Cuts to prison victim awareness show why Chris Grayling should be voted out

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/22/cutting-prison-victim-awareness-tories-chris-grayling

Version 0 of 1.

Tomorrow, the archbishop of Canterbury will go to jail. He will visit Brixton prison, south London as a guest of the Prison Fellowship, the charity that helps prisoners through support and prayer.

Justin Welby will be singing the praises of the Sycamore Tree project, run by the fellowship since 1998 and in place in 40 prisons nationwide. It is a victim awareness programme, teaching the principles of restorative justice and taught in groups by some 2,000 of the charity’s volunteers. Prisoners explore the effects of crime on victims, and the community, and aim to take responsibility for their actions. Victims of crime attend and speak of the impact it had on their lives. At the end of the course, prisoners have an opportunity to express their remorse; some write letters, poems or create works of art. There is a long waiting list.

An evaluation by Sheffield Hallam University in 2009, found that 10,000 prisoners who had taken part in the project had completed a psychometric questionnaire, designed to measure the programme’s impact, both before and after the course. Results provided strong evidence of significant changes in attitudes especially in key areas of victim empathy.

When defrauding banks, I told myself these were victimless crimes. There is no such thing, of course, as I learned.

Victim awareness is an integral part in the rehabilitation of offenders. I know from my time in prison that many criminals simply don’t think about their victims. I was no exception; when I burgled the houses of wealthy people, I had few qualms. I tried to make sure the people were not at home when I broke in. And I tried to be neat and tidy, so they did not enter ransacked rooms. I thought those measures sufficient. And when defrauding banks, I told myself these were victimless crimes. There is no such thing, of course, and I eventually learned that.

Back at Brixton, some of the shine has been taken off the archbishop’s visit with the news that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has axed its funding of the Sycamore Tree. All the MoJ will say is: “The three-year contract for the delivery of the Sycamore Tree course came to an end in March. There are no plans to renew the contract at this stage..”

The MoJ is clearly embarrassed by the prelate’s prison visit. When it was first planned, the axe had yet to fall and the BBC, the Telegraph and Guardian were also invited. That invitation to the media was suddenly withdrawn.

I suspect the justice secretary, Chris Grayling’s hand in this. SoSo powerful is he: his ill thought-out meddling in the criminal justice system has probably permeated the MoJ.

Although I have no religion, I would like to have heard Welby speak at Brixton. However, if I did trouble God, I would be on my knees praying for a Labour victory in May. Not that I would expect too much in the way of penal reform. (When last in opposition, Labour talked a good fight before adding another 20,000 inmates to an already bloated prison system). I would simply pray to get to get rid of Grayling. The man is an incompetent, short-sighted recidivist and the justice system cannot stand another term of his serial mistakes.