Offender education and citizenship
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Feltham Young Offender Institution and Remand Centre
A group of eight young prisoners, some on remand and some convicted, have worked with staff from Kensington and Chelsea College, who hold the education contract for Feltham, and with Team Video, an educational media company, to make a video about perceptions of offenders in society. They were filmed responding to a range of views on issues such as why offenders commit crimes, what rights they should have and whether or not they should be allowed to vote in general elections.
Remand prisoners currently are permitted in law to vote, and there is considerable debate about whether the law should be changed to allow convicted prisoners to vote, although they are permitted to register to vote. The young people learned about the process of voting and they discussed whether they should be able to register to vote while in the YOI. The purpose of the project was to enable them to learn about exercising their rights and civic duties while in prison in order for them to better understand these on release. The final edited video has seven sections: Why do people commit crime? It’s not my fault, How should we treat prisoners? Does prison work? Do offenders have rights? The right to vote, and Why vote? Following the project, the young people undertook a campaign to encourage others to register to vote.
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