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Clinks Members’ Policy Briefing | September 2016
In this month's edition...
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In August, the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) met to discuss recent developments in the Criminal Justice System and to provide information and guidance to Ministry of Justice officials on the development of policy. The group discussed performance measurement and reoffending statistics, education and training in prisons, and the prison reform programme. The notes for this meeting will be available on the Clinks website in the next few weeks.
Clinks has also had contact with the new Minister for Prisons and Probation, Sam Gyimah. He will be attending our next RR3 meeting in November and has also confirmed his interest in continuing to be involved in our Valuing volunteering in the Criminal Justice System project. We have also continued to meet with the new Executive Governors of the 'early adopter' prisons to support them to engage the voluntary sector.
We have been working on responses to the Lords Select Committee on Financial Exclusion, highlighting the impact of involvement in the Criminal Justice System on financial stability, and to the Lords Select Committee on Charities’ inquiry into charity sector sustainability. We have also worked with members such as Unlock and the Prison Reform Trust, to respond to the Charity Commission’s call for evidence on the new powers to disqualify those with criminal convictions from becoming trustees of charities. On 14th September, Clinks will be giving evidence to the Work and Pensions Select Committee about support for ex-offenders.
With the recent Cabinet reshuffle coming alongside so much reform at the Ministry of Justice, it’s potentially a disorienting time for the sector. To keep you updated, Clinks’ Head of Policy and Communications, Nathan Dick, has written a blog summarising the changes and the work Clinks is doing to ensure the voluntary sector continues to be informed and represented.
Government announcements
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Call for evidence: Effective approaches to homelessness prevention The Department for Communities and Local Government has commissioned Homeless Link to conduct research into successful models of homelessness prevention to identify good practice, look at what works in homelessness prevention and present case studies that highlight effective working. The call for evidence asks for information about approaches that have helped prevent homelessness from occurring or resolved a person’s housing need, rather than models of practice which focus on helping people who are already homeless. You can email rachel.hurcombe@homelesslink.org.uk to submit your evidence until 30th September.
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Clinks publications
Clinks submission to the Sentencing Council consultation on the sentencing of youths This consultation response outlines Clinks’ position on sentencing children. We welcome the Sentencing Council’s principle that the criminalisation of children should always be avoided and suggest that an emphasis on interventions that best support children’s desistance should also be a key part of the guidelines. Our response makes a number of recommendations, including: the principal aim of the youth justice sentences should seek diversionary solutions that avoid creating a lasting criminal record for the child wherever possible; and that the guidelines should encourage sentencers to consider the emotional, as well as the chronological age of the child.
St Giles Trust: supporting offenders with 'hidden disabilities' This Clinks case study looks at the support St Giles Trust provide to people in the Criminal Justice System with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and other disabilities. St Giles Trust's ASD project was delivered in partnership with the Cambian Trust and provided support to women leaving HMP Holloway with ASD and personality disorder traits. As well as supporting women to understand their condition and access support for it, the project also trained other staff working with their clients to be aware of ASD and learn how to deal with it.
Women’s networking forum notes Clinks is convening reference group meetings with specialist service delivery organisations to support the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) and allow the experiences of specialist organisations to be represented in the group. The first meeting of the women’s networking forum took place on the 23rd June. Issues raised include: Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) often prefer to work with one organisation rather than multiple smaller ones; while evidence suggests that working to meet the complex needs of women in contact with the Criminal Justice System (CJS) costs about £1,000 per client, organisations reported that they had been offered from £140 - £400 per client by CRCs; and there remains a lack of understanding amongst commissioners generally about the value of women-specific interventions. The next meeting of the women’s networking forum will take place on 19th September. You can book your place here.
Criminal Justice System
Story of the prison population: 1993-2016 The Ministry of Justice has published this report, which provides a summary of changes in the prison population from 1993 to 2016. The report shows that the prison population has risen by 40,000 since 1993 and that this is largely a result of longer custodial sentences being handed down by the courts. The offence makeup of the prison population has also changed, with the number of those having committed Violence Against the Person, drug or sexual offences now making up three in five of the prison population, compared to two in five in 1993. Legislative changes have also led to a rise in the number of recalls to prison, with the recall population growing from 150 in 1995, to 6000 in 2016.
Prison Population Projections 2016 – 2021: England and Wales The Ministry of Justice has published its projections for the prison population over the next five years. The prison population is expected to remain largely stable until 2021, increasing to a peak of 85,400 in November 2016, then declining. The recall population is also expected to increase slightly above current levels as a result of the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014 and of the abolition of Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPP) which has led to IPP prisoners being released with long licence periods.
Islamic extremism in prisons, probation and youth justice The Ministry of Justice has published a summary of the findings of its review of Islamic extremism in prisons, probation and youth justice. The review found that Islamic extremism is a growing problem within prisons and argues that a comprehensive strategy is needed to address it. The report recommends that prisoners identified as Islamic extremists should be held in separate units, segregated from the rest of the prison population, to prevent the promotion of extremist and anti-Western views to other prisoners. The government response to the report accepts this recommendation, along with a number of others, including providing additional extremism training for staff, tightening the vetting of prison chaplains, and removing extremist literature from prisons.
Restorative Justice In November 2015, the Justice Committee announced an inquiry into the use of restorative justice, to investigate its progress, impact and effectiveness. This report details the inquiry's findings. It highlights that restorative justice provides tangible benefits to victims as well as reducing reoffending. Recommendations include: the creation and dissemination of a national data sharing template; adjustment to the entitlements under the Victims' Code so they no longer vary by the age of the offender; and the Ministry of Justice should work towards introducing a legislative right to access restorative justice, once it is demonstrated that the system has capacity to deliver this.
