The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) is an independent UK charity working to create a just, humane and effective penal system. We were founded in 1981 to inform and influence public debate on prison conditions and the treatment of prisoners, amidst concerns about a projected prison population of 48,000 by 1984. With the prison population in England and Wales now exceeding 82,000 and projected to rise to 86,400 by 2023, the charity remains as important to civic society today as it was then. PRT's main objectives are: 1.reducing unnecessary imprisonment and promoting community solutions to crime 2.improving treatment and conditions for prisoners and their families 3.promoting equality and human rights in the justice system. We do this by inquiring into the workings of the system; informing prisoners, staff and the wider public; and by influencing Parliament, government and officials towards reform. While often working alongside the prison service to effect reform and maintaining close links with departments including the Ministry of Justice, Treasury, Home Office, Cabinet Office, Department of Health and Department of Children, Schools and Families, to retain its independence PRT does not seek or accept government funding. The structure and rigour of programmes are agreed with those trusts and foundations that generously fund the work. PRT has a strong track record of effecting change in policy and practice.
External link for Prison Reform Trust
15 Northburgh Street
London, EC1V 0JR, GB
PRT’s deputy director Mark Day has written a blog which considers lessons from the campaign on the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 to reform the IPP licence. Read the full blog below ⬇️
IPP reform - a case study in achieving change https://lnkd.in/g8GEd89s
PRT has responded to today's announcement that the government plans to build up to 14,000 new prison places by 2031. Read our full comment here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eNCbFYXu
Prison Reform Trust reposted this
I feel proud to see the Equality Advocate Project recognised in the Prison Reform Trust’s latest report, Potential Unlocked: Building a Sustainable Prison Workforce. This recognition beautifully reflects the importance of trust, collaboration, and humanity in building positive change within our prisons. At HMP Wayland, we’ve had the privilege of seeing the transformative impact of empowering prisoners as Equality Advocates. Their contributions have fostered a culture of fairness, inclusion, and shared problem-solving, strengthening the bonds between staff and prisoners. The project’s success in reducing violence, building trust, and supporting rehabilitation shows what is possible when respect and understanding take centre stage. What moves me most are the ripple effects, how this initiative has shaped allyship training and keyworker programs under the OMiC framework. It reminds us all to see the person behind the label and value their lived experiences as a force for positive change. Thank you to the Prison Reform Trust and Peter Lawson, for shining a light on this vital work. And my deepest gratitude to the visionary leaders, the Zahid Mubarek Trust team, Khatuna Tsintsadze, Wayland’s dedicated staff Amy Beasley Jenny Chilton, our incredible Equality Advocates, and their families, whose commitment and courage make this journey possible.
We are thrilled to see our Equality Advocate Project highlighted as an example of good practice in the timely new report “Potential Unlocked: building a sustainable prison workforce”, published earlier this week by the Prison Reform Trust. Written by PRT’s former director and former prison governor, Peter Dawson, the report’s findings are based on evidence gathered through focus groups with prisoners in seven prisons HM Prison and Probation Service. The Equality Advocate Project significantly enhances fairness and procedural justice in prisons while contributing to reduced violence, stronger staff-prisoner relationships, and improved rehabilitation outcomes for prisoners who complete the course and gain work experience in custody and after release “In a more ambitious and structured example, the Zahid Mubarek Trust (ZMT) has, in a number of prisons, trained prisoners to help staff deliver the prison service’s policies on diversity, including the handling of complaints. Prisoners receive a 14 week training course from ZMT, but then work alongside diversity leads in prisons. In two prisons, the governor has extended that to allow trained prisoners to deliver sessions to officers learning to be keyworkers under the OMiC programme. In one prison we visited, the trusting relationships built up as a consequence over an extended period had led to the formation of an ad hoc group of staff and prisoners, jointly chaired, tasked with identifying priorities for positive change within the prison. Their conclusion was that prisoners with experience of working with ZMT should design and deliver training