NEW RESEARCH SHOWS ARTS PROGRAMMES CAN CUT CRIME AND SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY

Transcription

1 Embarged until: 00:01 Tuesday 25 Octber NEW RESEARCH SHOWS ARTS PROGRAMMES CAN CUT CRIME AND SAVE TAXPAYERS MONEY The arts play an imprtant rle in the criminal justice system and can reduce crime and save taxpayers mney, accrding t a majr new reprt published tday. One arts prject, Only Cnnect, mre than halves expected rates f re-ffending, frm an estimated 57.5% withut the charity t 25.9% with the charity. This generates savings f ver 3.2m t the criminal justice sectr ver six years. The reprt, Unlcking Value, was cmmissined by the Arts Alliance and prduced by charity think tank and cnsultancy New Philanthrpy Capital (NPC). It explres the value f the arts in criminal justice by examining the results f three rganisatins - Clean Break, Only Cnnect and Unitas wh each wrk with different grups f ffenders. All three prjects imprve peple s life chances and can generate substantial savings t the public purse. With a spiralling prisn ppulatin, shcking rates f re-ffending, and steeply declining budgets, we urgently need t find new ways f wrking says Tim Rbertsn, Chair f the Arts Alliance. This reprt makes it clear that arts-based interventins can help t reduce re-ffending, and in ding s als save serius amunts f public mney. The criminal justice sectr needs t pen its drs t arts rganisatins and find new ways f wrking in partnership with them. Re-ffending csts the gvernment between 9.5bn and 13bn a year, with tw in five adults re-ffending within a year f release i. Last year the Ministry f Justice annunced plans fr using payment-by-results cntracts mre widely in the criminal justice sectr. Arts rganisatins are under increasing pressure t shw the value f what they d says reprt authr, David Pritchard. This reprt is a step in the right directin but we need t see mre charities cllecting data t shw the impact they have n peple s lives. The gvernment can als help by prviding greater access t data n reffending. At this time f budget cuts, we call n private funders, arts charities and the gvernment t wrk tgether t vercme these prblems and help paint a clearer picture f the value that the arts can bring. The reprt, funded by Arts Cuncil England, is fficially launched tday with a public debate at Lndn s Ryal Festival Hall, Suthbank Centre. The debate, chaired by Lrd Ian Blair, frmer Cmmissiner f the Metrplitan Plice, is part f a wider

2 prgramme f events in cnnectin with Art By Offenders, Secure Patients and Detainees, the UK s annual shwcase f wrk by prisners and thers in secure settings, held at Suthbank Centre. Lrd Blair is the current Chair f the Thames Valley Partnership, a charity that aims t find lng-term slutins t crime and scial exclusin. He says: "The exciting thing abut the arts is that they have the ptential t tackle deeprted prblems and can even have a transfrmative effect n a persn s life, particularly fr yung peple. This can help them turn away frm crime and start t lead purpseful and psitive lives." Vince gt invlved with the Only Cnnect prgramme while he was in prisn. He says: It wasn t just the perfrming at Only Cnnect which gave me cnfidence but the level f supprt I received as well. I was listened t and fr the first time smene asked me what I wanted and what I needed. Thanks t the charity I am nw married and studying twards a sprts degree. The biggest bst fr me was when my sn gave a speech at his schl abut his rle mdel and he chse me. It just shws that yu can change things arund if yu are given a chance. Lucy Perman MBE, Executive Directr f Clean Break, says: We knw frm ur service-users and partners that the theatre educatin we prvide fr wmen ffenders delivers strng and tangible results in terms f prgressin t educatin, vlunteering and emplyment. This new study nw shws the ecnmic benefit and savings t the public purse which prvides us with pwerful arguments and rbust financial evidence t persuade gvernment and cmmissiners t invest in this imprtant wrk. - Ends - Fr further infrmatin r interviews with charity spkespeple and participants in arts prgrammes, please cntact Ben Caspersz at [email protected] r n r Ana Gardner at [email protected] r n Ntes fr editrs The Unlcking Value reprt is published n 25 Octber A launch event will take place at 6:30pm n Tuesday 25 Octber at the Level 5 Functin Rm in the Ryal Festival Hall, Suthbank Centre. The event, rganised by the Arts Alliance, is a debate n the subject f the Ecnmic Case fr Arts Interventins in the Criminal Justice System. Speakers will include David Pritchard, Head f Measurement and Evaluatin at New Philanthrpy, and Martin Stephensn, Executive Directr f Unitas, and service users frm Clean Break and Only Cnnect. The debate will be chaired Ian, Lrd Blair f Bughtn, frmer Cmmissiner f the Metrplitan Plice. This is a free event. The reprt was prduced by New Philanthrpy Capital and cmmissined by the Arts Alliance t explre the value f the arts in the criminal justice sectr by quantifying their ecnmic csts and benefits. The full reprt will be available frm

