Life outside prison

SIR – I welcome the call by Dame Glenys Stacey, the Chief Inspector of Probation, for an integrated approach to the management of offenders in the community (report, May 21).

Offenders require a range of services beyond what can be offered by the justice system. Health and education services are necessary, along with active participation by local authorities.

If such an approach is to gain public support, it will take more than just highlighting the cost of crime or the futility of short prison terms. There must also be a genuine commitment to changing behaviour. Where the risk of reoffending is higher, better intelligence-sharing between probation and police services will allow dangerous and prolific offenders to be targeted for closer supervision.

Nailsea, Somerset

SIR – Farmers like me should welcome the news that offenders could be given the chance to work before being released (report, May 28).

We have had fantastic European pickers coming over year after year, but since the EU referendum we have been panicking about their chances of getting visas. So this might be a well-timed solution, providing us with men and women to pick soft fruit (we are a long way from automation in this area) and Bramley apples (a job that no machine could do).

Offenders on day release could be bussed in from local prisons under supervision. They would work a full day, continue to return until the job was done, and receive a pay packet at the end. It would rebuild trust within the community; self-worth would be regained and mental health improved from working with nature. I predict that reoffending will fall dramatically if this project is taken seriously.

Southwell, Nottinghamshire