I had no illusions about release. Life was not going to unroll before me like a hand-woven carpet lined by topless angels waving spliffs rolled with fifty quid rizlas. If nothing else, there would be the small matter of my having dealings with the various bureaucracies that comprise a modern society.
Having been enmeshed in the most potent of bureaucracies all of my adult life, I have a profound appreciation of bureaucracy and the individuals whose collective efforts shape them. They can be scary. Bureaucracies that are intended to "help" us mere mortals in some way are perhaps the scariest of all.
Having no existence but as an occupant of a cell, a number on the Roll Board and an entry on the PNC then I would inevitably be visiting more bureaucracies In Freedom than most. And let's be perfectly clear here - I am exceptionally fortunate as ex cons go in the level of support that I have. Friends, family and The Editor all surround and support me.
Just as well. For I was discharged with the statutory £46 quid, intended to last until either a job or benefits arrived. Being one of the leper class, a job was not high on the list of probable miracles to occur.And again, I am luckier than most, with several things "in the pipeline" as media folk would say.
Sans employment, I report myself to the Jobcentre. One of the many and varied of my new experiences and I was comforted by the design and furnishings.My mental picture of Jobcentres rests on a sketch in a 1960's comedy, so the soft chairs and PC's were a slight surprise. The service on offer was less so.
This is the moment when it should crystallise with some people (all of us who give a damn) that a con being released is in a profoundly difficult place in life. He may well have lost his family support as well as his job and home. He leaves prison with zero social capital, or any other sort of capital. If he has an address to go to, he gets -as I did - a discharge grant of GBP46. If homeless, that doubles.
This money has to cover all and any expenses. Food, clothing, rent, transport, all that life requires. It must last until either wages or benefits arrive. Which returns me to the Jobcentre...
I applies for Jobseekers Allowance weeks ago. And now I am told that it is unlikely to arrive until I have my National Insurance Number. Which I cannot get until I attend an interview to prove my identity. Which cannot take place for another few weeks. And I have no identity documents!
With friends, family and the Editor I am assured of food and a bed. I am fortunate. Many of the nearly 100,000 who pass out of the prison gates each year do not have such support and are thrown to lean on the benefits system.
And with, at most, GBP96 in their pocket which may have to last a month - and find a room for that! - then all of a sudden the reoffending rate becomes more comprehensible. For it is not what is done within prisons which has the greatest impact but what happens at the prison gate.
To be frank, if I had nothing when I left and the prospect of sod all for weeks ahead, then dusting off the Jemmy and balaclava may appear to be more by way of a sensible economic option as opposed to some personality flaw.
I have to ask. Does society have the reoffending rate it deserves?
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You'd think something as basic as an NI number would be arranged before release.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, there is a simple solution to these problems. Don't commit crimes and don't go to prison. Secondly, I would think there are very few prisoners like yourself who have been in prison from such a young age that they do not have a NI number and are not known to the bureaucracy. I do agree with the above poster, I wouldn't have thought it was too difficult to arrange for you to have a NI number before your release from prison.
ReplyDeleteBut, for whatever reason, these people have already offended. Your advice that they shouldn't have done so in the first place does little to solve the problem at hand,
Delete"Does society have the reoffending rate it deserves?"
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blame game:
http://jimmygiro.blogspot.co.uk/2008/08/its-dogs-life.html
Benefits, and the [inept] bureaucracy surrounding them, are things I do know something about, having been involved in voluntary advice work. I commented to you recently about the similarity in both operation of and attitudes towards benefits and their recipients and prisoners. I suspect, as you forge further into the world, you will find many more.
ReplyDeleteOh, PS - my children can no longer have a school dinner unless they submit to fingerprinting. Nice.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this happen time and time again, and not just with offenders that have served an age in there. Resettlement is a joke in that it's frustrating, causes stress and is poorly organised.
ReplyDeleteI've witnessed many men, some with mental health issues be released with the token money in their pocket and directions to the nearest train station. The same guys that have met with NACRO time and again in the hope of sorting housing out and got zip! Yes we have the reoffending rate we deserve for such a shoddy resettlement scheme!