3 New Philanthrpy Capital (NPC) is a charity cnsultancy and think tank dedicated t helping funders and charities t achieve a greater impact. NPC prvides independent research, tls and advice fr charities and funders in the UK and internatinally. Their visin is t create a wrld in which charities and their funders are as effective as pssible in changing peple s lives and in tackling scial prblems. Fr charities, this means measuring the results f their wrk and using evidence t learn and imprve, as well as t attract supprt. Fr funders, it means using evidence f charities results t make funding decisins and t measure their wn impact. Fr further infrmatin, see The Arts Alliance, managed by Clinks, is the natinal bdy fr the prmtin f arts in the criminal justice sectr, and is funded by the Ministry f Justice, Arts Cuncil England and the Mnument Trust. Further infrmatin can be fund at The Unlcking Value reprt fcuses n three arts based initiatives: Clean Break is a Lndn-based theatre cmpany fr wmen wh have ffended r are at risk f ffending. An analysis based n the utcmes f 20 wmen wh graduated frm the theatre educatin prgramme tk place in July 2010 Only Cnnect is a Lndn-based arts charity fr prisners and ex-ffenders in prisn and in the cmmunity. The analysis is based n 72 members wh have been released frm prisn. Unitas is a natinal charity that uses creative activities t help disadvantaged yung peple get back int educatin, emplyment r training. Its Summer Arts Clleges are intensive educatin prjects fr yung peple at high risk f ffending. The analysis is based n utcmes data frm 2009, when 323 yung peple enrlled n the scheme. Arts Cuncil England champins, develps and invests in artistic and cultural experiences that enrich peple s lives. We supprt a range f activities acrss the arts, museums and libraries frm theatre t digital art, reading t dance, music t literature, and crafts t cllectins. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us tgether and teaches us abut urselves and the wrld arund us. In shrt, it makes life better. Between 2011 and 2015, we will invest 1.4 billin f public mney frm gvernment and an estimated 0.85 billin frm the Natinal Lttery t help create these experiences fr as many peple as pssible acrss the cuntry. Arts Cuncil England prvides funding fr the three prjects detailed in the reprt as well as fr the reprt itself. Art By Offenders, Secure Patients and Detainees is the UK s annual shwcase f wrk by prisners and thers in secure settings at Suthbank Centre, and is held in partnership with the Kestler Trust and the Magistrates Assciatin. Case Studies Clean Break is a Lndn-based theatre cmpany fcussing n wmen with experience f the criminal justice system. The charity cmmissins and prduces plays n the themes f wmen, crime and justice in theatres and prisns, runs a theatre educatin prgramme frm its Nrth Lndn studis and in prisns and cmmunity settings arund the cuntry. Clean Break s educatin prgramme is fr wmen wh have ffended and wmen wh are at risk f ffending because f drug and alchl use r mental health needs. Nina* Nina s prblems started when she was a teenager and was badly bullied at schl. Her hme life was difficult and when she was 14 she was thrwn ut by her dad. By the time she was 16 she had left schl and mved ut permanently frm hme. Nina says, I was living fr the party scene, ging t all the festivals and it was during this time that I first tried herin. At 17 Nina was pregnant and using herin every few days. In 2000 she was arrested fr dealing ecstasy at Glastnbury and was given an 18-mnth prisn sentence and placed in a special mum and baby unit in the prisn.