sessions with the aim of helping prison staff see prisoners as more than just prisoners. That work is in its infancy, but those we spoke to agreed that it was only possible because of a broader culture within the prison, supported by successive governors, that sought to involve prisoners in solving problems that affected them. It also profited from the personal relationships of trust engendered by staff and prisoners working together and committing to innovation that might be viewed with suspicion by their peers on both sides of the divide that they were seeking to bridge.” These achievements were made possible through the support and commitment of the visionary leaders we have had the privilege of working alongside. Thank you Kevin Clark and Ralph Lubkowski Sevcan Bikim Kudu MBE Amy Beasley We are proud to work with incredible prison staff from Unlocked Graduates
Prison Reform Trust reposted this
Independent consultant, researcher and writer on drugs and crime at RussellWebster.com
Transforming the role of the prison officer Prison Reform Trust calls for the radical transformation of the prison officer role in report written by previous Chief Exec Peter Dawson https://lnkd.in/gNKAG4Rz
Prison Reform Trust reposted this
I was delighted to see Unlocked Graduates being cited as an example of best practice in the really excellent Potential Unlocked report (or "the most sophisticated example of innovation" in this area!!!), which was published by the Prison Reform Trust earlier this week. 🌟 From the start we have involved ex-prisoners as well as existing prison officers in our recruitment and training. This isn't for any tokenistic reason - it is because it is necessary to deliver a high quality programme. And we have also always thought very carefully indeed about how to do this in the most impactful way possible. 👉 Those joining Unlocked Graduates are joining a movement to find solutions to the problems that persist in our prisons. They need to believe change is possible, and they need to be motivated to deliver a system that ultimately works for prisoners. 💡 Meeting people who have been to prison and stopped reoffending afterwards reminds them that people CAN change, and this can sadly be all too easy to forget working in a prison, seeing only those who return to custody rather than those who turn their lives around. 🤝 This model teaches our participants that prisoners and prison officers are all human, and need to work together to deliver system change. 🧑 And it means that they are reminded from the very start that am effective prison officer's approach is relational first and foremost - not transactional. 🧐 Finally this report finds that the Unlocked model of enhanced investment has a strong value for money case, and it describes a future where the model stops as "deeply regrettable"! If you are at all interested in public sector recruitment and training, or in prison reform, or in how to best use 'lived experience' in your work then do take a look! https://lnkd.in/eRGDFUdM
Prison Reform Trust reposted this
‘From a prisoner’s perspective, their quality of life can be radically altered - for better and for worse – by the actions and attitudes of a single officer.’ Brilliant to read this important report by Prison Reform Trust today, highlighting the importance of the right training and support for prison officers, so they can positively impact the lives of people in prison. That’s why at Spark Inside, we provide coaching support to prison staff, which the University of Lincoln found improved their well-being, confidence and communication skills. As one officer commented: “It allowed me to stop for a few seconds, then interact, rather than just be reactive.” We also provide coaching skills training to officers in the gym at one London prison to improve their listening skills and enable constructive conversations. As one gym officer reflected: “I’ve learnt that helping someone to think is more powerful than telling them what to do.” 💪 PRT’s report also recommends increasing activities that build relationships and empathy between officers and prisoners. We have recently begun a pilot of The Conversation in another London prison, where we use Deep Democracy techniques to work with those who live and work in prison to support mutual dialogue and understanding. 💭 The work with prison gym staff pilot and The Conversation are both currently being evaluated and we look forward to sharing the findings in due course. We hope that the Ministry of Justice UK implements the recommendations of this timely report and we look forward to working with more prison officers and managers in the future, to support their professional development and create more rehabilitative prison cultures. 🤝 HM Inspectorate of Prisons Rosie Meek Unlock - for people with criminal records Unlocked Graduates Andi Brierley Zahid Mubarek Trust HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Paula Harriott Natasha Porter OBE Khatuna Tsintsadze Soruche Saajedi Adeyinka Olufemi L.
