Enhancing arts and culture in the criminal justice system
Posted by:
The National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance (NCJAA) believes arts and culture can be a springboard for positive change. For people with experience of the criminal justice system – in settings largely marginalised and ignored – arts can bring about the greatest changes. When this stretches beyond the prison walls it can foster empathy, connect communities and enrich cultural experiences for all.
Our new good practice guide embraces growing opportunities and aims to encourage exciting work from our country’s best artists and organisations. It is a resource for anyone – from local artists to national museums, and particularly those unsure where to begin – delivering creative activity in criminal justice settings.
Arts and culture in criminal justice – why and how
The guide makes a convincing case for why the arts and culture sector should be extending its unique services to a prison population that has seen a 70% increase over the past 30 years. Our vision is for arts to be embedded right across the criminal justice system, unlocking pathways that allow everyone to prosper in a thriving creative economy.
The latest research in to the impact of arts in criminal justice, drawn from our Evidence Library and building on Arts Council England’s recent summary of evidence, illustrates the profound impact this work can have. The current policy landscape – although somewhat turbulent at the moment – also provides opportunities for the arts and culture sector. The Ministry of Justice’s Education and Employment Strategy 2018 argues that for people in prison, the arts “can be the first step towards building confidence for more formal learning.”
It is, however, worth noting that working in criminal justice settings challenges even the most experienced. Increasingly complex commissioning processes, prisons’ staff shortages and poor conditions require careful management. As Darren Henley, Arts Council England’s Chief Executive, says in his foreword to the guide,
This is a highly rewarding area of work for participants and practitioners alike. However, the criminal justice system can be difficult to navigate.
To support organisations and practitioners through this, the guide includes a toolkit on how to deliver arts and culture in the criminal justice system with step-by-step guidance to developing a project. It asks important practical, creative and ethical questions to help shape work that is safe and effective for all.
Why a partnership approach is key
Specialist organisations such as Theatre in Prisons and Probation, Changing Tunes and Helix Arts make up a rich history of arts in criminal justice. Just these three examples (there are many more) have almost 100 years’ experience between them of delivering remarkable theatre, music and visual arts. Partnerships with specialist organisations provide expert knowledge, ensure sustainable engagement and diversify output. Their enormous value must be recognised.
For historians at Warwick University who wanted to present work in ways not usually available to academic researchers, reaching out to specialist organisations was vital. Partners on their five-year prison health project included arts organisation Rideout, who facilitated three history and theatre residencies that explored how food in prison has changed over the last 150 years; and Geese Theatre Company, who developed a series of theatre workshops at HMP Peterborough exploring life in prison as a mother. The projects were well received and have resulted in an ongoing programme of work.
We have seen the value of working with experts in this kind of work, and the benefits of pooling our skills and knowledge to make something stronger than their constituent parts.
- Professor Hilary Marland, University of Warwick
Our good practice principles
Alongside case studies such as the one above, at the heart of the guide are our good practice principles. They include: working with integrity and optimism, setting out clear aims from the start and considering and measuring the impact of work. Sufficient training, safeguarding and support must be also considered for practitioners and participants that may be working in difficult environments.
Work in criminal justice settings should focus on understanding its context, and arts and culture organisations should recognise their extraordinary capacity to amplify the voice of those with lived experience. Specialist organisation Imagine If Theatre Company involves (and pays) people with convictions across its work, and argues that the most important principle is to not “helicopter in and exploit the voices of others.”
Creative projects that are above all open, engaging and collaborative – embracing learning from specialist organisations and those with lived experience – are likely to be the best springboard to positive change for people in the criminal justice system. We hope our guide will be a useful starting point for anyone who agrees.
Find out more
The guide draws on our popular Introduction to arts in prisons training, a one-day course for participants considering delivering arts in prisons. The next session is on 11th November in Manchester. Sign up to our newsletter for all the latest training dates.
