Clinks Members’ Policy Briefing | September 2014
In this month's edition...News
Care Act (2014) consultation response Clinks has responded to this consultation brought by the Department of Health. The brief response focuses on a select number of questions most relevant to our members. Our main recommendations include that commissioners involve the voluntary sector and service users in all stages of the commissioning cycle; local authorities work in partnership both operationally and strategically with the voluntary sector as they are able to engage with offenders and ex-offenders who often do not engage with statutory health services; and that appropriate screening tools are used by local authorities as part of an initial assessment of a prisoner’s health and social care need. Clinks also contributed to a response to this consultation as part our work on the Making Every Adult Matter, Voices from the Frontline Project, which can be accessed here.
More than a provider: the role of the voluntary sector in the commissioning of offender services In this report, Clinks outlines a vision of good commissioning for rehabilitation and desistance from crime. Funded by Tudor Trust and LankellyChase Foundation, the report also gives examples of good practice, including using the expertise of voluntary organisations to assess service user need; giving clear information about tendering processes and key contacts; and using grants to support partnership development. Whilst researching for the report, we also heard about over-stretched commissioning teams that have less time to develop collaborative commissioning or get out and meet service users; and insufficient measures to prevent the loss of high-quality, locally rooted organisations in an increasingly crowded market. We have made recommendations on how these issues can be addressed.
Rehabilitation: what does ‘good’ look like anyway? This is an article written by members of Clinks' policy team, past and present, published in the European Journal of Probation (EJP), which explores the need for a clearer vision of what 'good' looks like in the rehabilitation of offenders, whether in prison or in the community. Such a vision is needed to underpin not only innovative and evidence-based service development but also outcomes led commissioning, and (in the context of England and Wales) the procurement of packages of rehabilitation services most likely to support the desistance process. The need for this is greater than ever, due to the current UK Government's Transforming Rehabilitation reforms that are set to drastically alter criminal justice policy in England and Wales.
Strengthening the Law on Domestic Abuse- A Consultation This consultation, brought by the Home Office, seeks views as to whether a specific offence should be created that captures the patterns of coercive and controlling behaviour in intimate relationships, in line with the Government’s non-statutory definition of domestic abuse. The consultation closes on the 15th October 2014.
Inquiry into non-natural deaths in detention of adults with mental health conditions The Equalities and Human Rights Council are conducting this inquiry to assess the extent to which prison, hospital and police services comply with the Human Rights Act, 1998 and how recommendations from previous inquires and reports into non-natural deaths in detention have been implemented. The findings are due to be published in the spring of 2015.
Criminal Justice System
Crime reduction policies: the government’s response In June 2014, the Justice Select Committee published their final report from their inquiry into the effectiveness of crime reduction policies. The committee also published an interim report, focusing on the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) reforms, to which Clinks provided a written response. The government has now responded to both of these reports, and outline that they have rejected the Committee’s recommendation to remove the binary hurdle in the payment by results mechanism for the TR reforms; they have agreed to make it clearer how the TR reforms will be evaluated; and that they have also rejected the recommendation that an independent and authoritative body evaluates the evidence on the effectiveness on crime reduction policies.
An inspection of the work of Probation Trusts and Youth Offending Teams to protect children and young people This inspection report by HM Inspectorate of Probation found that overall, staff in Probation Trusts and Youth Offending Teams took their child protection responsibilities seriously, and their contribution to this was effective. However, the report argues that for many, work to protect children and young people was not viewed as a core task. Also, in the organisations that were visited, systems to manage the identification and referral of children and young people who were at risk were not robust enough for the Inspectorate to have confidence that all steps had been taken to protect these young people in all cases. The Inspectorate outlines that there is a need for leadership and managers should make it clear to all staff of their role in contributing to the protection of children and young people.
Code of ethics for the police The College of Policing has published a Code of Ethics, which is applicable to everyone who works in policing in England and Wales. The code outlines the standards and behaviour expected from police professionals.
Crime and policing news update: August 2014 This news update by the Home Office contains articles including those relating to modern slavery, a campaign to raise awareness of psychoactive substances and measures to improve standards of police integrity.
Local justice and participation working papers The Howard League for Penal Reform has published a range of working papers relating to the Criminal Justice System. Titles include: 'Effective participation or passive acceptance: How can defendants participate more effectively in the court process?'; 'The [re]settlement of women prisoners in Northern Ireland: From rhetoric to reality'; 'Judged by peers? The diversity of lay magistrates in England and Wales'; and 'Justice and prisoners’ families'.
