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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 2:13 am
Time: 2:13 am
Results for ex-offenders, financial services (u.k.)
1 results foundAuthor: Bath, Chris Title: Unlocking Credit Unions: Developing Partnerships Between Credit Unions and Criminal Justice Agencies Summary: Financial exclusion compounds the social and economic disadvantage of people within the criminal justice system who are seeking to desist from crime and re-establish themselves in society. Since the mid-2000s, many prisons and banks have developed partnerships which enable people to open a bank account prior to release. However, some prisons have turned to credit unions to provide financial services both post release and during a sentence. This report is based on a research study undertaken by Unlock and the Research Unit for Financial Inclusion in 2012 into the benefits, barriers and strategic options for credit unions in the development of financial services for people in the criminal justice system in England and Wales. It identifies how credit unions, prisons, probation and other agencies can work together to support the reduction of re-offending. Credit unions, prisons and criminal justice agencies Credit unions are not banks, but rather are not-for-profit financial co-operatives with a mission to serve their members and a culture based in community engagement. The appeal of credit unions to prisons and criminal justice agencies was their wide experience of the needs of low income individuals and of assisting people excluded from the mainstream financial system on a pathway to financial stability and security. A small but growing number of credit unions offer savings accounts and/or current accounts to people in and leaving prison, as well as a wider range of financial services to people serving community sentences and to the families of people in the criminal justice system. In total the study identified 22 credit unions engaged with criminal justice agencies. Credit unions were prepared to offer savings accounts to people in prison. All 13 credit union and prison partnerships in the study promoted the value of saving for release in order to financially support the return to society. It is often a lack of funds to manage the first few weeks out of prison that leads many people to re-offend. About a third of credit union and prison partnerships offered a current account to people on release or in open prisons. Others were able to offer savings accounts that could receive any mix of wages and welfare benefits. Around two thirds of credit unions working with prisons saw the most important benefits of the partnership in terms of the reduction of the risk of re-offending and the improvement of their rehabilitation and resettlement services. Details: Snodland, UK: Unlock, 2013. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 25, 2013 at: http://www.unlock.org.uk/userfiles/file/creditunion/unlockingcreditunions.pdf Year: 2013 Country: United Kingdom URL: http://www.unlock.org.uk/userfiles/file/creditunion/unlockingcreditunions.pdf Shelf Number: 127401 Keywords: Credit UnionsCriminal Justice PartnershipsEx-Offenders, Financial Services (U.K.)Financial Assistance, PrisonersPrisoner ReentryPrisoner Rehabilitation |