In this month's edition...
Clinks CEO, Anne Fox, attended a meeting of the cross-government commissioning taskforce, which is made up of six departments and chaired by the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise Crown Representative from the Crown Commercial Services. Anne presented on the commissioning findings of our State of the sector 2022 report, to share insights from the sector as to what changes could be made to improve commissioning of voluntary organisations.
As part of Clinks’ Stronger Voice project, the final round of expert seminars was held in February. These included sessions exploring anti-racism in action, influencing local authorities on accommodation, and engaging with officials. Recordings from all of these sessions, along with written case studies, will be published on the Clinks website in due course. Recordings and case studies from the previous expert seminars can also be found on our website.
Clinks has published the latest review in its evidence library. No place for old men provides an in-depth look at the issues and challenges of the aging prison population. Written by Louise Ridley, Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Northumbria University, it explores the current evidence base and covers a number of key issues including the disproportionate growth in the number of older people in prison. Clinks’ online evidence library is co-ordinated by Russell Webster on behalf of Clinks.
Clinks has determined its three core projects for next year as part of the Health and Wellbeing Alliance. The first is a project exploring inequalities in mental and physical healthcare for racially minoritised men in the criminal justice system. The second focusses on health and wellbeing for older people in the criminal justice system. The third project will look at social prescribing for people in and leaving prison. If you are interested in being involved in this work, please contact Rachel Tynan, Influence and Policy Manager, or Olivia Dehnavi, Senior Policy Officer. You can keep up to date on Clinks’ work in this area, and with relevant health and justice information, by signing up to our monthly Health and Justice Bulletin.
Government response to the Justice Committee’s report on Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences | Following the Justice Committee’s report on IPP sentences in September 2022, the government has now responded. The government rejected the Committee’s key recommendation that legislation should be brought forward to resentence all people still subject to an IPP sentence, because it argues resentencing would create an “unacceptable risk of serious harm to the public” as people would be released without assessment by the Parole Board. The government also rejected the Committee’s recommendation to reduce the qualifying licence period from 10 years to five, arguing this period is important in ensuring the public remain protected. It noted the supervisory element of IPP licences can be suspended after five years of continuous good behaviour in the community so people can live in the community without onerous conditions.
Government action plan on thematic inspection report on the experiences of Black and Mixed Heritage boys in the youth justice system | Following the HM Inspectorate of Probation thematic inspection on the experiences of Black and Mixed Heritage boys in the youth justice system, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has published its action plan. This covers 18 recommendations, with the MoJ either accepting or partially accepting them all. This includes partially accepting the recommendation that the Youth Justice Board (YJB) should publish data to show how well individual youth offending services are addressing disproportionality. It was accepted that the Home Office should publish local and national data on stop and search statistics, broken down by gender and age as well as ethnicity, and “release under investigation” statistics including outcomes broken down by gender, age and ethnicity.
Prison population projections: 2022 to 2027 | The Ministry of Justice has published its latest prison population projections, covering 2022 to 2027. This forecasts the prison population is expected to increase, with a central estimate of 94,400 people in prison by March 2025, and a range of 93,100 to 106,300 by March 2027. This projected increase is based on factors including the increase in police officer numbers which could increase charge volumes and so demand for prison places, and changes in sentencing policy to keep more people convicted of serious offences for longer periods. The publication also notes there is considerable uncertainty around the central projection, as it is unclear how courts will recover from pandemic backlogs, the impact of additional police officers, and differences in assumptions on other factors like future policy changes.
New incentivised substance free living units | The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) issued a press release to highlight the work of its new Incentivised Substance Free Living Units, which are now operational in 45 prisons across England and Wales. The MoJ notes that people with convictions who receive treatment to stop using substances are up to 19 percentage points less likely to reoffend. The MoJ said the new wings will provide places where people are able to stop using substances, as opposed to “languishing on drug substitutes like methadone” which it argues can hinder rehabilitation. The release also points to investment in up to 18 new drug recovery wings where people in prison can receive up to six months of intensive abstinence-based treatment to stop using methadone or other drugs.
