An article examined the nature and value of victim awareness work by probation services in England and Wales. It discussed the rationale, definition, and empirical basis of the concept, and the practical implications, before suggesting a possible model.
Source: Jacky Burrows, 'Victim awareness: re-examining a probation fundamental', Probation Journal, Volume 60 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
A report provided a summary of consultation responses on issues surrounding young adults (16-25 year olds) in the criminal justice system in Wales, and the potential role of the integrated offender management system. It said that there was 'overwhelming support' from practitioners for recognizing young adults as a distinct service user group. It said that much could be achieved without legislative change or large-scale investment in new services, and the integrated offender management system was seen as a means to implement a multi-agency, coherent approach to supporting young adults in the criminal justice system.
Source: Nathan Dick, Integrated Offender Management Cymru: All Wales youth to adult transition model, Clinks
Links: Report | T2A press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that the government should reconsider its proposals for the reform of legal aid, with more and broader exemptions from some proposals, to protect against breaches of the fundamental right of effective access to justice in individual cases. Recommendations included: that any residence test for eligibility be introduced through primary legislation to allow for full parliamentary scrutiny; that all children should be exempt from any residence test; for urgent reforms to be made to the internal prison complaints system; and that legal assistance should remain for young offenders, particularly for cases regarding resettlement. It also raised concerns about the impact of the proposals on people with mental capacity or mental health difficulties, and about the proposal to remove cases with borderline prospects of success from legal aid funding.
Source: The Implications for Access to Justice of the Government's Proposals to Reform Legal Aid, Seventh Report (Session 2013–14), HC 766 and HL 100, Joint Select Committee on Human Rights, TSO
Links: Report | Coram Children's Legal Centre press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Dec
A special issue of a journal examined United Kingdom government policy on reforming probation services, as set out in the Transforming Rehabilitation strategy document (published May 2013).
Source: British Journal of Community Justice, Volume 11 Issue 2-3
Links: Table of contents
Notes: Articles included:
Steven Calder and Anthony Goodman, 'Transforming Rehabilitation, a fiscal motivated approach to offender management'
Theo Gavrielides, 'Mind the gap: quality without equality in Transforming Rehabilitation'
Beverley Gilbert, 'Public protection? The implications of Grayling's 'Transforming Rehabilitation' agenda on the safety of women and children'
Date: 2013-Dec
A new book examined offender supervision in Europe. Offender supervision had developed rapidly in scale, distribution, and intensity in recent years. However, the emergence of mass supervision in the community had largely escaped the attention of legal scholars and social scientists, who had been more concerned with the mass incarceration reflected in prison growth.
Source: Fergus McNeill and Kristel Beyens (eds), Offender Supervision in Europe, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Dec
An audit report said that the existing strategy for the prison estate in England and Wales had provided good quality accommodation, over a wide range of security categorizations, with improved value for money, but several well performing prisons had been closed before their replacements had established a good record of performance. The report said that quality and performance had sometimes been traded for greater savings, and the reduction of prisoner numbers still represented the best means to cut costs over the medium to long-term.
Source: Managing the Prison Estate, HC 735 (Session 2013–14), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | Summary | NAO press release | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Dec
A report by a joint committee of MPs and peers said that the government should introduce a Bill at the start of the 2014-15 session, to give all prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or less the right to vote in all United Kingdom parliamentary, local and European elections.
Source: Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill, Report (Session 2013–14), HC 924 and HL 103, Joint Select Committee on the Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill, TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
The government responded to a report by a committee of MPs on older prisoners.
Source: Older Prisoners, Cm 8739, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Response | MPs report
Date: 2013-Nov
The government began consultation on proposals to accommodate all young adult offenders with older adults in mixed custodial settings.
Source: Transforming Management of Young Adults in Custody, Ministry of Justice
Links: Consultation document
Date: 2013-Nov
A new book examined the gendered incarceration of women and girls and the marginalization of their needs and rights within predominantly male penal systems, focusing on prisons in Northern Ireland.
