17 - General Flashcards
Historical Context
16th and 17th Century
Punishment as public; prisons for holding only
Historical Context
18th Century
Prison ships and transportation- Bentham and Howard – one prisoner per cell
Historical Context
19th Century
Prison as a disposal in its own right – reform and nationalisation
Historical Context
20th Century
Private prisons, benchmarking, rehabilitation revolution?
Impact of different governments on penal policy
1998 Labour landslide - Education, education, education
Now - Justice Secretary - Prisons not in crisis (2014) - Book ban – truth or fiction
Issues…
Suicide & Self harm
Drugs & Alcohol
Lack of regime
Mental health
Corruption prevention
Vulnerable prisoners
Staffing shortages and retention
Population pressures
H M Prison Service
Objectives
To protect the public and provide what commissioners want to purchase by:
Holding prisoners securely
Reducing the risk of prisoners re-offending
Providingsafe and well-ordered establishments in which we treat prisoners humanely, decently and lawfully.
HMP Leicester - History
Opened in 1828
3 acres – very small footprint
40ft brick wall – approx 2m bricks
1847 – Main wing built
1990 – Administration / visits building
1995 – Healthcare centre
HMP Leicester - Population
Maximum 400
Average 340
60% Remand
30% BME
10% Foreign nationals
Role of the Prison…
Keep prisoners in custody
To serve the courts of Leicester and Leicestershire
Hold prisoners on remand, awaiting trial or newly sentenced
Assess convicted prisoners and send them to training prisons
The Future … Challenges and Hope
Safety and violence; reflection of issues outside
Change in structure of Prison Service/ change in government
Prison Population (up or down)
Autonomy
Running a prison – part of the communuty
Regional Manager
IMB
HMIP / MQPL
Auditors: Financial/Standards/Security
Local MP/Local Bishop
Prison Service / NOMS Headquarters
Ministry of Justice
Local Community – Square Mile Project (Leicester)
Local/National Media
Families/friends of prisoners
Local Criminal Justice board
Manage the Internal environment…
Communication
Security & Order and Control
Finance
Staff Issues
Prisoner issues
Risk management
Creating a safe & decent environment for all who work and live in prison
Deaths in prison
There were 107 self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales in the year to September 2016, the highest number on record.
Eight were women—the highest number since 2007, when Baroness Corston published her report following the deaths of six women at HMP Styal within a 13-month period.
The rate of self-inflicted deaths amongst the prison population is 130 per 100,000 people—amongst the general population it’s 10.8 per 100,000 people.36 There were 58 deaths in prison that occurred between June 2013 and January 2016, where the prisoner was known, or strongly suspected, to have been using new psychoactive substances (NPS) before their death. 39 of these were self-inflicted.
Leaving Prison…
Leaving prison Re-offending rates among offenders are high - about two thirds are reconvicted within two years of release. Among men aged 18-21 the rate is about three quarters.
Accommodation problems are common - nearly one in three will not have somewhere to live upon release.
A majority of prisoners will have no job to go to and six out of 10 employers automatically exclude those with a criminal record.
Working in a Prison…
Described as – “the most complicated people management task you will ever come across”
Not seen or appreciated by the public - a multitude of stereotypes exist
Closed shop and our families, friends and the community at large do not see and appreciate the work we do everyday
Resilient, Caring, Innovative, Team worker, Integrity, Organised, Problem Solver, Decision Maker, Embrace change.
In spite of all the problems – three quarters of prisoners when questioned said that staff “treated them with respect” ; a challenging job at its most difficult. People skills are the most important asset to have.
Pains of Imprisonment: Suicide and self harm…
Rates of self-harm are at the highest level ever recorded. There were 36,440 self-harm incidents in the year to June 2016—a 52% rise in just two years. A quarter of self-harm incidents occurred within the first month of arriving in a prison—9% were during the first week.
There is a significant correlation between rising self harm and rising violence – serious assaults have more than doubled in the last three years
Self harm rates have risen 50% over the same period.
Social Characteristics…
Almost half of prisoners ran away as a child - compared to 11% of the general population.
About one in three female and half of male prisoners were excluded from school and a majority have no qualifications.
Less than 5% of the general population have two or more mental disorders, compared to 72% of male and 70% of female sentenced prisoners.
Prison Population – some facts
Nowhere in Western Europe jails more of its population than England and Wales, where about 147 people per 100,000 are in prison.
Since the start of 1993, the number of prisoners has risen from 41,600 to more than 89000
Prison sentences are continuing to get longer. The average prison sentence is now over four months longer than 10 years ago at 16.4 months. For more serious, indictable offences, the average is now 57.1 months—20 months longer than 10 years ago
Anyone leaving custody who has served two days or more is now required to serve a minimum of 12 months under supervision in the community. As a result, the number of people recalled to custody following their release has increased dramatically. The recall population is now 19% higher than when the changes were introduced in February 2015—nearly 1,100 more people
Rehabilitative prisons…
Promote desistance and reduce risk:
See engaging offenders in change as an important objective
Convey hope and optimism that change is possible
Demonstrate and teach thinking and behavioural skills
Build strong relationships that demonstrate genuine care about the individual (every contact does matter)
Enable offenders to set and work towards goals for changing their lives
Staff actively listen
Mitigate aspects of imprisonment that might lead to increased offending
For prisons to be decent
Offenders feel safe
Are hopeful
Are treated fairly
Authority is used confidently, consistently, not punitively
There is a shared purpose - to change prisoners’ lives
Strong leadership
Largely determined by the attitudes and skills of frontline staff
Interpersonal courtesy, lack of aggression, avoiding insult and degrading behaviour
Getting things done
Reducing Reoffending pathways
Accommodation
Education, Training and Employment
Mental and Physical Health
Drugs and Alcohol
Finance, Benefits and Debt
Children and Families
Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour
HMP Leicester - What are our challenges
Recruitment and retention of staff
CRCs – Becoming a resettlement prison
Safety
Regime
Regime…
Limited work – catering & cleaning
Education – Focus on reading, writing and IT skills - Education level 1 & level 2 – equivalent to 1st year senior school.
PE – mostly recreational
Domestic visits – remand prisoners daily/ convicted twice a month
Legal visits & Video link
Male Categories…
Category A
prisoners are those whose escape would be highly dangerous to the public or national security
Category B
prisoners are those who do not require maximum security, but for whom escape needs to be made very difficult
Category C
prisoners are those who cannot be trusted in open conditions but who are unlikely to try to escape
Category D
prisoners are those who can be reasonably trusted not to try to escape, and are given the privilege of an open prison
Prisons and Radicalisation
Wake of the “shoe bomber” debate about radicalisation in prison increased
12000 Muslims in prison,
100 for terrorist offences
Reports about Muslims in prison more vulnerable due to isolation and support
Parliamentary report cite staff shortages as fuelling the problem, denied by experts but the debate continues
Resources
Over 200 directly employed staff Uniformed staff Administration Catering Chaplains
Additional staff Nurses HC specialists Drug Workers Teachers Probation Police intelligence officer Librarian Contractors Volunteers Maintenance
£9.5m budget
Healthcare commissioned by Primary care Trust (approx £1m)
Education commissioned by Learning & Skills Council
Some probation staff
The current “crisis” and what to do about it
The Justice Select Committeerecently criticisedthe government for cutting the number of prison officers by almost 30%, a reduction of 12,530 staff, between 31 March 2010 and 30 June 2014.
The committee’s report also said the prisoner-to-staff ratio rose from 3.8 in September 2010 to 4.9 in September 2014.
