In this month's edition...
Open letter from the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody
Clinks has signed an open letter from the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody to the Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Justice. This calls for immediate additional mental health support for people in prison, and support for frontline health and justice staff. The letter has also been signed by royal medical colleges, scrutiny bodies, unions, and health and justice voluntary sector organisations.
Opportunities to work at Clinks
Clinks has several opportunities to join our team. These include the Race and Justice Network Coordinator [£33,656, part time, home based]; Fundraising Officer [£28,371, full time, home based]; Communications Officer [£28,371, full time, home based] and Communications Manager [£39,772, full time, home based]. Clinks is an equal opportunities employer and individuals with direct experience of the criminal justice system and/or with protected characteristics are actively encouraged to apply. These posts are covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Clinks' recruitment policy is that there is no requirement to disclose any convictions. Find out more and apply here
Hundreds of mentally ill prisoners denied urgent treatment in England
Freedom of Information requests from 22 NHS trusts have revealed that hundreds of severely mentally ill people in prison who were in urgent need of hospital treatment were being left in prison cells due to bed shortages. Between 2016 and 2021 over half of the 5,403 individuals assessed to require hospitalisation were not transferred to hospital as a result of limited bed space, NHS trusts refusing to admit certain patients, and an assortment of other reasons. A survey of more than 380 prison officers by the Guardian and the BBC found that 84% dealt with the mental health problems experienced by people in prisons every day, with half believing that they should be treated in hospital, yet only 4% had adequate training. Read the story here
Approved Premises (Substance Testing) Act 2022
Just before the end of the Parliamentary session, peers passed the Approved Premises (Substance Testing) Bill, and it has now received Royal Assent and become law. The legislation, introduced as a Private Members’ Bill in the Commons by Rob Butler MP, creates a statutory framework for drugs testing in approved premises, including testing for psychoactive substances and the abuse of prescription and pharmacy medicines. The government supported the bill, with the Ministry of Justice producing explanatory notes, a delegated powers memorandum, and an equalities statement to accompany it. The House of Lords Library published a briefing on the bill, which can be read here
Women more likely to become homeless after being released from prison than men
A recent report has found that 65% of women being released from HMP Bronzefield are leaving without safe and sustainable accommodation. On average, women are more likely to be released into homelessness than men, with Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics indicating roughly 13% and 12% respectively, however, other reports have found this number to be significantly higher at 20% for women. Without accommodation prison leavers are unable to sign up for GP practices, access drug and alcohol support, or become employed, which can often lead to vulnerable situations and potentially re-offending. However, the rate of prison leavers who are leaving without a home or stable accommodation to go to continues to decrease over the years, with HM Prison and Probation Service and the MoJ making concerted efforts to address these issues. Read the story here
Call for evidence for new 10-year plan to improve mental health
The Department of Health and Social Care is calling for members of 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 requested by the 5 July. Read more here
Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Court Act 2022 recently received Royal Assent. The changes it introduces include measures to increase sentences for a number of offences, the ending of the halfway release for people sentenced to between four and seven years in prison for serious violent and sexual offences - with people now serving two-thirds of their sentence in prison, and the introduction of Serious Violence Reduction Orders. With regards to police powers, the police will gain powers to manage non-violent protests that are “significantly disruptive”, and greater powers to deal with “unauthorised encampments”. The Act reduces disclosure periods for most convictions and allows some convictions that resulted in sentences of over four years to become spent. Violent, sexual or terror related convictions that resulted in sentences over four years will remain disclosable for life. Read more here
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Women in the Penal System briefing on women’s health and wellbeing in prison
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Women in the Penal System has been holding an inquiry into women’s health and wellbeing in prison, and the APPG has published its first briefing. Key points include that prisons exacerbate the physical and mental health needs of women, giving women few opportunities to take control of their own health and wellbeing; the lack of continuity for women entering and leaving prison is detrimental to their care, disrupting treatment or medication a woman might be receiving prior to custody; and the Prisons Strategy White Paper is a missed opportunity to address the needs of women in the criminal justice system and reduce the harm of imprisonment. Read more here
Women in prison
The Trustees of Women in Prison are pleased to announce the appointment of Sonya Ruparel as Women in Prison's new Chief Executive from Monday 11th July. Dr Kate Paradine announced in November 2021 that she is stepping aside from her role as Chief Executive and is currently working with the Board of Trustees and staff to ensure a smooth transition of leadership. Sonya will join Women in Prison from Turn2us where she is Director of programmes and partnerships. Sonya has a strong track record of working in senior leadership roles in the voluntary sector, focused on promoting social justice, centring feminism, with a passion for shifting power and ensuring that the voices of people with lived experience are at the forefront of change. Read more here
Is it a crime to be poor? University of Birmingham event
