Prisoners should pay their way in full-time jobs to help victims and cut reoffending, says new report

New research from leading think tank Policy Exchange calls for major reforms to drive an agenda of “real work” in prison. Ahead of new prison reform proposals to be published by the Ministry of Justice, the study – Inside Job: creating a market for real work in prison – says thousands of prisoners could be doing useful,http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif profitable full-time jobs which go some way to paying back victims and taxpayers.

The report recommends a whole new prison work regime based on full-time, paid employment that is run by private companies, profit-driven and commissioned by prison governors. Offenders would still go to prison – but regimes would do much more to offer proper work for inmates to make them more employable on release. Privileges – like in-cell TVs – should be reformed to focus on those who work and paid for out of wages. The result would be more prisoners working, with the most engaged and compliant prisoners getting privileges from work.
See more at http://www.policyexchange.org.uk/assets/Inside_Job_PR.pdf

New team tackles re-offending in Conwy and Denbighshire

A project aimed at tackling the issues behind crime by repeat offenders has been launched in Conwy and Denbighshire.

The pilot scheme - '8Ways: Change your Life' - works with offenders who persistently cause damage and nuisance to the community.

A Colwyn Bay-based team involving police, probation and drug and alcohol workers addresses underlying problems.

These range from debt to family and mental health issues.

The name "8Ways" comes from the eight areas where offenders may need help.

Unit leader Sgt Jonny Hill from North Wales Police said: "A team of six police officers will be working alongside staff from probation, mental health and drug and alcohol workers to look at the underlying causes affecting offenders' behaviour and work with them to help address their issues."

He added: "Nationally, it is recognised that 60% of offenders who get less than 12 months as a prison sentence will re-offend within a year and will be back in prison within two years."

Sgt Hill said the aim was to work together to reduce re-offending, cut crime and get to the root of their offending.

Peter Thomas Greenhill, assistant chief probation officer stated: "Wales Probation Trust considers '8ways' is an important opportunity for joint working to enhance the services already provided in the community."

He said there was evidence the approach had been effective in other areas in Wales.

Art therapy for offenders helps them to 'heal'

Creative expression can help prisoners' emotions surface in a safe way

By Charlie Cooper

Sunday, 24 April 2011

At first glance, they could be A-level art exam entries, or the outcome of an evening class. But the creative minds behind these works of art have a history of violence, even murder. The works are the fruit of pioneering art psychotherapy, which aims to understand and heal some of society's most dangerous minds.


"We're working with people who come from backgrounds of serious abuse," says art therapist Kate Rothwell. "Art therapy provides a unique opportunity for repressed, poorly understood and destructive emotions to surface in a safe way."

The unorthodox therapy is one of many new approaches being discussed at a gathering of psychiatrists, academics and police officers in Edinburgh next weekend.

The 20th annual conference of the International Association for Forensic Psychotherapy, subtitled "Murder in Mind", will see psychiatrists from British hospitals including Broadmoor and London's Portman Clinic sharing platforms with international experts and academics in the field of psychoanalysis.

Organisers insist that the conference will be more than just a talking shop. Professor James Gilligan, an American psychiatrist who has advised the UN and the Clinton administration on how to reduce violence in the community, will argue that understanding and helping those who have killed benefits everyone.

"Forensic psychotherapy approaches violence as a problem in public health," he says. "It should not be about how much we can punish an offender, but what we can learn from them to prevent others from acting in the same way."

Scotland has already turned these ideas into practice. DCI John Carnochan, who will speak at the conference, leads Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit. "Even with the most effective police force in the world, you will not achieve significant reductions in violence across society; you'll just be keeping a lid on it," he says. "The police need to be involved in strategies to prevent crime happening in the first place."

30 prominent people across society sign letter to the Times in support of restorative justice.

Today (5th April 2011) in the Times, 30 prominent people called for the Government to act on the vision set out in the Sentencing Green Paper, and make restorative justice available to victims whenever an offender pleads guilty to their offence.

