Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health

The 2007 Annual Report of the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England highlights a continuing fall in the overall suicide rate, but also concludes that:

• There were 145 suicides among mental health in-patients in 2005 compared with 157 in 2004.
• There were 1277 suicides among people in contact with mental health services in 2005, compared to 1308 in 2004.
• There were 82 self inflicted deaths in prisons in 2007/08 compared with 71 in 06/07.
• While much progress has been made in the reporting of suicide by the media, many journalists and editors remain unaware of either general or in-house reporting guidelines on suicide.

A University of Lincoln study to investigate the health needs of a group of offenders in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

The report also examines the way in which offenders on probation access services.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind demonstrates that change is needed across the board to tackle the high levels of mental distress among the rising prison population.

This report examines the impact of support services on the decisions prisoners made and their attitudes and expectations immediately prior to and following their release. It covers employment, housing, substance misuse, finances and the service providers' views.

Rethinking Crime and Punishment is the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation's seven year programme for alternatives to prison. Their manifesto makes proposals about how the Government's allocation of £2.3 billion earmarked for building 'Titan prisons' might be spent on alternatives to prison.

Publishing the government's six-month progress report on Baroness Corston's review, Maria Eagle outlined the progress made and the new commitments being considered, which include:

• Pilots testing a new kind of search which does not require the removal of underwear unless information makes it necessary.
• Piloting a new approach to providing access to community-based services and residential facilities by agencies working in a more integrated way.
• Support to the continued development of the Turnaround project in Wales that demonstrates the value of multi-agency, multi-sector work with women offenders.
• Developing specific guidance and support for offender managers on how to deal with women offenders.

The Justice Select Committee is conducting an inquiry into whether the vast amount of money – currently £5 billion a year - spent on criminal justice areas such as prisons and probation is achieving what people want.

The Committee is running an online forum as part of the Justice Reinvestment inquiry to get your views. It will be open until 22 July 2008

The government has launched a consultation on the development of up to three 2,500-place Titan prisons. Plans to build the prisons were announced last year as part of a further 10,500 places recommended in Lord Carter's review of prisons.

The Ministry of Justice has produced a new document, 'Community Sentencing - Reducing Reoffending, Changing Lives', outlining the impact of strong community punishments, which can often be more effective in reducing reoffending than a short spell in prison.

The National Service Framework for Women Offenders lays out the Government's strategy for addressing the specific needs of female offenders.

The Framework will be used by all commissioners and providers who have a responsibility for delivering services for female offenders. It will be used as the basis for specifying the exact size, cost and nature of provision in order to deliver upon these priorities.

The Offender Management Guide highlights current good practice and provides additional information to offender managers working with women offenders. It informs probation staff of the changes that have occurred since the original guidance; in particular highlighting the importance of the Corston report and describing how offender managers can support the objectives of the National Service Framework.

This letter from Richard Bradshaw, Director of Offender Health, deals with best practice issues on learning from Prisons and Probation Ombudsman reports on death in custody.

The Howard League for Penal Reform has examined Ministry of Justice figures that show that rates of self injury in prison have increased by almost 40% in the last five years.

Figures show that in 2003, there were 16,393 incidents of self injury in prison. In 2007, there were 22,459 incidents. This rise of 37% is almost four times the rise in the prison population for the same period, which was just over 9.5%. Self injury rates among women in prison have risen even further, with a 48% rise in recorded incidents between 2003 and 2007.

These figures are only the registered incidents of self injury in prisons. A significant number of incidents may go unreported.

The new issue of the NOMS bulletin on the Mental Health Unit focuses on the unit's role in the transfer of prisoners to hospital and their remission to prison and includes guidance for supervisors of conditionally discharged patients on completing the pro forma for reports.

The latest annual bulletin summarises information about people admitted to, detained in or discharged from psychiatric hospitals. It includes figures for the period 1996-2006.

Many of the figures for 2006 are the highest observed in the last decade. This includes:

• 3,601 in hospital at the end of 2006, up 6 per cent on 2005;
• 1,440 admissions to hospital in 2006, up 7 per cent on 2005;
• 1,266 discharges/disposals of restricted patients;
• 802 patients detained at the end of 2006 following transfer from prison, up 3 per cent on 2005;

The National Audit Office has published a report on whether offender learning programmes are delivering efficiently and are giving offenders the skills needed to help them find employment.

According to the report some of the fundamentals are still not in place – matters like identifying which courses most help offenders to get a job, identifying which offenders need which skills, and helping more of them to finish a course they start.

Jack Straw has said that community sentences such as unpaid work, supervision, behaviour programmes and drug rehabilitation are often more effective in preventing reoffending than short prison sentences.

The Ministry of Justice has published Women and the Criminal justice System which brings together statistics produced by a range of agencies relating to the experience of women within the criminal justice system.