The University of Birmingham is holding an event, welcoming individuals from legal, public health, charity, academic and journalism backgrounds. The purpose of the event is to bring together people working in different sectors who want to end the criminalisation of poverty and to enable strategising on how to use their respective skills and expertise to meet that goal. The day will be from about 12.30pm to about 5pm. They will be discussing topics such as criminalisation for debt, school exclusion, addiction to illegal drugs and diversion programmes and will engage with attendees to strategise for change. There will be the chance to hear new research, untold stories, and voices of lived experience. For enquiries, please email Siddhartha Bandyopadhyay on s.bandyopadhyay@bham.ac.uk. Sign up here
Improving Health and Well-being Outcomes for Women in Prison and upon their release
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. On behalf of the Women’s Review, Dr Kate Paradine, Chief Executive of Women in Prison and Jenny Talbot, Independent Chair of the Women’s Review, thank all who attended on Tuesday, May 17 and for the contribution they provided. The event described the Women’s Review, updated delegates on emerging findings and answered questions regarding the emerging findings that have come from it. It was especially great to hear about your organisations work and the ways in which voluntary organisations provide support and services to women in prison. Please find access to the recording here. Access Passcode: ev.25J^5
Report on women in contact with the criminal justice system
The Public Accounts Committee has published its report, Improving outcomes for women in the criminal justice system. This notes the aims of the Female Offender Strategy are widely supported, but actual progress in delivering the strategy has been “disappointing”. The report also points out that the strategy’s emphasis on community provision is undermined by the limited investment in it: £9.5 million compared to the £200 million committed to creating 500 new women’s prison places. The Committee said successful implementation of the strategy relies on organisations, including the voluntary sector, working together to address the underlying causes of women’s offending. Read the full report here
The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the criminal justice system – a progress report
A joint report from the four HM Chief Inspectors has highlighted the slow recovery and shared challenges of the criminal justice system’s response to the ongoing pandemic. The report found that most agencies have been unable to recover to their pre-pandemic functioning with all levels of the criminal justice system being affected, including prison, probation, policing and the courts. Key areas of concern include staff recruitment and retention in the prosecution service leading to backlogged court cases, large number of court orders remaining uncompleted with the probation service struggling to tackle these backlogs, and people in prison still spending upwards of 23 hours in their cell every day, limiting their ability to engage in education, rehabilitation, and training. Read the report here
Dependency and recovery services re-tender
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is seeking to re-tender the opportunity to deliver dependency and recovery services within the South West probation region. These services will have a community delivery focus with elements of delivery within 10 custodial establishments. The services will be delivered to people on probation with a low, medium or high level of need complexity. The contract value is anticipated to be circa £4m over a period of up to three and a half years. If your organisation can offer these services in the South West, please e-mail a brief summary of the breadth of your services and geographical coverage. This process will help the MoJ to understand the market and which potential suppliers are available and will ensure you are included in market engagement activities and future correspondence. Click here to e-mail
Mental health consequences of imprisonment during the pandemic
The Howard League for Penal Reform has published a blog focussing on the mental health impact of lockdown, drawing on its members’ experiences. Most described a significant and potentially long-term cost to their wellbeing and mental health. People spoke of widespread mental ill-health during the pandemic, with little access to support from professionals or trained peers. Whilst a few older people reported not minding the restrictions, or even preferred the relative calm of lockdown, most found the pandemic very difficult. Two men explained in their prisons, people had tried to escape the monotony of lockdown by using drugs, alcohol, prescription drugs, or psychoactive substances. The Howard League argues that the mental health impact of long-term confinement must be recognised and addressed through accessible support as prisons ease restrictions. Read the blog here
Breaking the cycle of poverty and criminalisation with #BetterBenefits
Russell Webster has published a guest blog, by Olivia Dehnavi, Policy and Research Officer at Working Chance. With the offences for which women are most often prosecuted being directly related to financial difficulty, Dehnavi argues this is why it is important to have a strong social security system: the inadequacy of the benefits system is a reason why some women are swept into the criminal justice system, and a reason why they cannot escape it. She explains that, when rebuilding their lives after a conviction, the challenges of Universal Credit put women at a greater risk of reoffending. She highlights Working Chance’s #BetterBenefits campaign, calling for a benefits system that tangibly helps women with convictions and enables, rather than hinders, their journey to employment. Read the blog here
Time out of cell
Prison Reform Trust (PRT) has published a blog on the time people in prison spent outside their cells during the pandemic. Following an answer to a written Parliamentary question in December, and correspondence between PRT and the Minister, PRT raises concerns that a response to a recent press query to the Ministry of Justice suggests that half of all adult prisons are “already back to normal”. It notes stage one of the National Framework, would not be considered “normal” before the pandemic, and there is no guarantee that locally, restrictions cannot be re-imposed. PRT concludes: “we have a department happy to tell the public prisons are ‘back to normal’, but unable or unwilling to say how many prisoners are spending all day locked behind a cell door”. Read the 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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