![Health and Justice bulletin](/sites/default/files/emails/Health-and-Justice_2.png)
In this month's edition...
Our views on the future of prisons
After gathering the views of voluntary organisations, we have responded to the Ministry of Justice’s Prisons Strategy White Paper. We spoke with 113 different voluntary sector organisations working in criminal justice to inform this response, which focusses on utilising their expertise, reducing the prison population, equality and fairness and resettlement support. Read our blog summarising some of the key points here and the response in full here
Navigating the criminal justice system
The criminal justice system in England and Wales can be daunting to understand because of both its size and complexity. If you’re new to working or volunteering in this field, or just need a refresher, this Clinks guide will help you understand how the criminal justice system is organised and how it works. It provides comprehensive details about the different government departments and agencies that work in the criminal justice system and what their specific roles are. Read the guide here
The Prisons Strategy White Paper
The government has published its proposed 10 year strategy for prisons in England and Wales. The strategy includes many positive proposals, including increasing the use of Community Service Treatment Requirements, the availability of drug treatment in prison and supporting clear pathways into health services for prison leavers with continued support of the RECONNECT programme. However, the repeated commitment to build more prison places and the absence of measures to address unequal outcomes for racially minoritised people in prison are highly concerning. The Ministry of Justice has provided the opportunity for people to respond to these proposals. Read more here
Health and Justice Partnerships Coordinators
Within the Prisons Strategy was the proposal for a new local level role, Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators. With an aim to have them in every probation region by 2024/25, the role will focus on helping individuals leaving prison with substance misuse and mental health issues. Considering the significant barriers that prison leavers face regarding continuity of care, this new role will focus on building partnerships between commissioners and providers across substance misuse and mental health services in the community to ensure that clear pathways for treatment are in place and support improved access to community mental health provision. This is another example of the sustained success of the continuity of care programmes and the backing of the government. Read more on page 42 here
Inquiry into women’s health and wellbeing in prisons
Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons gave oral evidence to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in the Penal System as part of its inquiry into women’s health and wellbeing in prisons. Parliamentarians heard how living conditions in some women’s prisons were just not good enough. The pandemic had made issues much worse for women who reported more thoughts of self-harm and were locked in their cells for almost the whole day. The Inspectorate raised concerns about the use of prison as a ‘place of safety’ for women who were acutely mentally unwell. The APPG will be publishing a briefing paper on women’s health and wellbeing in February. Read more here
Wellbeing of staff in the women’s sector
A new Nuffield research project, led by Michele Burman, with a team including Loraine Gelsthorpe and Robin Robinson investigates the wellbeing of women workers in organisations offering support and/or practical services to women and girls who are socially isolated and economically marginalised. The impact of Covid-19 means staff working in these organisations, who are mainly women, have had to rapidly adapt and re-align their services to respond to new working environments, whilst also dealing with the effects of the pandemic within their own lives. A survey is now live, aimed at people in management or supervision roles in community-based organisations providing services to women and girls. Clinks is a member of the project advisory group. Find out more and take the survey here
Increase in prison suicide
The Safety in Custody statistics for 2021 showed a sharp increase in prison suicides with a 28% increase from the previous year, alongside a 17% increase in overall deaths in custody. Although self-harm decreased in male establishments by 9% overall, there was an increase of 5% in female establishments when considering the fall in overall prison population. This is indicative of previous information released regarding the effects of lockdown on those in prison and how their mental health and wellbeing can be negatively affected. On the contrary, assaults across both male and female establishments have seen a sharp decrease, however, this is likely a result of the restrictions that have been in place in prison across England and Wales. Read more here
Barriers to accessing maternity services
