“…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.
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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
• [email protected]• Join us on Facebook: www.iprt.ie/facebook • Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/iprt• Sign up for our Ebulletin• Campaign with us: [email protected]
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