In this month's edition...
Improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system
We’ve published our letter in response to the Public Accounts Committee’s call for evidence for the inquiry into improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system. We highlighted concerns that less than half of the Female Offender Strategy’s commitments have been fully implemented, nearly three years after its publication. We also reiterated concerns about the government’s plan to build an additional 500 women’s prison places. Clinks believes that to achieve the ambitions of the Female Offender Strategy money should be invested in community-based services and diversionary schemes delivered through women-centred and trauma-informed models. We therefore continue to call for the government to provide adequate, sustainable funding to support community-based, specialist women’s services. Read the letter in full here
Call for Evidence for young people’s health and wellbeing campaign
Spark Inside has launched a campaign looking into the health and wellbeing needs of young men, and especially young black men, in prison. Young people in prison have untapped potential but have different needs to older people in prison, and are less likely to be able to access the support they need to flourish and build new lives. The campaign is looking for primary evidence regarding the health and wellbeing experiences of young men in prison to inform a project brief. We would like to hear from people with lived experience of the criminal justice system as well as individuals who work in the criminal justice system in some way. If you would like to contribute, please get in touch with spencer.bundschuh@clinks.org Submissions due May 14th.
Call for evidence for new 10-year plan to improve mental health
The Department of Health and Social Care is calling for the public with lived experience of mental ill-health, and health and care professionals, to share their views on how mental health support and services should adapt for the future. Responses will inform a new 10-year mental health plan which aims to put mental and physical health on an equal footing. The new plan will build on current progress, assessing how local services can work together to prevent mental ill health, especially in light of the effect that the pandemic has had on the mental health of the general public, with record numbers of people seeking to access treatment. Responses are requested by the 5th of July. Read more here.
Children at risk
The Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) has published a new policy briefing, A perfect storm for children at risk?: Preventing a post-pandemic surge in the criminalisation of children. The briefing explores the significant risk of a surge in the number of children drawn into the justice system following the pandemic and argues that strong leadership and coordinated action is required to respond to children at risk. Additionally, it discusses the health and wellbeing needs of children in the youth estate, with a particular emphasis on the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of young people in contact with the criminal justice system. Read the full briefing here
Changes to Covid-19 testing for prison visitors
Visitors to prisons are no longer required to take Covid tests as of Friday 1 April. HM Prison and Probation Service has made this change because regular Covid testing in the wider community is coming to an end, and testing kits are no longer provided for free in the community. Other safety measures for visits, such as social distancing, mask-wearing and hand-washing, are being kept in place nationally for now because the number of Covid infections in the community is still quite high. Visitors are encouraged to take a test before going to a prison if they can access one. Visitors with a positive result will not be able to visit. Find out more here
Reducing health inequalities for people in the criminal justice system
NHS England and NHS Improvement has launched the Core20PLUS Connectors Programme that is a support framework for building on community-based initiatives and extensive experience of volunteer roles to tackle healthcare inequalities. It recognises that people and communities often know what they need and what would work for them. If you are interested in being the voice to focus on barriers and enablers to reduce health inequalities of those in contact with the criminal justice system, you can express interest until 28 April here
Calls from those in prison to Samaritans helpline increased by 60% during the pandemic
The number of distress calls made by people in prison to a mental health helpline has soared by 60% in just two years. Data obtained under freedom of information laws shows that calls to Samaritans’ dedicated prison line rose from 266,076 in 2019 to 424,509 in 2021. The Ministry of Justice said in its response that the number of calls to the helpline increased during the Covid-19 crisis and may be a result of regime restrictions stemming from safety precautions due to the pandemic, leading to increased isolation and more time in individual cells. A spokesperson for the prison service added that HMPPS staff worked diligently to save lives and reduce the effects of the pandemic. Read the full story here
Sentencer and police understanding of crime and gambling harms
The Howard League for Penal Reform is holding a research seminar as part of the Insights22 festival on ‘Sentencer and police understanding, awareness and treatment of crime and gambling harms’ [12 May, online, free]. Chaired by Andrew Neilson, Director of Campaigns at the Howard League for Penal Reform, the session will include Sarah Page, Senior Lecturer, Sociology and Criminology, Co-Director, Staffordshire University Crime and Society Research Group and Dr Helen Churcher, Research and Project Officer, Howard League for Penal Reform. Sarah will discuss examples of sentencing practice in magistrates’ courts in England and Wales when problem gambling is raised as a contextual factor to the crime. Helen will discuss the role of police custody in identification and signposting to support. Find out more and register here
Improving health and well-being outcomes for women in prison and upon their release
On behalf of the Women’s Review, Kate and Jenny invite you to join them for a virtual event [17 May, online, free]. The event will describe the Women’s Review, update delegates on emerging findings and answer questions. The National Women’s Prisons Health and Social Care Review (Women’s Review) is a partnership between NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I), and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). Its purpose is to improve health and social care outcomes for women in prison and upon their release. It will report in Summer 2022. They are especially keen to hear about your work and ways in which the Voluntary sector provide support and services to women in prison. Sign up for the event here.
