Guernsey prisoners 'released with nowhere to live'

The prison has made improvements to its mental health provision according to its governor

A lack of appropriate accommodation for the release of prisoners is a concern according to the latest Guernsey Prison annual report.

A shortage of local housing makes it difficult to put effective support in place when they leave prison, it says.

John de Carteret, governor of Les Nicolles Prison, which has about 80 inmates, said people had been released without anywhere to live.

"If that's (accommodation) not in place, if you haven't got a job or you haven't got accommodation, some of the things that we take for granted, the chances of you reoffending are quite high," he told BBC Radio Guernsey.

The prison has been working with outside organisations and charities for the rehabilitation of inmates

A significant gap in mental health provision was identified by stakeholders according to the report.

Mr de Carteret said a high number of prisoners can come into the prison system with mental health issues.

But he had seen a "massive improvement" in mental health provision in the last six months, he said.

"We've got qualified mental health nurses now and we've been pretty successful recently with referrals to mental health services."

The prison had also been working with outside organisations and charities for the rehabilitation of inmates, he said.

Recent additions to the partnerships were the Kindred Children's Centre which connects prisoners with their children and Autism Guernsey.