Event Details

Key Speakers

	John Hall, Deputy Director, Offender Management, Ministry of Justice
	ACC John Long, Lead on Offender Management, Association of Chief Police Officers

Overview

Over the last ten years the prison population in the UK has almost doubled to around 82,000 and now sits at maximum capacity, with each prisoner costing the UK taxpayer approximately £50,000 per year. Despite crime levels remaining low, our current prison system is widely viewed as neither efficient nor effective, with nearly half of all offenders sent to prison reconvicted within a year at a cost of between £7bn and £10bn.

In order to urgently address the failings of our prison system, decrease the prison population by 3,000 and reduce public spending by £2bn by 2014, the Government has sought a more constructive, transparent and intelligent approach to sentencing in the UK. Having consulted on its radical Green Paper, the Government’s response, ‘Breaking the Cycle: Government Response’ (June 2011), outlines a number of changes to sentencing, including simplifying the framework to make it more comprehensible to the public, enhancing judicial discretion and reforming the indeterminate sentence of IPP. Alternative penalties, such as community sentences, will also be extended and the use of remand reduced, whilst greater emphasis will be placed on restorative justice.

Championing a ‘rehabilitation revolution’, the Government has committed to strengthening rehabilitative measures in prison through harnessing the expertise and innovation of the third and private sectors via payment by results schemes, such as the Social Impact Bond. Offenders will receive tailored and constructive programmes that continue ‘through the gates’, motivating and supporting offenders to change their behaviour and enable their reintegration into the community without resorting back to crime.

This special symposium offers an invaluable opportunity for practitioners from across the police, prison and probation services and key stakeholders from the private and third sector to examine the Government’s latest proposals to reform the offender management system, through strengthening punishment, protection payback and implementing a rehabilitation revolution.

Delegates will:

• Analyse the Government’s vision for transforming the UK’s offender management system
• Examine changes to sentencing to strengthen punishment and payback and restore public confidence in the CJS
• Consider how to utilise the expertise of the third and private sector through payment by results schemes to drive improvements
• Explore how to work in partnership to provide tailored rehabilitation to offenders both in prison and upon release
• Discuss how to improve offenders’ access to education, training and employment opportunities in prison

Programme

Who Should Attend?

• Offender Management Training Teams
• Probation Officers
• Crown Prosecution Service
• Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnerships
• Community Safety Partnerships
• Third Sector Practitioners
• Drug and Alcohol Action Teams
• Criminal Justice Practitioners
• Judges and Magistrates
• Legal Professionals
• Health Service Professionals
• Victim Support Representatives
• Mental Health Practitioners
• Social Workers and Social Services Officers
• Police Service, Police Authorities & Fire Services
• Young Offenders Institutes
• Licensing Enforcement Officers
• Community Cohesion and Development Organisations
• Community Support Officers
• Local Authority Officers & Councillors
• Central Government Departments & Agencies
• Children and Youth Services
• Training, Skills and Employment Providers
• Domestic Violence Co-ordinators
• Families Services Officers
• Sure Start
• Equality and Diversity Practitioners
• Academics and Researchers

“ We will change our whole approach to rehabilitation so that we reward and pay only for what works in delivering reduced levels of crime. Prisons will be judged on how effectively they stop their prisoners offending again. There will also be figures to show what kinds of sentence work best to stop offenders in their tracks. Independent providers, be they private companies, charities or not-for-profit organisations, will be paid according to their level of success in bringing down reoffending. They will deliver programmes which address the roots of criminality, in areas such as drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness and skills shortages. Ex-offenders who are successfully integrated back into society after serving their sentences will become taxpayers instead of a drain on the state. Our plans mean a return to what the public wants from the criminal justice system: punishment, protection and a renewed focus on breaking the cycle of crime and reoffending. ”
— ‘Breaking the Cycle: Government Response’, June 2011