Accredited programmes – North West

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Accredited programmes

Accredited Programmes are supported and informed by an evidence base and have evaluation processes embedded in their design. They are accredited by the Correctional Service Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP), an international panel of subject matter experts who review each programmes’ evidence base, design, content and delivery against a rigorous set of criteria.

These programmes are only delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting for up to 12 participants. Consideration can be given to delivery on a one-to-one basis in exceptional circumstances. With the introduction of the Alternative Delivery Formats (ADF) approach as part of COVID-19 Recovery, variation to delivery in exceptional cases will be available, where required, to meet participant needs.

Programme requirements are available as a sentence of the Court under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and fall under the statutory purposes of sentencing of reform and rehabilitation of offenders and the protection of the public. They can also be added as Licence conditions to all types of prison Licences and Post Sentence Supervision. Probation Practitioners will identify all eligible and suitable cases at the pre-sentence or pre-release stage and will propose an Accredited Programme (when there are no barriers to attendance).

HMPPS offers a suite of Accredited Programmes which attend to a range of offending-related needs of participants. Each programme has suitability criteria that is used alongside the initial risk assessment to see if an individual is in scope for a programme. This will vary slightly between programmes but will consider aspects such as the individual’s need areas and responsiveness to intervention, as well as ensuring their consent and willingness/commitment to engage in an Accredited Programme.

Delivery of Accredited Programmes is flexible, based on regional need. All regions will deliver, as a minimum:

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)
Building Better Relationships (BBR)
Sexual Offending Programmes

Click on each tab below to see the full details for each programme available in your region.

Building Better Relationships (BBR)

BBR is for adult male perpetrators convicted of an Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related offence against a female partner, who present with a moderate or high risk of committing future IPV offences.

BBR has a strong skills focus and participants are provided with a range of cognitive and behavioural skills and tools to support and promote the use of positive behaviours in their intimate relationships. BBR makes use of a range of treatment approaches and techniques.

BBR is a moderate intensity cognitive-behavioural group work intervention. Its theory base reflects the growing view that IPV is a complex problem that is likely to have multiple causes. BBR is responsive to the needs of individual participants and provides opportunities to develop skills that are introduced during the programme.

Probation staff are expected to refer all individuals who meet the eligibility and suitability criteria to BBR in community sites.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

IPV related offence (this can be index or historical)
Relationship problems

Social skills deficits:

Attitudes that support relationship violence
Stereotyped gender roles and inequality beliefs
Hostile masculinity
Aggression and anger
Emotional mismanagement/self-regulation
Jealousy
Coercive control
Obsessive and controlling behaviour towards a current or former partner in context of an intimate relationship
Separation / threat of separation
Alcohol and drug misuse

Delivery Method

BBR is comprised of 24 group and 5 individual sessions.

The Foundation Module is always delivered first and comprises of six 2.5-hour sessions which must always be completed prior to the other modules.

The remaining modules are delivered as either a closed group or in a rolling format, with each module comprising of six 2.5-hour groupwork sessions.

After each module participants have a one-hour one-to-one session with their designated facilitator, the purpose of which is to provide a bridge between modules, review learning and check progress against goals.

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)

TSP reduces recidivism by focusing on developing people’s ability to manage their emotions, make decisions, solve problems, achieve their goals, manage the influence of anti-social relationships and use pro-social interpersonal skills in their interactions with others.

By having and increasing these skills participants are then able to apply these to the way they live and manage their everyday lives. This in itself reduces the chances of offending reoccurring and helps participants set up and maintain a pro-social and constructive lifestyle. The programme however moves beyond this and actively encourages participants to apply the thinking skills to identify and effectively manage their risk factors. It coaches participants to apply their new and existing thinking and behavioural skills to develop personally relevant protective factors. It also coaches participants to apply the skills to setting and achieving approach focused, pro-social goals linked to relapse prevention.

TSP has seven Treatment Goals which target a range of dynamic risk factors, which are strongly evidenced in the literature to link to offending:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

A static risk level of medium and above (Score of 50 or above on OGRS3).
Participants must also have the relevant treatment needs (risk factors) targeted by the programme.
TSP Need is assessed through OASys using specified items, or the standalone TSP Needs Assessment Tool when an OASys is not available. Minimum score thresholds must be met to determine suitability.
Suitable for participants who are maintaining their innocence and who recognise that they can benefit from developing skills to manage personal risk factors, develop protective factors and skills for achieving pro-social goals.

Programme criteria, including scoring levels required, exceptions to the criteria, and the Responsivity Principle can be made on request, or are outlined in detail in the programme manuals.

Delivery Method

TSP consists of 19 sessions (15 group and 4 individual sessions), plus the post-programme review. There are fixed and rolling group formats available in the community.

Horizon

Horizon is designed to help men who have been convicted of a sexual offence address the factors that have been problematic in their general lives, and which have contributed to their offending behaviour. The ethos of the programme is to instil hope and optimism in the participants through working with them to strengthen and develop protective factors within their lives.

Horizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Horizon is formed of 9 Blocks:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

Must have committed a sexual or sexually motivated offence/offences against adults or children.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by Horizon and be motivated work on those problems.
Horizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: Horizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet these criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions.

People should not normally be considered for Horizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by Horizon.

Delivery Method

Horizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 31 sessions (62 hours) in length.

Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours in total) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme.

Participants will also have a 3–way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

New Me Strengths (NMS)

NMS has been specifically designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with learning disabilities and learning challenges (LDC).

NMS is a cognitive-behavioural group-work programme suitable for adult men who have been convicted for any offence. This programme is the LDC suite equivalent of the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP), Horizon, Building Better Relationships (BBR) and Resolve.

All of the programme materials are designed to target specific criminogenic needs outlined left. These needs are the focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to
them.

Participants start off by identifying existing strengths in each area. We work from a strengths-based approach, rather than solely focussing on risk. They set themselves goals to strengthen their Wheels and they work on these goals during the programmes. Ongoing skills practise is important.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

NMS has its own suitability criteria. This includes the individual’s risk, and the extent to which they have needs in the following areas:

Problem solving
Relationships
Offence supportive attitudes
Sense of purpose
Unhealthy sexual interest (those with sexual convictions only)

These needs have been linked to offending and are sometimes called criminogenic needs, or risk factors because of this.

Delivery Method

NMS is suitable for delivery in both a fixed group format and one to one with the individual.

When delivered as a group intervention with those who have sexual convictions, it is 38 sessions long (34 group and 4 individual). With all other groups, it is 36 sessions long (32 group and 4 individual sessions). All members of the group start and finish at the same time.

When delivered individually NMS runs for 13–15 sessions, dependent on the individual’s needs.

Living as New Me (LNM)

LNM is an accredited skills maintenance (booster) programme for those individuals who have already completed New Me Strengths (LDC* equivalent of Horizon) or Becoming New Me+ (LDC* equivalent of the Kaizen programme suitable for custody delivery).

*LDC: learning disabilities and learning challenges. This suite of programmes is designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with LDC.

All the programme materials are designed to target specific needs related to offending. These needs are the main focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to them.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

Suitable for individuals with an identified risk of reoffending of Medium and above
Have a conviction for a sexual, intimate partner violence (IPV) or general violent offence (GV)

LNM is suitable as a maintenance programme for anyone who has successfully graduated from NMS or BNM+.

Delivery Method

LNM is at least 5 sessions long, with flexibility to be longer dependent on the size of the group and the needs of each individual.

LNM is delivered monthly with a group of up to 8 people.

Healthy Identity Intervention (HII)

The Healthy Intervention Programme (HII) is a one-to-one programme that targets the social and psychological drivers of extremist offending. HII is made up of a combination of discussion, reflection, written exercises and skills practices.

HII cannot be recommended at Pre-sentence Report stage. It is only available following the completion of an ERG 22+ assessment which is completed by a Counter Terrorism Specialist Probation Practitioner, for those convicted of Terrorism Act/connected offences.

The number of modules and sessions an individual completes will depend on their particular level of risk and need. The more engaged and identified a participant is with an extremist group, cause or ideology, the more modules of the HII they are likely to complete. The central aims of the HII are to:

Prevent reoffending by reducing an individual’s willingness to offend on behalf an extremist group, cause or ideology (i.e. desistance)
Promote and facilitate disengagement from an extremist group, cause or ideology

A strengths-based approach to desistance is used, supporting supervised individuals in identifying and building on their existing strengths and skills to encourage and empower supervised individuals to disengage from an extremist group, cause or ideology, desist from offending and lead a pro-social lifestyle. Participants are expected to be open, reflective and willing to discuss aspects of their lives associated with their offending.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

HII can be delivered to adult males or females who have been convicted under terrorism legislation in England and Wales, or under other legislation where extremism is identified as a motivation by the Court.

HII must be recommended by an Extremism Risk Guidance (ERG) 22+ report in order to be commenced with an individual. The ERG 22+ is a structured professional judgement tool used to aid in the assessment of risk in those convicted of extremist offences. It informs risks management and recommends appropriate and targeted intervention. The ERG will highlight which particular risks and need require addressing and will therefore be integral to the planning of which parts of HII should be delivered.

Delivery Method

HII is a one-to-one programme, flexible to each individual’s risks and needs. It contains a core module and optional modules designed to support and facilitate supervised individuals in their desistance and disengagement.

HII is delivered over 3-4 months but the total length of delivery can vary greatly depending on the needs of participants and their level of engagement and identification with an extremist group, cause or ideology.

HII is delivered by counter terrorism Probation Officers.

‘The New Me is going somewhere better… and the new horizons are not only possible but achievable’
Mr. A, Graduate of Horizon

Brochure of Probation Interventions – North West

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Brochure of Probation Interventions – North West

Foreword

It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to this new North West Judicial Brochure. Andrea Bennett

Our priorities within the North West Probation Service are to implement the sentences and orders of the courts, to protect the public, and to rehabilitate offenders. We believe people can change, and that our efforts to reduce reoffending make the public safer.

Following our first successful year as a unified service, I have set out a single objective for the North West to achieve, and that is to build on our collective knowledge and experience to deliver an excellent service in all that we do. 

Court work sits front and centre of this objective through providing sentencers with quality assessments and offering bespoke proposals which target the risk and needs profile of the individual effectively.

To ensure that we have appropriate options available to target reoffending through interventions which are focussed on rehabilitative approaches. In the last year the North West region has mobilised ten new Commissioned Rehabilitative Service contracts supporting people on probation to address needs relating to housing, employment, emotional wellbeing and social inclusion. In addition, we have successfully co-commissioned substance misuse provision in partnership with local authorities, and developed strong links with the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities to support future commissioning.

As well as our existing interventions package which you will be familiar with (Accredited Programmes, Unpaid Work, etc.), part of our developed offer of interventions to the courts includes a new range of Structured Interventions and Approved Practitioner Toolkits. 

Probation Practitioners can deliver change work directly with people they are supervising with a RAR. To support this 1-1 work there is an Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits that give a structure for addressing identifiable needs and supporting people to build personalised strengths and capacity for living a crime free, positive life.

For individuals to access these bespoke interventions, which are fully detailed within this brochure, the starting point is that a PSR needs to be requested for probation to assess and make a recommendation based on the risk and need profile of the individual. As such, my plea to sentencers is to make full use of the probation resource available to you in your local courts.

By the end of 2022 we aim to be completing PSRs against 60% of community and custodial disposals, ensuring effective sentencing proposals support a reduction in offending and reduce the risk of harm to the public. To achieve this ambition, we need the support of our key court stakeholders in driving PSR requests up and allowing us the opportunity to provide you with quality assessments to support your sentencing decisions.

As ever, we are keen to receive feedback from yourselves, so please continue to provide via your local identified Probation liaison leads. Many thanks for your continued support and I hope that you find this brochure both informative and beneficial.

Andrea Bennett, Regional Probation Director, North West Probation Service

Click on the links below to see the full range of probation interventions available within your region.

Accredited Programme Requirement

Delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting, these programmes are informed by evidence and accredited. They are designed to provide opportunities to change thinking, attitudes and behaviours associated with offending.

Accredited programmes

Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR)

This requirement allows for precise and effective rehabilitation activity to be tailored following a more in-depth assessment after sentence. These activities can comprise:

Structured interventions

Commissioned rehabilitative services

Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits

Community Sentence Treatment Requirements

The three treatment requirements are: Mental Health Treatment Requirements, Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (which include drug testing) and Alcohol Treatment Requirements. Those being considered must agree to engage in treatment.

Community Sentence Treatment Requirement

Electronic Monitoring

Electronic Monitoring can be both a requirement and a way in which other requirements are enforced. They are designed to monitor an individual’s whereabouts for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with certain requirements. This can involve electronically monitored curfew, exclusion and prohibited activity requirements. The Transdermal tag can monitor alcohol abstinence.

Electronic Monitoring

Unpaid work

Individuals undertake unpaid work that must benefit their local community as a way to pay back to the community for their crimes.

Unpaid work

The brochure does not cover all available community sentence requirements (for instance, residence requirement, prohibited activity requirement, non-electronically monitored exclusion, foreign travel prohibition requirement), or other sentencing options (fines, discharges and custodial sentences).

For more information about these, please visit the Sentencing Council Website.

If any information in this brochure is incorrect or needs to be updated, please email: EffectiveProbation.Practice@justice.gov.uk.

Structured Interventions – North East

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Structured Interventions

Structured Interventions are part of a suite of interventions that Probation Practitioners can refer people to if they present a low risk of recidivism and/or are unsuitable for an Accredited Programme. Structured Interventions can be delivered in a group setting or on a one-to-one basis, have a set format, and are a minimum of four sessions in length.

Structured Interventions are approved for delivery via the HMPPS Effective Interventions Panel and are assessed against seven core Correctional Services Accreditation Advice Panel (CSAAP) principles.

All regions will deliver a minimum of one Structured Intervention in the need areas set out below. Flexibility on meeting regional needs is also a key factor and delivery of any additional Structured Interventions in the three need areas will be at the discretion of the Regional Probation Director.

For an overview of the Structured Interventions available within each probation region, watch this video.

Structured Interventions: Need Areas

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour (ATB)

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour Structured Interventions aim to reduce recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

making decisions
solving problems
achieving their goals
managing the influence of anti-social relationships
using pro-social interpersonal skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle. Some ATBs will promote these skills within a specified cohort, for example 18-25 year-olds and people with either dangerous driving or drink driving offences.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Problem Solving

Stepwise Problem Solving is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance by focusing on areas such as:

making decisions
solving problems
achieving life goals
using pro-social interpersonal skills

Domestic Abuse (DA)

Domestic Abuse Structured Interventions aim to reduce Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

Attitudes that support healthy relationships
Aggression and anger management
Emotional mismanagement / self-regulation
Social skills
Conflict Management Skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges in relationships and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Relationships

Stepwise Relationships is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) offending by enabling participants to overcome challenges such as:

relationship problems
social skills deficits
attitudes that support relationship violence
aggression and anger
emotional mismanagement / self-regulation

Emotional Management (EM)

Emotional Management Structured Interventions are designed to help participants explore and understand their use of violence, and to motivate them towards a violence-free life.

