What does Royal London Society do? Royal London Society aims to equip serving prisoners and ex-offenders with skills and a positive approach to finding suitable and sustainable employment. We do this through 1) support 2) funding and 3) referral (if applicable) of ex-offenders to relevant training, education and employment opportunities. RLS also provides grants to support projects that fall within the objectives of the Society. There have been:
- 199 ex-offenders supported in 2010
- 100+ grants awarded per year (and rising)
- Average grant £300: from support of training for employment to the purchase of tools and equipment.
The Royal London Society collaborates with individual applicants, prison staff, employers, training providers, other funding bodies and the Ministry of Justice.
All applications are endorsed by a prison officer, a probation officer, a trade instructor, the education department or other agencies concerned to ensure that those selected confirm their commitment to succeed. The charity directs its efforts to prisons located within Greater London and the South East. Read our guidelines and apply here.
Why do we do it? The current prison population in the United Kingdom hovers around 80,000 and the Office of National Statistics puts the re-conviction rate at around 75% (it is safe to presume the re-offence rate is higher). We believe this rate of re-offending reflects a failing More
