the law, we’ve been finding out what needs to be done to keep Kent’s criminals on the straight and narrow for good.
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00:00One in four. That is the number of criminals across the UK that have turned back to a life
00:27of crime after being in prison. That is the cost of the crisis facing rehabilitation services
00:32right across the country and here in Kent. I'm Aidan McNamee and this Kentonite special
00:37will take a deep dive into the power of rehabilitation and what people here in Kent are doing to
00:41keep former criminals on the right side of the law. But, with funding challenges and
00:46prisons at breaking point, can Kent cope? Well, one Sittingbourne business believes
00:51giving prisons and leavers a second chance is vital, as Tara Mewalla has been finding
00:55out. As soon as I left prison I was homeless because I had nowhere to live. I was left
01:00with £60 and they made me get a hotel the first night so I used up all of my money.
01:05The reality for newly released prisoners here in Kent. But not all are given the same opportunity
01:11as Nick, who found food delivery company Cook which helps people struggling to find work,
01:15including those leaving prison. I have no idea where I'd be if raw talent wasn't a thing
01:21and if Cook hadn't brought me in to be a part of their team. Literally no idea because
01:26no one was willing to take a chance on me. Nick's job focuses on retention which includes
01:30practical steps to help people stay at work. If they need an alarm clock we'll get them
01:35an alarm clock. If someone's struggling to find housing then we can try and help with
01:40that. They'd given me a chance so I was really happy but then I was also really wanting to
01:44repay that favour. Those leaving prison often face stigma and not all companies will hire
01:50people with convictions. Annie Gale manages the raw talent scheme at Cook. They might
01:55have to be dealing with mental health stuff or addiction or bills, debt, all sorts of
02:01different things. Cook works with prisons to identify who can take on shifts in their
02:06kitchens once they are released on temporary licence and for many this turns into a full
02:10time job once they leave. We've had people say if it wasn't for this job, if it wasn't
02:14for Cook I wouldn't be here today. The scheme here is self-funded but Cook is the exception
02:20rather than the rule. We would love to encourage the government to invest in employers taking
02:26on people with barriers to employment because it's a win, win, win, win, win, win. Councillor
02:30Anthony Hook told us he wants to see the government spend more on rehabilitation services. Very
02:36often it's a good investment because crime is expensive and if you can do some work with
02:41an offender that drastically reduces the chance of them committing more crime in future, you've
02:47actually saved a lot of money for the crimes that they otherwise would have committed.
02:52We approached the Ministry of Justice for comment. They said, the work of the voluntary
02:57sector is crucial in achieving our aim of supporting better outcomes for those living
03:02prison. This includes working closely with clinks who help charities and social enterprises
03:08to work with the criminal justice system. So while ex-prisoners at Cook are being given
03:14a second chance at life, without wider investment, others may not be so lucky. Tara Mawawala,
03:20KMTV. Thanks Tara. So what about those outside of Cook's Kitchen who might be struggling
03:25to get the support they need? Across Kent, organisations stopping crime in our communities
03:30are struggling to secure funding. To explore this more, I'm joined by Barley Rogers, co-founder
03:35of The Refocus Project, a Dartford charity working to prevent young people from getting
03:39involved in crime. Barley, thank you for joining us. So, Refocus is trying to keep
03:46young people on the right side of the law. For those who've already been through the
03:49criminal justice system, what challenges do they face trying to keep on the straight and
03:53narrow? Leaving prison, it's housing and employment, as we know, and sometimes it can be they've
04:01got a job, but they haven't got housing. If they're not in prison, it's usually education,
04:08opportunities for work due to the history of their criminal records, and then opportunities
04:16are few and far between when you're leaving prison to build bridges between your families,
04:23therefore the housing situation is worse for those as well. It's just a whole pack of complex
04:29issues as to what happens when someone's trying to change, and if the resources are not there,
04:35it's very difficult. As we understand it, I mean, Refocus itself nearly faced closure
04:40due to some funding issues. Yeah. What would be the cost of the community if an asset like
04:45that wasn't available to these prison leavers? Well, I can't come out with the exact amount,
04:51but I would say that, you know, the expense on the criminal justice system would be even
04:56more because services like Refocus are reducing violence within prisons and physically taking
05:05young people, when they leave prison, into jobs and trying to help them to stand straight
05:09and narrow. And for the criminal justice system, if they reduce services like Refocus and other
05:15services that are within the prisons, who build relationships with young people before
05:19they come out, it's a disaster. Yeah. I mean, that does sound like a tough challenge, you
05:24know, if that weren't there. Yeah. And you're also the CEO of the Safer Communities Alliance
05:29and you're working with charities across Kent. What are they telling you about their funding
05:33situation and the challenges they face? Okay. So Safer Communities Alliance was set up primarily
05:38because we understood the fundamental reasons for why a lot of people get involved in organised
05:43crime and crime is poverty. So we wanted to target groups that are reaching young people
05:49at earlier stages and work with them and help them to get funding and help them to be in
05:55a position where they weren't going to be closing because during the pandemic they were
05:58looking at closing. So we got alongside them, fundraised, helped them to maximise their
06:04reach by increasing their income. And a lot of them are doing very, very well and have
06:09created their own hubs. However, they are under a certain umbrella of income. And often
06:16what happens is when there's grants and funding out there, it's usually for people who are
06:22an organisation who's earning over 150k or 100k. Well, when you're working with marginalised
06:27groups like we are, the organisation is usually small and they are grassroot organisations
06:33and they don't have the opportunity to climb up that ladder to become over the 150k mark
06:38to then be able to apply for these grants. I'd like to see more larger organisations
06:45getting alongside some of our smaller organisations who are doing a lot of the relational work
06:50over a longer period of time, which is what our young people need.
