More support needed for Probation services under new prison release policies, says Safer Kent director
Concerns raised about adequate support for offenders post-release
Bryn Price, Director of Safer Kent, has expressed concerns that new government policies on prison releases require enhanced support and resources for probation services to ensure community safety.
The updated policies, which involve decreased prison releases, demand stricter supervision and monitoring of individuals post-release. Price believes this shift necessitates a structured plan to reintegrate offenders into society successfully.
Price explained that releasing offenders without proper systems for housing, employment, and ongoing supervision invites trouble and increases the risk of reoffending.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio and Hits Radio Kent, he advocated for a well-supported probation service to manage these needs effectively:
"It's putting a lot of work on the probation service because they've got to set these things up.
"They've got to monitor these people and they've got to monitor them very carefully.
"They are looking after these people, monitoring them all the time. Other countries can do it and other countries have done it very successfully.
"You look at some of the Scandinavian countries, they move them into villages where there's an industry where they could start working and they are monitored.
"I think we should do it.
"Letting people go without a plan of where they're going to live, where they're going to work, is asking for trouble.
"Because most of the re-offending happens because they haven't got somewhere to go.
"So they go and visit their mates, who they used to see.
"Next thing you know, they're on drugs again. It's a problem.
"They need structured support, structured support, getting them in, working out where they can get a job, where they can live so they don't have to go out sleeping rough or sleeping at their mate's place that's a probation service job."
Price's call for improved structured support aims to reduce the incidence of breaches in release conditions and ensure public safety.
Safer Kent continues its work to make communities safer and welcomes collaboration from government and local services to address these pressing concerns.