Clinks Light Lunch | Issue 409 | 9th October 2015

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In this week's edition....

CLINKS BLOG: volunteering in Europe

'European volunteering in the Criminal Justice System - building a current perspective' is a blog by Robert Price, JIVE Project Coordinator, looking at the findings of the project's study into the key role that volunteering plays across the Criminal Justice System not just here in the UK but more widely across Europe. He says, "Volunteering is not an add-on or a free resource. It is not limitless. Instead it is ‘adding value’ and complementing existing services, but to do this there has to be appropriate investment. Our research has shown that volunteering only works when there is a high regard in the value of volunteers from ‘the top down’ and where there is buy-in from officials and statutory organisations alike." Read the blog here

CLINKS GUEST BLOG: community sentences and prisoner numbers

A new guest blog from Catherine Heard, from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, reports on the Centre’s latest publication, 'Community sentences since 2000: How they work – and why they have not cut prisoner numbers'. She says, "Perhaps the most important point to emerge is how little impact community sentences have on overall prisoner numbers ... community sentences have failed to deliver sustained reductions in the numbers in custody. Without a radical policy shift, community sentences and other non-custodial alternatives will simply expand the net of criminalisation and punishment, exacerbating social harms rather than resolving them." Read the blog here

CLINKS NEWS: thank you for responding to our TR survey

We've had a fantastic response to our latest TrackTR survey. Thank you to the 160 voluntary sector organisations who gave us your views, helping us track your experiences of Transforming Rehabilitation. Your input will enable us to highlight emerging good practice, as well as areas that need improvement, leading to clear recommendations for Government and other stakeholders. Look out for our next TrackTR report early next year. You can find out more about the project, and download our first report 'Early doors', here

CLINKS NEWS: criminal justice scholarship

The Centre for Justice Innovation has announced this year's four StreetCraft Scholars who span criminal justice fields from probation, police, to voluntary sector and civil service. The four have been chosen from a number of UK-wide applications for the StreetCraft Scholarship which offers criminal justice practitioners an opportunity for support with Clinks and the Young Foundation. The StreetCraft Scholarship aims to inspire a new wave of innovation and help build a justice system fit for the 21st century. Find out more about the four successful applicants here

CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: restorative justice resource

The Restorative Justice Council has published an information pack on restorative justice for the judiciary. The pack aims to help magistrates, crown court judges and court staff to understand restorative justice, the benefits it can bring to all parties involved in a crime and the role that the judiciary can play in the process. As well as providing information on restorative justice and its use in sentencing, the pack features a checklist for restorative justice, an article about why the judiciary can have confidence in the approach, and the voices of victims and offenders who have taken part in a restorative justice process. Download the pack here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: Justice Secretary's speech

Criminal Justice Alliance has put together a mini-briefing on Justice Secretary Michael Gove's speech to the Conservative Party Conference on the 6th October. Gove highlighted the perceived deficiencies of the Criminal Justice System (CJS), the role of education in prison reform plans, and the need for a CJS that recognises that "we should never define individuals by their worst moments". Read the briefing here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: criminal defence advocacy

The Government has issued a consultation paper setting out a package of measures to ensure the quality of criminal defence advocacy, reducing the influence of financial incentives on choice of advocate and support clients’ rights to make an informed choice of advocate. They are seeking views on the proposed introduction of: a panel scheme, a statutory ban on referral fees, stronger measures to ensure client choice and prevent conflicts of interest; and how disguised referral fees can be identified and prevented. The consultation runs until 27th November. Give your views here

CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: inspection of early work

HM Inspectorate of Probation will be carrying out an Inspection of Early Work undertaken by the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Company in East Yorkshire & Kingston-Upon-Hull during the week commencing 16th November 2015. If you have any queries about this, please contact HMI Probation (Enquiries) mailbox at Enquiries.HMIProb@hmiprobation.gsi.gov.uk

FUNDING: research on children and families

Charitable or non-profit making organisations (including research institutes and universities) can apply for grants of between £5,000 and £150,000 from the Nuffield Foundation’s Children and Families Grant Programme. Funding is available for projects to help ensure that social policy and the institutions governing family life in the UK are best adapted to meet the needs of children and families. They will support research into child welfare and development, early years education and childcare, and child protection. The deadline for applications is 2nd November. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: celebrating women's voices

Grants of up to £1,000 are available for voluntary and community groups in Manchester to put on events or hold activities for International Women's Day that address the theme for 2016 which is “Women's Voices - Changing Manchester". Manchester City Council is particularly interested in events that relate to the theme of giving women a voice, specifically women who are underrepresented in society and events which have a lasting impact on women in their communities. The deadline for applications is 5th November. Find out more and apply here

FUNDING: law and human rights based approaches

The Baring Foundation has opened two new funds under their Strengthening the Voluntary Sector programme to support effective use of the law and human rights based approaches. Grants of up to £150,000 are available for 'applied projects', aiming to create new capacity for work that addresses specific discrimination or disadvantage and safeguards the freedom of purpose, action and voice of the sector. Grants of up to £30,000 are available for 'training, education and capacity building', aiming to support organisations to understand how their objectives can be achieved through use of the law or human rights based approaches. The deadlines for both funds are 13th November, and 18th December respectively. Find out more and apply here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: families affected by parental imprisonment

Pact will be hosting their annual conference 'Visiting Mum' [October 15th, Cardiff] to share the positive outcomes, issues, statistics and successes from the first year of their project set up to combat the “hidden sentence” that children endure whilst their mum is in prison. The project aims to benefit imprisoned mothers held at HMP Eastwood Park and their children living across South Wales. They will also launch their new toolkit for Social Workers to use with the children and families they are working with, who are affected by a parental imprisonment. Book your place by emailing charlotte.parsons2@hmps.gsi.gov.uk

