Georgiana Bristol: When the Prison system doesn’t appear to be working, it’s good to visit one that is

Georgiana Bristol is CEO of the Jobs Foundation. 

I had never visited a prison before, and like many of us, no doubt, the idea holds a certain fascination.

For me, it’s not so much about seeing the facilities, but faced with people who are recipients of our justice system, it begs a certain human response. The notion of justice — and what it truly means — reveals much about our own values and outlook.

Do we believe in second, or even third, chances, and for which crimes? How is justice best delivered? And what really separates us from a community of inmates beyond the postcode lottery of birth and circumstance?

My reason for visiting Hatfield Prison was that the Jobs Foundation recently engaged with Tempus Novo, a charity founded back in 2014 by two former senior prison officers, Steve and Val, who support ex-offenders into sustainable employment and life beyond custody. Tempus Novo featured in the Jobs Foundation’s Ladders of Opportunity report, which highlighted the transformative impact that the right support can have in helping people move from prison into sustainable employment. Following that work, they invited me to visit Hatfield, one of the main prisons they partner with.

From Doncaster station, I was picked up by Caroline, Yorkshires Operations Manager at Tempus Novo. When I told her it was my first prison visit, she reassured me: “We’re all just people at the end of the day.” She explained a few invisible rules (no hugs, no personal details, no wandering without permission), but emphasised you’re speaking with people with mums, kids, favourite TV shows, and all the other usual stuff.

Walking into Hatfield, my first thought was that it looked more like a school from the front, lots of low-level buildings spread out in a campus-style set up. With prisoners, not in any formal uniforms, wandering around freely.

I visited the gym, passed men jogging around the quiet campus or engaged with their prison jobs: working in the canteen, staffing the Prison Information Desk, or other roles.

During my visit, I was also fortunate to meet Mick Mills OBE, the Governor, and his team, who clearly run an extremely professional operation and in fact so professional Hatfield was recently named as the UK’s best performing prison. Val told me that once Mick arrived and imposed strict boundaries, basically, break the rules and you’re out, Hatfield hasn’t seen a violent incident since 2022. He’s that rare breed of visionary leader who combines a forward thinking innovative regime with strict rules and discipline.

One prison officer commented that it would be incredibly easy to smuggle in drugs or phones; men come and go daily for work placements, but they don’t, because Hatfield is a safe prison that genuinely supports them. They don’t want to jeopardise that and risk going to a less safe prison.

“Safe is the word,” Caroline told me. “I feel safer walking around here than in many other places.” Watching how warmly people greeted her, how they discussed their jobs and progress, it was easy to see why. Caroline uses what she calls her “maternal charms” to check on people, and when one man said he wasn’t sure his team would stick at their Christmas-tree job, she immediately listed every man on his team, recalling conversations with them and who might be struggling and concluded firmly: “No, they’ll stick it out. I’m not worried.”

Local and national businesses play a crucial role in supporting men as they rebuild their lives beyond prison. When I sat down with Mick, we were joined by Danny from International shipping giants A.P Moller Maersk who spoke passionately about the ex-offenders they hire, praising their loyalty, work ethic, and determination to succeed.

All agreed that because Hatfield is such a safe, well-run prison, employers have real confidence in the men who come from it. In many cases, recruits through Tempus Novo turn out to be among their best employees. As the employer put it, “this isn’t charity, it’s good for business.”

Mick noted that the impact is self-reinforcing: as positive outcomes build, more employers are willing to offer opportunities, and the men work even harder because they know genuine prospects await them.

At the end of my visit, I met Paul, who had secured an amazing opportunity through Tempus Novo in one of the worlds most advanced logistics companies and was preparing for his release in early December. He wept as he told me:
“I’ve paid my debt. I’ve earned my parents’ trust back. My kids will have their dad again. And I’ve got myself back, I’m just Paul for the first time in ten years.”

It was a difficult confession to hear in the context of my fortunate life, but it was also encouraging. With the right support, someone who had struggled for years had found a lifeline back to himself. Tempus Novo is a big part of that. As Val told him before we left: “We’ll be with you for a year after release, checking in, making sure you have what you need.”

And as Caroline reiterated to me on the drive back: “I often call the guys, and their families, long after the official twelve months. They become part of my life, and I want to make sure they’re okay.”

My final reflection is that I may now be ruined for any future prison visits. At high-security prisons, as one officer once told me, “the alarm goes off every 45 minutes with some incident or another.” Hatfield is entirely different. With around 85 per cent of ex-offenders supported by Tempus Novo remaining in their jobs after release, it is a place where you can genuinely begin to rebuild your life, given the right incentives and the right support.

For anyone thinking about how to build a more effective prison system: go and speak to Mick, Tempus Novo, and the businesses they work with.

They already have many of the answers.