Translator: Hiroko Kawano Reviewer: Marleen Laschet
I know a lot of scary people.
Some of them have done terrible things.
They are drug offenders, robbers, rapists and murderers.
But these scary people are also scared people.
And the biggest fear they have in common is their letterbox.
Their letterbox represents a trap after release from prison.
Inmates are supposed to get a new start after serving their sentence.
However, for many inmates,
leaving prison is when the real punishment begins.
The Red Cross Project, 'Network After Imprisonment'
has almost 14 years of experience
with serial offenders who dream of a normal life.
Almost all of them have debt.
It's about unpaid rent, electricity bills, credit cards, fines…
the whole list.
The Danish researcher Annette Olesen has proven
that debt problems increase the danger for relapse.
In a survey we conducted, inmates actually rated economy
on top of their list of worries regarding release.
Other researchers have proven a close correlation
between debt problems and serious mental problems.
The worst thing is that inmates who are really trying to get their lives on track
are the ones who get hit the hardest.
Take Robbie, a typical inmate.
He had a difficult childhood,
has no education, no valuable assets and a lot of debt.
His network consists of drug abusers.
Robbie has done a lot of thinking during his last sentence.
He is determined that this is going to be his last time serving.
He is offered substance abuse treatment
and several courses and programmes in prison.
When released, he receives help to find a place to live.
Robbie is lonely but he stays away from drugs.
It's very hard to get a job for a man with a criminal record and no CV.
But finally, he lands a job, and he is doing well.
His sister is so happy for him.
But then the past catches up with him.
The creditors discover the change in income
and start bombarding Robbie's letterbox.
It fills up with letters containing legal paragraphs
and threats of economic sanctions.
They are very difficult to understand.
But one thing does sink in quickly:
He will never be able to make this amount of money by legal means.
Never.
Robbie doesn't know what to do,
so he throws the letters away and tries to forget about them.
That's a perfectly normal, human reaction.
But then payroll deduction is imposed, and he can no longer pay the rent.
Robbie's head is spinning day and night.
'There's no point in working.
I'll never be able to live a normal life anyway'.
After a period with an extremely high stress level, he has no hope left.
And people without hope make bad choices.
Robbie consults his old friends and tries to escape by taking drugs.
He doesn't show up at work anymore, and his sister can't reach him.
It doesn't take long until he is back in prison.
Robbie was well on his way.
But one important element was missing in the help he got,
and out of control,
debt ruined all the efforts made to get his life on track.
Now let’s have a look at Peter.
When I first met him, he was apparently doing just fine:
he was clean, he was doing well in a job-training programme,
and was an engaged father.
He had been in and out of prison for 15 years,
but decided to stop this vicious circle when his girlfriend got pregnant.
He had to succeed this time.
But Peter carried a heavy burden.
His debt problems made him sleepless,
and he was worried his normal family life couldn't last.
Why should we care about this?
Why can't offenders solve their economic problems themselves?
There are several reasons for that.
Prisoners are not allowed to work
so they have nothing to offer their creditors.
They don't have access to the internet or phone.
Solving a serious debt problem is complicated.
And most inmates have very little schooling,
and strive with difficulties in reading, writing and concentration.
Debt problems affect the debtor's mental health.
Almost anyone in this situation would need help.
The interest rates increase while serving.
When you are supposed to get a new start, your problem has grown bigger.
And it's hardly easier to solve this problem outside the prison walls.
You know, a criminal environment is the parallel world.
Many offenders are experts on things we don't know anything about,
and they are scared to death of things we take for granted.
As a friend of mine puts it:
'I knew the value of 300 grams of gold, but not the price of a bottle of milk'.
The tattooed muscleman may scare you.
But he may prefer to make a deal with a guy like himself
rather than receiving letters he doesn't understand,
containing demands he can never meet.
In other words,
many offenders start an economic life sentence after release.
Anybody here is afraid of spiders?
Imagine being forced into a room full of them,
and you can't even see the way out.
What would be your dearest wish?
Somebody to take your hand and guide you out, maybe?
To most offenders,
dealing with economics is a room full of spiders.
But they may find the way out if they are given a helping hand.
They will still need to walk that scary and difficult path themselves.
