A Dinner with Scott Budnick

“Positive media representations of prison officers taught me that our words are our most powerful tool.”

The Unlocked Ambassador community recently held a dinner with Scott Budnick, Founder of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC), CEO of 1Community and film producer, ahead of our 2023 Unlocked Conference.

Unlocked Ambassadors had the opportunity to hear about how Scott uses the power of storytelling in his role as CEO of 1Community to encourage and inspire positive global change. Recently, Scott returned to the film business as executive producer of 1Community’s first film, ‘Just Mercy’ (2020). The film generated a rise of public support for a fair legal system and dignity for system-impacted communities, leading to considerable cultural and structural change.

Scott founded ARC in 2014, with the mission of reducing incarceration, improving the outcomes of ex-prisoners, and building healthier communities. ARC provides ex-prisoners with direct services such as housing, counselling, job training and opportunities, mentoring, and education. The organization also empowers members to influence justice reform efforts through policy advocacy.

Scott also sits on the Board of State and Community Corrections and was selected to serve as a Board Member for President Barack Obama’s foundation, the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance.

Nine Unlocked Ambassadors (previous participants who have completed the Unlocked Graduates programme) attending the conference were invited to an evening with Scott to discuss their respective experiences of working in the criminal justice system.

Unlocked Ambassador Network Manager Karan Rai enjoyed introducing Scott to the Ambassador community:

“It was a fantastic honour having someone of Scott’s stature come to the UK spend time with us and engage with our Ambassador community. As well as meeting some Ambassadors for a private dinner to hear about their time on the Unlocked programme, Scott got to meet some Ambassadors and participants on visits to a few of our partner prisons to see the great work they are doing on the frontline. Scott was incredibly inspired by the work of Unlocked and it was heartening to hear that he would love to see a similar programme in his native US.”

We spoke with Unlocked Ambassador and HMPPS Policy Lead, Elden (2019 Cohort) about his experiences of the evening:

“It was a great opportunity to hear about some of Scott’s work and to gain a different perspective on prisons in the US. The group of us have all come from working in different prisons, so it was really useful to come together for a conversation around our experiences of working in the criminal justice system. Scott spoke about the different way in which prisons are managed in the US, and we were able to share best practice around what works in both the UK and US.”

Elden noted Scott’s real passion for maintaining consistent relationships with prisoners:

“It doesn’t have to be rocket science. Just having someone there for you listening is so important. Maintaining a consistent professional relationship with prisoners goes a long way.”

The evening also provided an opportunity to discuss portrayals of prisons and prisoners in the media. Elden highlighted the damaging effect of negative stereotypes, but also the impact that realistic and/or positive portrayals of prison officers can have on those considering the profession:

“Before starting the job, I had no idea what prison was really like, due to the misconceptions in social media and TV. Most media portrayals of prison officers are negative. People call them ‘screws’ in the UK, but most media around prisons and officers is American. Prison officers are usually portrayed as robots, just running a simple regime with little emotion.

Positive media representations of prison officers taught me that our words are our most powerful tool. It is so heartening when you see an accurate portrayal of prisons. Positive representations, particularly of prison officers and the work that they do, can make you feel relieved. I hope that accurate media representations of prisons help society to change their views around people in prisons, and the profession of the prison officer.”