Clinks Members’ Policy Briefing | February 2016
In this month's edition...[[{"fid":"2087","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Policy News","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Policy News"},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Policy News","title":"Policy News","height":"51","width":"600","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
Review of racial bias and BAME representation in Criminal Justice System announced David Lammy MP will lead a review to investigate evidence of possible bias against Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in the Criminal Justice System. With disproportionate numbers of BAME people represented at every level of the system, the review will address issues arising from the point of arrest onwards, including through the court system, in prisons and during rehabilitation in the wider community, in order to identify areas for reform and examples of good practice from the UK and beyond. Clinks will be engaging with the review to ensure that the views of the voluntary sector are heard. The review is an opportunity to consider racial bias across the whole of the Criminal Justice System; from arrest to resettlement. Clinks, as part of the Young Review steering group will work to support David Lammy's review and to ensure that it is fully engaged with the findings and recommendations of the Young Review and others working in this area.
Ministry of Justice and Equalities Office award £200,000 across four areas to support women at risk of crime Greater Manchester, Brighton, Norfolk and Surrey have been awarded funding to pilot new approaches to address the underlying issues behind women committing crime. The money is intended to be used to provide early stage wraparound support across public and voluntary sector organisations. £10,000 has also been awarded to organisations in Wales to research alternatives to custody in the sentencing of female offenders. The Ministry of Justice said, “The 4 areas will develop their own unique strategies which are best targeted to address the needs of women in their areas, working across local public and third sector organisations.”
Clinks Taylor review consultation events In September 2015 the Ministry of Justice announced a review of the youth justice system to be led by Charlie Taylor. Clinks, in partnership with the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services and a range of local partners, are holding a series of consultation events with voluntary sector organisations working in youth justice to inform our response to the review’s interim report. This will ensure that the knowledge and expertise of the voluntary sector working in youth justice is reflected in the final report and recommendations. You can book a place at one of our events on the Clinks website.
High Court declares government’s criminal records disclosure scheme incompatible with the Human Rights Act The High Court has ruled that the government requirement that anyone with more than one conviction on their criminal record discloses these forever, violates article 8 of the Human Rights Act. Christopher Stacey, Co-Director of Unlock said, “…the current [filtering scheme] doesn’t go far enough: it is blunt, restrictive and disproportionate. These shortcomings have today been recognised by the High Court and we are excited about the improvements which will follow. They will not only benefit those with convictions to move on positively with their lives but it will also contribute towards building a fairer and more inclusive society.”
Publications
Clinks publications
Clinks Annual Review 2015 We have now published our annual review and is available to explore using our interactive web page. 'Transformed?' looks at Clinks' work in 2015 - a year of transformation, in which the voluntary sector has had to work through big reforms made by the last government as well as understand and adapt to the policies of a new government. Clinks remains focused, supporting the sector to work alongside people in the Criminal Justice System, to transform their lives, to rehabilitate, to resettle, and to learn from the lived experience of people in the system for the benefit of communities, families, and the victims of crime.
Inside Out: The role of the voluntary and private sector in providing opportunities for rehabilitation for people on temporary release This joint briefing by Clinks and the Prison Reform Trust examines the impact of changes to release on temporary licence (ROTL) policy in 2015. The publication finds that these changes have had a significant impact both on prisoners and on the organisations supporting them, with ROTL placements now more difficult to secure and the voluntary sector’s contact with prisons worse than before. The briefing is intended to inform the upcoming National Offender Management Service review of ROTL policy.
Transforming Rehabilitation
Transforming Rehabilitation: Early Implementation 4 This is the fourth in a series of five reports by the Inspectorate of Probation on the implementation of offender supervision under Transforming Rehabilitation. Inspectors focused on work undertaken at the point of sentence and allocation by the National Probation Service (NPS), work undertaken by the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the NPS to manage offenders, and the interfaces between the two organisations. Inspectors found that some progress had been made on the last report and made new recommendations, including ensuring that the objectives of unpaid work match the circumstances of the offenders, and that more offenders undertake intensive unpaid work.
