I studied criminology and penology as part of my degree, and in the years since then I've remained very interested in the links between crime and the justice and penal system. I've been involved in initiatives in closed as well as open prisons and a youth offenders' institute. And last week I had a very enjoyable lunch at the Clink restaurant which operates at Styal Women's Prison in Cheshire.
The Clink is a charity which provides opportunities for people in prison to be trained in catering and horticulture. I gather its main outlet is at Brixton Prison, but the Styal operation has been running for a decade. That time was interrupted by the pandemic, ironically just at the time I became aware of it and was about to book a meal for the first time when everything shut down. And now, sadly, the Styal restaurant, which did eventually reopen, is to close permanently.
The closure is said to be due to rising costs and also complications associated with the present government's 'early release' scheme, which apparently makes training more difficult. This is extremely unfortunate, to say the very least, because what I have learned over the years since I first visited a prison as a student is that rehabilitation can work. Sometimes it fails, I am the first to accept that reality, but soundly conceived initiatives such as the Clink should surely be supported to the maximum by the authorities - and by any government which claims it wants to reduce crime.
The Clink restaurant at Styal occupies a former chapel - an impressive space, with very interesting artwork on the walls. The staff were friendly and efficient and the quality of the food was excellent. I'm very glad that I made it to Styal before the closure and I'll try to get back there again before 31 July, when the shutters come down for good.
2 comments:
Sad news, Martin. In another of my areas of interest, the English Chess Federation runs a programme of support for chess in prisons, with visits from chess players to a number of prisons across the country. Chess is recognised as providing purposeful activity for inmates, and a similar recognition should have been afforded to Styal's restaurant. Sadly, politicians seem too fixated on the media soundbite or on the quick so-called fix rather than on longer term measures that might actually do some good. Rant over. Martyn
Thank you for this interesting comment, Martyn. Yes, I can see that chess would work well in quite a number of cases - very good initiative.
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