Paul Calvert spoke with Langley House Trust

Sam Waterton and Jamie Christley

Langley House Trust is a Christian charity working to rehabilitate ex-offenders and those at risk of offending. They operate from 60 sites including hostels and houses, across 20 local authority areas, providing services to around 1000 people a year. Ninety eight percent of their Service Users live crime free whilst in their care and their re-conviction rate has been below 10% for more than 12 years. To find out more about their work Paul Calvert spoke with Sam Waterton and Jamie Christley.

Paul: What is Langley House Trust?

Jamie: We're a charity that works with men and women when they leave prison. In England there's a bit of a problem with people coming out of prison and then going straight back in again and this is often caused by the fact that people don't have a home to go to. A lot of people end up homeless; a lot of people don't have good education so it is hard for them to get a job and a lot of people have underlying issues like mental health issues or drug and alcohol addictions. We provide a safe home for people for when they are coming out and also provide support to overcome any of their issues and help them to transform their lives and go on and live crime-free.

Paul: Is it difficult to leave crime once you're in it?

Sam: It can be, but a lot of what we do is work with individuals, men and women, to help them to think about their behaviour; what led them to those choices; how do they take responsibility for their actions? A lot of the guys and a lot of the ladies, they've been very used to pushing things away and making it seem as if it's not them responsible, but actually part of growing up and being an adult is to recognise and take that responsibility and then they're able to step out and with support, know how to live in society and to re-integrate into the community; connect with their family; make good friendships and things like that, which are all part of helping to live crime-free.

Paul: When you've been in prison, what sort of percentage end up going back into prison again?

Jamie: In England at the moment it's about 57% of people go straight back into prison and re-offend within a year of leaving prison. That could be going back into prison, or being recalled, so it's a very high percentage of people going straight back in. It's even higher for young offenders as well.

Paul: Is it difficult for people to trust someone who's been in prison?

Sam: Most definitely. There's a lot of perception that people who come out of prison, they're just all bad and they're never going to change and you just can't trust them. That's really sad because people are people at the heart of it and some people have a criminal background and some people don't, but what led someone into crime and into prison would be very different from other people and you need to give people a chance on their merit and not on a title that they might have. We wouldn't do it with any other section of society and we shouldn't do it with ex-offenders because how does that help rehabilitation?

Paul: Are some people forced into crime?

Jamie: Yes they are. Quite a hot topic at the moment is human trafficking and a lot of people get hooked on drugs at a young age and therefore take drugs and to feed their habit will steal to take drugs. Although they're committing a crime, initially they've been exploited when they were young and it's difficult to turn away, especially if they've been trafficked into the country.

Paul: So some people maybe wouldn't commit a crime, it's only because they're in a very difficult position that they're actually forced into that crime in the first place?

Jamie: Yes, for some people that is the case.

Paul: Why are you involved in Langley House Trust?