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Clinks Members Policy Briefing | July 2017
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During the past month, the policy team at Clinks has been considering the impact of the change to Secretary of State for Justice after the election and the new minority government. Head of Policy and Communications, Nathan Dick, has written a blog outlining the changes and discussing what this may mean for criminal justice policy. He outlines a number of future developments to look out for including the continuation of prison reform, the development of a Ministry of Justice women’s strategy and the publication of the Lammy Review of disproportionality and BAME representation in the criminal justice system. Clinks has written to David Lidington (Secretary of State for Justice), Sam Gyimah (Minister for Prisons and Probation) and Phillip Lee (Minister for Youth Justice, Victims, Female Offenders and Offender Health) to highlight the work of the voluntary sector and the importance of engagement with voluntary sector organisations. The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) met with Sam Gyimah on Monday 10th July and discussed voluntary sector engagement with the prison reform programme, issues with through the gate provision and potential improvements to release on temporary licence (ROTL).
On 12th July, we launched our new State of the Sector report. We worked with NCVO to develop our methodology and the report gives the results from a survey of over 200 voluntary organisations working in criminal justice, the financial analysis of 752 charities and 220 companies (social enterprises and community interest companies) and 10 in-depth interviews. We found that during continued political change, voluntary organisations remain resilient and innovative but the safety net is shrinking and the people our sector supports are finding it harder to access the help they need. As part of the launch, we have published a blog series giving a more detailed account of the view from the ground for staff at organisations and their service users. These can be found on our blogs page.
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Queen’s Speech 2017 The Queen’s Speech took place on 21st June, announcing the government’s legislative priorities for this Parliament. The previous Prisons and Courts Bill was not included in the speech; instead, a Courts Bill will be introduced to modernise the courts system through. David Lidington later stated in an interview with BBC radio that prison reforms would continue to be pursued through non-legislative mechanisms. The Queen said that legislation would be brought forward to tackle domestic violence and abuse and that mental health legislation would be reformed in order to prioritise mental health within the NHS. Laura Greeson from the Making Every Adult Matter Coalition has written a blog outlining the implications of the Queen’s Speech for people with multiple needs.
Prison reform: open letter from the Justice Secretary The new Secretary of State for Justice, David Lidington, published this letter on 21st June, outlining his intentions for prison reform. The letter states that prisons should be places of reform and rehabilitation and highlights the need for education, training and support to get into employment, as well as to stop using drugs. The Secretary of State confirms that the Ministry of Justice will continue with plans to recruit more prison officers, to introduce testing for psychoactive substances and to invest in 10,000 new prison places. He was also interviewed on Radio 4, where he emphasised his commitment to prison reform and noted the importance of working with the voluntary sector.
Bob Neill to be elected Chair of the Justice Select Committee As the only candidate for the position, Robert Neill will be declared to be elected unopposed when the Speaker announces the result of the Chair elections after the ballot held on Wednesday 12 July. He will take up his position as Chair of the Committee when the remaining members of the committee have been appointed by the House, this is likely to be in September when the House returns from recess.
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Criminal justice system
Prison: the facts The Prison Reform Trust has published its most recent edition of the Bromley Briefings, providing up to date data on imprisonment in the UK. The briefing covers sentencing, use of remand, trends in the prison population, safety in prison, staffing levels and data relating to rehabilitation and resettlement. It highlights increasing use of long prison sentences, high levels of overcrowding and the lowest levels of safety since records began. It also explores data relating to specific groups within the prison system such as black, Asian and minority ethic people, people with learning disabilities, women and older prisoners. Notable trends include continuing increases in the length of sentences for more serious crimes and a significant increase in people recalled to custody following their release.
An Inspection of Through the Gate Resettlement Services for Prisoners Serving 12 Months or More HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons have published this joint inspection report looking at how Through the Gate services are being delivered since the introduction of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme in 2015. The report finds numerous problems with the delivery and effectiveness of Through the Gate services, with very few prisoners in their sample securing accommodation and none securing education, employment or training through Community Rehabilitation Companies. The report reiterates the recommendations made in the inspectorates’ 2016 report on Through the Gate services and makes additional recommendations, including that the Ministry of Justice should consider whether CRC contracts are the best way to deliver effective resettlement services.
