A costly decision for prisoner rehabilitation support?

The closure of a successful rehabilitation centre for offenders and transfer of its services to a large prison has campaigners worried.

Mary O'Hara
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 26 July 2011

On the face of it, the closure of a jail – even a small one – might appear to be something that prison reformers would welcome. But the recently announced closure of Latchmere House, a prisoner resettlement facility in south-west London, shows that such outcomes are not always clear cut.

Situated in the leafy London suburb of Richmond, Latchmere House has a population capacity of just over 200. It prepares inmates (all of whom must meet specific criteria, including having already spent six months in an open prison before entering) for reintegration into society through, among other things,day release for work, job interviews and training. In effect, it is the final step of rehabilitation before release.

The confirmation of Latchmere's closure came earlier this month – at the same time as the government unveiled a slew of prisons about to be put out for tender as part of the biggest ever prison privatisation programme in Britain. Brockhill prison, near Redditch in the West Midlands, will also be shut down as part of the programme, saving the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) £11.4m a year as it tries to make a 23% budget cut overall across the department.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jul/26/latchmere-house-prisoner-rehabilitation-support?CMP=twt_gu