4 Over the next few years, Nina remained hked n herin and when her sn was three years ld, he was remved frm her care and went t live with her parents while she lived n a traveler site. Despite trying varius detx prgrammes, by the end f 2006 Nina was hmeless and living n the streets. Even when Nina did get nt detx prgrammes she wuld fall back int using drugs nce she left because she went back t living with ther drug users. In 2009, after having a secnd child, Nina cmpleted a three mnth treatment prgramme and realised she wuld have t break away frm her ld lifestyle if she was t stay clean and build a new life fr herself and her daughter. It was at this time that Nina decided t get in tuch with Clean Break. She had knwn abut the charity fr a cuple f years and thught it might be the perfect place fr her t start t get her life back n track. I knew I culd d sme gd things but I just hadn t had an pprtunity befre. I had dne theatre at schl and when I read abut Clean Break I knew it was smewhere I culd express myself and be with wmen like me. Nina started n her first curse with Clean Break in Clean Break has helped me t see what I really want t d with my life. I dn t feel judged when I m there and I trust them which is saying a lt because I find it very difficult t trust peple. Nina recently wrked with the Natinal Yuth Theatre and is nw applying t university t d a curse in applied theatre. She is still attending Clean Break s curses and the charity is helping her with her applicatin fr a university place. I ve cme alive again really and regained my belief in myself. I nw knw that I d have value and what I think and say des cunt. Clean Break were there fr me when I had n-ne else and they helped me find my niche in life. Against all the dds I nw knw what I want t d with my life. Only Cnnect is a Lndn-based arts charity fr prisners and ex-ffenders. By supprting prisners and ex-ffenders t create arts prjects, belng t a cmmunity f members and impact yung peple at risk f crime, Only Cnnect aims t help them transfrm their lives and the lives f the next generatin. Vince Vince was in his teens when he first started cmmitting crime. He lived n a tugh estate in Lndn with his mther and three sisters. At the time, Vince says he saw his mther as the enemy because she was s hard n him. My father wasn t arund s my rle mdels were the well-t-d criminals n the estate. I liked the fast cars and the pretty girls and when I cmmitted crime I was accepted int the grup. There was a lt f camaraderie and they didn t tell me ff. When he was 17, Vince received his first prisn sentence and by his thirties, he had been in and ut f prisn several times. In 2006, he came acrss Only Cnnect after being chsen t take part in a drama curse the charity was running at the prisn. The day we were due t perfrm I was really fearful because it s a tugh crwd t perfrm in frnt f. At the end f the play I didn t dare lk up but then I heard the applause and I fund myself in tears. They genuinely liked it and fr the first time I felt I was wrth smething because here were these strangers telling me they thught I was gd. After Vince left prisn he started wrking with Only Cnnect n a regular basis, bth perfrming and running wrkshps, as well as speaking t schlchildren abut the dangers f getting invlved in crime. After five years with Only Cnnect Vince has just qualified as a persnal trainer, is studying fr a sprts degree and has just gt married. I am lucky t be alive. It wasn t just the perfrming at Only Cnnect which gave me cnfidence but the level f supprt I received as well. I was listened t and fr the first time smene asked me what I wanted and what I needed. The cnfidence Vince has gained thrugh perfrming and his new career has had a huge impact n his family as well. The biggest bst fr me was when my sn gave a speech at his schl abut his rle mdel and he chse me. It just shws that yu can change things arund if yu are given a chance. Unitas is a natinal charity that uses creative activities t help disadvantaged yung peple get back int educatin, emplyment r training. Its Summer Arts Clleges are intensive educatin prjects fr

5 yung peple at high risk f ffending. The curses aim t reduce ffending, t increase educatinal attainment and facilitate transitin int mainstream educatin, emplyment and training, and t imprve literacy and numeracy skills. i Natinal Audit Office, 2010, Managing ffenders n shrt custdial sentences * Nt her real name