Memorandum submitted by Business in Prisons
SUMMARY
It has been a long-standing argument between
prisons, their associated organisations and Banking and Financial
Institutions as to whether or not to allow people leaving custody,
or in some cases still in custody, the opportunity to open a bank
account. Although the Banking and Financial Institutions have
their arguments against offering their service to this proportion
of our population there are many reasons to support the prospect
of making the facilities more readily available to offenders/ex-offenders.
The final phase of a prisoner's sentence is
invariably served at a low risk resettlement establishment. At
that point the prisoner will have all manner of opportunities
open to him/her as part of being directed towards a crime free
future following their release. This will include the opportunity
to gain access to external full-time employment or education and
also the option of exploring the direction towards self-employment
upon their release will also be on offer by way of Business in
Prisons.
Whichever path the prisoner intends to take
it becomes fundamentally apparent that, at this stage, there is
a need for a bank account. Of course the fact that this person
has lost his or her liberty does not mean that they do not have
responsibilities or liabilities to service in the way of items
that have to be paid by direct debit, debit card or cheque. This
need becomes greater as the prisoner nears the end of their sentence
and is taking advantage of the pre-release resettlement opportunities
that are open to them.
Banking and Financial Institutions will often
say that to operate the most basic form of bank account is not
profitable for them and that is a good enough reason in itself
for them not to offer any facility for offenders/ex-offenders.
It therefore seems poignant at this stage to quote a few facts
about prisoners currently in a resettlement establishment to highlight
an, as of yet, unexplored angle of this subject.
— Approximately 25% of people currently
serving a prison sentence have a good credit rating.
— 10% of serving prisoners have some
form of income available to them in the form of a pension, or
other forms of remuneration, have no way of receiving it because
of the lack of a bank account.
— Most prisoners who are due to be
released on a life licence, due to the amount of time they have
served in prison, will be free of any adverse credit.
— The same applies for any person who
has served a 10-year sentence and over.
There is also the argument of identification
that I intend to cover in the following points. I feel this is
a vitally important subject and given the fact that a prisoner
currently resides in a government establishment run by government
employees should not present too much of a problem.
POINTS THAT
OFFER POSSIBLE
SOLUTIONS OF
CURRENT PROBLEMS
ASSOCIATED WITH
GRANTING BANK
ACCOUNTS TO
EX -OFFENDERS.
1. Initial accounts. This would enable the
prisoner to be granted by a Bank/Financial Institution a very
basic cash account something similar to a normal Building Society
account. The facility could be granted to a person who is currently
still in custody but would allow the facility of an ATM card and
the ability to use the direct-debit facility.
2. Second Step. This could be an account
that is an automatic upgrade for the offender once they have been
released. At this stage their could be a cheque book and debit
card facility added and could be something similar to the facility
that is currently offered by most banks to people between the
ages of 16 and 18 years.
3. Final Stage. Following an agreed period
the ex-offender could be offered the usual products and services
that are offered to any other member of the public subject to
conducting their previous accounts in a responsible and orderly
fashion.
4. Business accounts. Obviously if a prisoner
has intended to become self-employed upon his/her release then
they will require a business account almost as soon as they are
released. The acceptance of this could be on the proviso that
the person takes a personal account as well.
BENEFITS THAT
COULD ARISE
FOR BANK/FINANCIAL
INSTITUTION.
1. Continuous loyalty from account holder
due to the fact that the B/FI is aware of that person's circumstance.
IDENTIFICATION ISSUES
This is rather simple. An offender is identified
by the police, sentenced by the courts and subsequently placed
into custody. At every stage a representative of a government
agency or service identifies the prisoner. Surely there is some
form of statutory identification paperwork containing photographic
evidence that could be used for this purpose and signed by an
authority such as a prison governor to endorse the identity of
that particular person.
January 2006
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