Search results

Many violent and sexual offenders are mentally disordered or will develop mental disorders while serving their sentence. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced major changes to the sentencing of 'dangerous offenders'. The disposal given to these offenders has implications for subsequent clinical management in secure mental health units, prison and, ultimately, in the community, particularly when it is an indeterminate sentence. This paper argues that the Act also has implications for psychiatric evidence submitted to the courts in such cases. The changes appear to carry significant resource implications too, especially for community forensic psychiatry.

This paper explores absconding from a new perspective. Literature has tended to focus on the risk factors linked with absconding. This paper aims to consider desistance factors for absconding for prisoners at higher risk of absconding in open prisons.

Stage 1 used logistic regression to identify factors associated with increased risk of absconding. Stage 2 identified new receptions with increased risk and used thematic analysis to analyse interviews with prisoners that did not abscond after three months.

Stage 1 found that the total number of previous offences predicted absconding. Stage 2 found three themes linked to desistance in absconding: “support”, “ownership” and “sense of self”.

This study highlights the importance of ensuring prisoners in open prisons are offered the appropriate emotional and practical support. It also identifies the importance of hope amongst prisoners in open conditions. Future research should further explore this idea in more depth.

Previous literature has looked at absconding from a risk factor perspective. This research identifies the desistance factors associated with absconding for individuals who have been identified as high risk of absconding. Improvements in factors associated with desistance from absconding may support a reduction in absconding from open prisons.

HMP Grendon operates as a series of therapeutic communities (TCs), one of which is for sex offenders who have committed very serious sexual offences, many against children and young adults. Prison officers, who form a significant part of the multidisciplinary staff team, have both therapeutic and discipline responsibilities. It is therefore essential that processes are in place to enable these officers to manage emotions evoked from hearing unpleasant material of a sexual nature and to prevent this exposure negatively impacting upon the way their custodial duties are performed. This paper outlines the different support mechanisms available to prison officers and their views on these arrangements.

The purpose of this paper was to understand the experience of those living with the Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence.

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse seven interviews with Young Offenders aged 18-21 who were serving an IPP sentence. Two participants were past their tariff expiry date, two had less than a year until their tariff date and three had more than a year until their tariff date.

Several themes were found, each with their own subthemes: Injustice of the Justice System, Not Knowing, Coping, Change and Walking on Eggshells. Participants still detailed negative aspects of the sentence but within this was one, important, positive aspect, namely the inspiration the sentence gave for them to change their offending behaviour. However, this has come at a cost with participants feeling as though they have been treated unfairly, finding it difficult to cope, feeling victimised and finding it difficult to see a future.

Lapses in motivation do not necessarily reflect the risk of the person but the difficulty of the sentence. Motivation can be fostered and developed through motivational interviewing, praise and peer support IPPs should be given more credit for the way they manage themselves daily and more understanding when they struggle. IPPs could be victimised by determinate prisoners or by staff. Establishments should be aware of this and help IPPs resolve situations without feeling like they are a victim. Consideration should be given to converting IPP sentences to determinate sentences.

Previous research focused on the negative aspects of the sentence, the purpose was therefore to approach the situation with an open mind and by using a method that allows those with an IPP sentence to share their experience of the sentence. IPA allowed for exploration of the effects of the sentence on those serving it and therefore gains a further understanding of the impact of the sentence.

The purpose of this paper is to explore supposed inevitable personal decline for long-term prisoners, particularly those serving a sentence of life without parole.

Using the prison records of a life without parole sentenced prisoner.

Findings suggest that prisoner deterioration is not inevitable in a whole life prison sentence.

Findings are based on one account, of a female prisoner.

Distinct services and support are required for those with a natural life prison sentence.

To date, there is limited research of prisoners serving life without parole, particularly the mental health implications of denying a prisoner future parole.

