We have been gathering research across the sectors we support to guide our new grant making strategy launching in June. Here we share research findings from one priority area – people leaving prison.
In 2022, about 55,000 people were released from prisons in England, Scotland and Wales. Within a year, about 40% were back inside. With our funding we will support both services and policy work that aim to reduce that number and enable people to make positive transitions from custody to the community.
Highlights from our research
- High rates of reoffending and recall to prison mean there is a ‘Revolving Door’ population cycling in and out of prison.
- Reoffending is often driven by unmet needs – such as lack of safe housing – after release from prison, a high-risk time for reoffending
- We know what works. There are recognised ‘Protective Factors’ known to reduce reoffending such as safe housing, healthy relationships, education and employment.
- People leaving prison require holistic, integrated support pre- and post-release. The National Expert Citizens Group (NECG) recommends that funders target transition points and ‘through-the gate’ support
- However, organisations providing this kind of support receive very little funding.[1]
Socioeconomic Challenges
People leaving prison are among the most socially and economically excluded groups of people in the UK. Many have experienced trauma from severe and multiple disadvantages including high incidences of domestic abuse (especially among women), mental ill-health, homelessness and substance addiction.
They are disproportionately from racially and religiously minoritised backgrounds. Black and Asian people are over 50% more likely than white people to receive a custodial sentence and are also more likely to be held on remand.[2] Nine out of ten prisoners in England have at least one mental health or substance misuse problem.[3] Self-harm is at record highs, most notably among women. Two-thirds of people in prison in 2023 had literacy skills of an 11-year-old or younger—more than four times higher than in the general adult population.[4]
Prison and probation systems often do not adequately support minoritised groups. This results in these groups being overrepresented in the ‘revolving door’ population.
People leaving prison are among the most socially and economically excluded groups of people in the UK.
Challenges in Statutory Provision
Statutory provision for people leaving prison is often inadequate. In 2023, the National Audit Office found that the probation service could not demonstrate that Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) for people leaving prison were effective. An internal audit found that 68% of the highest value contracts were not meeting quality standards.[5] Meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee reported worsening resettlement services across England and Wales, with handover meetings between prison and probation staff missed in about 50% of cases..[6]
And in January 2024, the APPG on Homelessness highlighted that of the 50,000 people released from prison each year around 1 in 3 are released into homelessness or unknown circumstances. Without somewhere safe to stay people are 50% more likely to reoffend, often to avoid homelessness.[7]
Without increased support, the situation is unlikely to improve as the new government’s early release scheme in England and Wales adds to pressures on overstretched probation and resettlement systems. There are already signs that people are revolving back into prisons.
Our Work in the Prison Sector
We have been funding work in this sector through grants to a variety of organisations helping people prepare for and navigate their release from prison, including help with Protective Factors such as relationships and employment. Not Beyond Redemption supports imprisoned mothers to maintain relationships with their children. West Yorkshire Community Chaplaincy works with prisoners and their families and continues supporting them post-release. Participants have significantly lower reoffending rates than non participants. Beating Time’s in-prison employment and peer support has helped reduce re-offending rates, increase employment rates and improve mental health. LandWorks provides a route back into employment and the community through horticultural traineeships alongside support with substance addictions.
One LandWorks graduate said:
“I went to LandWorks with no job, been in and out of prison and I didn’t have the best look on life… I am now a married man and have a child on the way, my own rented flat, and a full-time job.”
Effective Interventions
There are recognised Protective Factors known to reduce risk of reoffending or self-harm after release from prison, including:
- Healthy Relationships – Evidence shows prisoners who maintain close contact with their family members have better post-release outcomes and lower rates of reoffending.[8]
- Education, training and employment – There is clear evidence from government evaluations that learning opportunities in prison significantly reduces the risk of reoffending and increases people’s chance of securing employment after release.[9]
- Mental health & substance use – The Prison Reform Trust and NECG argue for early intervention to provide services for mental ill-health and substance use. .[10]
- Peer Support – Peer mentors can offer emotional support, reducing the risk of returning to people or places that may result in missed appointments, harm, or reoffending. Those with lived experience give people leaving prison hope that recovery is possible. There should be a focus on peer support for minoritised groups.[11]
- Accommodation – Integrated support is essential for helping people to secure accommodation. One programme showed that peer support provided by the On the Out charity in Manchester/Bolton achieved greater success than other areas.[12]
- Community-based, co-located service hubs – An effective way to strengthen Protective Factors and community connections is to support community-based service hubs. such as Women’s Centre providing access to support for housing, domestic abuse, mental ill-health and substance use.
Clearly, these are big and challenging issues to address, and we have more work to do to decide how our funding can best be deployed to maximise positive impacts. But l there is solid evidence for what works well to support people, and that independent trusts and foundations have the capacity to help dismantle systemic barriers standing in the way of people making positive transitions from custody to the community.
[1] https://www.thinknpc.org/resource-hub/breaking-reoffending-cycles-in-the-criminal-justice-system/
[2] https://prisonreformtrust.org.uk/publication/bromley-briefings-prison-factfile-february-2024/
[3] https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/prison-mental-health-services-england-2023/
[4] Ibid.
[5] https://www.nao.org.uk/reports/improving-resettlement-support-for-prison-leavers-to-reduce-reoffending
[6] https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/41999/documents/209069/default/
[7] https://www.crisis.org.uk/media/04dmh0h0/appg-letter-public-institutions-and-homelessness.pdf
[8] https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2014/apr/15/lowering-recidivism-through-family-communication/
[9] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/708156/evaluation-of-prisoner-learning-initial-impacts-report.pdf
[10] https://revolving-doors.org.uk/publications/national-expert-citizens-group-2023-2025-strategic-priorities/
[11] https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/media/insights/documents/Improving-service-transitions-for-people-experiencing-multiple-disadvantage-Prison-release-2021.pdf?mtime=20211214162243&focal=none
[12] https://www.ontheout.org/
Author
Jasmine Sara
Editors
James Tulloch, Learning and Evaluation Manager
Ellen Rowland, Communications Manager