Helping ex-offenders to get work and "go straight"

Those who break the law should be punished. But when they have completed that punishment it is in everyone's interest including their own, their families and that of the wider community to help them "go straight" and make a fresh start. That includes getting an honest job.

That is why the government is taking more action to help ex-offenders get into work, reducing the likelihood of reoffending and cutting the £15 billion cost to the economy each year whilst keeping the public safe. 

Key facts
  • One year on from the launch of the Education and Employment Strategy for prisoners, 230 additional businesses have joined the Ministry of Justice’s flagship work placement scheme for ex-offenders.
  • Evidence shows ex-prisoners in work are less likely to reoffend – cutting the £15 billion cost of reoffending to the economy, with ex-offenders up to 9 percentage points less likely to commit further crime. 
  • The government is also changing rules to allow prison governors greater autonomy to grant temporary release to offenders, following a rigorous risk assessment, allowing them to work and train while serving their sentence increasing their employment prospects on release. 
  • Reducing reoffending through rehabilitation has worked alongside our investment of hundreds of millions of pounds since the beginning of 2018 to increase stability in prisons with latest statistics showing an 11 per cent fall in violence in the last quarter of 2018. 

Why this matters

Improving access to training and work opportunities is a vital part of our strategy to steer offenders away from a life of crime, reduce reoffending and ultimately keep the public safe.

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