Mark Johnson

How to prevent riots: invest in young people, don't criminalise them

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 00:50:23 +0100

How to prevent riots: invest in young people, don't criminalise them

Do you think it would be possible to petition the government regarding the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act? My son who was sentenced to 3yrs 3mths in 1999 is finding it impossible to get a job as he is obliged to declare his unspent criminal record? Would be interested to hear your comments

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:42:36 +0100

Hi, Nacro have some excellent info on this subject. I do know that the act is under review ask we speak. Basically I can’t see how we can continue giving every offender a life sentence by installments through the stigma surrounding prison or CJS orders. Every deserves a chance to change!!!

Best wishes

Mark

what are your thoughts about the riots this week?

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:34:25 +0100

Ill be writing a column in the Guardian next weds and instead of me adding further comments and opinion I have secured a contract for my charity to go into prison and find out who/why these people done what they did! The research will be going directly to government.

Thanks

Mark

hi mark, i read your book,whilst in hospital, my last hit was the day before, please could you help me with this im too afraid to got to docs or near hospitals, here goes, my boyfreind was hitting me in the groin, as i couldnt get anywhere else a few times he must have hit a nerve, as the whole leg are went red itchy and inflamed, now im left with a numbness in my leg, thats been since april, its still the same, how long till this goes away ? does it go away ? also pop marks do they disappear or will i always have this ? please help thanks

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:21:41 +0100

Please get yourself to the doctors! You have to ask yourself which is more important, your health or your future job prospects? There are lots of drug support agencies and even private doctors.

Depending how long you’ve injected and skin type etc, track marks can be forever, I guess that if your going in your groin you’ve been using awhile?

Go and get yourself some help.

Good luck

Mark

what am i meant to write on job applications? what do i put where they ask about health/hospital stays etc. do i lie an risk getting found out down the line, admit it (no interview there) or what? Been using 20 years but was working at same job for 13 yrs til my boss found out and thought it "might be better all round if i left" I am stuck and struggling. any advice (except 12 steppin) appreciated. Cheers. S

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:13:50 +0100

Hi S, Nacro have some excellent info about your issue, you can call or look online. I have only attended one interview in my life so feel under qualified to give advice. You could contact my charity Uservoice and ask Jeff who is a solicitor, he could provide info on where you stand around employment law.

So sorry for the late response, I’ve had problems accessing this site.

Good luck

Mark

Hi Mark, It's Sharon Berry from Storybook Dads. We met at Shannon Trust conference in March. Hope all's well. I want to ask 2 things. Is the tree surgery thing you set up for ex prisoners - still in operation? If so where and how would I find out about it? Also we are holding our first ever fund raising event on Wed 28th Sept - a sponsored chain gang walk on Dartmoor - with Terry Waite walking some of the way. If you use twitter , facebook etc could you mention us please.

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:04:58 +0100

Hi Sharon, my email is Mark@Uservoice.org lets stay intouch. Your doing incredible work.

Warm regards

Mark

I need help. I have been kicked out my family home because I chose my Bf over them. My bf does alot of coke and deals drugs, he works illegally and he is so nasty to me, but for some reason, i cant stop loving him...i have lost everything, i have no home, my cars well and truly f**ked, ive lost my mates and i feel disgusting, i met you once at college, and i found u to be a really nice person.

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:02:27 +0100

Hello, which college was it? Basically I think if someone is being nasty to you, you should stay away from them. You might think it’s love etc but I but abusive relationships can be addictive and damage you emotionally for a very longtime. Your worth more than that. Your parents are probably very worried about! If you want to email me direct you can get me on mark@uservoice.org.

Take very good care of yourself

Mark

Will Westminster finally act on the experiences of young offenders?

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:17:00 +0000

Will Westminster finally act on the experiences of young offenders?

Apologising to victims will not reduce reoffending rates

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 09:17:08 +0100

Apologising to victims will not reduce reoffending rates

You can comment on the Guardian website too. Esp to share your own stories of making amends.

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:47:24 +0100

You can comment on the Guardian website too. Esp to share your own stories of making amends.

Want to get ex-offenders into work? Scrap criminal records

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:02:26 +0100

Want to get ex-offenders into work? Scrap criminal records

Do These Inmates Hold the Key to the Prisons Dilemma?

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 10:02:00 +0100

This article was published in the Times 2 Life, 2nd July 2010

The inmates who may hold the key to prisons dilemma

Alice Fishburn

2 July 2010

As Ken Clarke talks about a radical change in prison sentencing, we look at how empowering prisoners with inmate councils could provide a solution

The meeting starts late. Ten minutes after a crackling walkie-talkie announces “All council members to the boardroom”, a series of secure metal doors clang outside and the casually dressed, notebook-wielding councillors file in to take their seats. One has sent his apologies: a mandatory drug test has delayed him. After a call for silence, the weekly Parkhurst Prison Council at HMP Isle of Wight is declared in session.

Earlier this week, Ken Clarke, the Justice Secretary, condemned the British prison system as an expensive failure, saying: “Just banging up more and more people for longer without actively seeking to change them is what you would expect of Victorian England.”

