| ANNEX
6 |
| OTHER
AGENCIES INVOLVED WITH PENAL ESTABLISHMENTS |
| |
| 1.
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS (AA) |
| See
‘Alcohol Abuse’ - paragraph 4.38. |
| |
| 2.
APEX (Scotland) |
| Apex
increased the range of services provided and prisoners
seen last year. The former had origins in 1993, when
European Social Fund money was awarded to the SPS for the
first time. Subsequently SPS and Apex undertook a joint
venture to tackle literacy difficulties faced by a
significant number of prisoners, through the ‘Apex
Employment Literacy Programme’, which was aimed at
improving job prospects on release. This programme also
involved training Prison Officers as Adult basic
education tutors and is now operating successfully as a
15 week course involving the skills of both Apex Tutors
and Prison Officers working in close co-operation. |
| A
Training and Work Experience programme (TWEPS) was also
established in 1994, designed to help prisoners with 6-8
months of their sentence remaining, to look at employment
issues: then offer them training and work related
experience which will help more successful re-integration
into the labour market on release. This programme is also
increasingly being recommended by the Parole Board as
part of individual pre-release plans. |
| Apex
also provides individual counselling and the running of
Employment Preparation Courses for groups of
prisoners/YOs nearing release. It is the major provider
for the Employment Service funded ‘Employment Focus
Course.’ Apex also hopes to work closely with the
SPS on the new Sentence Planning Scheme. The extension of
training and consultancy services to Prison Staff in
their Personal Officer roles is also a future
possibility. |
| Other
agencies offering programmes of a regional nature
included the Dundee Chamber of Commerce for some prisons
in Perth and Tayside. |
| |
| 3.
THE HOPE GROUP |
| Hope
is a voluntary organisation which has been working in the
Criminal Justice system for the past 6 years. The
Management Committee comprises 2 Prison Chaplains, 1
Social Work Manager, 1 Education Adviser, 1 serving Life
Prisoner and 1 Lawyer. It is involved in the following
‘network’ and projects: Family Support, Mens
Development, Employment, Aftercare/supported lodgings,
prison ‘befrienders’. It has been active in
HMPs Barlinnie, Shotts, Dungavel, Edinburgh, Friarton,
Perth and HMYOI Castle Huntly. The Paisley Support Group
provides transport for prisoner families, as does a group
at Newton Stewart (HMP Penninghame) and also the Glasgow
East End Family Support Project. A prisoners wives
support group has also formed. |
| |
| 4.
THE HOWARD LEAGUE FOR PENAL REFORM
(SCOTLAND) |
| Aims
to provide policies which: reduce poverty and
unemployment in society; prevent crime by providing
alternatives to crime - eg employment, training, in the
community; assist the early detection of criminal
behaviour; ensure that civil rights are observed and that
the police are trained to exercise their powers properly;
encourage decriminalisation and diversion from the
Criminal Justice System wherever possible; ensure that
the Courts dispense humane justice with imprisonment as a
last resort; foster constructive regimes in prisons in
order to reduce recidivism; help the reintegration of
offenders into the community of which they are members.
Make known to the public, the media and workers in the
field, that there is an alternative to punitive
justice,namely restorative justice. |
| |
| 5.
THE PRISON FELLOWSHIP |
| The
Prison Fellowship, which is an entirely voluntary body,
takes an evangelical and ecumenical approach to
fellowship meetings for prisoner groups. Prayer, bible
study and general fellowship meetings normally occur in
the evenings. From time to time the fellowship also
organises visits for prisoners as a complement to the
Prison Visitor Scheme and also organises concerts.
Present in most prisons, they are particularly active
with YOs in HMYOI Polmont: there is generally good
liaison between them and Governors I/C and Chaplains. |
| |
| 6.
THE PRISON REFORM TRUST |
| Aimed
at creating a just, humane and effective penal system.
This is done by enquiring into the working of the system;
informing prisoners, staff, and the wider public, and by
influencing Parliament, Government and officials towards
reform. |
| |
| 7.
SACRO |
| SACRO
continues to operate Information Points in HMP Shotts and
HM Remand Institution Longriggend and a Visitors Centre
at Perth Prison, all of which used trained volunteers. In
addition, transport services operating from Edinburgh and
Glasgow visit 13 establishments and the State Hospital at
Carstairs. A family service in Glasgow runs locally based
groups, enabling prisoners to provide each other with
mutual support. Another group addresses the special needs
of mothers of offenders: meanwhile befriending of
individual prisoners is part of the work of the Edinburgh
Day Service. SACRO also assists in training some Prison
Officers in a welfare role, and provides information
points in several establishments. |
| In
future there could be considerable potential for SACRO to
become more involved in group work programmes, tailored
to the needs of both staff and prisoners. For example
addressing offending behaviour and building upon
SACRO’s experience of the resolution of disputes. |
| |
| 8.
SALVATION ARMY |
| See
‘Chaplains’ - paragraphs 6.16-21. |
| |
| 9.
SAVE THE CHILDREN |
| Save
the Children works to promote the rights of children and
young people, much of it carried out on an international
scale. In any year in Scotland, there are an estimated
12,500 children who experience the effect of the
imprisonment of a parent. Save the Children has long
standing experience of developing children and family
groups and supporting local groups to take control of
their own activities in disadvantaged circumstances. Save
the Children is a sponsor of the Scottish Forum on
Prisons and Families and works in association with the
Forum. |
| |
| 10.
THE SCOTTISH FORUM ON PRISONERS AND FAMILIES |
| The
Forum exists to promote improvements in the Scottish
Criminal Justice System to minimise the damaging effects
of imprisonment on family life, in a way which is
meaningful to prisoners and their families. The Forum has
the following objectives: to raise awareness and promote
policies which prioritise the needs of children and
families: to improve facilities and systems for family
contact and visits: to enable children’s rights to
be met within the framework of the Scottish Criminal
Justice system: to encourage and assist the development
of Prisoners’ Families Support Groups: to foster
dialogue between prisoners, prisoners’ families,
prison staff and with the Forum: to audit and update
information about existing facilities and disseminate
details as appropriate: to gather information and provide
a database about other systems and projects and to
encourage research. |
| |
| 11.
TOYBOX |
| The
Scottish Prison Toy Library Scheme began in Edinburgh
Prison in 1976; this is a community based scheme run
entirely by volunteers operating in a number of Scottish
prisons, providing play facilities for visitors children.
|
| |
| 11.
WRVS |
| Provides
volunteer canteen workers in a number of establishments:
part of the ‘Community help for Families
Network’. |
