Do you know much about the men and women locked up in prison? If you're like most people, probably not much at all.
According to a landmark report published by the Sentencing Academy in 2024, 73% of those asked about their knowledge of prisons in England and Wales said they didn't know much about the people in them.
We live in a country where the use of prisons as part of our justice system has become commonplace; yet, the overwhelming majority of us have no idea who is being housed in these institutions, nor why they are there.
Knowledge Gaps Shape Policy — and Treatment
The statistics cited above are more than interesting. The knowledge gaps described have a direct impact on how we view prisoners and how we vote on policies designed to reform our criminal justice system. Ultimately, our ignorance of who is incarcerated creates obstacles to helping people find work, secure housing, obtain education, and successfully reintegrate into society upon release.
When we do not know the realities of who is imprisoned, we fill this void with assumptions. We assume the worst. We create a narrative that is far from true.
However, few people realise that:
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Most prisoners are parents separated from their children
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Many prisoners (55%) have been sentenced for non-violent offences [1]
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Mental health problems and drug abuse/dependency are widespread within the prison population [2]
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Many prisoners experienced traumatic, economically disadvantaged, or broken-home type of childhoods
Virtually all prisoners will eventually be released back into society.
Education Crisis
One shocking fact that may astound you is that 71% of prisoners have reading/writing abilities equivalent to a child leaving elementary school (i.e., entry level 3) [3]
Imagine having to complete a job application, review a rental agreement, assist your children with their homework, or even simply send a text message to a family member using the reading/writing skills of an 11-year-old.
The Prison Reform Trust's Fact File for Feb 2025 provides a summary of statistics taken from the Government's Prison Education and Accredited Programme Statistics 2023–2024. 47,722 initial assessments were completed by prisoners in English and math during the year [2023 - 2024], with 73% of assessment outcomes being at the equivalent literacy level expected of an 11-year-old or younger, almost five times higher than in the general adult population (15%).
The Myth of "They Don't Want to Learn"
It is commonly believed that prisoners are uninterested in education and rehabilitation. That they are beyond redemption. That they do not want to change.
However, the data does not tell that same story.
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49,965 adult prisoners in public prisons in England participated in an education course in the 2023–24 academic year (year ending March 2024) [4].
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45,289 prisoners achieved a grade in a course in the year ending March 2024. This represented a 14% increase compared to the previous year [5].
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More than 1,700 people in UK prisons currently study with The Open University [6].
Prisoners participate in education. They complete assessments. They enrol in classes. They desire to acquire skills that will enable them to construct a new future for themselves.
But the reality is that you cannot rehabilitate someone who cannot read a job advertisement. You cannot reasonably anticipate someone to "stay straight" when they possess the minimal literacy required to navigate contemporary life. You cannot eliminate the cycle of recidivism without recognising the educational disadvantage that frequently played a role in their committing crimes in the first place.
Human Costs of Ignorance
When we fail to recognise who prisoners truly are, we create a barrier for their successful reintegration into society. We create impediments to employment, housing, and education for them. We stigmatise them and their families.
Think about the children. Approximately 190,000 children in the United Kingdom have a parent incarcerated. While none of these children committed a crime, they bear the burden of their parents' imprisonment. They experience stigma at school, financial hardship at home, and long-lasting psychological damage due to the trauma associated with their parents' incarceration.
Our lack of awareness regarding prisoners extends to their families, creating a ripple effect of disadvantage across multiple generations.
Why Education is Key to Breaking the Cycle
At Rebooted, we believe that education is the connection between incarceration and opportunity. This is why we provide refurbished computers and educational materials to newly released prisoners and their families — because we understand something fundamental: individuals in prison should not only be defined by their worst act.
They are individuals with the capacity to grow, with skills to develop, with families that need them, and with contributions they can make to society. However, they require assistance to achieve this. They need access to education, digital skills, and other resources that can facilitate building a different future for themselves.
It’s how you treat the offender after he has served the sentence that makes all the difference as to whether you will have a repeat offender or a productive citizen in society.
It's not about what they did before they were sentenced. It’s about what happens when they get out. What kind of opportunities do they have? Are they allowed to turn their life around and become a productive member of society?
If they are not given this opportunity, if they are left to continue down the path they were already on, then it doesn’t matter what the original crime was; they will likely end up right back where they started. This cycle has to stop somewhere, and it starts with providing our offenders with the opportunities they need to make better choices.
Changing the Narrative
The findings from the Sentencing Academy and the Prison Reform Trust should be a warning sign to all of us. More than half (73%) do not have much knowledge about prisons, and as most prisoners (71%) cannot read at an adult level, we are failing on two fronts:
We are unaware of the extent of the problem, and we are not doing nearly enough to address it.
We need to alter that narrative. We need to:
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educate ourselves about who is actually in prison and why
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see the humanity in those who have made mistakes.
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invest in literacy and digital skills that allow for true pathways to employment
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provide reintegration support instead of continuing exclusion
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consider the family members of those imprisoned
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offer the tools – both physical and educational – that will promote positive change
A Better Way Forward
Each individual leaving prison is faced with a decision: to continue down the same old paths or to begin anew. However, that decision is not made in isolation. Whether society provides a chance — through education, employment, and acceptance — or closes off options due to lack of knowledge and/or fear is what shapes that decision.
When a prison leaver is provided a laptop with educational resources, they are not simply being given a computer. They are being allowed to access literacy classes, job training programs, resume builders, and connections to their loved ones. They are being sent a message: you matter; your future matters; we see potential in you.
This is the power of knowledge — both the knowledge we acquire about prisoners and the knowledge we assist them in gaining to positively alter their lives.
The question is not whether a prisoner deserves a second chance. The question is whether we have sufficient knowledge about the individual to assess fairly whether he merits a second chance, and whether we are prepared to supply him with the education required to be successful.
Sources & References
[1]https://prisonreformtrust.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Winter-2025-factfile.pdf (page 12) Ministry of Justice (2024). Table 2.Q.8, Prison receptions: April to June 2024. Offender management statistics quarterly: April to June 2024.
[3] UK Ministry of Justice & HM Prison & Probation Service (2024). Prison Education and Accredited Programme Statistics 2023 to 2024. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-education-and-accredited-programme-statistics-2023-to-2024/prison-education-and-accredited-programme-statistics-2023-to-2024