Our two-year graduate programme is tackling the damage and cost of prisoner reoffending. Accelerate your career by supporting the rehabilitation of others.
Tonight we clap for our Unlocked Mentoring Prison Officers 👏, who are temporarily heading back to the frontline
@hmpps
Their experience and dedication to their vital jobs will be welcome back on the wings. Come back soon!
#clapforkeyworkers
#HiddenHeroes
This episode of
#Prison
is again a testament to the resilience, ingenuity, sensitivity and sheer dedication of staff in the prison system, who work on a daily basis to support some of the most challenging individuals in society.
🚨 APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN! 🚨
A two-year programme: a lifetime’s impact. We're now recruiting for the 2019 cohort of Unlocked prison officers. Change your career by changing the prison service. Apply now!
Can't wait to hear from Ralph Lubkowski
@HMPHewellGov
He will will be speaking at the
#UnlockedConf
on Wednesday about the importance of the prison officer role espcially during lockdown.
@HMPHewell
“I always knew I was going to go straight once I got out. I knew I wasn’t going back. But I also knew that’s easier said than done."
Fresh food and second chances - the new Clink cafe in Manchester:
Unlocked officers are running games for prisoners today to keep community life strong during the coronavirus lockdown. Phone credit as 🏆. Please share any other activities
#prisonofficers
can run for prisoners on their wings to support them through this tough time.
@hmpps
#hmp
"I want to show them there is life after prison."
Always great to hear how former prisoner
@cellworkout
is continuing his work in prisons to encourage prisoner rehabilitation and good health.
Hands up if you’re the highest new entry on this year’s
@thetimes
Top 100 Graduate employers list...straight in at number 49! And the first time the role of prison officer has ever been included. 🙌🙌🙌🙌
@nicolawoolcock
We had the privilege of welcoming
@paula_harriott
(
@PRTuk
Head of Prisoner Engagement) to
#UnlockedSI2022
to share insights learnt from prisoners during the pandemic. Understanding prisoners' lived experience is essential for effective
#changemaking
The always brilliant
@paulaharriott
started our session on what makes a good prison officer with the winning entry in this year's
@PRTuk
writing competition ‘The Good Prison Officer’
#Unlocked2020
"We wanted to create a safe space for them to be able to talk about their feelings and learn to manage them better, to help them cope in prison."
Former prisoners are heading back into prison - to help those inside:
"We have to believe in redemption and forgiveness, and also we have to give people chances and opportunities.”
What an incredible initiative
@fredsirieix1
!
@RightCourse_UK
will soon offer hospitality training to even more prisoners across the UK:
Did you know that half the people in prison can’t read? The
@Shannon_Trust
aims to bring literacy to people in prison. Great to have them at our marketplace talking to our participants today!
#UnlockedImpactConference2022
One of the unique aspects of the Unlocked Graduates programme is our use of Mentoring Prison Officers - experienced individuals dedicated to supporting our pioneering prison officers. So here's a special 'thank you' to them for
#NationalMentoringDay
!
Sophie’s smiling – and so are we! 😀
Extremely proud of another Governor's recognition award for one of our officers
@HMPWScrubs
Here’s Sophie receiving her award with her mentor Tony! Think you could make it on the landings?
Register here:
Brilliant to hear from
@HMPPS
Michael Spurr on the importance of the prison officer role and the need for humanity and a belief in change. We’re joined tonight by representatives from 10 prisons as our officers learn more about their prisons.
"As well as presenting their ideas for the spaces, the prisoners built the gardens and remain in charge of the maintenance and up-keep.”
The positive impact of HMP Leicester's new therapeutic garden:
"I have seen prisoners caring for animals & I have seen the miracles it can work. One of the women in prison had been prolifically harming herself. Now she wasn’t. She was bursting with pride at how she was caring for the chickens."
Via
@francescrook
:
Wishing a wonderful graduation to our 2021 Cohort today! We'll be celebrating their incredible achievements over the past two years 🎓
#UnlockedGraduation
"This book is written, produced, and edited by ex-prisoners now working as justice professionals."
'The Good Prison Officer' by
@Andibrierley
centres experts by experience in discussing what makes a good prison officer. Launching on 18th May!
