Inmates at Polmont Young Offenders Institution are to be given professional coaching to help them become pop singers, songwriters and producers.
The cash will be used to help them stage a concert in the jail for other inmates and to produce their own demo discs to promote themselves with record companies. They will also earn a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ).
Those behind the Music Boost scheme believe it will allow inmates to end their cycle of offending and break into the music industry.
However it has been criticised by some opposition politicians, who say that turning convicts into pop idols is a misuse of taxpayers’ money, which would be better spent teaching them basic skills like literacy.
“How many employers in Scotland are crying out for young people who can rap or put together a CD? The answer is not very many,” said Margaret Mitchell, the justice spokeswoman for the Scottish Conservatives.
Advertisement
“If we want to be serious about giving young offenders practical skills that will help them when they are out in the community, I would have thought literacy and numeracy would be much more worthwhile than music lessons.”
The programme, to be launched next month, is being funded by grants from the executive’s Youth Music Initiative. “A lot of young people who end up in Polmont have a real shortage of confidence and skills,” said Lisa Hogg, a senior youth worker at Polmont.
“Many of them are extremely talented, but were unable to get on at school for a number of reasons. We feel music is one very strong tool we can use to engage these young people into learning.
“On release many young men find it really difficult to get a job because of their criminal records. We want to turn this around by building up their self-esteem and furnishing them with real skills that will make them employable when they do get out.”
The project will involve 40 prisoners aged 16-21, who will be coached by Ken McCluskey, a professional songwriter; Sean Kerwin, a digital music producer; Paul Traynor, a DJ; and Ross McFarlane, a percussionist. Motherwell College will supervise offenders taking part in the course. The initiative is being supported by the executive-funded Scottish Arts Council, the Scottish Prison Service, YouthLink Scotland and Impact Arts, a community body.
Advertisement
When it ends in February next year, a full-time youth worker will be trained as a music tutor to supervise similar training programmes in the longer term.
Cerin Richardson, an arts development worker who helped design the project, said: “The idea is for the musicians to work directly with the young people to draw up individual plans that will hopefully allow them to continue progressing in the music industry after they are released.
“There is a huge amount of talent and natural ability among the young people in Polmont and our goal is to nurture that and develop it as far as possible. Hopefully the project will be a stepping stone to success in the music industry.”
In America, many successful rap artists have spent time in jail. In 1994 Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson spent seven months in a young offenders’ institution after being arrested on drugs charges.
After his release he went on to sell more than 20m CDs.