bank accounts for prisoners

A scheme enabling prisoners to open a Co-operative Bank account has helped reduce re-offending rates by around a third, according to a report by Liverpool John Moores University.

The study analysed the behaviour of a group of prisoners who opened an account with The Co-operative Bank in October 2007 and highlights the positive impact the scheme has had on promoting social and financial inclusion.

The findings show that those participating in the scheme, which began at Forest Bank Prison, Salford, in 2006 and now extends to 30 prisons across the country, were far less likely to re-offend. In the key category of prisoners serving sentences of less than 12 months, the national re-offending rate is 59.9 per cent, but only 39 per cent of prisoners with a bank account re-offended - a reduction of 34.8 per cent.

Paul Jones of Liverpool John Moores University said, “Bank accounts are not the panacea for reducing re-offending rates, but it is clear they are an important element in enabling ex-prisoners to become valuable members of society.”

As one former inmate told the researchers, "Getting this bank account has allowed me to get paid for my job; it has given me a sense of self-respect more than anything; and allowed me to feel part of society again. Every time I go into a shop and use a debit [card] I do feel good about myself. It is amazing, it does make a difference.”

27 of the prisoners were aged 21-24. Of those, 25.9 per cent re-offended within twelve months of release - a reduction of more than 37 per cent on the national re-offending rate for this group. The research found re-offending rates lower than the national average across all prisoner categories and highlighted the important role access to bank accounts can play - not only in the effective resettlement and rehabilitation of prisoners, but also with longer-term social and financial inclusion.

Neville Richardson, Chief Executive of The Co-operative Financial Services, said, “Since the scheme began three years ago, The Co-operative Bank has opened more than 3,500 basic bank accounts for prisoners and we have a relationship with 30 prisons, which represents nearly 20 per cent of all UK prisons. However, we cannot tackle this important issue alone. Therefore, I would encourage other banks to play their part in providing accounts for prisoners so all inmates can have this opportunity."



Download the Bank Account for Prisoners report PDF [357KB] – Once you've clicked on the link, select save and follow the instructions. 

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