But with guidance and advice,
they will feel safer, get new knowledge.
They will learn to recognise the poisonous spiders and avoid them,
develop skills to face the others.
This was the thought underlying the 'Debt Project'
started by Network After Imprisonment in 2012.
And Peter was actually one of the reasons why we started it.
And luckily, it didn't take too long
until we had an agreement with his creditors,
which was positive for both parties.
They got payments for the first time ever,
and agreed to delete the rest of the debt after five years of payments.
The bombardment of Peter's letterbox stopped,
and he could see a light at the end of the tunnel,
and focus on his work and his family.
Thanks to many volunteers and partners,
along with cooperation from the correctional service,
we can offer long-term help to both inmates and the released.
We inform about the public support system and attend meetings.
We give lessons about everyday economy and debt handling.
And the participants are offered individual advice and help
to negotiate and make repayment deals.
Our volunteers are well aware
that this challenge includes more than dealing with numbers.
They have to win the debtors' trust, help them to overcome shame,
and at the same time, be honest about what is expected from them.
We also give lessons to employees and employees-to-be
in the correctional system.
And I'm so glad that so many of them want to engage.
We have made a book, a film, two brochures and a website
explaining how debt collection is done,
how to get an overview and how to deal with it.
This material is spread to correctional services all over Norway.
This is a very small investment with a potentially very high return.
Peter was lucky.
He was released exactly when we started engaging with this topic.
And we were lucky to be able to follow him on his new path.
He did most of the work himself
and developed many useful skills and new attitudes on the way.
I remember he once showed up
with a brand new toy remote control helicopter,
and at the same time, he was unable to pay the rent.
Now he knows where to buy the cheapest diapers.
But the drug offender, the robber, the rapist, the murderer -
do they deserve help?
For a Red Cross worker, the obvious answer is
that people deserve a second chance once their sentence is served.
Most inmates aren't dangerous.
Prisons around the world are full of resourceful people
with good intentions and families and friends who love them.
Most of them are facing many serious challenges,
and economy is probably the most concrete problem to deal with.
Professor Arne Holte from the University of Oslo is clear:
Debt counselling is a very effective way
to reduce mental problems and costs related to it.
Olesen's research and our experience show
that debt counselling has a positive effect
on offenders' chances to stay away from drugs and crime.
This leads us to the Network After Imprisonment's vision:
The correctional service should be obliged to provide information
and courses in everyday economy and debt handling.
Motivated inmates who serve more than six months
should have the right to receive help in getting a debt overview
and a plan for their next chapter.
Serving a prison sentence is hard,
but it is also an opportunity to learn useful skills,
to prepare for life after release.
We need structured and tight cooperation
between the correctional service, the support system
and voluntary organisations outside.
Maybe not everyone agrees that offenders deserve help.
Haven’t they done terrible things and hurt people?
Haven’t they cost society enough money as it is?
Well, let’s look at it from a tax payer's and a concerned citizen’s point of view.
Nobody likes wasting tax money.
And we would all like to feel safe in our neighbourhoods, right?
Crime costs the tiny, low-crime country Norway
100 billion Norwegian kroner each year.
That is three times more than is spent
on development and research in the state budget,
more than seven times the amount spent on culture.
According to the analysis bureau Vista,
we could save around 1 million a year for each typical inmate
who becomes a taxpayer instead.
Peter has been working as a truck driver for many years now.
Each year he pays 150,000 kroner in taxes.
Training prison staff and only, for example, 10,000 kroner in extra resources
for each motivated inmate is money very well spent.
10,000 kroner is less than the cost of five nights in prison.
Peter has spent more than 2000 nights alone in a cell.
Now he spends his time and energy at work, with his family
and attending sports contests.
He has three kids now, aged 10, 8 and 3.
They are growing up in safety.
Their father doesn't sell drugs in your neighbourhood anymore.
Instead, he invites his neighbours to barbecues.
Prisons around the world are full of Peters.
They dream of a normal life.
They need to be able to step out their doors, to their letterboxes,
without the anxiety of their past hanging over them,
ruining their new goal.
They deserve to succeed.
Their kids deserve for them to succeed.
We all deserve for them to succeed.
So, let’s guide them out of that spider room.
Thank you.
(Applause)