Faith in Justice
Churches have a long and distinguished history of understanding of and engagement with the Criminal Justice system - possibly because its founder Jesus was himself an innocent victim of the Roman legal system operating in Palestine in 30AD. This has included chaplaincy within prisons but also campaigns for prison reform and support for organisations such as Victim Support.
A major conference was held in the Spring of 2010 at Bodmin chaired jointly by Bishop Tim Thornton and Rob Menary, Chief Officer of Devon and Cornwall Probation Service.
A summary of the presentations and workshops held at the event can be downloaded at the end of the webpage.
Prison After Care
South West Community Chaplaincy - Peninsula Initiative
Community Chaplaincy bridges the gap between prison life and the outside. It links people who have offended with people who care and offers an alternative community to the community of crime. People of faith often demonstrate a commitment that brings hope to people who have offended. Coming from varied backgrounds, they represent the diversity found in our communities. For some people, faith support and the link with a welcoming local faith community will make all the difference to their future.
The Peninsula Initiative PI helps to connect ex-offenders with churches that will offer them support on the difficult road back into life within the community.
Their Development Worker is Nigel Pain is contactable via e-mail and you can find out more about their work at the Pi webpage.
Prison Fellowship
Prison Fellowship is another organization working in this area. To find out your local regional contact visit their webpage here.
Devon and Cornwall Probation Service
There are several opportunities for individuals as volunteers and churches offering worthwhile work-type experiences to get involved with supporting ex-offenders.
Contact Gill Lynch who is the Devon and Cornwall Reducing Reoffending Coordinator for more information.
A prison for Cornwall?
Cornwall is one of the very few English Counties that does not have its own prison. This can have major implications as it makes it especially hard for the families of prisoners to keep in close contact with their loved ones. Breakdowns in these relationships can have a serious impact on the chances of ex-offenders settling back into their home communities.
A group called Carpenter's House have been working closely with a number of agencies including the Government and Kainos, a Christian Project working in a number of UK prisons with a programme aimed at reducing re-offending To find out more of their vision and aims contact Mike Critchley.
Faith in Justice Conference Presentations
Cornwall Works - Tom Finnemore Presentation (PDF 241.71kb)
Probation Trust - Rob Menary Prsentation (PDF 355.95kb)