Or anything else.
Hope and opportunity.
Tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.
There will always be criminals who will stay criminal no matter what happens.
However, consider this:
The HM Prison Service successfully trains many prisoners in many of its prisons to learn trades like plastering, catering and plumbing and IT skills. It is able to deliver successful training to inmates who do not have prior qualifications. It is able to begin training an inmate on a roll-on roll off basis when a place on a course becomes available i.e. when another inmate either completes his training, or is released.
College courses outside of prison generally start once per year in September. If an inmate leaves prison before completing a course, he is normally unable to enrol to complete his training if either:
1. he is unlucky enough to be released at any time other than August
and/or
2. there are insufficient training places available in colleges
and/or
3. colleges are demanding prior qualifications before accepting a trainee
(in spite of the fact that HM Prison Service has shown that it can successfully deliver training to inmates without prior qualifications – perhaps HMP should run our colleges!!!)
Give a man or woman the ability to earn an honest income and he or she is less likely to re-offend. If the training isn’t there, not just for ex-criminals but also for everyone else, the country doesn’t get the skills the UK needs, and if people don’t see that there is a real hope to earn an honest income, it can increase the propensity to offend. I’m not giving excuses, just commenting on a cause. We are short of plumbers, plasterers, computer technicians. Some colleges have 2 year waiting lists for plumbing courses.
… the Government is determined to do more to turn offenders away from crime and into work, improving their skills, and encouraging them to lead productive lives.”
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/offenderlearning/index.cfm?flash=1
It’s cheaper to train than to repeatedly imprison someone. Re-Offending is costly to society, both in economic and social terms. A re-offending former prisoner costs on average £65,000 to re-imprison, and £40,000 a year whilst they are in prison
http://www.dfes.gov.uk/offenderlearning/index.cfm?flash=1
This calls for an open letter to our beloved PM:
Dear Gordon,
Cut the rhetoric, lets see the goods.
Yours sincerely
Baz Cymraeg