The letter published in the Times today says:

As Ministers develop proposals for sentencing reform this Autumn, we ask Government to take into account the evidence on restorative justice, and ensure through legislation that this process is offered to all victims of crime, whenever an offender pleads guilty to their offence and agrees to participate.

Research published by the Ministry of Justice shows that the majority of victims choose to participate in restorative justice meetings with their offenders when this is offered. 85% of victims who participate are satisfied with the process, because it gives victims a say, answers to their questions, and reparation that means something. The research also showed these meetings cut re-offending by at least 14% because offenders are confronted with the real impact of their crime and given the motivation to change.

Through reductions in re-offending and better use of Criminal Justice resources, restorative justice can deliver efficiencies at every stage of the criminal justice system. We welcome the vision for restorative justice as set out in the Sentencing Green Paper last year. Now the opportunity has come to match the vision with action.

To see full article and the list of 30 people, click here: http://www.restorativejustice.org.uk/news/30_prominent_people_across_society_sign_letter_to_the_times_in_support_of_restorative_justice/

Daylight talks to Charles de Lacy: how to work with offfenders with mh p

In February, Sarah Scott from Daylight, talked to Charles de Lacy, an expert with years of experience working with offenders with mental health problems.

How did you get involved with working with offenders?

I was a Baptist Minister in Chelmsford for thirteen years and during that time I came into contact with ex-offenders who either joined our church or lived in our community. One of them even helped clear up my house when it flooded while we were away on holiday. I was also a trustee with a charity called Church House Trust and came into contact with ex-offenders through that work too. I sometimes preached in the chapel at Chelmsford prison and had contact with the chaplaincy which allowed me to visit individual prisoners who appreciated being able to talk to someone from outside the prison environment. Often, this is the only visit prisoners receive which means they are very appreciative.

To read more, click here: http://www.daylightcpt.org/downloads/FINAL%20Charles%20Delacy.pdf

YEP crime reporter is tagged like a criminal

Published on Monday 7 March 2011 08:47 by Yorkshire Evening Post.

The Government proposes greater use of unpaid work as part of a community sentence alongside tagging and curfews, delivered swiftly after sentencing.

The scope and cost of using satellite tracking technology which would allow the movement of offenders in the community to be more closely monitored and offer opportunities for new community based punishments is now being explored.

Currently there are 13,300 people aged 11 to 82 across England – 1,025 in West Yorkshire – tagged to ensure that they abide by curfews imposed to protect society and themselves from offending further during their risk periods. Most are white males aged 17 to 24, but the number of women is increasing.

Click here to read full article: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/yep_crime_reporter_is_tagged_like_a_criminal_1_3152565

Community payback supervisor scoops award

A community payback supervisor has scooped a justice award for his work with offenders.

Richard Ward from Avon and Somerset Probation Trust supervises offenders working on projects such as graffiti removal and fly-tipping clearance, amounting to over 5,000 hours of work a year.

He won the award for commitment and enthusiasm towards Community Payback, and for leading projects such as creating a Mobile Welfare Trailer, which allows offenders to use hot and cold running water and a toilet whilst working around Bristol.

Richard says: 'From my point of view this is the bread and butter work that you should be doing, which is responding to the public.'

Not a 'soft' option
After 10 years working with offenders, Richard stresses that the projects he oversees are far from a 'soft' option: 'I don't think anyone would say handling buckets of people's filth, rubbish and rotten food for seven hours a day is easy work.

'Some of the places we clean up are absolutely disgusting.

'But seeing the difference they can make helps instill a sense of moral responsibility in the offenders.

'And the feedback from the public is fantastic – we're amassing quite a collection of thank you letters.'
Click here to read full article: http://www.justice.gov.uk/news/announcement170211a.htm

Breaking the cycle?