Given there is no internet access and therefore no pre-booking of tickets is £46 even enough to get to a friend or relatives home if they are unable to pick you up? If I have to take a last minute train journey to my parents house then that is £40 on one of the cheaper routes in the UK. If my housemate has to do the same to her parents it is well over £100.
ReplyDeleteTravel Tickets/Grants are provided separately to those that need them.
DeleteCould the companies whom use prison labour whilst the prisoner is inside, not be encouraged to use them on the outside? Would a sensible prison or government policy not be to make the offer of work on the'outside' necessary for Continuation of using prisoners on the 'inside'?
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the real world Ben, where cons are at the mercy of termanaly stupid probation officers, and inept jobcentre staff..... i thought you would find all this on release.
ReplyDeleteYou post reminds me of my own situation some 10 years ago. I had been on benefits through ill health for some time before I was imprisoned for 2 months and already struggling to pay my mortgage payments.
ReplyDeleteWhen I came out I ended up in court again this time the mortgage company were going to repossess the property but I somehow managed to cobble together a payment plan. Along with dealing with the stress of recent events and ongoing harassment from the Police I certainly didn't need this.
I was surprised to find that had I been renting,housing benefit would have still been paid for a period of 3 months yet if you had a mortgage like myself the payment stops immediately and serves to add a nasty little surprise on release.
"Does society have the reoffending rate it deserves?"
ReplyDeleteI think it's no coincidence that the highest rates of reoffending are with acquisitive crime, and the lowest are killers/lifers (You are no Murderer) and first time Sex Offenders.
IN the meantime, NI Number or not, you are entitled to a Crisis Loan of £71 a week until they sort your benefits out.
You can get a Proof of ID document from HMP Sudbury, and the Governor is obliged to provide it.
There are groups in society who society consider as being more deserving that those released from prison. Offenders (generally, whether they have been in custody or not) are treated as sub-human by large sections of society. While sensible people can clearly see a link between poor resettlement after prison and high re-offending rates; society (and the government) see only scum who continually can't play by society’s rules. Resettlement is largely left up to the voluntary sector and, well, there isn't much money floating around there just now (and again, an ex-prisoner's charity would probably be considered by many as less deserving of funds than the RSPCA)
ReplyDelete@anon 17th Sept, 4.03 I've been in the same boat as you. Do yourself a favor if you think you will be in trouble again, and even if you don't, best to protect yourself. THe rich do it. Put your house and any assets you have in the name of a family member or friend you trust implicitly. THen rent it off them. Or rent your house out while your in jail, and make some income for yourself. Always be one step ahead.
ReplyDeleteBen: I don't want to delve into your private circumstances too much, but um... if you have a working partner, it's unlikely you'll receive any monetary JSA. I'm not aware of ex-prisoners being eligible for contribution-based JSA. Income-based will take a partner's income into account. I'm also pretty sure that ex-offenders are immediately referred to the Work Programme rather than wait 6 months like everyone else. You might end up engaging with a whole new type of official bullying, and all for some National Insurance credits (what you'd get with a working partner when claiming JSA with no NICs record).
ReplyDeleteIt might be better for you to just stay out of the system until you find some paid work. Or register as self-employed and pimp out a few more paid articles like the Guardian one?
@AnonymousSeptember 18, 2012 11:08 AM Useful advice and had I known I was going to be imprisoned I might have been able to make some arrangements but alas the judiciary do like having their fun at times.
ReplyDelete@Jill Re: National Insurance, another little surprise I'd forgotten about. So after 8 weeks in prison I'm no longer eligible for DLA as I haven't got enough NI contributions so an immediate lose of some £20 pw. About 4 years later I get a letter from NI headquarters in Newcastle reminding me that I have to repay NI contributions for the period I was in prison or else I will lose pro rata entitlement to a state pension. i asked them why they hadn't told me this 4 years previous and they told me their computer system was on the blink.. So it appears had I managed to pay off my missed NI payments I should have returned to my old benefit but of course no one bothers to tell you.