In this month's edition...
The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) special interest group on Covid-19 held a meeting with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) on the impact of national lockdown on prison regimes. This blog summarises the meeting and the latest government guidance. The RR3 is a formal advisory group to the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HMPPS, consisting of senior voluntary sector leaders.
Clinks continues to discuss with HMPPS and Public Health England the prioritisation of vaccinations for people living and working in prison, including voluntary sector staff. We are also writing to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on this matter.
Clinks has been meeting weekly with the HMPPS probation reform team to give feedback and suggest improvements to the sector’s experience of the dynamic framework commissioning. The RR3 special interest group on probation also met with HMPPS and MoJ to discuss how learning from the commissioning of day one services of the new probation model can inform future commissioning. Notes will be published soon.
Clinks has responded to the Education Select Committee inquiry into prison education. Our response makes recommendations around the need for greater time out of cells, greater use of grants and the need for clarity on the implementation of government strategies and initiatives. Our response will be published soon.
We held our first in a series of seminars, aimed at organisations interested in policy influencing. In the first seminar, Nicola Drinkwater, Policy Manager at Clinks, introduced the basics of policy influencing and discussed how Clinks influences policy. Future seminars will be led by Unlock and Prison Reform Trust. See future events here.
Minority prisoners’ experiences of rehabilitation and release The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) have published their action plan in response to the HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) inspection report for minority ethnic prisoners’ experiences of rehabilitation and release planning. The report by HMIP concluded that staff had insufficient understanding of black, Asian and minority ethnic people’s distinct experiences of prison life and how ethnicity might influence their engagement with rehabilitative work. It also found not enough was being done to improve communication with people from BAME backgrounds. The response agrees to all six recommendations made by HMIP, and sets out actions against them including target dates and relevant leads.
Clinks publications
Letter to Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Clinks has published a letter sent to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, in response to their inquiry into ethnic disparities and inequality. The letter largely focussed on their question “What do you consider to be the main causes of the disparities in crime between people in different racial and ethnic groups, and why?”. We said the focus of this question reflected a problematic assumption that disparities in the levels of crime committed by different racial and ethnic groups existed, rather than the likelihood that recorded disparities themselves stem from the racist targeting and treatment of black, Asian and minority ethnic people across the criminal justice system. We also supported the submission made by EQUAL and published here.
Response to HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ consultation on Expectations for women in prison Clinks provided further feedback to HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) on the development of a revised set of Expectations for Women, the criteria used to conduct inspections of women’s prisons. Clinks first responded to the consultation in October 2019, and we are delighted to see significant changes made, including our recommendation that trauma-informed care be far more prominent, and to include two indicators specifically focussed on ensuring prisons are coordinating effectively with voluntary sector organisations. We also highlight a few areas which we think can be further strengthened, including the need for HMIP to monitor the longer term impacts of Covid-19 restrictions on women, such as the impact on mental health and wellbeing and sentence progression.
Sentencing
A Smarter Approach to Sentencing - Prison Reform Trust critique Prison Reform Trust (PRT) has published an analysis of the government’s white paper on sentencing. The analysis welcomes some aspects of the white paper, particularly where focussed on the treatment of people who commit less serious crimes, for example specific commitments around Community Sentence Treatment Requirements, pre-sentence reports, and problem-solving courts. The analysis however criticises the paper for proposals concerning those convicted of more serious offences, questioning the evidence on which these proposals are based and arguing that they will further add to the piecemeal and confusing history of sentencing legislation. The white paper was published in September 2020, with some of its proposals expected to be implemented via legislation in the coming months.
The Sentencing Council and criminal justice Transform Justice has published a report on the role of the Sentencing Council. The Sentencing Council was set up in 2010 with a statutory duty to consider the cost of different sentences and their relative effectiveness in preventing reoffending. Given official projections that the prison population will significantly increase in coming years, the paper calls for the Sentencing Council to have a much wider role, including a statutory duty to assess the impact of any new government proposals relating to sentencing policy on the prison population. It says the Sentencing Council has the opportunity to act as an expert body which uses evidence to challenge sentencing norms, to promote measures to reduce sentence inflation and encourage greater use of community-based sanctions and measures.