Participants are encouraged to develop and strengthen the resources and protective factors that will support them in reducing the likelihood of using aggressive and / or violent behaviour.

Participants are encouraged to develop realistic and meaningful personal goals that can help them live a more satisfying and pro-social life.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Emotions

Stepwise Emotions is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from violent offending by enabling participants to overcome challenges such as:

aggressive behaviour
thinking & behaviour related to risk of serious harm to self or others
attitudes related to risk of serious harm to self or others

Accredited programmes – North East

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Accredited programmes

Accredited Programmes are supported and informed by an evidence base and have evaluation processes embedded in their design. They are accredited by the Correctional Service Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP), an international panel of subject matter experts who review each programmes’ evidence base, design, content and delivery against a rigorous set of criteria.

These programmes are only delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting for up to 12 participants. Consideration can be given to delivery on a one-to-one basis in exceptional circumstances. With the introduction of the Alternative Delivery Formats (ADF) approach as part of COVID-19 Recovery, variation to delivery in exceptional cases will be available, where required, to meet participant needs.

Programme requirements are available as a sentence of the Court under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and fall under the statutory purposes of sentencing of reform and rehabilitation of offenders and the protection of the public. They can also be added as Licence conditions to all types of prison Licences and Post Sentence Supervision. Probation Practitioners will identify all eligible and suitable cases at the pre-sentence or pre-release stage and will propose an Accredited Programme (when there are no barriers to attendance).

HMPPS offers a suite of Accredited Programmes which attend to a range of offending-related needs of participants. Each programme has suitability criteria that is used alongside the initial risk assessment to see if an individual is in scope for a programme. This will vary slightly between programmes but will consider aspects such as the individual’s need areas and responsiveness to intervention, as well as ensuring their consent and willingness/commitment to engage in an Accredited Programme.

Delivery of Accredited Programmes is flexible, based on regional need. All regions will deliver, as a minimum:

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)
Building Better Relationships (BBR)
Sexual Offending Programmes

Click on each tab below to see the full details for each programme available in your region.

Building Better Relationships (BBR)

BBR is for adult male perpetrators convicted of an Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related offence against a female partner, who present with a moderate or high risk of committing future IPV offences.

BBR has a strong skills focus and participants are provided with a range of cognitive and behavioural skills and tools to support and promote the use of positive behaviours in their intimate relationships. BBR makes use of a range of treatment approaches and techniques.

BBR is a moderate intensity cognitive-behavioural group work intervention. Its theory base reflects the growing view that IPV is a complex problem that is likely to have multiple causes. BBR is responsive to the needs of individual participants and provides opportunities to develop skills that are introduced during the programme.

Probation staff are expected to refer all individuals who meet the eligibility and suitability criteria to BBR in community sites.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

IPV related offence (this can be index or historical)
Relationship problems

Social skills deficits:

Attitudes that support relationship violence
Stereotyped gender roles and inequality beliefs
Hostile masculinity
Aggression and anger
Emotional mismanagement/self-regulation
Jealousy
Coercive control
Obsessive and controlling behaviour towards a current or former partner in context of an intimate relationship
Separation / threat of separation
Alcohol and drug misuse

Delivery Method

BBR is comprised of 24 group and 5 individual sessions.

The Foundation Module is always delivered first and comprises of six 2.5-hour sessions which must always be completed prior to the other modules.

The remaining modules are delivered as either a closed group or in a rolling format, with each module comprising of six 2.5-hour groupwork sessions.

After each module participants have a one-hour one-to-one session with their designated facilitator, the purpose of which is to provide a bridge between modules, review learning and check progress against goals.

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)

TSP reduces recidivism by focusing on developing people’s ability to manage their emotions, make decisions, solve problems, achieve their goals, manage the influence of anti-social relationships and use pro-social interpersonal skills in their interactions with others.

By having and increasing these skills participants are then able to apply these to the way they live and manage their everyday lives. This in itself reduces the chances of offending reoccurring and helps participants set up and maintain a pro-social and constructive lifestyle. The programme however moves beyond this and actively encourages participants to apply the thinking skills to identify and effectively manage their risk factors. It coaches participants to apply their new and existing thinking and behavioural skills to develop personally relevant protective factors. It also coaches participants to apply the skills to setting and achieving approach focused, pro-social goals linked to relapse prevention.

TSP has seven Treatment Goals which target a range of dynamic risk factors, which are strongly evidenced in the literature to link to offending:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

A static risk level of medium and above (Score of 50 or above on OGRS3).
Participants must also have the relevant treatment needs (risk factors) targeted by the programme.
TSP Need is assessed through OASys using specified items, or the standalone TSP Needs Assessment Tool when an OASys is not available. Minimum score thresholds must be met to determine suitability.
Suitable for participants who are maintaining their innocence and who recognise that they can benefit from developing skills to manage personal risk factors, develop protective factors and skills for achieving pro-social goals.

Programme criteria, including scoring levels required, exceptions to the criteria, and the Responsivity Principle can be made on request, or are outlined in detail in the programme manuals.

Delivery Method

TSP consists of 19 sessions (15 group and 4 individual sessions), plus the post-programme review. There are fixed and rolling group formats available in the community.

Horizon

Horizon is designed to help men who have been convicted of a sexual offence address the factors that have been problematic in their general lives, and which have contributed to their offending behaviour. The ethos of the programme is to instil hope and optimism in the participants through working with them to strengthen and develop protective factors within their lives.

Horizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Horizon is formed of 9 Blocks:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

Must have committed a sexual or sexually motivated offence/offences against adults or children.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by Horizon and be motivated work on those problems.
Horizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: Horizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet these criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions.

People should not normally be considered for Horizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by Horizon.

Delivery Method

Horizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 31 sessions (62 hours) in length.

Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours in total) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme.

Participants will also have a 3–way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

iHorizon

iHorizon is a programme for men whose primary clinical need is to address internet only sexual offending, that is, where it is limited to possessing, downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, where there has been no contact with victims. Men with convictions involving other forms of sexual or sexually motivated offending will not be suitable for iHorizon and should be assessed for an alternative programme.

iHorizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

For men whose primary clinical need is to address internet-only sexual offending, that is, where it is limited to possessing, downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, where there has been no contact with victims.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by iHorizon and be motivated to work on those problems.
iHorizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: iHorizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet this criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions (where available).

People should not normally be considered for iHorizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by iHorizon.

Delivery Method

iHorizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 23 sessions (46 hours) in length. Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme. Participants will also have a 3-way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

Healthy Identity Intervention (HII)

The Healthy Intervention Programme (HII) is a one-to-one programme that targets the social and psychological drivers of extremist offending. HII is made up of a combination of discussion, reflection, written exercises and skills practices.

HII cannot be recommended at Pre-sentence Report stage. It is only available following the completion of an ERG 22+ assessment which is completed by a Counter Terrorism Specialist Probation Practitioner, for those convicted of Terrorism Act/connected offences.

The number of modules and sessions an individual completes will depend on their particular level of risk and need. The more engaged and identified a participant is with an extremist group, cause or ideology, the more modules of the HII they are likely to complete. The central aims of the HII are to:

Prevent reoffending by reducing an individual’s willingness to offend on behalf an extremist group, cause or ideology (i.e. desistance)
Promote and facilitate disengagement from an extremist group, cause or ideology

A strengths-based approach to desistance is used, supporting supervised individuals in identifying and building on their existing strengths and skills to encourage and empower supervised individuals to disengage from an extremist group, cause or ideology, desist from offending and lead a pro-social lifestyle. Participants are expected to be open, reflective and willing to discuss aspects of their lives associated with their offending.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

HII can be delivered to adult males or females who have been convicted under terrorism legislation in England and Wales, or under other legislation where extremism is identified as a motivation by the Court.

HII must be recommended by an Extremism Risk Guidance (ERG) 22+ report in order to be commenced with an individual. The ERG 22+ is a structured professional judgement tool used to aid in the assessment of risk in those convicted of extremist offences. It informs risks management and recommends appropriate and targeted intervention. The ERG will highlight which particular risks and need require addressing and will therefore be integral to the planning of which parts of HII should be delivered.

Delivery Method

HII is a one-to-one programme, flexible to each individual’s risks and needs. It contains a core module and optional modules designed to support and facilitate supervised individuals in their desistance and disengagement.

HII is delivered over 3-4 months but the total length of delivery can vary greatly depending on the needs of participants and their level of engagement and identification with an extremist group, cause or ideology.

HII is delivered by counter terrorism Probation Officers.

‘The New Me is going somewhere better… and the new horizons are not only possible but achievable’
Mr. A, Graduate of Horizon

Brochure of Probation Interventions – North East

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Brochure of Probation Interventions – North East

Foreword

Karin O'Neill The North East Probation Region covers Northumbria, Durham and Cleveland justice areas.

We are proud of the effective working relationships we have with the Judiciary and all of our Criminal Justice partners. We have a collaborative approach to address the risk of serious harm and reduce reoffending in our communities and jointly we want to secure better outcomes for those we are responsible for supervising, victims and our local communities.

We aspire to develop joint commissioning processes and share learning to develop and improve the range of interventions available in the North East to target local needs and issues.

I am pleased to introduce this document, which sets out the interventions which are currently available in the North East Region. We also produce a quarterly North East Region Newsletter which updates the Judiciary on existing services, any changes in service delivery and outcomes for people on probation. This also provides the opportunity for any feedback, which we welcome to support us in our work to reduce reoffending.

Karin O’Neill, Head of Operations, North East Probation Service

Lucy Ford In order to deliver excellence in our services to the Courts in the North East Region, we have included a regional court model within our North East probation structure. This enables a strong link between national, regional and local court strategy and a consistent approach in courts across the North East region.

Our key priority is to provide sentencers with an assessment of the risks, needs and recommended sentence plan objectives for as many as possible of the individuals eligible for Probation supervision. Pre-sentence reports provide the Judiciary with a proposal regarding the most effective interventions to address the risks and reduce the risk of reoffending in the individual circumstances.

We engage regularly with the Judiciary and other criminal justice partners in local liaison meetings, where we discuss the outcomes and interventions available in the North East and we are pleased to introduce this Judicial Brochure and value any feedback regarding the services we provide.

Lucy Ford, Regional Court Manager, North East Probation Service

Click on the links below to see the full range of probation interventions available within your region.

Accredited Programme Requirement

Delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting, these programmes are informed by evidence and accredited. They are designed to provide opportunities to change thinking, attitudes and behaviours associated with offending.

Accredited programmes

Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR)

This requirement allows for precise and effective rehabilitation activity to be tailored following a more in-depth assessment after sentence. These activities can comprise:

Structured interventions

Commissioned rehabilitative services

Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits

Community Sentence Treatment Requirements

The three treatment requirements are: Mental Health Treatment Requirements, Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (which include drug testing) and Alcohol Treatment Requirements. Those being considered must agree to engage in treatment.

Community Sentence Treatment Requirement

Electronic Monitoring

Electronic Monitoring can be both a requirement and a way in which other requirements are enforced. They are designed to monitor an individual’s whereabouts for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with certain requirements. This can involve electronically monitored curfew, exclusion and prohibited activity requirements. The Transdermal tag can monitor alcohol abstinence.

Electronic Monitoring

Unpaid work

Individuals undertake unpaid work that must benefit their local community as a way to pay back to the community for their crimes.

Unpaid work

The brochure does not cover all available community sentence requirements (for instance, residence requirement, prohibited activity requirement, non-electronically monitored exclusion, foreign travel prohibition requirement), or other sentencing options (fines, discharges and custodial sentences).

For more information about these, please visit the Sentencing Council Website.

If any information in this brochure is incorrect or needs to be updated, please email: EffectiveProbation.Practice@justice.gov.uk.

Structured Interventions – London

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Structured Interventions

Structured Interventions are part of a suite of interventions that Probation Practitioners can refer people to if they present a low risk of recidivism and/or are unsuitable for an Accredited Programme. Structured Interventions can be delivered in a group setting or on a one-to-one basis, have a set format, and are a minimum of four sessions in length.

Structured Interventions are approved for delivery via the HMPPS Effective Interventions Panel and are assessed against seven core Correctional Services Accreditation Advice Panel (CSAAP) principles.

All regions will deliver a minimum of one Structured Intervention in the need areas set out below. Flexibility on meeting regional needs is also a key factor and delivery of any additional Structured Interventions in the three need areas will be at the discretion of the Regional Probation Director.

For an overview of the Structured Interventions available within each probation region, watch this video.

Structured Interventions: Need Areas

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour (ATB)

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour Structured Interventions aim to reduce recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

making decisions
solving problems
achieving their goals
managing the influence of anti-social relationships
using pro-social interpersonal skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle. Some ATBs will promote these skills within a specified cohort, for example 18-25 year-olds and people with either dangerous driving or drink driving offences.

Available Interventions:

Positive Pathways

Positive Pathways is a strengths-based programme adopting the latest desistance principles which aims to help participants manage challenges relating to their offending.

Positive pathways aims to promote desistance by helping participants strengthen their personal agency, social capital and self-management strategies.

Stepwise Driving

Stepwise Driving is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from drink and/or drug driving by focusing on areas such as awareness of safe driving; making decisions; and consequential thinking. Stepwise Driving is comprised of insight-oriented psycho-educational content around:

safer driving (e.g., stopping distances, effects of substances on the body, etc)
consequences of dangerous driving
effects of alcohol and drugs on driving
coping with disqualification

Domestic Abuse (DA)

Domestic Abuse Structured Interventions aim to reduce Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

Attitudes that support healthy relationships
Aggression and anger management
Emotional mismanagement / self-regulation
Social skills
Conflict Management Skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges in relationships and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle.

Available Interventions:

Positive Pathways Plus

Positive Pathways Plus is a specifically adapted and extended version of Positive Pathways which addresses a range of domestic abuse and problematic relationship issues, albeit from a personal agency, self-management basis.

Positive Pathways plus offers a separate intervention in the absence of a specifically targeted Accredited Programme requirement, such as Building Better Relationships, which is used where there is evidence of more serious and entrenched harmful behaviour.

Emotional Management (EM)

Emotional Management Structured Interventions are designed to help participants explore and understand their use of violence, and to motivate them towards a violence-free life.

Participants are encouraged to develop and strengthen the resources and protective factors that will support them in reducing the likelihood of using aggressive and / or violent behaviour.

