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In this month's edition...
Policy work at Clinks
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Clinks held three consultation events across England, on behalf of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), to discuss their latest draft proposals on probation reform. Over 100 voluntary organisations attended and gave feedback to the MoJ on their proposals and the potential implications for the voluntary sector. Clinks is sending a write-up of the feedback to the MoJ and will publish this soon.
Seetec, owners of Kent, Surrey and Sussex Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC), has stepped in to run CRCs across Wales and the South West, following the collapse of Working Links. Clinks has been in discussion with organisations in the Working Links supply chain and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service to ensure the sector remains informed as the situation develops. If you require any further information please contact Jessica.mullen@clinks.org.
Kate Aldous, Head of Strategic Development at Clinks, attended an ‘extraordinary’ meeting of the Advisory Board on Female Offenders (ABFO) where she was consulted about the government’s plans for the residential women’s centres and the concordat. Kate represents the women’s voluntary sector on the ABFO, which brings together government departments and key stakeholders to advise and challenge the government on the delivery of the Female Offender Strategy.
Clinks is providing the secretariat for a special interest group on employment support for the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3). The group met in February 2019 to discuss the government’s implementation of the Education and Employment Strategy and the development of the New Futures Network. The group will produce a written output to advise the government, which will be published on Clinks website.
Government announcements
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Justice Secretary David Gauke sets out long-term vision for justice In a speech at Reform, Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke, said there is “a very strong case to abolish sentences of six months or less altogether”. He also supported a switch in resources from custody to probation in order to ensure a robust community order regime. The speech recognised the increasing length of sentences and suggested that technology could play a greater role in responses to serious crimes such as fraud in the future. In response to a question by Jess Mullen, Head of Policy and Communications at Clinks, he also recognised the role the voluntary sector plays in supporting rehabilitation and in making the case for rehabilitative responses.
Justice Secretary unveils GPS tag rollout Following a trial, Secretary of State for Justice, David Gauke, announced the national roll out of GPS tags, which will provide 24/7 location monitoring of people on bail and people serving sentences in the community. The tags will enforce exclusion zones, meaning individuals cannot enter a specific location or area; keep a given distance from a point or address, for example a victims address; and monitor the individual’s attendance at a certain activity, for example work or a rehabilitation programme. The roll-out aims to provide a ‘tougher’ option for community sentences as ministers continue to push the case of community alternatives to short-term custodial sentences.
Chief Executive of HM Prison and Probation Service: next appointment Dr Jo Farrar has been announced as the successor to Michael Spurr as head of Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service. She moves from her role as Director General for Local Government and Public Services at the Ministry for Communities, Housing and Local Government (MCHLG). She brings into the role expertise in public service reform in the context of financial pressures, both in her current role at MCHLG, and before that, in Chief Executive roles for local authorities. In previous speeches, she has recognised the critical role of the voluntary sector in delivering local services. She will take up the post from 1st April 2019 and Clinks will be writing to her to formally welcome her to the role.
Justin Russell announced as candidate for next Chief Inspector of Probation Justin Russell has been announced as the Secretary of State for Justice’s candidate for Chief Inspector of Probation, when the incumbent, Dame Glenys Stacey, steps down in May. He is currently Director General responsible for No Deal EU exit planning at the Ministry of Justice. He will face the Justice Select Committee in the coming weeks for a pre-appointment hearing, where he will answer questions on his record. After the hearing, the Justice Committee will make a recommendation of his suitability for the post, and are likely to reflect on his ability to be a fair and impartial inspector, given his recent role in charge of the policy development and programme delivery in relation to probation.
Review of the Parole Board Rules and Reconsideration Mechanism The government has announced changes to the rules governing the operation of the Parole Board, following a review launched in light of the Parole Board’s decision to authorise the release of John Worboys. For people in prison the biggest change is that victims will now be able to challenge a release decision if they believe it is fundamentally flawed, without going through the same lengthy judicial process. Instead, a dedicated team within HM Prison and Probation Service, followed by a senior judicial member of the Parole Board, will consider whether there is evidence to support a reconsideration. Successful applications will then either go back to the original panel to reconsider, or to an entirely new hearing by a fresh panel.
