The Outstanding Security Performance Awards (OSPAs) report The Clink Charity as their charity partner for the next 12-months.
OSPAs founder Prof Martin Gill said: “Our longstanding relationship with understanding offending to facilitate better responses is quite fitting – we are delighted to be working with The Clink Charity. Channelling offenders into meaningful work streams is key in helping them to desist from crime.”
The Clink Charity trains prisoners in the last six to 18 months of their sentence to obtain accredited City and Guilds qualifications in catering to improve their employability upon release. This takes place in The Clink restaurants and training kitchens in HMP High Down, HMP Brixton, HMP Cardiff and HMP Styal. The restaurants are open to the public. The aim of inviting them to dine inside the prisons is to break down barriers and change attitudes towards prisoners.
The Clink’s five step training helps offenders break the cycle of crime, by nurturing self-belief, through learning work place skills and offering nationally recognised qualifications. The charity says that the steps: Recruit, Train, Support, Employ and Mentor dramatically reduce the rate of reoffending of those who have completed the programme.
Reoffending costs the economy up to £15 billion a year. Near half, 49pc of adult prisoners are re convicted within one year of release. The Clink’s aim is to reduce this and have succeeded with Clink graduates being close to 50pc less likely to reoffend when compared to a similar cohort of prisoners in gender, race and criminal conviction.
Chris Moore, CEO of The Clink Charity said: “we are delighted that the Outstanding Security Performance Awards have chosen The Clink as their chosen charity this year. Through their generous support we can continue to demonstrate what can be achieved when society collectively engages to help those who want and deserve a second chance.”
Other Clink initiatives include: The Clink Gardens at HMP Send and High Down – for training towards an NVQ Level 2 in Horticulture, Clink Events – external catering services offering NVQ Level 1 in Hospitality and The Clink Café (Manchester) for training towards NVQ Level 1 and 2 Food and Beverage Service, Food Hygiene and Barista Skills.
Entry to the 2019 UK OSPAs is open until Monday, October 15. Visit theOSPAs.com.
