Working in Prisons

What Probation staff do in prison :

• prepare information and risk assessments on prisoners being considered for early release, ie advising on curfews ;
• work on offending behaviour within the sentence management process ;
• work on the prison’s bail information scheme, for prisoners on remand awaiting trial ;
• provide advice to foreign nationals ;
• contribute to minimising the risk of prisoner’s self harm ;
• work with the prison service on sentence management, supporting prison staff in the preparation of sentence plans ;
• run group work with prisoners designed to address offending behaviour and reduce the likelihood of further offending ;
• work with voluntary and specialist agencies offering advice and support to prisoners to promote the successful resettlement of prisoners ;
• liaise with probation staff in the community who supervise prisoners after release.

How Probation staff work with prisoner’s after release :

Most prisoners do not serve the whole of their sentence in custody. At a predetermined stage, they are released to serve the rest of their sentence in the community.

• Those sentenced to less than a year are released after serving half their sentence and are not supervised ;
• Those sentenced to between a year and 47 months are released on licence after half the sentence and are supervised by the probation service until the end of the sentence ;
• Those sentenced to four years or more can be released on parole after serving half their sentence, but are automatically released on licence after serving two-thirds of the sentence. Both of these groups are also supervised by the probation service.

The length of the supervision period depends on the length of the sentence and the point at which the prisoner is released. This can vary from three months for someone sentenced to a year’s custody and the remainder of his/her life for someone sentenced to life.

About Supervision :

The prisoner reports to the probation officer immediately after release. The probation officer draws up a supervision plan with the offender.

The supervision plan addresses issues such as housing, employment and reintegration into the community and aims to reduce reoffending.

A release licence may include conditions such as living at a probation hostel or staying away from the area where the crime was committed. Any breach of the licence can mean a return to prison to serve the remainder of the sentence in custody.