Prison inspectors urge agencies to collaborate on offender resettlement efforts
Neil Puffett
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Resettlement help for young offenders leaving custody needs to be improved with outcomes for children being labelled as "disappointing", a report by the chief inspector of prisons has found.
The review, commissioned by the Youth Justice Board, found that a joint effort between government and other agencies is necessary to ensure young people have suitable accommodation, and education, training and employment (ETE).
Focusing on the experiences of 15- to 18-year-olds in young offender institutions (YOIs), it found that 84 per cent interviewed were under 14 when they were last at school. And although most establishments had a resettlement strategy, in most cases these did not involve external agencies and the strategy had not been informed by a recent needs analysis.
Meanwhile, only half of young men said they had a say in their training plan targets. Although case supervisors realised the importance of accommodation and ETE in resettlement work, the main focus was on how young men spent their time in custody.
Nick Hardwick, chief inspector of prisons, said: "This report raises a key question – how effective is the resettlement work conducted in custody in terms of the actual outcomes for young people?
"This was not monitored by establishments and our follow-up information highlights the need to look beyond the gate in order to evaluate the effectiveness of resettlement work. Overall, the outcomes for our sample were very disappointing.
Hardwick added that for all young people to have suitable accommodation and ETE on release from custody, a joint approach with other government departments and external agencies is required.
"The starting point should be an acceptance that vulnerable young people released from custody are children in need," he said. "This would go some way towards focusing the joint effort that is needed to prevent them from returning to custody and becoming entrenched at an early age in a life of crime."
Penelope Gibbs, director of the Prison Reform Trust’s Out of Trouble Programme, said YOIs and youth offending teams must do better.
"Fewer under-18s should be imprisoned and, for those who are, it is essential that they get more help to turn their lives around on release," she said. "For far too many teenagers, prison is a depressing revolving door."
Frances Done, chair of the Youth Justice Board, said: "Every child and young person in custody is encouraged to leave crime behind them. But, for many, life after custody presents fresh challenges and further support is needed to prevent them reoffending.
"We commissioned this report to learn more about how we meet the specific needs of these children and young people, and we will carefully consider its findings."
Done added that the YJB was already making progress in this area, citing its initiative to bring together councils and YOIs to deliver improved resettlement support.
"There are now over 100 voluntary programmes nationwide, as well as growing numbers of regional resettlement consortia that are pulling in the expertise of agencies with excellent track records in delivering education, training and accommodation across the private, voluntary and community sectors, she said. "This innovative way of working is spreading and offers real prospects for children and young people who want to stop offending and lead productive lives."