Families Left Behind: Unseen Victims Calls Out the Government’s Failure to Recognise the Role of Loved Ones in Prisoner Reintegration
Unseen Victims welcomes the government’s commitment to addressing the challenges facing our criminal justice system, particularly the urgent need to reduce short custodial sentences and ease pressure on the prison estate. However, we are extremely disappointed by the complete lack of acknowledgement for the vital role families play in supporting people on release from custody.
Families: The Unrecognised Cornerstone of Rehabilitation
While the Independent Sentencing report outlines a number of reforms aimed at improving the use of community-based sentences and introducing a more flexible “earned release” approach, it makes no mention of the families and loved ones who so often shoulder the burden of reintegration alone.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-sentencing-review-final-report
Families are, in many cases, the only stable support network returning citizens have. They help manage mental health challenges, support the search for employment, provide a place to stay, and offer the emotional encouragement needed to avoid reoffending. Yet this unpaid, unacknowledged labour is completely absent from the review.
A Missed Opportunity to Create Meaningful Change
By failing to reference or include the needs of families, the review misses a crucial opportunity to embed genuine support into its reform plans. Families are often left feeling overwhelmed, financially strained, and emotionally isolated. Without any additional resources or guidance, they are expected to ‘pick up the pieces’ after release – often with little warning and no professional backing.
This omission risks undermining the very outcomes the review seeks to achieve. Successful rehabilitation cannot be delivered through policy alone – it must also involve and support those who live at the heart of this experience every day.
Our Recommendations
To ensure the success of sentencing reform, Unseen Victims strongly recommends that the following be incorporated into future phases of the review:
- Direct Support for Families
Introduce targeted services such as counselling, respite, financial support, and guidance for families supporting a loved one post-release.
- Inclusion of Lived Experience in Policy-Making
Families must be part of the conversation. Their insights are essential to designing policies that work in real-life contexts.
- Dedicated Funding for Family Support Initiatives
Recognise the financial, emotional, and practical burden placed on families and allocate proper resources to organisations that work with them.
Conclusion
Rehabilitation does not happen in isolation – it happens in homes, in communities, and within families. If we are serious about creating safer communities and reducing reoffending, then the role of the family must be recognised, respected, and resourced.
Unseen Victims stands ready to support this work and urges policymakers to take a truly inclusive, trauma-informed approach that acknowledges all those impacted by the criminal justice system.
Emma Wells BSc (hons)
Founder, Unseen Victims CIC