Introduction
Clinks' work has a significant focus on government policy, both at a national and local level, with two aims:
• To keep members informed about, and engaged in, the development of criminal justice policy
• To ensure that the voluntary sector’s role, knowledge and expertise in reducing reoffending is reflected in policy decisions.
Our members
Our policy messages are based on what voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system tell us. The voluntary sector’s extensive knowledge and experience informs the basis of all our policy positions.
In turn, the intelligence we gather from the sector is based on what they observe and what the people they support tell them about how policy and practice affects their lives.
Many of our members use this knowledge and intelligence to inform their own policy influencing activity. We work with the sector to support them to do this, and in partnership with them to strengthen their voice.
If you would like to contribute to our work to influence the government look out for our consultation events and calls for evidence in our Light Lunch ebulletin.
Clinks thinks
Our work to inform public policy is underpinned by a set of core principles that reflect key issues raised by our members and the main issues for which Clinks advocates for change.
Clinks thinks all sectors working in criminal justice should:
- Value the voluntary sector both as a designer and provider of services.
- Strengthen the sector's voice, allowing it to speak freely on behalf of the people it supports and communities.
- Put people at the heart of services - policy and practice should be person-centred and acknowledge the need for long-term support.
- Reduce the prison population through early intervention, prevention, diversion and alternatives to custody.
- Implement a distinct approach for women, including increased use of gender specific community services and investment in specialist voluntary organisations.
- Tackle racism and discrimination by ensuring that the needs of black, Asian and minority ethnic people are met. The government should have a comprehensive strategy that gives race equality a central place in criminal justice policy making.
- Prevent the imprisonment of children - the youth justice system should remain focused on reducing the use of youth custody and must produce a strategy to address why its current approach has failed black, Asian and minority ethnic young people.
- Involve people with lived experience throughout the criminal justice system to inform policy and practice.
- Join up services to respond to multiple needs using learning from the Making Every Adult Matter Coalition.
- Support healthy relationships through a clear government strategy for consistent and specialist services for adults and children in contact with the criminal justice system.
- Improve health and wellbeing by working across the health and justice systems to prioritise health and wellbeing and continuity of care.
- Champion volunteering - government agencies should work with the voluntary sector to create a culture and operating environment that encourages and supports volunteers.
- Encourage creativity and inspiration by ensuring access to arts activities for people involved in the criminal justice system.
- Recognise the voluntary sector working in criminal justice as a vital resource to support the criminal justice system's response to Covid-19.
What Clinks is doing
State of the sector 2022
Our latest State of the sector report explores the landscape of the sector as it emerged from the height of the pandemic and continued operating in an increasingly challenging operational environment.
This is the ninth year that Clinks has carried out research into how criminal justice voluntary organisations are faring. This report reflects the views of organisations in the sector and provides a snapshot of the 2021/22 financial year.
Influencing government
We have strong relationships with government. This allows us to represent the views of voluntary organisations at a senior level. This relationship enables us to act as a critical friend to the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, as well as other departments whose policy has an impact on the lives of people in the criminal justice system. This includes Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Ministry of Health and Department for Work and Pensions.
To ensure we represent the voluntary sector effectively, we regularly consult our members and others by convening workshops, roundtables and conferences and through online calls for evidence.
We communicate our findings to key decision makers through informal and formal meetings, including evidence to parliamentary select committees, written responses to government consultations and independent policy reports.
Stronger voice project
Stronger voice was a three-year project funded by the Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales that ran between 2020-23. The project strengthened the voice and influence of the voluntary sector working in criminal justice through a programme of information, collaboration, training and capacity building.
You can still utilise Stronger voice resources to find, use and strengthen your voice and influence change in the criminal justice system. Take a look at our resources below, and if you have any questions or want to discuss developing your influencing work, please do get in touch with Olivia Dehnavi.
Access free Stronger voice resources
Stronger voice ran a series of expert sessions looking at different influencing strategies that organisations have used to change criminal justice policy. We know that people learn differently and will have different pressures on your time and resources. We have therefore made available both the recordings from each session alongside a written case study. We hope these case studies will inspire new ways of working, give you interesting examples to develop your approach from, and solidify your current knowledge and work. You can also find all the recordings on our Stronger voice project YouTube playlist and all Stronger voice case studies on our publications page.
recording | case study
recording | case study
recording | case study
recording | case study
recording | case study
recording | case study
recording | case study
recording | case study
recording | case study
Informing the sector
The policy landscape can change rapidly, making it difficult to keep abreast of everything that is taking place.
Our briefings support our members to digest significant developments quickly, indicate potential implications for the sector and assist in planning organisational responses.
Members also receive our monthly Policy briefing ebulletin, which includes important news and developments relating to policy affecting the voluntary sector and the criminal justice system as a whole, key research publications and interesting blogs.
