In May 2016 the Justice Secretary at the time gave a speech at the Governing Governors’ Forum which was in line with the Government’s plans to reform the prison education system on making prisons work. He said:
:“…We want individuals who leave prison to be changed characters – to be redeemed, to have rejected violence as a way of settling disputes, to have overcome the impulsiveness, weakness and lack of self-respect which drew them into crime in the first place, to have become assets contributing to society rather than liabilities who bring only costs…Critically, education should also help prisoners to acquire the social skills and virtues which will make them better fathers, better husbands and better brothers. Ensuring that prisoners can re-integrate into family life and maintain positive relationships is crucial to effective rehabilitation…”
This is exactly the programme that Criminon is engaged in, giving offenders a tool-box of social skills to aid their rehabilitation.
To help prevent this dwindling spiral, Criminon offers a series of courses designed to help prisoners with areas of their lives that they feel need attention or change. This could be anything from developing and improving communication skills to learning how to mentor others through the Criminon courses.
One of the key courses, Restoring Self-Respect is designed to assist the learner to affect changes in his or her behaviour. Special emphasis is placed on putting into practice new methods of approaching life rather than relying on past behaviour models that helped contribute to their imprisonment. The course aims to give the learner back a sense of self-esteem and confidence that he or she can use to make decisions that contribute to their rehabilitation.
If you are a supporter or a sponsor of our programme, we would like to thank you for your help and encourage you to increase your contribution to enable us to help more prisoners by giving them the knowledge they need to alter the course of their lives.
Here are some examples from 2020 of what this means for learners, completing the Restoring Self-Respect Course, who have been able to leave criminal impulses behind.
“I have learnt a lot from this course on restoring self-esteem. It has helped me in thinking through situations in my past which I probably could have handled better. This has been a very positive experience and the help and encouragement from my tutor has boosted my self-confidence and self-esteem. I now have mentally new tools to make a new start to understand better my own and others views and actions. I would like to continue to help others and in the future would be interested in the future, in completing the Mentor Course. Thank you, and all that Criminon for giving me this chance to do this course for free. I will encourage others to participate take advantage of your courses.”
C.M., HMP Bure
“Having now completed the course, I am glad I decided to do it. At first I was hesitant, but as I began by reading the information provided and with the help of Valentine, my tutor, I started to enjoy doing the exercises. As it states in the title, restoring self-respect, it helped me how to flourish and prosper again. Not to be judgemental and listen to other people’s views, even though they are different to yours. Treat others as you would want to be treated. It has learnt me to be tolerant and to forgive. Being genuine to yourself, not to fake or pretend. For me to be happy I have found that I have forgiven myself for what I did, it’s no excuse that I broke the law, but I know I can and will not ever put myself in the situation again. Doing this course has given me the strength and belief that I will not offend again.”
L.H., HMP Drake Hall
“This course has been a real learning curve in my eyes as it has made me realise the mistakes I have made before in the past, how I can deal with certain situations even in prison and for the seeable future. It has gave me the correct guidance, made me a strong mentally mind set and overall a better, wiser and stronger person and I thank you for all the help this course has gave me, I even tell me mates how good this is and how to learn restoring self-respect back into your life and with this qualification can benefit me for when I get out and apply to go back to college! Thank you so much!”
J.T., HMP Glenochil
“I feel that this course has completely revolutionized my life forever. It has taught me valuable, lifelong lessons that I can apply not only in prison but also in the sometimes challenging world beyond the gates. Throughout the courses, barriers and fences that are put up to protect ourselves, the front, the facades are torn down to rebuild our self-respect, and the feeling of pride, which is typically downtrodden in prison, is furthermore restored. I’ve really learned how to regain my self-respect and pride, regardless of circumstance. I want to express how grateful I am to have had this experience. I advise anyone who is considering the restoring self-respect course to do it, you may feel like you’re just a number, a prisoner, not worthy, but this course will dramatically help you to feel human again. This course will change your life forever.”
E.T., HMP Long Lartin