Edition 67 Custodial Review

Custodial the

Review

The Custodial Review Informing the Prison, Customs & Immigration and Police Services Edition 67

The old school and the newDavid Lobley on catering at HMP Hull

Beating Anger- Times top 15 book.’

Project supports offender management practitioners to help create better futures

In this issue: Prisoners Education Trust launches call for prisoner learning based on evidence.

Norfolk and Suffolk Custody Suites, a year on..

www.thecustodial.co.uk For thousands of products, services and links

Contents Issue 67 2 News Norfolk and Suffolk Custody Suites, a year on..

12 The old school and the new

Catering at Hull

19 National Custody Seminar 2012 20

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Editorial Sales Team: Derek Cooper and Tracy Johnson, Tel: 01234 348878 sales@custodialreview.co.uk Administration: Lyn Mitchell

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Prisoners Education Trust launches call for prisoner learning based on evidence Project supports offender management practitioners to help create better futures Latest news from the Restorative Justice team

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Library at the heart of prison celebrated with prestigious new award

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More news

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Beating Anger, has been shortlisted in the Times top 15 self help books of all time Beating Anger author Mike Fisher was proud to announce that his book - Beating Anger, has been shortlisted in the Times top 15 self help books of all time. The revolutionary book uses a carefully constructed programme to allow readers to curb their anger, and deal with on-going issues surrounding stress, anger and aggression.

The move to include Beating Anger into the shortlist is set to please critics all over the world, who widely attribute Mike to be the leader of his field and a pioneer in the anger management treatment sector.

Suffering with dyslexia, Mike was often doubted when he told others he was planning on writing a book, and had to deal with a number of put downs and disappointments prior to writing it. Instead of giving up he carried on, and managed to write, edit and publish the book within a year.

Speaking from his home in West Sussex, Mike announced that he is exceptionally pleased

with the news, and feels incredibly humbled that his book was given such an honour.

“To know that people all over the world are reaping the benefits of my book is a great feeling, and it’s such an achievement to allow others to find help with a problem that I suffered with for many years. 17 years ago there was very little help for people in the UK with anger issues. After extensive travel to the Americas and other parts of the world, I managed to devise a new programme that incorporated new ways of thinking, as well as reinventing the old ones. With the help of a great editing team, I began to write a book detailing this self help system and how to combat anger issues.”

The British Association of Anger Management was founded over 15 years ago by Mike, and has been committed to helping those with anger issues ever since. Through a combination of therapy, self help guides and counselling, Mike has helped thousands of people overcome their anger.

Mike Fisher

To learn please contact, Mike Fisher on 0345 1300 286, Email: _fishermike@mac.com or visit www.angermanage.co.uk

Court custody facilities in Cleveland, Durham and Northumbria – greater focus needed from court managers Court managers needed to take a more active role in how their custody suites were run, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing the report of an inspection.

The inspection was the first in a new programme of inspections of court custody carried out by HM Inspectorate of Prisons.

At the time of inspection there were four Crown Court and 12 Magistrates’ Court buildings with active custody suites in the region. Some courts had been recently closed and new Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) management structures were still being embedded after a change programme. Custody operations were contracted out.

Inspectors were concerned to find that:

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although there were good working relationships locally between the staff of HMCTS and the contractor, HMCTS managers were insufficiently engaged with the custody function; in most places, detainees were not given clear information about their rights or how to make a complaint; the physical condition of the cell area was particularly poor at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court and poor at four other sites;

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the telephone interpreting service had almost never been used;

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searching and handcuffing procedures were a matter of routine rather than related to risk and were not always consistent;

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while considerable care was taken with some vulnerable detainees, a thorough initial risk assessment was lacking; and

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women and children were not always kept appropriately separate from the main detainee population in vans or the cell areas.

Inspectors, however, were pleased to find that:

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courts did not have cut-off times;

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the information coming in with detainees was generally good;

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there was little use of force; and

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mental health services to the custody suites were good.

Nick Hardwick said:

‘This first full inspection of custody suites in a court area revealed custody staff who did their best to take care of detainees, in conditions

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which were in many cases poor, and with underdeveloped approaches to assessing and managing risk and to meeting legitimate needs. Improvements to buildings will require capital spends, but there is much that can be done to improve matters in the short term, especially if HMCTS managers focus on the custody suites as an integral part of their role in running the courts.’

HM Inspectorate of Prisons is an independent inspectorate, inspecting places of detention to report on conditions and treatment, and promote positive outcomes for those detained and the public.

This is the first report of a new programme of inspections of court custody. These inspections contribute to the UK’s response to its international obligation to ensure regular and independent inspection of all places of detention. The inspections look at strategy, individual rights, and treatment and conditions, including health care.

The court custody facilities in this area comprised: Crown Court: Durham, Newcastle-uponTyne (Quayside), Newcastle-upon-Tyne Moot Hall, Teesside.

Magistrates’ Court: Bedlington, Berwick upon Tweed, Consett, Gateshead, Hartlepool, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newton Aycliffe, North Tyneside, Peterlee, South Tyneside, Sunderland, Teesside.

Findings and lessons learned from the early implementation of the HMP Doncaster payment by results pilot.

Innovative court video technology rollout

This report presents the findings of research commissioned to identify the experiences of implementing and delivering the payment by results pilot (PbR) at HMP Doncaster.

Justice and Policing Minister Damian Green said:

The process evaluation included consultation with strategic stakeholders, delivery staff and 51 offenders. The findings from the research indicate that a PbR contract has encouraged innovative service delivery, particularly in the community.

‘We want the justice system to respond more effectively to the needs of victims, witnesses and professionals.Video technology is vital in this and I am extremely pleased that thousands more people up and down the country will be seeing more criminal justice areas and courts making use of the technology.

The new arrangements have facilitated tailored support for offenders within a flexible approach. It also identifies some implications for future PbR models.

‘This is one part of our drive to create a swifter and more efficient justice system for all.’

The report is on the MoJ website at: www. justice.gov.uk/downloads/publications/ research-and-analysis/moj-research/hmpdoncaster-payment-by-results-pilot.pdf

Thirteen regions will be rolling out video technology in their court services during 2013, helping local communities benefit from quick effective justice.

The initiative means thousands more court appearances will take place via video-link technology. This will help lower transport costs, reduce prisoner movements, as well as save on police hours.

The areas that will be rolling out video technology in 2013 are Avon and Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Sussex, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Dorset, Northamptonshire, Devon and Cornwall, Wiltshire, North Wales, Gwent, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

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Probation satellite tracking scheme wins award A ground breaking partnership approach to protecting communities from crime and keeping the public safe has been recognised at a national awards ceremony.

Hertfordshire Probation Trust has won this year’s Guardian Public Services Award for Digital Innovation for their work on satellite tracking offenders in the community.

The Hertfordshire Horizons Programme is a partnership led by Hertfordshire Probation Trust and Hertfordshire Constabulary. It is supported by a range of other public, private and voluntary sector partners to reduce reoffending amongst the county’s worst offenders.

As well as using satellite tracking tags the Horizons team works intensively with Hertfordshire’s most prolific offenders providing a package of support, including drug and alcohol interventions and employment and housing.

Colin Allars, NOMS Director of Probation and Contracted Services, said: ‘This is a fantastic achievement.The Hertfordshire Horizons project is a great example of partners working together to have a real impact on reducing reoffending and I am delighted that it has been recognised with this award.’

The Government is committed to ensuring electronic monitoring is an effective tool in supporting the punishment of offenders and helping make our communities safer.

Through the new contracts for electronic monitoring services, due to come into effect in 2013, we will be introducing the most sophisticated and advanced satellite tracking technology in the world to track offenders

Prisoner voting rights Draft proposals to ensure that laws on prisoner voting comply with the UK’s international legal obligations were outlined

by Justice Secretary Chris Grayling in November.

The draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill will be carefully examined by a Joint Committee of MPs and Peers from different political parties. It includes options to:

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Maintain the current ban on all convicted prisoners voting Allow prisoners sentenced to less than 6 months in prison to vote Allow prisoners sentence to less than 4 years in prison to vote

More details http://www.justice.gov. uk/legislation/bills-and-acts/bills/votingeligibility-prisoners-draft-bill

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Changes to prison capacity announced The Government is to start feasibility work on what would be Britain’s biggest prison as part of a major programme of updating Britain’s prison estate. The new prison could hold more than 2,000 prisoners – around a quarter more than the largest current facility. The new facility is likely to be in London, the North West or North Wales.

It follows the opening of the new HMP Oakwood near Wolverhampton last year which has a normal capacity of 1,600 prisoners, and is now approaching full operation. The prison has the most modern training and rehabilitation facilities in the country.

Four new mini-prisons – known as houseblocks - will also be built. The current intention is that these new places will be built at HMPs Parc in South Wales, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, The Mount in Hertfordshire and Thameside in London. In total they will be able to hold up to 1,260 prisoners and they will replace older, more expensive prison capacity. The cost of holding a prisoner in an older prison is often more than twice as expensive as keeping them in a new one.

Their modern design allows new prisons to operate in a significantly more efficient way, requiring less maintenance and general upkeep compared to older ones.

The new developments will allow the Ministry of Justice to close six smaller, older and more expensive prisons, and to close parts of three others. The prisons affected are HMPs Bullwood Hall, Canterbury,

Gloucester, Kingston, Shepton Mallet and Shrewsbury, with some accommodation at HMPs Chelmsford, Hull and Isle of Wight also closing. This amounts to around 2,600 places.

200 contractually crowded places at private prisons will also be decommissioned.

The Government will also convert a surplus young offenders institution at HMP Ashfield into a full adult prison.

The programme is part of the Government’s drive to build new capacity to replace older prisons and so bring down the cost of operating the prison system. It is expected to save £63 million a year.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: 'We have to bring down the cost of our prison system, much of which is old and expensive. But I never want the Courts to be in a position where they cannot send a criminal to prison because there is no place available. So we have to move as fast as we can to replace the older parts of our prison system.

'That’s why we are moving ahead with immediate plans for new prison capacity, as well as closing older and more expensive facilities.

'It’s also why I am now moving ahead with planning for the next generation of new prisons.'

Working with partners NOMS recognises that it can only achieve its aims by working in partnership and collaborating with a wide range of other agencies and organisations. Agencies of all kinds are working with NOMS, as the criminal justice sector is increasingly opened up to a wider base of providers.

NOMS works at a national level with other government departments to commission health, education and training services, and with private companies running prisons, major contracts for prisoner escort, electronic monitoring and other offender services.

Charities, voluntary and social enterprise organisations are also engaged, at all levels , including as commissioned contractors and sub-contractors delivering programmes to reduce reoffending.

NOMS also works with a range of independent inspectorates as well as with local authorities, youth offending teams, the courts, police and other enforcement agencies. Together we are working to transform justice and reduce reoffending.

Changing lives together Changing Lives Together is our regular ezine to stakehold, highlighting some of the excellent work that is going on in NOMS, prisons and probation. Each issue includes articles focusing on particular partners, showcasing projects that are helping us to change lives together. https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKMOJ/subscriber/new In the current issue: Adults who were in care as children are more likely to offend and reoffend. David Graham, National Director of the Care Leavers Association, talks about his new NOMS-funded project on how to break the cycle of care to crime.

Also featured: Latest Government announcements on prison capacity and the future for probation, projects getting ex-servicemen and women back on the straight and narrow in Northumberland and Hampshire, and how lobster pots in Lincolnshire are helping to tackle reoffending.

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Aycliffe Secure Centre improves content control with Exterity IPTV

Results ACEDA’s solution has allowed all residents to access live television and Video on Demand (VOD) content including films, catch-up TV and music, via a webplayer in their room.

