Clinks Members’ Policy Briefing | April 2015
In this month's edition...Policy news
Consultation on healthcare inspections in secure settings The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have launched a consultation on their joint approach to inspecting health and care services in prisons, YOIs and IRCs with HMIP. The new approach aims to improve the ways in which they gather and use the views of service users and their families about the quality of their care, and sets out how CQC will seek to work with voluntary sector organisations working with offenders and their families to support this process. The deadline for responding directly to CQC is 24th May. Clinks will also be submitting a response to the consultation, and would really like to hear your views. We plan to hold two consultation workshops, one on 21st April in Leeds and the other on 5th May in London. Please email hazel.alcraft@clinks.org to book a place.
Health and care services for women offenders Clinks have published the results from our recent survey of voluntary sector health and social care services for women in contact with the Criminal Justice System (CJS). We found many good examples of organisations working together to meet the health needs of these women, both directly and through proactively supporting them to engage with other health services. Despite this, the responses highlighted a number of areas where more support is needed including: mental health; trauma-informed services; support for those with complex needs and/or dual diagnosis; and addressing challenges in sharing information and making referrals between services.
Labour launch crime and justice manifesto On the 10th April the Labour Party launched their crime and justice manifesto. The five top-line pledges include: putting victims at the heart of the Criminal Justice System; preventing crime; tackling child exploitation and violence against women and girls; building a justice system fit for the 21st Century; and tackling extremism and the threat of terrorism. Look out for our future policy briefings as we will include the manifesto pledges from the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties in future policy briefings.
Secure College proposals Justice Secretary Chris Grayling did not secure approval for the Secure College proposals before the dissolution of parliament on the 30th March 2015. It is therefore unclear how these plans will be taken forward, if at all, after the up-coming election. You can read Clinks’ submission to the Ministry of Justice consultation on the Secure College rules with a letter supporting the Prisoner Learning Alliance's response here.
Drugscope closure Drugscope’s board of trustees have taken the difficult decision to close the organisation, due to a worsening financial situation. This took effect from the 31st March 2015. You can read the reaction of the wider sector here.
Prison
Prisons: planning and policies This report gives the findings from the Justice Select Committee's year - long inquiry into the impact of the Government’s programme of reforms and efficiency savings across the prison estate. It concludes that ‘the combination of estate modernisation and re-configuration, efficiency savings and changes in operational policy, including to the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme, have made a significant contribution to the deterioration in safety.’ The Committee goes on to outline that the increase in assaults on staff and prisoners, alongside an increase in suicides in prisons is gravely concerning.
Drugs in prison This report by the Centre for Social Justice argues for a ‘three pronged approach’ to support people in prison who have problematic drug use: drugs must be kept out of prisons; demand for drugs must be reduced; and prisoners must receive effective support into recovery. Each of these three requirements is seen as being interdependent, with failure in just one area likely to ultimately lead to a failure to tackle drug use in prison.
Sex in prison: experiences of former prisoners This is the final briefing from the independent Commission on Sex in Prison, established by the Howard League for Penal Reform. The briefing reports findings from interviews conducted with 26 former prisoners during 2014, with key findings including: heterosexual men who engage in sexual activity with men ‘out of necessity’ do not perceive that this affects or alters their sexual identity; the availability of condoms varies considerably between prisons; and most interviewees thought that coercive sex rarely occurs in British prisons, although rape in prisons is significantly underreported.
Learning disability
A joint inspection of the treatment of offenders with learning disabilities within the criminal justice system: phase two in custody and the community This joint inspection report, by HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons found that within probation and particularly in prisons, identification of offenders with learning disabilities remains a problem and as a result, the needs of people with learning disabilities are often missed.
Women
Women offenders: follow up This report follows up on previous work on women offenders by the Justice Select Committee and concludes that positive steps are being made in meeting the needs of women offenders, including improving the support available to help them take responsibility and improve their lives. Sir Alan Beith MP, chair of the committee said: "We had hoped to see a gradual reconfiguration of the female custodial estate, with women who have committed serious offences being held in smaller units, and a greater use of alternatives to prison, including improved access to women's centres. Neither the previous nor the present Government have been willing to accept the logic of that approach, even as a medium-term aim."
Policing
Police and crime commissioners and civil society This report, published by the Cabinet Office, explores some of the ways that voluntary sector organisations and police and crime commissioners (PCCs) work together and provides examples to illustrate a range of positive working relationships. The report has been compiled through a partnership of the Cabinet Office, Home Office and the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners and is also informed by Clinks’ recent survey into how voluntary sector organisations working with offenders and their families feel they have been able to engage with PCCs since they came into post two years ago.
Crime and policing news update: March 2015 Published by the Home Office, this update provides information on recent police and crime issues. This month’s update includes articles on reforming the use of police bail, the anti-social behaviour civil injunction power, the alternative place of safety pilot launch in Sussex and the new mental health code.
