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Prison should lead to more than a return visit

Cheyane, 2022 cohort

Prison should lead to more than a return visit

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#Our officers are making and immediate difference to prisoners and prisons

We have grown year on year, expanding to allow for the formation of clusters critical for our mentoring model across London and the South East, the North West, Yorkshire and Humberside, the Midlands and Wales. We focus on some of the most challenging prisons and institutions where we know the prison officer on the landings can make a big difference.

Where we work

We challenge officers to go above and beyond from day one. We place participants in prisons that need us the most with some of the most demanding working environments. They have worked across the men’s estate, including high security and foreign national prisons, women’s prisons and prisons holding children.

DAISY set up ‘The Bee Better Project’ at HMP Hindley. Helping to install bees in the prison with the harvesting, jarring and labelling being carried out by the prisoners.

Play the video “How Jakub made an impact”
How Jakub made an impact
Jakub recently ran a successful campaign to motivate prisoners to focus on their physical and mental wellbeing at his prison.

SCARLETT organised a range of events for International Women’s Day. Prisoners were able to write poems and create artwork about inspirational women in their lives; with many choosing their mothers, daughters and even some of the female prison staff.

Play the video “Small acts have a huge impact”
Small acts have a huge impact
Hear how through the Unlocked Graduates Innovation Acceleration Programme (IAP), Anna handwrote Christmas cards for every person on her wing to post on Christmas day.

#Our Ambassador Network

Ambassadors are key to our mission of developing outstanding leaders to break cycles of reoffending in prison and throughout society. Our aim is to create a network of Ambassadors with exceptional leadership skills using their frontline experience to impact systemic changes in prisons, the wider criminal justice system, and beyond.

Our ambassadors

Our goal is to have a network of Ambassadors actively working towards the mission and having ongoing impact on breaking cycles of reoffending and reforming our prison system. Supported by a range of philanthropic funders, we are well on our way to achieving this target. We now have almost 300 Ambassadors working across the criminal justice sector – the majority remain within HMPPS, and nearly 90 per cent still work towards the mission in their primary role.

Around 75 per cent of Ambassadors
stayed on the frontline
beyond their two
years.

The majority stayed in criminal justice, taking on roles in organisations including probation, policy and justice charities

Read further about how Unlocked Graduates Ambassadors are staying frontline and spreading insight across the system.

TAMARA HÖFER has recently been awarded €15k for her project ‘Richtungswechsel’ by an Austrian Incubator Programme for start-ups working to fight educational inequality. ‘Richtungswechsel’ will support graduates working as prison officers in Austria and is inspired and supported by Unlocked Graduates.

SABRINA PARKINS was part of the first
cohort of Unlocked Graduates. A highlight
of her time on the programme was when
she delivered a thought-provoking
speech at 10 Downing Street at the end of
her two years on the programme. Sabrina
was promoted in the prison service and is
currently working as a Security Governor
at HMP Brixton.