Probation officers – It is very important for a prisoner to have a strong relationship with their probation officer as their main job is to try and safely bring the prisoner back into the community.
Local Authorities – This is another important relationship as they can offer the prisoners advice on things such as job seeking, housing and the management of their finances.
Social Services – Social services will offer support with the custody of their children and help them to get back with their children when they leave prison, which for any prisoner that has children is invaluable. They may also try and help on developing their life skills and help them with their rehabilitation.
Internal
The main internal relationship in a prison is the one between a prisoner and the prison staff. It is important because it can create a safer and more friendly environment throughout the whole prison, which will hopefully mean that prison guards do not have to resort to physical control over the prisoners when it comes to things such as security checks, maintaining order, searching procedures and supervising prisoners.
There are also prison councillors that a prisoner may come into contact with, they are given the opportunities to gain qualifications within the prison to help them get a job when they have done their sentence. Also if prisoners are well behaved and have shown a good sign of maturity, they will be given the opportunity to leave the prison early before the whole sentence is finished. This will also mean that when they get out the community they will live in will become a safer place.
Task 2
Offending behaviour in custody can be addressed in many different ways, it is important to try and address this behaviour as when they are a risk to the society.
There are many different courses to help prisoners fit into society well after they have done their sentence. The courses are designed to improve their communication and relationship skills.
Enhanced Thinking Skills (ETS) is a programme which looks at thinking and behaviour associated with offending. This includes impulse control, flexible thinking, social perspective taking, values/moral reasoning, reasoning, and inter-personal problem solving. It is the most frequent programme with over 40,000 offenders having completed this course within prisons over the past 12 years.
Cognitive Skills Booster Programme is a programme which is run by both the Prison and Probation Service and is designed to reinforce learning from general offending programmes (such as ETS) through skills rehearsal and relapse prevention.
Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage It (CALM) is a course for offenders whose offending is associated with poor emotional control. The aim is to reduce the intensity, frequency and duration of negative emotions which are related to their offence. These emotions include anger, anxiety and jealousy.
Programmes specifically targeting violent and sexual offenders:
Cognitive Self Change Programme (CSCP) is a programme which targets high risk violent offenders and includes group and individual sessions. Its aims to give prisoners skills which will help them control their violence. It is aimed at offenders with a history of violent behaviour and is suitable for those whose violence is reactive.
Healthy Relationships Programme (HRP)
The HRP programme is designed for men who have either been convicted of or admit to abusive and violent behaviour in the home and who have been assessed as a risk of being violent towards their partner
The Chromis programme is a complex and intensive programme that aims to reduce violence in high risk offenders whose level is compared to that of a psychopath. Chromis has been specifically designed to meet the needs of highly psychopathic individuals and provides participants with the skills to reduce and manage their risk.
Sex Offender Treatment Programmes (SOTP) there are a range of programmes that are available for sexual offenders, there is a menu which is offered according to the level of risk and need of the offender.
