Clinks Members’ Policy Briefing | November 2015
In this month's edition...[[{"fid":"2087","view_mode":"default","fields":{"format":"default","field_file_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":"Policy News","field_file_image_title_text[und][0][value]":"Policy News"},"type":"media","link_text":null,"attributes":{"alt":"Policy News","title":"Policy News","height":"51","width":"600","class":"media-element file-default"}}]]
Message from Clinks' new Chief Executive Officer Anne Fox Clinks new chief executive Anne Fox was welcomed into post on 19th October 2015 and gave this message to members: "My first week at Clinks has been a really busy one - reflecting on what Clinks does and needs to do and the membership. The sector is vibrant, diverse, active and involved in so many areas of work on behalf of offenders and their families. I’ve come from another coalition of voluntary sector organisations at a time of change and reform which presents both opportunities and challenges to the sector. I look forward to using what I’ve learned and know in working with the sector and wider partners so that together we can achieve more than we ever would alone – because what we can do together is important to so many people and families’ life chances. To those I’ve already met, thank you for the warm welcome. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the weeks, months and years ahead.”
The voluntary sector and criminal justice This new book is edited by Anthea Hucklesby and Mary Corcoran and contains a chapter co-authored by Clinks’ staff entitled 'Paved with good intentions: the way ahead for voluntary, community and social enterprise sector organisations.' The book brings together leading experts to provide critical reflections and cutting edge research on the contemporary features of voluntary sector work in criminal justice.
Secretary of State for Justice’s speech at the Howard League for Penal Reform AGM This summary of tweets from a speech Michael Gove gave to the Howard League for Penal Reform Annual General Meeting highlights his assertion that rehabilitation is the most important task for prisons and that he wishes to see prison numbers fall over time.
Publication of written submissions to the Justice Select Committee inquiry on young adults All written submissions to the inquiry have now been published and the Transitions to Adulthood Alliance have collated this summary of the key points. In a major development for the young adult agenda, the Ministry of Justice has stated in their submission that all young adults (aged 18-24) will receive mandatory maturity assessments as part of Pre-Sentence Reports (PSRs) to inform sentencing decisions. This has been a key policy position of the Transition to Adulthood Alliance, of which Clinks is a founding member, and we are very encouraged by this development. Clinks submitted evidence to the select committee which you can read here.
Work and Pensions Select Committee report into the effectiveness of current welfare-to- work provision As a member of the Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) Coalition, Clinks contributed to the MEAM response to the Work and Pensions Committee’s call for evidence and made recommendations as to what can be done to improve welfare to-work provision for people experiencing multiple and complex needs. The Committee have now published their report and we are pleased to see that they have acknowledged a number of the key points that we raised in our submission. Jonathon Graham, a member of the embedded policy team who deliver the MEAM Voices from the Frontline project has written a blog about the report that you can access here.
Consultation on expectations for police custody HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) have been leading a review of the expectations for police custody over the last year and have: extended the scope of the custody inspections to the first point of contact; included expectations of diversion from custody for children and vulnerable adults wherever possible; strengthened the focus on vulnerability and risk throughout; and incorporated expectations flowing from the public sector equality duty under the Equality Act 2010. This consultation is seeking views on these changes. The deadline for submissions is the 1st December 2015.
Multiple and complex needs
Evaluation of the impact of a coordinated approach to supporting adults with multiple and complex needs in Sunderland This evaluation undertook a snapshot of the cost of four clients on services across Sunderland, 12 months prior to the Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM)'s intervention, and again after 12 months coordination. There were cost savings of £44,505 within criminal justice and £52,980 within health.
Criminal Justice System
Discussing alternatives to criminal justice Published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies this report details a collection of essays from criminal justice experts discussing what they would build in place of criminal justice to deal with the social harms that affect society. Essay titles include: ‘schools instead of prisons’; ‘stronger communities’; and ‘a movement to engage men in preventing violence against women and girls’.
Guide to judicial review reforms: an introduction to the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, Part 4 Published by JUSTICE in collaboration with The Bingham Centre for the Rule of Law and The Public Law Project, this report provides an introduction to the latest changes to judicial review practice and procedure and sets the latest changes from parliament in their constitutional context.
Police and crime commissioners (PCCs): spotlight on women's offending This third briefing in Revolving Doors Agency’s ‘PCC Spotlight’ series, highlights promising areas where PCCs are working with local partners to champion a tailored approach to improve responses for women involved in offending.
NPS and CRC performance management information Since the introduction of the Offender Rehabilitation Act, the National Probation Service and Community Rehabilitation Companies have been monitored against new performance frameworks. The first management information results against these have now been published by the National Offender Management Service.
