From the 'seamless sentence' to 'through the gate': understanding the common threads of resettlement policy failures
| Author | Matt Cracknell |
| Position | Middlesex University |
| Pages | 86-103 |
86
British Journal of Community Justice
©2021 Manchester Metropolitan University
ISSN 1475-0279
Vol. 17(2) 86–103
https://doi.org/10.48411/pfz6-ba61
FROM THE ‘SEAMLESS SENTENCE’ TO ‘THROUGH THE
GATE’: UNDERSTANDING THE COMMON THREADS OF
RESETTLEMENT POLICY FAILURES
Matt Cracknell, Middlesex University
Contact details: m.cracknell@mdx.ac.uk
Abstract
Contemporary criminal justice policy in England and Wales has witnessed various
resurgences of political interest in resettlement and the short sentence population. This
intermittent attentiveness has been mirrored in the circular re-iterations of policy
initiatives ostensibly designed to bring greater continuity to the services that administer
‘through the gate’ work. These efforts include the ‘seamless sentence’ of the 1991
Criminal Justice Act; ‘end-to-end offender management’, the creation of The National
Offender Management Service (NOMS) and the introduction of custody plus under New
Labour; and the current Transforming Rehabilitation (TR) ‘through the gate’ reforms. It is
important to analyse these attempts in order to understand why resettlement policy
consistently fails to deliver an improved continuity between prisons and probation. This
paper argues that resettlement policy has a common thread of issues that inhibit effective
resettlement practice. This article will firstly consider the ‘essence’ (Senior and Ward,
2016) of resettlement practice, outlining several key principles that should be central
elements for resettlement policy and practice, before providing an overview of these
various policy initiatives; examining a common thread of failures in their realisation. This
article will then look ahead at the next possible iteration of resettlement policy, ‘offender
management in custody’ (OMiC), concluding that despite key changes, this latest policy
continues to repeat the errors of past resettlement policy failures.
Keywords: Resettlement; through the gate; the essence of probation
From The ‘Seamless Sentence’ To ‘Through The Gate’: Understanding The Common Threads Of
Resettlement Policy Failures
87
Introduction: the ‘intractable’ problem of resettlement
Since the demise of transportation as a primary means of punishment and the expansion of
prisons beyond their former ‘holding’ roles to spaces of incapacitation and punishment
within themselves (McConville, 1995; Hedderman, 2007), there has been great i nterest
regarding the reintegration of individuals back into society after their release from prison.
This interest has manifested into a variety of policy initiatives, designed to reduce re-
offending rates and the resulting costs to society. However, Crow (2006:1) describes
resettlement as an “intractable problem”, with concerns of its effectiveness dating back to
the nineteenth century, with numerous actors taking responsibility for resettlement at
various points, as well as repeated difficulties of providing an effective service.
Running parallel with the ‘intractable problem’ of resettlement, are longstanding concerns
regarding individuals sentenced to a short prison sentence1. Despite research suggesting
that individuals serving these sentences have the highest level of needs within the adult
system in England and Wales, combined with the highest reoffending rates (Stewart, 2008;
NAO, 2010), they have faced “a history of neglect” (Clancy et al., 2006:2) in comparison to
prisoners serving longer sentences. Clancy et al. (2006:2) explain that concerns around the
multiple needs of this cohort, combined with insufficient time to work on these issues, mean
that individuals serving short sentence face a “broadly unchanging pattern of problems and
a lack of progress in addressing them”, leading to short sentence offenders being labelled
as the “perennial problem” of the criminal justice system (Johnston and Godfrey, 2013:
433).
There have been several attempts to address these combined ‘intractable’ and ‘perennial’
issues. However, with the impending demise of the current ‘through the gate’ reforms
bought about by Transforming Rehabilitation (TR), it is important to reflect upon the
historical and contemporary problems with providing effective resettlement. Furthermore,
it is important to try to understand why various attempts so often fail. This paper uses
secondary analysis to analyse and critique resettlement policy and practice in England and
Wales. To gain the findings, literature searches have taken place on the three most recent
attempts of resettlement policy: the ‘seamless sentence’ of the 1991 Criminal Justice Act;
‘end-to-end’ offender management under New Labour; and the ‘through the gate’ reforms
of TR. Secondary analysis was deemed the most appropriate methodology, as it allows
multiple iterations of resettlement policy - covering several decades - to be reviewed
thematically. This paper contends that these three attempts have a commonality of failures,
and despite their promises of a ‘seamless – end-to-end’ experience, they have collectively
failed to provide effective continuity of support. This paper will then look ahead to the next
1 A short prison sentence is commonly defined in England and Wales, as a period of
incarceration that is less than 12 months and more than 1 day in length. It is a term
widely used in penal literature (see for example: Stewart, 2008; National Audit Office
(NAO), 2010).
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