Vasiliki ‘Vicky’ Pryce is a Greek-born British economist, and former Joint Head of the United Kingdom’s Government Economic Service. On 7 March 2013, Pryce and her former husband, Chris Huhne, the then-Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, were convicted of perverting the course of justice and sentenced to eight months in prison. Having written a bestseller about her experience, she is now working as a penal reform campaigner.
Vicky Pryce, a woman who is passionate about equality, is known for her lectures at institutes and universities. In her book, ‘Prisonomics: Behind Bars in Britain’s Failing Prisons’, she shares her personal experience of the prison system. Pryce is a patron of the award-winning charity Working Chance, which finds quality jobs for women care leavers and ex-offenders. Additionally, she is a trustee of Women in Prison, a group of penal reform campaigners with a shared purpose of assisting women affected by the justice system. From the outset, I find Ms Pryce to be communicative, expressive and sharp, with a willingness to share her ardent feelings about the justice system.
We begin by speaking about how, according to criminologists, former offenders are often set up to fail. ‘It is hard for these people to get jobs,’ she says. ‘And with little cash support, the statistics suggest they will re-offend.’ A quick glance at some recent government statistics reveals a 62.7% reoffending rate for adults released from custodial sentences of twelve months or less. Ex-offenders face huge challenges in turning their lives around, with fewer than one in ten women having a job to go to after release. Ms Pryce also mentions the ‘insufficient’ discharge grant and how no extra cash is given for deposits or rent. ‘In some cases, people aren’t even allowed near their home communities,’ she continues. ‘The literature clearly shows that jobs and education are the most important factors in turning lives around.’
I ask her if she has an opinion about how, as a society, it can be established whether somebody is a reformed character or not. She pauses for a moment to consider the question and its implications. Currently, the law states that nobody sentenced to more than four years’ imprisonment can have that conviction spent, so, because of that, those people can never be considered rehabilitated in the eyes of the law. ‘Asking somebody if they’re reformed is a patronising question,’ she says. ‘You have to look at it on a crime by crime basis.’ She takes the view that prison can make a person more likely to break the law and is an advocate of community-type sentences, believing they encourage the strengthening of support networks. ‘For many vulnerable individuals, particularly women, prison isn’t the answer,’ she tells me. ‘If you improve their conditions, then you will improve their chances in life.’
‘My general view is that sentences should be rendered spent as soon as possible, due to the odds that are currently stacked against former offenders,’ she argues. ‘But even with short sentences that become spent relatively quickly, there is still long-term damage to that person’s re-integration into the community.’ She emphasises that discrimination against those who have ‘done their bit in prison’ is not only unproductive but simply unfair as well. Practices inspired by common diversity policies should be implemented, she suggests. ‘It is far from uncommon for the applicant’s name, gender and the university they attended, to be hidden from recruiters, and this could potentially be made the case with criminal convictions.’ She concludes, ‘Probation should be helping people, and should take notes from Working Chance.’
The government’s claim that training schemes are commonplace is refuted by individuals inside the prison system. Vicky Pryce is unwavering when sharing her opinion on this matter. ‘The government should pay for everybody’s training schemes,’ she says uncompromisingly. ‘It is generally recognised that, after the recent coronavirus-caused economic contraction, retraining is key to get people back into jobs.’ She argues this should be extended to ex-offenders and the most vulnerable members of society. ‘Companies like Timpsons are setting an example by running academies in prisons.’ Sir John Timpson’s multinational retailer has invested in specialist training academies for offenders, all located within English prisons. Their ‘academies’ enable prisoners to be trained in every main Timpson service, with the exception of key cutting, which is considered a security risk.
As the majority of the public say they are comfortable buying from businesses that employ ex-offenders, it seems unnecessary to exclude former prisoners from jobs, as these people don’t, on current evidence, represent a greater risk to companies compared to the average employee. However, she does accept that some companies may not employ sex offenders ‘to avoid certain risks.’ But, the issue of training is vital. In a 2008 study by the National Literacy Trust, 60% of the prison population was said to have difficulties in basic literacy skills. She asks, ‘Is there some other solution to deal with this particular crisis, given the evidence points to better education and paid employment?’
Finally, we consider the justice system and efforts that have been made to shape and reform it. ‘In the past, political parties have portrayed themselves as law and order parties in order to appeal to voters, which has resulted in more people receiving prison sentences, somewhat unnecessarily.’ The prison population has doubled in the last 25 years, despite crime rates falling for most of that time. Michael Gove, currently the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, accepted, when he was Justice Secretary in the mid-2000s, that too many people were being incarcerated by the state. A rethink was clearly needed, but, with only one year as Justice Secretary, Gove was unable to make any significant improvement to this failing system. It probably did not help that his predecessor, Chris Grayling, ‘had set things back a long way.’ Politicians often ignore evidence ‘for political reasons,’ Ms Pryce suggests, ‘and should instead be looking at what works in the long term.’ I thank Vicky Pryce for her time, telling her it is refreshing to hear such a multitude of ideas on how society can reintegrate ex-offenders back into the community.
Elliot Tyler 