Yet here, behind the high stone walls that set inmates apart from island life, the Parkhurst, Albany and Camp Hill jails are piloting a prison council model designed eventually to reintegrate prisoners into society. Each week, groups of elected inmates meet around a boardroom table to put suggestions, concerns and proposals to the prison staff — with a portrait of Queen Victoria looking on.

After the minutes are approved and concerns over campaign literature solved, the meeting moves to a Q&A session with Richard Knowles, head of prisons healthcare for HMP Isle of Wight. A council member requests that lists of medications dispensed by the pharmacy be removed from public display. Those at the table grin knowingly as he describes how they offer “a shopping list” for drug dealers. Knowles nods and makes a note.

Such common-sense observations provide the sort of feedback that busy officers don’t usually have the time to contemplate, and the list of achievements secured by the Isle of Wight councils range from providing new can openers to more releases on temporary licence for the low-security prisoners in Camp Hill. Extra toys have been supplied for visiting children, careers fairs held in the prison gym and flower orders on Mother’s Day placed on the additional shopping list. In Albany, the canteen remains a popular subject of debate. Food quality has improved but there are concerns about quantity. “Two slices of cucumber, a lettuce leaf, a tomato and a piece of cheese. That’s it,” moans one inmate. His colleagues, sitting next to him on the sofa, nod vigorously.

This new ability to debate and solve problems shows prisoners that they can make a difference. “Beforehand, we were all saying ‘you never get nothing here’. That was the stigma Camp Hill had,” says Wes, an offender.

Last week, the group successfully proposed phone booths to shut out the background pandemonium that intruded on prized calls home. This week, they are thinking about asking for domestic training that will help them in resettlement. “A washing machine is a hard thing to use,” Wes says sheepishly.

It may also seem like a small thing to teach, but such little improvements to everyday prison life can have a big impact on release. “People talk about the Big Society, this is it,” says Mark Johnson, founder of User Voice. “It’s about communicating with people, removing reliance on public services and promoting personal responsibility.”

An ex-offender who has “done a few” sentences for robbery and fighting, Johnson battled with a heroin and crack addiction before setting up the London-based charity, which works to alter the justice system by deploying the insight and experience of ex-offenders.

That he served several prison sentences is not unusual. One of the main criticisms made by Ken Clarke this week concerned the rising rates of reoffending. Almost half of all prisoners are reconvicted within the first year of leaving prison. The 60 per cent of short-term prisoners who reoffend in this period cost £10 billion a year. Wes believes that the prison council will help him to buck the odds by teaching him patience and application. He has just weeks left of his sentence and wants to volunteer for User Voice in other jails.

“A lot of us in here have no structure in our lives. We are impulsive. We find it hard to plan things,” he says. “But on the council, we’re listened to and we see that results don’t always happen straight away. It’s the same when you apply that concept to life.”

The prison councils aren’t just helping inmates on release. The Isle of Wight staff believe that they are also transforming life inside the jails too. Barry Greenberry, the energetic governor, becomes more animated as he sits at a table made for him by the inmates. “The councils are changing the nature of this place,” he says. “If people believe they can help change the system, maybe it will knock on so that they can help to change themselves.”

Although the pilot has operated for a year, figures already show a shift. Camp Hill inmates are requesting to stay and serve out their sentences. In Albany, a Category B prison that houses sex offenders, there has been a 37 per cent reduction in prisoner complaints. In Parkhurst, the number of segregation days on the site — a reflection of bad feeling and bad temper — has fallen from 160 to 47. And council members are reporting that more men on the wings come to them first with any problems. “This is about allowing these people to take responsibility for themselves and often that’s all they want,” Johnson says. “The council attracts the bright minds, who are often the most frustrated.”

The knock-on effect is a better reputation. When the first-time offender, Chik, found out about his transfer to Camp Hill prison, he assumed the worst. The site had such a bad name that his cellmate at Wandsworth told him that he would pray for him. “I got scared out of my wits thinking it was some kind of hellhole,” he says. Yet on his arrival, he joined the council. When he wrote to reassure his old friend about how well he was getting on, the reply came: “Are you sure you were sent to Camp Hill?”

Another intangible change has been a shift in staff attitude. Greenberry assumes the expression of an harassed dad as he describes the intense “sibling” rivalry that defines the officer-inmate relationship. “When we talk about empowering prisoners, it puts staff backs up. To some people empowering prisoners means undermining their authority,” he says. But over time, the councils have enabled a more harmonious relationship: that of line manager and line managed. Now everyone calls everyone “Mr”.

Back in Parkhurst prison, the councillors tease Barbara Bronwin, the head of Prisoner Engagement, about her lack of IT skills. She grins and hassles them to get back out there on the campaign trail.

