CON FISHING
Young offenders hooked on hobby
STIAN ALEXANDER
CRIMINALS generally try not to get caught… but at a jail that lets them go fishing, they all want to land a catch.
Young offenders, many of whom are guilty of violent crimes, are encouraged to try their hand at angling on the banks of a lake in the prison grounds.
Inmates and staff have helped to “landscape” the lake, which is said to be fully stocked with fish.
It’s part of a scheme to rehabilitate 15 to 18-year-olds at HMP Wetherby in West Yorkshire. A source said: “Prison staff thought it was a joke at first. Bosses are always trying different things to get people to go straight but this is one of the strangest ones yet.
“The theory is these guys have never tried outdoor pursuits like fishing and it might encourage them to take it up as a hobby.
“It’s certainly a change from the estates these kids call home.” The angling sessions emerged in a prison watchdog report.
Inmates are chaperoned by outreach workers from Kinetic Youth – a social enterprise to stop young people re-offending. The same youth workers have been praised for setting up a jail aviary.
The Independent Monitoring Board said offenders “appear to actively engage with the Kinetic staff who help them return to education.” The Prison Service did not comment.