Banking on a fresh start

banking-on-a-fresh-start

On release from prison, many ex-prisoners struggle to provide proof of name and address required by banks to open accounts.

Back in 2006, we started a pilot to provide basic bank accounts for pre-release prisoners at HMP Forest Bank in Salford in Greater Manchester.

The main objectives of the pilot were to:

  • Reduce the risk of financial exclusion
  • Help prevent ex-offenders from re-offending on release from prison.

In the first two years, 256 prisoners from Forest Bank opened accounts with us while serving their sentences. Of those, 193 have been released and only 72 have since returned to prison, according to a report by Liverpool John Moores University.

The national average re-offending return rate to prison is around 67%. However, only 37% of Co-operative Bank basic bank account holders at Forest Bank re-offended after release and returned to prison. These results suggest that opening a bank account can positively impact on re-offending rates.

We have now accepted applications from 29 other prisons representing nearly 20 per cent of all the prisons in the UK. We think it’s an important issue and, since December 2008 we’ve been working with the British Bankers Association and Unlock (the national association of reformed offenders) to encourage other banks to play their part.

Click here to read about Steve, Mark and James experiences on page 54 of the report. Steve, Mark and James are three ex-prisoners, all of which opened basic bank accounts at Forest Bank and agreed to discuss their experience of having a bank account since their release.

Last month we picked up a Big Tick award at the Business in the Community awards for the project under the category Impact on Society.

What do you think, does providing a bank account for prisoners help them integrate back in?

Posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 in Campaigns, Community work in our area, Shaping your community

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2 Comments. What do you think?

Your comments

  1. I think this is a massively positive step – on leaving prison, people are often left with few ways, and limited support, to find their feet again in the ‘real world’.

    I think there’s still a long way to go in terms of reducing the shockingly high re-offending rates, but helping those who might otherwise be left on the fringes of society, by allowing them to do simple things like open a bank account can only be a good thing.

    Great work!

    by Max at 1:12 pm on July 2nd, 2009

  2. Hi Max, Kedren at CFS here thanks for your comment.

    We agree, offering prisoners a bank account really is a important step in their transistion to the outside world. Without a bank account, gaining access to accommodation, employment and education would be so more difficult.

    I’ll be passing on all comments on the project to the team who worked on the campaign.

    by kedren at 2:37 pm on July 2nd, 2009

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