Both staff and prisoners vote in the council elections, which are held annually. Candidates receive training on how to make their voices heard, stand for a particular party — education and resettlement are popular issues — and hit the stump for votes. “Last year, our turnout was considerably higher than that at the European elections,” Greenberry says. One User Voice survey reports that only 35 per cent of prisoners had voted in general elections before jail, yet 79 per cent of council members plan to use their vote in the future. Prisoners are not allowed to vote in general elections.

“The process here actually highlighted the last election for me,” says council member J. D., dodging the mocking of his co-councillors as he recounts how he followed the coalition talks. “It’s all about taking control of your life.” By learning to speak up in the councils, prisoners also learn to engage with authority. “There’s 101 ways in which people come into prison. We need 102 to keep them out,” Greenberry says. “This is about people regaining their notion of citizenship.”

Juliet Lyon, director of the charity Prison Reform Trust, goes farther. She says that councils play an important role in the successful management of prisons and are “a bedrock for resettlement” when offenders are released. According to Barred Citizens, a new report from her organisation, more than half of UK prisons now offer some sort of council or forum, although few are as structured as the one operated by User Voice, which sends ex-offenders into prisons to help oversee the process.

Its project manager, Sheila Clifford, understands the frustrations of life inside better than anyone. More than a decade ago, she did two stints for drink- driving. While her years of work in drug rehabilitation lend her credibility with the staff, her personal experience gives her authority with the inmates.

Almost every week, Clifford takes the ferry to the Isle of Wight. Part of her job is to make sure that offenders understand and appreciate that there are limits to requests. Learning how to accept rejection is seen as one of the most important parts of re-engaging with society.

“They start to believe in themselves when they’re heard because being heard in prison is a big thing. But you have to siphon through the ones who just want to moan and those who really want to ask for changes,” she says. “We still have to drill it into them that change doesn’t happen overnight.” After all, she points out: “This is prison.”

In his Guardian article Mark talks about how Former prisoners will always remain the unwelcome guest at the criminal justice party, but will deliver the truth

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:20:00 +0100

In his Guardian article Mark talks about how Former prisoners will always remain the unwelcome guest at the criminal justice party, but will deliver the truth

When justice secretary Ken Clarke makes the inevitable cuts it's the fat interception industry that should starve, says Mark Johnson

Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 +0100

When justice secretary Ken Clarke makes the inevitable cuts it's the fat interception industry that should starve, says Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson searched the manifestos for signs that at least one party understands that our high crime rate and dismal reoffending statistics show current thinking doesn't work

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Mark Johnson searched the manifestos for signs that at least one party understands that our high crime rate and dismal reoffending statistics show current thinking doesn't work

However much we sympathise, the fury of those who have been affected by crime should not find its way into government policy, says Mark Johnson

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

However much we sympathise, the fury of those who have been affected by crime should not find its way into government policy, says Mark Johnson

In his latest article Mark Johnson speaks about how our definition of a victim of crime is too narrow. We punish children when we should be funding support for them

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In his latest article Mark Johnson speaks about how our definition of a victim of crime is too narrow. We punish children when we should be funding support for them

Drug users’ voices must be heard in the battle against addiction

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In a new article for The Guardian Mark explains that the best people to consult on effective drug rehabilitation methods must surely be reformed addicts – people with direct experience of both addiction and rehabilitation – rather than service providers with no personal exposure to the situation.

Rattling out prescriptions writes off addicts

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Mark argues that the Government’s policy of prescribing drugs to addicts in prison is an ineffective means of crime-prevention and does more harm to the addicted than good to the community in a new article for The Guardian article.

Denial-bashing can shatter serial offenders’ delusions

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +0000

Mark questions the Government’s tendency towards repeat punishment of repeat offenders without emphasis on deterrent or reform in this article for The Guardian.

Mark Johnson

How to prevent riots: invest in young people, don't criminalise them

Do you think it would be possible to petition the government regarding the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act? My son who was sentenced to 3yrs 3mths in 1999 is finding it impossible to get a job as he is obliged to declare his unspent criminal record? Would be interested to hear your comments

what are your thoughts about the riots this week?

Will Westminster finally act on the experiences of young offenders?

Apologising to victims will not reduce reoffending rates

You can comment on the Guardian website too. Esp to share your own stories of making amends.

Want to get ex-offenders into work? Scrap criminal records

Do These Inmates Hold the Key to the Prisons Dilemma?

In his Guardian article Mark talks about how Former prisoners will always remain the unwelcome guest at the criminal justice party, but will deliver the truth

When justice secretary Ken Clarke makes the inevitable cuts it's the fat interception industry that should starve, says Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson searched the manifestos for signs that at least one party understands that our high crime rate and dismal reoffending statistics show current thinking doesn't work

However much we sympathise, the fury of those who have been affected by crime should not find its way into government policy, says Mark Johnson

In his latest article Mark Johnson speaks about how our definition of a victim of crime is too narrow. We punish children when we should be funding ­support for them

Drug users’ voices must be heard in the battle against addiction

Rattling out prescriptions writes off addicts

Denial-bashing can shatter serial offenders’ delusions

In his latest article Mark Johnson speaks about how our definition of a victim of crime is too narrow. We punish children when we should be funding support for them