Valuing volunteers in prison

“Volunteers have an enormous impact on the lives and rehabilitation chances of offenders and the impressive work of volunteers will form an important part of our programme to reform prisons...the report helps to bring down many of the barriers that often prevent the voluntary sector from engaging with offenders, and, I think, encourages dialogue between all areas of the voluntary sector and the criminal justice sector.”
- Andrew Selous MP

This report, commissioned as part of the 'Valuing volunteers in prison' project at the request of Andrew Selous MP, explores how we can increase the amount and scope of prison volunteering across England and Wales.

Findings

The report finds:

• Prison volunteering has clear benefits for stakeholders.
• Several factors support successful volunteering including clear strategic oversight at governor level; robust recruitment procedures; support with security vetting; and good management and supervision.
• Models of volunteering vary, with some prisons having a clear strategy. However, most prisons we visited did not have a whole-organisation approach to volunteer involvement.
• Barriers to successful volunteering include delays to recruitment, often associated with security vetting and training; a large time commitment often during office hours; and lack of support from prison staff.

Recommendations

The report makes seven recommendations including:

• Clear roles should be identified for volunteers, and their work should be strategically integrated
• Prisons and their partners should proactively recruit volunteers from as diverse a base as possible
• Volunteering should receive a consistent level of coordination and support.

Use the "volunteering" tag below to see case studies and other reports from the project.