Contracting out of probation services: 2013-2016 This report, published by the House of Commons, charts the progress of the Transforming Rehabilitation reforms to probation services in England and Wales. It says that so far there have been concerns about the pace of change, about the danger of fragmentation and about IT systems. Although the Ministry of Justice has emphasised the importance of the voluntary sector in the community rehabilitation company partnerships; the report highlights concern about that lack of clarity of the voluntary sector's role.
Community Performance Quarterly Management Information release This statistical bulletin gives performance information for Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service, based on the measurements given in Transforming Rehabilitation contracts. The bulletin provides information on CRC performance in delivery of rehabilitation activities, unpaid work and resettlement plans.
Devolution revolution- would it help reduce prison numbers? This report by Rob Allen, published by Transform Justice, looks at justice reinvestment in the USA, which is described in the report as aiming ‘to shift resources away from the unnecessary use of criminal prosecution and imprisonment into more local, productive and cost effective ways of preventing crime and reducing reoffending.’ The report explores which factors relating to justice reinvestment, that have brought about change in the USA, are most applicable in the UK context.
Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) People
Dangerous associations: Joint enterprise, gangs and racism New research published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies scrutinises convictions under joint enterprise, a doctrine of law allowing a person to be convicted for the criminal actions of others through certain forms of association. The report identifies processes of criminalisation through which Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people are disproportionately identified by the police as members of dangerous gangs. As well as demonstrating disproportionate use of ‘gangs’ discourse by police and prosecution teams to secure the convictions of BAME young people, the report also investigates police registering of young people as ‘involved with gangs’ in London, Manchester and Nottingham finding that those registered on the lists were mainly BAME (despite the majority of those convicted of serious youth violence being white in most areas). The researchers suggest a rethink of the use of ‘gangs’ discourse to respond to serious youth violence.
Youth justice
Ending gang violence and exploitation This policy paper by the Home Office sets out a 'refreshed approach' to tackling gang related violence and exploitation, and details Home Office priorities for the future. It highlights areas of focus such as strengthening local practices around safeguarding women and girls, protecting young people in care homes and pupil referral units from gang exploitation, and promoting education and training to young people at risk of gang involvement. The paper will guide support provided to 52 local areas as part of the Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme.
Youth justice annual statistics: 2014 to 2015 This Ministry of Justice bulletin concentrates on the flow of young people (aged 10-17) through the Youth Justice System in England and Wales throughout 2014 to 2015. It shows further reductions in the numbers of young people in the Criminal Justice System, with decreases of 15% of young people in custody, 13% in arrests, and 9% in first time entrants to the criminal justice system. However, the re-offending rate for young people has increased slightly (now at 38% compared to 36.1% the previous year) and no improvement has been seen in the disproportionate level of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic young people in custody with this remaining at 40% (BAME people make up just over 12% of the general population).
Transitions Arrangements: a follow-up inspection This HM Inspectorate of Probation report follows their 2012 inspection of transition arrangements for young people transferring from youth to adult services in the Criminal Justice System. The report finds that communication and planning around transitions in the community and in custody is still insufficient, and reiterates the same eight recommendations from the 2012 publication including the thorough preparation of young people for their transition to adult services and more training for staff in both youth and adult services to enable this preparation.Devolution
Prisons and prevention: giving local areas the power to reduce offending The Institute for Public Policy Research has released a report investigating the potential benefits of financial devolution in the Criminal Justice System. They recommend that local authorities be allowed to bid for control of the custody budget for low level offenders, and then are charged for the cost of custody, allowing them to directly benefit from reductions in reoffending and reinvest money into alternatives.
Police and crime commissioners
Where next for PCCs? The Police Foundation has produced a briefing on what police and crime commissioners (PCCs) have achieved over the last four years and how their role should evolve and expand into the 2020s. The briefing considers: To what extent have PCCs achieved the objectives originally set for them and how do they measure up against the fears of their critics? Could PCCs take on an expanded role in some areas, including parts of the wider Criminal Justice System? What are the implications of the emerging devolution agenda for PCCs?
Enabling Closer Working Between the Emergency Services The government has published its response to its consultation over increasing joint working between the emergency services. The document sets out government plans to legislate to drive collaboration by introducing a duty on emergency services to work together, enabling police and crime commissioners to have representation on fire and rescue authorities, and also enabling them to take on the functions of fire and rescue authorities where a local case is made.
