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>>Title: Faith groups spreading the word on the wings >>Website: Guardian >>Date: 26/10/2008 >>Link : <a rel=nofollow target=_blank >>href=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/26/relig >i >>on-prisonsandprobation>Faith groups spreading the word >>on the wings</a> >> >><b>Faith groups spreading the word on the wings</b> >> >><i>Religious organisations working in British jails >>claim spectacular success in cutting rates of >>reoffending. The government wants to expand their role >>- but critics believe that, with entire blocks now >>under the control of some faith groups, tensions >>within prison are bound to grow</i> >> >>The trajectory of Michael Emmett's formative years >>never deviated from one inexorable conclusion: he was >>always going to end up in prison. Emmett's father was >>a career criminal who knew the Krays, and it was not >>long before junior followed senior into the family >>smuggling business, chiefly as a way of paying for his >>drugs and drink. >> >>It was a time of reckless living and hard partying. >>Emmett, by his own admission, went off the rails. >>'There was nothing legal about me whatsoever,' he >>recounted years later. >> >>Then, in 1993, Emmett hit the big time, at least in >>terms of leaving a lasting imprint on the criminal >>justice system. After a couple of short spells inside >>for theft and dodgy deals involving antiques, he was >>caught with his father trying to smuggle £9m of >>cannabis into the UK in what, at the time, was one of >>the biggest drug busts in history. >> >>Father and son were sentenced together and Emmett >>junior got 12 years. 'It's odd going to prison with >>your dad,' he would remark to friends, as if recalling >>a family trip to the zoo. >> >>But what was more odd was what happened to Emmett, now >>50, after he was sentenced. Having played the hard man >>- the sort of person who gloried in their facial scars >>and nebulous connections to London's most notorious >>East End firms - in his first few months at Her >>Majesty's Prison Exeter, he started going to the >>prison chapel, chiefly because it entitled him to a >>free phone call. >> >>It was from there that Emmett began to develop an >>interest in religion. He came to see faith as a chance >>to turn his life around. After badgering the chaplain >>to introduce an evangelical Alpha course that he had >>read about, Emmett found Jesus in the unlikely >>confines of an austere Victorian jail more familiar >>with sapping souls than saving them. >> >>'I had a lot of ridicule about it all because of who I >>was,' he said. 'Other people in the prison thought I >>was just working my ticket to get parole.' But his >>beliefs helped him to kick drugs and start his life >>afresh. He ran several businesses once he got out of >>jail in 1998 and was able to help others, in his >>words, 'discover a relationship with God'. >> >>There are thousands of others like Emmett who 'have >>found the Lord in prison' and made spectacular breaks >>with their criminal pasts, the sort of brutal >>splintering that secular groups working with >>reoffenders rarely achieve. For the unspoken truth is >>that, in an increasingly irreligious society, Jesus >>continues to walk the wings of Britain's prisons, >>offering salvation to those who have no other chance >>of saving themselves. And if the government gets its >>way, Jesus is going to assume a greater role in the >>criminal justice system. >> >>A new consultation document, 'Working with the Third >>Sector to Reduce Reoffending', produced by the >>Ministry of Justice, outlines ways of expanding the >>work of faith groups with offenders. 'Faith >>organisations can help build trust and acceptance and >>support effective reintegration,' the ministry claims. >> >>The government's logic for encouraging the role of >>faith groups in prison is based on simple economics. >>At a time when the ministry is having to find about >>£1bn of savings, faith-based organisations provide >>support networks on the cheap. Most have charitable >>status and can draw on funds dating back to handsome >>legacies gifted to them by Victorian patriarchs keen >>to emphasise their Christian values. >> >>But their biggest selling point is the impressive >>claims they make for curbing reoffending. Although >>about two-thirds of offenders go on to commit further >>offences, the group claims that Jesus can save not >>just fallen souls, but, crucially, taxpayers' cash. >> >>One notable example is the Kainos Community, which >>operates in three prisons - the Verne in Dorset, >>Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey and Stocken in >>Rutland. Operated by committed Christians, the group, >>which has been running for more than a decade, makes >>some dramatic claims for turning around the lives of >>even the most hardened of criminals. According to >>Kainos - which claims that its statistics are >>independently verified by academics - only 13 per cent >>of the serious offenders who complete its courses go >>on to reoffend after two years, compared with 35 per >>cent across the prison service average. >> >>Kainos, which is keen to play a greater role in >>Britain's prison system, enjoys a powerful position in >>the prisons in which it operates. Each jail gives over >>an entire wing to the community, which runs them on >>strict lines. Inmates sleep in dormitories and are >>given intensive cognitive behaviour therapy through >>classes in relationships, interpersonal skills and >>citizenship. On the wing the men live together, >>discuss their problems together and solve them >>together. The emphasis is on finding a common solution >>through empathy and discussion. >> >>Those offenders who want to be involved have to sign >>up to a minimum six-month programme and those who >>complete it are often kept on as mentors. When it >>started at the Verne, few were convinced that it could >>have an impact. But things quickly changed. 'In nine >>months we went from running what was known as the >>Beirut wing to a quiet, compliant wing,' said Patricia >>Rogers, chief executive of Kainos. >> >>Imported from a Christian-based group in Brazil, where >>it had helped to transform entire prisons, the >>organisation's religious emphasis has been toned down >>in recent years. >> >>But Rogers admits that faith is the key driver behind >>Kainos's operation. 'You won't see the word God used, >>but as an organisation we believe people can change, >>and that comes from our faith,' she said. >> >>Rogers admits many of the men end up being drawn to >>Christianity as a result of the programme. The >>organisation's website bears testimony to its apparent >>success. 'You have made me so happy today, and God >>bless for that and for everything that you teach me at >>Kainos,' one offender writes on the website. 