Participants are encouraged to develop realistic and meaningful personal goals that can help them live a more satisfying and pro-social life.

Available Interventions:

Managing My Emotions (MME)

Managing My Emotions (MME) is an anger management programme for individuals whose offending behaviour is linked to a struggle to manage their anger.

Anger is viewed as a normal and healthy emotion that has many layers and that varies in intensity but is identified as an emotion that unchecked can lead to destructive and harmful behaviours.

The approach of MME is to recognise anger in its many shades as symptomatic of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. It focuses on recognising and understanding what is being experienced, identifying causes for this and from there, focuses developing strategies to manage situations and the related emotions effectively.

FIRS For Women

Accredited programmes – London

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Accredited programmes

Accredited Programmes are supported and informed by an evidence base and have evaluation processes embedded in their design. They are accredited by the Correctional Service Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP), an international panel of subject matter experts who review each programmes’ evidence base, design, content and delivery against a rigorous set of criteria.

These programmes are only delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting for up to 12 participants. Consideration can be given to delivery on a one-to-one basis in exceptional circumstances. With the introduction of the Alternative Delivery Formats (ADF) approach as part of COVID-19 Recovery, variation to delivery in exceptional cases will be available, where required, to meet participant needs.

Programme requirements are available as a sentence of the Court under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and fall under the statutory purposes of sentencing of reform and rehabilitation of offenders and the protection of the public. They can also be added as Licence conditions to all types of prison Licences and Post Sentence Supervision. Probation Practitioners will identify all eligible and suitable cases at the pre-sentence or pre-release stage and will propose an Accredited Programme (when there are no barriers to attendance).

HMPPS offers a suite of Accredited Programmes which attend to a range of offending-related needs of participants. Each programme has suitability criteria that is used alongside the initial risk assessment to see if an individual is in scope for a programme. This will vary slightly between programmes but will consider aspects such as the individual’s need areas and responsiveness to intervention, as well as ensuring their consent and willingness/commitment to engage in an Accredited Programme.

Delivery of Accredited Programmes is flexible, based on regional need. All regions will deliver, as a minimum:

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)
Building Better Relationships (BBR)
Sexual Offending Programmes

Click on each tab below to see the full details for each programme available in your region.

Building Better Relationships (BBR)

BBR is for adult male perpetrators convicted of an Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related offence against a female partner, who present with a moderate or high risk of committing future IPV offences.

BBR has a strong skills focus and participants are provided with a range of cognitive and behavioural skills and tools to support and promote the use of positive behaviours in their intimate relationships. BBR makes use of a range of treatment approaches and techniques.

BBR is a moderate intensity cognitive-behavioural group work intervention. Its theory base reflects the growing view that IPV is a complex problem that is likely to have multiple causes. BBR is responsive to the needs of individual participants and provides opportunities to develop skills that are introduced during the programme.

Probation staff are expected to refer all individuals who meet the eligibility and suitability criteria to BBR in community sites.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

IPV related offence (this can be index or historical)
Relationship problems

Social skills deficits:

Attitudes that support relationship violence
Stereotyped gender roles and inequality beliefs
Hostile masculinity
Aggression and anger
Emotional mismanagement/self-regulation
Jealousy
Coercive control
Obsessive and controlling behaviour towards a current or former partner in context of an intimate relationship
Separation / threat of separation
Alcohol and drug misuse

Delivery Method

BBR is comprised of 24 group and 5 individual sessions.

The Foundation Module is always delivered first and comprises of six 2.5-hour sessions which must always be completed prior to the other modules.

The remaining modules are delivered as either a closed group or in a rolling format, with each module comprising of six 2.5-hour groupwork sessions.

After each module participants have a one-hour one-to-one session with their designated facilitator, the purpose of which is to provide a bridge between modules, review learning and check progress against goals.

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)

TSP reduces recidivism by focusing on developing people’s ability to manage their emotions, make decisions, solve problems, achieve their goals, manage the influence of anti-social relationships and use pro-social interpersonal skills in their interactions with others.

By having and increasing these skills participants are then able to apply these to the way they live and manage their everyday lives. This in itself reduces the chances of offending reoccurring and helps participants set up and maintain a pro-social and constructive lifestyle. The programme however moves beyond this and actively encourages participants to apply the thinking skills to identify and effectively manage their risk factors. It coaches participants to apply their new and existing thinking and behavioural skills to develop personally relevant protective factors. It also coaches participants to apply the skills to setting and achieving approach focused, pro-social goals linked to relapse prevention.

TSP has seven Treatment Goals which target a range of dynamic risk factors, which are strongly evidenced in the literature to link to offending:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

A static risk level of medium and above (Score of 50 or above on OGRS3).
Participants must also have the relevant treatment needs (risk factors) targeted by the programme.
TSP Need is assessed through OASys using specified items, or the standalone TSP Needs Assessment Tool when an OASys is not available. Minimum score thresholds must be met to determine suitability.
Suitable for participants who are maintaining their innocence and who recognise that they can benefit from developing skills to manage personal risk factors, develop protective factors and skills for achieving pro-social goals.

Programme criteria, including scoring levels required, exceptions to the criteria, and the Responsivity Principle can be made on request, or are outlined in detail in the programme manuals.

Delivery Method

TSP consists of 19 sessions (15 group and 4 individual sessions), plus the post-programme review. There are fixed and rolling group formats available in the community.

Horizon

Horizon is designed to help men who have been convicted of a sexual offence address the factors that have been problematic in their general lives, and which have contributed to their offending behaviour. The ethos of the programme is to instil hope and optimism in the participants through working with them to strengthen and develop protective factors within their lives.

Horizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Horizon is formed of 9 Blocks:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

Must have committed a sexual or sexually motivated offence/offences against adults or children.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by Horizon and be motivated work on those problems.
Horizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: Horizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet these criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions.

People should not normally be considered for Horizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by Horizon.

Delivery Method

Horizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 31 sessions (62 hours) in length.

Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours in total) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme.

Participants will also have a 3–way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

iHorizon

iHorizon is a programme for men whose primary clinical need is to address internet only sexual offending, that is, where it is limited to possessing, downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, where there has been no contact with victims. Men with convictions involving other forms of sexual or sexually motivated offending will not be suitable for iHorizon and should be assessed for an alternative programme.

iHorizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

For men whose primary clinical need is to address internet-only sexual offending, that is, where it is limited to possessing, downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, where there has been no contact with victims.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by iHorizon and be motivated to work on those problems.
iHorizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: iHorizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet this criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions (where available).

People should not normally be considered for iHorizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by iHorizon.

Delivery Method

iHorizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 23 sessions (46 hours) in length. Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme. Participants will also have a 3-way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

New Me Strengths (NMS)

NMS has been specifically designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with learning disabilities and learning challenges (LDC).

NMS is a cognitive-behavioural group-work programme suitable for adult men who have been convicted for any offence. This programme is the LDC suite equivalent of the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP), Horizon, Building Better Relationships (BBR) and Resolve.

All of the programme materials are designed to target specific criminogenic needs outlined left. These needs are the focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to
them.

Participants start off by identifying existing strengths in each area. We work from a strengths-based approach, rather than solely focussing on risk. They set themselves goals to strengthen their Wheels and they work on these goals during the programmes. Ongoing skills practise is important.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

NMS has its own suitability criteria. This includes the individual’s risk, and the extent to which they have needs in the following areas:

Problem solving
Relationships
Offence supportive attitudes
Sense of purpose
Unhealthy sexual interest (those with sexual convictions only)

These needs have been linked to offending and are sometimes called criminogenic needs, or risk factors because of this.

Delivery Method

NMS is suitable for delivery in both a fixed group format and one to one with the individual.

When delivered as a group intervention with those who have sexual convictions, it is 38 sessions long (34 group and 4 individual). With all other groups, it is 36 sessions long (32 group and 4 individual sessions). All members of the group start and finish at the same time.

When delivered individually NMS runs for 13–15 sessions, dependent on the individual’s needs.

Living as New Me (LNM)

LNM is an accredited skills maintenance (booster) programme for those individuals who have already completed New Me Strengths (LDC* equivalent of Horizon) or Becoming New Me+ (LDC* equivalent of the Kaizen programme suitable for custody delivery).

*LDC: learning disabilities and learning challenges. This suite of programmes is designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with LDC.

All the programme materials are designed to target specific needs related to offending. These needs are the main focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to them.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

Suitable for individuals with an identified risk of reoffending of Medium and above
Have a conviction for a sexual, intimate partner violence (IPV) or general violent offence (GV)

LNM is suitable as a maintenance programme for anyone who has successfully graduated from NMS or BNM+.

Delivery Method

LNM is at least 5 sessions long, with flexibility to be longer dependent on the size of the group and the needs of each individual.

LNM is delivered monthly with a group of up to 8 people.

Healthy Identity Intervention (HII)

The Healthy Intervention Programme (HII) is a one-to-one programme that targets the social and psychological drivers of extremist offending. HII is made up of a combination of discussion, reflection, written exercises and skills practices.

HII cannot be recommended at Pre-sentence Report stage. It is only available following the completion of an ERG 22+ assessment which is completed by a Counter Terrorism Specialist Probation Practitioner, for those convicted of Terrorism Act/connected offences.

The number of modules and sessions an individual completes will depend on their particular level of risk and need. The more engaged and identified a participant is with an extremist group, cause or ideology, the more modules of the HII they are likely to complete. The central aims of the HII are to:

Prevent reoffending by reducing an individual’s willingness to offend on behalf an extremist group, cause or ideology (i.e. desistance)
Promote and facilitate disengagement from an extremist group, cause or ideology

A strengths-based approach to desistance is used, supporting supervised individuals in identifying and building on their existing strengths and skills to encourage and empower supervised individuals to disengage from an extremist group, cause or ideology, desist from offending and lead a pro-social lifestyle. Participants are expected to be open, reflective and willing to discuss aspects of their lives associated with their offending.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

HII can be delivered to adult males or females who have been convicted under terrorism legislation in England and Wales, or under other legislation where extremism is identified as a motivation by the Court.

HII must be recommended by an Extremism Risk Guidance (ERG) 22+ report in order to be commenced with an individual. The ERG 22+ is a structured professional judgement tool used to aid in the assessment of risk in those convicted of extremist offences. It informs risks management and recommends appropriate and targeted intervention. The ERG will highlight which particular risks and need require addressing and will therefore be integral to the planning of which parts of HII should be delivered.

Delivery Method

HII is a one-to-one programme, flexible to each individual’s risks and needs. It contains a core module and optional modules designed to support and facilitate supervised individuals in their desistance and disengagement.

HII is delivered over 3-4 months but the total length of delivery can vary greatly depending on the needs of participants and their level of engagement and identification with an extremist group, cause or ideology.

HII is delivered by counter terrorism Probation Officers.

‘The New Me is going somewhere better… and the new horizons are not only possible but achievable’
Mr. A, Graduate of Horizon

Brochure of Probation Interventions – London

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Brochure of Probation Interventions – London

Foreword

Clare Ansdell Denise Butt Reducing reoffending , the protection of the public and preventing further victims is at the core our work and values in probation.

In London we are pleased to be able to deliver this Judicial Brochure to support that work and to provide the courts with the means to achieve effective disposals. Our priority is to ensure that the sentences and orders of the court are implemented, that they are appropriately enforced to ensure compliance, as well as engagement in the process of rehabilitation and resettlement.

Our aim in London is to provide delivery of an excellent service to our partners and stakeholders. Central to this ambition is the work of probation in court to deliver services of the highest quality. This is reflected in the assessments we undertake to assist the court, alongside sentence proposals that are targeted (risk and needs), effective and individual.

We have a suite of options including Accredited Programmes, Structured Interventions, and Community Payback, along with a range of Commissioned Rehabilitative Services addressing substance misuse, personal wellbeing, accommodation, ETE (education, training & employment), Finance Benefit & Debt and specific women’s services with more to come. Our services are designed to promote desistance.

In addition, we have focused interventions that specialise in the particular needs of priority groups, such as people from ethnic minority backgrounds, ex-armed service personnel and Roma, Gypsies and Travellers. Unpaid work can offer an option of 30% of the sentenced hours spent in ETE to improve chances of employment.

Our aim is to complete pre-sentence reports on 60% of the those sentenced in court to either community or custody disposals to support our aims of harm reduction and rehabilitation. As the leads in London in delivering services to the court, the public and offenders, we work closely with our court teams across London and the Heads of Probation Delivery Units who have responsibility for the delivery of services in their boroughs.

The start of the rehabilitative journey, for a person subject to probation, both custodial and community sentences, begins at court. Our aim is to commence that journey so as to promote the greater likelihood of a successful outcome, positive change, through excellent assessment and individual proposals.

Our commitment as the London Probation Court Leads is to deliver a court service which assists and engages with sentencers.

Any feedback is always welcome and will be ensured of a timely response.

Denise Butt, Head of Operations and Clare Ansdell, Strategic Court Lead – London Probation Region

Click on the links below to see the full range of probation interventions available within your region.

Accredited Programme Requirement

Delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting, these programmes are informed by evidence and accredited. They are designed to provide opportunities to change thinking, attitudes and behaviours associated with offending.

Accredited programmes

Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR)

This requirement allows for precise and effective rehabilitation activity to be tailored following a more in-depth assessment after sentence. These activities can comprise:

Commissioned rehabilitative services

Structured interventions

Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits

Community Sentence Treatment Requirements

The three treatment requirements are: Mental Health Treatment Requirements, Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (which include drug testing) and Alcohol Treatment Requirements. Those being considered must agree to engage in treatment.

Community Sentence Treatment Requirement

Electronic Monitoring

Electronic Monitoring can be both a requirement and a way in which other requirements are enforced. They are designed to monitor an individual’s whereabouts for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with certain requirements. This can involve electronically monitored curfew, exclusion and prohibited activity requirements. The Transdermal tag can monitor alcohol abstinence.

Electronic Monitoring

Unpaid work

Individuals undertake unpaid work that must benefit their local community as a way to pay back to the community for their crimes.

Unpaid work

The brochure does not cover all available community sentence requirements (for instance, residence requirement, prohibited activity requirement, non-electronically monitored exclusion, foreign travel prohibition requirement), or other sentencing options (fines, discharges and custodial sentences).

For more information about these, please visit the Sentencing Council Website.

If any information in this brochure is incorrect or needs to be updated, please email: EffectiveProbation.Practice@justice.gov.uk.

Structured Interventions – Kent, Surrey and Sussex

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Structured Interventions

Structured Interventions are part of a suite of interventions that Probation Practitioners can refer people to if they present a low risk of recidivism and/or are unsuitable for an Accredited Programme. Structured Interventions can be delivered in a group setting or on a one-to-one basis, have a set format, and are a minimum of four sessions in length.

