When I was released from custody and I cleaned up from drugs I needed a lot of support. I still do: my drug and alcohol recovery meetings; one-to-one counselling; probation; career guidance; mentoring; teachers; my men's group; friends; and family were all an essential part of my rehabilitation process. I don't believe the government has any idea of the sheer scale and depth of care needed for prisoners after release.
The debilitating cycle of recidivism has to be broken by a radical shake-up of current policy and attitude. The incredible lack of decent financial support for rehabilitation is in itself criminal. The short sharp shock as a way to rehabilitate offenders is naïve to the point of dangerous. Keeping a prisoner locked up for a year costs £37,500. This approach deals with the symptoms of the problem, not the root. Half this amount could be spent on education and therapy programmes before prison ever becomes necessary.
Most prisoners have been physically or sexually abused in early life. I was. A lot of support is required to break self-destructive life cycles that so often lead to crime and prison. These men and women need the love, care and acceptance of their communities, not vilification and an almost impossible journey back to work and a better life. It's what I needed. I was lucky. I also made my own luck. With a lot of support and sheer determination, in the end, I got the healing I needed.
Prison is not a separate entity from our world where bad people are buried and best forgotten. One way or another, prison and prisoners are part of our lives, whether we like it or not.
There is a lot of time and attention spent on dealing with prisoners in prison. But after release they often drift away. Unsupported and without clear guidance many soon return. My dad did, time and time again.
There is a startling new initiative to stop prisoners overdosing on heroin after release. Due to the dramatic reduction in their resistance to drugs while in prison, known addicts are given a hit of heroin shortly before release. The hope is they will be less likely to accidentally kill themselves. This is a clear example of attacking the symptom, not the root. There is no long-term solution in freely giving prisoners what they most need to stay away from. Although clearly coming from a place of trying to keep them alive, the message received is "we have so little belief in you staying off drugs when you get out that we're going to give you what you most crave mate, that'll sort you out, now on your way".
There's much talk in the media about what to do about recidivism. I don't see much happening by way of responsible action from the government. After I learned how to deal with my drug and alcohol addiction and put my criminal record behind me, I began the long road to physical and emotional rehabilitation.
The thing I needed above all else was personal motivation. Without a desire to do something about my situation I would've been lost. My motivation came in no small part from seeing other people who had successfully come through the hell of drug withdrawal and addressed the challenges of starting a new life. I needed to see people actually making headway; individuals to look up to, respect and emulate. I did not need a lecture, a hit of smack and a pat on the back to send me on my way into the world. If that had happened I would be dead by now.
· Caspar Walsh's prison memoir will be launched by Headline on May 15