Source: Linda Moore and Phil Scraton, The Incarceration of Women: Punishing bodies, breaking spirits, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined the impact of international human rights law and standards on the protection of prisoners in the United Kingdom, with specific reference to the European Convention on Human Rights. Although prisoners did benefit from the protection of the Convention within prison, the scope of these rights was limited by the needs of the prison administration as well as the political climate and the public's attitude toward prisoners. Respect for prisoners' rights might contribute to raised prison standards and to good order in prison.
Source: Susan Easton, 'Protecting prisoners: the impact of international human rights law on the treatment of prisoners in the United Kingdom', The Prison Journal, Volume 93 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
A briefing paper examined the main proposals of, and reaction to, the Ministry of Justice's strategy for reforming offender rehabilitation.
Source: John Bardens and Gabrielle Garton Grimwood, Introducing 'Payment by Results' in Offender Rehabilitation and Other Reforms, Standard Note SN/HA/6665, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2013-Oct
A new book examined policy perspectives on the role, tasks, and significance of the probation service.
Source: George Mair and Judith Rumgay (eds), Probation: Key readings, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Oct
An article presented a qualitative evaluation of the Family Support Project (FSP) delivered at HMP New Hall, a female establishment located in West Yorkshire. The FSP was delivered by one female Family Support Officer (FSO) and managed by Lincolnshire Action Trust (LAT). The findings revealed a high demand for the services of the FSP. Participants spoke positively about the FSO's approachable nature, dedication and ability to communicate effectively with other agencies. The benefits of Family Days in maintaining family ties, and Final Contact adoption visits for residents saying farewell to children, were also discussed.
Source: Martin Manby, Leanne Monchuk, and Kathryn Sharratt, 'The importance of maintaining family ties during imprisonment: perspectives of those involved in HMP New Hall's Family Support Project', Prison Service Journal, 209.
Links: Article
Date: 2013-Oct
A report called for a greater role for local government in reducing reoffending in London. It said that the changes proposed in the government's Transforming Rehabilitation reforms had significant implications for how local government would work with partners to reduce reoffending in the future. The report noted concerns about plans to commission probation and rehabilitation services from the market at the national level and, in particular, how the reforms might affect existing joint working arrangements.
Source: Reducing Reoffending in London: Why investing in local solutions will deliver, London Councils
Links: Report | London Councils press release
Date: 2013-Oct
The National Offender Management Service published its review of the treatment of women in the custodial estate.
Source: Cathy Robinson, Women s Custodial Estate Review, National Offender Management Service
Links: Report | MOJ press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined the role of information communication technology in rehabilitation. It said that secure, controlled access to computers and the internet could transform education, family contact, and resettlement, as well as reducing reoffending on release.
Source: Nina Champion and Kimmett Edgar, Through the Gateway: How computers can transform rehabilitation, Prison Reform Trust and Prisoners Education Trust
Links: Report | PRT press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined the state of prisons in 2013. It highlighted trends in the prison population, outcomes, and costs. It noted the move towards building larger, privately run prisons and for closing smaller units.
Source: Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile: Autumn 2013, Prison Reform Trust
Links: Report | PRT press release
Date: 2013-Oct
An article examined approaches to offender healthcare. Official references to the 'offender health pathway' suggested the seamless delivery and experience of care: but the evidence suggested that these remained some way off.
Source: Wendy Dyer and Paul Biddle, 'Prison health discharge planning – evidence of an integrated care pathway or the end of the road?', Social Policy and Society, Volume 12 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
A new book examined the changing nature of penal practice and practitioners in a range of developed countries. It focused mainly on penal practice in the community – probation, parole, offender supervision, and 'community corrections'.