Structured Interventions are approved for delivery via the HMPPS Effective Interventions Panel and are assessed against seven core Correctional Services Accreditation Advice Panel (CSAAP) principles.

All regions will deliver a minimum of one Structured Intervention in the need areas set out below. Flexibility on meeting regional needs is also a key factor and delivery of any additional Structured Interventions in the three need areas will be at the discretion of the Regional Probation Director.

For an overview of the Structured Interventions available within each probation region, watch this video.

Structured Interventions: Need Areas

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour (ATB)

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour Structured Interventions aim to reduce recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

making decisions
solving problems
achieving their goals
managing the influence of anti-social relationships
using pro-social interpersonal skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle. Some ATBs will promote these skills within a specified cohort, for example 18-25 year-olds and people with either dangerous driving or drink driving offences.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Problem Solving

Stepwise Problem Solving is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance by focusing on areas such as:

making decisions
solving problems
achieving life goals
using pro-social interpersonal skills

Domestic Abuse (DA)

Domestic Abuse Structured Interventions aim to reduce Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

Attitudes that support healthy relationships
Aggression and anger management
Emotional mismanagement / self-regulation
Social skills
Conflict Management Skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges in relationships and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Relationships

Stepwise Relationships is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) offending by enabling participants to overcome challenges such as:

relationship problems
social skills deficits
attitudes that support relationship violence
aggression and anger
emotional mismanagement / self-regulation

Emotional Management (EM)

Emotional Management Structured Interventions are designed to help participants explore and understand their use of violence, and to motivate them towards a violence-free life.

Participants are encouraged to develop and strengthen the resources and protective factors that will support them in reducing the likelihood of using aggressive and / or violent behaviour.

Participants are encouraged to develop realistic and meaningful personal goals that can help them live a more satisfying and pro-social life.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Emotions

Stepwise Emotions is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from violent offending by enabling participants to overcome challenges such as:

aggressive behaviour
thinking & behaviour related to risk of serious harm to self or others
attitudes related to risk of serious harm to self or others

Accredited programmes – Kent, Surrey and Sussex

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Accredited programmes

Accredited Programmes are supported and informed by an evidence base and have evaluation processes embedded in their design. They are accredited by the Correctional Service Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP), an international panel of subject matter experts who review each programmes’ evidence base, design, content and delivery against a rigorous set of criteria.

These programmes are only delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting for up to 12 participants. Consideration can be given to delivery on a one-to-one basis in exceptional circumstances. With the introduction of the Alternative Delivery Formats (ADF) approach as part of COVID-19 Recovery, variation to delivery in exceptional cases will be available, where required, to meet participant needs.

Programme requirements are available as a sentence of the Court under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and fall under the statutory purposes of sentencing of reform and rehabilitation of offenders and the protection of the public. They can also be added as Licence conditions to all types of prison Licences and Post Sentence Supervision. Probation Practitioners will identify all eligible and suitable cases at the pre-sentence or pre-release stage and will propose an Accredited Programme (when there are no barriers to attendance).

HMPPS offers a suite of Accredited Programmes which attend to a range of offending-related needs of participants. Each programme has suitability criteria that is used alongside the initial risk assessment to see if an individual is in scope for a programme. This will vary slightly between programmes but will consider aspects such as the individual’s need areas and responsiveness to intervention, as well as ensuring their consent and willingness/commitment to engage in an Accredited Programme.

Delivery of Accredited Programmes is flexible, based on regional need. All regions will deliver, as a minimum:

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)
Building Better Relationships (BBR)
Sexual Offending Programmes

Click on each tab below to see the full details for each programme available in your region.

Building Better Relationships (BBR)

BBR is for adult male perpetrators convicted of an Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related offence against a female partner, who present with a moderate or high risk of committing future IPV offences.

BBR has a strong skills focus and participants are provided with a range of cognitive and behavioural skills and tools to support and promote the use of positive behaviours in their intimate relationships. BBR makes use of a range of treatment approaches and techniques.

BBR is a moderate intensity cognitive-behavioural group work intervention. Its theory base reflects the growing view that IPV is a complex problem that is likely to have multiple causes. BBR is responsive to the needs of individual participants and provides opportunities to develop skills that are introduced during the programme.

Probation staff are expected to refer all individuals who meet the eligibility and suitability criteria to BBR in community sites.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

IPV related offence (this can be index or historical)
Relationship problems

Social skills deficits:

Attitudes that support relationship violence
Stereotyped gender roles and inequality beliefs
Hostile masculinity
Aggression and anger
Emotional mismanagement/self-regulation
Jealousy
Coercive control
Obsessive and controlling behaviour towards a current or former partner in context of an intimate relationship
Separation / threat of separation
Alcohol and drug misuse

Delivery Method

BBR is comprised of 24 group and 5 individual sessions.

The Foundation Module is always delivered first and comprises of six 2.5-hour sessions which must always be completed prior to the other modules.

The remaining modules are delivered as either a closed group or in a rolling format, with each module comprising of six 2.5-hour groupwork sessions.

After each module participants have a one-hour one-to-one session with their designated facilitator, the purpose of which is to provide a bridge between modules, review learning and check progress against goals.

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)

TSP reduces recidivism by focusing on developing people’s ability to manage their emotions, make decisions, solve problems, achieve their goals, manage the influence of anti-social relationships and use pro-social interpersonal skills in their interactions with others.

By having and increasing these skills participants are then able to apply these to the way they live and manage their everyday lives. This in itself reduces the chances of offending reoccurring and helps participants set up and maintain a pro-social and constructive lifestyle. The programme however moves beyond this and actively encourages participants to apply the thinking skills to identify and effectively manage their risk factors. It coaches participants to apply their new and existing thinking and behavioural skills to develop personally relevant protective factors. It also coaches participants to apply the skills to setting and achieving approach focused, pro-social goals linked to relapse prevention.

TSP has seven Treatment Goals which target a range of dynamic risk factors, which are strongly evidenced in the literature to link to offending:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

A static risk level of medium and above (Score of 50 or above on OGRS3).
Participants must also have the relevant treatment needs (risk factors) targeted by the programme.
TSP Need is assessed through OASys using specified items, or the standalone TSP Needs Assessment Tool when an OASys is not available. Minimum score thresholds must be met to determine suitability.
Suitable for participants who are maintaining their innocence and who recognise that they can benefit from developing skills to manage personal risk factors, develop protective factors and skills for achieving pro-social goals.

Programme criteria, including scoring levels required, exceptions to the criteria, and the Responsivity Principle can be made on request, or are outlined in detail in the programme manuals.

Delivery Method

TSP consists of 19 sessions (15 group and 4 individual sessions), plus the post-programme review. There are fixed and rolling group formats available in the community.

Horizon

Horizon is designed to help men who have been convicted of a sexual offence address the factors that have been problematic in their general lives, and which have contributed to their offending behaviour. The ethos of the programme is to instil hope and optimism in the participants through working with them to strengthen and develop protective factors within their lives.

Horizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Horizon is formed of 9 Blocks:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

Must have committed a sexual or sexually motivated offence/offences against adults or children.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by Horizon and be motivated work on those problems.
Horizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: Horizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet these criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions.

People should not normally be considered for Horizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by Horizon.

Delivery Method

Horizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 31 sessions (62 hours) in length.

Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours in total) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme.

Participants will also have a 3–way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

iHorizon

iHorizon is a programme for men whose primary clinical need is to address internet only sexual offending, that is, where it is limited to possessing, downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, where there has been no contact with victims. Men with convictions involving other forms of sexual or sexually motivated offending will not be suitable for iHorizon and should be assessed for an alternative programme.

iHorizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

For men whose primary clinical need is to address internet-only sexual offending, that is, where it is limited to possessing, downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, where there has been no contact with victims.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by iHorizon and be motivated to work on those problems.
iHorizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: iHorizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet this criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions (where available).

People should not normally be considered for iHorizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by iHorizon.

Delivery Method

iHorizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 23 sessions (46 hours) in length. Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme. Participants will also have a 3-way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

New Me Strengths (NMS)

NMS has been specifically designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with learning disabilities and learning challenges (LDC).

NMS is a cognitive-behavioural group-work programme suitable for adult men who have been convicted for any offence. This programme is the LDC suite equivalent of the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP), Horizon, Building Better Relationships (BBR) and Resolve.

All of the programme materials are designed to target specific criminogenic needs outlined left. These needs are the focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to
them.

Participants start off by identifying existing strengths in each area. We work from a strengths-based approach, rather than solely focussing on risk. They set themselves goals to strengthen their Wheels and they work on these goals during the programmes. Ongoing skills practise is important.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

NMS has its own suitability criteria. This includes the individual’s risk, and the extent to which they have needs in the following areas:

Problem solving
Relationships
Offence supportive attitudes
Sense of purpose
Unhealthy sexual interest (those with sexual convictions only)

These needs have been linked to offending and are sometimes called criminogenic needs, or risk factors because of this.

Delivery Method

NMS is suitable for delivery in both a fixed group format and one to one with the individual.

When delivered as a group intervention with those who have sexual convictions, it is 38 sessions long (34 group and 4 individual). With all other groups, it is 36 sessions long (32 group and 4 individual sessions). All members of the group start and finish at the same time.

When delivered individually NMS runs for 13–15 sessions, dependent on the individual’s needs.

Living as New Me (LNM)

LNM is an accredited skills maintenance (booster) programme for those individuals who have already completed New Me Strengths (LDC* equivalent of Horizon) or Becoming New Me+ (LDC* equivalent of the Kaizen programme suitable for custody delivery).

*LDC: learning disabilities and learning challenges. This suite of programmes is designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with LDC.

All the programme materials are designed to target specific needs related to offending. These needs are the main focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to them.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

Suitable for individuals with an identified risk of reoffending of Medium and above
Have a conviction for a sexual, intimate partner violence (IPV) or general violent offence (GV)

LNM is suitable as a maintenance programme for anyone who has successfully graduated from NMS or BNM+.

Delivery Method

LNM is at least 5 sessions long, with flexibility to be longer dependent on the size of the group and the needs of each individual.

LNM is delivered monthly with a group of up to 8 people.

‘The New Me is going somewhere better… and the new horizons are not only possible but achievable’
Mr. A, Graduate of Horizon

Brochure of Probation Interventions – Kent, Surrey and Sussex

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Brochure of Probation Interventions – Kent, Surrey and Sussex

Foreword

Reducing reoffending sits at the heart of our region’s work. Around 80% of people who receive cautions or convictions have offended before. If we are going to cut crime, make communities safer and prevent people becoming victims, we must reduce reoffending by addressing the things that increase the risk of criminal behaviour. That means improving rehabilitation, resettlement and supervision of prison leavers in the community, and making sure there are consequences for those that fail to comply.   

I am therefore very pleased to introduce the updated version of the Kent Surrey Sussex Judicial Brochure which sets out our rehabilitation offer.

Following the integration of the Community Rehabilitation Companies with the National Probation Service in June 2021, under the Target Operating Model we have been able to expand the range of services and interventions available to address the complex needs of people on probation, which means that we are well placed to protect the communities we serve. 

David Moffitt, Head of Operations, Kent Surrey and Sussex Probation Region 

I am proud to support the launch of the Judicial Brochure for 2022–23, setting out the rehabilitation and risk management interventions available to you as sentencers.

In my role as Strategic Court Lead, I am delighted that our offer now includes structured interventions which can be tailored to individual risk and need and that our Engaging People on Probation workstream seeks to include the voice of those we are working with. This is being supported through the contract with St Giles Wise and the employment of a dedicated Engaging People on Probation Manager.

In addition to this brochure, we have developed a Regional Court Strategy for 2022–24 which promotes the Region’s vision for delivering excellent services to our Courts. 

The Probation Service plays a key role within the Criminal Justice System to protect the public and this Judicial Brochure helps to clarify the interventions we will deliver and how they contribute to a defendant’s rehabilitation. I am committed to continuing to develop and improve how the service engages with the Judiciary and welcome any feedback. 

Tina Donlon, Strategic Court Lead, Kent Surrey and Sussex Probation Region 

Click on the links below to see the full range of probation interventions available within your region.

Accredited Programme Requirement

Delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting, these programmes are informed by evidence and accredited. They are designed to provide opportunities to change thinking, attitudes and behaviours associated with offending.

Accredited programmes

Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR)

This requirement allows for precise and effective rehabilitation activity to be tailored following a more in-depth assessment after sentence. These activities can comprise:

Structured interventions

Commissioned rehabilitative services

Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits

Community Sentence Treatment Requirements

The three treatment requirements are: Mental Health Treatment Requirements, Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (which include drug testing) and Alcohol Treatment Requirements. Those being considered must agree to engage in treatment.

Community Sentence Treatment Requirement

Electronic Monitoring

Electronic Monitoring can be both a requirement and a way in which other requirements are enforced. They are designed to monitor an individual’s whereabouts for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with certain requirements. This can involve electronically monitored curfew, exclusion and prohibited activity requirements. The Transdermal tag can monitor alcohol abstinence.

Electronic Monitoring

Unpaid work

Individuals undertake unpaid work that must benefit their local community as a way to pay back to the community for their crimes.

Unpaid work

The brochure does not cover all available community sentence requirements (for instance, residence requirement, prohibited activity requirement, non-electronically monitored exclusion, foreign travel prohibition requirement), or other sentencing options (fines, discharges and custodial sentences).

For more information about these, please visit the Sentencing Council Website.

If any information in this brochure is incorrect or needs to be updated, please email: EffectiveProbation.Practice@justice.gov.uk.

Structured Interventions – Greater Manchester

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Structured Interventions

Structured Interventions are part of a suite of interventions that Probation Practitioners can refer people to if they present a low risk of recidivism and/or are unsuitable for an Accredited Programme. Structured Interventions can be delivered in a group setting or on a one-to-one basis, have a set format, and are a minimum of four sessions in length.

Structured Interventions are approved for delivery via the HMPPS Effective Interventions Panel and are assessed against seven core Correctional Services Accreditation Advice Panel (CSAAP) principles.

All regions will deliver a minimum of one Structured Intervention in the need areas set out below. Flexibility on meeting regional needs is also a key factor and delivery of any additional Structured Interventions in the three need areas will be at the discretion of the Regional Probation Director.

For an overview of the Structured Interventions available within each probation region, watch this video.

Structured Interventions: Need Areas

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour (ATB)

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour Structured Interventions aim to reduce recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

making decisions
solving problems
achieving their goals
managing the influence of anti-social relationships
using pro-social interpersonal skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle. Some ATBs will promote these skills within a specified cohort, for example 18-25 year-olds and people with either dangerous driving or drink driving offences.

Available Interventions:

Better Solutions

Better Solutions highlights the importance of thinking skills and takes the approach that these are central to the development of a positive, offence free lifestyle.

