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Rosie Meek – University of London

Explore the evidence and recommendations for implementing football-based programmes in prisons, promoting rehabilitation, physical and mental health, education, and desistance from future offending. Discover strategies and challenges to ensure a meaningful and effective implementation.

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Rosie Meek – University of London

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  1. Rosie Meek – University of London

  2. The Benefits of Football-Based Programmes in Prison: What is the Evidence? Professor Rosie Meek Football Works Festival, Almelo: June 2019 Twitter: @DrRosieMeek

  3. Prison physical activity: official recognition • Although regarded as a necessity (see HM Inspectorate of Prisons, the United Nations 2015 Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners: the Nelson Mandela Rules, the European Prison Rules and the Havana Rules), prison exercise is not necessarily recognised as ‘meaningful activity’ • New UNODC/Thailand Institute of Justice: Draft resolution on sport in CJ • Prison physical activity participation figures vary dramatically, with women and older prisoners, those with disabilities and substance misuse / mental health issues being least active

  4. An evolving perception of physical activity • Although historically more closely aligned with the punitive / containment element of incarceration, physical activity is now increasingly recognised as contributing to a rehabilitation agenda within prisons • For example, current UK Prison Service directives state that physical activities should have a structured approach which may support prisoners in: • Tackling their offending behaviour • Impact upon an individuals’ attitudes and behaviour • Enable prisoners to gain vocational qualifications, link effectively with resettlement policy and community provision, and even encourage the purposeful use of leisure time after release (Ministry of Justice, 2011)

  5. Research evidence for the benefits of sports-based programmes in prisons • Assisting in the transition from custody-community (Meek, 2012) • Improved physical health (Elger, 2009) • Improved mental health (Woodall, 2010) • Coping with prison life and facilitating social control (Murtaza & Uddin, 2011) • A way of promoting non-sport objectives (Bloyce & Smith, 2010) • An alternative form of excitement and risk taking (Pferrerbaum & Wood, 1994) • Promoting alternative positive identities (Horne et al., 2012) • Contributing to psychological wellbeing and the development of life skills (West & Crompton, 2001) • Employment outcomes (Meek, 2014)

  6. Promoting desistance from future offending (2012, Forensic Update) • Using sport as a ‘hook’ for change • Facilitating constructive relationships, engagement in therapeutic interactions and peer support opportunities • Promoting alternative identities • Opportunities for maintaining support in both prison and community settings • Encouraging trust in professionals

  7. Education (Meek, Champion & Klier, 2012) • Engaging reluctant learners • Increasing aspirations for higher-level learning • Embedding employability skills • Meeting the workforce needs of the sports and fitness sectors

  8. The process of undertaking A Sporting Chance, 2017-2018

  9. Recommendation 1: Prisons should devise an integrated physical activity and wellbeing strategy • Recommendation 2: Commissioners and education providers should develop a flexible education contract which enables collaborations and creative delivery • Recommendation 3: Prisons should offer nutritional advice as part of their physical activity and wellbeing provision, and promote a readily-available range of healthy eating options • Recommendation 4: HM Prison and Probation Service should revise keep apart list policies and establishments should include gym staff in keep apart decision making • Recommendation 5: Sport provision needs to be responsive to individual needs, with a focus on health, wellbeing and rehabilitation at the heart of practice • Recommendation 6: The Ministry of Justice should develop a physical activity strategy for women and girls in prison

  10. Recommendation 7: The Ministry of Justice should re-consider the national martial arts / boxing policy and introduce targeted programmes which draw on boxing exercises, qualifications and associated activities • Recommendation 8: Prison governors and the Ministry of Justice need to monitor physical activity participation and outcomes according to ethnicity, and ensure that any disproportionality is addressed • Recommendation 9: Senior managers need to encourage partnerships between prisons, communities, sporting groups and bodies • Recommendation 10: The Ministry of Justice should review Release on Temporary Licence, Mobility and related policies to facilitate meaningful sports-based learning, team-building activities, placements and training • Recommendation 11: The Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service and senior managers need to provide the leadership, staffing, training and facilities required to support a wide-reaching and high-quality sport and physical activity provision • Recommendation 12: HM Prison and Probation Service should create and implement a dedicated physical activity monitoring and evaluation strategy

  11. What challenges remain? • Collaborations between establishments/YOTs and sporting groups and bodies, underpinned by a mutual understanding of each other • Create meaningful and accessible sporting communities which permeate prison walls and postcodes • Collate and share good quality evidence of what works, when and with whom

  12. Contact me for copies of publications. Email: r.meek@royalholloway.ac.uk@DrRosieMeek • A Sporting Chance: An Independent Review of Sport in Youth and Adult Prisons. Ministry of Justice • Sport in Prison. Abingdon: Routledge • Promoting well-being and desistance through sport and physical activity: the opportunities and barriers experienced by women in prison. Women and Criminal Justice • The impact of a sports initiative for young men in prison: staff and participant perspectives. Journal of Sport and Social Issues • Sport and physical education for young men in prison: an exploration of policy and practice in England and Wales. Prison Service Journal • Sport, physical activity and youth imprisonment. In Parker (Ed.) Youth Sport, Physical Activity and Play. London: Routledge • Sport and physical education across the secure estate: an exploration of policy and practice. Criminal Justice Matters • The role of sport in reducing reoffending among young men in prison: Assessing the evidence base. Forensic Update • The role of sport in promoting prisoner health. International Journal of Prisoner Health • Fit for Release: How Sports-Based Learning can Help Prisoners Engage in Education, Gain Employment and Desist from Crime. London: Prisoners Education Trust • Short film: Search‘Fit for release’on

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