It's All In The Attitude
Tuesday, October 19 2004I hope this finds you well. A few weeks ago I mentioned the Channel 4 programme Going Straight which followed the fortune of six ex-criminals attempting to go straight and set up a floristry shop called A New Leaf, on London’s Caledonian Road.
My fear then was that the team would disintegrate and the business would either flounder or end up in the hands of one individual. This was exactly what happened in the final programme last Tuesday, but, nonetheless, all the participants seemed to have benefitted enormously from the experience, with none of them having reoffended by the end of the experiment.
This is no mean achievement since our reoffending rate in the UK is among the worst in the world, with more than one in every two convicted criminals reoffending within three years of being released. It is obviously all too easy to go back to a familiar way of life rather than start a whole new one.
I’ve become aware of all of this recently through befriending a prisoner who first wrote to me about his situation and experience of prison. Alan is currently serving a four-year sentence in a prison in the South of England for theft. Prior to his crime and sentence he had enjoyed a successful City career and affluent lifestyle. Needless to say, life on the inside is very different. However, rather than rail against the prison system or wallow in self-pity, Alan quickly decided to adopt an attitude that would encourage him to make the most of his enforced retreat and rethink his entire life.
He observed that his fellow inmates’ attitude to their crime, sentence, prison life and future was key to making prison purposeful and to a crime-free future on the outside. He embarked on an Open University Psychology Degree course and started to read every self-improvement book he could find. He wrote to me and explained how he was using my methods from Be Your Own Life Coach to encourage other prisoners to challenge themselves, rebuild their self-worth and self-esteem and plan for a better future. Naturally, I was intrigued and planned a visit.
I found that he was, in effect, the resident prison coach, with new prisoners visiting him on arrival and long-term ‘lifers’ using him to figure out a new life after a lifetime spent in an institution. He was clearly having a tremendous affect on those around him and he was also uniquely placed to see why our reoffending rates are so high and what needed to be done to improve the situation.
Who knows what a difference he may end up making as I have already had a fruitful meeting with the prison’s head of learning and development and will shortly be meeting the Governor to discuss a pilot coaching programme for the prison. And Alan has obviously found his true calling as well.
How ironic is it that in workshops I sometimes ask people what they would do if they were in prison? Their answer often reveals what is most important to them and intrinsic to their very essence.
I’ve asked Alan to say a few words about his experience. If you’d like to write to him send your emails to us and we’ll pass them on.