@russwebt
We are so excited that Unlocked is now an independent charity. We could not have done it without the amazing team
@Catch22
who supported us through our incubation.
They applied for our programme. They passed our application process. They are geared up for our training. And then our 2018 cohort of Unlocked Graduates will be ready to lead change in prisons across the country:
Great piece in the
@Telegraph
today from
@evansma
about one of our brilliant
@HMPPentonville
grads Georgia. You can hear her in her own words here and don’t forget we open for applications this month!
#InternationalWomensDay
is about celebrating women with guts like the Unlocked prison officers challenging norms and driving change with conviction in one of the toughest working environments.
#IWD2020
We were fortunate to be visiting
@HMPBullingdon
today as we had the opportunity to attend their moving remembrance day service and witness the poppy wreaths and figures they have installed in the front.
Our prison officers told us that their job is always one that gets a reaction so we wanted to tell that story as we launched recruitment for 2020. What reaction would you have?
🎂 Happy Birthday to us! 🎂 We're three years old today - in that time:
🏅We've won Graduate Scheme of the Year 2018🏅
✒ Over 3,000 people have applied to become prison officers✒
🔊 20% of students at top unis have heard of our programme 🔊
Here's to the next three years! 🎈
"The Right Course is having an incredibly positive impact on the lives of inmates."
@RightCourse_UK
is transforming prison canteens into prisoner-run restaurants, creating employment opportunities and upskilling prisoners in hospitality:
@fredsirieix1
Hard to quantify the sheer impact the Listener scheme has had in prisons. So many individuals have been helped by the brainchild of Kathy Baker, who passed away earlier this month. Read her obituary here (via
@TheErwinJames
):
(1/2)🎉We’re so happy to mark the end of an era as our 2018 participants near the end of their two years on the programme. They’ve gone above and beyond in a very tough role as frontline prison officers – innovating and advocating for change in prisons, and supporting prisoners.
A big congratulations to
#Unlockedgrads
Ansu & Katie (2019), who've received awards for exceptional performance as prison officers across a range of areas at their prison – including procedural standard setting, policy work and their efforts changing the function of their unit.
Great to hear from
@Paula_harriott
of
@PRTuk
who was challenging our officers today on the ways prisoners can and should be included in creating innovative ideas to reform prisons.
Every week people leave prison & look to put their mistakes behind them – but you might be surprised at how much of a struggle it can be. Listen to
@gracedent
’s sensitive piece following two men trying to establish a barbershop after serving time:
"There's always an opportunity to offer kind words. Never lose sight of how you can help people flourish."
We were delighted to welcome Peter Dawson from
@PRTuk
to yesterday's Unlocked Graduates Lecture Day, reflecting on the impact of lived experience in CJS charities and more:
Today marks the 2022-23 Annual Ceremony for The
@ButlerTrust
Award Winners! The Princess Royal will award Unlocked Ambassador Niyi Akinseye for his 'inspirational' initiative 'Together Against Racism'.
#ButlerTrustAwards
#HiddenHeroes
🗣️ "Treating prisoners well, turning their lives around, protects the public, saves the public from the misery of crime.”
Very illuminating interview with
@RoryStewartUK
by
@TheErwinJames
- well worth reading!
"If it wasn't for society giving opportunities out, I don't think I'd be standing here today. I definitely wouldn't be manager of Livingston Football Club!"
Fantastic to see
@LiviFCOfficial
@Daviemar13
speaking to prisoners about the impact of studying for a degree in prison:
Livingston manager David Martindale previously spent time in prison and visits HMP Polmont in Brightons, Scotland to help try to inspire inmates to turn their lives around ⬇️
"Staff have gone above and beyond the call of duty."
Across UK prisons, the extraordinary, hard and hidden work of prison staff is being recognised by the people that matter most.
#HMP
#HiddenHeroes
Fascinating (and very entertaining) talk from
@SimonJShepherd
Director of
@ButlerTrust
this evening on some of his findings from The Good Book of Prisons and why prison officers are the key to a good prison service. Thanks for coming!
"They are true heroes and I have been staggered – day in, day out – by the quality and dedication shown by so many of our staff."
@RoryStewartUK
on the winners of the Prison Officer of the Year Awards 2018. Well done to all!
