A woman prisoner is spending her first day of freedom calling on prison chiefs to give prisoners more opportunities to ‘give time’ through volunteering. The prisoner will address Nigel Newcommen, the Deputy Chief Inspector of Prisons and other heads of the Prison Service at an event by volunteering charity CSV to outline the successes of its pre-release scheme and a pilot day release scheme at Askham Grange prison, near York, on Tuesday 12 September. 

26 year old Debbie (not her real name), is being released after completing one year of a two year sentence for manslaughter. Debbie volunteered for 28 days at a local hospital where she helped organise and run activities for patients.

Debbie says: “The opportunity to volunteer should be there for all prisoners. Being in prison has been a bit of a rollercoaster but volunteering has definitely helped me to cope.  At the end of the sentence you have to relocate and integrate back into community so knowing I have helped others makes me feel better about myself and gives me the confidence to face the outside world.”

HMP/YOI Askham Grange is an open prison and residents are involved in a community service reparation work as part of their sentence. High performers are offered the chance to get involved in the CSV pre-release volunteering scheme and spend 4 weeks volunteering in the community. Volunteers undertake a thorough risk assessment to ensure that they pose a minimal risk to the public.

Bob Davies, Head of Offender Management at HMP/YOI Askham Grange, says: “I really think volunteering benefits a lot of the women we have here. The volunteers have to be punctual and must properly conduct themselves at all times so by volunteering they develop key ‘soft’ skills that they will need when they later look for work. It is their first step back into the community and I like to think that it is a major step in their rehabilitation.”

CSV organise opportunities for serving prisoners in a number of prisons. Volunteering has a positive impact on the prison, the community and most significantly the serving prisoners. 98% of young offenders who volunteer while on ‘Release on Temporary Licence’ as part of the CSV pre-release scheme were shown to complete their task successfully. (1)

Joining Deputy Chief Inspector Nigel Newcommen at the event is Michael Spurr, Director of Operations, HM Prison Service and Alec McCrystal, Governor of HMP/YOI Askham Grange. Speakers will outline the innovative work of CSV in supporting offenders and helping to reduce re-offending. Participants at the event will receive a report by the Prison Reform Trust on CSV’s National Day Release Pilot Scheme (NDRP).

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For further press information: Paul Donohoe 020 7812 0037/ 0779 624 385 pdonohoe@csv.org.ukor Jason Tanner 020 7812 0038 jtanner@csv.org.uk. www.csv.org.uk/press

Notes for Editors

1. Our experience shows that 98% of young offenders who volunteer while on ‘Release on Temporary Licence’ complete their task successfully, and secure a reference and contacts. The period over which we took our stats was 1986 -2006 and the success rate has been consistently 98%.

2. The CSV National day release pilot scheme (NDRP) ran as a two year pilot from June 2003 -2005. NDRP placed 115 prisoners during this period. A review of the project authored by the Prison Reform Trust is available from Tuesday 12 September.

3. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. Each year 195,000 people give 4.9 million hours of their time as volunteers through CSV. www.csv.org.uk