[[{"fid":"2063","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Policy Briefing Header","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Policy Briefing Header"},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Policy Briefing Header","title":"Policy Briefing Header","height":"150","width":"600","style":"font-size: 0.923em; line-height: 1.5em;","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
Clinks Members’ Policy Briefing | May 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"}}]]
Prison education review to recommend bringing Teach First graduate scheme to prisons Dame Sally Coates has outlined some of the recommendations of her review of education in prison, to be published in the summer. Speaking to the Guardian, she discussed the review’s suggestion of a graduate scheme along the lines of Teach First, allowing graduates to be employed as prison officers for two years as part of their training to become teachers in prison. She also advocated for more incentives for prisoners to engage in education and training, such as higher wages, and the opportunity for prisoners to pursue degrees at any point in their sentence.
Transition to Adulthood Alliance gives evidence at the Justice Select Committee On 26th April, the Justice Select Committee held its final meeting on the treatment of young adult offenders in the Criminal Justice System. It heard from Andrew Selous (Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation), Michael Spurr (National Offender Management Service), Angela Cossins (National Probation Service), Max Rutherford (Transition to Adulthood Alliance) and Huw Williams (University of Exeter). Max Rutherford discussed the importance of a distinct approach to young adults in the Criminal Justice System, taking account of maturity and its influence on offending and rehabilitation.
Pausing the anti-advocacy clause The Cabinet Office has issued an update on the implementation of the 'anti-advocacy clause' which is due to be inserted into grant agreements to prevent organisations which receive government grants from using these funds to lobby government. The update states, 'We are pausing the implementation pending a review of the representations made and we will take a decision on the form of the clause following this review.'
YJB moves to tackle minority ethnic over-representation in the youth justice system The Youth Justice Board (YJB) said it is keen to encourage Black, Asian and ethnic minority students to explore career opportunities in the youth justice system, arguing that this is key to turning around the lives of children from diverse backgrounds in the Criminal Justice System. Although the number of under 18s in custody in England and Wales continues to fall, the proportion of those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds is rising, currently at 41.5%.
Publications
Clinks publications
The rehabilitative prison: What does ‘good’ look like? This discussion paper aims to provide an early opportunity for voluntary sector organisations to contribute their views on the forthcoming prison reforms. What would characterise a different prison regime ‘conducive to rehabilitation’? What might ‘good’ look like in a newly designed prison? What could ‘good’ - or perhaps ‘good enough’ – start to look like across the rest of the prison estate? Over the coming months, as more detailed proposals emerge from government about the intended reforms, Clinks will be offering a variety of opportunities for these and other questions to be debated with our members and other key stakeholders. In the meantime, your responses to this paper will give policy makers and autonomous governors the benefit of learning from the sector in seeking to create a truly rehabilitative culture in prisons.
The rehabilitative prison: Good engagement with the voluntary sector This new 'Do It Justice' guide provides prison governors and staff with practical guidance on effective engagement with voluntary sector organisations to support rehabilitation within a reformed prison estate. It builds on positive experiences and suggests practical actions that can foster a more co-ordinated approach to partnership work, such as having a named co-ordinator for the voluntary sector in the prison, including the voluntary sector in prison meetings and facilitating skill sharing between prison staff and the voluntary sector.
Good practice in service user involvement This guide, published by Clinks, showcases six current examples of best practice in service user involvement from the voluntary sector working in criminal justice. The case studies have been selected to represent as broad a range of different approaches, models, organisations and aspects of the Criminal Justice System as possible. The people and families who have direct experience of the Criminal Justice System are a vital source of intelligence about how services designed to support them can best be made to work. Each case study identifies key project outcomes, elements considered to be essential requirements for setting up and sustaining the project, and some of the main challenges experienced along the way.
Clinks and Homeless Link's response to the Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into support for ex-offenders Clinks, in partnership with Homeless Link, has submitted evidence to the Work and Pensions Committee inquiry into housing and employment support for people on their release from prison. In our submission we highlight the need for resettlement support to be offered to prisoners at the earliest opportunity, increased transparency of services commissioned by Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service, and the need for continued investment in supported housing.
