Positive Prison for a Positive Future: How to Lead a Social Enterprise and Promote Social Innovation

Abstract

Once an accomplished architect, Peter White was sentenced to prison for embezzlement. There he became a library manager and attended yoga and meditation courses. He could not return to his former profession due to his criminal record, so he transformed his experience in prison to establish Positive Prison in Glasgow, UK, which draws upon the lived experiences of people who are or have been imprisoned. Its mission is to recognize the benefit the experiences of people with convictions can bring to building safer communities. One contribution was a change to the Friday Release, which helped reduce the reoffence rate. Peter is now at a crossroad on how to take the organization to the next level.