It is aimed at individuals whose offending behaviour suggests they would benefit from guidance to develop attitudes and thinking that support effective decision making and problem solving.

It also seeks to maximise relevance for participants by considering the consequences of these in the context of group members’ lives.

Stepwise Driving

Stepwise Driving is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from drink and/or drug driving by focusing on areas such as awareness of safe driving; making decisions; and consequential thinking. Stepwise Driving is comprised of insight-oriented psycho-educational content around:

safer driving (e.g., stopping distances, effects of substances on the body, etc)
consequences of dangerous driving
effects of alcohol and drugs on driving
coping with disqualification

Domestic Abuse (DA)

Domestic Abuse Structured Interventions aim to reduce Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

Attitudes that support healthy relationships
Aggression and anger management
Emotional mismanagement / self-regulation
Social skills
Conflict Management Skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges in relationships and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Relationships

Stepwise Relationships is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) offending by enabling participants to overcome challenges such as:

relationship problems
social skills deficits
attitudes that support relationship violence
aggression and anger
emotional mismanagement / self-regulation

Emotional Management (EM)

Emotional Management Structured Interventions are designed to help participants explore and understand their use of violence, and to motivate them towards a violence-free life.

Participants are encouraged to develop and strengthen the resources and protective factors that will support them in reducing the likelihood of using aggressive and / or violent behaviour.

Participants are encouraged to develop realistic and meaningful personal goals that can help them live a more satisfying and pro-social life.

Available Interventions:

Managing My Emotions (MME)

Managing My Emotions (MME) is an anger management programme for individuals whose offending behaviour is linked to a struggle to manage their anger.

Anger is viewed as a normal and healthy emotion that has many layers and that varies in intensity but is identified as an emotion that unchecked can lead to destructive and harmful behaviours.

The approach of MME is to recognise anger in its many shades as symptomatic of unhappiness and dissatisfaction. It focuses on recognising and understanding what is being experienced, identifying causes for this and from there, focuses developing strategies to manage situations and the related emotions effectively.

FIRS For Women

Accredited programmes – Greater Manchester

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Accredited programmes

Accredited Programmes are supported and informed by an evidence base and have evaluation processes embedded in their design. They are accredited by the Correctional Service Accreditation and Advice Panel (CSAAP), an international panel of subject matter experts who review each programmes’ evidence base, design, content and delivery against a rigorous set of criteria.

These programmes are only delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting for up to 12 participants. Consideration can be given to delivery on a one-to-one basis in exceptional circumstances. With the introduction of the Alternative Delivery Formats (ADF) approach as part of COVID-19 Recovery, variation to delivery in exceptional cases will be available, where required, to meet participant needs.

Programme requirements are available as a sentence of the Court under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 and fall under the statutory purposes of sentencing of reform and rehabilitation of offenders and the protection of the public. They can also be added as Licence conditions to all types of prison Licences and Post Sentence Supervision. Probation Practitioners will identify all eligible and suitable cases at the pre-sentence or pre-release stage and will propose an Accredited Programme (when there are no barriers to attendance).

HMPPS offers a suite of Accredited Programmes which attend to a range of offending-related needs of participants. Each programme has suitability criteria that is used alongside the initial risk assessment to see if an individual is in scope for a programme. This will vary slightly between programmes but will consider aspects such as the individual’s need areas and responsiveness to intervention, as well as ensuring their consent and willingness/commitment to engage in an Accredited Programme.

Delivery of Accredited Programmes is flexible, based on regional need. All regions will deliver, as a minimum:

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)
Building Better Relationships (BBR)
Sexual Offending Programmes

Click on each tab below to see the full details for each programme available in your region.

Building Better Relationships (BBR)

BBR is for adult male perpetrators convicted of an Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) related offence against a female partner, who present with a moderate or high risk of committing future IPV offences.

BBR has a strong skills focus and participants are provided with a range of cognitive and behavioural skills and tools to support and promote the use of positive behaviours in their intimate relationships. BBR makes use of a range of treatment approaches and techniques.

BBR is a moderate intensity cognitive-behavioural group work intervention. Its theory base reflects the growing view that IPV is a complex problem that is likely to have multiple causes. BBR is responsive to the needs of individual participants and provides opportunities to develop skills that are introduced during the programme.

Probation staff are expected to refer all individuals who meet the eligibility and suitability criteria to BBR in community sites.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

IPV related offence (this can be index or historical)
Relationship problems

Social skills deficits:

Attitudes that support relationship violence
Stereotyped gender roles and inequality beliefs
Hostile masculinity
Aggression and anger
Emotional mismanagement/self-regulation
Jealousy
Coercive control
Obsessive and controlling behaviour towards a current or former partner in context of an intimate relationship
Separation / threat of separation
Alcohol and drug misuse

Delivery Method

BBR is comprised of 24 group and 5 individual sessions.

The Foundation Module is always delivered first and comprises of six 2.5-hour sessions which must always be completed prior to the other modules.

The remaining modules are delivered as either a closed group or in a rolling format, with each module comprising of six 2.5-hour groupwork sessions.

After each module participants have a one-hour one-to-one session with their designated facilitator, the purpose of which is to provide a bridge between modules, review learning and check progress against goals.

Thinking Skills Programme (TSP)

TSP reduces recidivism by focusing on developing people’s ability to manage their emotions, make decisions, solve problems, achieve their goals, manage the influence of anti-social relationships and use pro-social interpersonal skills in their interactions with others.

By having and increasing these skills participants are then able to apply these to the way they live and manage their everyday lives. This in itself reduces the chances of offending reoccurring and helps participants set up and maintain a pro-social and constructive lifestyle. The programme however moves beyond this and actively encourages participants to apply the thinking skills to identify and effectively manage their risk factors. It coaches participants to apply their new and existing thinking and behavioural skills to develop personally relevant protective factors. It also coaches participants to apply the skills to setting and achieving approach focused, pro-social goals linked to relapse prevention.

TSP has seven Treatment Goals which target a range of dynamic risk factors, which are strongly evidenced in the literature to link to offending:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

A static risk level of medium and above (Score of 50 or above on OGRS3).
Participants must also have the relevant treatment needs (risk factors) targeted by the programme.
TSP Need is assessed through OASys using specified items, or the standalone TSP Needs Assessment Tool when an OASys is not available. Minimum score thresholds must be met to determine suitability.
Suitable for participants who are maintaining their innocence and who recognise that they can benefit from developing skills to manage personal risk factors, develop protective factors and skills for achieving pro-social goals.

Programme criteria, including scoring levels required, exceptions to the criteria, and the Responsivity Principle can be made on request, or are outlined in detail in the programme manuals.

Delivery Method

TSP consists of 19 sessions (15 group and 4 individual sessions), plus the post-programme review. There are fixed and rolling group formats available in the community.

Horizon

Horizon is designed to help men who have been convicted of a sexual offence address the factors that have been problematic in their general lives, and which have contributed to their offending behaviour. The ethos of the programme is to instil hope and optimism in the participants through working with them to strengthen and develop protective factors within their lives.

Horizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Horizon is formed of 9 Blocks:

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male

Age: 18+

Must have committed a sexual or sexually motivated offence/offences against adults or children.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by Horizon and be motivated work on those problems.
Horizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: Horizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet these criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions.

People should not normally be considered for Horizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by Horizon.

Delivery Method

Horizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 31 sessions (62 hours) in length.

Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours in total) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme.

Participants will also have a 3–way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

iHorizon

iHorizon is a programme for men whose primary clinical need is to address internet only sexual offending, that is, where it is limited to possessing, downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, where there has been no contact with victims. Men with convictions involving other forms of sexual or sexually motivated offending will not be suitable for iHorizon and should be assessed for an alternative programme.

iHorizon has a strengths-based approach which means it aims to increase psychological, social and emotional strengths to assist participants to desist from crime. It is also future focused, in that participants are encouraged to set goals to enable them to engage in constructive, positive, offence free future lives, supported by the skills they learn in the programme.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

For men whose primary clinical need is to address internet-only sexual offending, that is, where it is limited to possessing, downloading, and/or distributing indecent images of children, where there has been no contact with victims.
Assessed as Medium or above Risk of Serious Harm.
Group members need to accept that they have problems in the areas that are addressed by iHorizon and be motivated to work on those problems.
iHorizon is suitable for men who admit their offences, and to those who maintain their innocence, providing the above criteria are met.
Able to cope with the cognitive demands of a mainstream intervention: iHorizon is not suitable for men who have intellectual disability. Individuals who meet this criteria should be directed towards adapted interventions (where available).

People should not normally be considered for iHorizon if they have already completed another programme bar exceptional cases where an assessment demonstrates the individual has further needs that can be met by iHorizon.

Delivery Method

iHorizon is run with a maximum of 10 participants per group and is 23 sessions (46 hours) in length. Additionally, there are 3 individual sessions (5–6 hours) which take place at the start, part way through and at the end of the programme. Participants will also have a 3-way post programme review meeting with a facilitator and their Probation Practitioner.

New Me Strengths (NMS)

NMS has been specifically designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with learning disabilities and learning challenges (LDC).

NMS is a cognitive-behavioural group-work programme suitable for adult men who have been convicted for any offence. This programme is the LDC suite equivalent of the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP), Horizon, Building Better Relationships (BBR) and Resolve.

All of the programme materials are designed to target specific criminogenic needs outlined left. These needs are the focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to
them.

Participants start off by identifying existing strengths in each area. We work from a strengths-based approach, rather than solely focussing on risk. They set themselves goals to strengthen their Wheels and they work on these goals during the programmes. Ongoing skills practise is important.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

NMS has its own suitability criteria. This includes the individual’s risk, and the extent to which they have needs in the following areas:

Problem solving
Relationships
Offence supportive attitudes
Sense of purpose
Unhealthy sexual interest (those with sexual convictions only)

These needs have been linked to offending and are sometimes called criminogenic needs, or risk factors because of this.

Delivery Method

NMS is suitable for delivery in both a fixed group format and one to one with the individual.

When delivered as a group intervention with those who have sexual convictions, it is 38 sessions long (34 group and 4 individual). With all other groups, it is 36 sessions long (32 group and 4 individual sessions). All members of the group start and finish at the same time.

When delivered individually NMS runs for 13–15 sessions, dependent on the individual’s needs.

Living as New Me (LNM)

LNM is an accredited skills maintenance (booster) programme for those individuals who have already completed New Me Strengths (LDC* equivalent of Horizon) or Becoming New Me+ (LDC* equivalent of the Kaizen programme suitable for custody delivery).

*LDC: learning disabilities and learning challenges. This suite of programmes is designed to be responsive to the communication styles and abilities of people with LDC.

All the programme materials are designed to target specific needs related to offending. These needs are the main focus during the programme and are put across to participants in the form of a Success Wheel. Participants use the Success Wheel to help strengthen New Me in each of the areas relevant to them.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male;

Age: 18+

Suitable for individuals with an identified risk of reoffending of Medium and above
Have a conviction for a sexual, intimate partner violence (IPV) or general violent offence (GV)

LNM is suitable as a maintenance programme for anyone who has successfully graduated from NMS or BNM+.

Delivery Method

LNM is at least 5 sessions long, with flexibility to be longer dependent on the size of the group and the needs of each individual.

LNM is delivered monthly with a group of up to 8 people.

Healthy Identity Intervention (HII)

The Healthy Intervention Programme (HII) is a one-to-one programme that targets the social and psychological drivers of extremist offending. HII is made up of a combination of discussion, reflection, written exercises and skills practices.

HII cannot be recommended at Pre-sentence Report stage. It is only available following the completion of an ERG 22+ assessment which is completed by a Counter Terrorism Specialist Probation Practitioner, for those convicted of Terrorism Act/connected offences.

The number of modules and sessions an individual completes will depend on their particular level of risk and need. The more engaged and identified a participant is with an extremist group, cause or ideology, the more modules of the HII they are likely to complete. The central aims of the HII are to:

Prevent reoffending by reducing an individual’s willingness to offend on behalf an extremist group, cause or ideology (i.e. desistance)
Promote and facilitate disengagement from an extremist group, cause or ideology

A strengths-based approach to desistance is used, supporting supervised individuals in identifying and building on their existing strengths and skills to encourage and empower supervised individuals to disengage from an extremist group, cause or ideology, desist from offending and lead a pro-social lifestyle. Participants are expected to be open, reflective and willing to discuss aspects of their lives associated with their offending.

Individual Requirements

Gender: Male / Female

Age: 18+

HII can be delivered to adult males or females who have been convicted under terrorism legislation in England and Wales, or under other legislation where extremism is identified as a motivation by the Court.

HII must be recommended by an Extremism Risk Guidance (ERG) 22+ report in order to be commenced with an individual. The ERG 22+ is a structured professional judgement tool used to aid in the assessment of risk in those convicted of extremist offences. It informs risks management and recommends appropriate and targeted intervention. The ERG will highlight which particular risks and need require addressing and will therefore be integral to the planning of which parts of HII should be delivered.

Delivery Method

HII is a one-to-one programme, flexible to each individual’s risks and needs. It contains a core module and optional modules designed to support and facilitate supervised individuals in their desistance and disengagement.

HII is delivered over 3-4 months but the total length of delivery can vary greatly depending on the needs of participants and their level of engagement and identification with an extremist group, cause or ideology.

HII is delivered by counter terrorism Probation Officers.

‘The New Me is going somewhere better… and the new horizons are not only possible but achievable’
Mr. A, Graduate of Horizon

Brochure of Probation Interventions – Greater Manchester

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Brochure of Probation Interventions – Greater Manchester

Click on the links below to see the full range of probation interventions available within your region.

Accredited Programme Requirement

Delivered by trained facilitators, primarily within a group setting, these programmes are informed by evidence and accredited. They are designed to provide opportunities to change thinking, attitudes and behaviours associated with offending.

Accredited programmes

Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR)

This requirement allows for precise and effective rehabilitation activity to be tailored following a more in-depth assessment after sentence. These activities can comprise:

Structured interventions

Commissioned rehabilitative services

Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits

Community Sentence Treatment Requirements

The three treatment requirements are: Mental Health Treatment Requirements, Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (which include drug testing) and Alcohol Treatment Requirements. Those being considered must agree to engage in treatment.

Community Sentence Treatment Requirement

Electronic Monitoring

Electronic Monitoring can be both a requirement and a way in which other requirements are enforced. They are designed to monitor an individual’s whereabouts for the purpose of demonstrating compliance with certain requirements. This can involve electronically monitored curfew, exclusion and prohibited activity requirements. The Transdermal tag can monitor alcohol abstinence.

Electronic Monitoring

Unpaid work

Individuals undertake unpaid work that must benefit their local community as a way to pay back to the community for their crimes.