Police and Crime Commissioners Generation 2.0: Engaging with Police and Crime Commissioners This guide provides an overview of what Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) are responsible for and why they are important for voluntary sector organisations to engage with. It includes information about what PCCs do; what local structures PCCs engage with; what to think about before engaging with your PCC; options for engaging with your PCC; demonstrating your impact; campaigning rules and the pre-election period.
Building successful partnerships involving volunteers in the Criminal Justice System: A good practice guide The Justice Involving Volunteers in Europe (JIVE) project, of which Clinks is the lead partner, has published a guide highlighting good practice in effective cross-sector partnerships working in several European countries. Increasingly, involving volunteers within the Criminal Justice System is organised by means of forming partnerships between the voluntary sector and public, private and statutory organisations, with each committing resources and agreeing to work collaboratively to achieve a set of common goals. 'Building successful partnerships in the Criminal Justice System' hopes to stimulate mutual respect and understanding and help address any power imbalance evident within partnerships.
Criminal Justice System
Transforming Rehabilitation Published by the National Audit Office (NAO), this report finds that probation services have been restructured on time and within cost targets, but operational problems and risks to further transformation need to be resolved. It recommends the National Offender Management Service should combine its ongoing analysis of the Community Rehabilitation Company supply chain with feedback from voluntary organisations to identify and address gaps in provision. As part of the work, NAO commissioned User Voice to research how service users under community supervision understand the changes brought about by Transforming Rehabilitation; more than three-quarters had not noticed any change in the overall service, however, on specific services dissatisfaction was highest in obtaining help with housing and repeating information to different people.
Prisons
Unlocking prison performance This report, published by Reform, highlights the simplistic nature of current prison performance measures and suggests that a new performance measurement framework is needed. It recommends that the Ministry of Justice collects more data on prison performance, including prisoner activity, visits received by prisoners, expenditure patterns and more diverse reoffending data. It also suggests that the Ministry of Justice should revisit the contracts it holds with providers under the Transforming Rehabilitation programme in order to enable Community Rehabilitation Companies to better tailor their resettlement services in the light of need and effectiveness.
Youth justice
Growing up, moving on This report examines how childhood criminal records (those acquired before a person is 18 years old) are treated in 16 jurisdictions. Published by the Standing Committee for Youth Justice, the report found that a criminal record acquired by a child in England and Wales can affect that person for longer, and more profoundly than in the other jurisdictions the report considered. The report highlights the impact of having a criminal record on a child's future life chances, in relation to eduction, training, employment, travel and housing. Practical guide: monitoring places where children are deprived of their liberty The Howard League for Penal Reform has helped to produce the first European Practical Guide dedicated to the monitoring of places of deprivation of liberty for children. The guide, which was presented at the UN Human Rights Council earlier this week, was developed in association with organisations from 13 other countries, 11 international experts, the Council of Europe, and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The guide adopts a child-specific approach to help improve the monitoring of places of child detention and protect children's fundamental rights.Multiple needs
Changing systems, changing lives: a brief review of the MEAM coalition The Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) coalition has published an independent evaluation of its work over the previous two years. Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) is a coalition of Clinks, Homeless Link and Mind, formed in 2009 to improve policy and services for people facing multiple needs. 'Changing systems, changing lives' gives a summary of how MEAM has developed, and looks at the coalition's work in local areas, its influencing work, and a review of monitoring and evaluation of MEAM.Mental health
Mental health and criminal justice Published by the Centre for Mental Health, this report gives the findings from consultations held across England and Wales that reviewed the experiences of over 200 people with personal or professional knowledge of the interface between the Criminal Justice System and mental health services. The report finds that few of the prisons represented at the events were able to offer psychological therapies, and that primary mental health care remains the weakest element of mental health support in prisons. It calls for a new ‘concordat’ between different government agencies to join together better to help people when released from prison.Dismantling the hierarchy Published by Catch22, this briefing is part of a series of 'programme insights' evaluating Catch22's 25 Realising Ambition projects, aimed at preventing youth offending. The issue explores how far Realising Ambition projects have refined their services and strengthened their evidence-base over the course of their delivery, and also discusses the benefits and limitations to the Standards of Evidence, suggesting that generating evidence is a continuous process. It finds that almost all Realising Ambition projects now have reasonably well-developed logic models, manuals or implementation handbooks, and estimations of start-up and unit costs, and are routinely monitoring outcomes of children and young people, although levels of refinement varied.