Publications
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Clinks publications
Clinks submission to the Welsh Justice Commission call for evidence Clinks responded to the Welsh Justice Commission call for evidence. Our response outlines the need for any long term vision for justice in Wales to consider how to ensure that devolved and non-devolved policy areas can be best joined up in order to work together towards better rehabilitation outcomes. Following our submission, Anne Fox, Clinks' Chief Executive Officer, gave oral evidence to the commission which focused on meeting the needs of women in contact with the criminal justice system. She stressed the need for effective funding for well-established trauma-informed women’s specific services and for referral systems to be in place to ensure the needs of these women can be met.
Clinks response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s consultation Clinks made a number of recommendations in our response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s (EHRC) consultation on their draft strategic plan 2019-2022. Against their priority to make sure people have a fair trial in the criminal justice system, we called for the EHRC to hold government and institutions to account to ensure the issues highlighted by the Lammy Review recommendations are addressed. We also called for the EHRC to promote the value and needs of specialist women’s organisations as part of their priority to ensure access to essential public services is improved for particularly disadvantaged groups.
Probation
Transforming Rehabilitation: Progress review The National Audit Office (NAO) has published a critical report of the Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) reforms to probation services, estimating that the financial implications of TR cost the state £467 million, and that Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have collectively lost £294 million over the life of the contracts. It also highlights the increase in both reoffending and people being recalled to custody and criticises the quality of through-the-gate services delivered by CRCs. The report calls on the Ministry of Justice to pause and reflect in their work on a future design of probation in order to ensure that any new probation service is deliverable and consistent with its strategic aims, and to develop a detailed plan for managing the wind-down period of the existing contracts.
Reconciling desistance and what works Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) has published a short paper which examines two approaches to reducing reoffending broadly defined as ‘what works’ (approaches which are evidence-based and focused on programmes) and ‘desistance’ (approaches focussed on individual lives and personal trajectories). The authors, Shadd Maruna and Ruth Mann, lament how these two approaches are often pitted against one another, and argue instead that it is important that robust evidence from both approaches informs policy development. This is the first of an academic insights series, where HMIP commission leading academics to present their views on specific topics, to help better understand what helps and what hinders probation and youth offending services.
An inspection of probation services in Humberside, Lincolnshire and North Yorkshire Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) has rated Humberside, Lincolnshire & North Yorkshire Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) as ‘requiring improvement’. Contact levels between Responsible Officers and people serving sentences were not sufficient and not enough interventions, such as effective Rehabilitative Activity Requirements (RAR), were being delivered to support desistance. Inspectors also described poor staff morale, driven by recent organisational change and IT problems, and recommended that disconnect between operational staff and senior leaders must be addressed to improve morale. This follows a series of reports by HMIP of under-performing CRCs, including the first ‘inadequate’ rating given to Dorset, Devon and Cornwall CRC, managed by the now defunct Working Links.
Criminal Justice Statistics quarterly The Ministry of Justice has published its quarterly bulletin on key statistics on the criminal justice system in England and Wales for the latest 12 month period (October 2017 to September 2018). It shows a 5% annual reduction in the number of people coming into contact with the criminal justice system to 1.59 million. There was also a 4% decline in the number of people being prosecuted to 1.37 million people. However, while the overall rate at which people are sent to prison has remained stable (7%), the proportion of people that are sent to prison for more serious (indictable) offences increased by 8% to 33%. Nearly two fifths (37%) of people convicted of an indictable offence have had 15 or more previous convictions, an increase of 10% since 2011.
Prisons
How are charities influencing change in the prison system? New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) has released a paper on charities’ role in influencing change in the prison system. The paper reflects on conversations across the criminal justice system with policymakers, parliamentarians, charities and funders. It finds that voluntary organisations working with people in prison are effective at influencing policy and there is great strength in the diversity of viewpoints and tactics within the sector. However, they identify a sense of weariness in underfunding and attempting to influence in a messy, shifting policy context. Clinks advised the project and, in collaboration with the Sheila McKechnie Foundation and NPC, held a workshop of 16 influential voices in the criminal justice voluntary sector to inform the paper.
