MORE than half (65 per cent) of the scholars who took part within the Bishop of Gloucester’s “Voice of Youth” survey said that when someone was released from prison, it was vital that they might get a job.
The survey, accomplished by 277 13- 18-year-olds, examined how they felt concerning the UK’s criminal justice system.
Other responses to the statement “When someone is released from prison it’s important [that they] . . .” included “have a friend or a member of the family to support them” (52 per cent) and “have somewhere to live” (48 per cent).
The Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, who’s the Church’s lead bishop for prisons, launched the findings of the survey on the House of Lords last week.
Over the past yr, she had been “listening to young people” through the survey, visiting schools and creating online forums, she said.
The majority of the respondents (77 per cent) attend school or college in Gloucester. Of the young people surveyed, 15 per cent had been “victims of crime”.
When asked what an important uses for prisons were, 46 per cent of scholars said “to maintain the general public secure”. The next hottest answer was “to rehabilitate the offender” (33 per cent). The least popular answer was “to punish the offender” (19 per cent).
Fifty-seven per cent of those surveyed said that tackling drug and alcohol addiction would “help reduce crime and make communities safer”; 49 per cent agreed that there needs to be more employment opportunities for ex-offenders; and 24 per cent referred to ending homelessness.
Those who opted for a more enforcement-driven approach favoured making prison sentences longer (20 per cent). Eighteen per cent suggested employing more cops, while 13 per cent favoured constructing more prisons.
Just under half of the scholars (45 per cent) expressed a belief that a special prison system was needed for ladies and men. Twenty-seven per cent disagreed, and 26 per cent said that they were undecided.
At the event, Bishop Treweek said that she was “resigned” to the fact that adults rarely modified their long-established views. “There is hope within the openness that young people show to learning and changing their minds. In just a couple of short years, the young those that we see before us might be the policy-makers and the people holding the influence needed to alter culture.”
Rufus Clawson, who’s studying for his GCSEs at Sir Thomas Rich’s School, Gloucester, said: “At the moment, we’re falling short on rehabilitation . . . and want a more holistic approach.” He called for higher relations between the police and young people, and for investment in schools and young people’s services, including more mentoring schemes and activities.
Bishop Treweek continued: “What may be very clear is that [young people] don’t feel that more prisons needs to be built, but that investment needs to be made in creating employment opportunities, tackling drug and alcohol addiction, and stopping crime by investing in support and facilities for young people of their communities.”
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