Extracts from the second reading debate (Commons) of the Prisons and Courts Bill - March 20
Tuesday, 21 March 2017 07:49
Andrew Selous (South West Bedfordshire) (Con):...Prisons will only
be successful in achieving rehabilitation and preventing
reoffending if we have an effective probation service that is
working hand in hand with our prisons. I welcome the implementation
of the key worker role in prisons to help bring this about, and I
hope that the probation service will look at the inspiring examples
of what can be done by initiatives such as Jobs, Friends &
Houses in Blackpool. It is an initiative...Request free trial
(South West Bedfordshire)
(Con):...Prisons will only be successful in achieving
rehabilitation and preventing reoffending if we have an effective
probation service that is working hand in hand with our prisons. I
welcome the implementation of the key worker role in prisons to
help bring this about, and I hope that the probation service will
look at the inspiring examples of what can be done by initiatives
such as Jobs, Friends & Houses in Blackpool. It is an
initiative between Lancashire police and Blackpool Council that
provides construction skills training, accommodation, employment
and friendship, as well as strengthening the wellbeing of those it
serves in very practical ways. I have explained the model to the
chief constable and police and crime commissioner in Bedfordshire,
as well as to senior judges in Luton, and I hope that they will be
inspired to establish a similar initiative in my own county...
(North West Hampshire)
(Con):...In similar schemes overseas, offenders are
charged for their testing. In the US, for example, they pay $1 a
test—about £1 a test—and that changes the psychology involved. It
means that offenders who undergo testing of their sweat, urine or
breath take more responsibility for their own sobriety. They are
investing in their own freedom. By undergoing the testing, they are
avoiding a prison sentence, which means that they can maintain
contact with their families and keep their jobs, but they have to
remain sober for three or six months. Having to invest a small
amount in those tests means that, psychologically, they are taking
responsibility for them, and it also means that the scheme is
self-funding. Under such a system, Police and Crime Commissioners, who have
not taken up this disposal with alacrity, despite the fantastic
results when it was tried in Croydon, would have the business case
to do so, because it would be a source of funding for them...
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