'Coming >>to this community was the best possible thing that >>happened in my life.' >> >>Myriad Christian organisations operating in the UK >>prison system recount similar success stories. The >>Salvation Army operates a network of prison chaplains >>and claims many prisoners have benefited from its >>activities. The Daylight Christian Trust, a >>conservative evangelical group, runs a prison visitor >>and letter writing programme and has distributed >>170,000 copies of its Scripture diaries across the >>UK's jails. >> >>The Prison Fellowship has more than 120 local prison >>prayer groups and 900 volunteers from all Christian >>denominations. It claims to have achieved a >>'significant improvement' in victim empathy for >>prisoners who took part in one of its specialist >>programmes. >> >>Meanwhile, more than 50,000 prisoners have attended >>Alpha, the popular Christian course that operates in >>80 per cent of the UK's jails. The Attorney General, >>Baroness Scotland, has even praised Alpha's work, >>while its website carries scores of quotes from >>prisoners who claim their lives have been transformed >>by the course. >> >>'In being a part of the course I now have a new >>understanding of what God expects from us and how we >>should live as one of his children in Christ,' one >>inmate writes. >> >>Given current trends, some believe that the UK will >>follow the lead of the United States, where >>fundamental Christian groups pay hundreds of thousands >>of dollars to open centres in privately run prisons >>where they can promote their beliefs. >> >>'We are in crisis,' the US-based Christian Prison >>Ministries explains in response to questions about why >>it is spending huge sums of money going into the >>country's prisons. 'Our nation is hurting. We need >>anything and everything that will work.' >> >>The Prison Fellowship, set up by Chuck Colson - an >>adviser to US President Richard Nixon - who was jailed >>for obstruction of justice, makes startling claims for >>curbing reoffending rates and has become a powerful >>advocate of faith-based intervention programmes in the >>US. >> >>The organisation has flourished in states such as >>Florida, Texas and Georgia since President George W >>Bush outlined his 'faith-based agenda'- a plan to cure >>the United States's social ills through the expansion >>of religious ministries. >> >>'The role of government is limited because government >>cannot put hope in people's hearts or a sense of >>purpose in people's lives,' Bush said when asked about >>his enthusiasm for mixing religion and justice. >> >>But the increasing power of Christian prison >>ministries has attracted controversy in the US for >>blurring the lines between church and state. Their >>claims for curbing recidivism are also open to debate. >>Similarly a backlash is now brewing in the UK. The >>activities of some faith-based groups operating in >>prisons here are starting to alarm those who work with >>offenders. >> >>Napo, the probation officers' union, has written to >>MPs raising concerns about the work of a group called >>the Modern Jesus Army. The union says that it is >>worried that the organisation has been writing to a >>group of sex offenders in Hull prison offering them >>prayers and support in the final months of their >>sentences. Once out of jail, the offenders undergo a >>baptism and are born again. >> >>'In probation officers' experience, confronting >>offending behaviour becomes extremely difficult, if >>not impossible, after the individual has converted,' >>said Harry Fletcher, Napo's assistant general >>secretary. >> >>There are questions, too, about the way some groups >>target prisoners and preach a conservative >>interpretation of the Bible that claims homosexuality >>is a sin. >> >>'We are concerned at the promulgation of any extremism >>in prisons, regardless of religious persuasion,' said >>Frances Crook, director of the Howard League for Penal >>Reform. 'These groups are targeting what is literally >>a captive audience and exploiting very vulnerable >>people when they are at their lowest.' >> >>Crook believes the growing influence of faith groups >>in the criminal justice system is a result of >>unprecedented pressures now being placed on prisons. >>'What you have to understand is the lamentable >>provision of official counselling and support offered >>by the prison service, which is only exacerbated by >>overcrowding,' she said. 'No one cares unless you are >>trying to place yourself on the end of a rope. It is >>small wonder faith groups are on the rise in our >>jails.' >> >>There are also concerns that some groups exploit their >>position by offering de facto incentives to potential >>converts. 'Participation in these groups can often >>mean extra time out of cells and attendance on their >>courses can be a favourable factor at parole >>hearings,' said Keith Porteous Wood, executive >>director of the National Secular Society. 'This means >>non-Christians and non-believers may have to pretend >>to be interested to get the privileges that these >>courses bring. I have yet to see any reliable evidence >>that they have any effect on recidivism.' >> >>He warned that the growing role of organised religion >>within jails was in danger of inflaming tensions >>within the prison system. >> >>'Whole wings of some prisons are controlled by >>religious organisations, providing a much more >>comfortable existence for those willing to submit to >>the evangelising process,' Porteous Wood said. 'This >>is painfully far from the concept of every citizen >>being treated equally under the law and resentment is >>sure to follow from other religious groups that are >>vying for control in jails.' >> >>Certainly other faiths are showing an increasing >>interest in building up a following among prisoners. >>Several jails in the UK have entire wings now >>dominated by Muslim gangs and most have a visiting >>imam. >> >>Nor is it just organised religion that is taking an >>active interest in saving the prison system's lost >>souls. Documents obtained by The Observer under >>Freedom of Information legislation reveal that the >>Church of Scientology has attempted to introduce its >>Criminon programme, which it claims can dramatically >>reduce reoffending rates, into Britain's jails, but so >>far to no avail. >> >>Recognising the increasing plurality of beliefs of >>offenders, the Prison Service is now promoting a more >>multi-faith agenda. The move has provoked controversy, >>with several Christian organisations closing down >>their activities, complaining that a culture of >>political correctness is stifling their work. >> >>But countless other Christian groups are ready to fill >>the gap. Given that the incarcerated population is at >>record levels and rehabilitation and education courses >>are being pared back, the church's role in Britain's >>jails can only become more powerful. No one else wants >>the job.
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