Short Term Prisoners
| DOI | 10.1177/026455050004700412 |
| Date | 01 December 2000 |
| Published date | 01 December 2000 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
282
Michael
Teague
Senior
Lecturer
in
Criminal
Justice,
University
of Hertfordshire
Short
Term
Prisoners
In
1999,
two
thirds
of
all
those
sentenced
to
imprisonment
received
terms
of
less
than
12
months.
Although
they
pose
a
higher
risk
of
reoffending
and
could
benefit
from
resettlement
and
other
offending-related
work,
most
are
not
subject
to
any
form
of
statutory
probation
supervision
on
release.
High
probation
caseloads
also
mean
that
voluntary
after-
care
is
increasingly
rare
for
this
group.
This
NACRO
report
summarises
important
research
findings
relating
to
short
term
prisoners
and
considers
the
harmful
impact
of
imprisonment
on
housing,
employment,
family
ties
and
finances.
For
example,
a
number
of
surveys
show
that
around
30-40%
of
prisoners
lose
their
homes
during
periods
of
imprisonment
and
are
in
great
need
of
appropriate
advice.
One
study
cited
also
shows
that
special
needs
such
as
mental
health
problems
are
more
likely
to
be
entirely
overlooked
during
short
periods
of
imprisonment.
The
report
welcomes
the
steps
being
taken
by
the
Home
Office,
Prison
Service
and
other
government
departments
and
agencies
to
improve
resettlement.
These
include:
.
The
establishment
in
1999
of
six
pilot
Pathfinder
projects
targeted
at
resettlement
of
short
term
prisoners.
.
A
recently
published
Prison
Service
Order
on
prisoner
induction;
this
stresses
the
need
for
the
induction
process
all
prisoners
go
through
to
deal
with
needs
such
as
preservation
of
accommodation
and
employment,
and
issues
relating
to
property,
family
ties
and
access
to
drug
services.
.
The
establishment
of
a
Prison
Service
’Custody
to
Work
Unit’
which
has
funding
of
£20
million
for
employment-related
programmes
over
the
three
year
period
from
2001-2004.
.
The
development
of
a
joint
Key
Performance
Indicator
on
resettlement
for
the
Prison
and
Probation
Services,
which
should
apply
from
2001-2002.
In
spite
of
these
and
other
reforms,
the
report
argues
that
far
more
needs
to
be
done,
specifically
proposing:
.
A
new
resettlement
service
targeted
at
short
term
prisoners.
Nationally
awarded
contracts
would
go
to
local
projects
run
by
the
Probation
Service,
voluntary
agencies
or
partnerships
between
the
two.
.
Systematic
arrangements
to
help
newly
received
short
term
prisoners
keep
their
jobs
and
accommodation.
These
would
be
complemented
by
the
establishment
of
job
clubs
and
job
search
training
for
prisoners
and
the
early
access
of
all
ex-prisoners
to
Employment
Service
provision
which
is
currently
available
to
18-24
year-olds
through
the
New
Deal.
The
abandonment
of
plans
to
introduce
criminal
conviction
certificates
is
recommended,
as
is
a
reduction
in
the
period
of
time
offenders
have
to
wait
before
their
convictions
are
regarded
as
’spent’.
.
Mentoring
schemes
to
help
released
prisoners
through
the
range
of
appointments
and
procedures
which
are
necessary
on
release.
.
All
prisons
should
establish
housing
advice
centres
and
all
those
released
from
prison
or
other
institutions
should
be
classified
as
being
in
priority
need
for
housing.
Housing
providers
should
also
offer
new
tenancies
to
prisoners
who
have
given
up
tenancies
on
reception.
.
The
financial
pressures
of
a
return
to
the
community
should
be
eased
by
discharge
grants
being
increased
to
the
equivalent
of
at
least
two
weeks’
social
security
benefits;
and
the
Benefits
Agency
should
hold
surgeries
in
prisons
to
enable
much
of
the
work
of
claiming
to
be
done
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