Young, neglected and back: young men in prison - The Howard ...

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Young, neglected and back: Young men in prison Resettlement need identified Percent of sample who referred to this need Gaining employment 55 Having stable housing 26 Staying with or getting a girlfriend 24 Having a child 20 Positive family relations 20 Control drug use 17 Control alcohol use 15 Ability to drive legally 12 Set clear and achievable goals 12 Financial security 9 Staying away from peer group 9 Making better personal choices 7 Stop getting involved in violence 6 Consider the impact of offending 3 Move away from the area 3 Go to college 3 Previous convictions/orders annulled 2 Access to appropriate help 1 None 7 One young man succinctly pulled some of these issues together when he explained: “If I was to stop committing crime I’d need a job, a place to live and settle down with a girl. I know what I need to do; it’s just making it happen.” (Daniel, age 20) Another young man thought that it would be far more useful if time spent in prison was used to ensure that prisoners gained some form of qualification that would help them to get a job when they were released: “Everyone should come out of prison with a qualification, you’re not doing anything else whilst you’re in here, just sitting in a cell. But they [prison officers] don’t care. You might as well do something that will get you a qualification so that when you go out you can go straight into the workforce. Instead of like dossing around trying to sell some weed or something, you’d have a qualification.” (Kurt, age 19) Interestingly, three of the five most frequently mentioned issues related to personal and family relations. All too often the importance of family ties is seen as being of more relevance to women in prison rather than young men. Separation from families, friends and partners caused a great deal of distress whilst the young men were in prison: “In a way…I’m still missing my family.” (Yasin, age 20) Additionally, findings from the Resettlement Survey 2003 (Niven and Stewart, 2005) suggest that opportunities for involving families and partners in the resettlement of prisoners should be increased. Unfortunately however, nearly a third of the young men in our sample did not receive any visits from their families whilst they were in prison. In general, the young men said that it was their decision not to have visits, although whether this was or was not the case is difficult to determine. “I don’t want my family to come and visit me. Told my mum that. It’s not the sort of place I’d let my mum go. I wouldn’t want her in a place like this. It’s not that sort of place.” (James, age 19) Without adequate support, nor appropriate interventions to meet the needs of young adults in prison, we risk high levels of reoffending, reconvictions and a return to prison. Conclusions Virtually all of the young men interviewed as part of the Howard League for Penal Reform’s Out for Good research project on the resettlement needs of young adults in prison identified a range of complex issues that required some kind of support or intervention if they were to desist from further offending. Moreover, many of these needs can be related to the transition from childhood and youth into adulthood. A number of the young men related this shift to their changing relationship to offending, often regarding their involvement in crime as ‘kids stuff’ and something they needed to stop in order to become ‘men’. Careful management of this transition is crucial if real progress is to be made in reducing reoffending by young men. Imprisoning young men at this critical stage in their lives can have a massively detrimental effect upon their development and their future life chances. Alternatives to custody should be sought in all possible cases. The criminal justice system should instead work to resolve conflict and repair harm. It should encourage offenders to acknowledge the impact of what they have done and give them an opportunity to make reparation. Those who have suffered harm should have this harm or loss acknowledged and amends made. Gender issues pervade both male and female prisons, yet most research fails to consider how gender impacts upon, and frames the male experience of imprisonment. Nonetheless some research has started to recognise the importance of gender and it has been suggested that prisons harbour a ‘hypermasculine’ culture (Jewkes, 2005). It is unsurprising then that a noxious mix of violence and intimidation can be found in many institutions that hold young men. The young men themselves appear to recognise the dangers of such a culture, and identify their families, partners and the creation of new family units as crucial to their successful resettlement. “Well, you know it’s my girlfriend who’s keeping me out of trouble, she doesn’t use drugs and that, so I have to stay away from them when I’m at hers or she’ll go mental.” (Craig, age 18)
Young, neglected and back: Young men in prison Recommendations In all possible cases, effective community interventions should be sought for young adult offenders. All stakeholders must recognise that imprisonment, even for a short period of time, ruptures lives and the damage is often irreparable. Contact with families and friends is made difficult; employment and housing, both key in reducing reoffending, may be lost, and health, both physical and mental, may be detrimentally affected. Young adults have a range of specific needs that will not be met if they are mainstreamed into the adult prison system. Any young adult who is held within the prison system should have their needs identified and met taking into account their age and vulnerability. The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 needs to be amended to recognise that having an unspent conviction causes considerable problems to ex-offenders in relation to their employment prospects – a situation which is compounded when the offender is young and may therefore face difficulties in gaining any work experience. Many young prisoners suffer from a lack of a supportive adult. With the development of NOMS, consideration should be given to ensuring young offenders have a positive and supportive adult in their lives. Family ties are important in facilitating access to services and support to young prisoners. Nevertheless family relations may be fractious. Family mediation should therefore be available to all those who may benefit from such a service. References Farrant, F. (2004) A Sobering Thought: Young men in prison. London: Howard League for Penal Reform. HMCIP (2005) Annual Report of HM Chief Inspector for Prisons England and Wales. London: TSO. Home Office (2002) Criminal Statistics: England and Wales 2001. London: Home Office. Home Office (2004) Population in Custody, Quarterly Brief October to December 2004. London: Home Office. Home Office (2004) Offender Management Caseload Statistics, 2003. London: Home Office. Howard League for Penal Reform (2003) Busy Doing Nothing: Young men on remand. London: Howard League for Penal Reform. Jewkes, Y. (2005) Men Behind Bars “Doing” Masculinity as an Adaptation to Imprisonment. Men and Masculinities 8 (1) 44–63. Metcalf H., Anderson T. and Rolfe H. (2001) Barriers to employment for offenders and ex-offenders. Leeds: CDS. Niven, S. and Stewart, D (2005) Resettlement Outcomes on Release from Prison in 2003. London: Home Office. RDS NOMS (2004) Offender Management Caseload Statistics, 2003. London: Home Office. Singleton et al (2000) Psychiatric Morbidity among young offenders in England and Wales. London: Office for National Statistics. Social Exclusion Unit (2000) Report of Policy Action Team 12: Young People. London: ODPM. Social Exclusion Unit (2004) Breaking the Cycle: Taking Stock of Progress and Priorities for the Future. London: ODPM. Social Exclusion Unit (2005) Transitions – a Social Exclusion Unit interim report on young adults. London: ODPM. Solomon, E (2004) A Lost Generation: the experiences of young people in prison. London: Prison Reform Trust. Report written by Finola Farrant Additional research: Rosie Meek 1 Ardleigh Road, London N1 4HS Tel: 020 7249 7373 Fax: 020 7249 7788 Email: info@howardleague.org Web: www.howardleague.org Registered charity number 251926 Published 2005
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