A report examined youth justice in England and Wales and outlined three principles for good practice: prevention; restoration; and integration. The report called for Police and Crime Commissioners, police forces, local government, and the youth justice system to work together to apply the principles in order to reduce antisocial behaviour and prevent offending.
Source: A Fresh Start to Tackling Youth Crime: A briefing for Police and Crime Commissioners, Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Antisocial Behaviour
Links: Report | Police Foundation press release
Date: 2013-Dec
The Scottish Government announced that it would make changes to the way services for offenders were planned, managed and delivered, following a consultation on options for redesigning the community justice system. Key changes included: transferring responsibility for the planning and delivery of community justice services to the Community Planning Partnerships; development of a national strategy for community justice and reducing reoffending; and a new national body to oversee the activity of community justice partners, with the ability to commission services nationally if required.
Source: Redesigning the Community Justice System: A consultation on proposals, Scottish Government
Links: Report | Summary | Scottish Government press release
Date: 2013-Dec
The equality and human rights watchdog published a report outlining the steps agencies had taken to address disability related harassment between 2012 and 2013. It said that some public bodies had made progress and that many of the recommendations in the Commission's Manifesto for Change (published in 2012) had been adopted, but more needed to be done. It said the Commission particularly welcomed a more victim-focused approach, and measures to prevent reoffending.
Source: Manifesto for Change: Progress report 2013, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Report | EHRC press release
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the range and impact of interventions with young people by Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) in England and Wales. It said that a range of interventions were used to address risk of reoffending, often individually targeted and over a range of needs, although neighbourhoods, living arrangements, and family and personal relationships were the least likely factors to be targeted. The report said that recording of YOT activity was inconsistent, however, and would benefit from greater standardization. It said that further work was required to examine which offending-related risks and needs could be addressed, and how, and to understand better those aspects of 'cognition and lifestyle' work that were successful.
Source: Edith Wilson, Youth Justice Interventions: Findings from the Juvenile Cohort Study (JCS), Ministry of Justice
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the impact on ex-offenders of being mentors. It said that mentoring was experienced as rewarding and mutually beneficial, but there were challenges for mentors and such activity should be voluntary, not compulsory.
Source: Laura Kavanagh and Jo Borrill, 'Exploring the experiences of ex-offender mentors', Probation Journal, Volume 60 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined victims' and offenders' perceptions of two restorative justice initiatives at Magilligan prison in Northern Ireland. It said that victims' perceptions of procedural fairness were encouraged through engagement with the programme, while offenders reported a shift in their perceptions around victims and sentencing. The article concluded that there was strong evidence to support the promotion of such initiatives within custodial settings.
Source: Trevor Barr, 'Putting victims in prison', Restorative Justice, Volume 1 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
The Offender Rehabilitation Bill was given a second reading. The Bill was designed to make provision for: the release, and supervision after release, of offenders, to ensure that all adult offenders serving custodial sentences (and those who reach age 18 while in custody) could be supervised on release for a period of at least 12 months; the extension period for extended sentence prisoners; new court process and sanctions for breach of supervision requirements for those serving sentences of less than 2 years; changes to the drug testing requirements for those released from custody; changes to rehabilitative elements of community orders and suspended sentence orders; and new requirements for those on community or suspended sentence orders.
Source: Offender Rehabilitation Bill, Ministry of Justice, TSO | Debate 11 November 2013, columns 662-748, House of Commons Hansard, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Hansard
Date: 2013-Nov
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 existing knowledge on what worked in reducing recidivism across multiple levels of analysis, in an attempt to build a more integrated model of offender reintegration. The authors argued that social support provided an organizing concept for understanding the existing relationships in recidivism research. The article discussed implications for continued theoretical development and future testing of the model.
Source: Kevin Wright and Gabriel Cesara, 'Toward a more complete model of offender reintegration: linking the individual-, community-, and system-level components of recidivism', Victims & Offenders, Volume 8 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Oct
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 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 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
A report reviewed key evidence on approaches to offender management and how to work effectively with offenders. It considered the evidence on specific interventions such as drug and alcohol treatment, offender behaviour programmes, mentoring, and restorative justice. The evidence showed the importance of the role of supervision and the relationship between offender and offender manager: good-quality supervision and case management, together with holistic, tailored approaches could support and enable rehabilitation and reintegration.