The Arts
Final evaluation of the Artist in Residence at HMP Grendon This report by Dr Laura Caulfield at Bath Spa University follows on from an initial evaluation of the work of an artist in residence at HMP Grendon and presents the findings from the second half of the four year residency. The evaluation found a number of positive outcomes from those taking part including the presence of the residency improving the prison environment, participants beginning to redefine themselves and the residency facilitating a sense of group cohesion.
Helix Arts: participatory art and young offenders This Clinks case study focusses on Helix Arts, a participatory arts organisation based in Newcastle upon Tyne that works with a range of socially excluded groups, including ex-offenders. They work across a range of art forms including visual arts, film making, creative writing, graphic design, street dance, music and MC-ing, photography, drama and kite making. This case study focuses on two of their programmes: The Choices Project that worked with young offenders who are subject to Intensive Surveillance and Supervision Programme (ISSP), and The Restorative Justice Project that worked with young offenders who had restorative justice elements to their sentences.
Offender Health
Evidence submission to the Care Quality Commission: Good person-centred care for offenders Clinks was invited to submit a brief summary of evidence, including indicative fictional case studies, on good practice in person-centred care for offenders in the community, to help guide the Care Quality Commission in future inspections.
Women
Women and girls at risk- why does gender matter? This literature review by DMSS research was commissioned by the Barrow Cadbury Trust, LankellyChase Foundation and the Pilgrim Trust as part of their work to broaden the approach of the Corston Independent Funders' Coalition, to look beyond criminal justice to the underlying causes of risk and disadvantage for women and girls. The review informs a new cross-sector strategic alliance focused on women and girls with complex needs and takes a life-course approach that includes information relating to problems, consequences, correlates and causes and evidence of what works.
Resettlement of girls and young women: a practitioner’s guide This briefing by Beyond Youth Custody examines how the knowledge about young women’s offending can begin to inform more effective, gender-sensitive resettlement practice with girls and young women leaving custody.
Children and young people
A large-scale comparison of male and female users of child sexual exploitation services in the UK This research carried out by UCL Security and Crime Science and NatCen, is a comparative analysis of the relationship between gender and experiences of child sexual exploitation (CSE). It examines data from a national database supported by Barnardo’s of children who had been affected or were being affected by CSE. Overall, a third of service users on the database were male. The gender differences found within the database include disability (males were significantly more likely to have a disability), peer involvement in CSE (males were less likely than females to have peers who were also known or thought to be affected by CSE) and youth offending (males were more likely to have formal criminal records).
Family SMILES: interim evaluation report Family SMILES (Simplifying Mental Illness plus Life Enhancement Skills) is a group work intervention for children aged 8-13 with a parent who has a serious mental health problem, where the child is at risk of harm. The key findings from the evaluation include an increase in children/young people’s self esteem, decrease in young people’s emotional and behavioural difficulties, improving communication about mental health and enhancing parents' protective behaviours.
Family matters: A snapshot of the support available for families of gang-involved young people in the UK This research paper by Catch 22's Dawes Unit provides an overview of how families of gang-involved young people are being supported by publically-funded family support services in the 33 Ending Gang and Youth Violence areas. The paper firstly explores the current evidence of family-based interventions with gang-involved young people and then goes on to look at current practices in the UK.
Mental health
A manifesto for better mental health This document sets out five key actions that include fair funding for mental health, giving children a good start in life, improving physical health care for people with mental health problems, improving the lives of people with mental health problems and better access to mental health services that organisations across the mental health sector are calling on all political parties to commit to if they are elected in 2015. The document has been written together by Rethink Mental Illness, Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Foundation, Mental Health Network, Mind and the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
What are the 10 elements of great commissioning? This blog by Isabel Livingstone, Local Development Officer for the South West, summarises the key findings from Clinks’ More Than a provider report and outlines 10 elements that make for great commissioning.
PCCs: Happy anniversary? In this blog, Jessica Mullen, Senior Policy and Projects Officer and Local Development Team Manager at Clinks, outlines that two years on from the election of PCCs, Clinks wants to look at the impact we have had on the voluntary sector and the issues we address, and vice-versa.
The shape of things to come: a review of infrastructure The Ministry of Justice have asked Clinks to co-ordinate an independent review of criminal justice infrastructure support. In this blog Richard Nicholls, Programme Director at Clinks, gives details about the review and outlines how you can get involved.
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