Source: Ioan Durnescu and Fergus McNeill (eds), Understanding Penal Practice, Routledge
Links: Summary
Notes: Chapters included:
Aline Bauwens and Lol Burke, 'Redefining professionalism by seeking legitimacy in probation? A comparison between Belgium and England and Wales'
Joanna Shapland, Angela Sorsby, Gwen Robinson, Camilla Priede, Stephen Farrall, and Fergus McNeill, 'What quality means to probation staff in England in relation to one-to-one supervision'
Fergus McNeill, 'Changing lives, changing work: social work and criminal justice'
Jake Phillips, 'Understanding "the relationship" in English probation supervision'
Alison Leibling and Ben Crewe, 'Staff-prisoner relationships, moral performance and privatization'
Date: 2013-Sep
A think-tank report critically examined the capacity of voluntary organizations to play an effective role in the coalition government's strategy for contracting out probation services. It called for smaller organizations to be exempted from 'payment by results' contract terms.
Source: The New Probation Landscape: Why the voluntary sector matters if we are going to reduce reoffending, Centre for Social Justice
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Sep
A new book examined how people went about making a decision to give up crime, how they planned to sustain this decision, and the ways in which the probation service helped.
Source: Sam King, Desistance Transitions and the Impact of Probation, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Sep
A report by a committee of MPs said that prisons were failing to cope with the rapid growth in the number of older prisoners – partly caused by the increase in convictions for historic sexual offences. It called on the government to develop a national strategy to provide for older prisoners effectively.
Source: Older Prisoners, Fifth Report (Session 2013-14), HC 89, House of Commons Justice Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Additional written evidence | Committee press release | Nottingham Trent University press release | PRT press release
Date: 2013-Sep
A joint inspectorate report said that most life-sentence prisoners in England and Wales did not reoffend on release and were able to lead productive lives. But the work done with life-sentence prisoners at key points in their sentence could be improved.
Source: A Joint Inspection of Life Sentence Prisoners, HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales/HM Chief Inspector of Probation
Links: Report | HCI Probation press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Sep
An article examined the rise of third sector agencies as providers of criminal justice services. It traced the 'creeping discourse of economic risk', exemplified by the commodification of provision, increased contractualization of services, and the application of cost-benefit measures. Government policy was being driven by a behavioural economics of risk that attempted to 'nudge' the sector through market incentives and competition – in the process consigning high-risk and 'at-risk' groups to further exclusion.
Source: Gabe Mythen, Sandra Walklate, and Hazel Kemshall, 'Decentralizing risk: the role of the voluntary and community sector in the management of offenders', Criminology and Criminal Justice, Volume 13 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
A new book examined why prison was so deeply embedded in popular consciousness. how prison had become synonymous with the broader notion of punishment, and why the prison population was growing so rapidly.
Source: David Scott (ed.), Why Prison?, Cambridge University Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Aug
A think-tank report examined coalition government proposals to open up probation services to non-state providers. It said that the plans risked backfiring because the providers would be in danger of losing money if they tried to cut reoffending. They would have to cut reoffending by about 4 percentage points to be moderately certain of making any profit. They could make more profit by cutting costs and allowing reoffending to increase by up to 3 percentage points.
Source: Ian Mulheirn, Paying for Results? Rethinking probation reform, Social Market Foundation
Links: Report | SMF press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-Aug
An article said that more needed to be done to look after a growing population of older male prisoners. 44 per cent of prisons did not have a policy on the care and management of older prisoners, and there was a lack of integration between health and social care services. Planning for an older prisoner's release from jail was also frequently non-existent.
Source: Jane Senior, Katrina Forsyth, Elizabeth Walsh, Kate O Hara, Caroline Stevenson, Adrian Hayes, Vicky Short, Roger Webb, David Challis, Seena Fazel, Alistair Burns, and Jenny Shaw, 'Health and social care services for older male adults in prison: the identification of current service provision and piloting of an assessment and care planning model', Health Services and Delivery Research, Volume 1 Issue 5
Links: Article | Abstract | Manchester University press release
Date: 2013-Aug
The coalition government announced that 70 prisons in England and Wales would be designated as 'resettlement prisons' in order to help ex-offenders back into society and improve rehabilitation. The prisons would ensure that inmates were released close to the area in which they would live.