Unpaid work

The brochure does not cover all available community sentence requirements (for instance, residence requirement, prohibited activity requirement, non-electronically monitored exclusion, foreign travel prohibition requirement), or other sentencing options (fines, discharges and custodial sentences).

For more information about these, please visit the Sentencing Council Website.

If any information in this brochure is incorrect or needs to be updated, please email: EffectiveProbation.Practice@justice.gov.uk.

Structured Interventions – East of England

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Structured Interventions

Structured Interventions are part of a suite of interventions that Probation Practitioners can refer people to if they present a low risk of recidivism and/or are unsuitable for an Accredited Programme. Structured Interventions can be delivered in a group setting or on a one-to-one basis, have a set format, and are a minimum of four sessions in length.

Structured Interventions are approved for delivery via the HMPPS Effective Interventions Panel and are assessed against seven core Correctional Services Accreditation Advice Panel (CSAAP) principles.

All regions will deliver a minimum of one Structured Intervention in the need areas set out below. Flexibility on meeting regional needs is also a key factor and delivery of any additional Structured Interventions in the three need areas will be at the discretion of the Regional Probation Director.

For an overview of the Structured Interventions available within each probation region, watch this video.

Structured Interventions: Need Areas

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour (ATB)

Attitudes, Thinking and Behaviour Structured Interventions aim to reduce recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

making decisions
solving problems
achieving their goals
managing the influence of anti-social relationships
using pro-social interpersonal skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle. Some ATBs will promote these skills within a specified cohort, for example 18-25 year-olds and people with either dangerous driving or drink driving offences.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Problem Solving

Stepwise Problem Solving is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance by focusing on areas such as:

making decisions
solving problems
achieving life goals
using pro-social interpersonal skills

Domestic Abuse (DA)

Domestic Abuse Structured Interventions aim to reduce Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) recidivism by focusing on one or more of the following areas:

Attitudes that support healthy relationships
Aggression and anger management
Emotional mismanagement / self-regulation
Social skills
Conflict Management Skills

These are skills intended to enable participants to overcome challenges in relationships and live a purposeful, pro-social lifestyle.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Relationships

Stepwise Relationships is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) offending by enabling participants to overcome challenges such as:

relationship problems
social skills deficits
attitudes that support relationship violence
aggression and anger
emotional mismanagement / self-regulation

Emotional Management (EM)

Emotional Management Structured Interventions are designed to help participants explore and understand their use of violence, and to motivate them towards a violence-free life.

Participants are encouraged to develop and strengthen the resources and protective factors that will support them in reducing the likelihood of using aggressive and / or violent behaviour.

Participants are encouraged to develop realistic and meaningful personal goals that can help them live a more satisfying and pro-social life.

Available Interventions:

Stepwise Emotions

Stepwise Emotions is a strengths-based intervention that aims to support desistance from violent offending by enabling participants to overcome challenges such as:

aggressive behaviour
thinking & behaviour related to risk of serious harm to self or others
attitudes related to risk of serious harm to self or others

Let’s Talk Men

Let’s Talk Men is aimed at males who have been exposed to or demonstrate beliefs and behaviours related to toxic masculinity.

Participants will develop an understanding about their emotions and how to express these in our modern society and within their own relationships. They will work on developing an understanding of how previous trauma links to their current behaviour, their self-esteem and general well-being.

It is not suitable for female people on Probation.

This structured intervention will look at ways their self-esteem is shaped and how society or personal circumstances influence this. The programme will also look at different thinking styles, goal setting, support networks and communications skills.

FIRS For Women

Unpaid Work

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Unpaid Work

Unpaid Work is a Requirement where individuals undertake projects in their local community; for example, picking litter, planting trees or decorating a community centre. Community Payback is the term often used to describe the delivery of an Unpaid Work requirement. Projects must benefit the community and cannot replace paid employment or contravene state aid and forced labour laws. The requirement must be completed within 12 months of sentence.

Sentences of between 40-300 hours can be imposed, reflecting the seriousness of the offending:

Low level Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order
- 40 – 80 hours of Unpaid Work
Medium level Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order
- 80 – 150 hours of Unpaid Work
High level Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order
- 150 – 300 hours of Unpaid Work

Since 26 June 2021 the Probation Service has been responsible for the delivery of Community Payback in England and Wales. We have used unification of the service as an opportunity to build on the best practice of Community Rehabilitation Companies, improve placement quality and relaunch our Community Payback offer. Consequently, the Government is investing an additional £93m in Community Payback over the next three years which will allow us to increase delivery of Community Payback to 8m hours per year. There will be a particular focus on delivering more outdoor projects that improve local areas and allow the public to see justice being done.

The Unpaid Work requirement is available as a sentence of the Court for all offences suitable for a Community Order/Suspended Sentence Order and all individuals regardless of ability, their risk of harm or their risk of reoffending. It does not require the defendant’s consent.

The Unpaid Work Requirement is available to individuals who do not speak English. Translation services are available in all Regions to support effective communication and safe working. We are also planning the development of instructional videos for the most common tasks with translated versions being made available.

The Requirement can be delivered in a number of ways to meet the needs of Unpaid Work beneficiaries receiving the labour and supervised individuals:

Group projects: the most effective way to deliver Unpaid Work at high volume. Working as a group encourages a broad mix of individuals to work together towards a common goal; promoting teamwork and effective communication in a work environment
Individual placements: an effective way to enable an individual unable or unsuitable for group work to complete their hours more flexibly
Education, Training and Employment: an effective delivery solution for an eligible individual to undertake educational courses or training to develop skills and improve their employment prospects. This method can only be used for up to 30% of an individual’s hours but will also support the individuals work on above placements for their remaining hours.

Work is underway to establish new national partnerships between the Probation Service and major organisations and charities, allowing high quality local projects and initiatives to be replicated in communities across England and Wales. This includes our first national partnership with the Canal & River Trust, which sees supervised individuals clearing litter, tidying tow paths and maintaining beauty spots along 2,000 miles of waterways.

We are also committed to delivering more sustainable projects that benefit the environment and we have already delivered tree planting projects in partnership with charities and the Prison estate.

The Equality Act 2010 provides a cross cutting legislative framework to protect the rights of individuals and promote equality of opportunity. Community Payback teams ensure there is a sufficient range and quantity of placements to meet the requirements of all supervised individuals.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has provided guidance that individuals claiming Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) can undertake permitted work. Furthermore, any work performed as part of an Unpaid Work Requirement is considered exempt (permitted) work for ESA purposes. Careful consideration is given to the type of work the individual is instructed to undertake, to ensure its within their abilities.

Women subject to Unpaid Work are offered a choice not to be placed in all male work environments and where possible women only placements are sourced.

“It’s rewarding being outdoors and making a difference. Community Payback is hard work, but it’s given me time to reflect on what I’ve done and why I’m here and I want my life back on track.”
Joseph (on a Community Payback placement in the West Midlands)

“So this was an opportunity to serve the conviction for the crime but also in a sense it rehabilitated me. Just being able to give back to the community and do something positive.”
Jay (on a Community Payback placement in Kent)

Electronic Monitoring

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Electronic Monitoring

Electronic Monitoring can be both a requirement and a way in which other requirements are enforced. There are three forms of Electronic Monitoring (EM) available in all courts in England and Wales, all of which use a tag which is fitted to the individual’s ankle:

Curfew monitoring using a Radio Frequency (RF) tag
Location monitoring using a satellite enabled (GPS) tag. This can be used to monitor one or more of the following:
- compliance with exclusion requirements (i.e. not to enter a specific location or address)
- attendance at a particular activity such as an education programme
- a person’s whereabouts, known as ‘trail monitoring’. Where trail monitoring is imposed, the Probation Practitioner is given retrospective access to a person’s movements for any given period. Trail Monitoring is not available for court bail, or as a sentencing option for under-18s
- compliance with a curfew requirement (where imposed alongside one of the above uses)
Alcohol monitoring using a transdermal tag. This is currently used to monitor compliance with an Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR)

Electronic Monitoring Services provide both field (equipment installation and removal) and monitoring services, for curfew and location monitoring, and will notify the Probation Practitioner of any breach. EM is a flexible tool which may be used in a variety of contexts, including reducing the risk of absconding, further offending and interfering with witnesses as well supporting the fair administration of justice.

It can promote the purposes of sentencing, namely punishment, rehabilitation, deterrence, public protection and reparation
Conditions should be tailored to individual circumstances where necessary and appropriate
Can be flexibly applied dependent on offence, individual demographic and the circumstances of the case
Can support rehabilitation if used in a targeted way
Can deter offending and help break the cycle of offending
Can be deployed flexibly to support defendants to maintain family ties and work commitments
Provides robust information of compliance with the requirement imposed and supports Probation Practitioners in the management of supervised individuals

EM is designed to be used justly, proportionately and for a purpose by taking account of the circumstances of the case and the individual’s background, offending behaviour, circumstances and characteristics. The most appropriate technology should be used, reflecting the hours and/or geographical area necessary to deliver the required outcome (for example deterrence) or serve a specific purpose (for example preventing contact), and its use should be no more severe than is necessary.

Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement

The Alcohol Abstinence and Monitoring Requirement (AAMR) is an additional tool available to the Judiciary to address alcohol related offending and support rehabilitation.

It imposes a total ban on alcohol consumption for a maximum of 120 days and requires offenders to have their compliance electronically monitored.

An AAMR can only be imposed on those who are over 18 and cannot be used on individuals who are alcohol dependent or have an Alcohol Treatment Requirement recommended or currently in place. It is recommended that this assessment is done as part of the Pre Sentence Report (PSR) stage.

Unlike other Electronic Monitoring devices, the alcohol tag can be used where the offender is of no fixed abode.

Whilst it is considered a punitive sanction, the findings from the pilots have suggested that there are possible rehabilitative elements.

Offence types

No offence should be excluded from AAMR so long as the offence is alcohol related
An AAMR can be used as a standalone however, evidence suggests that it is most effective alongside other rehabilitative requirements
In cases where there are indications of domestic abuse, other supporting factors such as an Accredited Programme or Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) may want to be considered

Other considerations

If an individual breaches their AAMR, and appears before the court again, the period of AAMR may be extended up to the full 120 days if there is any time remaining on the Order
An AAMR may be imposed more than once on an individual i.e. where an individual has previously been convicted and an AAMR was imposed, a subsequent conviction may result in a court imposing an AAMR again

An AAMR can:

Support the reduction in alcohol related crime
Support defendants to abstain from alcohol which can in turn improve relationships, finances, employment prospects etc

Community Sentence Treatment Requirements

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Community Sentence Treatment Requirements

This is a partnership between the Ministry of Justice, Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and NHS Improvement, Public Health England and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.

Many people who offend experience mental health and substance misuse problems, but the use of treatment requirements as part of a Community Order or Suspended Sentence Order remains low.

Community Sentence Treatment Requirements offer treatment to address offending behaviour with the aim of reducing reoffending and offer an alternative to short custodial sentences. They can also be used in combination to address mental health and substance misuse issues and to support the completion of other community order requirements.

The three treatment requirements are:

Mental Health Treatment Requirements (MHTRs
Drug Rehabilitation Requirements (DRRs – which includes drug testing)
Alcohol Treatment Requirements (ATRs)

Individual Requirements

Age 18+

Convicted of an offence which falls within the CO/SSO sentencing threshold and presents with mental health, substance misuse and associated vulnerabilities
Requirement of treatment related to mental health and/or substance misuse
Expressed willingness to comply with the requirement (consent) and a provider is willing to oversee the requirement

DRRs, ATRs and secondary care mental health treatment requirements are available to every court in England.

NHS England are introducing new primary care MHTRs on a site basis and are on track to achieve 100% coverage by 2023/24. These will offer treatment for convicted individuals with lower levels of mental health need.

Please approach your local Probation Court Team to access Community Sentence Treatment Requirements.

Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits

Probation Practitioners can deliver change work directly with people they are supervising with a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement or who are subject to a Licence or Post-sentence supervision.

To support this one-to-one work there is an Approved Suite of Probation Practitioner Toolkits (‘ASPPT’): evidence informed materials that give a structure for addressing identifiable needs and supporting people to build personalised strengths and capacity for living a crime free, positive life. All of the ASPPT, and any future refinements to them, are approved via HMPPS National Effective Interventions Panel and further endorsed by the Accredited Programme and Interventions Delivery Strategy Board.

Where ASPPT materials are being used in a structured and planned way to address rehabilitative needs, approved toolkits would be delivered under the Rehabilitation Activity Requirement (RAR) for Community and Suspended Sentence Orders. They can also be delivered to people subject to Probation Licence. Toolkit material can also be delivered outside of RARs within scheduled sentence management appointments only if supporting activities such as:

Addressing areas around assessment and planning
Enforcement
Reviewing progress against the sentence plan
Attending to risk concerns
Safeguarding
Supporting compliance
Sustaining and increasing motivation and engagement
Providing information/signposting

As needs factors often overlap, they benefit from being addressed holistically therefore the ASPPT will contain material which can align with and supplement other interventions. Used in this way, toolkits are a ‘wraparound’ intervention which can support consolidation of gains achieved from other interventions within a sentence plan. This supports a ‘golden thread of change work’ to address offending-related needs and build strengths to support desistance.

For some individuals, toolkit materials might form the core of the change work that is delivered. This will be dependent on their assessed needs, suitability for and the availability and provision of other interventions.

Available Toolkits:

Choices and Changes

The Choices and Changes resource pack has been developed for young adult men (aged 18-25) in order to support the development of psychosocial maturity and pro-social choices, and is designed to target and assist with six priority needs:

Developing a stable, pro-social identity
Building resistance to peer influence
Developing self-sufficiency and independence
Building skills to manage emotions and impulses
Increasing future orientation
Strengthening bonds with family and other close relationships.
Choices and Changes is available to those young adult men:
who are unable to access Accredited Programmes but have a need to develop maturity,
who are suitable for Accredited Programmes, but not yet ready to engage due to low maturity,
who have previously completed an Accredited Programme, but who still need to develop maturity.

Choices and Changes has been designed to be flexible and responsive to the needs of an individual, delivered on a one-to-one basis during supervision. It can be used by any member of staff, but ideally keyworkers and Probation Practitioners. There is no formal training required to deliver the content: the most important factor is that the person delivering the exercises can relate to, understand and be responsive to the individual they are working with. The delivery style should be encouraging and supportive.

Maps for Change

Maps for Change is a toolkit of exercises designed to strengthen the protective factors known to be linked to desistance in men convicted of sexual offences. It is targeted at adult males convicted of sexual/sexually motivated offences. There are 6 Maps available which can be used to target the need areas relevant to the individual, these include: Relationships, Employment, Training and Education, Thinking & Behaviour and Lifestyle & Associates.