Source: Transforming Rehabilitation: A summary of evidence on reducing reoffending, Ministry of 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
The Scottish Government published a discussion paper on how the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act might be modernized and reformed in Scotland.
Source: Discussion Paper on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, Scottish Government
Links: Discussion paper
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the perceptions of work as a means of desisting from crime among a group of male probationers. It was found that individuals regarded employment as a key conduit to maintaining desistance from crime: but that several barriers existed to achieving this. Crucially, individuals identified various difficulties associated with external agencies to whom they had been referred for assistance in obtaining employment. This posed questions of the coalition government's approach towards expanding public-private partnerships in probation.
Source: Sam King, 'Perceptions of work as a route away from crime', Safer Communities, Volume 12 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
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
A report examined learning and skills provision in women s prisons.
Source: Ama Dixon and Emily Jones, Learning for Women in Prison: Report on the role of learning and skills in responding positively to the issues and circumstances faced by women in prison, National Institute of Adult Continuing Education
Links: Report | NIACE press release
Date: 2013-Jul
Researchers found that a pilot scheme to mentor and rehabilitate prisoners sentenced to less than 12 months had reduced reconviction rates.
Source: Jack Cattell, Alan Mackie, Yvette Prestage, and Martin Wood, Results from the Offender Management Community Cohort Study (OMCCS): Assessment and sentence planning, Ministry of Justice
Links: Report | MOJ press release
Date: 2013-Jun
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
A briefing paper examined the issue of young people and adults with multiple needs in contact with the criminal justice system. Recent developments in health and social care policy emphasized early intervention, supporting recovery and choice, promoting independence, and strengthening local partnerships across public services – including criminal justice. Co-ordinating effective and personalized social care for people with multiple needs, especially those at risk of offending and offenders, represented good value for money.
Source: Making the Difference: The role of adult social care services in supporting vulnerable offenders, Prison Reform Trust (with the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services, Centre for Mental Health, and Revolving Doors Agency)
Links: Briefing | Summary | CMH press release
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the difficulties that prisoners envisaged on returning back to community settings, entering other settings such as workplaces, and the implications that the transition might have for their health. Opportunities for successful transition could be enhanced by a more 'joined-up' settings perspective, and an approach to health promotion that emphasized the synergy between social settings and addressing wider determinants of health.
Source: James Woodall, Rachael Dixey, and Jane South, 'Prisoners perspectives on the transition from the prison to the community: implications for settings-based health promotion', Critical Public Health, Volume 23 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
Three linked articles examined the role of housing in the rehabilitation of offenders.
Source: Alice Mills, Dina Gojkovic, Rosie Meek, and David Mullins, 'Housing ex-prisoners: the role of the third sector', Safer Communities, Volume 12 Number 1 | Mark Ellison, Chris Fox, Adrian Gains, and Gary Pollock, 'An evaluation of the effect of housing provision on re-offending', Safer Communities, Volume 12 Number 1 | Jo Linney, 'Offenders, welfare reforms and housing', Safer Communities, Volume 12 Number 1
Links: Abstract (1) | Abstract (2) | Abstract (3)
Date: 2013-Jan
A report said that membership of a community financial institution could have positive economic, social, and psychological effects that supported desistance from crime. It also said that credit unions might be critical in delivering flagship reforms within the justice system, including the Work Programme and universal credit.
Source: Chris Bath and Paul Jones, Unlocking Credit Unions: Developing partnerships between credit unions and criminal justice agencies, Unlock (National Association of Reformed Offenders)
Links: Report | Unlock press release | Abcul press release
Date: 2013-Jan
A report examined the evidence base for the use of offenders in peer support roles, as a means of ensuring continuity of support for those released from prison.
Source: Del Roy Fletcher and Elaine Batty, Offender Peer Interventions: What Do We Know?, Centre for Regional, Economic and Social Research (Sheffield Hallam University)
Links: Report | Sheffield Hallam press release
Date: 2013-Jan