Joint thematic inspection of resettlement services to children This inspection examined the work of Youth Offending Teams and their partners in tackling offending by children who receive custodial sentences. The findings include that: too many children had been rearrested, charged or convicted of new offences within months or weeks of being released; key staff did not fully understand each other’s roles, did not always value each other’s input and did not always work together; and while there are some promising local resettlement projects, resettlement work in the community often starts too late.
Young Adults
Better in Europe? European responses to young adult offending This report provides a comprehensive review of evidence from criminology, sociology and neuroscience the exploring the need for a distinct approach to young adults in the Criminal Justice System (CJS), before giving a detailed overview of European criminal justice responses to young adults. The report by academics at Greifswald Universitat in Germany commissioned by the Transition to Adulthood Alliance (T2A) finds that European justice systems have embraced the need for a distinct approach to young adults at all stages of the CJS.
Stolen lives and missed opportunities: the deaths of young adults and children in prison This report by INQUEST for the Transition to Adulthood Alliance (T2A) analyses the deaths of 65 young adults and children whilst in prison between 1st January 2011 and 31st December 2014. The report states that establishments do not seem to have learnt lessons from previous deaths in prisons and makes a series of recommendations which include: a reallocation of resources away from imprisonment towards crime prevention; investment in smaller prison units designed and designated specifically for the young adult age group, with an emphasis on therapeutic environments, interventions and more staff who are adequately trained and want to work with young prisoners; and the creation of a national database that all prisons can access to counter delays in documents and incomplete information arriving with prisoners.
PCC responses to young adults briefing This is the first in a series of ‘PCC spotlight’ briefings that highlight promising work among police and crime commissioners (PCCs) on key issues. They share examples of practice that other areas may wish to develop, and aim to inform debate on the future of the PCC role. This first briefing, by Revolving Doors Agency and the T2A alliance, focuses on young adults (18-24) in contact with the police and Criminal Justice System.
Criminal justice statistics
Crime statistics: focus on public perceptions of crime and the police and personal well-being of victims, 2013-2014 Published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in collaboration with the Home Office, these statistics explore: overall ratings and confidence in the police; people’s perception of changing crime levels in their local area and in the country as a whole, and the perceived likelihood of victimisation; and the differences between how victims of crime rate their personal well-being compared with non-victims.
Criminal Justice System
The coalition years: Criminal justice in the United Kingdom This report reviews criminal justice developments during the entire period of the coalition government (May 2010 to May 2015) and also identifies the main challenges facing an incoming government in May 2015. The report published by the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies covers the full span of developments across the UK, seeking to explain why criminal justice has developed in the way that it has.
Restorative justice
The NOMS Restorative Justice capacity building programme This report gives the findings from a 27 month study of the NOMS Restorative Justice (RJ) capacity building programme, which aimed to develop a capacity within probation and prisons to deliver RJ conferencing. Published by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research and Birkbeck University, the report found that significantly fewer conferences than expected came from the programme, due mainly to local factors and changes within prisons and probation. Key learning points for effective RJ implementation include: effective local planning in advance of any capacity building training to ensure skills are quickly put into practice; early identification of key stakeholders; and early recognition of the complexity of the intervention and appropriate planning to mitigate possible difficulties.
Gang-involved young people
Gang-involved young people: custody and beyond This new research and practitioners guide by Beyond Youth Custody explores how to support gang-involved young people when they are released from custody. Based on a review of current research, testimonies from young people and those working with them in custody and the community, the research also looks at how knowledge about the specific needs of gang-involved young people and the factors relating to desistance from gang-related crime can inform effective practice.
Blogs
What do criminal justice statistics tell us? In this Clinks blog, Nicola Drinkwater, Policy Officer, analyses a number of recent statistical reports from the Ministry of Justice and NOMS. The blog covers the population in custody, safety in prisons, and the effects of sentencing.
Exploring restorative justice through theatre In this guest blog for the National Alliance for Arts in Criminal Justice, Davina Cull Project Manager for Make Amends, a Restorative Justice Partnership project, discusses a project she managed which explored restorative justice through theatre.
Restorative justice: understanding the benefits, increasing provision In this Clinks Guest Blog, Jon Collins from Restorative Justice Council talks about a series of information packs designed to help increase the use of restorative justice within the Criminal Justice System.
- This edition of Clinks Policy Briefing has been sent to the inbox of all Clinks Members. Who are they?
- If you have any comments about the update or ideas about how it could be improved, please email Nicola Drinkwater
- To unsubscribe, email Nicola Drinkwater
- Please note that the third-party information, gathered and presented within this update, may not represent the views of Clinks or the author. [Terms of Use]
Get involved Become a Member | Follow Clinks | Join Mailing List
Contact Us www.clinks.org | info@clinks.org | 020 7383 0966
Written monthly by...
Nicola Drinkwater
Clinks
Mob: 07850084018
© Clinks, 2015
Registered office: Clinks, Tavis House, 1-6 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9NA
Registered charity: 1074546 | Company limited by guarantee in England & Wales: 3562176