Problem-solving courts: an evidence review The Centre for Justice Innovation has published a paper reviewing evidence around problem-solving courts, looking at whether they work and why they work. The review suggests that there is strong evidence that adult drug courts reduce substance misuse and reoffending, and that mental-health courts are likely to reduce re-offending; and the evidence on juvenile drug courts is negative suggesting they have either minimal or harmful impacts on children. The paper points to a number of reasons for the effectiveness of problem-solving courts, including the perception of procedural fairness. However, it also identifies problems with the approach such as net-widening and the potential for judges to cause harm without appropriate support from experts. It emphasises that problem-solving courts, on their own, cannot significantly impact the overall numbers of people in prison.
Families
Life in Prison: Contact with Families and Friends This findings paper was published by HM Inspectorate of Prisons. It is part of a series which focuses on daily life in adult prisons and in young offender institutions holding young adults (aged 18 to 21). It finds that in all prisons, prisoners are able to maintain contact with family through the prison telephones and visits, but additional routes for maintaining and developing healthy relationships were variable between prisons. The paper concludes that family contact is important to supporting the rehabilitation of prisoners and that family members can suffer emotionally and practically as a result of imprisonment. It recommends that: restricting access to family should not be used as a punishment in prison; in-cell telephones should be rolled out; and that a pilot should be undertaken to allow certain prisoners family contact through Skype and social media.Older people
Social care or systematic neglect? Older people on release from prison This report, published by the Prison Reform Trust and the Restore Support Network, examines the support available for older people after release from prison. Their study found that older prisoners have significant specific needs and, while there were examples of good practice in certain prisons, resettlement support often operated in silos which led to problems with communication and coherence between them. The report recommends that the government produce a national strategy to provide standards for the care and treatment of older people while in custody and guidance on alternatives to custody. It also makes a number of recommendations to the National Offender Management Service, prison governors and staff in prisons, including: making greater use of voluntary sector expertise, exercising greater flexibility in decisions about early release on compassionate grounds, and appointing a manager for older prisoners to lead and coordinate provision for older prisoners.
Youth justice
Youth Justice Board Annual Report and Accounts, 2015 to 2016 This latest Youth Justice Board (YJB) annual report summarises their performance against: the number of young people entering the Criminal Justice System for the first time, the number of young people reoffending, and the use of custody. The report shows that first time entrants to the Criminal Justice System are down 11% since the previous year, and that the average age of first time entrants is rising. Similarly, the number of under 18 year olds in custody is down by 12% since 2015.
Custody to community: supporting young people to cope with release: a practitioner’s guide This guide, published by Beyond Youth Custody, looks at how young people experience the transition from custody back into the community and how practitioners can offer the best possible support during this time. The guide recommends the use of thorough and long-term preparation for release, including the use of temporary release. It also suggests that practitioners draw up a structured timetable for the young person for the initial period after release, which is flexible and adaptable to the individual, and doesn’t place unreasonable expectations on young people. The guide includes a number of good practice examples for supporting young people after release from custody.
Black, Asian and minority ethnic people
Healing a divided Britain: the need for a comprehensive race equality strategy This report, published by the Human Rights Equality Foundation, analyses the key challenges to race equality in Britain today. The report finds that Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people are twice as likely as white people to live in poverty, that unemployment rates have risen for young BAME people while falling slightly for young white people, and that rates of prosecution and sentencing for Black people in England and Wales are three times higher than for white people. It also references research by the Young Review, which found that Black and Muslim prisoners felt they were stereotyped as drug dealers and terrorists. The report recommends that the UK government develops a comprehensive, coordinated and long-term strategy to achieve race equality, informed by the evidence and experiences of all ethnic groups in Britain, including key stakeholder groups.
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Family snapshots: being the partner of an older, first-time prisoner Family Snapshots is a Clinks blog series based on interviews with prisoners or their partners and families about the impact of imprisonment on family ties. This blog focuses on Jane, whose partner is in his fifties and close to completing a 20 month sentence. The blog discusses the difficulties for families visiting loved ones who are regularly moved between prisons, the lack of disabled access in many prison visiting facilities, and the pressure prison puts on relationships.
Community Safety and the voluntary sector: Gloucestershire’s secret to success In this guest blog Richard Bradley, Deputy Chief Executive of the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gloucestershire, talks about devolution, their review of community safety arrangements and the role of the voluntary sector. Richard writes: “For us at the Office of the PCC, the voluntary sector is a respected and valued partner. They enable access to many organisations and communities who can support the work of community safety.”
New practices to support foreign national prisoners This Clinks guest blog is by Lucy Slade, who last year was awarded a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship and travelled to Sweden, Netherlands, Spain and Norway to research best practice in the treatment of foreign national prisoners. The blog highlights ‘promising practice’ in Norway and Sweden, where resettlement support was provided for foreign national prisoners being deported and prisoners are able to access training.
A piece of the offender health jigsaw Hazel Alcraft, Clinks’ Development Officer for Offender Health, has written a blog discussing health services in the Criminal Justice System (CJS), the health needs of those in contact with the CJS and the role of the Care Quality Commission as the independent regulator for health and social care services in England. Hazel writes, “CQC's mission is to ensure outstanding care for everyone, and understanding the views and experiences of people using health and care services is an important part of this. They are especially keen to hear from those whose voices are less often heard, including those in contact with the Criminal Justice System and their families.”
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