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| Britain Proposes More Money for Inmates to Stop Them Reoffending |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/15/2002 |
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Prisoners should be given more money when they are released from prison in order to stop them reoffending, a government report published July 1 said. The report by the government's Social Exclusion Unit said efforts also should be made to help inmates keep their homes while they are in jail. Currently, prisoners are given a 40 pound ($60) 'discharge grant,' intended to cover the two weeks between release and their eligibility to receive welfare benefits. Press reports based on a leaked version of the report had suggested that this would be increased to 100pounds ($150) - but the final report did not specify an amount, or say how the increase should be financed. The government says former prisoners commit nearly one-fifth of all crime at a cost of around 11 billion pounds ($17 billion) a year. The report said nearly three in five prisoners are convicted again within two years of leaving jail. To cut that rate, the report called for more comprehensive rehabilitation, alongside efforts to find jobs and housing for inmates before they are released. The report also suggested prisoners should be forced to give part of their prison wages to groups that support crime victims. 'This report sets out common sense, practical solutions to the unacceptably high levels of reoffending,' said Home Office Minister Barbara Roche. But Mark Leech, founder of the ex-offenders charity Unlock, said the report was little use without hard figures. 'If they are going to help ex-offenders ... let's have the figures, let's see what we are looking at, let's put the proposals on the table and let's see a government with the courage to deliver,' Leech told British Broadcasting Corp, radio. The government said it would draw up an action plan based on the recommendations. |
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