Firms should employ criminals, says police chief

Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said people with a criminal record must be offered a second chance to get their lives back on track.

Mr Jamieson fears many who have served time behind bars are ignored when they try to get a job.

He insisted ex-prisoners have plenty to offer and should not be automatically turned down.

According to the Office for National Statistics around 29 per cent of people who have been released from custody, received a non-custodial conviction or were handed a caution go on to re-offend.

However, a government study in 2013 found that offenders who landed a job within a year of being released from prison were up to 10 per cent less likely to reoffend than criminals who were unemployed for that time.

Mr Jamieson, said: “While it is paramount that criminals are caught and justice is done, we must keep pushing to break the cycle of crime.

“We know that if an individual can find work then they are much less likely to re-offend.

“Organisations should think seriously about the untapped potential of employing people who are desperate to turn their life around and make amends for the poor decisions they’ve made in the past.

“What’s more, we all have a responsibility to help lower crime levels and this is a really good, practical way we can do that.”

One firm which has not ignored the potential provided by ex-prisoners is RMF Construction, based in Birmingham.

The company's operations manager, Dara McCarthy, said: “As a firm we have employed more than 200 people with a criminal record and trained many more within prisons so they are equipped to apply for jobs in the construction sector when they are released.

“I know how hard it is for these people to find work after they leave prison. Many of them feel they have repaid their debt to society and all they want is to get their life back on track.

“The problem is few employers are prepared to give them a chance."