Characteristics of prolific offenders 2000 to 2021 | The Ministry of Justice has published an ad hoc statistics release exploring the characteristics of “prolific offenders”. This considers an adult prolific offender to be someone who if on their last appearance in the criminal justice system they were aged 21 or older, had a total of 16 or more previous convictions or cautions, and had eight or more previous convictions or cautions when aged 21 or older. The research also considers “juvenile prolific offenders” and “young adult prolific offenders”. The key points include that “prolific offenders” make up roughly one tenth of the overall “offender cohort”, but they are responsible for nearly half of all sentencing occasions. In addition, theft offences were the most common types of offence.
Government action plan following thematic inspection of education, training, and employment (ETE) services in youth offending teams (YOTs) in England and Wales | The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published its action plan in response to the HM Inspectorate of Probation, Ofsted, and Estyn’s joint inspection of ETE services in YOTs. This covers seven recommendations of which five are accepted and two partially accepted. It was accepted that YOT management boards should ensure that all children have a comprehensive ETE assessment, and that they should establish a greater range of occupational training opportunities for those children beyond compulsory school age. It was partially accepted that YOT management boards should develop ambitious aims for ETE work in the YOT, including the achievement of Level 2 English and Maths by every child. The MoJ noted achieving of Level 2 is not appropriate for every child at every stage in the YOT journey.
Latest criminal justice statistics published | The Ministry of Justice published statistics covering people in the criminal justice system, safety in custody and in the children and young people’s secure estate (CYPSE), and proven reoffending. There were 81,806 people in prison on 31 December 2022, and 240,674 people on probation. There were 301 deaths in custody in the year to December 2022, a 19% decrease on last year. The number of self-harm incidents in prison rose 5% in the year to September 2022, with the rate of self-harm incidents per 1,000 people increasing 16% in female establishments and decreasing 1% in male establishments. The annualised rate of self-harm per 100 children in the CYPSE rose 46% in the quarter to September 2022, compared to the same quarter last year. The proven reoffending rate for the October to December 2020 cohort was 24.3%.
New measures to protect women and girls from perpetrators of domestic abuse | The government has announced a new set of measures to protect women and girls from harassment, aggression and violence, and a focus on preventing domestic abuse before it takes place. The new measures include changing the law to ensure people convicted of controlling and coercive behaviour and sentenced to 12 months or more in prison or a suspended sentence are automatically eligible for multi-agency public protection arrangements. In addition, new civil orders will be piloted in to provide flexible, longer-term protection for victims. These orders will allow courts to impose requirements including attendance on a perpetrator programme, electronic monitoring, and notifying the police of a name or address change. The Ask for ANI codeword scheme will also be piloted in 18 jobcentres, and jobs and benefits offices. Anyone who is suffering from or fearful of domestic abuse can ask for ANI, and they will be guided to a safe and private space and offered support.
Probation workforce strategy 2023 to 2025 | HM Prison and Probation Service published its probation workforce strategy, which aims to create a shared vision for the future direction of its workforce. More detailed action plans at both a regional and national level will then implement the strategy. The strategy sets out five objectives: promoting wellbeing for everyone; attracting and retaining talented people; support and develop its people; create a more diverse workplace where everyone feels included; and fostering competent leaders who inspire and empower others. To track whether these objectives are met, the strategy also sets out four long-term benefits that will be felt by the workforce. As the Probation Workforce Programme comes to a close in 2025, plans for continuing to embed long-term benefits into “business as usual” will be communicated.
Annual strategic steer for the Youth Justice Board | The Minister for Prisons and Probation, Damian Hinds MP, has written to the Chair of the Youth Justice Board (YJB) to provide his annual strategic steer. In this, the Minister notes the over-representation of racially minoritised children in the youth justice system and says the board must strive to eliminate racial bias. Outside the secure estate, the Minister said the key specialist frontline interaction with children in contact with, or at risk of contact with, the youth justice system is through Youth Offending Teams (YOTs). It is here he would like the YJB to focus, ensuring that YOTs are operating as effectively as possible in pursuit of three common objectives he has identified, with him keen for the YJB to produce a single clear performance framework for YOTs.