Sands and Tommy’s Joint Policy Unit is leading a Maternity Consortium to make maternity care more equal and fair. They want to understand your experiences of using maternity services, and any barriers you may have faced in getting the care you're entitled to either whilst in prison or in the community. They would particularly like to hear from people who are not always represented. If you, or someone you work with, is currently pregnant, or has been pregnant since January 2019, you can take part in a focus group or interview. You will receive a £40 voucher for your time and all input will be anonymous. Register here to take part. For any questions or help with filling out the form, contact celeste.pergolizzi@sands.org.uk or call 07879703870
Settled living in the community for people with mental health needs
It is widely recognised that housing and settled accommodation are essential to enabling improved outcomes for people living with poor mental health. Factors associated with poor mental health include lack of a place to call home, poor quality housing, overcrowding, quality of neighbourhood, and control over housing. People experiencing mental health needs are also more likely than average to experience difficulties with accommodation, e.g. rent or mortgage difficulties, living in deprived neighbourhoods and experiencing isolation. For this project, the Association of Mental Health Providers is gathering video case studies from people with lived experience to understand what ‘home’ means to them and highlight the types of services that are available in the community to support people with mental health needs. Submit a case study here or contact Dania Hanif
Service user involvement
Clinks is running a service user involvement event [16th March, online, free] to equip participants to make meaningful service user involvement a reality in their organisations. There will be the opportunity to meet others committed to involving service users, discuss the challenges you face, and understand more about embedding service user involvement into your work. As experts by experience, service users play a vital role in helping to develop, deliver and oversee our members’ services and work to influence policies and practice in the criminal justice system. Please note that the service user involvement events are only open to Clinks’ members. If you are not a current member and wish to attend, join here. Book your place here
Yorkshire and The Humber Rehabilitation Partnership
The Yorkshire and The Humber Rehabilitation Partnership, in conjunction with Clinks, would like to invite voluntary sector organisations to an introductory information session [28th February, online, free]. This session will provide organisations based in and delivering services across Yorkshire and Humber the opportunity to find out more about the work of the partnership, its vision, and outcomes for those who come into contact with the criminal justice system and highlight current priorities and workstreams. It will also aim to provide organisations with contact points to support and enable information sharing and further opportunities for partnership and collaboration. Register here
RECONNECT Information Session
Join Clinks for a session with Kate Morrisey, NHS England and NHS Improvement's Health and Justice Team National Implementation Lead for RECONNECT, and a member of their Lived Experience team, who will discuss the RECONNECT Programme and how the voluntary sector can best utilise it for the benefit of the individuals they work with in the community [9th March, online, free]. Initially established in January 2020, RECONNECT works with people before they leave prison to help them to make the transition to community-based services that provide the health, wellbeing and care support that they need to ensure that they successfully reintegrate into the community, reduce re-offending and improve quality of life. Register here
Reduced number of individuals in Prison Drug Treatment during the pandemic
The Office for Health Improvement & Disparities has published its annual report on Alcohol and Drug Treatment in Secure Settings 2020 to 2021. The report determined that the pandemic severely reduced drug and alcohol treatments, with 10,000 fewer people accessing the services in comparison to the previous year, roughly a 20% drop. Although the report mainly contains statistics, it provides several reasons for the decline, including fewer people in prison as a result of lockdowns and courts being closed and limited ability to engage in face-to-face work with individuals completing treatment in their cells. However, it also found that the proportion of adults released from prison who started community treatment has increased by 3.6% due to programmes such as RECONNECT. Read the report here
New Bromley Briefing from Prison Reform Trust
The Prison Reform Trust has published the latest edition of its Bromley Briefing, collating a range of statistics on the criminal justice system in England and Wales on topics including sentencing, the state of prisons, health in prison and rehabilitation and resettlement. It explores the current state of drug misuse in prison, mental illness, alongside disability, health and social care. Findings show that one third of prisoners have serious drug addictions and more than half of individuals state they have a mental health problem and that it was difficult to see a mental health worker. It was also reported that information about those who have some form of physical or mental disability is poor and out of date and HMPPS needs to establish a screening system. Read more here
Pregnant in prison
