Sir Richard Branson: Time to start helping drug addicts instead of jailing them

by Sir Richard Branson, Daily Mirror 17/06/2011

BEFORE joining the Global Commission On Drugs I felt, as many Mirror readers do, that since drugs are dangerous it was best for society to punish anyone who used them.

Now having spent 18 months with commissioners Kofi Annan, George Schultz, Paul Volker, the Prime Minister of Greece and eight former presidents ­examining the facts, each of us decided it was better to treat those who use drugs as a health problem, rather than a criminal problem.

The com­­mission learnt that the current approach to the war on drugs had completely failed. We found those ­countries like Portugal and Switzerland who didn’t send their young to prison for taking drugs but offered them help instead managed to dramatically reduce the overall level of problematic drug use.
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By setting up clinics where heroin users can go to get clean needles and methadone (and get help when they’re ready for it) Portugal reduced the number of users by 50% and the number of new cases of HIV (from dirty needles) by 50%. The number of cannabis users is now the lowest in Europe.

I do understand why Mirror readers would worry when they read the words “celebrities call for drugs to be decriminalised”. They perhaps picture going into their local supermarket and seeing addicts queuing up to buy their next fix.

This is not what the commission is advocating. It is not what is happening in countries such as Portugal.
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What they are doing is proving that by ­decriminalising drug use, they can win the war a lot more effectively.

By helping user, rather than ­demonising them, I believe we will see real changes within our society and real decreases in the number of users – and, in turn, a reduction in cost to the taxpayer.

Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/06/17/sir-richard-branson-time-to-start-helping-drug-addicts-instead-of-jailing-them-115875-23206669/#ixzz1PWb1q2OF

Prison education is ripe for reform

The latest government report on prison education recognises that employability is the key to rehabilitation, but there remain difficulties that may let offenders down.

Carolina Bracken
The Guardian

In many ways, the latest government report on prison education has great potential. Based on the compelling correlation between employment and reduced reoffending, Making Prisons Work recognises prison education as the key to enhancing offenders' employability, and the cornerstone behind the much-heralded "rehabilitation revolution".
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Many offenders enter prison with an entirely negative experience of education and work; almost half were unemployed in the year before arriving in custody, and 80% have the literacy skills expected of an 11-year-old. Prison can provide a stable environment in which prisoners develop the skills that will enable them to follow a life in employment and out of crime.

Yet, while efforts to place offender learning at the heart of the prison regime are laudable, three main difficulties permeate the vision – each potentially undermining the government's entire rehabilitative mission.
To read the full article click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jun/07/prison-education-reform?CMP=twt_gu

Rehabilitation Through Prison Rugby

A prison PE officer is starting a rugby course at HMP Wormwood Scrubs to help support and rehabilitate offenders

Nigel Seaman is one of the Service's biggest advocates of sport and fitness and has already introduced the Rugby Football Union Leadership Award course at HMP Chelmsford to great acclaim.

'The course combines rugby coaching, refereeing and leadership with first aid and safety and protection for children,' he explains. 'I'm pretty confident it will go down well at Scrubs.'

Nigel's course was chosen as runner up in the Outstanding Contribution to Working with Offenders category at the national Justice Awards in 2008, and also won a Sport Essex award in the same year.

Click here to read full article: http://www.cjp.org.uk/news/offender-management/art-leisure-and-sport/rehabilitation-through-prison-rugby-01-03-2011/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Offender turns mechanic after community payback

A young offender in Stafford has taken up a toolkit and has learned to fix not just bikes, but his own life too with help from probation staff.
Becky Pedley, Probation Officer

Twenty-year-old Sean was sentenced to 100 hours of Community Payback last year.

But thanks to Staffordshire and West Midlands Probation Service, he has turned his life around, learning a new trade at Stafford charity Back2Bikes.

Probation Officer Becky Pedley explains: "Sean could have gone further down the road of crime, but with a bit of effort, he’s made some really good choices.

“All he needed was someone to take an interest in him and give him an opportunity, and he’s really paid back that investment."

‘Trustworthy’

Becky has often placed offenders sentenced to Community Payback to work at Back2Bikes, which renovates unwanted bicycles and sells them on.

Manager of Back2Bikes Barry Stamp says that following his payback work, Sean “stood out a mile.”

“He seemed really keen and he was very open about his offending history – that made me feel confident that he was trustworthy,” Barry says.

Barry offered him a job, and Sean now works repairing bikes at the charity. He is also doing an NVQ in bike mechanics, as well as taking courses to improve his literacy and numeracy.

“I only pay Sean for four days a week, but he’s usually here on his day off too,” adds Barry. “I trust him with everything – the equipment, the till, the bikes. He’s a great mechanic.”

Sean says: “I like the people, the manager – there’s a really good atmosphere. It was a relief to tell Barry about the things I’d done in my past. I think I’ve got quite good at repairing bikes, and one day, I’d like to open up my own bike shop.”

See more info here: http://sentencing.justice.gov.uk/?id=news&id2=3

Nacro's Change the Record Campaign

The campaign, which is being backed by former Conservative cabinet minister and ex-offender, Jonathan Aitken, is focused on reforming the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act.

This is an outdated law which makes it incredibly hard for people with criminal convictions to get and job and move on from their past.

The report outlines how the current Act is out of tune with the government’s rehabilitation revolution, its initiatives to get people off benefits and back to work and its Big Society plans to create a more equal society.

Paul McDowell, Chief Executive of Nacro, says: “Around a quarter of the adult population has a criminal record. Outdated legislation and unlawful practices are preventing people from moving on with their lives and finding work.

“Research shows that getting reformed offenders into work can reduce reoffending by up to a half. Updating the legislation therefore benefits not only ex-offenders and employers, who gain valuable skills, but also the wider community.”

Jonathan Aitken says: “I am one of many ex-offenders grateful for the passing of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act in 1974. This legislation was designed to help people with a criminal record get back into work. It established the principle of ‘spent’ convictions, giving certain categories of ex-offenders the right not to disclose their offence to employers after periods of time ranging between five and ten years.

“But after 36 years, the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 is in need of reform because its limitations make it out of date and ineffective. The rehabilitation periods are also too onerous. So amendments to the Act are overdue.”