Integrated Offender Management
This briefing explores effective alternatives to short sentences. It shows the range of factors that can feed into short-sentence prisoners’ cycle of repeat offending. It also shows how the response within local Integrated Offender Management (IOM) approaches can be broadened to interrupt the cycle.
The briefing draws on the existing policy and research base around IOM and on key lessons from partnership work across the country. It considers strategic and operational perspectives to think about who to target, what interventions to offer and which partners to bring to the table. IOM provides a strategic umbrella. With no prescribed model for its delivery, local areas have significant freedom regarding its implementation. It is hoped that this will lead to initiatives which are responsive to local need.
The report’s key messages include:
- Short-sentence prisoners have the highest recorded reoffending rates and warrant targeted interventions delivered through IOM. They are repeatedly found to experience multiple problems.
- When combined, these problems can perpetuate a cycle of sustained offending behaviour, punctuated by short periods of detention. This cycle places a substantial financial burden on national and local resources.
- IOM provides the framework to bring together partners to develop and deliver responses to significantly reduce reoffending among this group. A range of partners should be included at both strategic and operational level.
- Comprehensive needs assessment and creative strategic thinking can overcome commonly faced barriers to service access.
Strong links need to be built with prisons so that work can start early to build motivation and plan or release.
The briefing considers mental health, alcohol and housing, and working through the gate (preparing prisoners for release and resettlement). It also provides examples of partnership working and innovative solutions – many cost-neutral – to improve offenders’ access to services to reduce reoffending.