PRT has published a new report calling for fundamental reform to the prison officer role. Read the full report below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ewZ3fzyU
Prison Reform Trust reposted this
We are thrilled to see our Equality Advocate Project highlighted as an example of good practice in the timely new report “Potential Unlocked: building a sustainable prison workforce”, published earlier this week by the Prison Reform Trust. Written by PRT’s former director and former prison governor, Peter Dawson, the report’s findings are based on evidence gathered through focus groups with prisoners in seven prisons HM Prison and Probation Service. The Equality Advocate Project significantly enhances fairness and procedural justice in prisons while contributing to reduced violence, stronger staff-prisoner relationships, and improved rehabilitation outcomes for prisoners who complete the course and gain work experience in custody and after release “In a more ambitious and structured example, the Zahid Mubarek Trust (ZMT) has, in a number of prisons, trained prisoners to help staff deliver the prison service’s policies on diversity, including the handling of complaints. Prisoners receive a 14 week training course from ZMT, but then work alongside diversity leads in prisons. In two prisons, the governor has extended that to allow trained prisoners to deliver sessions to officers learning to be keyworkers under the OMiC programme. In one prison we visited, the trusting relationships built up as a consequence over an extended period had led to the formation of an ad hoc group of staff and prisoners, jointly chaired, tasked with identifying priorities for positive change within the prison. Their conclusion was that prisoners with experience of working with ZMT should design and deliver training sessions with the aim of helping prison staff see prisoners as more than just prisoners. That work is in its infancy, but those we spoke to agreed that it was only possible because of a broader culture within the prison, supported by successive governors, that sought to involve prisoners in solving problems that affected them. It also profited from the personal relationships of trust engendered by staff and prisoners working together and committing to innovation that might be viewed with suspicion by their peers on both sides of the divide that they were seeking to bridge.” These achievements were made possible through the support and commitment of the visionary leaders we have had the privilege of working alongside. Thank you Kevin Clark and Ralph Lubkowski Sevcan Bikim Kudu MBE Amy Beasley We are proud to work with incredible prison staff from Unlocked Graduates
PRT has published a new report calling for fundamental reform to the prison officer role. Read the full report below ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/ewZ3fzyU
Prison Reform Trust reposted this
Really pleased about this new report from Prison Reform Trust on how the role of the prison officer needs to change. Over the years, I've seen how rehabilitation work inside prison isn't working because of staffing issues, and the valuable role that a prison officer plays in rehabilitation isn't really talked about. So good to have had a role in helping Prison Reform Trust do this work. There's a lot of ambition for prisons to change, and the ideas in this report could be an important part. https://lnkd.in/eC7ek_Kz
Read PRT's full response to the NAO report on prison capacity here 🔽 https://lnkd.in/d2FtJ4sj
The new completion date for building 20,000 extra prison places is 2031 - five years later than expected – putting pressure on prison capacity and increasing costs. https://lnkd.in/ehYqEJYu The prison capacity crisis is the result of previous governments’ failure to ensure that the number of prison places was aligned with criminal justice policies such as sentencing and police numbers. Coupled with delays in the current expansion plans, this has led to a reactive and expensive approach that will not meet future demand or deliver value for money in the long-term. As of September 2024, HM Prison and Probation Service has so far created a third (6,518) of the 20,000 additional places it committed to deliver by mid-2020s. The new date for completing the remaining places is 2031 - five years later than expected – which increases pressure on prison capacity and costs more. Prison capacity is projected to increase more slowly than demand and Ministry of Justice UK currently projects a shortage of 12,400 places by 2027, if demand increases according to its central forecast. There are several reasons for delays to the MoJ's and HMPPS’s prison expansion plans, including: • overestimating its ability to gain planning permission for three out of the six new prisons it had planned to build • unrealistic timelines • insufficient understanding of programme requirements • government bodies not working together to prioritise delivery The MoJ and HMPPS now expect the prison expansion plans to cost between £9.4 billion and £10.1 billion, which will be at least £4.2 billion over previous estimates stated in 2021. We recommend that the MoJ, the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury, the Home Office and other government bodies should work together to: • align government objectives which impact the prison population and the capacity to support these aims • learn lessons from the current crisis, including the additional costs involved and impact on prisoner outcomes • provide greater transparency to the public and Parliament, including publishing capacity projections alongside its population projections Read our report: https://lnkd.in/ehYqEJYu