Charity boss says prisoners need support amid fears some may ‘slip through net’

The CEO of a prisoner charity fears inmates could “slip through the net” and risk re-offending if they are not given sufficient support after their release from jail.

Andy Keen-Downs, CEO of Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) – which offers support for prisoners at all stages of the justice system, said prisoners being freed early to cut overcrowding will need “guidance” and “support” in the first three to six months after their release.

“I think the challenge will be that people don’t just need a bed. They need mentoring. They need guidance, they need support to navigate the system, especially during the first few months after release,” Mr Keen-Downs, 62, told the PA news agency.

“The vast majority of those people who re-offend do so within the first three to six months after release. If they can survive the first three to six months without offending, the chances are that they are going to live a good life.

“But my guess is that some of them may slip through the net. We have seen people being given tents because they’ve got nowhere. We’ve supported people who are rough sleeping after prison.”

He said the charity visited 30 prisons on Tuesday to offer care packages containing “underwear, toiletries and a few basic essentials” for early-release prisoners.

“We’ve been sitting down with people in our centres, which are just outside prisons, giving them some guidance, information, encouragement,” he added.

“We’ve given out 50 emergency grants to people who just need a bit of extra help, whether that’s for food or travel or absolute basics to help them through the first few weeks after release.”

It comes after the Government announced it will be releasing 5,500 offenders – which does not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences – in September and October in a bid to cut overcrowding.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood suggested prisoners freed early could be placed in taxpayer-funded “budget hotels”, which Mr Keen-Downs said is useful as a “transitional measure”.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily a terrible idea. I think it will be important to match the accommodation with the right support as a transitional measure,” he explained.

“It’s not right the taxpayers should be asked to pay for that. But as a transition into independent living or a longer-term solution, I think when it’s matched with a mentoring type scheme, I think that’s worth looking at.”

He added: “If it’s a choice between somebody being on the streets and with all of the harms that can cause, and them being in a budget hotel, then I’d support that suggestion.”

He praised Labour for its “two months’ planning” ahead of prisoners being freed and said the situation has been handled “much better than what was happening under the Conservative government”.

He said: “Under the previous round of early releases, we saw a vast number of those people being recalled to prison within a matter of days or weeks, some of them deliberately re-offending in order to come back to jail because at least they had a bed in a prison.

“Under the new scheme, more thought has been given and more planning has been given.”

However, Mr Keen-Downs has called for Labour to “rebuild” the probation system.

“Our probation service is on its knees, along with the prison service,” he said.

“The Government’s committed to recruiting 1,000 new probation trainees, but they’re not been recruited, and they’ve not been trained, so they’re not going to be any use at the moment because they’re not in place.

“We absolutely need to rebuild the probation service. The probation service used to be an arm of social work. It was a highly-skilled, professional service.”

He describes the current prison system as being “in crisis” and supports the Government’s decision to release prisoners early to help ease pressures on prison staff and ensure inmates are safe.

“It was one of the first announcements we heard from the new Labour government. (Ms Mahmood) very quickly grasped that the prison system in England and Wales was in crisis,” he said.

“We’ve been using that language for quite some time. We’ve been pointing out that the prison population is growing beyond the capacity of the system to hold prisoners safely.”

Pact is a charity offering support for prisoners at all stages of the justice system, including after their release from jail, and works in nearly 70 prisons across England and Wales.

It also runs the National Prisoners Families helpline, which is free and open seven days a week to help people whose family members are in prison.

For more information about the phone line, you can visit https://www.prisonersfamilies.org and for more details about PACT you can visit https://www.prisonadvice.org.uk/