Of Prisons, Falekulo and the Garden of England

As we drove out of London heading for Kent, England’s “garden city,” via Plumstead, my guide tried to describe the temperament of the latter neighbourhood to me. He was almost immediately corroborated by a fairly heavy police presence as some “settlers” were obviously being questioned over some misdemeanour.

I am told that the population of prisons in England and Wales has gone up in recent years, by 85% since 1993. According to the British Crime Survey (BCS), in 2004/05 the total number of crimes in England and Wales was 10,850,000. About the same period almost 24% of the population became victims of some crime though this figure still represents a fall from a high in 1995 of nearly 40% of the population.

Labour Party’s determination to be tough on crime and on the causes of crime may have remotely contributed to the explosion being experienced in British prisons. The population is expected to reach 80,400 by 2007, while projections for 2010 suggest over 90,000. Ironically, the tougher line on crime may not be totally connected to an increase in offences; a new study by the Prison Reform Trust in the UK shows that the reason for the increase is the “creeping inflation of sentences and lack of confidence in effective community measures.”

The number of people found guilty by the courts has remained static, rising from 1.7 million to 1.8 million between 1993 and 2004. An interesting finding is that many people whose offences would not have attracted a custodial sentence in the past are now being sent to prison, while those convicted of some of the more serious offences now get longer sentences. Unfortunately, however, more people now appear before the courts with long strings of convictions who have failed to comply with non-custodial sentences, says Mr. Rob Allen, director of the International Centre for Prison Studies, at King’s College, London.

It is alarming that there is a 250% rise in the number of people recalled to jails for breaching release conditions, e.g. some 11,081 inmates were recalled in 2004/05, compared to 3,182 in 2001/01. It will also be recalled that the murders of financier John Monckton and teenager Mary-Ann Leneghan were by convicts on probation. According to Shadow Home Secretary David Davis, this clearly shows that it would be dangerous to replace prison with non-custodial sentence.

While the rapid rise in the prison population continues to divide the British society, a British-trained Nigerian social worker is boldly addressing the issue of how best offenders can be managed in prison and in the community so that the likelihood of their offending in the future is minimized. Mr. Adetunji Falekulo runs the Lifeline Support Community (ade@lifelinesc.com), a non-profit making organization situated in Medway, Kent.

Falekulo runs a housing project to provide advice, support and training for vulnerable adults who live in the county of Kent, where the largest shopping mall in Europe is located. Falekulo’s organization supports drug addicts, alcoholics, homeless people, ex-offenders, S-1 offenders, offenders on probation, etc. Lifeline Support Community provides training, support and offers advice and direction tailored toward abandonment of habits that serve as stumbling blocks to the full integration of ex-offenders into the larger community.

What makes Falekulo unique is the fact that he is not just the only Nigerian self-employed social worker operating in the historical county of Kent with its medieval castles, idyllic seaside towns and villages he is also the only black-skinned man providing top- of- the- notch rehabilitation services in that part of England. As I rounded off my tour of the Elmely Maximum Prison and Stanford Hill Open Prison in the Isle of Shepey, Kent, in company of Falekulo during one of his routine assessment rounds, I could not help asking him about his plans for the Nigerian society.

My inquiry was against the backdrop of many Nigerian prisons lacking toilet facilities, and cells operating without water. Medical facilities are also severely limited, while food, which accounts for 80% of annual Nigerian prison expenditures, is inadequate. Malnutrition and disease are common features, while mistreatment of inmates has become a culture in Nigerian prisons; abuse is frequent and torture occasional. Above all, detainees are held without trial, which sometimes pushes many of them to commit suicide.

Falekulo revealed that he had been considering contributing his quota to the Nigerian system in spite of absence of so many structures that could make things work in the country, e.g. social security, efficient police, humane prison conditions, health insurance, etc. Concluding, Falekulo said funding was crucial to make the offender management scheme work in Nigeria.

Though Falekulo (an Ondo indigene), who carries a British passport, lives in a very ‘English’ county with picturesque villages, oast houses and a legacy of historic castles, stately homes and gardens, longs to make a difference in Nigeria.

Will Adetunji Idowu Falekulo be given a chance in Nigeria?