§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to reduce the number of prisoners in prison; and what precautions are being taken to ensure that prisoners do not commit further crimes under the electronic tagging programme. [49318]
§ Beverley HughesThe Government believe that prison must be used as effectively as possible and targeted where it is most necessary. It should be used for incapacitating dangerous, violent and other serious offenders but prison sentences should be as long as necessary for punishment and public protection, and no longer.
The reform of the probation service, with its central focus on reducing re-offending means that rigorously enforced community sentences are a real and tough alternative to imprisonment. As part of the work taking forward the recommendations of the Halliday report on the sentencing framework we are looking at new forms of community penalties. We aim to encourage greater use of community penalties for some non-violent offenders such as those convicted of theft and handling or fraud.
We are addressing the recent increase in female prison population by taking forward the Government's strategy for female prisoners. A cross-Government women's offenders reduction plan is currently being developed by a multi-agency team drawn from across the criminal justice system, which is based in the Home Office.
Home Detention Curfew and a rigorous assessment process plays an important role by enabling some prisoners to be released from prison, whilst still subject to restrictions placed on their liberty. This facilitates a 224W smoother and more effective integration back into the community and helps offenders to secure employment as soon as possible.
Prior to release under the Home detention Curfew arrangements, the Probation service undertakes a home circumstances assessment of every prisoner's release address to confirm that the proposed accommodation is suitable for the monitoring equipment, that other persons residing at the address understand the impact of the curfew and have been given the opportunity to raise any issues which they wish to be considered, and that there are no issues relating to victims which would give cause for concern if the prisoner were to be curfewed to that address. Following release, each curfew is offered an interview to discuss the curfew requirements and to offer advice on any resettlement arrangements, including providing contact or access to local support groups and a Probation Service `helpline' contact.
§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Prison Service's policy is on the evaluation and accreditation of psychological interventions for prisoners; and under what circumstances unevaluated projects are allowed to continue. [49989]
§ Beverley HughesThe Prison Service's policy in relation to psychological interventions with prisoners is that these should be carried out in line with the standards for applied psychologists set by the British Psychological Society. Individual assessment and intervention work should be carried out under the supervision of a Chartered Psychologist.
Group based interventions aimed at reducing the risk of re-offending are subject to scrutiny by a panel of Prison Service, Probation Service and external practitioners and academics with expertise in relevant areas of work. Members are drawn from a range of disciplines. Group based interventions involve an assessment of clinical impact and are also audited to assess the degree of compliance with agreed national standards.
Group based interventions that have not been evaluated may be supported where they meet specific needs not addressed by currently available groups. However, the prison and probation services are committed to an evidence based practice approach, for both individual and group based interventions.
§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications were made by juvenile prisoners to see the board of visitors in 2001, broken down by institution. [49974]
§ Beverley HughesThis information is not held centrally.