Help to develop the NE and North Cumbria Integrated Care System (ICS) strategic plan
NE and North Cumbria ICS invites you to attend a workshop on [19 May, online, free] which will support the development of a collaborative strategic plan for 2022/2023 across defined geographies and populations, including all health and justice settings. The workshop will help to share understanding of the health provision / model within North East Prisons and across the ICS/Community. It will also allow for improved integration of actions occurring across the North East and North Cumbria regions to address mental health need, inclusive of both community and health and justice settings. Sign up here
Developing your prison drug recovery strategy webinar event
HMPPS is hosting a webinar [26 May, 9am-1pm, online, free] designed to share learning regarding the National Drug Strategy. It will include the key components that support drug and alcohol recovery within prisons. The webinar will bring together subject matter experts to discuss various topics including the strategic landscape (Home Office and Prison Drug Strategies), developing recovery-oriented systems, showcasing good practice, the role of medicines in recovery, and the importance of continuity of care. Sign up for the session here.
Clinks State of the sector 2021
We’ve published our annual State of the sector report, focussing on how voluntary organisations emerged from a year of criminal justice reform and the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings are based on research designed by Clinks and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), which included 132 survey responses and 11 in-depth interviews. Key findings include that people accessing services had higher levels of need, inconsistent information from statutory services prevented voluntary organisations from supporting the response to Covid-19, and organisations fear that the availability of emergency funding will reduce in subsequent years. The findings of this research will inform Clinks’ work over the coming year. Read more here
Working with trauma in adult probation
HM Inspectorate of Probation has published a report based on interviews with probation practitioners and managers in England. Key findings include that most staff believed the Probation Service can become a trauma-informed organisation, but that there are at present significant barriers to progress. These include: the challenges of reconciling trauma informed practice (TIP) within a system of punishment; processes being prioritised over people; lingering organisational cultures of fear, shame, and blame; a lack of knowledge and genuine buy-in from senior leaders; unmanageable workloads; and the continued dominance of the risk management paradigm. The report identifies eight enablers that could support the further implementation and development of TIP in probation, including compulsory ‘Becoming Trauma-Informed’ training for all staff, including senior leaders and support staff. Read the report here
What next for probation
Revolving Doors has published the first report from its lived experience inquiry into probation. It is based on the views of 141 people with lived experience of probation and 35 probation practitioners. It focuses on people in the “revolving door”; those who commit and often repeat low-level crime, driven by poverty, trauma and/or unmet health needs. The report focusses on four areas: the culture of probation, probation’s role at court, probation in the community and prison resettlement. It includes 21 recommendations for the development of a probation service more informed by the experiences of people on probation, including redesigning programmes through a trauma-informed lens and co-produced sentence plans with an increased focus on support needs. Read the report here
Vulnerabilities: applying All Our Health
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) has published a guide on working with vulnerable populations to address their health and wellbeing needs in a trauma-informed manner. Trauma informed practice aims to create safety for people accessing services by understanding the effects of trauma and its close links to health and behaviour. It is not about eliciting or treating people’s trauma, but about creating a safe space that enables people to access the services they need for their health and wellbeing. This is particularly important for individuals who have lived experience of the criminal justice system as re-traumatisation when accessing services can lead to discontinuity of care. Read the guide here.
Concerns about the commissioning of prison family services
Clinks has been gathering feedback from voluntary organisations ahead of and during the competition to commission services that support people in prisons across England and Wales to maintain and develop their relationships with families and loved ones. This blog summarises what we’ve heard, the concerns we have raised with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), and some of the positive changes the government has made. However, a number of challenges remain. We will continue to work with the voluntary sector, MoJ and HMPPS to understand the challenges, highlight concerns and develop solutions. Read the blog here
Now is a great time to join Clinks
We've seen the massive financial impact the pandemic has had on the voluntary sector working in criminal justice during Covid-19. So in 2020 we were very pleased to obtain funding to help support the sector with a time-limited free membership offer. With this offer now coming to an end, we are delighted to be following through on our commitment to make sure Clinks membership continues to be extremely cost effective – in fact this will be free for around 50% of our current members. Read more about why organisations become members of Clinks, and why now is a great time to join, in our blog here
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 spencer.bundschuh@clinks.org
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