Provision of Faith Based Support in Prisons
Post date: Aug 24, 2017 2:46:14 PM
At their September 2016 meeting the Council of Faiths received a presentation on the provision of faith based support in prisons from the Revd Alan Hodgetts (C of E), the Managing Chaplain at Woodhill Prison, assisted by Imam Shehzad Hussain.
The presentation started with watching a video called “Religion Inside”.
The presentation will cover four things:
· Spiritual and religious beliefs and practices of prisoners.
· Pastoral role of chaplains (Governed by the Faith and Pastoral Care PSI).
· Moving on from crime – The importance of Local Faith Volunteers.
· Obstacles and barriers – Reluctance of communities to engage.
Religion inside prison can:-
· Offer hope.
· Give a moral compass.
· Opportunity for forgiveness and repentance.
· Helps stop self-harm.
In the video prisoners gave reasons why their faith was important to them. Woodhill is unique in that all the faiths cooperate.
There are currently 684 prisoners at Woodhill. There are about 100 prisoners in and out per week.
89 of the 128 Muslims celebrated Eid, but only a maximum of 101 would have been able to attend due to restrictions. All prayed and ate together. There are Ramadan boxes which keep food warm until it can be eaten.
The percentage split of different faiths in prison is similar to the 2011 census, except for Muslims, where the percentage is higher. Muslims make up 18% of the prison population, but only 4% of the total population.
Corporate worship is allowed for 1 hour per week, different times of the week for different faiths. The prison observes as many of the religious festivals and feasts as possible.
Prisoners are allowed to engage with members of their faith group from the community. A challenge to the Council of Faiths – can non-Christians visit the prison? Several members agreed to visit the prison.
Holy books are provided free of charge and faith artefacts can be ordered.
60 prisoners are on “watch”. There is current one self inflicted death per month.