When I founded Inside Out Justice, I knew I'd be swimming against the current of public sentiment and political convenience.
Restorative justice offers precisely that alternative, and the evidence supporting it is becoming too compelling to ignore.
The evidence is consistent, robust, and unambiguous: prisoners who engage in education whilst imprisoned are far less likely to reoffend after release.
Fourth, employment creates social connection—people rely on you, you have relationships beyond crisis, you're embedded in a community.
Some estimates suggest that ten to fifteen percent of people released from prison within a year experience homelessness.
Private prisons exist in the UK in the form of contracts between the government and companies like Serco, G4S, and Sodexo.
It doesn't include the costs to other public services: healthcare, mental health services, social services for families, policing, courts, prosecution.
The Sentencing Act 2026 shows that when the evidence becomes undeniable and the system reaches breaking point, change can happen.
And as a result, many young people who could have been diverted from crime continue offending and enter the adult criminal justice system.
England and Wales are holding 72% of prisons at or above their design capacity according to the latest figures from 2024-25.
