“People should be given a fair chance at a second chance” Paula Harriott on the early release scheme

With the early release scheme beginning we should recognise that people should be given a fair chance at a second chance.

Changes in the Sentencing Act have already reconfigured sentences so that people now serve one third in custody, one third on probation and one third on licence in the community.

Whilst prisons are rightly a place of punishment, they should also be a place of rehabilitation so as to reduce reoffending and protect the public. Those eligible for the scheme have to be engaged with education, work, or training. Any refusal to participate in rehabilitation or poor behaviour may delay release or make someone ineligible. The aim of the scheme is to allow those who do want to get into work and contribute to society to do so. All of the evidence shows that helping prison leavers into work reduces reoffending.

The key to success will be the prioritisation of rehabilitation and reintegration activities in prison and on probation. We urge government to resource these activities effectively.

Our CEO, Paula Harriott, was featured in the BBC’s coverage of the early release scheme.