Who we are

Pact is a pioneering national charity that supports prisoners, people with convictions, and their children and families. We are the leading Catholic charity working in the criminal justice system. We provide caring and life-changing services at every stage of the justice process: in court, in prison, on release, and in the community.

Pact’s vision is of a society that understands justice as a process of restoration and healing, that uses prisons sparingly and as places of learning and rehabilitation, and that values the innate dignity and worth of every human being. We work for the common good of society, taking a public health-based approach.

Our volunteers and staff support people in courts, prisons, probation services, and communities across England and Wales. We are a diverse, inclusive, modern, and collaborative charity. We build effective partnerships and sustainable solutions based on our well-established understanding of the systems in which we work and the historic values and ethos we have developed through our 120+ years of service delivery.

Our vision 

Our vision is of a society that understands justice as a process of restoration and healing, that uses prisons sparingly and as places of learning and rehabilitation, and that values the innate dignity and worth of every human being.

Our mission

Our mission is to support prisoners and their families to make a fresh start and to minimise the harm that can be caused by imprisonment on people with convictions, children, families and communities. 

Our values

• Believe: to respect the innate dignity and worth of every human being and believe in the possibility of their rehabilitation and redemption, no matter what they have done. 
• Listen: to consult and involve users of our services to ensure that we remain responsive and sensitive to their needs. 
• Respect: to respect and value diversity and promote equality of opportunity. 
• Learn: to be a learning organisation committed to developing our people and learning from others and each other. 
• Cooperate: to be a collaborative organisation, working cooperatively and in a spirit of partnership with His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and organisations with whom we share objectives and where this may result in improved outcomes. 
• Excel: to provide quality services and to monitor and evaluate our work. 
• Involve: to encourage and facilitate the involvement of volunteers and community and faith-based organisations to harness the goodwill, skills and energies of individuals who share our goals and values. 
• Connect: to break down barriers between the prison system and communities. 
• Create: to be innovative and develop models of working and best practices that may be mainstreamed by HMPPS and others.