Background Aycliffe Secure Centre provides specialist secure accommodation for young people between the ages of 11 and 17. The centre protects a range of young people, from those who are facing criminal proceedings and are on remand, through to those who are a risk to themselves or to others.

The Challenge Having been in the same building for 30 years, Aycliffe decided to upgrade its facilities and construct a purpose built centre on the same site. As part of the move Aycliffe wanted to provide a more stateof-the-art media system for its residents. The team’s highest priority is protecting their residents from harm, so their old solution, where residents had portable TVs and radios in each bedroom connected by loose electrical leads, was a security risk. There was also no way of controlling what residents watched based on their age or behaviour.

The Solution The solution, integrated by ACEDA, combined Exterity’s Avedia Player Receivers, connecting digital TVs and AV displays to Aycliffe’s IP network so they can receive TV and video channels, with AvediaStream TVgateways to capture live TV and radio and make it available via the IP network to end users. AvediaStream Encoders encode information from devices including DVD players and set-top boxes, making them available as a single channel.

Vital to the installation was Exterity’s AvediaServer, an application-based platform that enables greater control of content and extends viewing to a PC or Mac. AvediaServer provides a library of VOD content, scheduled play channels, Electronic Program Guide information and interface options to deliver a truly bespoke IPTV solution.

By providing each resident with an individual username and password, which they can use in their rooms and on PCs around the centre, ACEDA has enabled Aycliffe to restrict access to its residents or tailor the service to each individual.

“We can now ensure that each of our residents can view the type and amount of content that’s appropriate for their age and behaviour,” said Gill Palin Strategic Manager at Aycliffe Secure Centre. “And because it’s an integrated IPTV solution, there are no dangerous wires lying around, so we have the peace of mind that the young people under our care are safe.”

Colin Farquhar, CEO, Exterity concluded: “One of the major benefits of our IPTV solution is the centralised control it provides. Aycliffe Secure Centre is a unique example of an organisation using that control to meet its needs, by ensuring the correct content is accessed by the correct people.” For more information visit www.exterity.com

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Children and young people in custody - a fall in numbers, but little change otherwise The number of children and young people in custody continues to fall, but little has changed in their perception of their treatment and conditions, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing a thematic report, Children and Young People in Custody 2011-12: an analysis of the experiences of 15-18-year-olds in prison.

The report, published jointly with the Youth Justice Board (YJB), sets out how young people aged 15 to 18 describe their own experience of imprisonment in 2011-12. Between 2010-11 and 2011-12, the number of young people in custody, held in young offender institutions, fell by 14 per cent and now stands at 1,543.

As a result, in 2011-12 there was a further decommissioning of 231 places across the secure estate to reflect the decreasing size of the population.

The surveys demonstrate wide variations in young people’s perceptions in different establishments that reflect, in part, differences in their size and functions. Generalisations should therefore be treated with caution.

However, of most concern is the increase, from 27% to 32%, in the number of young people who had felt unsafe at some time.

The report also found that: • approximately half (53%) of young men said that it was their first time in custody; • after rising for two successive years, the proportion of young people from black and minority ethnic communities remained steady at 42%, similar to the

Nacro - Prisoner rehab revolution must invest in services that make a lasting impact Nacro, the largest resettlement charity in the UK, has welcomed Chris Grayling’s announcement on expanding resettlement and mentoring support to all offenders leaving prison. Paul McDowell, chief executive of Nacro, said: “The Secretary of State is right to focus on what is needed to reduce crime and the chronic problem of reoffending in our communities. It is absolutely true that something must be done to stop recycling people through the criminal justice system.

The current system fails communities, it fails victims and it fails ex-offenders looking to change their lives.

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39% who reported this in 2010-11; the increase in the proportion of young men who described themselves as Muslim had accelerated from 16% in 2010-11 to 21% in 2011-12; almost a third of the young people surveyed (30%) said they had been looked after by a local authority at some point; 12% of young men said they had children; 89% of young men said they were involved in some form of purposeful activity, either education, a job, vocational or skills training or offending behaviour programmes, similar to the 90% in 2010-11; over one-quarter (26%) of young men anticipated having problems finding accommodation once released; 39% of young women reported having emotional or mental health problems; only 19% of young women said that it was easy for their family and friends to visit them; and nine out of ten young people wanted to stop offending when they had left custody.

Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said:

“It might have been expected that reductions in the number of young people held and changes to the custodial estate would have led to changes of similar significance to young people’s perceptions of their experience in custody. In fact, it is striking how little has changed and that may cast doubt on the assumption that, as the population decreased, it would include a greater concentration of young people with a serious offence background and major problems.

“Young people’s own perceptions of their experience in custody, their hopes and approach to reducing reoffending and invest in services that will make a lasting impact.

This means investing in the priorities that we know are crucial to reducing crime: providing suitable and secure housing and work; working to change attitudes during and after sentence; tackling drug and alcohol problems; improving problem solving and getting offenders to pay back for damage caused.

“We welcome the announcement as a step in the right direction. But it’s important to see what happens in practice.Voluntary sector organisations like Nacro have a vital role to play in delivering these services in communities, yet these services must be properly resourced, planned and join the right organisations together to deliver lasting change. Critically, the way these services are commissioned must take account of the financial constraints facing the voluntary sector and must not exclude charities from playing a full role.”

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concerns, should be an important part of the evidence that shapes the future of the youth justice custody estate and youth justice policy.

These annual surveys provide an important resource for tracking these perceptions and identifying progress made and work still to be done. The voice that comes through these statistics is largely realistic but hopeful – and should not be ignored.”

Frances Done, Chair of the Youth Justice Board, said: “Children in custody are amongst those with the very greatest needs and their safety and welfare is our highest priority. We commission this report each year to help us to identify the progress made and areas which need further improvement. Our overriding objective is to ensure that whilst in custody children are kept safe, supported to address their offending behaviour and helped to lead successful lives on release. We will review the findings of this report and work with our secure establishments to ensure that they are taken into account in all aspects of their work.”

This is the eighth report that HMI Prisons has published jointly with the Youth Justice Board examining the perceptions of 15- to 18-yearolds held in young offender institutions across England and Wales. It provides an opportunity to compare young people’s perceptions across establishments and over time.

The report is based on the experience of 926 young men in eight male establishments and 25 young women in three female establishments in which they were held. These represent 58% and 93% respectively of the total population of young men and women in prison at the time these surveys took place, from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012. changing lives in hundreds of communities across England and Wales, it is made up of more than 1,200 staff and volunteers and runs more than 200 different projects.

Nacro’s work focuses on three areas – before, while and after people are in trouble: Crime prevention and early intervention – stopping young people getting into trouble by running services which steer them away from crime, teach them new skills and create new opportunities.

Offender management – working with people in prison, on post-release licences and on community sentences, challenging them to stop offending and equipping them with skills and opportunities so they can move away from crime and give something positive back to their communities.

Resettlement – helping offenders cope after serving a prison sentence so they can settle back into the community, find somewhere to live and access education, training or a job.

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Norfolk and Suffolk Custody Suites, a year on..

Roger Wiltshire is the Chief Inspector responsible for Custody for the combined Norfolk and Suffolk Police Investigation Centres (PICs).

These consist of six shared use custody and investigation units that are located across the two counties.

Custodial Review interviewed him a year ago on their development. His role was originally to oversee the commissioning of these units and subsequently he is in charge of running them.

I last spoke to Roger in November 2011 just as the last of the planned PICs was about to be opened in Great Yarmouth. He told me that the building programme had gone well and that improvements in the custody and care of detainees were as important as the savings in time and money that were expected to come due to the greater efficiencies that had been incorporated. I was interested to see if, one year on, these expectations had been met.

CR A year ago there had been some issues with the location of the PICs. They were not in the town centres and this would involve a lot more detainees being driven around potentially resulting in longer times before they could be booked in. This caused concern due to the resulting effect on front line Police time ‘on the streets’. Has the PICs being sited in an out of town location proved this to be the case?

RW We have found that generally they are in the right place and overall the time between arrest and booking in has dropped, so increasing front line officers ‘time on the streets’. The ability to find a site large enough and within budget is a factor that had to be taken into account when considering how correct the sighting is. Ideally we would have liked large town centre locations with plenty of parking and on major routes, but these are rarely available or affordable. Given the sites available to us we have as good an outcome as we could have expected and afforded.

CR You were hoping for economy’s to be forthcoming from the outlying areas because there would be less travelling into town centres. This was due to Norfolk and Suffolk being mainly rural so there would be a reduction travelling into the town centres by car. The reverse was also a potential problem.

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for minor offences are dealt with in a much more proportionate way whilst we are taking more serious offenders off the streets far more often.

CR Why have you been able to reduce the time it takes to process arrested people into custody and how do you measure it? And what efficiencies do having dedicated custody staff and the CIU bring?

Roger Wiltshire

RW There have been two issues, one being for the officers who work in the rural areas and the market towns. They previously had to travel into Ipswich or Norwich to book in their arrestee, so for them the situation hasn’t changed much; in fact they have an easier journey because they do not have to navigate any town centre traffic. The officers who work in the towns do have a journey now; this was a concern for the town centre foot patrols who in the past would only have to walk to the police centre station. However we have proved that because our operating procedures in the PICs are far more efficient the ‘arrest to booking in’ time is actually lower than it was before the PICs were built.

CR You expected those efficiencies; however have there been efficiencies or changes that were not so expected?

RW Not really no, but what has happened is a slight change in the profile of detainees we are dealing with. The PICs were opening at the same time as there was an expansion in the use of alternative disposals such as restorative justice. So, for example, 15 years ago when I was working as a custody Sergeant in Norwich we would get a regular procession of football arrests and teenage shoplifters on Saturday afternoons. We do not get as many of them now because they are dealt with by Fixed Penalty Notices or by the use of restorative justice. However when we move into a Saturday evening our greater cell capacity means that officers policing the night time can take a much more proactive stance on disorder because they are not restricted by limited cell space. This is a very appropriate change in my opinion as young people caught Page 8

RW One of our key measures is the time between arrest and authorisation of detention.

This period of time includes the journey to the custody suite and processing the arrested person into custody. We know that this time is now lower than when we had all the town centre stations with their individual custody suites. This is quite remarkable when you consider that for many arrests there is now a more travelling involved. This is due in no small part to the Custody Investigation Units (CIU) who handle over 50% of the arrested people These units are especially useful on Saturday and Sunday mornings when we have cells full of remorseful looking people with sore heads.

We do not usually need to call in any officers from the street to help us process these people as we have the in house staff who can handle it. One Sunday morning in November we had 26 detainees to process on a Sunday morning; this was all handled by the in house staff. It’s the custody and CIU staff who have been responsible for the efficiencies.

CR When we last spoke you had 94 detention staff and 10 Police in the Custody branch across the 2 counties and were looking forward to the ability to be able to transfer them from one PIC to another at short notice to fill unexpected gaps. Has this proved to be the case?

RW Yes it has, we have a similar number of staff and have only had to change the shift pattern slightly. We have been able to transfer staff, it’s been a fairly frequent occurrence, some of the staff enjoy moving temporarily to another PIC, others less so, however it’s important that we make the best use of all our resources. If we have a short term need, for instance caused by sickness then the ability to move staff at very short notice is a valuable one. It helps to ensure we rarely have to call in front line police to help us cover.

CR Training was another issue you raised. The pressure on staffing must make it problematic when you need to release people for essential training and holidays.

RW We have enough resilience in the staff numbers to enable the necessary training to take place. We took a good look at the training we were providing and have amended it according to the new requirements and the facilities we now have. Custody Sergeants still have an annual refresher course. All Custody staff have their first aid and personal safety training maintained at a high level. We have to

This protective panel was installed after commissioning - Its a regular area of damage and now doesn’t require frequent maintenance.

plan well ahead and avoid the holiday periods.

