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In this week's edition....
- LIGHT LUNCH NOTICE: Christmas schedule
- CLINKS BLOG: TR So Far
- CLINKS MEMBERS OFFER: free sustainable funding consultancy available
- CLINKS NEWS: how the arts can support desistance
- CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: radio documentary
- CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: funding awarded for restorative justice work
- CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: research fellowships deadline approaching
- CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: Prison Councils
- CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: new probation centre of excellence to be created
- CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: local justice reinvestment pilots data
- CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: factors affecting reoffending
- CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: debut crimes and predicting future offending
- CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: Gypsies and Travellers in the CJS
- NON-MEMBERS' EVENTS & TRAINING
- PUBLICATION: inspection of adult offending work in Northumbria
- RESOURCE: guide to completing DBS forms
- RESOURCE: magazine created by ex-offenders
- SURVEY: for young black men in London
- CLINKS MEMBER'S VACANCIES
- TIPS OF THE WEEK
- EXTRA INFORMATION
LIGHT LUNCH NOTICE: Christmas schedule
The last Light Lunch of 2013 will be Friday 20th December. We will then take a two week break, returning to your inboxes on Friday 10th January.
CLINKS BLOG: TR So Far
In the fifth and final blog in the 'TR so Far' series, before the next stage of the competition, Nicola Drinkwater asks whether the reform programme will enable members of the community and those with personal experience of the Criminal Justice System (CJS) to be involved in the planning and delivery of services. Read the blog here
CLINKS MEMBERS OFFER: free sustainable funding consultancy available
Clinks’ Take Your Temperature is an easy to use tool to help you assess your organisations’ strengths and weaknesses in the context of the rapidly changing funding landscape, and to flag up areas that require development. Clinks Members who return the completed form (found at the end of Take Your Temperature) will be considered for one day’s free consultancy support from a voluntary sector specialist. Visits can be arranged for organisations in the South West or Northern England and surrounding areas, with telephone support available for those based elsewhere. Send your completed forms, and any questions, to luke.martin@clinks.org. The deadline for applications is Friday 20th December
CLINKS NEWS: how the arts can support desistance
'Re-Imagining Futures' is an Arts Alliance report that highlights the positive impact of creative opportunities for individuals in the Criminal Justice System. The report, written by academics who visited a number of arts projects in prison and the community, paints a fascinating picture of the work that the arts are doing to support long sentence prisoners, women and those not engaged with mainstream learning. One participant said: "music helped me open my mind, become more positive". Find out more and download the report here
CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: radio documentary
A documentary by Prison Reform Trust trustee Rex Bloomstein will air on Radio 4 tomorrow (Saturday 7th December, 8pm). The documentary revisits the stories of prisoners of conscience he profiled for a successive series of human rights appeals on BBC television 25 years ago. Find out more here
CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: funding awarded for restorative justice work
IARS has been awarded a grant from the European Union to carry out the two year project 'Restorative justice in cases of domestic violence: Best practice examples between increasing mutual understanding and awareness of specific protection needs'. Find out more here
CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: research fellowships deadline approaching
The Griffin's Society's Research Fellowships close to applications on 16th December. This year they are seeking research proposals in the area of ‘women and girls with multiple needs who are at risk of offending’. Find out more here
CLINKS MEMBER'S NEWS: Prison Councils
This month's Prison Service Journal features an article on Clinks Member User Voice's Prison Council Model that is currently operating in six prisons in England, Wales, and Ireland. The key theme emerging for prisoners, staff, and User Voice employees was that ‘the council is good for everyone’. Staff saw that prisoners were concerned most about basic issues which when addressed increased their level of wellbeing by alleviating frustrations and uncertainty. This in turn improved staff-prisoner relationships and along with it job satisfaction. An excellent article, available to download here
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: new probation centre of excellence to be created
A pioneering new organisation delivering professional expertise and promoting skills for those working to drive down reoffending in the community is to be set up, Chris Grayling announced this week. The Probation Institute will be an independent ‘centre of excellence’ for the rehabilitation sector. Once established, it will support professional development - building on the Probation Service’s considerable experience – for all those who are managing offenders in the community. The independent Institute will be a joint venture of probation staff and employer representative bodies. The Ministry of Justice is to provide up to £90,000 towards the set-up costs for the Institute and work is under way for it to be operational by March 2014. The Probation Chiefs Association and the Probation Association are also jointly contributing £60,000 to the set-up costs. Future funding will be from membership subscriptions. Read the press release here