Researchers from Coventry University and City, University of London, in collaboration with Birth Companions and Women in Prison have published their research on Why are pregnant women in prison?. Using evidence gathered from women who had been pregnant in prison about the realities of their experience and their complex health and wellbeing needs, Dr. Geraldine Brown, Rona Epstein and Maria Garcia de Frutos conclude that pregnant women should not be sent to prison and other options should always be sought, including probation, suspended sentences, or deferred sentences. This is supported by the recent conclusions drawn from the deaths of baby A and baby B in prison. Read the report here
Community based drug treatment and recovery work with people on probation
The Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation Service have published their thematic review action plan of community-based drug treatment and recovery work with people on probation during the Covid-19 pandemic, in response to the HM Inspectorate of Probation inspection, published in August 2021. The government agreed with eight recommendations and partly agreed with six recommendations out of the total 14. Actioned responses include the recent government Drugs Strategy, additional funding into an enhanced RECONNECT service and improving continuity of care for those leaving custody. Read more here
Alcohol and drug related deaths in the criminal justice system
The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody and The Royal College of General Practitioners Secure Environments Group have published a report saying that the prevention of deaths, in both the prison estate and in the community, must be central to the approach they take in dealing with substance misuse. The report dictates that a whole systems approach must be taken to ensure that those with substance misuse issues are having their needs supported at all stages of their journey through the criminal justice system. It makes key recommendations including improving data collection, increasing the number of people receiving support in the community, undertaking a more holistic approach, and a particular focus on initial post-release care and support. Read the report here
Are lockdowns the solution to prison violence?
Chief Inspector of Prisons, Charlie Taylor, has written a blog arguing that Covid-era lockdowns are not the long-term solution to prison violence. Covid-19 restrictions have meant that most prisoners have been locked in their cells for 22 or more hours a day and unsurprisingly, this has resulted in a reduction in violence. However, before 2015, violence levels were consistently lower. Recent inspections have shown that the amount of time a prisoner spends out of cell is dependent on factors such as staffing levels, Covid-19 risk tolerance and “above all, the ambition and quality of the governor and the senior leadership team”. He concludes that “rather than returning to more restricted regimes, violence is likely to reduce where there are enough experienced officers in post and strong leadership”. Read the blog here
2021 had highest number of deaths in prison ever recorded
INQUEST has responded to the latest statistics on deaths and self-harm in prison data published by the Ministry of Justice. In the 12 months to December 2021 there were a total of 371 deaths of people in prison, representing the highest annual number of deaths ever recorded, with more than one death a day. This is despite recent reductions in the prison population. Although 250 deaths were classed as ‘natural causes’, INQUEST casework and monitoring shows many of these deaths are premature. Deborah Coles, Director of INQUEST, said: “The pandemic alone cannot explain away this record level of deaths… these statistics represent the serious consequences of highly restrictive regimes on people’s mental and physical health”. Read the blog here
Is it possible to find hope in a life sentence?
Russell Webster has published a blog on a recent paper that explores the question of hope in a life sentence. The study it looks at is based on interviews with 33 people within two and a half years of their tariff expiry date, or in some cases, past that date, drawing on Snyder’s Hope Theory as a conceptual framework. Russell describes Hope Theory as having a goal, a way of achieving it and the belief that you can achieve it yourself. The authors put these painful individual narratives in the context of government plans to increase sentence lengths further (including whole life orders) even though the UK already has the highest number of people serving life sentences in all of Europe. Read the blog here
Get involved Become a Member | Follow Clinks on Twitter
Contact Us www.clinks.org | info@clinks.org | 020 7383 0966
About Clinks Health and justice bulletin
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 1,165 subscribers.
To submit content, or have comments or ideas about how this ebulletin could be improved, please email nicola.drinkwater@clinks.org
Click here to manage your subscriptions. For assistance, email info@clinks.org
![Clinks logo](/sites/default/files/emails/clinks_logo_strap_rgb_med-res_0.png)
© Clinks, 2022
Registered office: Clinks, Block C, 5th Floor, Tavistock House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JJ
Registered charity: 1074546 | Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales: 3562