Out for Good: lessons for the future The Prison Reform Trust has published this report, detailing the findings of a project aiming to encourage employers to take employees on release on temporary licence (ROTL). It finds that excessive caution by prison staff and a poor assessment procedure restricted access to ROTL for many eligible prisoners, but that potential employers were less reticent to employ prisoners than anticipated. It makes a number of recommendations for increasing access to ROTL including the simplification of the commissioning and provision of services to help prisoners into employment and a target for the sustained employment of prisoners after rather than on release, applying equally to the prison and other relevant agencies.
UK Justice Policy Review: Volume 6 The Centre for Crime and Justice Studies has published its annual review of UK justice policy, covering the period from the 2015 general election to the 2016 referendum on the European Union. It provides an overview of a number of developments, including speeches made by leading politicians, legislation, developments in prisons and probation arrangements, outlining key data in each area. The review concludes by looking briefly at the period between the referendum and the 2017 general election, highlighting the numerous changes occurring in this time and the challenges presented to forming criminal justice policy.
Impact evaluation of the prison-based Core Sex Offender Treatment Programme This Ministry of Justice evaluation concludes that the Core Sex Offender Treatment Programme, a cognitive-behavioural psychological intervention designed by the HM Prison and Probation Service, does not reduce reoffending and may instead make participants slightly more likely to commit more sexual offences. While the evaluation suggests that the reoffending rates may be related to other unknown factors such as refusal to admit guilt, it also hypothesises that group programmes may lead to ‘normalisation’ of sexual offending by encouraging participants to share their experiences. The evaluation states that the programme should be modified in line with the latest evidence base and emphasises in particular the consideration of introducing more individual sessions rather than group work.
The work of probation services in courts This HM Inspectorate of Probation report examines the performance of probation services in courts in 2015 – 16. The report finds noticeable improvement in probation services in courts, with arrangements between Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs), the National Probation Service (NPS) and courts more settled than the previous year. The report notes that problems remain with pre-sentencing reports and sentencer confidence and makes five recommendations for improvement. These include that the NPS should establish local strategies with CRCs to improve sentencer confidence in the delivery of community sentences and that CRCs should provide up to date information on available interventions to be delivered through rehabilitation activity requirements and accredited programmes.
Mental health
Mental health in prisons The National Audit Office (NAO) has published this report on value for money in prison mental health services. It finds that neither the Ministry of Justice nor the NHS know how many people in prison have a mental illness, how much it is spending on mental health in prisons or whether services are achieving their objectives. Concluding that the government cannot be achieving value for money with prison mental health services without data on need and spending levels, the NAO makes a number of recommendations for improvement such as developing measurable and joint objectives for the Ministry of Justice, HM Prisons and Probation Service, NHS England and Public Health England and reviewing the process of transferring prisoners to hospital.
Older people
Learning from PPO investigations: Older Prisoners The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has published this thematic review of its investigations into naturally-caused deaths of prisoners over 50. It reviews 314 deaths of older prisoners and offers 13 lessons in six areas: healthcare and diagnosis, restraints, palliative and end of life care, family involvement, early release, and dementia and complex needs. These lessons include that restraints should be proportionate to the actual risk posed by the prisoner, that risk assessments associated with applications for compassionate release should be based on an assessment of actual risk given the prisoner’s current health condition and that prisons should ensure that patients with complex health needs have personalised care plans in place.
Black, Asian and minority ethnic people
No respect: Young BAME men, the police and stop and search This Criminal Justice Alliance report investigates the use of stop and search in England and Wales, using existing data and information from consultation with young black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people. It finds that BAME people are now three times more likely to be stopped than white people, up from two times the previous year. This rises to six times for black people. It also highlights that 15% of stop and search cases showed no reasonable grounds for a search. The report makes a number of recommendations based on consultation with young BAME people. These include that police should always treat those they stop with respect and professionalism, actively prevent the escalation of hostility and adopt a consistent approach to the use of body cameras.
