The RECOOP Over 50’s Peer-led Buddy Support Service for Older People in Prison: ‘radical help’ as ‘mutual aid’ in the Criminal Justice System?

Abstract

In this think-piece and position paper we argue that the RECOOP peer-led Buddy support training and management service provides an example of best practice in working with older people in prison which also supports services working within the criminal justice system more generally. It does this by providing a template for ‘radical help’ across all criminal justice services, prefiguring a more democratic criminal justice system based on ‘mutual aid’ (Nicholson, 2019). ‘Radical help’ is about new ways of organising living and growing that have been developed by communities across the UK, with human connection at its heart. When people feel supported by strong human relationships change happens, and when we design new systems that make this sort of collaboration feel simple and easy, people want to join in (Cottam, 2018). In this article we argue that this is exactly what RECOOP Buddies do with older people in prison and that what they do in prison can provide a template for the ‘radical help’ of ‘mutual aid’ across the wider Criminal Justice System.