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9. REINTEGRATION
Outcome
Appropriate steps are taken to ensure that prisoners are reintegrated safely into the community and where possible into a situation less likely to lead to further crime.
9.1 The prison has developed excellent links with community based organisations. The Links Centre within the prison and the community based Links Centre are both very effective in helping prepare prisoners for release. Integrated Case Management is well developed and is inclusive. A number of accredited programmes to address offending behaviour are in place.
Integrated Case Management
9.2 Integrated Case Management ( ICM) operates in Edinburgh at standard and enhanced levels. The standard procedures allow for prisoners serving four years or less to have their needs assessed and a Community Integration Plan developed. This Community Integration Plan is reviewed and updated prior to liberation. The enhanced procedures allow for all prisoners serving sentences over four years and all sex offenders serving sentences of six months and over to participate in multi-disciplinary meetings to review progress and develop strategies to reduce the risk of re-offending and causing harm on release.
9.3 The number of enhanced level case conferences fluctuates between 25 and 35 each month. There are two dedicated ICM co-ordinators and an administrator. Some residential staff operate as personal officers in two of the halls. There is no personal officer scheme for protection prisoners who are subject to enhanced procedures. Training is currently being carried out to 'up-skill' staff in the personal officer role and two courses had been delivered at the time of the inspection. The training is designed to ensure that prisoners are regularly supplied with the information in the ICM case conference dossier 14 days prior to the conference. Currently, they are often only given the information the day before the conference. The training is also designed to help personal officers review case conference minutes and ensure care plan elements are implemented.
9.4 Attendance at case conferences by community-based social workers has improved, but in five of the nine months prior to the inspection attendance fell below the 85% target. Prisoners reported that they were not told that they could have their family at the case conference in enough time to make the arrangements.
9.5 The core screen document is completed for all prisoners serving seven days or more, on the day of admission. Prisoners who arrive late have their core screen completed the following day. Subsequent referrals are entered on the appropriate domain on PR2.
9.6 Initial risk assessments are conducted jointly by prison based social workers and programme staff. Annual updates are conducted by ICM co-ordinators and social workers.
9.7 The Muti-Agency Public Protection Arrangements ( MAPPA) for sex offenders operate effectively and a senior manager from the establishment attends community MAPPA meetings for those prisoners assessed as the highest level of risk. In the two months prior to the inspection two prisoners were released from Edinburgh on this level.
9.8 Inspectors observed ICM case conferences. The minimum attendance target was met on each occasion and at one a family member was in attendance. There was appropriate focus on risk factors and interventions. The outcome and implications of risk assessments were explained in plain language, and at a pace which ensured the individuals understood what was happening. Care plans were agreed and it was explained to prisoners that a copy of their plan would be made available in two weeks time, and passed to their personal officer via PR2 for discussion and monitoring. Prisoners were satisfied with the case conferences but were less satisfied with the notice given of the content of dossiers.
9.9 The Risk Management Group ( RMG) meets on a weekly basis and operates in parallel to ICM. The minutes evidence a structured approach to assessing need and risk. The work of the RMG should be more closely aligned to the ICM process.
Interventions to Address Offending Behaviour
9.10 Programmes to address offending behaviour are delivered in the hub. The facilities are very good. The staff complement is eight officers plus a manager. Delivery of programmes is multi-disciplinary with input from social work, psychology, healthcare and addictions.
9.11 The team delivers accredited programmes and approved activities. The accredited programmes are:
- Violence Prevention Programme ( VPP)
- Rolling Sex Offender Treatment Programme ( SOTP)
- A pilot Substance Related Offender Behaviour Programme ( SROBP)
- Constructs
9.12 There are waiting lists for some of these accredited programmes: 60 for VPP, 36 for Constructs and three for rolling SOTP. The prison has no links with the community for ongoing delivery of SROBP.
9.13 Approved activities delivered are:
- Drug Action for Change.
- Alcohol Awareness
Preparation for Release
9.14 The needs identified in the core screen assessments are entered on to the prisoner record system so that service providers can conduct assessments and provide interventions where appropriate. Core screen assessments are reviewed every six months and prisoners not subject to ICM enhanced procedures are invited to the Links Centre four weeks prior to liberation. There is a wide range of service providers and partner organisations available to address any pre-release needs.
9.15 There are also close links with the Community Links Centre in Edinburgh, through a SACRO member of staff who works in both Centres. This is an area of good practice. The Community Links Centre also assists prisoners from the Edinburgh area who are released from HMYOI Polmont and HMP& YOI Cornton Vale. It helps with the transition from prison to the community.
9.16 There are two pre-release programmes available: Restart and Living Skills. Living Skills covers basic living skills and Restart covers employability. Finance and debt advice is provided by a credit union and Caledonian Youth delivers sexual health information.
9.17 Overall, there is a structured approach to preparing prisoners for their return to the community, and good links have been established with community organisations.
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