“…it’s like stepping on a land-mine”Post-release integration of prisoners in

Ireland

Agnieszka Martynowicz

Irish Penal Reform Trust

July 2010

METHODOLOGY

• review of literature; legislation; policy and practice

• interviews with statutory agencies

• interviews with voluntary sector providers

• focus groups with former prisoners

• practice based - looking at service provision not at

theory of desistance/reintegration/integration

BACKGROUND• historically under-developed focus on prisons

• criminal justice and social policies separated from prison policy

• rapidly increasing prison population and number of committals

• penal expansionism (new prison places) BUT

• no additional resources to meet increasing needs

• overcrowding

• unsafe prisons

BACKGROUND

• Some prisons with 80% of prisoners addicted to drugs/alcohol

• High prevalence of mental health difficulties (27% of sentenced men and 60% of sentenced women with mental illness) and dual diagnosis

• Homelessness

• Up to 25% ‘on protection’ every day

• 80% on sentences less than 12 months (over 60% under 6 months)

• 50% re-committal rate within 4 years

5

FINDINGS• Some progressive ‘pilot’ and more permanent initiatives:

• Diversion project in Cloverhill Prison (Dublin)• Community organisations providing homeless assistance on

remand/statutory organisations on sentence• Increased provision of drug counselling in prisons• Development of new initiatives (mentoring) and continuing

success of existing programmes (The GATE/Linkage)• Integrated Sentence Management appears to be working well

where introduced• Funding provided by the Irish Prison Service and the Probation

Service increasing the capacity of community-based projects• Legislative and practical initiatives aiming to address the increase

in prison population: fines; community service orders.

6

FINDINGS• A system which struggles to engage with the vast majority of

prisoners• ‘Post-code lottery’ in relation to what is available in the prisons

and outside• Little or no information provided to prisoners and/or their

families regarding services available in custody or upon release• Focus of resources on long-term and ‘high risk’ prisoners (ISM;

Probation managing ‘risk’)• Resources not adequate to needs• Funding concerns re: longer term sustainability

FINDINGS• Use of Temporary Release as a safety valve for overcrowded prisons

• Short notice of release and releases at weekends• Limited linking with community support before release• ‘communication chaos’ leading to vital support being lost or not

provided • Effects: most recently two cases of prisoners with mental health

difficulties granted TR with no support reported in the press - one in Cork Prison and one in the Dóchas Centre in Dublin

• Lack of a statutory duty to co-operate can hinder any efforts made before release (homelessness an example)

• Lack of more general awareness regarding the reality of prison life

Contact

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