JUSTICE SYSTEM
This small change in the law will give prisoners the best chance to rebuild their lives
When Jay Harrison* was released from prison it was a Friday morning.
“I was homeless on my release and they just said ‘off you go’,” he told The Big Issue. Council services that provide support for people at risk of homelessness are rarely open in the evening or at weekends.
So that first night on the outside he stayed with a friend. After that it was an uncle, then his nan. For weeks he was staying “here, there and everywhere”.
“It’s hard because you feel like you’re under other people’s feet, you feel you’re getting in the way,” he said. “Sometimes I thought I’d rather be in prison.”
Around a third of prisoners are released on a Friday, and they are statistically more likely to reoffend than those released on any other day of the week. With charities and services that offer housing, drug rehabilitation and mental health support closed for the weekend, former inmates are left in the lurch.
“If you’re released on a Friday, you’ve got Friday, Saturday and Sunday when you can’t do nothing,” said Harrison. “I know people that will go take drink, drugs, they’ve got nothing to do, and they’ll be back in prison on Monday.”
But a new law means that no more former convicts will spend their first day on the outside with just hours to find somewhere safe to sleep before the
