Transforming Rehabilitation reforms failing to end the revolving door of crisis and crime
It is hugely disappointing that the extension of support and supervision to short sentenced prisoners is, as yet, failing in its aim to break what for many can be a ‘revolving door’ of crisis and crime.
As the Probation Inspectorate report notes, the vast majority of people serving short prison sentences experience multiple and complex needs. This can often include mental health problems, drug and/or alcohol misuse, homelessness, learning difficulties, physical health problems, poor relationships with family, poverty and debt. Each problem exacerbates the others, and without effective support people experience a downward spiral that can bring them into repeat contact with the criminal justice system.
Given the high level of needs amongst this group, it is deeply troubling that inspectors “were not confident that mental health and disability issues were fully taken into account in the Through the Gate work done with prisoners”.
It is further concerning to see that many prisoners had no genuine involvement in developing their resettlement plans and that inspectors found an “almost fatalistic acceptance of the likelihood of failure” given that we know meaningful involvement and hope drives change.
As Revolving Doors Agency and other experts highlighted during the development of these proposals, while additional support for short sentenced prisoners is welcome, there are risks with a payment by results model and with large contract areas that appear to be hampering local partnerships with agencies that can tackle underlying causes such as substance misuse or homelessness.
We also warned that making this support mandatory, rather than an offer of help to people to turn their lives around, could drive up prison numbers.
To achieve a real ‘rehabilitation revolution’ the government must now look at ways of co-ordinating services not just in the criminal justice system (which the Inspectorate rightly advises) but also across wider health and social care.
Revolving Doors also calls on the government to reconsider safe and productive means by which people facing multiple and complex needs can serve their sentence in the community, rather than an ineffective short prison sentence.
Christina Marriott, Chief Executive of Revolving Doors Agency, said:
“To begin to realise the promise of a rehabilitation revolution, services across the criminal justice system and health and social care must be incentivised to join up. Commissioning needs to respond to the ‘whole person’ by sharing meaningful outcomes across systems, helped when commissioning areas are co-terminus. Shared outcomes, such as recovery from substance use, improved mental health and reduced reoffending depend on every part of the system playing its part.
We know that meeting the full spectrum of people’s needs and investing in quality services that prioritise trusted relationships can contribute to desistance and ultimately to ending the revolving door.”
