Cameron Moseley is hopeful that he will never return to prison, thanks to a groundbreaking initiative in London that aims to reduce reoffending by training former inmates to become bicycle mechanics. The XO Bikes project aligns with the new Labour government's goal of easing prison overcrowding, partly through the rehabilitation of inmates to help them secure employment.
"There's not much work out there for people like me," said the 30-year-old Moseley, who has been in and out of jail three times. He was most recently released in July after serving a two-year sentence for actual bodily harm. His probation officer referred him to XO Bikes, a charity-run business established two years ago that offers a six-week course on bicycle building and repair. Upon completion, participants can either work as mechanics for XO Bikes, earning around £26,000 ($34,000), or use their industry-standard qualification to seek employment elsewhere.
"If I didn't have this, I'd probably turn to crime again," Moseley told AFP at the XO Bikes repair shop in Lewisham, southeast London. The initiative was launched in March 2022 by Stef Jones, a 58-year-old former advertising executive. Jones conceived the idea while volunteering at Brixton prison in south London, where he observed inmates returning to jail due to their inability to find work post-release.
"If no one else is going to give you a job, I'll give you a job," Jones recalled thinking at the time. The program involves vetted participants repairing bikes donated by various groups, including the Metropolitan Police, railway companies, corporations, and the public. Each donated bike is meticulously stripped, cleaned, and every component—from brakes and gears to tyres and frames—is tested, rebuilt, and retested. The refurbished bikes are either returned to their original finish or branded as XO Bikes, stamped with a unique number corresponding to the ex-prisoner who repaired it.
The bikes are sold on XO's website and in its two stores, with profits reinvested into the program. "You've got a bike with a past and a bloke with a past, and you're giving them both a shot at a decent future. That's the idea," said Jones. Trainees also gain "routine, fellowship, support, encouragement, and affirmation that they belong on this side of the street, that they have options," he added.
Gary Oakley, 38, says the scheme has given him purpose and a sense of "pride" since his release in April after serving 18 months for assault. "To have something I was looking forward to kept me from being depressed, sitting indoors, and going the other way and ending up back inside." UK government statistics estimate that about one in four prisoners reoffend, costing England and Wales about £18 billion a year. This contributes to jails being at near capacity; earlier this month, the government was forced to release 1,700 prisoners early to reduce overcrowding.
Since coming to power in July, Prime Minister Keir Starmer—a former human rights lawyer and chief state prosecutor—appointed businessman and justice reform advocate James Timpson as prisons minister. Timpson's family-owned key-cutting business operates training academies in dozens of prisons, with former convicts comprising 10% of its workforce. He believes prisons need to become "rehabilitative" and encourages more companies to hire adults with criminal records. The Ministry of Justice estimated in a 2013 study that 18% of ex-prisoners reoffended within a year, rising to 43% for those without employment.
Jones said 65 ex-convicts have completed the XO Bikes program, with a couple of graduates securing jobs at major sports firms. Only two participants have reoffended since the program's inception. "It's working," said Jones, who now aims to replicate the scheme with a barbering course.
