Lecture looks back at 20 years' work with prisoners

A Sheffield Hallam academic will draw on 20 years' experience interviewing hundreds of prisoners across the country when he delivers his inaugural professorial lecture next month.

Del Roy Fletcher, professor of labour market studies at Sheffield Hallam, says he will use his experience to look at the government's "rehabilitation revolution" and the current drive to make institutions into working prisons.

Professor Fletcher, who recently led an evaluation of peer-offending programmes designed to get inmates back to work upon release, will tell his audience how he has identified a growing number of prisoners who are only able to find infrequent work opportunities upon release.

He said: "There are offenders who are not engaging with benefits or agencies upon release, and relying upon friends and acquaintances to get insecure employment. I suspect this figure is growing and I will look at what this tells us about the current situation in prisons during the lecture."

Professor Fletcher will offer an academic insight into life within British prisons at a time when working prisons, where offenders work a full working week of up to 40 hours, are becoming more established.

He added: "This lecture will show that social theorists have traditionally classified offenders as the undeserving poor partly due to an alleged poor work ethic.

"Furthermore, economic transformation over the past four decades has thrown many male offenders to the margins of the labour force. It is in this context that I will consider the growing desire of policy makers to put offenders to work in my inaugural professorial lecture."

The lecture takes place in Room 210, Norfolk Building, City Campuson Wednesday 10 July at 6.30pm.

Places are free  and include light refreshments, but must be booked in advance.

For press information: contact Laurie Harvey in the Sheffield Hallam University press office on 0114 225 2621 or email laurie.harvey@shu.ac.uk