Source: Press release 4 July 2013, Ministry of Justice
Links: MOJ press release | CBI press release | Howard League press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the views of short-sentence prisoners. Most of the participants had extensive experience of prison, and the effects of this played out across sentences and years, accumulating and amplifying impacts. Despite expressions of guilt and remorse, most participants saw their sentence as unjust, and mainly a reaction to offending history.
Source: Sarah Armstrong and Beth Weaver, 'Persistent punishment: user views of short prison sentences', Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 52 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
A think-tank report said that the government should shut more than 30 run-down and poorly located prisons and replace them with 12 modern hub prisons , containing up to 3,000 inmates. The new prisons would lead to huge costs savings, a reduction in reoffending rates, and a better quality of life for prisoners and prison staff.
Source: Kevin Lockyer, Future Prisons: A radical plan to reform the prison estate, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Policy Exchange press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Jun
An article examined judicial reasoning on prisoner legal rights since the introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998, contrasting judgments since October 2000 in the domestic courts and European Court of Human Rights. It discussed the implications of the restricted interpretation of legal rights for penal reform, and proposed an alternative radical re-articulation of the politics of prisoner human rights.
Source: David Scott, 'The politics of prisoner legal rights', Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, Volume 52 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
A new book examined overcrowding in the England and Wales prison system. It introduced the concept of 'chronic capacity stress', and discussed how policy systems succeeded and failed in complex and ever-changing political, economic, and social environments.
Source: Simon Bastow, Governance, Performance, and Capacity Stress: The chronic case of prison crowding, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-May
The coalition government published the Offender Rehabilitation Bill. Offenders in England and Wales who served custodial sentences of less than a year would be put under supervision for 12 months after their release. The 6-month supervision period that applied to people who served 1-2 years in prison would be extended to a year. Supervision would be carried out by private firms on a payment-by-results basis. The government also published its response to consultation on reforming the rehabilitation system, confirming plans to transfer most probation services in England and Wales to private and voluntary sector providers.
Source: Offender Rehabilitation Bill [HL], Ministry of Justice, TSO | Transforming Rehabilitation: A strategy for reform, Cm 8619, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Impact assessment | MOJ press release | Cabinet Office briefing | HOC research brief | Response to consultation | Acevo press release | Catch22 press release | CBI press release | Howard League press release | Justice Gap press release | Napo press release (1) | Napo press release (2) | PRT press release | Turning Point press release | Work Foundation blog post | BBC report | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | Guardian report (3) | Public Finance report
Notes: Consultation document (January 2013)
Date: 2013-May
An article said that the existing prisoner risk assessment instruments neglected to account for environmental determinants of reoffending, and the importance of the opportunities for crime that were present in an ex-prisoner's neighbourhood.
Source: Lisa Tompson and Spencer Chainey, 'Integrating environmental considerations into prisoner risk assessments', European Journal of Probation, Volume 5 Number 2
Date: 2013-May
A report by a committee of MPs raised concerns that further staff cutbacks in the prison service in England and Wales might have an impact on the level of rehabilitation that prisoners received, leading to a rise in re-offending.
Source: Restructuring the National Offender Management Service, Thirty-fifth Report (Session 2012–13), HC 717, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Committee press release | CBI press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Mar
A study examined differences in the substance misuse and mental health of male and female prisoners in England and Wales. There were differences between male and female prisoners with respect to both, but also areas of similarity.
