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In this month's edition...
The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) Special Interest Group on Covid-19 met in July with officials from Public Health England and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) to discuss regime recovery and the role of mitigations against Covid-19, including vaccinations. Find the meeting notes here
Beating Crime Plan
On Tuesday 27th July, the government published its Beating Crime Plan to set out its approach to reducing crime. Measures described in the plan include trialling the use of alcohol tags on prison leavers in Wales “to help change behaviour and reduce violence and alcohol-related crimes”; the expansion of ADDER, a multi-agency substance misuse project, to a further eight local authorities across England; and £700,000 of funding for 10 health and justice partnership co-ordinator roles within probation. The government has also committed to publishing a new cross-government drugs strategy later this year to set out the government’s longer-term ambition to tackle drugs in the coming years. Read the full plan here
The government’s initial response to Professor Dame Carol Black’s Independent Review of Drugs
The government has published its initial response to Dame Carol’s review. This commits to developing a long-term strategy to be published at the end of the year and outlines that Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has secured an additional £700,000 for 10 health and justice partnership coordinator roles within probation. The government has committed to responding in full by the end of the year. In addition, the response announces that Dame Carol has been appointed as ongoing independent advisor on drugs to work with the government in developing and delivering the strategy. Read the response here
Covid-19 testing for physical contact
Covid-19 testing for physical contact during visits can now be introduced in all prisons. This will not happen at the same time for all prisons and will depend on local circumstances and risk assessments. Once a prison has introduced testing for physical contact, visitors will be allowed some physical contact with their loved one after showing a negative Covid-19 test result for a test taken that day. Individual prisons will make their own decisions about what physical contact is allowed and this will be based on pre-Covid-19 visits policies. Prisons should tell visitors, prisoners and staff exactly what to expect. Read more here
Information pack - vaccines
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has compiled an information pack to help others get the right information about Covid-19 vaccines. The pack contains information about vaccine ingredients, vaccine side effects, the Delta variant, the effects on fertility, vaccine hesitancy amongst racially minoritised groups, and much more. The pack labels each resource as ‘Easy Read’, ‘General’ or ‘Enhanced’ to cater for different reading abilities. If your organisation supports those in contact with the criminal justice system and will find this information pack useful, please request this document by emailing covid19@clinks.org
HMPPS Covid-19 data
The monthly HMPPS Covid-19 statistics have been published for July 2021. This release shows that there have been no deaths of people in prison, children in custody, and supervised individuals within 28 days of a positive Covid-19 test since April 2021. However, there were 623 new confirmed Covid-19 cases in people in prison and children in July 2021, across 64 sites. This is almost seven times more cases than in June 2021. Read more here
Part two of the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Review
The Home Office has announced the second part of its review into the role of PCCs. This will be an internal review that looks at the tools PCCs have available to them, ensuring they have what they need to reduce crime, and scrutiny of the PCC model. Amongst other things, it will consider the role of PCCs in the ‘partnership landscape’, assessing whether the tools currently available to them are sufficient to drive and co-ordinate local activity to reduce crime, combat substance misuse, and address anti-social behaviour. Moreover, it will consider the role of PCCs in offender management aligned to existing operating models, working alongside the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the probation service. Read more about the review here
Regional reducing reoffending plans
Following the unification of the Probation Service in June, each of the 12 Regional Probation Directors (RPDs) has published a Regional Reducing Reoffending Plan, which sets out how they will work with partner organisations to cut crime and make communities safer by reducing reoffending. RPDs bring together direct delivery of sentence management, unpaid work and interventions with significant regional commissioning budgets for rehabilitative services. The plans, which will be renewed annually, allow RPDs to highlight specific priorities and ambitions for their individual regions. Many plans make specific commitments to how probation services can work better with local health agencies, substance misuse providers and better address poor mental health and the impacts of trauma amongst service users. Read the plans here
Drugs evidence review
We are delighted to announce new additions to our online evidence library, including a new evidence review looking at patterns of opiate and cocaine use among people in contact with the criminal justice system, points of intervention throughout the criminal justice system, a summary of ‘what works’ with this client group, and a review of the critical success factors of working with people who use Class A drugs. The online evidence library, curated by Russell Webster on behalf of Clinks, is designed to support voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system with access to the most up-to-date evidence about a range of different activities and interventions. These reviews are written by leading academics and purposefully written in non-academic language. Read the review here
Women’s health strategy
We have published our response to the Department for Health and Social Care’s call for evidence to inform the development of the government’s Women’s Health Strategy. Our response focuses on the health and care needs and experiences of women in contact with the criminal justice system, and the role of the voluntary sector in addressing these needs. Drawing on evidence from research and engagement with the voluntary sector, we make a number of recommendations. These include highlighting the importance of continuity of care from prison to the community, and the need for sustainable funding for the voluntary sector that delivers health and care services to women in contact with the criminal justice system. Read the response here
Women’s mental health and wellbeing in prison
We published our response to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in the Penal System’s inquiry, to which the Howard League for Penal Reform provide the secretariat. Our response is informed by our ongoing research and engagement with our members, particularly through our women’s network. The response explores evidence regarding the acute health inequalities experienced by women in prison compared to their male counterparts and the general population. It also looks at women’s access to healthcare in prison, and the impact of Covid-19. Clinks recommends that a ‘whole-prison’ approach should be taken with regards to mental health and wellbeing, and the voluntary sector should be consulted on the design and delivery of services in women’s prisons. Read our response here
