BROMLEY BRIEFINGS PRISON FACTFILE - Prison Reform Trust

During their sentence 45% of people losecontact with their families and manyseparate from their partners. 148Charles Clarke, when home secretary,stressed the importance of family: “As weconsider the practical steps intended to equipoffenders with the means to avoid re-offendingwe also need to remember the vital role offamily, friends and community. I believe that wesometimes fail to give enough emphasis to thepowerful impact of supportive relationships toprisoners – to realise that offenders often caredeeply about letting down those closest tothem, and want to show that they can change,but somehow just never get there.An offenderis much less likely to re-offend if he feels partof a family and community, from which hereceives support as well as owes obligations.” 149However, many prisoners are still held a longway from their homes. At the end ofSeptember 2006 the average distance women inprison were held from their home or committalcourt address was 58 miles. Men were held anaverage of 50 miles from their home orcommittal court address.Around 10,700prisoners were held over 100 miles away. 151In recent years the number of prison visits hasfallen despite an increasing prisonpopulation. 152The government’s Social Exclusion Unit hasfound that many families have considerabledifficulty getting through to prisons to bookvisits. 153Home Office research has found thatmaintaining family contact is associatedwith successful resettlement. It found thatprisoners who had at least one visit from familyor partners were twice as likely to have anemployment, education or training placearranged on release and three times morelikely to have accommodation arranged asthose who did not receive any visits.Thefrequency of visits also increased the likelihoodof having a job or accommodation.Theresearch report concluded that ‘opportunitiesfor involving families in the resettlement ofprisoners should be increased’. 150148. Nacro (2000) The forgotten majority, London: Nacro149. PRT Annual Lecture 2005, Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP150. Niven, S. and Stewart, D. (2005) Resettlement outcomes on release from prison, Home Office Findings 248, London: Home Office151. A prisoner's home area is defined as their home address on their reception into prison. For prisoners with no address, the address of the relevant committalcourt is used as the home address. Hansard, House of Commons written answers, 9 January 2007152. Social Exclusion Unit (2002) Reducing re-offending by ex-prisoners, London: Social Exclusion Unit153. Ibid.www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk 17