Prisons
Gambling harm amongst people in prison A report by the Forward Trust shows that 23% of people in prison declare a gambling problem. It is based on a survey across 14 prisons in 2020, funded by the Gambling Commission. 22% said they had gambled whilst in prison in the last 12 months and 14% had witnessed people in prison getting into serious debt. 4% of respondents said their gambling directly contributed to the reason they are in prison, and caused other difficulties in their lives prior to prison, including experiencing debt (14%), causing relationship issues (11%), and losing a job (5%). The Forward Trust says the findings demonstrate the urgent need to develop a range of programmes to support people facing harm from gambling in prison.
Community
Deaths in the community The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Office for National Statistics have published information of all the people who died in the last financial year while under the supervision of the probation service. The bulletin shows there were 1,002 deaths of people under the supervision of the probation service in the last financial year. This is a drop from the previous year, but the number of people subject to probation supervision also fell, making it hard to make year on year comparison. 35% of deaths were recorded as self-inflicted, 32% were recorded as deaths from natural causes, and 22% of deaths remain unclassified. 66 people died on post-release supervision within just 28 days of release from prison.
Electronic monitoring in probation practice HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) has published a review into the use of electronic monitoring, as the use of these technologies for people serving sentences in the community and under probation supervision increases. The paper finds benefits to the use of electronic monitoring, particularly as an alternative to custody, and points to studies that have shown support amongst service users. The paper also explores how probation staff can ensure that monitoring is used effectively, appropriately and ethically. It suggests that probation staff should take a flexible and transparent approach to non-compliance, and be conscious of the potential issues around relationships in the home and domestic violence. This paper is the latest in HMIP’s series of Academic Insights, in which leading academics present their views on specific topics.
Women
Violence against women and girls call for evidence The Home Office has launched a consultation to inform the development of the government’s Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. The call for evidence seeks to build the government’s understanding of the scale and impact of violence against women and girls, the measures which may help prevent violence and the extent to which current legislation and services are effective. The consultation is seeking responses from those with lived experiences and those with expertise in working with victims and survivors. The deadline for submitting evidence is Friday 19th February.
Neurodiversity
Evidence review on neurodiversity in the criminal justice system HM Inspectorate of Prisons and HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) are conducting an evidence review on neurodiversity in the criminal justice system on behalf of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). They are using a broad definition of neurodiversity to refer to a group of conditions under neurodevelopmental disorders, including learning difficulties and disabilities. The initial call for evidence closed on 15th January, though Clinks are speaking with HMIP to see how voluntary organisations can feed into the evidence review. A report is expected to be published in summer 2021. This work will feed into commitments made in the MoJ sentencing white paper to better understand the prevalence of neurodiversity in the criminal justice system and to upskill frontline staff.
Commissioning
Green Paper: Transforming public procurement The Cabinet Office has launched a consultation which seeks feedback on a range of proposals on how the UK government can reform public procurement in the wake of leaving the EU. The stated aims of the process are for the government to speed up and simplify procurement processes, place value for money at their heart, and create further opportunities for small businesses, charities and social enterprises to innovate in public service delivery. Some questions and proposals will be of direct relevance to many of Clinks’ members, including questions around processes for tender, effective purchasing systems and contract management. The deadline for submissions is March 2021. Clinks is in discussion with other voluntary organisations on the best way for us to respond.
Youth Justice
Ensuring effective referral into youth diversion The Centre for Justice Innovation has published an evidence and practice briefing related to the systems used for referring children and young people to diversion initiatives. Point-of-arrest youth diversion addresses low-level criminal behaviour by children and young people without putting them through formal criminal justice processes. By avoiding outcomes such as out of court disposals or prosecution, it protects them from negative consequences such as labelling, a criminal record or interruption in their education. The briefing includes examples of best practice and insights from young people who have been released under investigation and concludes that the referral process should enable practitioners to make swift and timely referrals, be procedurally fair, and allow for multi-disciplinary decision making.
The road to a national strategy for older people in prison Paul Grainge, Chief Officer of RECOOP, has written a blog welcoming the government’s announcement of a national strategy for older people in prison. Older people are the fastest growing cohort in prison and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) project the population to rise to 14,800 in 2021. Up to 90% of people aged 50 or over in prison have at least one moderate or severe health condition, and over 50% have three or more. RECOOP was founded in 2008 to support older people in prison, and has worked closely alongside Clinks in pushing for the MoJ to commit to a dedicated national strategy for older people in prison.
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Written monthly by...
Clinks' policy officers, Will Downs and Lauren Nickolls
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