Learning's role in reducing reoffending Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - 14:45

Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke, has said that prison too often proves "a costly and ineffectual approach that fails to turn criminals into law-abiding citizens". NIACE believes that to reduce reoffending, ex-offenders need encouragement to take up learning and training opportunities.

Professor Tom Schuller, Senior Research Fellow at NIACE, said:

"Ken Clarke's comments on the prison population mark a welcome change. But to reduce reoffending we need far more attention paid to what happens when offenders leave prison. In particular, they should be given every encouragement to engage in education and training. This would not only give them skills or qualifications which would raise their chances of getting a job, it would also get them into a different milieu; mixing with other students rather than fellow offenders should help them integrate into society."

"In Learning Through Life, the final report a two year independent inquiry into the future of lifelong learning, we recommended a learning entitlement for ex-offenders to make this crucial transition work better."

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