Inspiring futures: An Evaluation of the Meaning and Impact of Arts Programmes in Criminal Justice Settings

By Caroline Lanskey, Sarah Doxat-Pratt, Loraine Gelsthorpe 

  Inspiring Futures (IF) was an ambitious programme of work, led by the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance and funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, with the research element funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. It reflected a unique collaboration bringing together leading arts in criminal justice organisations and the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology (IoC). Inspiring Futures combined a ground-breaking artistic programme in prisons and the community with embedded participative research. It aimed to advance knowledge into why and how arts interventions affect the lives of people in the criminal justice system and how these effects may be optimised to promote a stepchange in arts programmes embedded in criminal justice settings. It also identified the wider impact of these programmes: for programme facilitators and organisers, for the settings in which the programmes were run, for audiences and for the criminal justice and arts sectors overall. With oversight from the National Criminal Justice Alliance the participating arts organisations (selected through an open process) were: Clean Break, Geese Theatre Company, Good Vibrations, Helix Arts, the Irene Taylor Trust, Koestler Arts, Only Connect, and the Open Clasp Theatre Company. These partner arts organisations ran a range of music and drama projects as part of the Inspiring Futures programme. Data collection started in March 2020 and was intended last 24 months. However, the Covid19 pandemic and related lockdowns led to significant changes to the IF programme of activities, particularly those in prisons. Prisons entered lockdown regimes on 24 March 2020, and all non-essential work, including all IF work, was suspended indefinitely. After the national lockdown ended, a 5-stage regime framework was introduced which prisons moved between, but there was a further prison lockdown in December 2021 and this remained in place until January 2022, and longer in some establishments. There was therefore a long hiatus before arts activities were reinstated, and fieldwork to observe projects and interview participants was intermittent between 2020 and 2023, with some additional set-backs and delays. Our intention to ensure full-scale follow-ups with participants at three intervals suffered from the extended period of fieldwork, with a necessary concentration of effort in data collection at Times 1 and 2, (start of course, end of course) resulting in a limited sample at Time 3 (10-18 month follow-up)  The research builds on notable previous attempts to demonstrate the importance and value of arts programmes and initiatives in criminal justice settings. What is distinctive about the approach in this research is that it consisted of two sets of investigative activities, the first focused on the impact of the arts for participants involved in the programmes(the participant study); the second focussed on the wider impact of the arts programmes, for the arts facilitators and organisations, for the criminal justice and arts sectors, and for audiences (the wider study). The four core research questions were: i) What are the effects of arts programmes in the criminal justice sector? ii) How can these effects be measured in a way 

that is participatory and inclusive and which is accessible, meaningful and empowering to participants, and builds research capacity amongst arts organisations? iii) How can these effects be collated to establish a collective evidence base for impact which can be further developed and sustained by arts organisations in the future? and iv) How can the evidence of arts impact be disseminated to policy makers and the wider public in order to facilitate a transformation of approaches and attitudes towards people in the criminal justice system?    continued....

The Inspiring Futures research report “An Evaluation of the Meaning and Impact of Arts Programmes in Criminal Justice Settings” has just (3 June 2024) been published. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Inspiring Futures was an ambitious programme of work that examined how and why arts interventions impact on the lives of people in the criminal justice system, and how to best optimise their effect. Led by the National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance, the project was a unique collaboration, bringing together eight leading arts in criminal justice organisations, University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology, and participants within the criminal justice system.

The research

The research built on previous attempts to demonstrate the importance and value of arts programmes and initiatives in criminal justice settings. It consisted of two studies, the first focused on the impact of the arts for participants involved in the programmes and the second on the wider impact of the arts programmes, for the arts facilitators and organisations, for the criminal justice and arts sectors, and for audiences.

Main findings

The researchers explored participant impact in terms of creative development (‘creative capital’), their inner lives (wellbeing, self-concept and personal development), and their social worlds and opportunities. They found small but statistically significant positive changes from the start to the end of the courses across the whole participant sample.

Participants said they had learned new technical or creative skills, and that being able to be creative gave them confidence to try new activities. They described positive shifts in their wellbeing, their self-concept and their personal development. Some said the programmes gave ‘meaning’ to their lives and a sense of future agency (by attending another project or programme, or by thinking about future aspirations).

In terms of self-concept, two particular themes stand out: a growth in self-understanding and greater confidence to challenge oneself and put oneself in new and potentially demanding situations.

In terms of personal development both the quantitative and qualitative data indicate that participants felt that they had been given an opportunity to develop new skills and capacities that might make a difference in their future. Some said that their desire to work on their personal development had been reignited or inspired.

Participants also reported positively on the social impact of taking part in the programmes and the relationships that were built or strengthened with others, both within and outside the criminal justice settings. Thus there is evidence of ‘bonding social capital’; through participation new connections and friendships were formed. Relatedly, some participants felt that attending the arts programmes had brought them closer to their families – to their children, their partners, and parents – because of having something positive and uplifting to share with them, and because of an increased social confidence which had come about through participation.

Wider impact

Looking at the wider impact, researchers found that the direct participation of staff members in the arts programmes could yield longer-term benefits for relationships between staff and prisoners. The presence of prison staff and managers at performances also demonstrated an important message to participants about the prison’s support for the arts activities and the staff’s interest in prisoners’ achievements.

One strong theme here was that staff and prisoners could see each other as ‘real people’. As well as the individual and relational legacies of the arts programmes on life within the prison setting, people spoke of a broader cultural impact. Instrumentally the programmes contributed to the prisons’ agenda for purposeful activity and rehabilitative programmes, but the courses could also create a ‘buzz’ within the prison that was energising.

Conclusion

This was a substantial study and the research programme was able to generate unique insights into the similarities and differences regarding the effects of different arts forms. While there were many similarities in terms of the positive experiences as described above, there were also differences between the art forms.

Drama activities involved embodiment of the self, with participants drawing on earlier life experiences, and subsequently engaging in intensive self-reflection and reflection on their own and others’ behaviour. The drama programmes also offered a high degree of flexibility in terms of improvised self-expression.

The music programmes provided greater scope for technical skills to be developed – with tangible outcomes.

Overall, the distinguishing feature of the arts programmes in this study was the focus on ‘the social’ – social interactions and relationships were intrinsic to the creative activities, learning, desistance-related and other outcomes for participants.

Suffolk, UK: National Criminal Justice Arts Alliance

Clinks, 2024. 128p.