Time well spent: A practical guide to active citizenship and volunteering in prison.

Source: (2011) London: Prison Reform Trust.

There are five types of active citizenship roles in prisons:• Peer support schemes, whereby prisoners help and support their fellow-prisoners; • Community support schemes involving work with or on behalf of people outside the prison;
• Restorative justice programmes, whereby prisoners are encouraged to acknowledge the harm they have caused and to make amends; • Democratic participation in prison
life, for example involving membership of prisoner councils or other forums; • Arts and media projects such as prison-based radio-stations or newspapers, or performing arts. This report is based on evidence derived
from a survey of prisons and interviews
with prisoners and staff involved in active
citizenship schemes. It documents the
imaginative and effective work that has
been pioneered in some prisons. Most
prisons, from young offender institutions to
high security prisons, provide opportunities
for prisoners to be active citizens. Prison
staff have demonstrated their expertise in
managing risk by developing an array of
roles and activities for prisoners that bring
out the best in them
programmes.