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: local justice reinvestment pilots data
'Local Justice Reinvestment pilots: demand on the Criminal Justice System, year 2' is a recent MoJ statistical notice. The Local Justice Reinvestment pilots began in July 2011, and ran until June 2013 in six local areas: Croydon, Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark and Greater Manchester. The aim was to give participating local areas a financial incentive to reduce the overall demand on the Criminal Justice System in the pilot area by working together more effectively at the local level. Demand was measured using an agreed set of metrics together with an agreed price for each metric. The metrics were multiplied by the price list to give the overall measure of demand. This report presents the demand metrics data for year 2 of the pilots (1st July 2012 – 30th June 2013). Download it here
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: factors affecting reoffending
The Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) survey looked at risk factors before prison, experiences of prison, and outcomes on release amongst a sub-sample of SPCR which was matched to the Police National Computer (PNC). Associations between these factors and proven re-offending one and two years after release from prison were identified. These included pre-custody factors such as: employment and accommodation status; drug use; and criminal history. They also included experiences of prison: being worried/confused; attending paid work; prison punishments; contact with family; and prison interventions. Download all the data here
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: debut crimes and predicting future offending
'The start of a criminal career: does debut offence predict future offending?' is a new Home Office report that looks at the relationship between an offender’s debut offence and their future offending, using data from the Police National Computer. The study considers whether the type of crime committed as a first offence predicts chronic or serious offending and also looks at how the numbers and types of first offences have changed over time. The analysis shows that offenders who committed robbery, burglary or vehicle theft as their debut offence in 2001 were most likely to become chronic offenders and that this small group were responsible for a disproportionate amount of re-offences by the cohort. Find out more here
CLINKS MEMBER'S EVENT: Gypsies and Travellers in the CJS
'Improving outcomes for offenders from the Gypsy and Traveller communities' is a BTEG event [21st January, London, free] focused on how we can improve outcomes for offenders from the Traveller communities. Travellers make up around 0.5% of the population of the UK but around 5% of the male prison population. To attend, email Emma@gypsy-traveller.org
NON-MEMBERS' EVENTS & TRAINING
- 'Changing Minds: Mental Health in Black & Minority Ethnic Communities' | 15th April 2014, Manchester, from £50 | Bookings by email
PUBLICATION: inspection of adult offending work in Northumbria
The report from an inspection of adult offending work in Northumbria was published last week. The case sample for this inspection was drawn from those cases managed by Northumbria Probation Trust. The inspection team found the overall standard of work within the Trust was high. People who had offended were encouraged to engage with their sentences and the work generally took their diverse needs into account. Sentences were being delivered as intended and the range and delivery of interventions were good. Many individuals had made progress against the factors linked to their offending. Download it here
RESOURCE: guide to completing DBS forms
The Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) has published a new powerpoint e-guide to completing the DBS application form. The e-guide demonstrates how to complete the application form accurately and fully, so avoiding rejections and ultimately unnecessary delays. Feedback is vital and at the end of the e-guide you have the option to complete a short questionnaire. Find out more here
RESOURCE: magazine created by ex-offenders
Insider Access is a free monthly interactive digital magazine created and edited by ex-offenders. The latest version is now online and features include: Offender Poetry and Art; Living with Lions - work experience in a lion reserve; Who's this woman: Yulia Tymoshenko; and Roma in Slovakia. View it online here
SURVEY: for young black men in London
Can you help BTEG to find young black men in London who will take a quick on-line survey to tell them about their experiences of employment, unemployment and job searching? They are trying to reach as many people as possible who are: young (aged 16 to 24), Black (African, Caribbean or mixed heritage), male, and living in London. The survey only takes about 5 minutes to complete and BTEG are offering a prize of £100 to every 100th young black man who fills it in before 20th December 2013. Take part here
CLINKS MEMBER'S VACANCIES
Member’s vacancies this week include: a Young Woman’s Outreach Support Worker with New Dawn New Day [Leicester], Outreach Workers [South Wales], an Administrator & an IT Assistant [Abergavenny] with Gibran, an Early Intervention Worker with Haringey Women’s Forum [London], a Trustee at Women’s Breakout [London], a Community Sports Coach with Nacro [Broxborne], a Housing Caseworker and a Through the Gates Caseworker with St Giles Trust [HMP Wandsworth & HMP Brixton] and a Prison Recovery Co-ordinator with Lifeline Project Ltd [HMYOI Isis, London]. For more information about these vacancies and many more, click here
TIPS OF THE WEEK
- Tip of the week I: Get 50% off over 7,000 restaurants for the next three months with this totally free, no obligation Taste Card. Details
- Tip of the week II: Stock up for Christmas with 12 bottles of wine for £40. Details
- Tip of the week III: Clarks have got a 50% sale online and in-store. Details
EXTRA INFORMATION
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