Prisoners get £76* for the journey after prison[1], and for those without homes, often just a tent[2]. Without the necessary support to rebuild, half of prison leavers reoffend within a year[3], costing the taxpayer a further £6BN annually[4]. This is a FALSE ECONOMY.
*This figure was increased in 2021. From 1995-2021, the discharge grant sat at just £46. [1] https://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/offenders/psipso/psi-2011/psi-72-2011.doc. This ‘discharge grant’ has not been increased since 1996. For a detailed analysis of the inadequacy of this grant, and other financial support available to prison leavers, see https://www.clinks.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/clinks_briefing_moj_uc%26dg_V3a.pdf [2]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-36032693; https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6774259/Prisoners-given-TENTS-leave-jail.html; https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/prisoners-given-methadone-and-tents-upon-leaving-jail-nn6p2wj96 [3] The reoffending rate is dynamic, but remains stubbornly high, 48% within one year across all adults released from prison, rising to 64% for those released from short sentences (less than one year) and as high as 70% for children released from prison. (Ministry of Justice (2019) Proven reoffending statistics quarterly: April to June 2017. [4] The overall annual cost of reoffending to the taxpayer for the 2016 cohort was estimated at £18.1 billion. Approximately £6 billion (one third) of this cost was a result of people reoffending after being released from a prison sentence (see figure 7 – page of https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/814650/economic-social-costs-reoffending.pdf)