Prisoners work towards rehabilitation
Hundreds of prisoners are building skills and confidence to aid their prospects of employment on release by manufacturing equipment on behalf of DE&S for the Armed Forces and at the same time saving the Ministry of Defence (MoD) money.
Courtesy ONE3ONE Solutions
Project Claustrum (Latin for prison) is a joint initiative between the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Justice and will contribute towards government efforts to rehabilitate offenders.
Evidence shows having sustainable work on release significantly reduces reoffending; the work provided by the MoD supports efforts by prisons and prison staff to gain offenders such employment opportunities.
There are significant benefits to be gained: benefits for MoD DE&S, for us as taxpayers; and of course for prisoners who will gain vital skills that may prevent future reoffending.
Savings for the MoD will be realised through utilising what are, in effect, untapped skills and capacity in our prisons, and MoD also expect to benefit from simplified procurement processes.
In addition to the obvious financial benefits it has also been found that the regular work provided by the MoD is valued by prisoners who understand their efforts are ‘supporting the Armed Forces’. Often this can be the first step in engaging with the support offered in prisons in rehabilitation.
ONE3ONE Solutions, part of the Ministry of Justice work closely with DE&S to identify the most suitable prison to place the work taking into account a range of factors, including matching the type of work required and the skills on offer to the facilities and types of prisoner available. Getting the right match is critical to the success of the project.
Initial projects include the refurbishment of a large number of Demountable Rack Offload and Pickup System (DROPS) flat racks and the manufacture of sand bags and camouflage nets.
Other work being undertaken by prisoners for the MoD includes the preparation and repair of toolkits and the recycling of serviceable tools. An increasing range of jacks is also being repaired – jacks that were previously deemed Beyond Economic Repair. All of this is providing meaningful activity for prisoners in work that may have previously been carried out in the Far East.
These are some of the initiatives currently in place and this year Project Claustrum is expected to provide regular work for more than 1,000 prisoners this year.