Getting results at Laude Abbey
Teams of supervised ex-offenders have been working in the 14 acre gardens at Launde Abbey, a residential retreat house on the rural border between Leicestershire and Rutland.
For the last 18 months the men and women on Probation have undertaken ground clearance work and general gardening in the grounds of the Tudor house.
In Leicestershire and Rutland supervised men and women completed more than 160,000 hours of unpaid community reparation work in a 12 month period for local charities, schools, church trusts, faith groups and Local Authorities.
Sean Reynolds, Assistant Chief Officer with Leicestershire and Rutland Probation Trust, said: “We are delighted at how this on-going project is progressing. It is essential that our range of work covers both urban and rural projects. We provide supervised teams to work at a number of religious sites and it is important to provide programmes of work that are meaningful and worthwhile.”
Tim Blewett of Laude Abbey added: “The work undertaken is of real benefit and our community is delighted to be able to support the work of the Probation Service, and to help individuals to feel valued again by society and reach their true potential as individuals.”
Read other articles from the Leicestershire Probation website
Majid Ahmed wins battle to go to medical school
Inside’n’ Out Magazine covered the story of Majid Ahmed rejection by Imperial College after declaring a spent conviction for a small part in a burglary when he was aged 16. Read the original article
Now the straight-A student has been granted a place at Manchester University School of Medicine in September after a year-long battle of appeals against Imperial College and the university.
The General Medical Council has confirmed that people can still become doctors if they have a criminal record. Doctors have to fill in a declaration of fitness to practise as part of their application for provisional registration. A candidate could be barred if they were thought to pose a risk, but evidence including references would be considered.
Ahmed estimated that he had spent 200 hours scouring university appeals procedures, writing letters and talking to MPs to overturn his rejection.
He said: “If someone really wants to move on from their life and move away from their past they can. Some people will try to prevent them from achieving their dreams but they must find a way to ignore this.”
Inside ‘n’ Out Magazine congratulates Majid Ahmed and commends his determination and attitude.
Read the full Guardian article
Prisoners’ real life stories
Three ex-prison inmates, and users of Futures Unlocked’s mentoring and support services, tell their experiences of the challenges they have faced.
Many inmates want a new life when on the outside after release prison. They want to start again, make a new beginning for themselves and their families and put something back into community.
The reality is that however positive they are inside, living a crime-free life after prison can be difficult.
Click here to read about Danny, Lee and Mike’s experiences
Prison art and the Koestler Trust
They are the UK’s best-known prison arts charity. They award, exhibit and sell artworks by offenders, detainees and high security patients.
The Koestler Trust’s aims are:
- to help offenders lead more positive lives by motivating them to participate in the creative arts;
- to demonstrate the power of arts activity in the criminal justice system.
The Koestler Awards attract around 5,000 entries a year from inmates of prisons, young offender institutions, secure hospitals and immigration removal centres across the UK, as well as offenders supervised by probation and youth offending services.
Jake’s a role model now
Positive: Teenager who had ASBO revoked is to be Ambassador.
At the beginning of the year, Jake Warburton-Jones was hit with an Asbo – but after turning his life around, he has been announced as an Ambassador for the Special Olympics.
The 17 year old became only the second person in Leicester to have the order wiped out, following months of hard work trying to improve relationships between teenagers and pensioners on the Thurnby Lodge estate.
After reading Jake’s story in the Leicester Mercury, Special Olympics Director, Steve Humphries decided he would be a perfect role model to help promote the games, which are being held in Leicester in 2009.
The teenager joins some of Leicester’s most famous sports stars, including Gary Lineker, Martin Johnson, Mark Selby and Milan Mandaric, to act as a spokesman for the event.
Jake said he was ‘really pleased’ his efforts since receiving the Asbo had paid off.
He said ‘I got a letter asking if I wanted to do it, so I said yes. I’m really pleased, although I’m not sure exactly what I’ll be doing yet. It’s good that all the stuff I’ve done has been recognised so I’m pleased. My mum’s really pleased as well’.
Jake was given an Asbo in January, after intimidating residents and shop workers in Thurncourt Road.
Since then, he has been determined to change his life for the better, and recently organised a trip to Skegness for more than 50 pensioners and youngsters living in Thurnby Lodge.
Again, when his story was told in the Mercury, anti-social workers discovered the positive impact the teenager was making on the community, and his order was removed.
Mr Humphries said Jake is a positive role model for other teenagers.
He said: with the Games we really want to reach out to all communities, people from all walks of life, and we need people to spread the word about what is happening. Jake is a perfect example of a young person who is really making a difference, and that is being recognised. I saw his story and I was blown away – I thought it was fantastic’.
Article from Leicester Mercury 19th July 2009 – Written by Gemma Peplow
Ed: For more on the volunteering opportunities during the Special Olympics see Citizens Eye
Capacity Building
Minor offence causes major knockback
Mahid Ahmed is, by all appearances, a young man who is going places. Aged 18, very bright with 4 A-grade A-levels, volunteer work for disabled charities and £11,000 raised to send poor children on an adventure camp under his belt, Mahid can claim a record of achievement more than befitting of his dreams of a place at Imperial College London to study medicine.
But when he disclosed a criminal conviction, a small part in a burglary at the end of 16 that resulted in a four-month period of community service, Majid found the place he had already been granted withdrawn. His hopes of becoming a doctor were crushed.
Reported in the Daily Mail on July 3rd, Majid’s story is stark example of the prejudice that can face those with a conviction to disclose. Imperial stated that ‘Medical practitioners hold a position of responsibility in society and must often deal with vulnerable people. The public must have confidence in the integrity and probity of its doctors’.
But this blanket approach refuses to consider the individual merits and situation of an applicant already acknowledged, by Imperial’s selection process, to have the academic and personal qualities demanded by the course and the profession.
Growing, maturity and earning trust and responsibility is a process that, for all, involves taking risks, making mistakes and learning from them. Majid was punished immediately for his transgression, recognised the lesson and used the experience to enhance his thinking about his life path – his decision was to serve his community in future. This kind of positive choice should be encouraged rather than obstructed.
Majid acknowledged the role bad company played in his offending. His striving to join the social groups, and expectations, of those receiving an Imperial College medical education is proof of his desire to lead a life very different from the one in which he grew up.
The value lacking in Imperial College’s decision is one of the fundamental traditions of the western world – forgiveness for genuine repentance. Once the criminal justice system applies its punishment, it should not be the task of academics to apply themselves as moral arbiters and reapply the penalty.
Four-months of community service pales by comparison as a punishment to being shut out of a life-changing educational opportunity, and the chance to fulfil a dream. A chance is all Majid Ahmed asks.