Two thirds of convicts’ sons face a life of crime

Two thirds of boys with a father in prison will grow up to become criminals, research has suggested. Children with a parent in prison are also more likely to be excluded from school and

suffer mental health problems —yet they remain unknown to the authorities or services that could help them, according to a children’s charity. Barnardo’s estimates that at least 200,000

youngsters have a parent in jail but at no stage in the criminal justice process are offenders asked if they have children. Despite the government’s policy of early intervention to break

intergenerational cycles of crime and disadvantage, there are no official records of who these children are or where they live. Barnardo’s, which is to publish a report on the issue this

week, wants ministers to legislate so that courts ask people remanded or sentenced to prison whether they have children. The findings highlight the difference between the casual attitude

towards children with parents in prison and the painstaking trouble taken with children in care, where everything is done to smooth their passage into foster families or adoption. They are

also given the first choice of schools, extra funding per head and psychological and behavioural support if needed. Advertisement Yet the experience of having a parent in prison can be

similarly shocking for a child. It is compounded by the stigma surrounding prison, which means that children often feel ashamed and refuse to tell anyone about it. Home can be a stressful

and chaotic place as the parent left behind struggles to cope. Most schools do not know if any of their pupils has a parent in prison. Javed Khan, chief executive of Barnardo’s, said it was

astonishing that such a vulnerable group of children was ignored. “These children have done nothing wrong themselves, yet they feel like they are serving the sentence. They are innocent

victims, yet no one knows even how many there are. These are highly vulnerable children facing major challenges in their life, yet no one knows what help they might need,” he said. “We would

like to start a conversation with the government about how this group can be helped.” With prison populations rising, Barnardo’s wants the government to appoint a minister with

responsibility for children of inmates and to consider whether schools should automatically be told if a pupil’s parent is in jail. Courts should also check that arrangements have been made

to look after children whose parents are in prison. Each year 18,000 mothers go to jail, often taken into custody suddenly with no opportunity to organise proper care for their children.

Barnardo’s runs more than a dozen projects in which it works with prisoners’ children, usually involving group activities so they have someone to whom they can talk. Mr Khan said that it was

difficult to do more because it was not easy to find out where the children were. Advertisement The Ministry of Justice said that it was contributing to projects to help children of

prisoners and keep those in jail in touch with their families. “Maintaining strong family ties can play a significant role in reducing reoffending, which is why we are working across

government to support the relationships that can help offenders turn their lives around,” a spokesman said. “At Parc prison in south Wales, for instance, there is a team working to maintain

relationships between prisoners and their children. “We work closely with Barnardo’s to support families of prisoners and improve their children’s outcomes such as their school performance,

physical and emotional health and issues around school exclusion.”