We have a strict limit on the number of staff that can be on leave at any one time, but we can usually release people for their requested leave as long as we have sufficient notice CR These PICs were all built by using the PFI scheme; this has had a very bad press in some parts of the public sector. Kier were the contractors with this project I believe, has there been any difficulties as a result of the PFI arrangement?

RW Quite the opposite, I’m of the opinion that PFI has worked in very much in our favour. Norfolk already had a lot of experience with the PFI scheme because we had built our new headquarters building using the system.

We learnt a lot about making sure that the contract was right in the first place. It also has to be very robust and in our favour where it matters to us. It’s also very important to get the building design right in the first place.

In my experience PFI can deliver fantastic facilities and the back up to maintain them; however like with all buildings changing them once they have been built is very expensive.

To this end we put a lot of time and effort into making sure the building was designed and specified in such a way as to meet our needs now and into the future as far as we could reasonably anticipate. A good example of this was the ‘Bridge’ area, also known as the booking in desk. Within the PFI contract it specified that the contractors had to build a full sized mock-up of it that would enable us to try it out and make changes where we saw fit. It was only when we were completely satisfied that the design was approved for final build and installation. The result is exactly what we need. In my experience PFI is good when the contract is written robustly and the planning is done thoroughly and well in advance. We have had some problems with the buildings, however I can honestly say that these have been put right very quickly, it’s in the contractor’s interests to do this because of the financial penalties they can incur should they not do so. So far the contract has really worked in our favour and freed us to get on with the job we do.

CR You must have attracted attention from other forces, possibly even some envy! What have they thought of your new facilities and what do you tell them it’s down to?

RW Since a very favourable HMIC report there has been a lot of interest in the two counties new PICs. One of the most asked questions are how we keep the place looking in such good condition. This is because the facility has been open for 18 months and yet it looks like it was opened this morning. Much of credit for this belongs to the contractors who keep it clean and tidy. It’s part of the contract that it must be kept this way and there is a financial penalty if they do not. We also have a zero tolerance to damage like graffiti. We

point out to all detained people that the cell is in pristine condition when they enter it and that any damage they do they will be charged for. Should a cell be damaged then we take it out of use until it is repaired. We do not allow posters on the walls in any part of the building as it damages the paint. The contractors are also very quick to change things if it is in everyone’s interests. For instance there is a wall just inside the suite that was frequently getting scuffed and marked and needed frequent repainting; the contractors fitted perspex panel over it so that it could be simply wiped cleaned. They have even installed radio controlled clocks, this prevents them having to go around and alter them twice a year. It’s this type of attention to detail that the PFI contract creates as long as it has written into it the clauses that make it in the contractor’s interests to keep the facility looking good and working well.

CR I recall you saying it is important to get the planning right before the building started as it’s expensive to change afterwards.

However needs and requirements do change as society and technology develop. Have you had to change the building or its use at all?

RW We have commenced a pilot scheme for drug testing on arrest and we had to decide how we would accommodate the requirements for space and equipment as it was not part of the requirements that the building was designed for. If we had the opportunity to alter the layout slightly we would, however we have a lot of flexibility in the building as it is, and not everything can be planned for.

CR When we last spoke you were very specific about the operating procedures that were going to be in place and adhered to in the PICs. They were to be very strictly applied and rigorously enforced.You stated that you intended that any changes to the operating procedures and practice would only happen very slowly and be identical across all the six PICs. This was to ensure that ‘Spanish

practises’ didn’t start to creep in as people altered procedures to suit their own ideas of what would work best. Has this been the case in practice?

RW Yes it has, but it’s not been a painless process! Initially some people were sceptical of such a prescriptive system however this mindset soon changed when they began to work in the buildings. To ensure consistency, there is a continuous audit regime that the Custody Inspectors and Sergeants have to undertake and another that I have to do to ensure the systems remain the same and effective. If I didn’t pay close attention to the procedures then I am of the opinion that changes would soon occur that would result in a drop in the required standards.

CR Last November you informed me that a custody role in one of the PICs had become a desirable posting, in no small part due to the new facilities. There was a waiting list in some areas and people were loath to leave once they were in post. Is this still the case?

RW For the police staff, this is there permanent job, but obviously the Sergeants only hold the custody officer role for a limited period. A year before the PICs opened we held a round of annual appraisals within the

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Page 9

the Custodial Review

Norfolk and Suffolk Custody Suites continued

Cells are cleaned and repaired between each occupation.

The most up to date Cell Security doors have been used.

Panic strips run throughout the suite, even between the cell doors.

custody suites during which we asked if any of the Custody Sergeants intended to request a move away from in the next 3 years. This being the period of maximum change whilst the new units were opened. If they expressed a desire to leave in this period we arranged for them to move to another post before the changes commenced. This ensured that we had a stable and fully committed group of Custody Sergeants who would be in post for the whole period of change. The majority chose to stay as it would be the most interesting time to be a Custody Sergeant that there could be. Recently there have been a few requests to move out, these are people who have given us the 3 years they committed to and now wish to move on to new challenges. How many choose to

move seems to vary from one PIC to another.

Regarding replacement here at Wymondham we have 3 people who have requested to transfer in, at more remote PICs such as Kings Lynn we would struggle to fill more than two vacancies there. The interest isn’t as great as it was a few years ago, however that not surprising as we are no longer ‘new’!

CR Measuring the improvements, in prisons there are Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that measure changes in almost all areas. Do you have a similar measuring system in the Police Custody suites?

CR When you first moved into the new buildings there was a lot of ‘shiny kit syndrome’ everyone was enthusiastic and proud of the new facility. Has that faded at all?

RW Yes, to a large extent it has. People soon forget about the old facilities and how much better these are. It’s human nature.

RW We have statistics that show how well we are doing however I feel it’s more important that recently we had HM inspector of Constabulary visit.We had the usual 30 minutes’ notice of their arrival.The report was highly complementary.

So in the short term that’s the best indication of how well we are doing. I could give you statistics to back it up, however a real life unannounced inspection is far more indicative of the state of the system we operate.

Thank you for talking to the Review.

Police custody in Norfolk and Suffolk - joint working ‘strikingly successful’ Police custody provision in Norfolk and Suffolk was exemplary, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, and Dru Sharpling, HM Inspector of Constabulary, publishing the report of an unannounced inspection.

The inspection was part of a national programme of joint inspections of police custody. It looked at the six custody suites operated jointly by Norfolk and Suffolk Police. This initiative, in which all the previous suites had been decommissioned and six new police investigation centres (PICs) built, had been completed a few months previously and had been strikingly successful. The PICs were located in Bury St Edmunds and Martlesham in Suffolk, and Wymondham, King’s Lynn, Great Yarmouth and Aylsham in Norfolk.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

•

the strategic framework was robust

the Custodial Review

and there was good communication and collaboration between the different PICs;

•

the design and facilities management arrangements were excellent, and staff and detainees benefited from the clean, spacious environment;

•

strong and consistent management, with a sustained attention to detail, to quality assurance, to effective handovers and to individual staff roles ensured a remarkable degree of consistency in custody processes;

•

staff felt a real pride and ownership in the system, were calm and in control of their suites and were proactive in good risk assessment and management

•

provision for minority groups was appropriate and detention was not Page 10

overused; and

•

health care provision was of a good standard with a tightly drawn contract, though there were some delays in attendance and some issues in infection control.

Nick Hardwick and Dru Sharpling said: “Overall, we recognise that the Norfolk and Suffolk joint custody programme now sets a benchmark for the quality both of custody provision and of thoroughly planned and executed joint working.

This report provides a small number of recommendations to assist the forces and the Police Authorities to improve provision further. We expect our findings to be considered in the wider context of priorities and resourcing, and for an action plan to be provided in due course.”

CPD3000 System

Networked Surveillance • Monitor an entire prison from a single location • Detects both 2G & 3G mobile phone activity • Licence Free Radio link with a max range of 5km • Easy installation • Can identify phone usage down to an individual cell • Provides reports on how, when and where phones are used • Different types of detectors can be used on the same system allowing for new emerging technologies – Future proofing To combat the use of illicit mobile phones in prisons, PDA Electronics has developed the multi-purpose CPD3000 System which can monitor large areas for active cellular devices from a single location. The system is already in use in numerous UK prisons and is constantly evolving as new threats emerge.

The CPD310 hub (shown above), can link link to remote detectors via radio to distances of up to 5km . All remote alarm information is logged and a special purpose printer provides a hard copy output. Alternatively the logged data can also be written onto a memory stick allowing quick computer analysis of reported alarms and augments traditional intelligence gathering methods.

The CPD3000 is designed for both permanent and/or temporary installations. With no wiring issues to worry about, CPD351 detector units can be quickly located in areas where early detection of cellular activity is required.

A CPD351 can be adjusted to monitor cellphone traffic from a complete wing to just a few cells. To hep identify areas of activity more than one unit can be used in a wing to help triangulate the source of the mobile signals.

The CPD351 can also be located outside to cover areas such as market gardens close to the perimeter fence. The system can then detect outside sources liaising with prisoners via a cellphone prior to throwing contraband over the wall / fence.

For monitoring individual cells, the CPD356 is an ideal product. This is used to monitor known offenders and let staff know instantly when a phone is being used. This enhances the chance of recovering the unit before it can be hidden. It’s magnetic fixing allows the unit to be placed on a cell door just above the bottom gap and is designed to detect GSM signals leaking from under the door. To camouflage to the unit a small cover can be placed over the unit which is painted to the same colour of the door.

Our Products CPD351 Remote Detector Main detector unit can be set to monitor an entire wing for mobile phone activity. The detection range (sensitivity) can be adjusted to suit local requirements Using directional antennas allows the unit to monitor specific areas.

Internal rechargeable batteries will give an operational life of better than 4 days on a full charge making deployment much easier.

Additionally the unit monitors frequencies from 400500MHz which are used to suppress false alarms generated by harmonics produced by prison radios.

The unit is also fitted with anti-tamper measures to prevent unauthorised interference with the detector.

CPD356 Cell activity detector Small detector designed to clamp magnetically to a cell door and pick up GSM signals radiating from within a cell. The unit which measures 65 x 90 x 27mm is powered by 2 x AA batteries for up to 1 month of continuous operation. Sensitivity is adjustable to suit conditions.

CPD391 Repeater Unit Used when wing construction prevents direct access between detectors and the Hub. The repeater is then located in the roof area to pick up local signals and relays these signals back to the hub via an external antenna.

CPD310FD Flash Drive Unit Plugs into the Printer port of the 310 hub and supports the normal printer as well if required.

Supports flash drives up to 4Gb. The unit provide complete synchronisation with the hub even when the drive is removed and then later replaced. The FD unit automatically loads the drive with any missing alarms. The generated files are text files (.txt) which allows data to be input into programs like Excel or I2 for analysis.

CPD310 Hub Unit The link protocol is specially designed to facilitate high transmission efficiencies which allow up to 200 units to be support from one hub. Multitasking software allows for the reception of up to 15 simultaneous alarm transmissions. Up to 4096 alarms can stored within the hub which can be recalled if additional reports are required.

Display: 2 x 16 line LCD (white display on blue background with backlight)

Sensitivity can be adjusted to suit local requirements.

The CPD3000 system allows a small team to provide the most intensive surveillance of prisoners and the instant detection of any cell phone traffic.

The system is completely modular so can be expanded as and when required.

Small portable systems are in use with regional dog teams providing even greater flexibility especially to smaller establishments.

For more details contact:

PDA Electronics Ltd Tel:01494 257911 or email: sales@pdaelectronics.com or visit www.pdaelectronics.com

Battery backed Real Time clock for accurate logging.

A plug in Dongle to restrict access to management controlled features.

Printer port: Supplies both power and data to attached thermal printer Printer: Thermal printer producing a printout on a 21/4 inch wide (58mm) paper roll. Alarm printout details the time off the event, the detector number, type of alarm, duration of alarm and the signal strength of the detected phone. Each paper roll can hold over 3000 printouts at a cost of less than 50pence.

The old school and the new David Lobley is the Civilian Catering Manager at HMP Hull; he joined the prison 10 years ago after serving at The Mount, Grendon and Spring Hill. A reorganisation at Hull 18 months ago resulted in him becoming the civilian Catering Manager at the 1044 capacity local prison. Custodial Review was recommended to speak with him by the top brass because of the innovations in catering and recycling that he and his team have achieved.

CR The Management of this prison has taken an unusual direction in the grouping of some of the departments, what is it they have done and why?

DL In addition to the kitchen I also have responsibility for the Recycling Department and also a new and very small but “sprouting” Farms and Gardens dept. I also have a strong tie with the gym. The gym is the most unusual aspect of this system, and it’s been organised this way to promote the healthy lifestyle programme that has been introduced. This is a programme where we are working to instill into the Prisoners a different, healthier way of looking at their life. So it makes sense to involve the gym in the programme because regular exercise is as important as proper diet.

The system begins in the kitchen where we try to promote healthy food options into the prisoners choices of meals. We do this with the help of NVQ qualifications which teach the prisoners not only how to cook but where the food comes from, we also teach prisoners about a balanced lower fat diet. What we are trying to achieve is a system where the One of the several greenhouses used to grow vegetables.They have been fitted into small areas around the prison.

the Custodial Review

Left to right Trish Charles,Tina Begg, David Lobley, Jim Swales and Alan Taylor.

prisoner comes through the door with the usual set of possible poor lifestyle habits and leaves us with the sort of life skills they need to lead a crime free life; these include qualifications, education as well as healthy eating and exercising habits.

CR Recycling usually comes under the remit of the Works Department, why has it fallen to you at this prison?

DL Here at Hull we recycle approximately 80%-90% of our waste, that’s the figure for the whole prison, not just the kitchen. The idea behind it being my responsibility is that Food and gardens generate the greater part of the prisons waste in weight, so it makes sense for it to fall to me. The kitchen turns all its food waste into compost; it’s done by using a composter called a ‘Rocket’ which is made by a company called Tidy Planet. The process takes about a month and the resulting compost is used by Farms and Gardens to help grow more food which is then used in the kitchen, so it’s an ethical cycle.

CR Your Farms and Gardens operation, what is its turnover, how long has it been going and what are your aims for its future?

Inside one of the new poly tunnels.

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DL It’s been running for one year now and we grew approximately £5000 worth of produce in that period. It was an initial trial and it turned out to be a very successful one. So now we are looking at what else we are capable of producing, both in terms of quantity and variety. To that end we are pushing for more growing space and facilities.

There are a lot of potential sites within the perimeter wall that would be suitable as each one does not need to be particularly large.

We have recently acquired 3 poly tunnels that should help us achieve our aims and assuming we get what investment we expect then next year we should triple the value of our output.

CR How did you gain the money to set it up and meeting the costings for the farms and gardens, such as capital expenditure, running and staffing costs?

DL We put in a business plan and received the funding for the basic equipment and the poly tunnels. As for running costs, the seed has a negligible cost, we already had our own compost producing equipment and all the manual labour is done by the prisoners.

There are no extra staffing costs as Gardens The poly tunnels have also been fitted in odd spaces between the wings.

Tina Begg setting the Rational combi oven to work preparing the evening meal.

David Lobley getting the evening meal underway....!

are running it within their existing staffing arrangements. A bonus is that the prisoners learn horticultural skills which again will include NVQ qualifications whilst working and it ties in well with the healthy lifestyle programme we are trying to instill in everyone.

CR Has there been any effect on your Daily Feeding Allowance because of the production of food within the prison?

DL No reduction has taken place as a result of growing our own food. However we have had to become far more adept and skilful at ordering ingredients and producing meals.

This is not because we have had a reduction in DFA due to us growing our own produce but because we are being affected by the increase in food and energy costs due to the market based increases in these basic commodities.

What we have managed to produce in house has gone some way to offset the market pressure on costs.

CR How do you integrate the home grown into the food supply stream and what have you been growing that made up the £5000 of value?

DL On the food safety side we have a HACCP system in place to ensure all the food we prepare is properly controlled and prepared and we do a weekly audit of stored food, so the input from F&G is incorporated that way. The £5k has been mainly fruit and veg, so tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, lettuce, cabbage, sweet corn and fruits like strawberries.

CR Supermarkets are renowned for not wanting odd shaped or marked produce and it’s notoriously difficult to produce perfect looking vegetables in an allotment based environment. The reason being because

‘customers’ are not used to seeing vegetables as nature really intended. So how do you adapt to the quality issue home grown food can present?

DL It’s not a problem in any way. Firstly we don’t put uncooked or unprepared produce on the plate, so the Prisoner doesn’t see it when it’s just been harvested. Odd shaped cucumbers are not a problem to us as they fit through the processing machine the same way a straight one does. To the credit of the gardens party though, there is hardly any difference in terms of appearance between what has been coming out of the ground and what is bought in from suppliers. What is different is the taste of the home grown produce. It has so much more flavour and quite frankly the prisoners prefer it.

CR Years ago prisons used to cook all the bread they needed, then a few years back it became the norm to buy it in, as this was considered better value for money. I believe you are now cooking your own bread, why is this?

DL We started to introduce bread making back into the kitchen about three years ago, Dale Birch, who is now the catering manager at HMP Wakefield, and I looked at the quality of what we could buy in and compared it to what we could produce in house. Being old school caterers we knew we could do a lot better for less cost. So we ordered the ingredients and made a first batch of rolls.

Although nice and very edible, after a day after they would be more suitable as footings on a construction site! However our process and skills were refined and recalled from the depths of our memory and now the bread we make is better than anything that can be brought in. We quite often assist other Page 13

Jim Swales and a tray of freshly cooked rolls.

prisons with the setting up of their bakery departments and with a lot of help from Full Sutton catering department have between us have introduced an in depth baking guide with some methods and recipes to help “new starters” in this area. We are also giving training value and work experience to the prisoners in the kitchen out of this procedure too. So it’s a winning situation all round.

CR The ovens that used to be used for baking bread were specialist ones that were big enough to walk into and were usually had to be hot 24/7. Have you had to install one of those and what other kit and people have you had to acquire? continues overleaf

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the Custodial Review

The old school and the new continued

The newly cooked bread cooling just prior to use.

The extensive range of Rational combi ovens are used to cook the bread, cakes and rolls, David is looking for a custom built bread oven in order to to increase his baking capacity.

DL We use the combi ovens to bake the bread at the moment but I’d beg borrow or steal one of the old bread ovens if I could get one! We already had the industrial mixers, the bread tins and the proving trays so all we had to obtain was a bread slicer. The rest of what is needed is done by people, so it’s a time consideration. Now instead of them accompanying a bread van around from the gate and unloading racks of bread into the dry store they are making the loaves and rolls themselves. So it’s really just a matter of Staff and time management. Saying this obtaining a bread oven would also give us the ability to increase our other ‘home made’ ranges like pies and pastries. If we had a bread oven we could probably cook all the bread for the prison in one session, which is 120 loaves and 1000 bread rolls. In addition we could also make the puddings, pies and pasties in it as well.

also worked hard on the re-introduction of a bi-monthly area catering manager meeting.

This involves all the catering managers in this region meeting and discussing problems and solutions to the ongoing pressures. Dave Oliver, our regional Catering Manager and Dan Smith Catering Manager from HMP Wealston, chair the structured meeting which we take turns hosting. The reason we move the meeting from prison to prison is that any every prison has different ways of producing meals. Practices that lets say Wakefield prison may believe everyone uses in production may not be happening in Hull, Hull can then work alongside Wakefield to come up with a working practice that improves delivery and become a best practice. This would not have happened without these meetings. It has also fostered a networking infrastructure where we all work to solve problems; any catering manager now is able to ask others in this area for assistance, we don’t keep secrets anymore!

CR So if it’s more beneficial, cheaper and better tasting to make your own bread and grow your own vegetables have you extended this philosophy into other areas of the prisoner’s diet?

DL Yes, we now make approx. 85% of all food served from the basic ingredients and use as much fresh food as we can. We have introduced healthy options into all meals and included fruit as a daily choice. One other important fact is that although we started this policy it was done for the purpose of improving quality and not just to lower cost, it was only later on in the development of the policy we found the process allowed us to redirect resource into improving the menu content and the introduction of the NVQ’s, this gave us a strong case that backs up the business case for doing it with an education and training benefit. Now we have 28 prisoners on NVQ level 1 and 2 which is something that would not be practical if we were just reheating bought in meals. I have the Custodial Review

CR As a local prison you will have a fairly rapid turnover of prisoners, how do you decide who gets to work in the kitchen and what are you looking for then to learn, in addition to the NVQ requirements?

DL We tend to employ only those who have a long sentence to complete; this tends to keep the turnover down to a manageable level.

We are looking to get into them the ethos of making something worthwhile and good. We get people through the kitchen doors that can have a somewhat resentful and sometimes surly attitude after all they do not want to be in a prison. However after a while they start to appreciate that they are making something very tasty and edible from scratch, with their own hands. Many of them have never achieved this before and the effect on their attitude is usually dramatic. To help them learn outside the NVQ syllabus we are intending to start inviting people from the local community Page 14

who have businesses that produce food to watch the prisoners working in the kitchen.

Our aim is to try to improve relationships with the establishment so that we may be able to get prisoners employed upon release, it’s a plan for the future.

CR What are your staffing levels? And as these were originally determined on the basis of not preparing most of the food from ingredients how has the policy of 85% preparation in house affected their workloads?

DL I have two grade ones and nine staff.

80% of them are the same people who have been here since before the new catering policy started and they are now completely committed to what we are doing, without their commitment we could not have achieved anything. They have progressed from the box opening and tray filling role of five years ago, when we would cook off frozen pasties, pies and bread to becoming chefs who produce great food and really enjoy doing the job.

CR Did this change generate any resentment and how did you convince them the extra work was worthwhile?

DL At first yes it did, however change always does create some resistance because people are naturally wary of it. I believe that people will always gain more satisfaction from doing a more demanding job well they will ever obtain from doing and easy job adequately. So I emphasised that we would be up skilling all of our abilities and we would be doing a better job producing better food. I’m extremely proud of the staff because they stepped up to the higher requirements and exceeded them and so the food we now produce is second to none. A measure of the staff commitment is the amount of time that is taken off for reasons other than holiday; this has reduced to almost zero. continues overleaf

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The old school continued

A Greenbank waste compactor is used to bale the cardboard.

Old and broken equipment awaiting collection by a local merchant.

rather than waste skipped, also single portion control has dramatically reduced the waste the kitchen produces, these were all ideas we picked up from the area meetings mentioned earlier.

CR You have achieved a very relaxed management atmosphere in both the kitchen and the recycling depts. and also maintained a high level of performance. Not an easy thing to do. Where did you develop your management technique and who were the influences?

A Husmann UK waste compactor in the recycling area that is also managed by David Lobley.

CR The recycling area you showed me around, the staff there seem to have the same approach as the catering staff. Did you set up the department and so use the same principals?

DL The waste processing area was set up a year ago with the help of Carl Norman, He was a Residential Governor at Hull, He did most of the work acquiring the equipment and designing the processes that are now in use. The staff there now follows the same principals as the kitchen in that they understand what we are trying to achieve and why. Our target is to get to 100% recycling and they are all committed to achieving this.

Part of how we achieve the targets we are set is because we prepare all the sorted and compacted waste for a dealer who pays cash for it, so generating a return on the investment which can be reinvested in more equipment and systems. With the introduction of the fertiliser machine the amount of waste has dropped all the grass cuttings etc from the gardens party are now put into the machine the Custodial Review

DL Some of the people who I have worked for during my career as a Prison Officer were fabulous examples of how to manage people to get the best out of them. Some of the SO’s in my ‘early years’ were absolute stars of man management. The Governors, especially the ones we have had here are people I could not fault. Both Gov Griffin and Gov Foweather who is now at Full Sutton, have fully supported what we wanted to achieve without it we would not have done anything. Two years ago before the civilianisation programme in the kitchen, I was an SO grade, there are not many of that grade who are given the responsibility to radically change the catering procedures and also be part of the team to set up a full waste processing and disposal unit. I received the backing and they had the courage and trust in us to do the job. That’s inspiring.

CR You have a big kitchen, and with the baking it must use a lot of energy, the waste disposal unit must use a lot too. Your kitchen isn’t a brand new one either, so how do you go about adapting it for new ways of working and reducing the energy bill?

DL The kitchen was built about 15 years ago when we were expanding the prison, so it’s still fairly modern and capable of doing a good job. It isn’t one where every Page 16

possible space has been designed to be fully utilised either, so we have the ability to alter the use of different areas if we have good reason. If I am able to get the business case for a proper bread oven agreed then we have the flexibility to install it. With energy it’s a simple policy of ‘If it’s not being used then switch it off’! This is a policy I have instilled in all the staff and people who work in the kitchen and recycling area. You will have noticed that there was nothing working when you arrived as we had finished preparation. We also have costed power and staff costs into the making of “home made” produce.

CR What’s your menu scheduling and ordering system for the prisoners food?

DL We have a four week menu cycle with seven choices for dinner and five for tea, the prisoners make their choice of meals and the numbers for their meals are collated on the wings. These generate through a computer system the amount of food we need to produce per day. We do a weekly stock check which again is put onto a computer system which generates the food order for the ingredients which we place with 3663 on a weekly basis. We do have input into the amount ordered from the wings, if the wings order too many portions we will inform them and cut back if required, this is because we only supply the right amount of food to the wings for cost and wastage reasons. All these systems have been generated at Hull and have proved themselves to be invaluable at reducing cost per prisoner place.

CR You took me to the Staff catering facility where I was treated to pasty and chips. All were homemade and quite delicious. Is that facility part of the kitchen? continues overleaf

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The old school and the new continued

The composter unit which turns kitchen waste into fertiliser in about a month.

DL It comes under my management but is a separate entity from the kitchen. The mess has its own budget for purchasing food and cooking equipment. We do employ prisoners in the staff mess to give them work experience and also a different NVQ qualification in meal delivery. The staff mess is managed and supplied to the same production standards as the main kitchen. It’s a very popular facility that covers its costs and pleases its customers.

CR On training, what is your perspective and overall outlook here?

The staff canteen is excellent- its managed by David Lobley however its separately budgeted. Its also used for training inmates in cooking individual meals.

DL We try to take a holistic view, we get prisoners through the kitchen doors that have no experience of work, cooking or taking responsibility or gaining any pride from this.

By utilising the training and the enthusiasm of the staff here and in the other areas, I.e. gym, Waste disposal and gardens party we try to give them a joined up concept of how to look after themselves properly. This involves eating and exercising properly also taking pride in what they do because they are doing it properly. We do it by building their

CESA research highlights positive attitude to sustainability and a desire for common energy rating standard for catering equipment

Sustainability IS Sustainable Catering suppliers believe that sustainability will deliver a major boost to business in the next three years, according to research conducted by CESA, the Catering Equipment Suppliers Association. However, there is a growing need for a common standard to benchmark energy savings, to make it easier for end users to understand the benefits.

33% of respondents said the drive for more environmentally sustainable practices will create new product and service opportunities, while 39% said it would encourage innovation. A massive 81% agreed that sustainability will be a key to growing their business.

The vox pop research was conducted on 16th November 2012 at the CESA Conference, in association with the FCSI and BHA. Over 230 delegates, made up of equipment suppliers, distributors, consultants and foodservice operators, took part in a series of electronic surveys throughout the day.

CR Thank you for talking to the Review.

However, there are issues holding back investment in sustainable products, the key one being product substitution. This is when an energy-saving product is specified for a job, then substituted later to save money. 70% of respondents agreed that product substitution is a major problem in the equipment supply chain. Answering a follow-up question, 44% felt that emphasising the lifetime energy savings, or a system that gave clear and comparable life time costs, would help solve the issue. 9% suggested government incentives were the answer.

There’s a difference of opinions when it comes to the best way to promote sustainability and sell ‘green’ equipment and supplies to foodservice operators. 23% want standardised energy efficiency tests, so that buyers can compare like for like. 22% think that tax incentives to end purchasers is the best encouragement, while another 22% think that better understanding of the issue amongst customers is the way forward. At 14% the next most popular solution was legislation on performance.

When asked what practical step could be taken to improve understanding of sustainability issues, over half agreed that independently established standards, with the verifications of costs, savings and benefits, was the way forward.

“This research gives a snapshot of attitudes and it is very pleasing that, overall, the view towards sustainability is so positive,” says Nick Oryino, chair of CESA. “However, there are divisions. For example, asked what impact sustainability will have on their business, 7% of delegates said it will reduce their profits and 10% said it will increase theirs. Meanwhile the majority said it will improve their competitive positioning.”

Over half of respondents think that ‘product and service innovators’ are the key skill sets that the industry needs to recruit to ensure a sustainable future, and that work needs to done on developing programmes and apprentice schemes to ensure a ‘strong talent pipeline.’

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confidence through a process of letting them achieve more complex and demanding tasks.

For instance we have lads here who had never cooked before, now they are making cakes for the Officers mess. They get a sense of achievement from passing NVQ‘s that is quite new to them, this leads to self-respect and as they are also taught the right way of looking after themselves it helps to make them into responsible citizens.

This vox pop research was a direct result of the findings of the CESAsponsored Mind the Gap research. This was designed to identify the “gaps” in attitudes towards sustainability that exist between the three major constituents of the foodservice equipment supply chain: manufacturers, distributors and design consultants.

The Catering Equipment Suppliers Association (CESA) is the authoritative voice of the catering equipment industry, representing over 160 companies who supply, service and maintain all types of commercial catering equipment - from utensils to full kitchen schemes.

For more information on CESA visit www.cesa.org.uk

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National Custody Seminar 2012 The National Custody Seminar 2012 took place in Stoke on Trent last September, It was a well-attended conference with speakers of high calibre such as Kevin Huish, the PFEW Custody & Mental Health Lead who spoke on mental health provision in custody.

Susan Freeburn spoke on Custody Complaints, she is the Principal Lawyer (Partner), Criminal & Misconduct Department of Russell Jones & Walker, part of Slater & Gordon Lawyers.

PACE - Some current issues - was the topic of a presentation by Michael Zander QC the Emeritus Professor LSE. Where he discussed The Government’s rolling programme to revise the PACE codes.

Dr Jonathan Houdmont Institute of Work, Health, & Organisations, University of Nottingham spoke on Police Custody Officers’ Stressors and Burnout The Stress Factor: Stress in the Suite was the topic spoken on by Emma Hawksworth, Principal Lawyer (Partner), Employment Department, Russell Jones & Walker, part of Slater & Gordon Lawyers .

All the presentations can be downloaded from the polfed website at http://www.polfed.org/ sergeants/custody_seminar2012.asp The Conference received some excellent feedback:

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Seminar: “Very well organised, put together and executed” Speakers – “Inspiring, fantastic, knowledgeable and relevant” Venue: “Great Location, central”

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Michael Zander QC top left was the key speaker.The exhibition area was a key meeting place where much information was available to the delegates.

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Dinner – “Formal dinner excellent opportunity to meet a wide variety of people with diverse views” Exhibition: “all exhibitors had an excellent knowledge of their products and where it fits into the custody environment”

The conference was supported by staff and exhibitors from the industries that support custody. They included Stephen Wagg of Cell

Rehabilitation revolution - the next steps Far reaching reforms to the criminal justice system aimed at driving down high re-offending rates and introducing better value for taxpayers were set out in November by Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling.

During a speech today he set out a raft of measures including:

• • • • •

a revolution in the way we rehabilitate offenders, including mentors to meet criminals at the prison gates on release and help them turn away from crime; a review of the youth estate, putting education at the centre of our work with young offenders; a review of the prison regime, to ensure no prisoners benefit from undeserved privileges and those who break the rules face serious consequences; a reshaping of our legal aid system so it commands public confidence; and a criminal justice and court system that puts victims first.

Security, Jeff Cook of Detectnology, John Moore of Pickersgill- Kaye, Ron Donnebaum of Filtaire, Stephen Bond of Bond Safety, and Andy Best of Metrasens.

The next seminar will be at Stoke on Trent on the 11/12th of September 2013. More information can be found at www.polfed.org/sergeants/custody_ seminar2012.asp

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘Reoffending rates in this country are shamefully high and we must revolutionise our approach to reforming offenders - we need to stop recycling people around the system. I know we can deliver better rehabilitation for offenders, a smarter system of detaining and educating teenage offenders, a cheaper and better prison system and a criminal justice system that commands public confidence – and at the same time bring costs down.’

He also made clear the significant role the private and voluntary sector will play in the future of offender management, with Payment

by Results rolled out across the great majority of community-based offender management work by 2015.

During his speech he said the public sector Probation Service will continue to have an important role to play when it comes to protecting our society against harm. These latest reforms follow plans to toughen up community sentences so that every adult community sentence includes a form of punishment.

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Prisoners Education Trust launches call for prisoner learning based on evidence Last November a well-attended event in the House of Lords, charity Prisoners Education Trust launched its new report on prisoner learning, entitled ‘Brain Cells’.

Based on a survey of over 500 serving prisoners that asked a number of questions about their experiences of learning in prison, the report considered what support prisoners have received, the obstacles they face and looking at what implications this has for criminal justice policy.

Coming at a time when new OLASS 4 prison education contracts are being implemented in prisons across England and Wales, the report will be used to influence the prisoner learning agenda going forward. It also highlights the importance of an education offer properly focused on the needs of learners, based on sound recording and monitoring of those needs.

The launch event was hosted by Lord Ramsbotham who introduced the evening by calling for a needs audit, providing proper evidence for all learning provision.

There followed an impressive list of speakers, including Matthew Hancock MP, Minister for Skills who has the Lord brief for offender learning. Mr Hancock spoke about the Ramsbotham government’s commitment to prisoner education, his personal interest in learner voice and took questions from the audience.

He was also keen to emphasise the need for an evidence-based approach to prison learning. At the launch Mr Hancock said: “We are deeply in need of reviewed outcomes. We are using all the research we can, home and abroad, to find out how best to do this.

If it works, let’s use it and let’s create an evidence base. In terms of innovation, let a thousand flowers bloom.”

New report calls for prisoners to be helped to reach their learning potential After the Justice Secretary’s call for reformed ex-prisoners to mentor offenders, former prisoner Graham Godden, who within three years of release set up a crime diversion charity, has emphasised the importance of education in the rehabilitation process.

Godden, speaking at the launch of Prisoners Education Trust’s new report ‘Brain Cells’ in the House of Lords, said that “when I got my certificates it was a better buzz than any drug I had taken” and that he became an “education addict”. However after he completed his literacy and numeracy qualifications, he was frustrated to find that the educational opportunities offered within prison stopped there. Despite realising “I was not stupid after all and was actually a quick learner”, the prison only offered basic skills. He therefore applied to the charity Prisoners Education Trust who fund distance learning courses (www. prisonerseducation.org.uk). With support from his prison teachers he successfully completed Open University modules and a level 3 in Advice and Guidance. Godden, who the Custodial Review

Matthew Hancock

Nina Champion

Mr Hancock also spoke about the importance of crossdepartmental working and closer involvement between the Ministry of Justice, BIS and the DWP. It is exactly this kind of spirit that Prisoners Education Trust is trying to emulate through the launch of a new forum, the Prisoner Learning Alliance. The PLA will bring together the voluntary sector and statutory officials to discuss practical policy regarding offender learning.

Nina Champion of Prisoners Education Trust also contributed to the debate, outlining the background to the report, its purpose and the areas of importance that PET has identified in meeting the needs of prisoner learners. The survey results gave an indication of learning areas to follow-up and also showed further the importance of having reliable and informative statistics when considering prisoners and their learning needs.

From the survey, the report makes several key recommendations, including: Ensuring that each prison has a ‘Learner Involvement Strategy’ to ensure prisoners are consulted, involved and empowered to help shape their learning, through input and consultation with prisoners around learning provision; Using OLASS 4 as an opportunity to collect, collate and analyse upto-date data on the educational profile of prisoners including their qualifications and basic skill levels, reflecting the whole prison population; More opportunities for peer support in prisoner learning with prisoners’ contributions to peer learning support recognised, positively reinforced and encouraged;

had served several prison sentences, said of his release in 2009 “I left prison with £47 in my pocket, but this time I also had a whole range a qualifications, a business plan, self confidence and a desire for a fresh start”.

Godden praised the ‘Brain Cells’ report, based on a survey of over 500 serving prisoners, for highlighting that prisons should offer more opportunities for progression beyond the current statutory provision, based on sound recording and monitoring of individual prisoners needs. He said “In 2012 it is archaic that there is not a proper needs assessment for prisoners”. He went on to say that learning helped him develop self-discipline, personal responsibility and that it made him think about his actions and attitude to life differently, including his role as a father. He now works helping young people and exoffenders to change their attitudes and actions through a training programme he developed whilst still behind bars through setting up ‘Youth Empowerment Services’ (http://www. yesplus.org.uk) He employs 7 ex-prisoners and has worked with over 3000 young people at risk of offending.

Also speaking report’s launch, Lord Ramsbottom said that during his time as Chief Inspector of Prisons “I realised that education was the most important element in reducing re-offending”. He also stressed Page 20

the importance of listening to prisoners, commending the report as giving a “rare prisoners’- eye view of prison education”. He echoed the report’s recommendations and called for a “needs audit” to better understand and meet the individual learning needs of prisoners.

Jen Walters, from Ofsted, supported the report’s reflection of the views of prisoner learners about what would help them to engage in learning in prison. “At Ofsted we speak about ‘raising the bar’ in the evermore complex world of prisoner education. Part of this is about understanding the very clear benefit of listening to prisoners and its potential to eradicate the barriers to learning”.

The new Minister for Skills, Matthew Hancock MP, speaking at the launch said “I applaud the Prisoners Education Trust for this study, Brain Cells, which sheds new light on learning from the prisoners’ perspective. Understanding that perspective is a crucial part of changing the system”. He commented that “This government is focussing on prison education more than ever before. Even with tight finances, we are committed to supporting education in prison as a vital part of breaking Britain’s terrible record of reoffending”.

Nina Champion, Prisoners Education Trust’s Head of Policy, said: “It is about using the

Better advice and support for prisoners wanting to study by distance learning; Equalising wages for prisoners who are working and for those doing education.

Nina Champion said: “The importance of rehabilitation through learning starts early in a prisoner’s sentence and must continue with proper progression throughout the time inside. It is with this support that prisoners are able to secure qualifications and also to build skills of motivation, discipline and resilience that will support them in building productive lives after they leave prison. Our evidence shows that learning based on the needs of individual prisoners can provide this.”

Prisoners Education Trust was founded in 1989 to fund distance learning courses for prisoners in a wide range of academic and vocational subjects. Today the Trust supports 2,500 prisoners each year to access education that would not otherwise be available, in prisons throughout England & Wales. It does so in the belief that education is key to rehabilitation. Other activities include training prisoners to be peer learning mentors, a resettlement project assisting young offenders on their release, and the Learning Matters project, which argues for better prisoner learning and enables the voices of prisoners to be heard.

The report was launched at Committee Room 4, House of Lords on Monday 26 November. Speakers included Matthew Hancock MP, Minister for Skills, Jen Walters (Ofsted), Nina Champion (Prisoners Education Trust) and Graham Godden, former prisoner. resources that we have better. Doing ten different level 1 certificates is not the best way to use budgets. Funding models should encourage prisons to look more closely at the needs of individuals, provide more engaging learning and opportunities for progression so prisoners can reach their full potential. This will enable them to contribute positively to society after release and desist from offending”.

The Skills Minister has stressed the importance of better cross-departmental working on this issue and said “We must work together effectively to ensure [prisoners] are better able to reintegrate and with the skills necessary to build useful and productive lives”.

The call from the Skills Minister for better partnership working was timely, as Prisoners Education Trust has recently launched a ‘Prisoner Learning Alliance’. The Alliance brings a range of organisations working in the field of prison education and training, together with cross departmental officials, on a quarterly basis, to provide expertise and strategic vision to improve learning both in prison and through the gate. This will ensure that the views of the prisoner learners captured in the Brain Cells report are heard by policy makers and the recommendations made in the report can be taken forward to improve the opportunities for prisoners to rehabilitate through learning.

Key report findings The survey, published in Inside Time prison newspaper, asked questions about prisoners’ experiences of learning in prison and the report analyses what support prisoners have received, the obstacles they face and looking at what implications this has for criminal justice policy.

Prisoners may have higher learning potential than government statistics previously suggested; therefore more opportunities for learning progression to higher level qualifications in a range of subjects should be available to better meet the needs of prisoners, particularly those on long sentences or those who already have basic skills.

Only 18% of respondents had contributed to an individual learning plan and 56% did not know if they had one. These plans are an important tool for prisoners to focus on learning goals and to ensure they are receiving the necessary support to achieve these goals.

Prisoners said access to PCs, e-learning, books and a quiet place to study, especially at evening and weekends, would to enable them to progress with learning.

Prisoners were frustrated at waiting lists for classes and with being transferred in the middle of courses disrupting their studies.

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Although improving employability was a big motivator to engage in learning, the benefits were much wider than this. The top benefit was ability and desire to learn and the second was improved outlook on life, and the third was an increased ability to help others.

Prisoners found benefits of learning across the reducing re-offending pathways including improved self esteem, self discipline, ability to cope with prison, communication skills, recovery from drugs and alcohol, health and well-being and family relationships.

65% of respondents wanted to continue learning after release, but felt housing, lack of advice, lack of support and access to funding would be barriers.

76% of respondents wanted to get a job after release but foresaw their criminal records as the biggest obstacle. Therefore 56% said they wanted to set up their own business.

To read the full report: http://www. prisonerseducation.org.uk/index. php?id=634 If you have any comments about the report, please do not hesitate to contact Nina Champion, Head of Policy at Prisoners Education Trust. (nina@ prisonerseducation.org.uk)

the Custodial Review

Project supports offender management practitioners to help create better futures Creating  opportunities for offenders to get keys to their own front door Help is on hand for offenders who have served their time to be given training and support in not only finding a home but keeping it. For some people it may be the first time in a long time that they have had a key to their own front door.

At a recent Criminal Justice Management Conference (CJM 2012), held at the QE11 Conference Centre in London, NOCN discussed with a packed room of delegates about new and innovative ways of changing offender attitudes. They spoke about their new course which is creating new opportunities to help disadvantaged people to be good tenants.

NOCN, one of the largest awarding organisations in the UK has recently partnered with the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) to develop a Pre-tenancy qualification designed to support people who may be renting for the first time, including those leaving prison. The newly created course will help new housing association, council or private landlord tenants.

When suddenly faced with the costs involved in running a home, confusing forms to fill in and the everyday tasks involved in looking after a home and being a good neighbour, some people just don't know where to start or what to do.

NOCN's, Director of Compliance, Business & Qualification Development, David Hutchinson said: "We want to help to make a difference to disadvantaged individuals, groups and communities and it is hoped our new Pretenancy qualification will give people the chance to avoid problems, like falling into debt or causing anti-social behaviour by giving them the skills to avoid tricky situations and possibly even reoffending.

"We were overwhelmed by the response to the seminar from delegates, at one point we even had to turn people away due to numbers.

It was also a great opportunity for us, as a team, to talk to key providers and managers of programmes in Offender Learning and listen to their views and recommendations for any future qualifications we could develop together."

Dr Hutchinson and Business Development Manager Cathy Whiteside, outlined to delegates the ways in which qualifications can assist in the rehabilitation and development of offenders enabling them to overcome their personal issues, live successfully in the community and gain employment.

The level one Pre-tenancy qualification will help to give people the confidence and practical skills to tackle the challenges involved in taking on a new tenancy. It will help them to understand more about their rights and

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NOCN members at the signing

responsibilities as a tenant and let them know what they can expect from their landlord too.

The conference also gave NOCN the opportunity to highlight their successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation qualification developed jointly with, and based on the ‘Intuitive Recovery' training programme.

A practical, solutions based intervention course used by anyone wishing to give up a substance such as heroin, crack, cocaine, alcohol, amphetamine, smoking or methadone.

Dr Hutchinson will be attending an event in Liverpool, in November, to celebrate with one of the first group of people who have successfully achieved the qualification.

For more information about the new Pre-tenancy qualification go to www.nocn.org.uk/our-industries/housing, email housing@nocn.org.uk or call 0114 2270500 NOCN NOCN is one of the largest awarding organisations in the UK with 30 years experience. They work internationally and are also one of the largest awarding organisations in the UK providing a wide range of qualifications and units in the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) Â The NOCN Level 1 Award in Pre Tenancy has been designed for those who want to learn more about their rights and responsibilities as tenants and who want to develop the self confidence and practical skills to tackle the challenges involved in finding and maintaining a home and tenancy NOCN, working with its network of delivery partners, is passionate about helping people to build their futures by providing high quality

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accreditation of learning to meet the needs of individuals, employers and the community, through credit-based qualifications in the UK and internationally.

Chartered Institute of Housing The Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) is the professional body for people involved in housing and communities. We are a registered charity and not-for-profit organisation. We have a diverse and growing membership of 22,000 - both in the public and private sectors - living and working in over 20 countries on five continents across the world. Our members work for local authorities, housing associations, Arms Length Management Organisations, government bodies, educational establishments and the private sector. Many tenants and residents are also members.

We exist to maximise the contribution that housing professionals make to the wellbeing of communities.

Further information is available at: www.cih.org Custodial Review is now accepting articles from serving officers and staff within the whole custodial industry and we are very interested in articles on recycling.

All articles will appear on the Custodial website and will appear in the magazine subject to the Publishers discretion. Approx length 1500 to 2000 words. We are also pleased to accept news and information.

Please contact the Publisher, Steve Mitchell, stevem@custodialreview.co.uk or on

01234 348878 for more details.

A new kitchen fire suppression system was launched at the Building Research Establishment last February that revolutionised the way catering fires are extinguished.

Fireworks Fire Protection Ltd launched their 15AMPU watermist kitchen fire suppression system at the BRE facility at Watford. The 15AMPU is the first kitchen suppression system of its type in the world to gain LCPB LS1223 accreditation and therefore its place in the LCPB Red Book.

The launch began with an introduction

by Angela Richards of the BRE, and an explanation of how the Establishments work. Then Derek Killaspy ,the MD of Fireworks Fire Protection Ltd explained the new products development and application to a large audience drawn from sectors

across the industry including specifiers, catering companies, insurers, journalists and representatives from the Ministry of Justice.

Derek explained that until now commercial kitchens have used dry powder or wet chemical fire suppression systems. Whilst effective at initially suppressing and extinguishing the fire these traditional systems offer little or no cooling resulting in a prolonged suspension in production due to fire damage. Additionally these chemical systems leave a large amount of potentially hazardous residues on surrounding areas which must be deep cleaned before food processing and cooking can re-commence.

This leaves an establishment without a functioning kitchen until the clean up has been completed. This is not a situation that can be tolerated in a prison kitchen!

The solution to these problems is the new HydramistŽ 15AMPU. The unit contains a high pressure pump connecting the kitchen water supply to a misting nozzle positioned above the fire risk. This simple concept results in a system that can run for as long, or short, as required- yet doesn’t cause lengthy kitchen downtimes because it uses small amounts of clean water.

The 15AMPU unit is small, its no bigger than a domestic wall mounted boiler and its made of stainless steel so it is easily cleaned. It can be mounted in the kitchen or in an adjacent room. It will automatically activate when the nozzle above the fire source reaches a pre Page 23

determined temperature. The integrated pump activates at the same time it shuts off the energy source to the cooking appliance.

It can also be manually operated and once activated the unit can only be stopped manually. The steam created then smothers and extinguishes the fire in less than 10 seconds. After extinguishing the fire the mist continues to cool the oil and hot surfaces to below ignition temperature so in less than 30 seconds re-ignition of the fire isn’t possible. It will not flood the kitchen or cause damage to surrounding equipment because all the unit uses is small volume of finely atomised water.

These water droplets also trap the smoke particles that can damage other equipment and which also contaminate the whole kitchen.

This is not a new technique. This method of fire suppression has been in use for many years since its ability to rapidly extinguish fires in ships engine rooms was first discovered. The technology has also been used in prisons throughout the UK as Fireworks have supplied their portable fire suppression equipment for use on wings for many years. .

The unit will now be fitted in commercial kitchens across the UK and worldwide where the LPS 1223 accreditation is recognised.

For more information on the 15AMPU please contact Fireworks Fire Protection on tel: 0800 9757462 fireworks@fireworks-ltd.com or visit the website www.15ampu.com the Custodial Review

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A restorative justice system - the view from the bench Lawrence Kershen QC, a commercial mediator at Tooks Chambers and former Chairman of the Restorative Justice Council, discusses restorative justice in the criminal justice system.

Restorative justice allows victims of crime to be given the opportunity to confront their offender and to have a say in the resolution of the offence.

'What might a justice system which embodied restorative principles look like? What might be the judge's view of a more restorative justice system?

To answer such questions we need to give ourselves permission to dream of a justice system where healing and changing behaviour is central. Where the victim comes away restored and empowered, where the offender learns from his mistakes and develops understanding.

I sat as a Crown Court recorder, a part-time criminal judge, for a dozen or so years. Before I heard of restorative justice, it struck me that an important factor that judges tended to look for when they were sentencing in criminal cases was remorse.

I concluded that its importance lay in the fact that if someone is remorseful, there is a better chance they will be less likely to repeat the offence - in other words that at some level their conscience has been touched. Those of us who work criminal courts often see people who have little empathy - probably since before they became involved with the criminal justice system - for those that they violate through crime.

On the assumption that we all have the capacity to feel for another person, but that due to circumstances and upbringing it can become dulled, how could one awaken that sense of connectedness?

Then I learned from the probation service that the process already existed, that there were people already doing it, and that it was called restorative justice. Restorative justice became a really interesting and challenging notion for me, at the heart of which was this idea of building empathy between victims and offenders. the Custodial Review

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RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

The best summary of a restorative legal system for me is that it would be a victimcentred justice system, The victim's needs are for information, validation, vindication, restitution, testimony, safety and support.

These are the starting points of justice. Every victim will have access to a quality restorative process, and implicitly every offender who is connected with such a victim will have similar access.

amendments to the Crime and Courts Bill to give judges explicit powers to defer sentencing to allow for restorative justice to take place.

So how might this ideal world come into being? One of the key steps must be legislation. I believe we are close to achieving a statutory requirement or expectation for restorative justice to be part of every criminal process. While there might be some debate about whether it should be a requirement or an option, legislation is needed which would mandate a judge to adjourn a case so that a restorative justice process can take place.

This will enable victims of crime to:

So, how and where might be the restorative process be implemented in building this restorative legal system? Prior to sentence there is the opportunity for a restorative process, where the judge may initiate or allow an adjournment in order that the process can take place. Typically the resulting accord or agreed actions are reported back so that the restorative process can be incorporated into any community sentence passed, for example: action-plan orders, reparation orders. Those actions might include, for example, drug treatment, or finding work, or even relocation.

A hallmark of such a restorative legal system is surely that pre-sentence restorative justice is a matter of routine, both to the courts and the public.

This is an excerpt of a longer article, read the full text on the http://www. justice.gov.uk website. Restorative justice

Plan to give more victims a voice – Restorative Justice The Government’s plan for a rapid expansion of restorative justice – where victims of crime are given the opportunity to confront their offender – was boosted in November with the publication of a new nationwide action plan for the criminal justice system to coincide with International Restorative Justice Week.

The ‘Restorative Justice Action Plan for the Criminal Justice System’ is designed to increase awareness of restorative justice and enable more victims across the country to access a high quality service.

The plan sets out a series of priorities that will embed restorative justice into the criminal justice system as well as make it more consistent and widely used across England and Wales. This builds on the Government’s Page 24

The action plan is aimed at:

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increasing the number of trained professionals who deliver restorative justice and ultimately help more victims

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improving awareness among victims of the availability of restorative justice

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easily locate a well trained restorative justice practitioner in their local area through an online resource

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access restorative justice at a time that’s right for them

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know that all practitioners within the criminal justice system are working to consistent standards

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be confident that their restorative justice experience has been recorded appropriately by a trained restorative justice facilitator who is aware of what to monitor

Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said:

‘Many victims of crime get to see sentences being passed, but it’s not always enough to help them move on with their lives.

‘We know that around 85 per cent of victims who participated in restorative justice conferences were satisfied with the experience.

‘That’s why I want restorative justice to become something that victims feel comfortable and confident requesting at any stage of the criminal justice system.

Victims deserve access to a high standard of restorative justice no matter where they are in the country and at a time that’s right for them.

‘Our action plan, published today, as well as new legislation that is currently before Parliament to allow for pre-sentence restorative justice, commits us to making this a reality.’

Victim Support Chief Executive, Javed Khan said: ‘As the leading charity for victims of crime,

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we welcome the Government’s new action plan for restorative justice, particularly its commitment to focus on victims’ needs.

‘Victims can benefit enormously from the chance to explain the impact of crime and seek an apology from the offender. A restorative option for the victims who want it at any stage is vital. But we would echo the need to raise awareness of restorative justice and its potential benefits to increase confidence in victims, so they can access it where appropriate.

‘Contact with victims needs to be sensitive and consistent and their expectations need to be managed effectively.’

A recent inspectorate report claimed there was a need for greater consistency in the use of restorative justice across all areas of the criminal justice system and that there is ‘varying in quality’ across the youth and adult justice system. This plan aims to address those weaknesses.

The Government recently tabled amendments to the Crime and Courts Bill which will give judges explicit powers to defer sentencing to allow restorative justice to take place between a victim and the offender. These provisions will help to ensure that restorative justice is accessible at every stage of the criminal justice process, from initial arrest, through to and after sentencing.

The Ministry of Justice commissioned an evaluation of three pilot restorative justice schemes, which used a mix of conferencing, mediation and indirect mediation methods.

This research suggests that restorative justice has the potential to be associated with high levels of victim satisfaction. This is particularly so for the conferencing method of restorative justice, which was associated with 85% overall victim satisfaction. The Ministry of Justice research also suggests that restorative justice conferencing has the potential to be associated with a reduction in the frequency of reoffending of 14%.

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE to be taken (e.g. some sort of reparation) Contact between victim and offender, involving a mediator/facilitator, and which involves discussion of the offending. This contact might result in an agreement for further steps to be taken (e.g. some sort of reparation) but this is not a necessary outcome; A community conference, involving members of the community which have been affected by a particular crime. This is facilitated in the same way as the others. But it differs in that it can involve many people.

Awards recognise the best of Restorative Justice

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

‘Russell’s work is very important. It’s crucial that we make sure young people have the support and tools to enable them to avoid offending and lead responsible lives.’

The Impressionable Minds project started when Russell was asked to give a talk at an inner-city school on the dangers of carrying weapons. From this point on Russell has devoted his time to reaching out to thousands of school students across the country.

Restorative Justice is where victims of crime are given the opportunity to confront their offender.

More victims to get a say - restorative Justice

Justice Minister, Jeremy Wright, presented two awards to recognise the achievements of those working in Restorative Justice, victim support and with young people.

The Chris Donovan Trust awards ceremony, at The Clink Restaurant at HMP High Down, acknowledged 13 charities and individuals for their contribution.

Speaking at the event Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: ‘I’m a strong supporter of the principles of Restorative Justice and these awards showcase the very best projects in prisons and the community.

‘We’ll continue to increase the awareness, capacity and usage of restorative justice. It’s imperative that everyone understands its purpose within the criminal justice system and that it is made available to those victims who choose to take advantage of it.’

Speaking after giving an award to Russell Symons, who set up the project Impressionable Minds, the Minister said:

More victims of crime will be able to access a high standard of restorative justice across England and Wales with the launch of a new action plan.

'Restorative Justice Action Plan for the Criminal Justice System' is aimed at increasing the number of trained professionals who deliver restorative justice and improving awareness among victims. It coincides with the start of International Restorative Justice Week and builds on the Government's plans to give judges explicit powers to defer sentencing to allow for restorative justice to take place.

A recent inspectorate report ‘Facing Up To Offending: Use of Restorative Justice in the criminal justice system’ said that there was a need for greater consistency in the use of restorative justice across all areas of the criminal justice system.

Restorative justice allows the victim to be heard and have a say in the resolution of the offence. It also makes offenders face the consequences of their actions. Restorative justice can be facilitated in a number of ways including:

Justice Minister Jeremy Wright said: 'Victims deserve access to a high standard of restorative justice no matter where they are in the country and at a time that’s right for them.'

A structured face to face meeting, involving a facilitator, the offender and victim and their supporters (usually family members).

Professionals (such as social workers) and representatives of the wider community may also be involved. Such meetings might well conclude with an agreement for further steps

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Victim Support Chief Executive, Javed Khan said: 'We welcome the Government's new action plan for restorative justice, particularly its commitment to focus on victims' needs.'

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the Custodial Review

Library at the heart of prison celebrated with prestigious new award Last November the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals’ Prison Libraries Group announced HMP Lewes as the winner of the first ever Prison Library of the Year Award.

The Prison Libraries Group is a special interest group of the CILIP (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals) and their mission statement is: “To serve the interest of all members concerned with the provision of library services to prison communities. The group is committed to improving the quality of the service whilst raising the profile of prison libraries.” They run 2 training days each year, publish a journal 3 times per year and have published the Prison Libraries Training Pack the only training resource specifically aimed at library staff working in prisons.

The Prison Library of the Year Award was in its inaugural year and its aims are to recognise good practice and innovative work in prison libraries. The award recognises the outstanding work of library staff in prisons and Young Offender Institutions. It celebrates the innovation and transformation that is carried out in prison libraries every day and highlights best practice.

The Award is open to any UK prison library in the State or private sectors. Nominations can come from anyone working in the prison establishment or the local authority or other provider contracted to provide the library service. Self-nominations are acceptable.

The latest award was judged by a panel of committee members from the PrLG and Margaret Watson.

The prize for the winning library included the Margaret Watson Trophy (which will be retained by the library), a framed certificate and individual certificates for each member of library staff (including orderlies), one free place at the Prison Libraries Group Autumn Training Event, an author visit for the winning library (sponsored by The Reading Agency), 10 short story audiobooks on CD (sponsored by W.F. Howes), and £1,000 cover price worth of English language books from Bright Books stock. (Sponsored by Bright Books).

Prisons had to make their own nominations which had to include a statement of under 500 words on why they believed their prison library is special. Evidence of the quality of the library service had to be provided under the the Custodial Review

Rachel Sweeney, librarian at HMP Lewes receiving the Margaret Watson Trophy from Ken Park, Managing Director of Bright Books.

following headings:

1. Recent Projects – Events, training sessions, reader development or other projects organised by library staff 2. Innovation – New activities or resources introduced by library staff 3. Transformation – The creative spark that makes your library special 4. Promotion and Advocacy – How the library and reading are promoted throughout the prison 5. Staff training and CPD – how does this impact upon the library service and future plans?

Evidence could also include items such as: testimonials from prison staff, local authority or provider staff and/or library users; staff training and development plan; service development plan; examples of good practice and latest user survey results.

From the entries received the judging panel compiled a shortlist. They asked for more evidence of certain aspects of the service, such as: the background of the prison and the library, library access and use, stock, including resources for emergent readers and to provide for the equality and diversity agendas, Page 26

staff training, reading promotion, induction of new prisoners and staff, evidence of the impact that any library initiatives have had on prisoners or staff.

The judges felt that the team at HMP Lewes provide a broad range of library activity which contributes positively to the prison’s reducing re-offending strategy as well as providing prisoners with the opportunity to increase their literacy skills, discover the joy and importance of reading for pleasure and prepare for life outside of prison.

Their participation in Storybook Dads and their Family Time initiative help prisoners to maintain links with their children whilst in prison. The library team has worked hard to provide a welcoming and inclusive library service which is an integral element of the prison regime at HMP Lewes.

HMP Lewes is a local prison in East Sussex housing remand and convicted adult male prisoners and remand young offenders. The library service at Lewes is provided by East Sussex County Council.

Assistant Chief Executive Simon Hughes said: “Figures show that literacy is a significant issue in prisons with the majority of inmates having difficulty with basic literacy skills. Our team at HMP Lewes do an excellent job in difficult circumstances and help prisoners to enjoy literature and equip themselves for a more positive future. This award is richly deserved.”

Abigail Luthman, Equal Access manager for Library and Information services said:

a real commitment to embedding the library service in the daily life of the prison.”

“East Sussex Library and Information Service is very proud of the achievements of the prison library team at HMP Lewes. The staff are dedicated to providing activities and great reads for all the prisoners, recognising the importance of literacy and reading for life in prison and beyond.”

The award is sponsored by Bright Books, W.F. Howes, The Reading Agency and former CILIP President Margaret Watson.

Sue Wilkinson, Chair of CILIP’s Prison Libraries Group says: “The entries we received were of a very high standard and it was a difficult task to pick a winner. However, the judges felt that the entry from HMP Lewes showed an innovative and inclusive approach to service provision and

HMP Lewes receives a prize package which includes the Margaret Watson Trophy, certificates for all staff (including prisoner orderlies) books and audio books and an author visit for their library. This will be presented at the Prison Libraries group Autumn Training Event on 7 November 2012 at the Macdonald Manchester Hotel and Spa. Sue Wilkinson FCLIP MBE FRSA, Chair, Cilip Prison Libraries Group Tel: 0121 464 2690

Police custody in Staffordshire improving

Email: sue.wilkinson@birmingham.gov.uk Abigail Luthmann, Equal Access Manager , East Sussex County Council Governance and Community Services Department , Library and Information Services C18G, County Hall, St Anne’s Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1UE. T: 01273 335383 M: 07824 597378 E: abigail.luthmann@eastsussex.gov.uk CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers. CILIP’s vision is a fair and economically prosperous society underpinned by literacy, access to information and the transfer of knowledge. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014.

Visit www.cilip.org.uk for more information.

Nick Hardwick and Dru Sharpling said:

Police custody provision in Staffordshire was generally positive, but needed to focus on consistency and better health care, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, and Dru Sharpling, HM Inspector of Constabulary, publishing the report of an unannounced inspection.

The inspection was part of a national programme of joint inspections of police custody. It looked at three custody suites in Staffordshire which operate 24 hours a day, in Stoke-on-Trent, Burton-on-Trent and Watling House, Gailey. Two reserve suites in Stafford and Tamworth were also inspected. Overall there were some areas of excellent practice, but some areas which still needed to be addressed.

Inspectors were pleased to find that:

‘Staffordshire Police was providing decent conditions of detention, and the centralising of this function was leading to improvements.

As the force moved to a fully centralised and corporate organisation of custody, it needed to focus on consistent quality of delivery, monitored and reinforced by managers locally and at senior level.

There should also be attention to some particular areas, such as health services, which need to be established on more secure foundations than at the time of inspection. We expect our findings to considered in the wider context of priorities and resourcing, and for an action plan to be provided in due course.’

New sentences and criminal offences come into effect

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custody staff treated people positively and respectfully;

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the custody suites were mainly in clean and in good condition;

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risk assessment and risk management, including pre-release issues, were good;

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the use of force was proportionate;

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Custody Sergeants made appropriate decisions about detention and reviews were carried out on time; and

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there was a reasonably good substance misuse service.

From 3rd Dec 2012 a range of new criminal offences and sentences introduced in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offender Act (LASPO) Act 2012 came into effect.

The new offences include a mandatory life sentence for people convicted of a second very serious sexual or violent offence, aggravated knife possession, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, measures to strengthen community sentences and tough new sentences for hate crime.

However, inspectors were concerned to find that:

Justice Secretary said:

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although there was an appropriate oversight of the custody function, the structure wasn’t clear enough at several points: a centralised custody model had been in place for two years, but was not fully embedded in consistent standards and practice;

‘Criminals should be in no doubt they will be punished for their crimes, with those who commit the most serious offences receiving the most severe sentences.

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the system of organisation and delivery of health services was outdated, although custody staff did their best to work around the shortcomings;

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clinical governance was informal at best, while clinical rooms and many aspects of medical equipment and medicines management were not up to standard;

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there was little assistance for those with disabilities; and

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there was insufficient provision of appropriate adults, especially for vulnerable adults in the south of the county.

‘Anyone who commits two very serious sexual or violent offences will get a life sentence, those who try to destroy our communities by threatening and endangering people with knives will face a mandatory custodial sentence and those who devastate lives by dangerous driving will face the harshest penalties.’

The LASPO Act 2012 contains a number of provisions to reform sentencing, reduce offending and reform legal aid. The measures in the Act are being enacted in stages, a new criminal offence of squatting came into effect in September 2012. The remaining provisions will come into effect in 2013.

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Youth Justice Board welcomes new chief executive

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been looked after by a local authority at some point;

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12% of young men said they had children;

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89% of young men said they were involved in some form of purposeful activity, either education, a job, vocational or skills training or offending behaviour programmes, similar to the 90% in 2010-11;

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over one-quarter (26%) of young men anticipated having problems finding accommodation once released;

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39% of young women reported having emotional or mental health problems;

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Roles in the civil service include Area Director of the West Midland Court Service and Head of Legal Services Regulation and Redress in the Ministry of Justice.

only 19% of young women said that it was easy for their family and friends to visit them; and

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nine out of ten young people wanted to stop offending when they had left custody.

Recently, Lin has fulfilled chief executive roles at the Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency and at the Teaching Agency.

Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said:

The Youth Justice Board (YJB) is pleased to announce the appointment of a new chief executive. Lin Hinnigan, M. Ed MBA, will join the YJB in March 2013.

Lin’s career has its roots in working with children and young people. After early experience as a teacher and social worker she trained as an educational psychologist.

She worked in local government for a substantial part of her career including five years as Principal Educational Psychologist with Coventry City Council.

Frances Done, Chair of the YJB said: ‘Lin is an exceptional leader who understands the challenges of youth justice. I know she will continue the successful work of the YJB and help us with the major challenge of driving down youth crime and reoffending rates.

‘I wish her a warm welcome and know that she will bring her enthusiasm and substantial experience across local and central government to help the YJB achieve its objectives.’

The current chief executive of the YJB, John Drew, will leave at the end of February 2013.

Children and young people in custody - a fall in numbers, but little change otherwise

“It might have been expected that reductions in the number of young people held and changes to the custodial estate would have led to changes of similar significance to young people’s perceptions of their experience in custody. In fact, it is striking how little has changed and that may cast doubt on the assumption that, as the population decreased, it would include a greater concentration of young people with a serious offence background and major problems.

“Young people’s own perceptions of their experience in custody, their hopes and concerns, should be an important part of the evidence that shapes the future of the youth justice custody estate and youth justice policy. These annual surveys provide an important resource for tracking these perceptions and identifying progress made and work still to be done. The voice that comes through these statistics is largely realistic but hopeful – and should not be ignored.”

Prime Minister sees innovative prison work

The number of children and young people in custody continues to fall, but little has changed in their perception of their treatment and conditions, said Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons, publishing a thematic report, Children and Young People in Custody 2011-12: an analysis of the experiences of 15-18-year-olds in prison.

Prime Minister David Cameron saw for himself the work prisons are doing to prevent reoffending when he visited HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

During the visit he spoke to prison staff and offenders on a drug and alcohol rehabilitation scheme, run by the charity Rehabilitation for Addicted Prisoners Trust (RAPt).

The report, published jointly with the Youth Justice Board (YJB), sets out how young people aged 15 to 18 describe their own experience of imprisonment in 2011-12. Between 2010-11 and 2011-12, the number of young people in custody, held in young offender institutions, fell by 14 per cent and now stands at 1,543. As a result, in 2011-12 there was a further decommissioning of 231 places across the secure estate to reflect the decreasing size of the population.

The surveys demonstrate wide variations in young people’s perceptions in different establishments that reflect, in part, differences in their size and functions. Generalisations should therefore be treated with caution.

However, of most concern is the increase, from 27% to 32%, in the number of young people who had felt unsafe at some time.

The report also found that:

The prison showed David Cameron part of its work programme, a commercial laundry service, which gives offenders the skills they need to find work on release.

HMP Wormwood Scrubs Governor Phil Taylor said:

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approximately half (53%) of young men said that it was their first time in custody;

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after rising for two successive years, the proportion of young people from black and minority ethnic communities remained steady at 42%, similar to the 39% who reported this in 2010-11;

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the increase in the proportion of young men who described themselves as Muslim had accelerated from 16% in 2010-11 to 21% in 2011-12;

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almost a third of the young people surveyed (30%) said they had

the Custodial Review

The Prime Minister saw mentors from RAPt run a rehabilitation workshop which supports offenders overcoming damaging addictions.

‘I was delighted to host a visit by the Prime Minister to show him some of the innovative work we are doing here to address the causes of reoffending.

‘As I discussed with Mr Cameron, the key to successful resettlement for prisoners is engaging in effective partnership work with other organisations.’

The visit took place shortly before the Prime Minister delivered a major speech on criminal justice issues.

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