Plea for jail-aid money to keep former prisoners out of trouble

The Minerva Project has slashed reoffending rates among ex-prisoners since being launched in September 2009, but funding is due to run out on September 30 this year and managers are seeking a one-off payment to keep it running until it becomes self-financing.

Aimed at prisoners serving sentences of under 12 months – the group most likely to reoffend – it is thought to be the only one of its kind outside London that takes an holistic approach to improving offenders’ lives and opportunities on release from jail, and has proved successful in steering them away from crime.

In the year ending March 2008, 58.8 per cent of inmates released into the city from Hull Prison after serving less than a year went on to reoffend, with an average of nearly three crimes per offender.

Latest performance figures for the Minerva Project show that of the 369 people engaged with the initiative, 51 have gone on to commit crimes within the target period of 12 weeks, a reoffending rate of 13.82 per cent.

A report by Tracy Harsley, head of Citysafe, which is going before councillors today, said: “On a cost benefit analysis it is agreed nationally that each offender would cost the criminal justice system approximately £40,000 to £50,000 per annum, therefore if we calculate our current engagement rate since February 2010 we will have saved the public purse £8,007,939.”

However, the report warns the project will face “significant challenges” to continue once money from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund runs out in September.

The report seeks the backing of the council’s community safety overview and scrutiny commission to recommend Cabinet approval for bridging funds to sustain it until it can pay for itself, which Ms Harsley said was likely to be early next year.

The report said: “The Minerva Project is not looking for permanent funding, it is merely seeking a one-off contribution to ensure it reaches its full potential and becomes self-financing, as was the original intention.”

Mr Harsley said HMP Hull, which has five staff seconded to the project, and Humberside Probation Trust, which supplies four, had pledged continued support.

The project has a base at the prison and seeks to engage inmates before they are released. Those who choose to join are called volunteers and are met at the gate. They receive a range of support, addressing issues including housing, training, education, skills, mental health, and drug abuse.

The scheme aims to become self-financing through the formation of a social enterprise company, which has been set up at a disused factory unit near Hessle Road.

Volunteers and staff have been refurbishing the building and are developing businesses based on tyre and car servicing, manufacturing metal fences and gates, and joinery. Skills gained will help the volunteers to get jobs in the community.

Ms Harsley said: “This is a project that has got the potential to save money nationally and improve chances for offenders. Too many projects have come and gone and people’s hopes are raised and then they go. This is one of the best things we have done in Hull in terms of looking at offenders, and if you look at the cost saving compared to the funding of the project, it’s more than worth it.

“The main thing is this is about giving offenders an opportunity that previously wasn’t there; it impacts on their lives and improves the lives of people in Hull.

“It’s getting them off on the right track. I spoke to one of our volunteers and he said ‘I’ve got a reason to get up in the morning, I’m proud of what I’m doing’. I was nearly in tears.”