An exciting day celebrating the amazing milestone of 500 prison officers placed in 30 prisons in the last 5 years! Thank you to Lord McNally for hosting this event in the
@UKHouseofLords
we’re delighted and honoured to see our officers acknowledged in this way.
Killing time before the big match? To get you warmed up for
#EnglandvSweden
, read this insightful interview by
@TheErwinJames
with Sweden's Nils Öberg, director-general of Sweden’s prison and probation service:
#ENGSWE
#ENG
Loads of congratulations on our foundation cohort who officially graduated from
@uniofsuffolk
. It was a great day to celebrate being awarded their MSc
"What makes a good prison officer? You've got to have emotional intelligence. Be prepared to mentor others. Don't be afraid to bring your personality to the job. And you've got to have faith in humans."
A real honour for our new cohort of prison officers to hear
@Mikejbal
⬇️
Last but definitely not least: our Cohert Launch Event ended with an incredible talk by
@Mikejbal
. Michael shared the story of how he went from prison to stage, and it was a real privilege for our soon-to-be prison officers to hear about his views and experiences!
#CLE2019
A massive congratulations to Natasha Porter OBE (
@NPorter_
), Founder and CEO of Unlocked Graduates, for receiving her honour for services to the prison service yesterday!
It was an incredible experience to go to Buckingham Palace yesterday and receive an OBE for services to the prison service. A huge thank you to all at
@unlockedgrads
: participants and alumni, as well as my amazing colleagues at HQ who work so tirelessly to help prisoners.
🎭 “Prisons aren’t seen by many people. It’s really important that we break down misconceptions.” 🎭
How theatre company
@CleanBrk
gives a voice to prisoners:
A Prison officer shared an experience today of being told that prison staff are not front line workers. This shows how little the general public know about this vital public service. They are in fact a very frontline service.
@POAUnion
The best prison officers are passionate people who thrive on building positive relationships with prisoners. Lockdown makes this incredibly tough. Hats off to the
#hiddenheroes
determined to support and care for men, women and children in custody under difficult circumstances.
Fascinating briefing from
@DavidLammy
and interesting to hear thoughts on what needs to happen next especially on increasing equality in prison education.
#Lammy3YearsOn
"The pace of change is too slow: about 6 of the 35 recommendations have been implemented, about 6 or so partially, and many are languishing."
@DavidLammy
on his review into the treatment of Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic individuals in the Criminal Justice System
#Lammy3YearsOn
In the 1980s, Norwegian prisons had high reoffending rates. Today, they're at just 20%. Come hear about that journey, the workforce reforms and what made it a success from Are Høidal, former governor at Halden prison, at Unlocked Graduates' inaugural Annual Lecture.
"It is helping me to cope with being locked up for 23 hours a day with my mental health and giving me a positive way to use my time." Despite the challenges of the last year
@PrisonersEd
funded over 1,000 of courses in prison. Read their top 10 here.
Wonderful to see that
@TheClinkCharity
restaurant at HMP Cardiff has been voted as one of the best restaurants in Wales! Clink restaurants serve mouth-watering food prepared by prisoners in training and play a key role in their rehabilitation. 🍽️
“There is an extraordinary resilience and determination in all the young graduates I meet at High Down.”
@RSylvesterTimes
went to find out how Unlocked Graduates are getting on after eight months on the landings
Very excited for the Unlocked officers running an 🐣🐰 Easter quiz on their wing today. Thanks to our supporters, we've been able to fund materials & prizes. Phone credit is the🏆 requested by the men. Do share ideas to keep community & morale strong during lockdown.
“I started tearing pages out of the book. When the flames got high, a couple of words caught my attention. So I quit tearing pages out of the book, and spent the rest of the night trying to figure out what this guy was saying.”
The amazing
@GethinUnlocks
talks about the fear and anxiety of arriving at prison for the first time at 14. Extraordinary and important insights for
#UnlockedSI18
trainee prison officers.
We're looking forward to connecting prison officers direct to some of the many brilliant charities and organisations that run interventions in prisons at the
#UnlockedConf
this year. We're want more of these links being made to the frontline. Many thanks to...
