The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System. October 2013

Transcription

1 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 2013 October 2013

2 Discussions with practitioners described positive experiences of existing volunteer involvement and provided examples of beneficial impact on women themselves. They also talked about the challenges and barriers of involving volunteers and in matching the right women to the right volunteer support at the right time. From their own experience they were able to set out what they believed were key ingredients in a successful volunteering programme. There was very powerful positive feedback from women themselves who had benefited from the support of volunteers. There was also interest shown by women in volunteering themselves to support others. 2 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

3 Contents Executive Summary Introduction Aim and Objectives of Research Methodology Practitioner Interview Findings Background to Organisations Included in this Research Impact of Offending Inspire Women s Project Current Volunteer Involvement and Perceived Impact Challenges and Barriers to Involving Volunteers Barriers to Women Accepting Volunteer Support Potential Volunteer Roles that Support Women Volunteering by Women Who Have Offended Ingredients of a Successful Volunteer Programme Perspective from A Women s Centre Support Offered by Women s Centres and Volunteers Impact of Support Offered Through Women Centres Benefits of Volunteering by Women who Have Offended Experience of Women Who Have Been Through the Criminal Justice System Understanding of volunteering Experience of Volunteering Barriers to Accepting Support Enablers to Accepting Support or Volunteering A Case Study - Volunteer Befriending Relationship Discussion & Conclusion Recommendations References 36 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 3

4 Acknowledgements The VSB Foundation was created in 2005 with the following objects, Change, facilitate and improve the active participation by groups and individuals who tend to be underrepresented in public decision making processes, particularly older people, young people and ethnic minorities. Pilot innovate models that enable individuals to become involved in the community at local, regional and international level. Support and enable the development of innovative active citizenship initiatives which promote a vibrant participatory community. Support and enable the collaboration or merger of organisations of common or similar objectives working in the community, in order to increase efficiency and reduce duplication and create a stronger voice for their beneficiaries. The key immediate priority for the Trustees has been to support VSB through the merger and to ensure the establishment of Volunteer Now as the leading agency promoting volunteering in Northern Ireland. In addition we continue to work with the Pilgrim Trust to provide a small Northern Ireland grants programme focusing on interventions with women caught within the Criminal Justice System. Acknowledgements This research was commissioned by the Pilgrim Trust-VSB Foundation. The research was carried out by Volunteer Now. Volunteer Now is a regional to local organisation which supports the development of volunteering across Northern Ireland. Volunteer Now would like to thank all of the organisations, women and volunteers who contributed their time, experience and expertise to inform this research. Authors: Christine Irvine, Senior Policy and Information Officer and Sarah McCully-Russell, Information and Assessment Officer. The views expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion the commissioning organisation. Comments or queries on the report should be directed to Sandra Adair, Director Volunteer Now Enterprises Ltd., E: T: October The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

5 Executive Summary Background Volunteer Now have been commissioned by the Pilgrim Trust to carry out research identifying the existing and potential impact of volunteers involved in the Criminal Justice Sector specifically supporting women who have offended. The preliminary literature search for this study found little previous systematic evidence based approaches on how many opportunities actually exist for volunteers to work with female offenders including peer to peer work, there was also no real local information on whether there are opportunities available to develop roles for volunteers or the value placed on existing volunteer involvement. Methodology Three main stakeholder groups were included in this research. They were organisations working with women involved in the Criminal Justice System, women who have offended and volunteers. The vast majority of the research conducted was qualitative based, using interview or focus group techniques. Results Discussions with practitioners described positive experiences of existing volunteer involvement and provided examples of beneficial impact on women themselves. They also talked about the challenges and barriers of involving volunteers and in matching the right women to the right volunteer support at the right time. From their own experience they were able to set out what they believed were key ingredients in a successful volunteering programme. There was very powerful positive feedback from women themselves who had benefited from the support of volunteers. There was also interest shown by women in volunteering themselves to support others. Recommendations 1. Recognise and value volunteering, in particular the positive benefits that volunteering can offer to women, their wider family, network and the Criminal Justice System i.e. professionals and volunteers. 2. Safeguard investment in the Voluntary and Community Sector as it is a key partner in the work of the Criminal Justice Sector. Real partnership involves joint planning, not just delivery, and a commitment to facilitate and support this work as part of core business, both operationally and financially. (Recommendation from Research by Interaction Institute for Social Change, 2012) 3. Identify Champions within the Criminal Justice Sector that support volunteering within the system. These Champions can promote good practice. There is a wide range of support and guidance available for groups involving volunteers, through the Investing in Volunteers Quality Standard, there is also the Good Practice Guidance when Setting up a Befriending Scheme. These are all available from the publication section of the Volunteer Now website 4. Development of a toolkit for volunteer involvement within the Criminal Justice Sector. This could use existing frameworks such as the Investing in Volunteers Standard but would tailor the language and advice to the justice system and emphasise areas of particular relevance i.e. appropriate terminology that can be used for different roles, confidentially procedures, codes of conduct, guidelines for boundaries for the role and types of clients that can benefit from different types of volunteer support etc. The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 5

6 5. