Switchback’s view on the Independent Sentencing Review and response to the government announcement that they will accept key recommendations made in the report
Switchback welcomes both the Independent Sentencing Review proposals published yesterday and the Government’s response, including the announcement of a £700m investment in the Probation Service to provide more effective resettlement support.
Effective justice system reform must start by acknowledging the needs of those at the heart of it. That includes people like the men we work with at Switchback – young Londoners who are released every week from prison with just a plastic bag of belongings, no formal qualifications, and nowhere to go. So we’re encouraged to see the review’s focus on solutions to these real-world problems that – if implemented – have the potential to change lives and significantly reduce both reoffending and the total number of people in prison.
The scale of resources and commitment needed to implement these changes is significant. We know all too well from our frontline work in prisons and in the community how overstretched prison and probation staff are, meaning that there is currently almost no meaningful rehabilitation work being done systematically by the state. That is why Switchback – together with our many third sector colleagues – stand ready to support this level of ambitious change to help create a future where people leaving prison are ready and able to build a stable, rewarding life away from crime.
Effective rehabilitation requires holistic support
The review rightly makes the connection between the justice system’s overall aim of reducing the number of victims and providing more effective support for people leaving prison. As the review makes clear, the days and weeks after prison release are a crucial turning point in someone’s journey, but the current system’s failure to provide effective support is the main reason that so many people return to prison.
We are therefore hugely encouraged to see the proposal that the Government invests in accommodation for people on release, creating safer communities and a more stable springboard for prison-leavers to engage with their support network and allowing them to give back to society. We also welcome the proposals to increase the access to rehabilitation services in prison, to restrict the use of short sentences, to reform the use of recall and to maximise the potential for technology in providing more intensive 1-2-1 support for individuals. We believe all these measures can help increase the level of support in the days and weeks surrounding release and significantly reduce the number of people who are recalled, thus driving down both the numbers of people in prison and the overall crime rate. But there must be sufficient investment – in the prison and probation services, and the third sector which provides so much of this support – if these proposals are to be effective in reducing reoffending and recall rates.
Nine in ten Switchback Trainees are from an ethnic minority background, and we see first-hand the disproportionate impact of inequitable approaches to sentencing and resettlement in our work every day. Whilst we welcome the proposals in the report, we remain concerned that racial inequality will continue to drive poorer outcomes for people from ethnic minority backgrounds. We therefore urge the Government to commit to undertaking equality impact assessments when implementing the proposals. We will continue to monitor the impact of resettlement policy on people from ethnic minority backgrounds and advocate for transparency and effective action.
We are also concerned about plans to increase deportations of foreign nationals. These plans will impact young Londoners, who may be subject to deportations to nations they’ve never lived in. We will work with our EbE colleagues to explore how we can contribute to creating a humane, effective approach.
Criminal justice reform depends on proactive cultural leadership
We also agree with the review’s recognition of the vital role that the Probation Service must play in supporting people to resettle effectively and avoid reoffending or recall. We particularly welcome the proposal that rehabilitation should become the Probation Service’s primary objective, “prioritising relationships over process”. To do so will require not only the resources to facilitate smaller caseloads, but also a considerable culture shift towards a core belief in people’s ability to live life differently when given the right support. That will take committed leadership, not just within the Probation Service itself, but also from government and civil society thought leaders championing the case for rehabilitation as a fundamental cornerstone of a civilised modern society.
For too long, criminal justice policies have been judged on whether they appear “tough” or “soft”, when what really matters is whether they work in reducing crime. It’s hugely encouraging to see so many proposals in the review grounded in existing third sector good practice that is proven to be effective in reducing reoffending. At Switchback, we draw on years of experience supporting people to live life differently as we work in close partnership with our group of Experts by Experience – young men who have been in prison and gone on to build a stable, rewarding life they can be proud of. Alongside our third sector colleagues, we are committed to supporting the implementation of these proposals to reshape the prison release system, deliver more housing for prison leavers and reform the recall system.