Prisoners serving life sentences are known to be at a higher risk of suicide. This paper reports findings from a review of self‐inflicted deaths of life sentence prisoners over the years 1988‐2001 and an indepth analysis of 20 recent cases (1998‐2001) to identify the individual motivations and environmental triggers for self‐inflicted death in this population. There were 80 (9.5% of total prison suicides) self‐inflicted deaths among lifers in the study period. The prisoners were older and more likely to kill themselves a year or more into their sentence than were other prison suicides. Analysis of the 20 case studies showed that lifers who killed themselves less than a year into their sentence tended to be overtly suicidal from the start of their time in custody, to have committed domestic murders and to have killed themselves when faced with the reality of their sentence or tariff. Lifers who killed themselves more than a year into their sentence tended to have a previous history of self‐harm or suicide attempts but fewer signs of immediate risk. Problems in progressing through the lifer system seemed to be significant, including reduced status or a failed appeal, and inability to adjust following transfer. Other triggers included disrupted relationships in or out of prison. Among both early and late groups there was evidence of mental health problems contributing to the death. Warning signs immediately before the death included refusing food, work or medication. Mood and demeanour appear to be unreliable indicators of risk.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the social climate of therapeutic wings and mainstream wings within one prison, to identify positive areas of social climate that can be built upon and areas for improvement.

In total, 1,054 social climate questionnaires (the Essen Climate Evaluation Schema – EssenCES) were sent to prisoner-facing staff and all prisoners within an English Category B prison holding indeterminate sentenced prisoners. Perceptions of social climate on therapeutic wings and mainstream wings and perceptions of social climate between staff and prisoners were compared.

The results showed that the therapeutic wings felt safer, there were better staff-prisoner relationships and there was better peer support among prisoners than people on the mainstream wings. Also, prisoners felt safer than staff, staff rated the overall social climate as more positive than prisoners and staff felt that they supported prisoners, but prisoners did not feel the same.

The main limitation is that the EssenCES measure does not explain the participants’ ratings of the social climate.

There is a need to transfer the principles and values of therapeutic wings to mainstream wings. In addition, there is significant room for improvement in the social climate of this prison.

This is the first study to compare the social climate of therapeutic and mainstream wings within one single prison. The research has a valuable contribution to the development of positive social climates conducive to better clinical outcomes.

Imprisonment for public protection (IPP) has been the subject of much attention and some controversy since its implementation in April 2005. High numbers of IPP prisoners, combined with a low release rate, have meant that IPP has had a significant impact on the prison population. This paper charts the genesis of IPP and its historical antecedents. It also explores IPP as an exemplar of the ‘rise of risk’ and focuses on its links to the ‘dangerous severe personality disorder’ pilots. It presents two hypotheses on the mental health implications of IPP.

This is a discussion paper describing the reflections of clinical leads within well-established intensive intervention and risk management services (IIRMS). IIRMS has developed in the past five years, with a small number of services leading in the development of a psychologically informed case management approach to working with individuals released from prison on probation licence, who have a history of high risk, high harm violent convictions linked to pervasive psychological and interpersonal problems.

Clinical leads of three services considered a period of 23 months up to December 2019, in which the outcomes for all individuals on their caseload at that time were reviewed. Reflections on the themes included the reasons for a premature return to prison and emerging themes for those who appeared to be successfully resettled.

Approximately one-third of the individuals were returned to prison, and for most, this occurred within the first 18 months of release. There was considerable unanimity between clinical leads regarding the themes, and problems with relative youth, substance misuse, relationship difficulties, managing transitions and complacency featured. There were four themes identified in those who appeared to have settled successfully in the community.

The identified themes provide key learning that will be enshrined in an updated version of the guidance for all IIRMS, with the overall aim of reaching out and engaging with a group of individuals who are most at risk of exclusion from services.

Although there are limitations associated with the informal approach of this paper, the reflections of the clinical leads have provided a valuable addition to the very limited empirical literature in this field.

The purpose of this paper is to review and understand what the existing evidence base concludes about the needs of this population. The older prisoner population is growing faster than the older general population and placing a strain on prisons. Much of the existing literature focusses on the health-care needs of, or in-prison initiatives for, older prisoners. Typically, these are responsive and lacking an evidence-based understanding of the characteristics and needs of this group.

This paper presents a systematic review of the existing literature on the needs and characteristics of older people in contact with the criminal justice system. After a thorough search and selection process, 21 papers, from 2002 onwards, were included in the final analysis. The review process was structured through (People, Intervention/Exposure, Comparison, Outcome) and reported using (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses).

The contradictions within the existing evidence base make it difficult to reach firm conclusions about the needs and characteristics of older prisoners. What is clear from the existing research are the relatively high levels of need. There is also some consensus that where older people commit homicide, the victim is likely to be an intimate partner. Overall, there is a need for consistent recording and reporting of characteristics and demographics and more systematic study design.

This paper has highlighted the key findings and limitations in the existing literature. Future research should make use of secondary official data sources to provide a clearer understanding of the characteristics of this group, their routes to prison, their needs and challenges they present.