Safety in custody quarterly bulletin: June 2015 This bulletin published by the Ministry of Justice and National Offender Management Service includes statistics on deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales. The statistics show that there were 95 self-inflicted deaths in prison last year, compared to 64 in 2013. Reported incidents of self-harm have risen, with an increase of 4,929 incidents or 21% in the 12 months to June 2015, compared to the same period of time in 2014.
A follow up inspection of Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary have published a joint follow-up inspection of MAPPA, which are designed to protect the public, including previous victims of crime, from serious harm by people who have previously committed sexual and violent offences, and provide a forum for different agencies, both within and outside the Criminal Justice System, to come together. The inspection found that there had been measurable improvement in the quality of work undertaken with MAPPA offenders managed at level 2 and 3 compared with 2011. However, there was still room for improvement in risk management plans.
Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) annual reports 2014 to 2015 Each MAPPA area (which are coterminous with police force areas) has published their annual report.
Youth justice
Briefing on children and custodial sentences for a second knife offence The Standing Committee for Youth Justice has published a briefing for Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) on how children are affected by the new law which came into force in July, which creates a presumption that courts will impose a custodial sentence for a second knife offence – including possession. There has been some confusion about how this new law applies to children, which this briefing seeks to clarify; by explaining exactly what the new law says, including the discretion it gives courts not to apply a custodial sentence to children. It goes on to explain what the new law means in practice, including what YOTs may want to include in their pre-sentence reports to inform the court’s decision on whether to pass a custodial sentence when a child is convicted of a second knife offence.
Guidance on speech, language and communication needs in the youth justice system This Youth Justice Board publication provides guidance for practitioners and managers in youth offending teams (YOT) and secure accommodation for young people on how to work with young people with speech, language and communication needs.
Youth Justice Board for England and Wales Strategic Plan 2015-18 Published by the Youth Justice Board, the strategic plan outlines how it will support the youth justice system to continue to work effectively with children and young people who have offended or are at risk of offending.
The state of youth justice 2015: An overview of trends and developments Published by the National Association for Youth Justice this briefing analyses data, policy and developments in youth justice in England and Wales over the last year. It includes articles such as shrinking youth justice; the extent of youth crime; understanding recent patterns of detected youth crime; the nature of youth offending; and keeping children out of the system.
Mental health
An animated guide to mental health The King's Fund has produced an animated alternative guide to mental health services in the UK. The animation explores the range of services available, highlighting key issues in mental health provision.
Briefing on personality disorder and complex needs This briefing is the third and final paper published by Centre for Mental Health on behalf of the independent Bradley Commission, reviewing progress in the implementation of the 2009 Bradley Report. It explores the support people with personality disorders get in the Criminal Justice System and highlights examples of good and promising practice across the country.
Drugs and alcohol
Tackling the issue of new psychoactive drugs in prisons This briefing from RAPt summarises the experiences of RAPt staff dealing with so-called 'legal highs' in prison. It explains RAPt's emerging strategies for minimising the impact that these new markets and patterns of consumption have, both on prison regimes and the welfare of staff and prisoners.
HM Inspectorate of Prisons has submitted evidence to the Home Affairs Committee’s inquiry into psychoactive substances The submission by HM Inspectorate of Prisons highlights a rapid increase in the availability of new psychoactive substances, leading to problems of debt and violence, with research so far suggesting that synthetic cannabinoids were identified as a concern in 37% of men’s prisons inspected in 2013-14 and 64% in 2014-15. The submission gives the Inspectorate's views on which groups will be particularly affected by a ban on new psychoactive substances, and what steps the government can take to educate these groups about the dangers. Read the submission here
Five new things the Justice Data Lab can tell you about your service In this blog Jess Mullen, Policy Manager at Clinks gives an update on the information that the Ministry of Justice Data Lab can provide, as outlined during an event help by NPC in September. The changes include: new measures in addition to the reoffending; breaking down the analysis by region or prison type; more details on the characteristics of individuals in the analysis; combining analysis for similar services; and opportunities to the use data alongside and as part of other evaluation work.
The unique contribution of volunteers in prison In this blog written by Ben Jarman, who is coordinating ‘Valuing volunteering', a new project managed by Clinks and funded by the Ministry of Justice, gives his thoughts on what makes for 'good' volunteering in prison. You can find out more information about the project here.
Creating new narratives In this guest blog for the National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice, Kate McCoy from Safe Ground talks about a project they have been running in women's prisons to create new narratives.
Finnish prison go online Nina Champion, Head of Policy at Prisoners' Education Trust blogs about Finland's approach to technology, where earlier this year prisoners were given access to the internet.
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