06:55But rehabilitation starts before release and prisons are facing an epidemic of overcrowding,
07:01with the Labour government releasing many prisoners early. Here in Kent, there are just
07:05a handful of category C&D prisons that are suitable for rehabilitating offenders. But
07:10one prison in Tombridge Wells, once described as a jewel in the Crown of the Prison Service,
07:15has been out of action since 2016, as Beth Williams has been finding out.
07:20Prisons are reaching breaking point, with nearly 4,000 people currently inside in Kent
07:24alone. One prison that's standing empty is Blantyre House on the outskirts of Godhurst,
07:30giving category C&D prisoners the chance to rehabilitate before they're released. It's
07:34seen success, with the lowest re-offending rates in the country. It closed its doors
07:39for refurbishment in 2016, but in 2019, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that it would
07:44not be reopening. It's a shame it's not here anymore, because it was a great asset
07:48to the community. That might sound slightly strange, but they did an excellent job in
07:54rehabilitation of the inmates. We and the community would all very much like to know
08:00what the plans are, if there are any plans at all. So I think that is something that
08:04we should ask. In a statement, the Ministry of Justice said, the former HMP Blantyre House
08:09is an older building, now dilapidated and insecure, that would cost taxpayers a disproportionate
08:15amount of money to bring back into service for only 120 places. At the Glasshouse in
08:20Cranbrook, female prisoners are still given the chance to gain training and jobs towards
08:25the end of their sentence. Callie says the programme has a 0% re-offending rate, but
08:29the sector is under pressure. Well, we believe in biophilic principles, which are really
08:35about humans being around nature and the benefits of working with plants and being around plants.
08:40But we also really focus on employment. We really focus on giving them work and skills
08:45that will make them successful in the real world. I do think that the sector is incredibly
08:50pressed at the moment. I think there's a lot of stress in the prison sector and it makes
08:56rehabilitation really difficult sometimes. I think that we are all ready to look at second
09:02chances and look at what is capable for these people. Down at the shop, Alison works closely
09:08with the inmates of East Sutton Park. We'll put up the plants freshly in our handmade
09:14Italian clay pots. We'll take them back to the shop, gift wrap them, package them securely
09:20and safely in their boxes and they will then go out with the Royal Mail. I love the team
09:25that I work with. Everybody is so lovely and there's a variety, a big variety of work.
09:32I like the community spirit, being predominantly based in Cranbrook for myself. While Glasshouse
09:38gives inmates the chance to look to the future, is Blantyre House a missed opportunity to
09:43put rehabilitation at the forefront of the prison system in Canberra? Beth Williams for
09:48KNTV. Thanks Beth. As well as winning gold at the Royal Chelsea Flower Show for their
09:55houseplants, the women from the Glasshouse have been putting their skills to use right
09:58here in the community. But how would you feel about prisoners working in your local area?
10:03This is what people in Rochester had to say about rehabilitation and what needs to be
10:07done to support prison leavers. You know, rehabilitation is definitely the way to go
10:12because people have to come out, people have to serve their sentences, they have to come
10:15out into society and if they're not ready they're just going to be more traumatised
10:20and potentially create more harm, not only for their families but people around them.
10:25So anything that gives them skills, yeah. For instance, yes, somebody having to serve
10:30in a short term sentence and is facing losing their job, losing their home, maybe losing
10:35their children, there should be a lot more support while they're actually going through
10:39that process so those things don't impact on them.
10:42Well it's a bit mixed. I think it's quite dangerous to release some people because some
10:48of the people I've heard have been released have been re-offending, like recidivists,
10:52you know, it's in their habitual behaviour to re-offend because you get three meals a
10:58day, you get your TV and you get a gym. I believe we should put more money into rehabilitation
11:03because the prisons are just overflowing at the moment, aren't they? And it would be somewhere
11:08else to move them onto, wouldn't it?
11:11I mean I guess everybody deserves a chance for a point, it kind of depends what they're
11:15in prison for as well, to a degree as well. But yeah, I guess if they're offered support
11:20in the right way and, you know, whatever's going to benefit them then that's a good thing.
11:27Well do you agree with what they said? Do you think more needs to be done to rehabilitate
11:31Kent's offenders? Have your say on social media where you can find us on Facebook, TikTok
11:36and on X. And to catch up on all our other Kent Tonight specials, please visit our website
11:40www.kmtv.co.uk. But for now, from me, goodnight.