Revolving Doors responds to Bill seeking to end Friday releases from prison
On Friday 3rd March, the Offenders (Day of Release) Bill is due to clear the House of Commons in a significant step forward on its journey to becoming law. This Bill will allow people in prison to be released slightly early to avoid leaving prison on a Friday or the day before a bank holiday.
In response, Pavan Dhaliwal, Chief Executive of Revolving Doors said,
“This is a small but significant step in the right direction and something we have been calling for for years. Friday releases essentially set people up to fail by creating unnecessary barriers when resettling in the community. Our members will typically have left prison needing to attend numerous appointments with, for example, their probation officer, housing, drug and alcohol treatment services, the GP etc. It is not uncommon to have over ten appointments to go to all over the city. Missing just one can result in someone ending up homeless, without medication, or even recalled to prison, all because you had only one day to get to all those appointments before they shut for the weekend. It is because of this that welcome the Government’s commitment to end Friday releases.
Jeanette, who has lived experience of the revolving door of crisis and crime, said,
“The problem with being released on a Friday is that if something goes wrong, or if there are any delays, you can be set up to fail straight away. A few years ago, I was released into the community on a Friday, but because of admin and other delays, I didn’t actually manage to get out until after 5pm – after all the services I needed had shut for the weekend. I had no home, no prescription, so I spent that weekend scared and homeless, sofa surfing with friends.
“I’ve asked myself since, ‘Should I have just stayed in prison until Monday? Would it have been easier? Yes, it would have.’ That weekend was long and tough, I was determined to survive, so I did, but it shouldn’t have happened in the first place. I hope that this law change will help make sure that no one else has the experience I did – everyone deserves a chance at getting back on track.”