Mental health in prison
We have published our response to the Justice Committee’s Mental Health in Prison Inquiry. This focusses on the scale of mental health issues in prisons in England and Wales and the impact of Covid-19, including on access to services. The response also explores the appropriateness of prison for people with mental health needs. We recommend that voluntary organisations delivering mental health services to people in prison are seen as strategic partners; a ‘whole-prison’ approach is taken towards mental health and wellbeing; and that continuity of care from prison to the community is essential, with services like RECONNECT being strong examples of initiatives that support this. Read our response here
Probation response to substance misuse
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have published a joint thematic inspection of community-based drug treatment and recovery work with people on probation. The inspection found that an estimated 75,000 people supervised by probation services have a drugs problem, yet fewer than 3,000 were referred by probation services to specialist drug misuse treatment in 2019/2020. It highlights that funding for treatment has reduced; probation services lack key basic information of how many drug users are in their caseloads and how many are in treatment; and magistrates lack confidence in the treatment delivered by probation. The Inspectorate makes 14 recommendations to improve the quality of supervision including more drug rehabilitation court orders, greater use of testing, and increased funding for treatment. Read more here
Neurodiversity and youth justice
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation published a new report in its academic insight series, on neurodiversity and whole-child approach for youth justice. The report summarises the evidence base around neurodiversity and the lessons for those working in youth justice and youth offending services. At least one in three people moving through the justice system are thought to be neurodivergent, and there is extensive evidence of co-occurrence between conditions, as well as interlinking with adversity and childhood traumas. The report says it is important neurodivergent traits are considered for every child presenting to youth offending services. Read more here
Traumatic Brain Injury
Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation has published another report in its academic insights series focussing on traumatic brain injuries. This finds that there is substantial evidence that people with traumatic brain injuries are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system, and the risk of poor outcomes can be compounded by factors including low socio-economic status, other neurodevelopment problems, and substance misuse. The authors argue that earlier intervention and diversion must be the goal for the future management of traumatic brain injuries, including public health approaches to the ‘causes of the causes’ of crime, and a focus on school exclusions. Read the report here
Diverting young adults
Revolving Doors Agency has published an evidence review on diverting young adults away from the cycle of crisis and crime. This review looks at evidence on areas including pre-arrest and pre-court diversion, addressing mental health needs, substance misuse, and people with multiple needs. Evidence from the review recommends that police-assisted diversion services should avoid prosecutions for low-level and non-violent crimes where possible, deliver tailored responses to meet the specific needs of young adults, and apply trauma informed approaches. It also recommends police-assisted diversion schemes should adopt a gender-specific and culturally competent approach to achieve equitable outcomes, promote a pro-social identity, and link young adults and their families to sustainable and long term support. Read the review here
Preventing homelessness amongst former prisoners in England and Wales
Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) with funds from the London Housing Foundation, commissioned Royal Holloway, University of London to produce a rapid evidence review, exploring the needs of people leaving prison who are, or who are at risk of, rough sleeping, or living in unstable accommodation in England and Wales. Areas covered by the report include the connections between homelessness and offending, and it describes the extent to which people in prison are affected by substance misuse, mental ill-health, and other vulnerabilities. From the evidence reviewed, it found that the prison population presents with complex needs that place them at greater risk of homelessness, and that there is a lack of suitable accommodation for people with such needs. Read the full review here
Brain injuries in criminal justice settings
The Disabilities Trust is hosting a second wave of its #ThroughOUReyes campaign, which aims to spark debate and change the narrative about people with complex and challenging disabilities. This time, the campaign is focusing on the impact of living with a brain injury in the criminal justice system. There are a number of resources available to see through the lens of people with a brain injury in prison, including ‘Invisible Me’, a film featuring the powerful insights of a former prisoner rebuilding his life and living with a brain injury. The Disabilities Trust has also published a new evidence sheet covering its research and experience supporting those with brain injuries in the criminal justice system over the last 10 years. Find the resources here
Neurodiversity in the criminal justice system: a review of evidence
This blog by Policy Officer Noorjehan Piperdy explores the review of neurodiversity in the criminal justice system, published by the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates, alongside two service user reports published by KeyRing and User Voice. The blog highlights key issues from the reports, including lack of data and screening, and explores how the findings can lead to better outcomes for people with neurodivergent conditions in contact with the criminal justice system. Clinks welcomes this review and the proactive steps the inspectorates have made to engage with voluntary organisations and the people they work with who have neurodivergent conditions. We are engaging with the Ministry of Justice to ensure voluntary organisations can act as strategic partners as they respond to the report’s recommendations. Read more here
Community Sentence Treatment Requirements programme in action - Plymouth
Second in a series of blogs on the Community Sentence Treatment Requirements (CSTR) programme, this blog by Clinks and Nacro focuses on the Plymouth site, looking at how they became a CSTR site, what they’ve learnt, and how service users benefit from this change. Plymouth was one of the five original test-bed sites, and has been live since November 2017. Prior to becoming a CSTR site, they knew that there were groups of people that were falling through gaps in existing mental health services. This is not just an issue in Plymouth – many people in contact with the criminal justice system have mental health needs that are too complex for primary care due to intersecting issues and multiple disadvantage, but not severe enough to qualify for secondary care services. Read more 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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