New review highlights multiple needs of short term prisoners
In late 2010 Revolving Doors was commissioned by the North East Public Health Observatory, on behalf of the Directorate of Social Care in the North East, to undertake a literature review into the social care needs of prisoners sentenced to less than twelve months in prison.
Short-sentence prisoners are the archetypal ‘revolving doors’ group. Our previous research and recent development work in HMP Lewes, HMP Styal and HMP Everthorpe have highlighted their multiple needs. The exceptionally high rate of reoffending among this group is a particular concern of the current coalition Government.
The current climate of dramatic reductions in public spending is likely to have a widespread impact on the ability of services to meet these needs. Nevertheless, we have significant reasons to be optimistic, not least the renewed Government focus on rehabilitation. This group is particularly in the spotlight, with ‘payment by results’ approaches forming a key component of the proposals to reduce reoffending among this group. The early findings from our Financial Analysis Model highlight the huge expense to the public purse that this group generates and the potential for real savings to be made through offering better targeted support.
However, we believe that only through a comprehensive understanding of the problem can such effective solutions be designed. As such, this review provides an invaluable understanding of what the needs of short-sentence prisoners are, how they are currently identified and the key elements of good practice at meeting these needs.
We hope that increased understanding around these issues will lead to improved responses to this group of prisoners, not only in the North-East, but across all English regions.
