Tackling Reoffending

Northern Rock Foundation’s £4.2 million initiative on tackling reoffending, launched in 2004, was built on its long-standing interest in penal reform. In an earlier scheme, the Trustees had funded the Inside Out Trust to provide prisoners with learning and training opportunities while they were in prison. Research carried out by another partner, the International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS), had demonstrated the positive contribution that prisoners could make to communities.

Subsequently the Foundation was concerned by the reports coming from the Social Exclusion Unit and others about the causes of recidivism among young offenders. The Trustees decided to set up an initiative to supporting a range of approaches that could reduce the numbers returning to prison. Discussions with expert partners in the field led the Foundation to commission work worth £4.2 million over three years.

For more information on the initiative, please read the penal reform fact sheet available on the Resources page. Think and Insight publications from the initiative are also available on the Resources page.