David Cameron’s prison reform speech came one day shy of the 18th anniversary of my release from prison. I can still remember the buzz of excitement I felt walking through the gates for what would be the last time. The very same gates I entered 15 years before to begin my first prison sentence after being sentenced for robbery.
The cliche: “I’m never coming back again” was met with the usual: “If I had a pound for every time I’ve been told that I would be a rich man” from prison officers who had heard it all before. But I knew, this time was different. Because unlike the many times I was sent before the courts in the past, I now felt I had too much to lose. During my 30 months of incarceration for grievous bodily harm, I used every day to develop my learning—which I didn’t do much of at school. And for the first time in my life I had an education.
Education played a massive part in my life both in and after prison, which is why I was pleased to hear it will be one of the key improvements in the prime minister’s prison reform agenda. Plans were also announced to give former prisoners a better chance of getting job interviews by allowing them to apply for positions without declaring “unspent” convictions straight away. From experience, this is often the first stumbling block whenever you are asked to tick the criminal declaration box on job application forms. So a simple change like this could make a massive difference to prisoners in the future.