National partnership agreement for employment and welfare support in custody and the community: 2023 to 2026 | The Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service, and the Department for Work and Pensions have published a new partnership agreement setting out the basis of a shared understanding of, and commitment to, the way in which partners work together in England and Wales. It covers the national working arrangements between the departments and agency in both custody and the community. It specifies how they work together across someone’s journey from custody to the community. Local partnerships will need to reflect the variation in local set up in different areas and will be a matter for prisons and jobcentre districts in collaboration with the Probation Service and Commissioned Rehabilitative Service Providers in the area into which people are released from prison.
New Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody (IAPDC) appointed | The government has announced that Lynn Emslie has been appointed as the new Chair of the IAPDC, beginning on 27 February 2023. The IAPDC is a source of expert advice to Ministers, departments, and agencies with the central aim of preventing deaths in custody. Ms Emslie’s career covers acute healthcare, mental health, health in criminal justice, and local authority social services. Amongst other things, she worked strategically with the Department of Health and the NHS to inform policy, linking academic research into service development, in the voluntary and private sectors. She also supported the implementation of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT). Ms Emslie has been a Trustee at Nacro since 2017 and is the Chair of Arc, a homelessness charity local to Somerset.
Prisons
What people in prison think about the language used to describe them | An article in the Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, written by Lili Bidwell and Laura Polley, sets out an investigation of how people in prison feel about the language used to describe them and how it affected them. By conducting semi-structured interviews with 12 people serving a custodial sentence in a male, Category B establishment in England, the researchers found language that was more directly related to an individual’s identity, like “prisoner” compared to “cell”, was most meaningful. Almost every participant reflected on the stigmatising effect of certain language, such as “offender” or “feeding”, and it was felt this led members of the community to negatively judge people in prison. Participant responses said this language was so detrimental because it generalises people and does not allow an individual to explain their personal circumstances.
What families say about prison healthcare | Pact has published a report that sets out families’ insights into the impact of the criminal justice system on health and wellbeing and highlights the role they play in supporting people in prison. Based on their findings, Pact has made a number of calls to action. These include calling for families’ knowledge and expertise to be recognised, valued and acted upon in the pursuit of better health outcomes and the new National Regime Model being developed in line with Lord Farmer’s recommendation that family and significant other involvement be integral to all aspects of prison delivery. Pact also recommends the creation of a “single point of contact” for families within justice health care systems to inform and empower family and significant other engagement in patient health and wellbeing.
Improving prisoner death investigations and promoting change in prisons | The University of Nottingham has published a report authored by Dr Sharon Shalev, independent researcher at SolitaryConfinement.org, with input from Dr Philippa Tomczak at the University of Nottingham. The paper notes that investigations of deaths in custody by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) could be a valuable catalyst for changes that improve prison safety, but the sustained high number of self-inflicted deaths in prison in England and Wales suggest this is not happening. The paper makes several recommendations to the PPO, including that it requires new terms of reference that transparently, accurately, and accessibly define the PPO’s remit and activities, which would be particularly useful for coroners, bereaved families, and prison staff. It also recommends the PPO publishes its methodology for investigating deaths in custody.
The wellbeing of young men and young Black men in prison | Spark Inside has worked with the Being Well Being Equal Alliance to publish a new report which calls for immediate action and prioritisation of the wellbeing of young men and young Black men aged 18 to 25 in prison. The report sets out fourteen calls to action to address the issues it sets out. These include HM Prison and Probation Service seeking to further understand whether existing services and interventions meet the distinct needs of young men, and particularly young Black men. It also calls for prison establishments to draw on the knowledge, expertise, and innovation of the voluntary sector to develop the skills and approaches to effectively empower young men to have a voice in the policy and practice that affects them.
Probation
Growth and the core conditions of transformative change | HM Inspectorate of Probation has published the latest report in its Academic Insights Series. The report introduces the ideas and practices of Growth work, providing an overview of how cultural change in the criminal justice system can contribute to the development of people who commit offences. It explains Growth work focusses on embracing a whole system, research-informed approach, which creates opportunities to co-produce solutions “with those who live and breathe the penal landscape”. The report concludes that, to enable a long-term transformative culture, a collective perspective in which people matter needs to be adopted by all those within the system. A whole systems approach and working together builds trust and understanding that can collectively support sustainable solutions to overcome existing challenges.