The Maps for Change toolkit is organised to strengthen protective factors linked to sexual offending in the following areas:

Signpost Map
Pro-Social Networks – Relationships
Positive Routine – Employment
Social Investment – Giving Something Back
Commitment to Desist
Smarter Internet Use

There are also supplementary exercises which support many of the exercises included in the listed areas.

The Maps for Change package consists of over 40 structured exercises that are delivered on one-to-one basis. These exercises are designed to build the necessary skills and behaviours to help men desist from future sexual offending.

New Me MOT

New Me MOT is a toolkit of short exercises that enable the Probation Practitioner to support graduates of the following Accredited Programmes:

Becoming New Me + (all strands: Sexual, General Violence and Intimate Partner Violence) *
Cognitive Self-Change Programme**
Healthy Sex Programme*
Horizon
iHorizon
Kaizen (all strands: Sexual, General Violence and Intimate Partner Violence) *
Living as New Me
New Me Strengths (all strands: Sexual, General Violence, Intimate Partner Violence and Acquisitive)
Self-Change Programme**

*Currently available in prisons only
**Previous CSAAP accredited programmes

New Me MOT assumes an understanding of the core concepts and language used within those stated Accredited Programmes and encourages participants to consolidate and build on their learning, and to generalise this to different contexts throughout the remainder of their sentence.

The participant’s engagement in the exercises provides the Probation Practitioner with critical information to inform decision making in relation to the direction of the sentence. Those that take up the offer of support do so on the understanding that they:

Provide evidence of self-monitoring (Learning Logs)
Trial, evaluate, and refine their future plans for living (the New Me Life Plan)
Continue to develop skills and work towards realising their goals (including through skills practice and psychoeducation)
Continue to develop support networks (Support Spiders/ New Me circles) to strengthen their efforts to explore the potential of change

New Me MOT contains a series of brief exercises designed to meet a diverse range of needs in a structured yet flexible way. New Me MOT is designed to support and provide structure to supervision and will be familiar to programme graduates because the content aligns with that of the above CSAAP accredited programmes.

New Me MOT provides a way of addressing need, considering risk, and enhancing skills to deal with the problems that the individual faces in their everyday life. Exercises offer maximum flexibility within the context of supervision, for example, they can be used to support supervision delivered on a one-to-one basis or on a small-group basis. New Me MOT is also participant led providing an opportunity for individuals to complete tasks between meetings and report back on their progress (and areas of difficulty).

Skills for Relationships

The Skills for Relationship Toolkit (SRT) combines Accredited Programme content from the Building Better Relationships Programme with a flexible delivery approach to enable brief rehabilitative conversations delivered during the routine supervision of people with Intimate Partner Violence offences.

SRT can be viewed as a workbook consisting of 36 exercises, designed to support desistance by enabling conversations in supervision that help participants:

Learn and practice skills to aid maturity and social competence
Commit to self-responsibility
Understand their behaviour
Think about their views of others
Develop working alliance

Each exercise is based around an animated clip (lasting between 1 and 5 minutes) intended to achieve a specific learning outcome that forms the basis of a rehabilitative conversation. Separate sets of clips exist for men with female victims and men with male victims.

The key focus of the toolkit is helping people cope with the complexities and pressures of their relationship without getting into conflict. The toolkit enables this by supporting them to decide how they want their relationships to be; recognise their strengths; and develop new relationship skills.

SRT should be prioritised for supervised individuals who are medium and high risk on the Spousal Assault Risk Assessment (SARA) who – for whatever reason – are not able to access the Building Better Relationships Accredited Programme which would be the preferred programme for this group.

Probation Practitioners will use SRT to engage participants during the brief time slots of routine supervision. Professional judgement will be used to determine when to deliver material within the individual’s sentence plan.

Stepping Stones

Stepping Stones is intended to be used with men who are assessed as low to medium risk of serious harm, although it may also be used for those assessed as high risk of serious harm in exceptional circumstances (such as individuals who either do not meet Accredited Programme risk of reconviction and need criteria or do, but are unable to access due to insufficient time on their Order/Licence).

Stepping Stones can be used to support practitioners to hold discussions and to complete exercises which seek to support the individual to lead an offence free life. The material can be used in a flexible way and tailored to meet the needs of each participant.

Flexible toolkit

Exercises contained across three manuals to support Probation Practitioners.

Strengths-based

All exercises are designed to help participants to identify and develop strengths which support people to lead more meaningful lives.

Future focused

All exercises are designed to support participants to take responsibility for their future lives and to develop non-offending identities.

Stepping Stones consists of a range of suggested discussions, skills or practical based exercises that have been organised into three manuals to support practitioners to build on protective factors. These are:

Strengths (internal protective factors):

What the person has within themselves to support pro-social behaviour. This can include hopefulness and well-developed social skills, positive attributes such as showing kindness and things a person does well.

Resources (external protective factors):

What the person can draw on from the world around them to support pro-social behaviour. This includes rewarding personal relationships, satisfaction in their employment, investment in their community.

Motivation:

How motivated the person is and how able to respond to and make a positive commitment to activities and restrictions that manage the risk of serious harm, taking account of any learning difficulties.

The materials are intended to be used with supervised individuals as a flexible one-to-one resource, considering the needs and strengths of the individual.

Pathways to Change

Pathways to Change is a toolkit of exercises designed to strengthen protective factors linked to desistance in women convicted of sexual offences. The exercises in the toolkit are aimed at helping the individual to develop skills and strengths to maintain an offence-free lifestyle.

The Pathways to Change toolkit is organised to strengthen protective factors linked to sexual offending. It is gender-responsive and trauma-informed, to target the specific needs of Women Convicted of Sexual Offending linked to following areas:

Relationships
Self Esteem
Problem Solving
Unhealthy Sexual Thinking and Behaviour (where relevant).

The Pathways to Change package consists of 40 structured exercises that are delivered on one-to-one basis. These exercises are designed to build the necessary skills and behaviours to help women desist from future sexual offending.

First Steps to Change-Women’s toolkit

First Steps to Change is a toolkit of exercises for Probation Practitioners intended to support engagement and compliance during an Order or period of Licence supervision by providing practical activities focused on building skills, strengths and strategies to encourage women to desist from offending and have a positive future, taking into account that for a woman to be motivated, they need to feel safe and supported by someone with a genuine interest in their story.

The toolkit is gender specific, and trauma informed, using strengths-based approaches, and is underpinned by the evidence that women will benefit from addressing the impact of trauma, specific areas relevant to women in the Criminal Justice System as well as resettlement issues.

The toolkit comprises of nine parts with various activities covering: an introduction which outlines working in the context of trauma, a focus on initial engagement, wellbeing and grounding techniques, a focus on relationships and domestic abuse, maternal supervision, applying problem solving skills, working in the sex industry, thinking skills and future planning, transition into adulthood and resettlement and future goals.

In summary, the toolkit aims to:

Provide structure when working with women
Improve engagement at start of supervision and start of licence
Increase self-esteem and well-being
Facilitate a therapeutic alliance between practitioner and the supervisee

Creating Positive Connections

Creating Positive Connections is a toolkit for practitioners to deliver to males 18+ to support developing the individuals’ skills and confidence to build networks and connections so that they:

are better prepared/able to access opportunities and support in the community,
acknowledge their potential and recognise opportunities to contribute within their community,
increase potential and opportunities to feel part of the community.
the aim of this material is to support individuals to develop skills to better enable them to:
have stronger community connections both formally and informally,
contribute positively to the community,
benefit from being a part of the community,
feel a sense of connection, have a stake in the community and the sense of general wellbeing, as a result of feeling able to function as part of a community.

Creating Positive Connections (CPC) has 4 blocks and consists of 12 exercises designed to be delivered via a minimum of 8 sessions to support desistance by enabling conversations that will help the person on probation:

Understand social capital and its benefits
Identify their networks
Develop their confidence and feel a sense of connection

The exercises are suitable for Males who are on Probation Orders or Licences, where it is identified that they could benefit from developing skills to identify support networks and build self- esteem and confidence to support development of social capital and personal connections.

Responsibly Aware

Responsibly Aware has been developed as an early intervention toolkit to be delivered by practitioners to adult males 18+ who have started to experience problems related to their substance use. These individuals have not reached the point of addiction or where a more intensive treatment path would be deemed appropriate.

Responsibly Aware takes a harm reduction approach and aims to support and guide People on Probation to develop safe and responsible substance use. Responsibly Aware looks at both alcohol and drugs and is not substance specific.

Responsibly Aware is not just about substances. Over between 5-6 sessions the toolkit focuses on the individual, their lives, those close to them, those in their communities and how substance use impacts on all of these aspects.

The toolkit applies a holistic approach, exploring the role that alcohol and /or drugs play in the lives of individual’s, guiding and supporting them towards positive choices and healthy lifestyles.

Aim of Responsibly Aware :

To provide individuals with the opportunity to reflect on their substance use and develop skills/techniques to support them in making positive change.

Objectives

To understand use of substances and recognise the gains and losses of this
To increase understanding of what is safe and responsible
To increase awareness of the impacts of use of substances on others
To develop techniques and strategies to manage substance use

Moving On

Moving On is aimed at males 18+ who are experiencing negative thoughts and feelings about themselves, which are associated with their conviction/offending and its consequences. These thoughts and feelings (which may include offending-related feelings of shame) will be blocking the individual, emotionally or psychologically, from moving forward positively with their life, getting in the way of desistance.

Moving On is a series of 8 guided conversations to be delivered over a minimum of 14 sessions:

These conversations seek to support desistance by exploring the participant’s identity and by attending to some of the factors which may be preventing them from achieving a positive self-identity. An individual’s self-identity is how they view and understand themselves, shaped by characteristics including their life experiences, beliefs, values, appearance, personality traits, qualities and so on.

The materials are designed to consider the different parts of a participant’s identity and the factors which may have undermined or damaged their sense of ‘whole’ self. Individuals who will most benefit from the toolkit are those who are struggling to separate their offending behaviour – what they have done – from who they are.

Constructive Conversations

Constructive Conversations is a series of resource packs designed to assist HMPPS staff in prison and in the community in structuring exploratory conversations with ‘terrorist risk’ cases, those who have not been convicted of a terrorist or extremism offence but there is evidence that they may be developing an interest or becoming involved in extremism. It replaces Developing Dialogues which should no longer be used.

Constructive Conversations is currently being piloted and all deliveries must be approved by the Counter Terrorism-Assessment and Rehabilitation Centre (CT-ARC).

Constructive Conversations is comprised of three stages which are delivered in order, build upon each other, and allow for different levels of delivery based on risk and need. The three stages are:

Stage 1: Commencing Conversations – provides staff with the knowledge, skills and materials to engage in meaningful discussions with individuals about such issues. It consists of five conversations aiming to explore an emerging interest in extremism and develop the relationship between practitioner and person on probation/in prison.
Stage 2: Continuing Conversations – Consists of six structured conversations that aims to facilitate discussions that are exploratory, supportive and encourage individuals to lead more fulfilling lives away from offending and avoid becoming involved in an extremist group, cause or set of ideas.
Stage 3: Changing Conversations – is an intervention aimed at building on the strengths of the individual and developing skills to prevent individuals from becoming further interested and involved in extremism.

Constructive Conversations is delivered on a one-to-one basis, providing structure within the supervision process, assisting practitioners to plan, prepare and deliver the sentence plan. Additional training is required before practitioners use these toolkits. Materials support preventative work where appropriate and build practitioner confidence and competence in addressing concerns around extremism.

‘It starts a thought process in your head and it opened a lot up for me’
Mr. F, Graduate of Skills for Relationships

Commissioned Rehabilitative Services

23 October 2022/in Archive /by Peter Lamb

Commissioned Rehabilitative Services

These interventions and services are for individuals who are sentenced to a Community or Suspended Sentence Order with a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, or on Licence / Post-Sentence supervision.

Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) should be used where an identified criminogenic need cannot be met through a Programme requirement, Structured Intervention or Community Sentence Treatment Requirement.

These services complement primary interventions where they do not meet specific needs which the Commissioned Rehabilitative Service address, or when needs remain outstanding following engagement in other interventions

These services may be used to support motivation and engagement by attending to need areas that will enable / support completion of other interventions. For example, if it is assessed that someone needs support to stabilize their accommodation before attending an Accredited Programme or Structured Intervention

Commissioned Rehabilitative Services are available to address the following needs:

Accommodation
Education, Training and Employment (ETE)
Personal wellbeing (social inclusion, lifestyle and associates, family and significant others, emotional wellbeing)
Finance, Benefit & Debt in the Community
Dependency & Recovery in the Community
Women’s services which include all of the above

In the future, CRS may be available to meet other criminogenic needs or be directed at specific cohorts. Probation court Practitioners will have access to a directory of services for CRS interventions providing real time details of eligibility, suitability and availability, to inform proposal of a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.

The probation practitioner forms an assessment of the “complexity levels” required to meet the needs of the individual. These describe the intensity of intervention to be delivered, aligned to the person’s needs as outlined below.

Accommodation Services

Outcomes:

Obtain or maintain suitable accommodation
Overcome barriers to maintaining or obtaining suitable accommodation
Prevented from homelessness

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person has some capacity and means to secure and/or maintain suitable accommodation but requires some support and guidance to do so.

Medium complexity – The person is at risk of homelessness/is homeless or will be homeless on release from prison. They have had some success in maintaining a tenancy but may have additional needs such as learning difficulties or other challenges.

High complexity – The person is homeless or in temporary/unstable accommodation or will be homeless on release from prison. They may have a poor accommodation history, complex needs, including mental health issues or additional difficulties arising from their offence-type and limited skills to secure or sustain a tenancy.

Education, Training & Employment

Outcomes:

Obtain or maintain suitable training, education and employment.
Overcome barriers to obtaining/maintaining suitable training, education and employment.
Demonstrate improvement in the skills and attitudes which enable self-development and increase employability

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person has satisfactory basic numeracy & literacy skills. They have previously been employed though there may be gaps with periods of inactivity due to redundancy/periods of imprisonment. There is no critical development need to find a new job in their previous field of competence. They value the benefits of working but need guidance to re-enter the workforce, change jobs or career path.

Medium complexity – The person has gaps in basic numeracy and literacy skills and no or limited working experience. They have partially completed vocational training but require support with building confidence and motivation to develop training and/or employability skills and to develop or enhance skills to obtain and sustain employment.

High complexity – The person lacks basic literacy & numeracy skills and/or may have Learning Difficulties and/or Learning Disabilities. They have no or limited working experience and/or have no qualifications and/or may have many barriers and restrictions to employment due to the nature of their offences (e.g. sexual, violent, or fraud/deception offences). The person requires significant support and coaching to build motivation, confidence and basic skills to enter employment / training.