Courts and sentencing
Briefing on the Offensive Weapons Bill The Standing Committee for Youth Justice and the Prison Reform Trust have published a joint briefing ahead of the House of Lords debate on the Offensive Weapons Bill. The briefing recognises public concern about the rise of some violent crimes in inner city areas, but warns this bill will be ineffective at tackling the causes of such violent behaviour. The briefing raises concern that the measures in the bill, including the proposals for a Knife Crime Prevention Order (KCPO), will increase the use of ineffective short mandatory minimum custodial sentences; create legal uncertainty; are likely to impact black, Asian and minority ethnic communities disproportionality and further damage trust in the justice system.
Oral evidence on the role of the magistracy The Justice Committee heard oral evidence on the role of the magistracy from senior members of the local judiciary, before posing a number of questions to Lucy Frazer QC MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice. The committee asked the panel on the impact of court closures, reflecting on the fact that half of all magistrates courts either closed or were threatened with imminent closure between 2010-2018. Lucy Frazer defended the government’s record in responding to the declining numbers of magistrates and whether the government’s progress on reviewing whether to increase the sentencing powers of magistrates. Frazer said this was still being considered, as part of a wider review of sentencing.
Youth justice
Standards for children in the youth justice system The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has published revised standards for children in the youth justice system which come into effect on 1st April 2019. The standards define the minimum expectation for all agencies that provide statutory services to children in the youth justice system. The new standards are guided by the ‘child first, offender second’ principle which aims to promote children’s individual strengths and capabilities and prioritise their best interests. Clinks welcomes the child-focused, strengths-based approach and the move towards an outcomes focus. We are disappointed not to see the role of the voluntary sector reflected in the standards and more on tackling discrimination and inequality in the youth justice system, as highlighted in our consultation response.
Volunteering
Time well spent: a national survey on the volunteer experience The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has released the findings from a recent national survey into the experiences of people who volunteer with charities. The report draws on a sample of over 10,000 responses, providing insights into people’s motivations for volunteering, and their experience when they do. The report identifies eight areas for organisations to think about if they want to support people in having a quality volunteer experience.
Blogs
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Who does our sector support? The state of the sector in focus In the first in a series of snapshots of the key trends uncovered by our State of the sector research, Nicola Drinkwater, Policy Manager at Clinks, writes about the people accessing voluntary sector services. She shows how our research has consistently demonstrated that voluntary organisations working with people in contact with the criminal justice system are incredibly diverse, in terms of who they support and how they go about it. The number of service users has also increased, with people’s needs becoming ever more complex and urgent.
Putting it into perspective: meeting the needs of people with protected characteristics on the ground Clinks’ latest state of the sector report had a focus on how voluntary organisations both identify and respond to the needs of people with protected characteristics. As part of our research, we conducted 10 in-depth interviews with voluntary organisations, including with Phanuel Mutumburi, Business and Operations Director at Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE). In this blog we share more of what Phaneul told us, and in particular, the challenges ISCRE faces when campaigning on issues of race. The role the ISCRE takes in challenging agencies where people are being treated unfairly has led to some partners feeling uncomfortable with their relationship and has alienated some funders and supporters.
Coaching prison staff & prisoners together Duncan Mueller, a systems coach for Clinks member Spark Inside, has written a guest blog for Russell Webster on Spark Inside’s systems coaching programme, The Conversation. The programme involves coaches bringing officers and prisoners together for group sessions, in order to improve relationships and wing culture. He describes how forming such relationships can help deescalate situations by building trust and empathy between staff and people in prison, and improving communication. So far the programme has involved 350 prison staff and prisoners in five different men’s prisons, HMPs Brixton, Pentonville, Wormwood Scrubs, Belmarsh, and Wandsworth.
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Written monthly by...
Will Downs and Lauren Nickolls
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