Youth justice
Stop and Search: A Guide for Parents and Children StopWatch have produced this guide to support children who are stopped and searched or have negative interactions with the police. It provides information on the rights of officers and of the child during a stop and search, the information officers are required to provide to parents or carers and the impact of stop and search experiences on children. The guide advises parents to discuss stop and search with their children to increase their safety and includes information on what action can be taken to support a child who has been stopped and searched.
Accommodation
Homelessness and health for disadvantaged groups This report, published by the National Housing Federation, explores the challenges experienced in accessing housing by people from the following disadvantaged groups: people with mental health issues; black, Asian and minority ethnic people; people in the criminal justice system; older people; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; and women. Clinks was the lead contributor to the report’s section on people in contact with the criminal justice system, which highlighted a number of issues including high thresholds for accessing local authority support and difficulties in arranging accommodation prior to release from prison. The section recommends that there should be a statutory duty for local authorities to assess local supported housing need and that the Ministry of Justice should develop a cross-departmental accommodation strategy.
Families
i-HOP: Assisting professionals to support children of substance misuse-related offenders This briefing, published by i-HOP, provides information about children and families of people with substance misuse issues who offend. It outlines some of the key statistics around substance misuse amongst offenders and then goes on to highlight the ways in which their families may be affected by their involvement in the criminal justice system, with tips for how professions might support them. The briefing looks at a number of issues, including the worry families experience about their family member accessing drugs in prison, the impact of relocation to complete a drugs programme and financial impact on the family of a family member using drugs in prison.
Restorative justice
Improving victim take-up of restorative justice This Restorative Justice Council report explores the barriers to take-up rates for restorative justice programmes and discusses solutions which can address those barriers. It finds a number of factors that have a negative impact on opportunities to deliver restorative justice, including restrictions around which cases are eligible, lack of information available to restorative justice providers and insufficient victim and professional awareness of restorative justice. The report’s recommendations include that restorative justice providers should remove access restrictions based on whether a case is initiated by the victim or offenders and that each PCC area should put in place an information sharing agreement to aid restorative justice delivery.
Voluntary sector
Improving Commissioning through a VCSE Single Point of Contact This National Association for Voluntary and Community Action report explores how a Single Point of Contact (SPOC) model can help smaller charities engage in public service delivery and support moves to design and deliver services built around individuals. The SPOC model allows one non-delivery organisation, potentially from the voluntary sector, to take on a contract and commission a number of smaller voluntary organisations to deliver it. This means the commissioner only has to deal with one organisation and small organisations can access funding from large contracts. The report details the benefits this model can bring to commissioners and the voluntary sector, providing a number of case studies to demonstrate the different ways in which the model can work.
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Maternal incarceration: a sentence for mother and child Susan Perry, Research Officer for Barnardo’s i-HOP service, has written this blog giving an overview of speeches and discussion at ‘Maternal Incarceration’, an event hosted by the MAMSIE (Mapping Maternal Subjectivities, Identities and Ethics) network in collaboration with Clinks. Susan writes, “i-HOP’s take on this event centres on a few things; a belief that people can change and in the legitimacy of parenthood regardless of gender or imprisonment. With these sentiments in mind we can work towards improving the wellbeing and outcomes for the children of imprisoned parents.”
How can we improve mental health in prisons? In this blog, Development Officer for Health and Justice, Hazel Alcraft, examines the current state of mental health services in prison, and how the voluntary sector works to improve it. Citing National Audit Office figures showing that only a small proportion of those with mental health issues receive treatment, she writes, “Closing this gap will indeed require a step change in investment in mental health services; but using existing resources more effectively will also be essential, and we know that there are many ways in which voluntary sector organisations can help to do that.”
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