Huge congratulations to Unlocked participant Charlie from
@stafford_hmp
on winning a silver medal at the World Police and Fire Games
@WPFGRtd
in Rotterdam!🥈⚽ Charlie represented the
@EnglishPrisonFC
, and hopes to play again in Canada next year - what a score 👏🏻
“A good prison is one where prisoners feel safe & the environment is not threatening – and therefore they can concentrate on their own personal development.”
Listen to
@AlisonLiebling
on the value of 'trust' in prisons:
Learning from people lived experience is key to the Unlocked mission. Hear from some of the people we’ve worked with, surrounding their experiences in prison, and their thoughts on the relationship between prisoners and officers.
Read more:
Very excited to welcome the Unlocked 2022 Cohort to our SI opening ceremony today! The next 6 weeks of training will prepare them to start working in prisons across the UK from September. Looking forward to seeing all they accomplish in their 2 years on the programme and beyond!
"I wouldn't say the system rehabilitated me - the individuals within the system rehabilitated me" Powerful words from
@GethinUnlocks
, describing how prison officers and teachers within prison were the first to show faith in him...planting the first seeds of belief within him:
Inspiring speech from Mark Greehaf the N1 Governor at
@HMPSwinfenHall
focusing on the importance of hope for prisoners and the importance of the prison officer in this.
For
#InternationalWomensDay
we're celebrating the women who make up 80% of our first cohort of pioneering prison officers! As well as supporting prisoners and studying prison reform, they're also challenging stereotypes about the job!
#IWD2018
"Who better than prisoners to know what makes a good prison officer?"
We recently had the pleasure of hearing
@dennehymax
speak about co-editing a new book 'The Good Prison Officer' with Unlocked Ambassador and MPO Cassie.
@Andibrierley
@LeedsTrinity
📖➡️
So excited to be
@JohnJayCollege
for the launch of Incarceration Nations Network created by the incredible
@bazdreisinger
. Hearing from speakers from projects in Cambodia, Argentina, Nigeria and many more. Could
@unlockedgrads
work in other nations?
Today we're celebrating
#HiddenHeroesDay
! Frontline workers keep our society running and deserve to be celebrated.
In recognition of the
#HiddenHeroes
across the prison service we spoke to Unlocked Mentoring Prison Officer Mahlon:
Dress for success: Today over 100 prospective prison officers are starting their six week training programme at our Summer Institute. First stop when they arrive is picking up their uniforms!
"Engagement with people in custody can only lead to positive outcomes. I hope these forums continue to thrive and grow." Really interesting reading on the benefits of more responsibility for people in prison:
Norway's recidivism rate was 70% in the 1980s. It is now around 20%.
We visited a Norwegian prison to talk to Prison Officers about the pivotal role they played in the systemic shift that occurred across Norway's correctional system from the 1980s onward:
Summer Institute 2023 is finally here - another summer of training and development for this year's cohort of Unlocked Graduates!
Today started with an inspiring welcome from our CEO and founder
@NPorter_
and finished with participants meeting their mentors 🤝
#UnlockedSI2023
Congratulations on this brilliant release
@LucyBaldwin08
! We're really looking forward to welcoming Senior Lecturer and Researcher Dr Lucy Baldwin to
#UnlockedSI2022
later this month. Lucy will be sharing her knowledge around motherhood and maternal emotion in prisons.
Pleased to announce now available to order through Amazon & Waterside ! Please review! The book is of mothers voices about their reality before during & after prison- as one mum said ‘every sentence for a mother is a life sentence- the pain never ends ’ -
Great to see attention being drawn to the many positive partnership programmes
@HMPDownview
that prepare women for work and provide real links to the community. Whether its
@Literacy_Trust
Making for Change or
@TheClinkCharity
as well, of course as brilliant
@unlockedgrads
The library at
@HMPDownview
has recently started working with
@Literacy_Trust
, of which The Duchess is Patron, to implement ‘Books Unlocked’.
The programme is funded by the Booker Prize Foundation to help prisoners increase their enjoyment and frequency of reading.
"If you can lead change in prison, you can lead change anywhere." -
@NPorter_
We're incredibly excited to be launching our 2024 Unlocked Graduates Cohort today! Kicking off with an inspiring intro from our CEO & Founder, Natasha Porter OBE
#LeadershipDevelopment
#PrisonReform