Significant barriers
A new (29 August 2025) report published by the Prison Reform Trust highlights the need for enhanced support and policy reform to assist individuals on release after serving long-term prison sentences. The report, written by Dr Ailie Rennie, forms part of PRT’s Building Futures programme thais focused on the experiences of individuals serving long-term prison sentences.
Based on in depth interviews with 20 people now living in the community who have experienced release from a long-term prison sentence, the report provides rare and detailed insights into their experience. Release from long-term imprisonment outlines the complex process of re-entry in the community after a long-term prison sentence, highlighting gaps in pre- and post- release support.
Findings
The participants in this study provided insights into how release and resettlement was anticipated, prepared for, experienced, and continuously navigated even many years later in the community. Released from different types of sentences and types of prisons, whilst also having experienced varying lengths of time in the community, the participants provided a cross-section of release experiences that revealed a unique picture of the challenges faced following long-term imprisonment.
The report highlights five key themes.
Multiplicity of barriers
People who serve long periods of time in custody face significant re-entry barriers, with the challenges of securing suitable and stable accommodation or employment, and rebuilding relationships often proving difficult or overwhelming. These challenges were compounded by the length of time they had been away, and the stigma (related to their crimes) they faced, making mental and social adjustment even more daunting.
For example, many struggled with adapting to technological, cultural, and societal changes that occurred during their absence, leading to feelings of isolation and disorientation in the outside world. Beyond these practical hurdles, the stigma of their conviction persisted, making reintegration even harder as many faced repeated knockbacks and rejections. Society’s reluctance to forgive or offer somebody a second chance created an enduring barrier to acceptance (particularly for those convicted of serious or violent offences), leaving many to navigate a world that had moved on without them whilst still viewing them through the lens of the past.
The experience of being supervised by probation
One of the main barriers participants described facing in the community was the requirement to be on licence (for some, for the remainder of their lives) and to attend probation supervision. Whilst a small number described their encounters with probation positively, the majority of participants voiced frustrations and anxieties that surrounded attending supervision and living on licence.
They described feeling infantilised by the requirement to constantly ask for permission to engage in the day-to-day activities of normal life. Participants also criticised what they considered to be deliberately vague or unclear licence conditions, that afforded probation officers an uncomfortable amount of discretion over their lives in the community. Describing supervision as a ‘box ticking exercise’, interactions with probation were experienced as superficial and perfunctory, lacking sufficient depth or meaningful engagement to make a realistic assessment of risk or to offer support.
Release not the same as freedom
Importantly, participants were clear that being released to the community was not the same as regaining their freedom. Hyperaware of the strict licence conditions they were subject to, and also the potential to be recalled to prison, people described lacking the control or autonomy over their lives to truly feel ‘free’ and feared they never would. The threat of being sent back to prison constantly loomed over them, creating a pervasive sense of anxiety that also prevented them from feeling ‘settled’ in the community, even many years after their release.
Barriers change over time
For many, the barriers they faced eased over time, as people became more established and grew in confidence in the community, learning how to manage technology or securing stable accommodation and employment. For others, these challenges only got harder, becoming more difficult or unbearable as time went on, whilst new ones could also emerge. This, for example, could include the continued need to attend probation even after almost a decade in the community, or how a change in probation officer could result in an increased frequency of supervisions, leaving participants feeling like they were going backwards rather than progressing.
Little support
Participants described receiving very little, if any, support to overcome these barriers post-release as well as very little preparation pre-release to adequately face these challenges. As a result, people described being ‘set up to fail’ in the community or as if they were not being given a fair opportunity to restart their lives.
Those who had families or other support networks to return to did describe how their social connections could provide material and emotional support during the early stages of release.
However, many had lost family members and loved ones throughout the course of the sentence or as a result of their conviction, and felt abandoned in their re-entry journey, isolated and helpless in a world unfamiliar to them.
Recommendations
The report calls for comprehensive reforms by HMPPS and partner agencies to address these challenges and makes a number of key recommendations for change, including:
- Developing more comprehensive pre-release training with a focus on technology, employment and practical skills.
- Introducing dedicated resettlement teams within prisons to develop robust resettlement plans.
- Improving through-the-gate support, including care packages and immediate post-release assistance.
- Training for probation officers on the specific needs of long-sentence prisoners.
- Reforming recall policies by including an independent judicial review at the point of recall.
- Strengthening partnerships with local agencies to facilitate stable housing and employment opportunities.
Thanks to Andy Aitchison for kind permission to use the images in this post. You can see Andy’s work here
