Preventive prison reform needed says former prisoner

Jukome was released from prison earlier this year

More preventive action is required to deal with prison reform, a former prisoner has said.

Earlier this year Jukome was was released from HMP Huntercombe in Oxfordshire, after serving a two-year sentence – six months of it on remand.

He is now calling on the government to introduce measures that focus on preventing people from reoffending.

The comments come as the prison population in England and Wales reached a record high following riots earlier in the summer.

Jukome, who served his sentence across four different prisons, told the BBC: "The system is responsive to current events, political changes and things that come up in the media rather than actually solving the problems.”

He said having access to educational courses while at Huntercombe Prison helped him “greatly”.

“In prison there’s no consistency, you might be moved from a prison in the middle of a course and when you get to a new place that course might not be available.

“That in itself is a hindrance to success in terms of rehabilitation,” he said.

The prime ministers' appointment of James Timpson as prisons minister in July was a "positive step" Jukome said.

Mr Timpson has employed hundreds of former convicts at his family key-cutting firm over the last 20 years.

'Overwhelmed'

Officials are currently preparing to begin to release about 5,500 prisoners on licence, who have spent 40% of their sentence in jail, to deal with the record prison population.

That scheme, which begins on 10 September, excludes people convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse and some violent crimes.

Speaking earlier this summer, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood said the early-release scheme was an "emergency change", which without "courts would grind to a halt" and "police would have to stop carrying out arrests".

Chris Atkins, an Oxford University educated journalist, film maker and author, spent a year in HMP Wandsworth after being convicted of tax fraud.

When asked about the scheme, he said it would "make it worse" as releasing prisoners early would “cut off” the time spent preparing and planning for their release.

“All the services that are there to steer people away from prisons are going to be overwhelmed.

“We need to talk about housing, employment and mental health, we’re just postponing the problem to later down the line,” he said.