In this month's edition...
Health bulletin news
Clinks will be closed over the Christmas and New Year period from 25th December and will reopen on 2nd January. For this reason the health and justice bulletin has been sent to you a week earlier than usual. The next bulletin will be sent on 28th January 2020 as normal.
Conservatives win majority in general election
The Conservatives have won an 80-seat majority in the general election, and are expected to announce a new cabinet very soon. Their current manifesto commitments relating to health and justice include: reducing health inequality; taking a new approach to substance misuse treatment in tackling ‘drug-related crime’; and requiring schools, police, councils and health authorities to work together through Violence Reduction Units to prevent serious crime amongst young people. Read our blog on the Conservative Party manifesto here
Probation delivery partners competition
On 26th November the Ministry of Justice launched the contract notice for Probation Delivery Partners (previously referred to as Innovation Partners) with a deadline of 16th December. Suppliers have bid to deliver ‘high volume standardised interventions and rehabilitative services’ including Unpaid Work, Accredited Programmes and other structured resettlement and rehabilitation interventions in areas of emotional management, domestic abuse and attitude, thinking and behaviour. The competition for other resettlement and rehabilitation activities through a dynamic framework will start in early 2020. The contract notice can be read here
Health and wellness in African and Caribbean communities
Alafia is hosting an event focused on health and wellness in the African and Caribbean communities [25th January, London, free], covering topics including mental health, cancer, hypertension, sexual health and sickle cell disease. Sessions will be delivered by qualified health professionals. Book here
Health and care explained
The King’s Fund is hosting a series of presentations [30th January, London, price dependent on organisation] that will explain how the NHS, social care and public health are structured; how organisations are funded, staffed and assessed; the differences between health structures including primary care, hospitals, community care and mental health services; and the challenges for the future and current plans to address them. Book here
Crime justice and social harm
The Howard League for Penal Reform is holding a two-day international conference on the role of social harms in how communities approach crime and justice [31th March – 1st April, Oxford, price dependent on organisation]. Speakers are experts from multiple disciplines, including health policy, psychiatry, youth justice and gambling addiction. The conference aims to ‘bring together academics, policy makers, practitioners and those directly affected by the criminal justice system to discuss, reflect on and suggest alternative strategies.’ Book here
State of the sector
Clinks recently published The state of the sector 2019, highlighting the key trends for voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system. The findings give us a lot to celebrate, but the picture we’ve built up shows there are a number of deep-seated and systemic challenges facing organisations. We found that 69% of organisations support people with mental health needs, and 66% of organisations support people with substance misuse problems. Organisations also reported rising violence and self-harm in prisons was making service user need more urgent and complex, and delivery of services was being impacted as a result. Read the full report here
Annual report
Clinks has published its Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2019. The report includes: a summary of our future strategy; a report of our achievements and performance against our strategic objectives; a financial review; our plans for the future; information on our structure, governance and management; an independent auditor's report; the financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2019. Read it here
Impact assessment
Clinks has published a report on the findings of an external assessment of our impact, looking at Clinks’ work from 2016 to 2019. Over 120 people fed into the assessment in a variety of ways. Overall, stakeholders were extremely positive about all of Clinks’ work. The report includes our response to the recommendations, and also provides an update on progress towards meeting the pledges made in our 2016 impact assessment. The assessment was conducted and written by Becky Nixon from Ideas to Impact. Read the full report here
Prison health in Europe
The annual Status report on prison health in the WHO European Region from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that there are a number of areas in which Member States are not complying with WHO guidance on health in prisons. The report findings include that there is a lack of comprehensive collection of national data on individuals in prisons, and stresses the importance of creating a health-promoting environment in prison with high quality care. The report concludes with 20 recommendations to improve prison health, including screening and health assessments for all people upon arrival in prison, formal arrangements to integrate prison health services with the wider public health system, and health data collection upon entering and leaving prison. Read the report here
Art, health and wellbeing
In its recent Health Evidence Network Synthesis Report, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has published global evidence on the role of arts in improving health and wellbeing. Results collected from over 3000 studies, mainly in the European region, identified a major role for the arts in the prevention of ill health, promotion of health, and management and treatment of illness. The report notes that "within the criminal justice literature, there are many reports on the benefits of the arts in engaging individuals in prisons, in particular those who have refused engagement in other health-related activities." The report sets out policy recommendations, including sharing knowledge and practice of arts interventions that countries have found effective to promote health. Read the full report here
Statistics on drug use
NHS Digital has released statistics on drug use in England in 2019. The findings show 9.4% adults (16 to 59) had taken an illicit drug in the last year, and 20.3% of young adults (16-24) had taken an illicit drug in the last year. In 2017/18, the number of adults (aged 18 and over) accessing treatment for substance misuse in a secure setting was 55,413, with the majority being in a prison setting (53,109). Problematic opiate use was reported by half of the male treatment population (50%, or 24,712) and almost three-quarters (74%, or 4,147) of women in treatment. You can read the full publication here