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: sharing good practice

The Butler Trust will be running two ‘sharing good practice’ workshops [3rd and 5th November, London, free] for managers and front-line staff, covering core themes and examples of good practice from across the country, entitled 'Working with veterans in custody and the community'; and 'Management of care for older prisoners'. The workshops will have a practical focus, and delegates will be given the opportunity to work together to identify how services might be enhanced in their own places of work. Find out more and book here

CLINKS PARTNER'S EVENT: multi-agency commissioning

'Multi-agency commissioning:  The YOT model' is an Academy for Justice Commissioning evening seminar [4th November, London, free] featuring Kathy Walker, Youth Offending Service Manager at Achieving for Children. Kathy will explore the journey of Achieving for Children’s Youth Offending Service and share the rationale behind bringing together two local authority youth offending teams. Kathy will also discuss the benefits of multi-agency commissioning, the challenges and lessons learnt and offer examples of innovative practice. Find out more and book here

CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: supporting prisoners' families

The Longford Trust is taking bookings for their 14th Longford Lecture [17th November, London, donations] featuring the actor, writer and broadcaster Michael Palin. He will reflect on his own long-term interest in helping and supporting prisoners' families, which is until now something he has pursued privately. His Longford Lecture will be the first time that he has spoken in public about the issue. The lecture will be chaired by the broadcaster, Jon Snow, and will be preceded by the awarding of the annual Longford Prize. Find out more and book here

BLOG: best practice in drug prevention

Russell Webster has blogged about the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction's (EMCDDA) best practice portal, which collates key research, real world examples of best practice, tools, resources and guidelines in the areas of drug prevention, treatment, harm reduction and social reintegration. Russell looks at what the portal has to say about lessons from research on interventions which are proven to work, and at the best practice section. He says, "The EMCDDA best practice portal is a valuable resource for commissioners, practitioners and researchers looking to ensure that their work is based on the best possible evidence." Read the blog here

PUBLICATION: legal highs in prison

'Tackling the issue of New Psychoactive Substances in prisons' is the fourth in a series of RAPt research and policy briefings aiming to improve understanding of how to effectively tackle drug and/or alcohol related crime. The briefing details the experiences of RAPt staff in dealing with New Psychoactive Substances in prisons, and explains emerging strategies for minimising the impact that these new markets and patterns of consumption have, both on prison regimes and the welfare of staff and prisoners. Download the briefing here

PUBLICATION: travellers in prison

Irish Chaplaincy have published issue 16 of 'Travellers in Prison News', the newsletter of the Traveller Equality Project. This issue features submissions from offenders, prison staff, and the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller Police Association; and information on government changes to planning policy for traveller sites. 'It has been a busy few months for the project visiting many prisons around the country to celebrate Traveller History Month. It has been a great success across the country giving many Travellers and Gypsies an opportunity to celebrate their culture, as well as others from outside the community the chance to learn more about the unique Traveller culture.' Download the newsletter here

RESOURCES: good practice in criminal justice

Twelve new entries have been added to the Butler Trust's GoodPractice.net online directory which shares good practice across UK prisons, probation and youth justice. The entries cover a range of topics including: Offender Management and Sentence Planning; Offenders with Learning Disabilities; Offenders with Mental Health Issues; Relationships / Children & Families; Resettlement; Restorative Justice; Safer Custody – Suicide/Self-harm, and Violence Reduction; and Young Offenders. Visit the directory here

AWARDS: outstanding work for rehabilitation

The Robin Corbett Award for Prisoner Rehabilitation 2015-16 is now open to nominations from prison governors, aiming to recognise small charities doing outstanding work for prisoner rehabilitation. As well as giving a cash prize for the winner and a runner up, the Award aims to raise awareness of the winning organisation, highlight examples of good practice, increase the potential for new partnerships and increase their profile for future funding. The closing date for applications is 30th October 2015. Find out more here

AWARDS: for North East businesses

Entries for the 2016 North East Business Awards are now being invited from businesses based in the North East of England operating across a diverse range of sectors. Winners will gain recognition for their achievement and the positive publicity associated with the awards. There are 13 awards categories, including: Not-for-profit Organisation of the Year; Small Business Award; Heart of the Community; and Best Creative Company. Find out more and enter here

CLINKS MEMBERS' VACANCIES

Job vacancies this week include: a Programme Manager with Standing Committee for Youth Justice [London], an Administrator/Trainee Caseworker, and Administrator [HMP Swansea], an Administrator [Bedford], and a Caseworker WIRE Project (women’s services) [London] with St Giles Trust, a Switchback Mentor with Switchback [London], a Director of Services with Pact [London], an Advice and Information Service Manager with Prison Reform Trust [London], an Assistant Support Worker (nights), and a Fulfilling Lives Programme Manager with Changing Lives [North East], a Trustee with Shannon Trust [London], a Trustee with Prisoners Abroad [London], an Restorative Justice Administrator (Victim Support) with Thames Valley Partnership [South East], and a Recovery Worker (female) with The Nelson Trust [Stroud]. For more information about these vacancies, and many more, click here

TIPS OF THE WEEK

  • Tip of the week I: Save up to 78% on off-peak day return train tickets between any two South West Trains-managed stations until 30th October. Details
  • Tip of the week II: A 3-day break in Malta including flights from Leeds is only £299. Deal includes welcome drink and daily breakfast. Details
  • Tip of the week III: Get 60% off selected Hi-Tec footwear and clothing when you enter the code 'MSE60' online. Details

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