London News

From the latest London Partnership Newsletter:-

Message from our Director of Probation Welcome to the latest edition of London Community Rehabilitation Company’s (CRC) partnership newsletter, designed to keep you up-to-date on our latest news and to provide insights into our approach to offender rehabilitation.

Message from our Director of Probation

Welcome to the latest edition of London Community Rehabilitation Company’s (CRC) partnership newsletter, designed to keep you up-to-date on our latest news and to provide insights into our approach to offender rehabilitation.

London CRC launched its Cohort Model and stakeholder partnership structure over six months ago and, during this time, we have had an opportunity to review the effectiveness of this organisational model. We remain committed to helping partner organisations meet their statutory local crime reduction priorities and we also need to prioritise the work we do with offenders to fulfil our own commitment to reducing reoffending. We have therefore decided to move two of our Heads of Stakeholders and Partnerships (HOSPs) senior managers into our Operations Directorate to support our offender managers. We are retaining two senior managers in stakeholder roles, and they will continue to provide an effective link between local authorities, partnership organisations and London CRC’s operational teams. More detail about the impact of these changes and relevant contact details can be found in the letter we’ve recently sent to affected partner organisations. 

We remain committed to meeting our local obligations, including: 

• Chairing IOM panels within boroughs 

• Responding to MASH and MARAC information requests 

• Carrying out Safeguarding Children Section 11 audits 

• Committing to Domestic Homicide Reviews and Serious Case Reviews, as appropriate. 

In this issue 

In this issue, we cover an update on our Through the Gate service, an overview of our commitment to safeguarding children and an insight into our work with the Lambeth Integrated Offender Management Hub. 

You can also read about our involvement in a couple of new, multi-agency initiatives: a scheme to ensure all offenders are registered with a GP, and the first Londonwide service designed to help young people who are gang involved or affected to move away from gangs. We also give an insight into a pilot we are running to improve offenders’ chances of getting work when they leave prison, and our trauma-informed approach to working with women offenders. 

I hope this newsletter gives you a good picture of London CRC’s work and current priorities. If you’d like to know more, or have any questions, please email LondonCRC.partnershipnewsletter@londoncrc.org.uk

Helga Swidenbank Director of Probation

Helping offenders prepare for their release from custody 

An update on our Through the Gate service

In line with the Offender Rehabilitation Act 2014, all offenders who will be supervised by London Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) when released from prison now receive comprehensive resettlement support while still in custody. The aim of this Through the Gate (TtG) service is to improve offender engagement and break the cycle of reoffending. 

Our TtG service is delivered in partnership with a number of specialist organisations that provide an end-to-end service (from initial offender screening using the Basic Custody Screening Tool 2 through to resettlement planning 12 weeks prior to an offender’s release) across a number of prisons:  

Catch 22 – a social business that helps people turn their lives around. • Feltham • ISIS • Thameside

Novus – a not-for-profit large scale social enterprise dedicated to delivering education, training and employability programmes in more than 100 sites within prisons, Approved Premises and the community. • Highdown • High Point • Onley • Wormwood Scrubs

Penrose – a charity that provides help and support for ex-offenders and people with mental illness. • Belmarsh • Brixton • Pentonville • Wandsworth

Resettlement Workers from our partner organisations work closely with London CRC’s offender managers to give them the necessary information to support offenders once they are released from custody. This includes sharing Resettlement Plans and information on potential reoffending risks. 

Comprehensive support 

To ensure individuals receive the support they need to prepare for their release, Resettlement Workers also link with other organisations within the prisons that work with offenders. This includes organisations that provide accommodation advice and support and those that can help to sort out personal debts, for example. 

We remain committed to reviewing and improving the services we provide to offenders in custody to ensure they are referred to the most appropriate services at the right time, to aid their rehabilitation and to reduce their risks of reoffending.

London GP registration scheme 

A fresh approach to tackling the problems associated with offenders who are not registered with a GP

Offenders often have complex health problems. Many have mental health issues and problems associated with substance misuse. Those with long-term physical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure often also suffer from mental ill health such as anxiety and depression. 

Regular physical health checks can identify potential problems before they develop into serious conditions. However, offenders may not be registered with a GP. There are a number of reasons for this, including lack of stable accommodation, poor communication skills, difficulties accessing services and sometimes, a lack of sympathy from health professionals. As a result, offenders’ long-term health conditions are likely to be poorly managed. This in turn poses a significant public health risk due to lack of diagnosis and care of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. 

A fresh approach 

The London GP registration scheme is a new, multi-agency initiative to tackle these issues. Funded by NHS England’s Justice Division, in partnership with Dr Niki Lang, Director of Public Health in Sutton, it aims to increase offender GP registrations to improve offender health. Key to the success of the scheme is improved communication and information sharing between prison health professionals and Probation. Fiona Bauermeister, London CRC’s Head of Resettlement, is tasked with taking on this work. 

