Greater Manchester Probation Trust

Probation Helps Offender Reform

RYON has gained citizenship, accommodation and a house within months of being released from prison.

The 25-year-old, who lives in Newton Heath, received a three-year jail sentence for possessing cocaine and supply or offering to supply.

It was the first time Ryon had been before the courts on drug related issues, and caused him to re-examine his life and the friends he kept. But within days of being released from custody, because he is Jamaican and had not got leave to remain in the UK and was fearful of being returned to the island - he pledged to reoffend.

Without support from GMPT, Ryon would have wound up back in jail.

He said: “I am gay, and left Jamaica after I finished school because in my home country that is an offence punishable by 10 years in jail.

“I couldn’t return, I was desperate to avoid being deported and so I told my probation officer I was going to offend again so I’d be returned to prison.

“I’ve never been in serious trouble before, but I wanted to go back inside rather than be sent to Jamaica.”

Tony Conway, Probation Service Officer, is based at Moss Side and dealt with the Home Office paper work Ryon needed. He now has leave to remain for five years, and it is hoped this will be renewed.

Ryon said: “Tony was strict with me and told me not to get in trouble and that he’d get the documentation together.

“I cannot put into words how good he has been. I feel he returns back whatever you give, if you put in 50 per cent - he’d do the same; you give it everything – he puts in everything. I was calling him a lot, popping into the office, I must have been a real nuisance, but he never once turned me away.

“I knew from a young age who I was. Society as a whole in Jamaica is very, very homophobic and I was so, so scared about deportation. I just got on with things in prison, at first it was terrifying but I stuck up for myself and didn’t let it get to me too much.”

Jamaica is renowned as the worst place in the Americas for gay rights. Amnesty International recently stated that gay and lesbian people have been “beaten, cut, burned, raped and shot” on account of their sexuality, and civil groups on the island allege 30 have been killed because of their sexuality since 2004.

Tony said: “Ryon faced a lot of difficulties after release, he had no papers and therefore couldn’t claim benefits and had no proof of I.D. He depended on his sister and brother-in-law for food and a place to stay, and he came very close to breaking his licence.

“Despite all the problems he faced, he was honest from day one and he was a pleasure to work with. He is so enthusiastic and bright and I am absolutely delighted by the progress he has made.”

Ryon now works for Work Solutions, an organisation that offers employment, recruitment and skills services to employers, the public and Government.

He said: “I regret the offence. I was naïve, but I won’t fall into that trap again, and it’s meant that I can’t be a traffic cop, which was my dream because I’m a petrol head.

“However, I’ve now got my own flat, a bank account and a good job – things have really turned around for me and the support from GMPT has gone a long way to making that possible.”