From dealing to prison at eighteen

Aaron White was kicked out of his family home at sixteen, started smoking cannabis, and turned to dealing. An undercover police sting landed him in prison at eighteen surrounded by hardened criminals.

A decade cycling through prison

Released with no support, White used tricks learned inside to take his crimes to a whole different level. He spent the next decade in and out of prison, each time released into the same cycle.

Arrested at Notting Hill Carnival

In two thousand seventeen, police stopped White's car at Notting Hill Carnival and found loaded handguns.

Key4Life changes everything

Upon release, White's probation officer directed him to Key4Life, a rehabilitation programme founded in two thousand twelve. It uses a seven step programme to work through trauma, build resilience, and steer people away from crime.

Reoffending rates cut in half

An independent evaluation in two thousand eighteen found forty seven percent of all offenders reoffended one year after leaving prison. For Key4Life participants, it was just twenty four percent.

Early release without support fails

Around seven hundred eligible prisoners left jail on first October under the government's early release scheme. White and study authors warn that without proper support, prisoners will reoffend quickly and return to crowded prisons.

“If you're just letting prisoners be released onto the streets with no support and no help, you're setting them up to fail.”

Programmes reach only hundreds yearly

Dr Natasha DuRose, senior lecturer in criminology at London Metropolitan University, interviewed forty six men at HMP Fosse Way. She warns there are very few rehabilitation programmes across the country and funding must expand.

“Reoffending is estimated to cost about eighteen billion pounds annually, whereas programmes like Key4Life are a fraction of that cost.”

Success depends on support waiting

Dr DuRose says early release success depends less on the release date and more on who is waiting on the other side. Programmes like Key4Life can only reach a couple of hundred men a year.