Youth Justice
UK implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC): civil society alternative report | The Children’s Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) has published its civil society alternative report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which has been endorsed by 97 children’s charities across England. The report is part of the UK’s examination under the UNCRC and sets out civil society’s assessment of how well the UK is respecting children’s rights. On children in the criminal justice system, the report notes they are often extremely vulnerable but treated separately to other vulnerable children. This is exacerbated by responsibility for youth justice sitting with the Home Office and Ministry of Justice. The report recommends legislation is amended so the child’s best interests is a primary consideration on criminal proceedings against children. The report also notes that despite repeated calls from the UN Committee and parliamentarians, the age of criminal responsibility remains extremely low at just 10 years old.
Prevention and diversion project | The Youth Justice Board has published the final report of its prevention and diversion project. It was established to support the Probation Service to consider a review of its future youth justice services funding formula and how prevention and diversion work might be accounted for in their allocations to youth justice services. The report offers three options for revision of the Probation Service funding formula. It recommends the third option which looks to utilise or develop a funding formula that is not exclusively based on youth justice service caseloads and is instead based on known drivers of offending by children, such as population and deprivation rates, to allocate resources to youth justice services. It argues this approach would lead to a more equitable allocation of funding.
Support for vulnerable adolescents | The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a report on vulnerable adolescents, including those vulnerable to contact with the criminal justice system. PAC’s conclusions include that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and Home Office lack curiosity about the increase in proportion of racially minoritised children in youth custody and appear to have no current plan to address this. The Committee notes the MoJ says there are “a range of complex ‘societal factors’ at play”, while acknowledging that some interventions may be introducing disparity. PAC recommends the MoJ and Home Office report back in six months on their understanding of “what works”, what action they will take to understand why racially minoritised children make up over half of children in custody, and this understanding will be used to address the issue.
Race
Race, death, and British policing | INQUEST has published a new report that investigates the processes, procedures, and evidence base of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and the coronial system to examine how accountability for racism is delivered. INQUEST said they found a system which works against delivering accountability, that appeared blind to evidence, and where racial discrimination was not addressed meaningfully. The report found that data not previously made public shows Black people are more than seven times more likely to die than non-racially minoritised people following the use of restraint by police. In addition, the report found no death of a Black person following police custody or contact has led to officers being disciplined for racism at a conduct or criminal level.
Women
Understanding women’s experience of long-term imprisonment | The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) has published its second Invisible Women briefing. It notes the women involved in this work are advocating for more gender-specific provision for women serving long sentences, arguing the distinct pains of long-term imprisonment are not fully understood by prison staff, governors, and the wider prison system. PRT explain that most issues the women highlighted could be improved by more staff training in issues relating to women serving long sentences. The women would welcome the opportunity to be involved in designing how this training might look. PRT make a number of recommendations including that prisons should provide meaningful opportunities for women further along their sentence to support those entering custody, such as through a properly implemented peer support system.
Civil society
Community life survey 2021-22 | This nationally representative annual survey of people aged 16 and over in England aims to track the latest trends and developments across areas key to encouraging social action and empowering communities. The most recent survey, conducted between October 2021 and September 2022, found that participation in formal volunteering at least once a month remained about the same, with 16% of people reporting taking part. However, the proportion of people engaging in formal volunteering at least once a year declined three percentage points to 27%, the lowest rate recorded by the survey. In 2021-22, 66% of respondents said they had given money to charity in the last four weeks, a rise of three percentage points on the previous year, but still nine points below 2019-20.
Justice Committee calls for greater support for people sent to prison on remand | Clinks’ Senior Policy Officer, Olivia Dehnavi, has written a blog about the Justice Committee’s report on the use of adult custodial remand, to which Clinks submitted evidence. She explores Clinks’ recommendations alongside those of Committee. The Committee reflected Clinks’ concerns that little is known about people on remand, and it calls for more data to be collected and published on remand defendants, particularly around reasons for refusing bail and demographic information, including vulnerabilities and protected characteristics. The blog also notes voluntary organisations, even if not specifically funded to work with unsentenced populations, do their best to provide services to people on remand. The Committee’s other recommendations include making greater use of community alternatives to custodial remand and an independent review of the legislation governing custodial remand.
