In London they offer books to people in custody

give a book

Doesn't it happen to you that you see news of things they do in other countries and wonder why they don't do the same in Spain? Today I bring other such cases: in London a new procedure has been started in which the police offer books to prisoners who are in custody.

How did the idea come about?

This idea came to Special Agent Steve Whitmore after he detained an 18-year-old who was under suspicion of assault and drug possession earlier this year. This newly adult asked Agent Whitmore if he could lend him a book to read while under justice, but the special agent couldn't find anything that was of interest to the young man.

“The scope and type of books available did not appeal to him, so I offered him my own book, "The Catcher in the Rye" and I told him to keep it. The expression on his face was incredible, his attitude and hostility towards me completely changed and a common ground was created in which we could talk. Said they never gave him a book before and this really touched me. "

Give a Book campaign

Whitmore has worked on the campaign Give a Book to give prisoners who had been detained in custody access to more than 30 books, books that could be taken completely free of charge. The campaign, which was created in memory of writer Simon Gray and facilitates book donations to charity and other organizations, has provided titles including classics like the book that left the young man, The Catcher in the Rye and others like To Kill a Mockingbird as well as including some graphic novels. In this selection they included more diversity with poetry, short stories, and youth fiction books Written by authors including Sophie Kinsella, Frederick Forsyth, Andy McNab, and Alan Bennett, along with some books in different foreign languages.

"We try to select the appropriate books for particular situations. The average age of detained children is 15-17 years old, but children younger than 10 years old can also be arrested or detained. Their parents have to be contacted and a guardian must be present at the police station. But they can still be detained overnight in a cell. As Steve says: “Our goal is to change this"".

Help in culture and education

In addition, each book includes a brochure on the various free education courses available.

"The objective of this method is provide easy-to-read books that are familiar, tangible, and portable. "

“We thought carefully about the types of books that should be incorporated -speed reads, short stories, poetry, books that immediately hook you- and were able to provide them. All books come through charity, so it costs us nothing. Just giving out a book can turn a difficult situation around. This shows that you are thinking in a different way. Really I believe that reading can open a door and improve people's lives in all aspects. "

Frances Crook, Howard League executive director for penalty reform agreed with this method and called it a fantastic idea.

“I particularly like that people can take books with them. The importance of books is shown and perhaps prisons could learn from this scene to make sure there are books in a cell as soon as someone enters the jail. A handful of books on the first night could make a big difference in reducing distress.. "

This project called Give a book is being supervised and it is hoped that other institutions can carry out this new culture methodology to other people whose lives it can change.


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