How it will work 

Currently, it isn’t possible to identify if an offender is registered with, or being treated by, a GP. Under the GP registration scheme, prison healthcare professionals will be required to identify prisoners who are not registered. Subject to the offender’s consent, they will notify London CRC staff who, in turn, will refer the individuals to a GP near their home. A Probation office may be used as a proxy address for homeless offenders. 

Ultimately, the aim is to ensure that all offenders are registered with, and engage with,GP services. 

Next steps: 

Work is currently underway to: 

• develop robust links with other London-wide initiatives including ‘Gripping the Offender’ (a multi-agency pilot aimed at reducing reoffending rates among repeat offenders) and Probation Through the Gate services 

• work with local champions from public health Clinical Commissioning Groups and Community Safety Partnerships to co-ordinate and promote the scheme in their boroughs 

• train staff in participating organisations on their role in making the scheme work 

• brief GPs and their Practice Managers on the value of the scheme and what is required of them 

• ensure IT connectivity between prison healthcare teams and GP practices to allow effective sharing of information about diagnostics and prescribing. 

Getting offenders ‘job ready’ 

How a new pilot in London prisons is helping prepare offenders in custody for employment when released

As part of our Through the Gate service, we provide employment and skills advice and guidance to offenders in their last twelve weeks of custody. Our aim is to encourage them to start looking at opportunities so they have a head start when they return to their communities. 

Working in partnership 

Since April this year, London prisons and London Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) have shared details of the employers they work with. As a result, we can now explore potential job and training opportunities in these organisations with a view to offenders building on the work experience they’ve gained in prison. To help offenders think about job opportunities as they approach their release dates, our vacancies are now advertised in prisons. 

Like anyone else who is looking for a job, offenders obviously need to prepare for the job application process. With this in mind, we are launching a new tool – initially in Onley and Wormwood Scrubs resettlement prisons – to assess and build on an offender’s job readiness within their last four weeks of custody. 

A tailored approach 

Using our Job Readiness Banding Tool (JRBT), we can identify how much additional work offenders need to do before they are ready to make applications: do they have an up-to-date CV, a positive letter of disclosure, a bank account etc. This allows our prison Resettlement Workers to quickly classify individual offenders as gold, silver or bronze job ready against key criteria such as those above. Our aim is to work with offenders to get them job ready as quickly as possible and this approach enables us to tailor the level of support needed by each individual. London prisons have shown a lot of interest in the JRBT and are starting to use it within the first few weeks of an offender’s custody. 

Resettlement Workers pass on an offender’s JRBT classification and details to London CRC’s offender managers so that they can provide the necessary support once the offender leaves prison. ‘Gold’ offenders will typically be motivated to find a role and have done a good amount of preparatory work while in custody. In such cases, staff will work with their offenders to complete any outstanding tasks such as giving advice on how to conduct a job search, or providing interview practice. They will also liaise with our Employment and Skills Team to identify any relevant job and training opportunities currently on offer through our network of organisations that employ ex-offenders. Silver and bronze job readiness classifications can be used to motivate and encourage offenders to work on their job readiness prior to leaving custody and once they are assigned a Probation offender manager upon release. 

Easier access to employment opportunities 

To further support offenders who are fully job ready, we are running a series of sector specific recruitment events that give individuals an opportunity to meet potential employers faceto-face once they have left prison. This allows both parties to discuss specific vacancies, the skills needed and the recruitment processes. On occasion, this approach may even lead to an on-the-spot job offer. Interested in joining us? 

If you think your organisation’s work could complement the approach we are taking to supporting offenders’ training and employment needs, please get in touch by emailing employability@londoncrc.org.uk

Lambeth Integrated Offender Management Hub 

A multi-agency approach to working with prolific offenders
London Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) works in partnership with a number of offender focused organisations to run a twice weekly hub for prolific offenders in Lambeth. The hub is based at Stockwell Park community centre which is run by Lambeth Community Trust. 

The Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime (MOPAC) and Lambeth local authority fund a number of posts for this Integrated Offender Management (IOM) Hub, including: 

• a Service Manager 

• a Coordinator 

• a Mental Health Worker from mental health charity Together 

• an accommodation worker 

• and staff from Air Sports Network, an organisation that offers a range of services to help disadvantaged people play a positive part in their communities. 

Offenders referred to the hub also have access to a variety of other providers to support their rehabilitation. For example, they can get: 

• education, training and employment advice and support 

• finance and debt advice 

• substance misuse advice and treatment 

• access to voluntary work opportunities 

• and support to make better decisions to help them turn their lives around. 

Hub attendees can also use the on-site IT suite for basic IT training and to access the internet for job searches etc. 

The Lambeth IOM Hub therefore gives offenders an opportunity to access a range of services, to meet their specific needs, without the need to travel to different locations. This holistic approach to working with offenders who have struggled with traditional Probation approaches has proven to be very effective, so much so that a number have continued to attend the Hub once their statutory supervision period has ended. It has also contributed to a positive reduction in reoffending rates in this group. 

In the words of one of our offenders who has attended the hub: “It’s brilliant. If I’d been able to access somewhere like this before, I think I’d have had a better chance of staying out of prison.”