What and Why?

What do we do?

Supporting those serving a silent sentence

Open every day (with a 24/7 answer machine service).
The drop in centre is open from 9am – 4.15pm weekdays and 12.45pm – 4.15pm on Saturday and Sunday and is run by both paid staff and volunteers. All of FFOPS staff are trained to listen and provide support; advice; and if necessary signposting to other statutory organisations that may be able to help.  In addition to the above, the organisation is hoping to increase family days and provide more opportunities for the families and offender to maintain relationships.

Outreach

After carrying out the appropriate risk assessments, our volunteers are providing an outreach service. These include home visits, attending local community centres, health centres and doctors surgeries. It is our aim to provide advocacy to those in the local community that are affected by those entering the criminal justice system.

Services We Provide

  • Drop In Centre

  • Telephone

  • Working in Court

  • Visitor Centre (HMP Swansea)

  • Community Outreach

  • Advocacy and Support

 

Why do we do it?

Imprisonment damages family life with families often finding it too difficult to travel to visit loves ones often resulting in the breakdown of family relationships

The effects of having a loved one enter the criminal justice system:-

  • That currently 12,000 children in South Wales have a parent in prison

  • 7% of children will see a parent imprisoned during their school years

  • 65% of prisoner’s children end up in prison themselves

  • Each year more children experience the imprisonment of a parent than experience their parents’ divorce

  • 45% of prisoners lose contact with their families.

  • 66% of all female prisoners are mothers

  • Imprisoning mothers for a non violent crime carries a cost to children and the state of more than £17m over a 10 year period

  • Those prisoners visited by a partner or family member have a significantly lower re-offending rate at 52% than those who were not visit at 70%

  • 160,000 children a year have a parents sent to custody
    – 2.5 times the number of children in care

  • 6 times the number of children on the protective register.

Based on projected prison population growth this could rise to 200,000 in the next five years.

Children

A government review of the children of offenders carried out in 2012 stated that children of offenders are an invisible group; there is no robust system that allows the sharing of information about who they are, little awareness of their needs and no systematic support.

The following statistics illustrate the plight of children with parents in the judicial system:-

  • 65% of boys with a convicted parent go on to offend

  • It is estimated that 160,000 children have a parent in prison in the UK

  • 7% of UK children experience their father’s imprisonment

  • There were 39 children in mother and baby units in 2008

  • 30% of children of female prisoners are taken into care

Home office research has found that 66% of women in prison have dependent children under the age of 18.