Read all about Cara Fruin’s first experience as a Family Support Worker on the Father’s Inside programme at HMP & YOI Parc I have just completed facilitating my first fathers inside programme at HMP & YOI Parc in South Wales. Before the programme started I was excited and positive about what the next eight weeks […] … more »

The broken windows theory is one that most criminal psychologists can relate to. The theory was first introduced in an article written by George L Kelling and James Q Wilson in the March 1982 issue of ‘The Atlantic Monthly’. Kelling and Wilson claimed that ‘maintaining and monitoring urban environments in a well ordered condition may […] … more »

Last week, I attended a conference at entitled ‘Children and Families Coping in Custody’. On a panel discussion in the morning, a number of women in custody (or residents, as they are more helpfully known at this particular prison), all of them mothers, talked about the impact of imprisonment upon themselves and their children, and […] … more »

Our Executive Director, Charlie Weinberg, adds her voice to the roster of contributors in a series of interviews about the MoJ’s probation reform programme, ‘Transforming Rehabilitation’ (TR), that can be found on Russell Webster’s website, which is dedicated to exploring the potential impact of this programme of enormous change. Watch the interview HERE. … more »

In the lead up to our poetry spectacular, GROUNDation, we held a number of poetry workshops in the local community, one of which was led by Dean Atta (who also performed at the event). One of the exercises the group was tasked with was to write a poem to or about a relative with whom […] … more »

Self fulfilment is described as “an achievement of life goals which are important to an individual, in contrast to the goals of society, family and other collective obligations” (Gary Melton  1995– The Individual, The Family, and Social Good) At a recent conference, the question of ways in which you can maintain a prisoner’s self fulfilment […] … more »

It’s ‘Man’ versus machine… Sometimes it takes a minor crisis to challenge lazy habits, and I’ll admit it: like most parents, when I’m busy or tired I can be lazy about playing imaginatively with my two year old. Sometimes I resort to the CBeebies channel to buy myself time for ironing a shirt (only to […] … more »

The cliff-hanger at the end of our previous blog by our Executive Director Charlotte Weinberg challenged the reader to remove themselves from tenterhooks, as it wasn’t necessarily obvious whose decision-making in the relationship between ‘Sam’ and ‘Kev’ has the real agency in the complex landscape of the criminal justice sector. However, what emerged clearly from […] … more »

‘It’s A Man’s World’ This year, the focus of our symposium, ‘It’s A Man’s World’, was on masculinity and what it means to be a man. Traditional cross cultural ideals of men often portray desirable male characteristics as leadership material and or financial provider and ideal men as being ‘strong’, decisive and able to ‘cope’. […] … more »

Safe Ground On The Run It was chilly and it was dry. Perfect conditions for a 10k run. The occasion was warm and lively – an atmosphere perfected by Safe Ground for public events. As morning ascended, not quite shaking off the night and settling as a billowing grey sheet of cloud, Safe Ground staff, Race […] … more »