What should we make of Government promises of a ‘rehabilitation revolution’?, asks Jon Collins, Director of the Criminal Justice Alliance
It should come as no surprise that the full title of the recent criminal justice green paper, ‘Breaking the Cycle’, gives top billing to the punishment of offenders. In a speech last week to Criminal Justice Alliance members, however, the Prisons and Probation Minister Crispin Blunt took as his theme the Green Paper’s second objective: rehabilitation. Rehabilitation, he emphasised, is central to the Government’s proposals – and, he insisted simply, “we must get better at it”.
How, then, does ‘Breaking the Cycle’ propose to bring about a ‘rehabilitation revolution’? Employment lies at the heart of the plans: prisoners will be expected to work up to forty hours a week and, for those serving their sentences in the community, there will be an intensive form of unpaid work. Diversion from the criminal justice system for offenders with mental health problems is marked out as a priority, and a national liaison and diversion service, as recommended by the Bradley Report, is proposed, to be in place by 2014. Payment by results – the Green Paper’s flagship initiative – will, it is hoped, encourage innovation and drive providers to deliver services that more effectively reduce reoffending. Restorative justice, recognised as having a positive impact on reoffending, as well as providing high levels of victim satisfaction, is also included, and identified as deserving a “fundamental part” in the sentencing process.
Click here to read more:    http://www.worksforfreedom.org/infocus/94-breaking-the-cycle

Students and offenders recruited to keep towns tidy

Offenders sentenced to do community payback are among groups cleaning up public areas in the Tidy Towns scheme.

Overgrown land around Llannor Community Centre, near Pwllheli, is being cleared thanks to a Gwynedd Council Tidy Towns grant.

The money pays for tools and materials, while the labour is provided by the probation service and local volunteers.

Meanwhile, students from Coleg Menai have been working to improve the environment in and around Porthmadog.
Click here to see full article:http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/northwestwales/hi/front_page/newsid_9379000/9379769.stm

Putting the bad guys to work on good deeds in Bethnal Green

IT MIGHT be a sunny day, but standing around in the garden at St Peter’s Church in Bethnal Green, the cold really starts to get into your bones.

For six gardeners clad in tough outdoor gear, gloves and the tell-tale Community Payback orange waistcoats, the day is not about standing idly admiring the garden.

Instead they are notching up six-and-a-half hours of their community service sentence under the watchful eye of Probation Service project supervisor Gaby Barzilar.

To read the full article, click here: http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/putting_the_bad_guys_to_work_on_good_deeds_in_bethnal_green_1_784856
Contact details of London Probation are wrong, or at least they was not obtainable when i tried them.

Hundreds of violent offenders could vote, figures show

Figures reveal that 1,780 criminals convicted of violent or sexual offences would be eligible to vote under plans to give prisoners voting rights.

The BBC learned last week that the government wants to limit the right to those sentenced to less than a year.

Ministry of Justice figures for England and Wales at the end of 2010 show 1,551 inmates convicted of violence against a person serving less than a year.

There were 229 people convicted of sexual offences in the same bracket.

Labour MP Gloria De Piero obtained the figures, which relate to the number of people in jail in England and Wales at the end of December 2010, by submitting a request to the Ministry of Justice.

The ministry add a disclaimer, saying the exact figures "are subject to possible errors", but the political effects cannot be mistaken.

To read full article click here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/9378742.stm

Three in five in UK ashamed to reveal criminal record to employer

The British public would be most ashamed to tell an employer if they had a criminal record, it is revealed today.

In a survey commissioned by Nacro, the crime reduction charity, 61% of people said it was the issue from their past they would be most embarrassed to reveal to their employers.

The independent research undertaken by Populus marks the launch of Nacro’s Change the Record campaign, aimed at giving reformed offenders the chance to work or volunteer.

Over 2000 people were asked to name the top three things they would be most ashamed to tell employers.

To read more click here: https://www.nacro.org.uk/media-centre/press-releases/three-in-five-in-uk-ashamed-to-reveal-criminal-record-to-employer,680,NAP.html

Offender Learning in the Community

Offenders have fewer educational and employment skills than the general population and fewer opportunities to access the services they need. Since education and qualifications help people to gain employment, and since employment is often key to helping ex-offenders go straight, effective and engaging education and training for offenders can play a very important part in reducing reoffending. Click here for full details: http://www.skillsdevelopment.org/Default.aspx?page=1384