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NAVCA chief 'horrified' at thought of charities running prisons2

Finance | Vibeka Mair | 21 Jul 2009

Kevin Curley, chief executive of NAVCA, has told Andrew Hind, chief executive of the Charity Commission, that he is “utterly horrified” that third sector organisations can now bid to run new and existing failing prisons.

And in response the Charity Commission is now considering, for the first time, whether the running of prisons is in fact a charitable aim.

Curley (pictured) first wrote to Hind in May of this year saying: “Personally – NAVCA does not have a view as yet – I view this with utter horror.

“My question to the Commission is this. Whilst the purpose of a prison may include the rehabilitation of offenders the primary purposes are to punish people and to deter other people from committing crimes. I do not think these primary purposes are charitable objectives. What is your view please?”

Curley has written to the Charity Commission again this week, in light of crime prevention charity Catch22 and Turning Point winning a Ministry of Justice bid to build and run two new prisons in the UK in partnership with private service provider Serco.

“It's fine for charities to provide education, training, advice, mentoring and support services within prisons,” Curley said, “but not, in my view, to run them.

"Whatever is said about using imprisonment to rehabilitate offenders the primary purpose is to incarcerate as a punishment. Event if that is a legal charitable purpose – and it seems most unlikely to me – it cannot be right for charities to do it.”

Curley has created a Facebook campaign group called Charities Must Not Run Prisons to try to attract support for his views. It currently has 13 signatories.

Commission 'not considered it before' 

A Charity Commission spokesperson said it had never before been asked to consider whether running prisons was a charitable purpose, but would now do so.

"We have been asked by Kevin Curley to consider whether the running of a prison is a charitable purpose in law. 

"Many charities can, and do, further a broad range of charitable aims by working in prisons and related areas...but, as far as we are aware, we have not before been asked to consider formally whether running a prison is in itself a charitable aim. 

"This is a novel issue, and we are currently considering it in detail before responding to Mr Curley."

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Who's Who: Vibeka Mair | Andrew Hind CB | Kevin Curley CBE