Black, Asian, and minority ethnic people
‘Bridge the gap’: improving engagement and access for BME individuals with multiple and complex needs Published by Touchstone, this research was carried out by WY-FI’s Black and minority ethnic (BME) team and explores the experiences and challenges faced by BME communities and individuals across West Yorkshire when engaging with services around multiple and complex needs. The report outlines three areas for improvement including: better partnership work with communities at the grass root level, and increased visibility within communities; increased commitment to co-production, diversity and an understanding of individual cultural needs, in both service ethos and delivery as well as service design; and assessments, and service support, able to reflect and respond to the differing needs of BME individuals.
Women
Making restorative justice work for women who have offended Published by the Restorative Justice Council, this research report sets out a series of recommendations for practitioners and policy makers on how to improve access to and experiences of restorative justice for women who have offended. Recommendations include: all women who have offended being offered the chance to take part in restorative justice; partnerships to be developed between women’s centres and restorative justice services to ensure women can access appropriate support; and restorative justice practitioners to be aware of the particular needs of women who have offended.
Police and Crime Commissioners
Valuing victims - a review of Police and Crime Commissioners' funding of restorative justice 2013 - 16 Why Me?, an organisation promoting and practicing restorative justice, has published this report looking at how Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have commissioned and developed restorative justice services. The report finds a wide range of approaches used across England and Wales, with some PCCs developing innovative and bold examples of restorative justice services. However, there is significant variation between areas, leading to a disparity in service provision for victims. The report recommends that high quality, safe restorative justice should be available at all stages of the Criminal Justice System, as well as the continuation of long-term funding for PCCs to commission restorative justice services.
Family snapshot: the partner of a prisoner serving an indeterminate sentence In this blog, Patrice Lawrence, Development Officer for Families at Clinks tells Wendi’s story of supporting her partner who is serving an indeterminate sentence. The blog discusses the difficulties of a partner in prison being moved regularly, the extensive costs of visiting and maintaining contact, and the ‘terrifying’ experience of visiting a partner in prison for the first time. This is part of a series of blogs about the impact of imprisonment on family ties.
Diversity, arts and criminal justice: bringing people together Alison Frater, the chair of the National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice (NAACJ), has written about a recent NAACJ event focusing on diversity in the arts. She says, "Some things can only be understood properly through the arts. Arts organisations in the Criminal Justice System (CJS) tell stories of the diverse groups of people who they work with. They create diverse, innovative art that pushes boundaries, explores complex issues and brings people together from different cultures and backgrounds. Arts organisations working in the CJS have a responsibility for doing more to strengthen diversity but they also have a role in energising and informing change."
Health and Justice: the year that was In this blog, Hazel Alcraft, Offender Health Coordinator at Clinks, provides an update about some of the key policy developments in health and justice over the last year, including but not limited to, the Care Act (2014) coming into force, the publication of the Mental Health Taskforce and the continuation of the national roll-out of liaison and diversion schemes. She outlines the impact of these developments and suggests that we are likely to see more developments in health in the Criminal Justice System in the year 2016-17.
A service user’s experience of volunteering In this guest blog, Daniel Hutt, Head of Policy at User Voice, interviews Dougie, one of User Voice's service users, about his experiences. Dougie discusses the reasons that volunteering with User Voice appealed to him, what the role involves and what effect it has had on him and the services he works to improve. He says, “Probation and other providers should value us and our life experiences as ex-offenders and employ us themselves or use us in more advisory roles. This shows that they really believe we can change.”
- This edition of Clinks Policy Briefing has been sent to the inbox of all Clinks Members. Who are they?
- If you have any comments about the update or ideas about how it could be improved, please email Oonagh Ryder
- To unsubscribe, email Oonagh Ryder
- Please note that the third-party information, gathered and presented within this update, may not represent the views of Clinks or the author. [Terms of Use]
Get involved Become a Member | Follow Clinks | Join Mailing List
Contact Us www.clinks.org | info@clinks.org | 020 7383 0966
Written monthly by...
Oonagh Ryder
Clinks
© Clinks, 2016
Registered office: Clinks, Tavis House, 1-6 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9NA
Registered charity: 1074546 | Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales: 3562176
Multiple needs