Personal Wellbeing Services

These services are delivered under three sub-types: Emotional Wellbeing, Lifestyle and Associates, Family and Significant others:

Emotional Wellbeing

Outcomes:

Develop coping skills and strategies to regulate mood and demonstrate perspective-taking and self- care by avoiding risky situations.
Improved levels of self-efficacy, resilience and confidence.
Ability to access and engage with mental health services and/ or comply with any medication/treatment/therapy programmes.
Ability to recognise and manage triggers to worsening wellbeing.
Ability to build and maintain appropriate social interactions

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person has worries or issues and feels unable to cope but is not socially isolated and interacts with others. They have no known psychological issues or history of depression and poor mental health.

Medium complexity – The person has diagnosed documented psychological problems that are being managed well but requires support to maintain engagement. They have coping strategies but need assistance. They show signs of stress in meetings and require support to effectively engage.

High complexity – The person has suffered psychological and mental health problems over a period of time which is documented and needs a significant level of support to engage with service provision. They are socially isolated and struggle with numerous aspects of daily life.

Lifestyle & Associates

Outcomes:

Improve pro-social self-identity and ability to access community-based support networks and/or engage in their community and able to make a positive contribution.
Sustain engagement in pro-social leisure interests and purposeful activities.
Reduce engagement with pro-criminal associates and activities and on negative peer relationships or networks, such as organised crime

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person lacks confidence to engage in community activities and/or spends a significant amount of time alone. They recognise the value of strong pro-social support groups but are struggling to develop these fully. They have got one or more close friends not involved in criminal activity and/or spends limited time each week with non-offending peers or some affiliation to non-offending groups and activities. They may recognise that some lifestyle choices and associations have affected their behaviour and may trigger re-offending, such as illegal drug use, alcohol, gambling, peer choice, limited medium and long-term goals.

Medium complexity – The person recognises the value of strong pro-social support groups but does not belong to any and shows limited interest in doing so. They spend the majority of their time alone or using social networking sites or web-based sites but with limited face-to-face social interaction. They are aware of the value of positive attachments but do not have any at present and/or spend a significant amount of time with pro-criminal social groups. They engage in anti-social behaviours including (non-addiction) drug use, regular problematic alcohol use, problematic gambling, poor behaviour that impacts negatively on the wider community and/or displays impulsiveness in risk taking activities, e.g. putting themselves or others at risk of harm.

High complexity – The person has limited or no attachments/associations that are unrelated to offending behaviour. They do not belong to community groups or pro-social organised activities and do not place value on being part of them. They have no strong relationships outside of immediate family with people who don’t offend and/or spend the majority of their time alone using social networking sites or web-based sites but with no face-to-face social interaction. They have strong links to county lines, serious group offending affiliations, exposure to extremism, at risk of radicalisation, or online offences.

Family & Significant Others

Outcomes:

Develop or maintain positive family relationships and avoid harmful relationships
Demonstrate positive, confident and responsible parenting behaviours
Improve ability to develop positive intimate relationships
Demonstrate positive coping strategies in the event of temporary or irretrievable breakdown of familial or other relationships
Comply with voluntary/ mandatory family or relationship-focussed programmes

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person has positive contact with some family or some significant others and may have positive support of family members. They have previously lost contact with family and recently renewed contacts but there remain some difficulties.

Medium complexity – The person describes more difficulties in relationships with family and significant others or is in the process of resolving difficulties. They have a mix of good and difficult relationships with family and significant others.

High complexity – The person has little or no contact with family and does not care about what family thinks or expects. They describe hostile, indifferent uncaring relationships with family and significant others. Their relationship has recently ended or is likely to do so.

Finance, Benefit and Debt Service

This service is currently only available in Wales, West Midlands, London, East Midlands, Hampshire and Thames Valley

Outcomes:

Have access to appropriate financial products, advice/or services
Pathways are established to maintain and sustain an income, safely manage money and reduce debt.
Financial management skills are developed and/or enhanced including online banking.
Successfully navigate the benefits system.
Gain quick access to universal credit.

Complexity Levels:

Low Complexity – The person has prior experience of successfully dealing with their own finance, benefit and debt needs. Their circumstances may be currently leading to significant financial pressure. They will require some advice, guidance and/or support across some specific but limited finance, benefit and debt needs, but will be able to support themselves with other aspects.

Medium Complexity – The person has limited prior experience of successfully dealing with their own finance, benefit and debt needs. Their circumstances are currently leading to significant financial pressure and they require support to address these needs. They will need either significant support to meet a limited number of needs (for instance, additional needs such as a learning disability), or need limited support to meet a wider range of finance/benefit or debt-related needs.

High Complexity – The person has minimal or no prior experience of successfully dealing with their own finance, benefit and debt needs and does not have necessary identification documents or bank account. The person’s circumstances are currently leading to extreme financial pressure and/or they have complex finance, benefit and debt-related needs which require a range of activities to address them. The person may have a poor finance history and wider complex needs, such as mental health issues, substance misuse and/or addiction issues.

Dependency and Recovery Services

This service is currently only available in Durham, Northumbria, Cleveland, Humberside, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire and London

Outcomes:

Achieve abstinence or controlled/ non-dependent or non-problematic substance misuse.
Improve physical health and mental resilience.
Enhance skills to manage risky situations which may pose a trigger or relapse.
Enhance belief in ability to manage/ desist from addiction(s).
Increase understanding of addictive behaviours and triggers and options to reduce.
Establish Dependency Pathways to manage a range of addictive behaviours, including supporting access into other treatment providers and detox programmes.

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person is highly motivated and has had sustained period of abstinence. They have successfully engaged in a period of treatment but require support to sustain recovery.

Medium complexity – The person has had lapses/crises that may lead to relapse and/or is at a transition point, e.g. from prison into community. They have a moderate level of motivation but require a high level of support for dependencies linked to re-offending. These can include individuals who are subject to a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement and need wraparound support to aid engagement. They do not meet the threshold for secondary provision treatment services and/or are deemed unsuitable following assessment for treatment as part of a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement.

High complexity – The person may have chronic substance misuse issues, or additional needs which might include dual diagnosis and/or a chaotic lifestyle linked to their dependency. The person does not meet the threshold for secondary provision treatment services and/or are deemed unsuitable following assessment for treatment as part of a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement. However, they have identifiable substance misuse, alcohol misuse, prescription medication misuse, or other dependencies linked to re-offending. They have a history of poor engagement with treatment.

Women’s Services

Having a single Women’s Specific Service is intended to ensure that the interventions are responsive to the specific needs and characteristics of women.

These services are designed to:

Secure early post-release engagement with community-based services.
Develop and sustain social networks to reduce initial social isolation.
Develop resilience to cope with challenges and barriers on return to the community.

Accommodation: Women’s Service

Outcomes:

Women obtain or maintain suitable accommodation
Women overcome barriers to maintaining or obtaining suitable accommodation
Women prevented from becoming homeless

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person has some capacity and means to secure and/or maintain suitable accommodation but requires some support and guidance to do so.

Medium complexity – The person is at risk of homelessness/is homeless or will be homeless on release from prison. They have had some success in maintaining a tenancy but may have additional needs e.g., learning difficulties or other challenges.

High complexity – The person is homeless or in temporary/unstable accommodation or will be homeless on release from prison. They may have a poor accommodation history, complex needs, including mental health issues or additional difficulties arising from their offence-type and limited skills to secure or sustain a tenancy. There may be additional difficulties arising from exiting situations with domestic abuse or other coercive situations.

Education, Training & Employment: Women’s Service

Outcomes:

Women obtain or maintain suitable training, education and employment.
Women overcome barriers to obtaining/maintaining suitable training, education and employment.
Women demonstrate improvement in the skills and attitudes which enable self-development and increase employability.

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person has satisfactory basic numeracy & literacy skills. They have previously been employed though there may be gaps with periods of inactivity due to redundancy/periods of imprisonment. They value the benefits of working but need guidance to re-enter the workforce, change jobs or career path.

Medium complexity – The person has gaps in basic numeracy and literacy skills. They have no or limited working experience. They have partially completed vocational training but require support with building confidence and motivation to develop training and/or employability skills and require support and coaching to develop or enhance skills to obtain and sustain employment. They may require significant support to improve their self-belief.

High complexity – The person lacks basic literacy and numeracy skills and/or may have Learning Difficulties and/or Learning Disabilities. They have no or limited working experience and/or have no qualifications and/or may have many barriers and restrictions to employment due to the nature of their offences (e.g. sexual, violent, or fraud/deception offences). They require significant support and coaching to build motivation, confidence and basic skills to enter employment / training. They may have multiple complex needs linked to trauma, poor mental health, previous or ongoing experience of abuse and require significant additional support to move forward.

Dependency & Recovery: Women’s Service

Outcomes:

Women achieve abstinence or controlled/ non-dependent or non-problematic substance misuse.
Women increase their understanding of addictive behaviours and triggers and option to reduce dependency.
Women improve their physical health and mental resilience.
Women enhance their skills to manage risky situations which may pose a trigger or relapse.
Women improve their physical health and mental resilience.
Women establish Dependency Pathways to manage a range of addictive behaviours, including supporting access into other treatment providers and detox programmes.

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person is highly motivated and has had a sustained period of abstinence. They have successfully engaged in a period of treatment but require support to sustain recovery.

Medium complexity – The person has had lapses/crises that may lead to relapse and/or is at a transition point, e.g. from prison into community. They have a moderate level of motivation but requires a high level of support. There may be additional complexity arising from co-dependency resulting from a controlling relationship.

High complexity – The person has a dual diagnosis of both mental health and substance misuse. They do not meet the threshold for secondary provision and/or are deemed unsuitable following assessment for treatment as part of a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement. However, they have identifiable substance misuse, alcohol misuse, prescription, gambling or other dependencies linked to re-offending. They have a history of poor engagement with treatment services and require a high level of motivation and support to engage with treatment particularly if they experience coercive control.

Finance, Benefit & Debt: Women’s Service

Outcomes:

Women’s financial management skills are developed and/or enhanced.
Women can successfully navigate the benefits system, including online banking skills.
Pathways are established to help women maintain and sustain an income, safely manage money and reduce debt.
Women access to appropriate financial products, advice and/or services.
Women gain quick access to universal credit.

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person is not overly reliant on friends/family or others to supplement daily living expenses or regular outgoings. Their circumstances may be leading to significant financial pressure, but they are able to support themselves through legitimate means.

Medium complexity – The person may commit crimes to supplement legal income or may rely on others for what they consider to be necessities. They may be unable to pay debts because of other ‘demands.’

High complexity – The person’s income comes primarily from the proceeds of crime, e.g. dealing drugs, robbery or stolen goods. They rely on others for necessities and luxuries and servicing debts to illegitimate external sources. They may be unable to meet household and essential bills or may have limited or no control over their finances due to being in a coercive situation.

Personal Wellbeing: Women’s Service

These services are delivered under three sub-types: Emotional Wellbeing, Lifestyle and Associates, Family and Significant others:

Emotional Well-Being

Outcomes:

Learn coping skills and strategies to regulate mood and demonstrate perspective-taking and self- care by avoiding risky situations.
Improved levels of self-efficacy, resilience, and confidence.
Ability to access and engage with mental health services and/ or comply with any medication/treatment/therapy programmes.
Ability to recognise and manage triggers to worsening wellbeing.
Ability to build and maintain appropriate social interactions.

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person has worries or issues and feels unable to cope but is not socially isolated and interacts with others. They have no known psychological issues or history of depression and mental health.

Medium complexity – The person has diagnosed, documented psychological problems that are being managed well but requires support to maintain engagement. They have coping strategies but need assistance. They show signs of stress in meetings and require support to effectively engage. They may lack confidence or have low self-esteem arising from trauma or abuse.

High complexity – The person has suffered psychological and mental health problems over a period of time which is documented and needs significant level of support to engage with service provision. They are socially isolated and struggle with numerous aspects of daily life which may result from coercively controlling situation.

Family & Significant Others

Outcomes:

Develop or maintain positive family relationships and avoids harmful relationships.
Demonstrate positive, confident and responsible parenting behaviours.
Improve the ability to develop positive intimate relationships.
Demonstrate positive coping strategies in the event of temporary or irretrievable breakdown of familial or other relationships.
Comply with voluntary/ mandatory family or relationship-focussed programmes.

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person has positive contact with some family or some significant others and may have positive support of family members. They have previously lost contact with family and recently renewed contacts but there remain some difficulties.

Medium complexity – The person describes more difficulties in relationships with family and significant others or is in the process of resolving difficulties, which may include working with social services. They have a mix of good and difficult relationships with family and significant others.

High complexity – The person may be experiencing domestic abuse, in a coercive or controlling situation and/or be denied access to family members. These services are delivered to ensure sensitivity and flexibility to engage with women who may be particularly vulnerable. This may include people with experience of working in the sex industry, young adults, and women with mental health problems. This will also include those who have experienced separation from their children due to being in custody as well as women separated from their children due to safeguarding actions.

Lifestyle & Associates

Outcomes:

Improve pro-social self-identity and ability to access community-based support networks and/or engage in their community and able to make a positive contribution.
Sustain engagement in pro-social leisure interests and purposeful activities.
Reduce engagement with pro-criminal associates and activities and on negative peer relationships or networks, such as organised crime.

Complexity Levels:

Low complexity – The person lacks confidence to engage in community activities and/or spends a significant amount of time alone. They recognise the value of strong pro-social support groups but are struggling to develop these fully. The person has got one or more close friends not involved in criminal activity and/or spends limited time each week with non-offending peers or some affiliation to non-offending groups and activities but does not have a central role. They may recognise that some lifestyle choices and associations have affected their behaviour and may trigger re-offending, such as illegal drug use, alcohol, gambling, peer choice, limited medium and long-term goals.

Medium complexity – The person recognises the value of strong pro-social support groups but does not belong to any and may be in a controlling situation which prevents this or lacks the confidence to take part in such groups. They spend the majority of their time alone or using social networking sites or web-based sites but with limited face-to-face social interaction. They are aware of the value of positive attachments but do not have any at present and/or spend a significant amount of time with pro-criminal social groups. The person engages in anti-social behaviours including (non-addiction) drug use, regular alcohol use, problematic gambling, poor behaviour that impacts negatively on the wider community and/or displays impulsiveness in risk taking activities such as putting themselves or others at risk of harm.

High complexity – The person has limited or no attachments/associations that are unrelated to offending behaviour. They do not belong to community groups or pro-social organised activities and do not place value on being part of them. They have no strong relationships outside of immediate family with people who don’t offend and/or spend the majority of their time alone due to additional vulnerabilities arising from trafficking and being subject to coercive control, but with no face-to-face social interaction. They have strong links to county lines, serious group offending, exposure to extremism, at risk of radicalisation, or certain online offences.