High Sheriff set to tackle 'shocking' re-offending figures
Mr Brims, a Brimpton businessman, was alarmed to find out re-offending was such a problem, and said he would use his year as High Sheriff to visit prisons and talk to offenders, as well as work in schools and hostels to help find answers to why so many find it so hard to go straight.
His campaign dovetails with a showing of the Edinburgh Fringe award-winning play Release (pictured), at Newbury Corn Exchange, which delves into the world of prisons, prisoners, probation officers, and sketches the harsh reality of life for those trying to turn their lives around.
“I was struck with what terrible cost - the social cost, as well as the financial cost, of this awful statistic, and I wanted to understand it more,” he said.
“There are 85,000 people in prisons in England and it costs the economy £3bn a year to keep them there. If two thirds currently re-offend and we can get it down to even 50 per cent that would have a huge impact.”
“In my two months as High Sherriff I have visited two prisons, Thames Valley Probation Service, and Thames Valley Police HQ; spoken to the Prisons Minister, judges and several magistrates; and visited some excellent organisations in Berkshire such as Blue Sky, Ufton Adventure, Readipops and Body Rocks which are working with ex-offenders to help them break the cycle of re-offending.”
Mr Brims said there was an obvious atmospheric difference between the two prisons he visited; Erlestoke in Wiltshire, which had more long term prisoners, and Wandsworth in London, which had a troubled air given that the inmates were only serving short sentences.
“It is almost impossible to be able to do anything with them for that period of time. It led me to ask why are people put in prison? Is there much point in sending them there for only a few months? Either sentences should be longer or criminals should be handled in a way that did not end up with them seeing jail for only a few months at a time,” he said.
“When a prisoner is released unless they have somewhere to live or something to do they often drift back into the bad old crowd and end up back in trouble and it can be very difficult to break that cycle.
“It is difficult, at a time when unemployment is low, companies will often not want to hire someone with a criminal record when they have five other applicants without it on their record - it is a very complex issue.”
Release is playing at the Corn Exchange in Newbury on Wednesday (13) as part of a UK Tour.