Independent data shows impact of Unlocked Graduates’s unique model on prison officer retention

Independent analysis published by the Ministry of Justice today provides the strongest evidence to date that the Unlocked model significantly improves the retention of Band 3 prison officers. The research shows that retention rates for officers recruited through our programme are 17 percentage points higher after two years than those recruited to the same prisons via the standard entry route. This rises to more than 30 percentage points when factoring in those who left the service due to extenuating circumstances.

Being a prison officer is an incredibly challenging role. Frontline staff are asked to build relationships with some of the hardest to reach people, while working in some of the toughest public sector environments in the country. We know that attrition rates remain stubbornly high – in our partner prisons, almost half of all new prison officers leave within the first 24 months.

But high leaving rates in the prison service are not inevitable.

There are solutions that we know work which support staff to thrive in this early part of their careers, and ultimately remain operational and continue to have an impact on those in their care. Our programme – and this data – proves this is possible.

Unlocked’s award-winning graduate leadership development programme combines intensive initial training, ongoing coaching and mentoring from experienced prison officers, structured leadership development and a strong peer support network. Our model supports new prison officers to build confidence, capability and resilience in their roles.

With the release of this data, we can say definitively for the first time that this approach works. Officers recruited through Unlocked are significantly more likely to stay during those initial two years on the frontline.

The research also shows a drop-off in retention for participants after their two years on the programme when the Unlocked support ends. Independent research conducted by Oliver Wyman for Unlocked Graduates highlighted the cliff edge in support, line management and career development at the end of their time with Unlocked.

For those that do leave the frontline, they are considerably more likely than their Band 3 peers to take up more senior Ministry of Justice roles (as graduates of a leadership development programme), and we know that over 70% of all those who have completed the Unlocked programme continue to work in criminal justice roles directly connected to breaking cycles of reoffending.  

We are determined to mainstream the solutions that we know work so that prison staff around the country can benefit. This is why we launched the Unlocked ChangeMakers programme in 2024 to transform middle leadership and train line managers to replicate the Unlocked support model for all Band 3 officers they work with. It is also why we codified and shared our training model in our book Leading Prison Landings: The Unlocked Guide to Jailcraft which we published last year.

In order to achieve long-term change in prisons, we know that we need the best prison officers to stay in the service for as long as possible, continuing to have an impact on the landings. If the system wants better retention, safer prisons and lower reoffending, the implication is clear: make this level of support the norm, not the exception.

Natasha Porter OBE, Unlocked’s CEO and Founder, said: “This data is clear evidence of what we have seen on our programme for almost a decade now. The right support and training gives frontline staff the tools to excel in our prisons, ensuring they are able to remain operational and continue to transform outcomes for those in their care. It is further validation for our unique approach which we are determined to share across the system so more staff – and ultimately, more prisoners – can benefit.”