Sid Madge is the founder of Meee and the creator of the Counting on Confidence education and learning programme for prisoners.

Early release schemes for a significant number of prisoners might offer a temporary fix for the logistical strain on prisons, but this has sparked deep concerns about public safety. High-profile stories have emerged of released prisoners reoffending, sometimes within hours of their release, throwing into question the adequacy of current rehabilitation programmes and risk assessments.

However, this concern is part of a much broader discussion that involves not only public safety but the question of how to prepare ex-offenders for a life outside of crime.

With around 100,000 prisoners in British jails and an additional significant number of ex-offenders already integrated into society, it’s clear that the problem is not small. What’s alarming is that despite these numbers, a relatively small percentage of ex-offenders, estimated at around 17 per cent, are in employment following their release.

Many of these individuals leave prison with little to no prospects, returning to environments where crime seems like the only option to survive. The consequences of this cycle are profound, not just for the individuals involved but for society as a whole.

Additionally, based on current crime trends, the prison population is expected to grow even further in the coming years. Without intervention, this could exacerbate the already strained resources in prisons and worsen recidivism rates, as more individuals are churned through a system that neither rehabilitates nor adequately prepares them for reintegration into society.

Meanwhile, the UK is facing a significant labour shortage, with a lost workforce of over six million people, according to research conducted for Tesco. Approximately 14 per cent of Britain’s working-age population is jobless but would like to join the workforce.

This shortage costs the British economy a staggering £455 billion, and employers are struggling to fill vacancies across various sectors.

Meanwhile, the ex-offender population represents a largely untapped workforce. If given the right tools – through education, skills development, and vocational training – these individuals could help alleviate some of the country’s labour shortages.

It’s a win-win scenario: ex-offenders gain employment, reducing their likelihood of reoffending, and the economy benefits from an expanded workforce.

However, to achieve this, we need a systemic change in how we approach the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners.

Currently, too few rehabilitation programmes focus on upskilling prisoners to meet the demands of the modern labour market. Prison education and training are woefully underfunded, and opportunities for prisoners to learn new skills that would make them employable are limited. This needs to change if we are to break the cycle of incarceration and reoffending.

There’s no doubt that prison rehabilitation is essential, but it cannot be left solely to the prison system. Rehabilitation is a shared responsibility, one that involves businesses, communities, and individuals. Employers, for instance, need to reconsider their hiring practices and policies toward ex-offenders.

Too many businesses are hesitant to hire individuals with a criminal record, even when those individuals have proven their desire to reintegrate and contribute to society. By offering ex-offenders a second chance, through apprenticeships, mentoring programmes, or simply job opportunities, businesses can play a pivotal role in reducing reoffending rates.

Community support is also crucial, as ex-offenders need strong support networks that encourage them to stay on the right path. In the absence of these networks, many fall back into old habits, leading to more crime, more victims, and a perpetuation of the cycle.

Education must also be at the heart of rehabilitation. Upskilling prisoners not only gives them practical tools to reintegrate into society but also helps rebuild their sense of self-worth and purpose. The more we can do to prepare prisoners for life beyond bars, the less likely they are to reoffend.

This isn’t just about training them for jobs, although that’s critical, but also about teaching them how to be part of a community again.

The cost of not addressing these issues is high. The UK currently spends approximately £5bn annually on its prison system, and reoffending adds another £18bn to that figure each year.

But these numbers don’t even begin to capture the human cost, the lives ruined by crime, the families broken apart, the communities destabilised by persistent criminal activity.

Then there’s the cost to victims of crime. Every time an ex-offender reoffends, it’s not just a failure of the individual, it’s a failure of the system that was meant to rehabilitate them. Victims are left with a sense of injustice, anger, and fear. When we don’t get rehabilitation right, we fail not only the ex-offender but the victims and society at large.

Restorative justice programmes, which allow offenders to make amends with their victims, are one way to begin addressing this. These programmes can give victims a voice in the rehabilitation process and help ex-offenders understand the impact of their actions.

This kind of human-centred approach can be a powerful tool in breaking the cycle of crime and fostering a sense of accountability and empathy in offenders.

Ultimately, the future of our prisons, and of our society, depends on our ability to embrace a model of rehabilitation, restoration, and reintegration.

This means investing in education and skills development, through programmes like ‘The Counting on Confidence Programme’, and support services that help prisoners become productive members of society.

It also requires encouraging businesses to see the potential in ex-offenders rather than their past mistakes, and it means creating a community where everyone plays a role in ensuring that people leaving prison have a real chance at a new life.

An often-overlooked benefit of effective rehabilitation is its potential to break the generational cycle of crime within families. Research has shown that family members of prisoners, particularly siblings and children, are significantly more likely to follow similar paths; a study by the Ministry of Justice found that 63 per cent of boys with a convicted father went on to offend themselves.

By helping ex-offenders successfully reintegrate into society, through education, employment, and community support, they can become positive role models for their families. This influence can inspire relatives to avoid criminal behaviour, thereby reducing the likelihood of future generations entering the criminal justice system.

Through this approach, rehabilitation not only transforms individual lives but can also have a far-reaching impact on reducing crime in entire communities.

The truth is, the responsibility for the future of our prisons is indeed down to all of us. The success of our prison system is not just measured by the number of prisoners it holds, but by the number of lives it transforms. Every prisoner who leaves the system and does not return is a victory, not just for them, but for all of us. The real measure of success is not how many prisons we build, but how many people we can keep out of them.

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