"It was just amazing. I can't put it into words. It doesn't just bring us out of our cells but also out of our shells too… As a kid I never knew what I wanted to do. Now, this is something that I could see myself doing as a career… I really think this will reduce the possibility of offending and open some people's eyes." - Participant in Restored, the restorative justice play staged at HMP and YOI Doncaster in July 2010.

One of the issues always guaranteed to attract fierce arguments and big headlines is a rise in reoffending rates. Not enough emphasis on punishment, say some. Too little rehabilitation, argue others.

Of course, the answer is never that straightforward, which is what makes a pioneering new arts and media initiative at HMP and YOI Doncaster prison so thought provoking. Within a framework of a zero tolerance approach to violence and drugs, the prison's director, John Biggin, and his team have set in place an innovative creative programme not only to drive down reoffending but to get offenders to understand how their crimes have affected their victims.

Comprehensive programme

Playwright Cat Jones is the senior manager for arts and media at the prison. She arrived in Doncaster last March, having worked previously as writer-in-residence at Lowdham Grange prison.

There are two main interlinked strands in the project. The first one is a comprehensive programme of arts activities for prisoners, including a suite of graphic design and film editing equipment and partnerships with relevant organisations such as the Central School of Speech and Drama and The Forgiveness Project, a grassroots organisation working in conflict resolution and reconciliation. This ties in closely with the other strand, the Families First Initiative, which puts the family at the heart of rehabilitation.

Over the last seven months, three plays have been put on by prisoners and performed in front of their children. It has already had a significant impact: 85% of those who took part said it had had an effect on their relationship with their children and family members, while 71% said it had a lasting effect on the way they think about things. It is well established that maintaining family ties makes reoffending six times less likely.

"My daughter was two at the time and she still talks about it. I think it will be a very memorable moment in her life." - Participant in a children's play.

Mediation

Restorative justice, where offenders meet or communicate with their victims to help with their rehabilitation, is also high on the agenda. In July a play called Restored, written by Jones, was staged at the prison. It told the story of two prisoners, one who had carried out a knife attack and one a burglary, and who then met their victims during mediation sessions. It moved one actor-prisoner to apologise to a priest, who had been invited to attend, for breaking into his vicarage.

According to Jones, "We wanted to raise the profile of restorative justice and start to get the prisoners thinking of it as something for them. We followed it up with programmes run by The Forgiveness Project. What sounds like a very big step - wanting to meet their victim - is something they might give a bit more thought to once they have experienced it through theatre."

Cultural shift

Since September 2009, there has been a marked decrease in violence-related incidents, while assaults on staff between January and May 2010, compared to the same period the previous year, dropped from nine to three.

The cultural shift has been even more pronounced since the arts and media programme got going, says Jones. "I'm sure when I arrived here last March there were a few people who said why on earth would you bring a playwright into your senior management team? But those same people are now saying that the impact of our work is pretty huge."