Governor insists inmates at Stoke Heath YOI get help

Major efforts are being made to reduce reoffending rates among the inmates at Shropshire's only young offenders' institution, prison chiefs said today.

Bosses at Stoke Heath YOI, near Market Drayton, insist they have the right programmes in place which are designed to help the detainees resettle in the community after they have served their sentences.

Governor John Huntington, who has been in post for about a year, said managers at the YOI were "making inroads" in reducing the reoffending rate.

He said: "It's important that people here have purposeful things to do while in our care. When they leave, many are going into work or education and not doing drugs anymore, or associating with their old crowds."

We want to make them less likely to reoffend, because our job is not only to protect the public by detaining people but by trying to reduce the risk of them having a negative impact on the community years after they have left us."

He spoke in the wake of a report by the Independent Monitoring Board for Stoke Heath YOI which raised concerns at the cancellation of training and education sessions run by an outside provider.

Shortages

The report said older inmates aged 18 to 21 were missing out on vital education because of staff shortages and sickness.

Despite concerns over provision of in-house education, Mr Huntington said there were other ways the prison was helping inmates resettle in the community.

He said many had work and training opportunities on schemes like the Duke of Edinburgh Award, while others have worked in local charity shops and for community groups as part of a temporary licence release scheme.

Upon release some Stoke Heath detainees have even found themselves working for top chefs Jamie Oliver and Marco Pierre White at their restaurants, he added.

Mr Huntington said further measures to reduce the reoffending rate were also being taken.

He said work to tackle misbehaviour among inmates while in custody was improving with the site's separation and reintegration unit winning praise in both reports.