Showing your impact
Clinks is hosting a tool which aims to help voluntary organisations working in the criminal justice system to show their impact. The tool has been designed and built by Optimity Advisors with support from The Monument Trust. You can use the tool to generate a business case - simply answer a series of questions about your service or intervention, and it will generate a business case report which you can save as a PDF. It also has guidance and key considerations on how to show impact. Click here to get started.
Advising the Ministry of Justice
Clinks chairs and provides the secretariat for the voluntary sector advisory group to the Ministry of Justice.
The Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group (RR3) provides the key interface between the voluntary sector and the Ministry of Justice, in order to increase mutual understanding and build a strong and effective partnership. The group is made up of senior experts from the voluntary sector and meets quarterly with civil servants to provide guidance and feedback on MoJ policy developments. We’ve written a guide to the RR3, which gives more detail, its membership and key achievements. You can read the full terms of reference here.
To see the members of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group, click here.
If you would like to discuss any specific areas of the RR3’s work, or how you can engage with the group’s activities, please contact Bronte Jack.
Keep informed
We publish the meeting notes of all RR3 meetings. You can also stay up-to-date with the activity of the RR3 by looking out for notes and announcements in Clinks’ Light Lunch ebulletin and monthly policy briefings. Click here to browse all of the RR3's publications.
Advisory group members
Visit our Meet the team page to see the members of the Reducing Reoffending Third Sector Advisory Group.
Join the advisory group
News about recruitment to the RR3 and to its Special Interest Groups will be posted on Clinks’ Jobs board.
RR3 Special Interest Groups
We develop Special Interest Groups (SIGs) to advise on specific areas of policy and practice as the need arises.
Special Interest Group on Accommodation - March 2023 - March 2024
This SIG has been convened to explore the barriers to accessing accommodation faced by people leaving prison or people with criminal records. It follows on from a previous focus on this policy area, through the 2018 Special Interest Group on Accommodation (see the final paper from that group, here).
This group will seek to build an evidence base testifying to the following barriers in accessing accommodation:
- Problems accessing temporary accommodation, suitable settled accommodation via homeless legislation or accessing a suitable social tenancy – including supply allocations and the benefit cap
- Problems accessing the private rented sector (PRS), including Local Housing Allowance (LHA), guarantors, upfront costs and discrimination
- Problems accessing adequate housing-related support – housing provided alongside, supervision or care to help people to live as independently as possible in the community.
Please see the group’s terms of reference, here.
Special Interest Group on Employment - March 2023 - March 2024
This SIG is working to develop solutions designed to boost the employment outcomes of people leaving prison, alongside exploring how to ensure that education provision and work in prisons are supporting people to thrive on their release into the community.
The group is focusing on (but is not limited to) the following:
- Prison workshops
- Prison pay
- Employer engagement
- Addressing complex needs
- Service coordination
Please see the group’s terms of reference, here.
Special Interest Group on Commissioning - March 2023 - March 2024
This SIG has been brought together to focus on the re-tendering of the next generation of commissioned rehabilitative services (CRS) – known as core services.
The group is focusing on the following areas:
- People-centred and outcome-driven services
- Effective multi-agency delivery, access to data and information, and efficiency of processes
- Building a robust supply chain incorporating the expertise of smaller, specialist organisations.
Please see the group’s terms of reference, here.
Special Interest Group on Staffing - December 2023 - March 2024
This SIG has been convened to explore the current staffing issues within the criminal justice system – across prison and probation services and the voluntary sector – and to develop the solutions needed to mitigate them.
The group is focusing on the following areas:
- Recruitment and retention within both statutory organisations and the voluntary sector
- Reducing burnout within the existing workforce
- Exploring reward and incentive schemes for staff
- Developing career pathways across the system
- Encouraging and developing careers for people with lived experience
- Understanding and offering solutions to ongoing vetting challenges
The group's terms of reference will be available shortly.
Women’s networking forum
The women’s quarterly networking forums are hosted in partnership with Agenda. They provide support, information and networking opportunities to those working with women in contact with the criminal justice system.
Lisa Dando, women’s specialist on the RR3 and Chief Executive at Brighton Women’s Centre, attends the women’s networking forum and uses the intelligence she gathers to feedback key issues raised by the women’s sector to national government at RR3 meetings.
What's new
Blogs
State of the Sector 2023 - key trends in the voluntary sector
Publications
Imposition of community and custodial sentences guideline – revised: consultation
Latest on Twitter
Clinks @clinks_tweets · 4 months
Events
Related publications
RR3 Special Interest Group on Accommodation 2023-24: Report 1
State of the Sector 2023 | Executive Summary
Related blogs
Influencing criminal justice policy in a pandemic - an update from our policy team