Trauma-informed approaches for women
Agenda and Centre for Mental Health have launched a new report A sense of safety: Trauma-informed approaches for women, exploring how trauma-informed approaches are being implemented by public services including women’s centres, prisons and mental health services. Within the services they looked at, those taking a holistic approach to supporting women’s needs were best able to make the change to becoming trauma-informed. But, in many organisations, becoming trauma-informed is made difficult by the environment they are working in or by short-term and fragile funding. As a result of their research, they’re calling for all public services to become gender- and trauma-informed. Read the full report here
Race in the criminal justice system
The Ministry of Justice has published its biennial statistics on race and the criminal justice system, showing that black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups – particularly black individuals – continue to be over-represented, with the greatest disparities occurring at the point of stop and search, arrests, custodial sentencing and in the prison population. Although the immediate custody rate for drug offences has fallen in the past five years, the immediate custody rate for Asian people was 27%, for black people was 26% and for white people was 20%. A higher proportion of white prisoners reported having an alcohol or drug problem before entering prison and found it easier to access these substances in prison. Continued racial disparities reiterate the importance of continuing to prioritise the needs of BAME people and for the government to fully implement the Lammy Review. Read the publication here
Young people’s substance misuse
The Office for National Statistics has released a report about children (under 18s) receiving drug and alcohol treatment in England. There were 14,485 young people in contact with alcohol and drug services between April 2018 and March 2019 which represents a 7% reduction compared to the previous year and a 40% reduction compared to the year 2008-09. Almost a third of young people (32%) who started treatment this year said they had a mental health treatment need and a higher proportion of girls reported a mental health treatment need than boys. Most young people (73%) who had a mental health treatment need received some form of treatment, usually from a community mental health team. Read the full report here
Health and socioeconomic status
NHS Digital has published the results of its Health Survey for England 2018. Key findings include that people’s health status varied when analysed by socioeconomic group. For example, the proportion of adults who reported problems with anxiety or depression was 27% amongst the highest earners, and 43% amongst the lowest earners. Interestingly, adults in the least deprived areas were more likely to drink over 14 units in a usual week (27%) than those in most deprived areas (18%). People in the most deprived areas are still far more likely to smoke than those in the least deprived areas, and those with poor mental health are more likely to smoke than those with no evidence of mental illness. Read the full publication here
Homelessness and brain injury
Research published in The Lancet Public Health journal into the prevalence of traumatic brain injury among the homeless population found that 53% of homeless people had suffered a traumatic brain injury at some point in their life – 2.3 times that of the general population. The research concluded that this could be both a consequence and cause of their homelessness. In a quarter of homeless people studied, the injury was moderate to severe, which is 10 times that of the general population. The research was carried out by the British Columbia mental health and substance use services research institute in Canada, and compiled research results from six high-income countries – Australia, Canada, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US. Read the full article here
Understanding suicide in prisons
Samaritans has published its first report on suicide in prisons, Unlocking the evidence: understanding suicide in prisons. The report brings together existing research and Samaritans’ own data from its Listener scheme, which is in 111 prisons across England and Wales, to offer a unique insight into the emotional concerns of prisoners before and when they reach a point of crisis. There were 92 self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales in 2018. Data shows that male prisoners are 3.7 times more likely to take their own lives compared to men in the community, rising to up to 20 times for female prisoners. Read the full report here
Reducing re-offending and healthcare
The William Adlington Cadbury Charitable Trust is offering UK registered charities based in Birmingham and the West Midlands funding for prison-based projects and work in the community aimed at reducing re-offending, as well as initiatives relating to medical and healthcare. Grants of up to £2,000 are awarded monthly. Large grants of up to £50,000 are considered every six months. Grants are normally awarded on a one-off basis and repeat applications are not usually considered within two years of the award. More information can be found here
Working with pregnant women and new mothers in custody
Birth Companions has developed a new Birth Charter Toolkit building on its 2016 Birth Charter for pregnant women and new mothers in prison in England and Wales. The toolkit is a practical guide to help all those working with pregnant women and new mothers in custodial settings bridge the continuing gaps between what is set out in policy, and what is being delivered in practice. You can access the toolkit here
Transgender in the 21st century prison
Clinks has published a blog featuring an essay from Sarah-Jane Baker, a transgender woman who served 30 years of a life sentence in prison. As part of Clinks’ Crime and Consequence book, Sarah-Jane spoke about her experience of transitioning in prison, and mental health implications of transphobia in prison which ultimately led to three transgender prisoners taking their own lives. You can read the blog and listen to Sarah-Jane’s episode of the Crime and Consequence podcast here
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This regular bulletin provides Clinks members with the latest news for voluntary organisations involved in the health and care of people in the criminal justice system. It currently has 2,428 subscribers.
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