Restorative justice
Restorative Justice Council handbooks The Restorative Justice Council (RJC) has published three handbooks aimed at promoting the delivery of high quality restorative services to a nationally agreed standard. The handbooks, developed in partnership with RJC members for practitioners, trainers and service providers, are available to download online or can be ordered as hard copies.
Criminal Justice System
A Thematic Inspection of the Delivery of Unpaid Work HM Inspectorate of Probation has released this report on unpaid work based on fieldwork conducted in June and July 2015. Although they saw some work of a high standard, inspectors were disappointed with the standard of integration of unpaid work with offender management, noting that there was little consideration by offender managers of how unpaid work could contribute to the desistance process. The report makes a number of recommendations for improvement, including requiring more offenders to undertake 28 hours of unpaid work, and ensuring that sentence plans match the objectives of unpaid work to the circumstances of the offender.
Quarterly Offender Management Statistics The offender management statistics for the period July – September 2015 have been published by the Ministry of Justice. Although they show a ‘relatively stable’ prison population, there is a shift towards longer determinate sentences and the introduction of the Offender Rehabilitation Act has led to a 28% increase in licence recalls compared to 2014. The statistics also show a 7% increase in probation caseload and a 25% decrease in the use of release on temporary licence compared to the previous year.
Safety in custody statistics The Ministry of Justice bulletin includes statistics covering the 12-month period to the end of September 2015 for self-harm and assaults and to the end of December 2015 for deaths in prison custody, showing a significant rise in violent incidents since 2014. There were 257 deaths in prison custody last year (an increase of 14), with a particular increase in homicides. There has been a 24% increase in reported incidents of self-harm and a 19% rise in assaults.
Life in prison: Earning and spending money This findings paper by HM Inspectorate of Prisons summarises literature surrounding earning and spending money in prison, and draws on evidence from recent inspections of adult prisons. The paper notes the impact of low prisoner pay on telephone contact with family and on resettlement activities such as town visits. The paper recommends a national review of prisoner pay and money in possession rates.
Women
Hidden Hurt: violence, abuse and disadvantage in the lives of women Agenda, the alliance for women and girls at risk, has published this report looking at violence, abuse and disadvantage in the lives of women. The research finds that around 1.2 million women in England are living with the impact of ‘extensive’, lifelong physical and sexual abuse and violence. Agenda are calling for better funding of specialist services for women who have experienced extensive abuse, more recognition of issues around abuse in mainstream services, and for leadership from national and local government to make sure women and girls who experience the most extensive abuse get appropriate support.
Mental health
Learning from PPO investigations: prisoner mental health This report from the Prisons & Probation Ombudsman explores the relationship between mental health issues and deaths in prison custody. It raises issues around the identification of those with mental health needs, as well as the standard of care for those with identified mental health needs. Drawing on several case studies, the report lists 25 lessons including mandatory mental health training for all prison staff and prison healthcare staff, monitoring of prisoner compliance with medication and improved communication between different healthcare teams.
Retaining your identity as the smaller partner in a merger Sophie Wilson, CEO of Sova, has written a guest blog for Clinks about her experiences of their merger with CRI. Sophie says, "The past ten years were probably the most challenging in Sova’s history. We went from the height of our financial success in the early to mid 2000’s to facing the very stark challenges of a changing sector and a dramatically changed funding landscape. The introduction of payment by results, the significant reduction in public spending and the emergence of privatisation of key public services changed how and who we did business with."
Hope for Prison Reform The Chief Executive of Timpson, Britain’s largest employer of ex-offenders, writes for the Huffington Post about his experience of employing ex-offenders directly from prison. James says, “Having a job or training to go to on release is crucial in helping people to turn their lives around. As chief executive of Timpson, … I have found that this is not only a great way of helping people, but also of getting great people to work for us.”
Locked away but not forgotten Probation Officer Mike Guilfoyle reflects on the challenges of supporting one of his clients towards independent living on the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies website. Mike says “After our last meeting when he had a safe space in which to reflect on a very troubled period in his life, I asked how the future looked for him, Sam noted ruefully ‘Mike, I don' t need more treatment, I did wrong - glad you didn't forget me when I was locked away'!”
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