Offenders - policy
Each country in the United Kingdom is pursuing social inclusion policies. We will ensure that you know which policies are operating where you work and also include key reports and legislation that have informed the policy.
Government departments and other national bodies are arranged in alphabetical order, items which are dated are arranged chronologically with the most recent first.
You might also like to refer to the guidance and agencies and communities sections for further information on offenders.
The resources below were last accessed on 12 March 2013. Some of them are in PDF format - see how to access PDF files.
England and Wales
Department of Health: Offender health
The Offender Health Division is responsible for leading on development and delivery of a cross government Health and Criminal Justice Programme. The programme’s common aim is "improving health and social care outcomes for adults and children in contact with the criminal justice system, focusing on early intervention, liaison and diversion". This is also an important component of the reducing re-offending and health inequalities agenda
Department of Health (2009) Healthy children, safer communities - a strategy to promote the health and wellbeing of children and young people in contact with the youth justice system
This is a cross government strategy to improve the health and wellbeing of children and young people in England at risk of offending and reoffending, and to help tackle youth crime and anti-social behaviour. It presents four key objectives around early interventions to address emerging health needs and ensuring access to appropriate services, as well as acknowledging the importance of supportive family and community relationships.
Department of Health (2009) Improving health, supporting justice: the national delivery plan of the Health and Criminal Justice Programme Board
Building on Lord Bradley's 2009 review of mental health and learning disability in the criminal justice system, this document presents a five-year delivery plan which aims to improve the support that people with mental health problems and learning disabilities get within the system. Key objectives are: increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of systems, care pathways and continuity of care; ensuring equity of access to services, as well as increasing capacity and capability. Fundamental to this are stronger partnerships both across government and at the local level.
Department of Health (2009) Lord Bradley’s review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system
This independent review was commissioned by the Department of Health to examine the extent to which offenders with mental health problems or learning disabilities could, in appropriate cases, be diverted from prison to other services. The review made more than 80 recommendations around the organisation of effective liaison and diversion arrangements and the services needed to support them.
An independent commission has been set up by the Centre for Mental Health to undertake a five-year-on review of the Bradley report to be completed in 2014 - see Centre for Mental Health: The Bradley Report Revisited Commission.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons for England and Wales
HMI Prisons' statement of purpose is "To provide independent scrutiny of the conditions for and treatment of prisoners and other detainees, promoting the concept of 'healthy prisons' in which staff work effectively to support prisoners and detainees to reduce reoffending or achieve other agreed outcomes".
Home Office (2007) The Corston Report: a review of women with particular vulnerabilities in the criminal justice system
The review outlines "the need for a distinct radically different, visibly-led, strategic, proportionate, holistic, woman-centred, integrated approach".
Ministry of Justice: The justice system in England and Wales
Justice, the website for the Ministry of Justice, provides information on the administration and regulation of the justice system in England and Wales.
Ministry of Justice: HM Prison Service
This section of the Justice website sets out the objectives of the Prison Service. For information and guidance about the prison service, probation service and what happens to offenders released from custody or serving their sentence in the community - see Guidance for people working with offenders in prison and on probation.
NHS Commissioning Board: Securing excellence in commissioning offender health
This sets out a national strategy for commissioning and how it will be co-ordinated via the four NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB) regional teams. It outlines how the NHS CB will move towards a national contract framework with a national set of service specifications, standards, policies and quality measures. To ensure local decisions about services are made as close to health communities as possible, 10 area teams of the NHS CB will take on the responsibility across England for contracting and the delivery of services for people in prison, other secure accommodation and for victims of sexual assault. See also documentation at Offender health care.
Royal College of Nursing, Nacro and Centre for Mental Health (2010) Prison mental health: vision and reality (PDF 493.4KB)
This publication aims to examine what has been achieved in prison mental health over recent years from a number of different personal perspectives and individual observations of working in England. It looks at the specific achievements of inreach teams and of efforts to divert offenders from custody. It also looks more broadly at the rapid growth of the prison population during the same period and the treatment of offenders with mental health problems outside as well as inside prison.
Northern Ireland
Department of Justice: Northern Ireland Prison Service
This website brings together information about the Prison Service in Northern Ireland and how it is administered. This includes information about each of the prisons and offenders centre as well as the Prison Service HQ, reports and publications. The Northern Ireland Prison Service is currently going through a period of reform, a four year management programme which aims to deliver fundamental reform of the service by 2015 – see Strategic Efficiency and Effectiveness (SEE) programme.
Department of Justice: Northern Ireland Prison Service: Prison healthcare
This section on the Northern Ireland Prison Service describes the arrangement for prison health care in Northern Ireland. Since April 2008 the delivery of this health care has been the responsibility of the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. Prison healthcare forms part of the Adult Services Directorate of that Trust.
Nidirect: Crime, justice and the law
Information about the judicial system in Northern Ireland is available in this section of the Nidirect website.
Scotland
Scottish Government: Law, Order and Public Safety
This section of the Scottish Government website describes the justice system in Scotland.
HM Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland (2008) Out of sight: severe and enduring mental health problems in Scotland's prisons
The aims of this inspection included examining the scale of severe and enduring mental health problems in Scotland, the impact on prison, issues on release, and prison-based and community interventions.
Scottish Executive (2006) Reducing reoffending: national strategy for the management of offenders
This is the first National Strategy for the Management of Offenders. The Strategy covers the period to March 2008. It is intended that a further three year strategy take forward this work for the period 2008-11. See below for information about the Reducing Reoffending Programme in Scotland.
Scottish Government (2012) Redesigning the community justice system: a consultation on proposals
This process of redesign was undertaken in response to issues raised by a number of reports, and to further reduce reoffending document. The consultation document sets out three options for redesigning the community justice system in Scotland. The consultation closes on 30 April 2013.
Scottish Government: Reducing reoffending in Scotland
The Scottish Government has set up the Reducing Reoffending Programme to work with partners across Scotland’s justice system and work with persistent offenders to minimise reoffending and support offenders “to pay back constructively for their crimes and build better lives for themselves, their families, and their communities”. The Programme is in two phases and encompasses five projects.
Scottish Prison Service policies
The website of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) outlines the vision of the service and its key aims. It includes this section on policies which guide the service's business processes.
The responsibility for delivering health care to prisoners was transferred to the NHS in Scotland in July 2008. Documents relevant to this are the Memorandum of Understanding between NHS and SPS and the Information sharing protocol between NHS and SPS.
Scottish Prison Service (2002) The health promoting prison: a framework for promoting health in the Scottish prison service
The framework is based around four core health topics: eating for health; active living; tobacco use; mental health well-being and provides an overall action planning map along with action checklists for each topic.