Source: Miriam Light, Eli Grant, and Kathryn Hopkins, Gender Differences in Substance Misuse and Mental Health amongst Prisoners: Results from the Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) longitudinal cohort study of prisoners, Ministry of Justice
Date: 2013-Mar
A report by a committee of MSPs called for a strategy to ensure that all prisoners in Scotland were offered equal access to purposeful activities such as work, education, and rehabilitation programmes.
Source: Inquiry into Purposeful Activity in Prisons, 5th Report 2013, SP Paper 299, Scottish Parliament Justice Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release
Date: 2013-Mar
A paper said that both sides in the dispute over prisoners' voting rights in the United Kingdom assumed that democracy was no more than a matter of 'voter-consumers' choosing between competing alternatives in the political market place. This minimalist conception of democracy also underlay the argument that enfranchising convicted prisoners would contribute to their rehabilitation. If, by contrast, democracy was defined as the collective self-government of the people, only those who enjoyed civil liberties and formal independence of the executive could be self-governing citizens: enfranchising prisoners subverted that democratic principle.
Source: Peter Ramsay, Faking Democracy with Prisoners' Voting Rights, LSE Law, Society and Economy Working Paper 7/2013, London School of Economics
Links: Paper
Date: 2013-Feb
The probation inspectorate said that much good work was being undertaken with adult offenders by probation trusts in England and Wales, although some aspects of work continued to require improvement. Overall performance scores fell within the range 74–79 per cent: no trust received a score that required a re-inspection.
Source: Aggregate Report: Offender Management Inspection 2009–2012, HM Chief Inspector of Probation
Links: Report | HCI Probation press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Feb
A think-tank report said that private sector prisons performed better than public sector prisons in the key areas of resource management and operational effectiveness, decency, reducing reoffending, and public protection. It said that the government should market-test all prisons (rather than just 17 of the 131 prisons in the estate).
Source: Will Tanner, The Case for Private Prisons, Reform
Links: Report | Summary | CBI press release | PRT press release | BBC report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Feb
A think-tank report said that the coalition government's plans to privatize the probation service in England and Wales would only work if the prisons system were 'wrapped into' the reforms – with prison governors directly incentivized to co-operate with the new private and voluntary providers. Prison governors should be paid bonuses for meeting reoffending targets.
Source: Max Chambers, Expanding Payment-by-Results: Strategic choices and recommendations, Policy Exchange
Links: Report | Policy Exchange press release | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-Feb
The government began consultation on proposals to transfer most probation services in England and Wales to private and voluntary sector providers. The public sector service would be limited to work with the most dangerous and high-risk offenders. Under payment-by-results contracts, suppliers would be paid in full only if they achieved a demonstrable decline in reoffending. Rehabilitation services would be extended to people leaving prison after serving sentences of less than a year.
Source: Transforming Rehabilitation: A revolution in the way we manage offenders, Cm 8517, Ministry of Justice, TSO
Links: Consultation document | Hansard | MOJ press release | CAF press release | Catch22 press release | CBI press release | HLPR press release | Justice Gap press release | Labour Party press release | NAPO press release | NCVO press release | Sheffield Hallam press release | Turning Point press release | Guardian report (1) | Guardian report (2) | New Statesman report | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-Jan
The coalition government announced that six 'old and expensive' prisons would close and three others would have their capacity reduced, cutting the number of prison places by 2,600. At the same time, a feasibility study would look at building a new 'super prison', and accommodation would be increased on four existing sites.
Source: Written Ministerial Statement 10 January 2013, columns 22-23WS, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Hansard | MOJ press release | Howard League press release | Labour Party press release | NEF blog post | PCS press release | PRT press release | UCU press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-Jan
An article said that there had been a 'decisive shift' in terms of the gendered composition of probation service staff in England and Wales, with many more women than men working in probation. This had happened at a time when rhetoric had became increasingly punitive, with probation emphasizing its role in providing punishment in the community.
Source: Jill Annison, 'Change and the probation service in England and Wales: a gendered lens', European Journal of Probation, Volume 5 Number 1
Date: 2013-Jan