Prison suicides rose by 37 per cent in the last year, according to new Ministry of Justice figures. There were 92 self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England and Wales in 2007. This breaks down to:

• Male prisoners 84 (compared with 64 in 2006)
• Female prisoners 8 (compared with 3 in 2006)
• Young offenders (under 21) 7 (0 female) (compared with 2 (0 female) in 2006)
• Juveniles in Prison Service custody 1 (compared with 0 in 2006)
• Remand prisoners 41 (compared with 22 in 2006)
• Indeterminate Public Protection sentences 4 (compared with 2 in 2006)
• Lifers (non-IPP) 18 (compared with 6 in 2006)
• Foreign National Prisoners 23 (compared with 6 in 2006)

The revised and updated Procedure aims to help colleagues to work together more effectively to secure and sustain significant improvements in any unacceptable delays when tranferring prisoners to hospital under Sections 47 and 48 of the Mental Health Act 1983.

The Government has responded to Baroness Corston's 'Review of Women with Particular Vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System' which was published in March. The Government's response sets out the commitments that have been made across departments to take forward the recommendations.

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Jack Straw made a statement to the House of Commons on the report of the prisons review carried out by Lord Carter of Coles. Lord Carter was asked in June 2007 to undertake a review into the prison system. The review 'Securing the future Proposals for the efficient and sustainable use of custody in England and Wales' includes proposals for:

• extra funding to add an additional 10,500 prison places by 2014
• up to three large 'Titan' prisons to be built, each housing around 2,500 prisoners
• smaller and older prison sites could be closed or reconfigured to accommodate female or juvenile offenders
• using Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPPs) only for sentences of two years and more

He also announced a review of diversion schemes, custodial based placement and transfer for mentally disordered offenders, to be conducted by Lord Bradley.

This consultation seeks to identify the Government’s strategic approach and help partners reduce re-offending over the next three years. The Ministry of Justice is looking for comments from elsewhere in the Government, in the regions and in local communities to help shape and agree new priorities to reduce re-offending.

The Conservative party is to launch an official inquiry into the failing prison system, examining overcrowding and diversion for people with mental health problems and drug addictions. The enquiry will be run by the shadow justice secretary, Nick Herbert, and the shadow prisons minister, Edward Garnier. It will report in spring next year.

Ian Duncan Smith's Centre for Social Justice has also announced a review that will be led by former cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken.

In a circular, the Department of Health has announced that funding and commissioning responsibility for these security costs will transfer from HM Prison Service to NHS Primary Care Trusts in April 2008.

The new Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill announced in the Queen's Speech includes proposals to:

• impose "tough and effective" community sentences on non-serious criminals
• give tougher sentences for dangerous offenders
• target prison and probation resources at repeat and violent offenders
• ensure that custodial sentences for young offenders are avoided wherever possible

The Department of Health has published a toolkit to assist in the delivery of care for older offenders whilst in prison. It includes assistance in resettlement back into the community to reduce re-offending.

The Offender Health team has developed a set of voluntary indicators to measure the quality of prison health services and to help achieve the objective of NHS-equivalent standards. The data is intended to support and inform existing local performance management processes.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons has published a report called 'The mental health of prisoners. A thematic review of the care and support of prisoners with mental health needs'. It identifies gaps in services and makes recommendations for improvements.

Nacro has published a report calling for a complete overhaul of the way the criminal justice system deals with offenders with mental health needs, starting with a statutory duty for all police stations and courts to have access to a criminal justice mental health liaison scheme.

'Effective mental healthcare for offenders: the need for a fresh approach' sets out several priorities for changing the system to better meet the requirements of offenders with mental health needs.

The Ministry of Justice has produced a briefing on implementing the Offender Management Act, which simplifies some of the Act's content.

The Greater London Domestic Violence Project has published a briefing on the needs of women offenders that are also victims of domestic violence. It includes recommendations to address policy, training, diversion, assessment and race inequality.

The Department of Health has published best practice guidance for all medium-secure services. It includes quality principles, specifications and indicators.

The Fawcett Commission on Women and the Criminal Justice System has published its fourth report, on Women and Justice. The report states that women are being sent to prison who shouldn't be there and that this is causing many more women to commit suicide.

It makes recommendations that women should not be sent to prison for non-violent crimes and that the Government must urgently plan to implement the recommendations of the Corston Report, providing community alternatives to prison that are designed for women.

The report outlines examples of good practice in provision of health care services to offenders in prison and the community. The examples have been drawn from surveys, internet search and individual submissions.

Following Gordon Brown's take over as Prime Minister and cabinet shuffle, there are new Ministers at the Ministry of Justice.

• Jack Straw - Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor
• Minister of State - The Rt Hon David Hanson MP
• Minister of State - Michael Wills MP
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Lord Hunt of Kings Heath OBE
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Bridget Prentice MP
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Maria Eagle MP

David Hanson has the responsibility for the areas relevant to our work: Prisons, Probation, Sentencing policy, and Youth justice.