The fallacy of reoffending rates | Danny Shaw has written a blog challenging recent claims by ministers and officials that the decline in the proven reoffending rate in England and Wales over the past decade shows the success of the investment and work in reducing reoffending. As the proven reoffending rate only measures how many people are caught and sanctioned for a further reoffence during a given time period, it varies according to the effectiveness of the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the courts. Shaw notes charge and caution rates for recorded crime are down, and cases are taking longer to resolve in court. He argues these factors mean the decline in the proven reoffending rate is only showing fewer people are caught and promptly convicted for a further reoffence.
Hurt people hurt people: the case against criminal punishment as retribution | Penelope Gibbs, Director of Transform Justice, has written a blog for Revolving Doors about criminal punishment as retribution. She notes that everyone, including victims, want less crime and for the harm done to be healed. However, she argues this cannot be done through the criminal justice system because most criminal sanctions are purely punitive. Instead, Gibbs makes the case for better meeting victims’ needs. She believes that this cannot be done solely through the court system, and instead victims should be offered restorative justice and the drivers of crime should be tackled, including poor mental health, poor education, poor housing, domestic abuse, and poverty. By doing this, Gibbs believes we will be able to reduce crime and reoffending.
Legal win for campaigners on “racist” joint enterprise dispute | Liberty published an article highlighting the Crown Prosecution Service’s (CPS) agreement to trial monitoring data on people who are prosecuted under joint doctrine following a legal challenge from the campaign group Joint Enterprise Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA), who were represented by Liberty. This monitoring would include the age, race, sex, and disability of people prosecuted under joint enterprise doctrine. Despite research suggesting that joint enterprise laws are used disproportionately against racially minoritised people, the CPS records no data about the people prosecuted under the doctrine. The CPS has also agreed to monitor when joint enterprise prosecutions have been presented as “gang-related” cases, and whether their own guidance on such cases has been followed. JENGbA and Liberty are calling for joint enterprise to be scrapped altogether.
Celebrating the rights of the most vulnerable children | HM Inspectorate of Prisons published a blog by Angus Jones, Team Leader for Children and Young People, exploring care-experienced children in custody. Jones highlights his team found 66% of children who completed their survey said they had previously been in care. He explains that, once in custody, there is also evidence these children are more isolated: only 53% said they feel cared for by staff, and over a quarter said there is not a member of staff they could turn to if they had a problem. Jones concludes by hoping some of the stories and experiences children are sharing lead to more genuine care being provided for those who need it.
Earlier release for prisoners | Rob Allen has written a blog examining Justice Secretary Dominic Raab’s move to extend the period eligible people can serve of their sentence at home, monitored by an electronic tag, by six weeks. Assuming the regulations are approved, the maximum Hone Detention Curfew period will rise from 135 to 180 days. Allen suggests this has been prompted by the rising prison population, with forecasts suggesting the measure will reduce the demand for prison places by between 400 and 600. He concludes by noting that operations are being started up by the Criminal Justice System Strategic Command, the body set up in 2020 to co-ordinate the pandemic response, suggests the seriousness of the current challenge.
What training should prison officers get? | Russell Webster has published a guest blog, written by Natasha Porter, the Chief Executive and founder of Unlocked Graduates. Porter argues the role of the prison officer is both important, as relationships between people in prison and officers are at the heart of the prison, and complex, as people in prison increasingly have complex histories of challenge and disadvantage. She argues prison is where the greatest professional expertise is needed, but prison officers receive less training, development and support, and their jobs are held in lower regard than other public service roles. Therefore, Porter argues for more deliberate training over a much longer period. She says professional standards would start to give clarity and status, and help make clear it is about more than just locking doors and counting people.
Early intervention for lifelong benefits | A Youth Justice Board (YJB) member, Susannah Hancock, has written an article setting out the case for prevention and diversion in youth justice. She describes early intervention in youth justice as tending to be split into two activities: prevention and diversion. As the youth justice system’s main purpose is to prevent offending by children, Hancock argues these elements need be at the heart of its work. In addition to the YJB’s report, see above, she says sustained investment with a system-wide commitment to prevention is needed. Hancock concludes that there is compelling evidence that intervening earlier with vulnerable children means the likelihood of offending is much lower. This means fewer victims and safer communities, so she says this approach must be the way forward.
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This month's edition was written by...
Clinks Policy Officer Franklin Barrington
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