Green Gown Awards 2019 - De Montfort University - Finalist

Transforming Life Behind Bars was a ground-breaking link-up between De Montfort University and Leicester Prison that has helped transform the fortunes of the once-troubled jail. HMP Leicester was the focus of a damning report by the prisons watchdog, the HM Inspectorate of Prisons, at the start of 2016 with a legacy of violence and plagued by drugs. After a chance meeting between senior university staff and the prison governor, both sides felt that involving student and staff volunteers in projects and engaging with inmates could make a difference. 

The idea was to create change through projects, including building a memorial garden, the first-ever orchestral concert held in a British jail, arts performances, a two-week arts festival and workshops and a redesign on the visitors’ room by students. 

The result surprised everyone – a 21 per cent reduction in violence as the prison surged 50 places up the league table for UK jails. 

Top 3 learnings:

1. Anything is possible - student volunteers have gone into a troubled prison and made a difference. 
2. Don’t be conventional or limited in your thinking when looking at work in the community. 
3. Successful projects do not need huge sums of money to be successful. 

Videos

• Green Gown Awards 2019 - De Montfort University - Benefitting Society (click to hide)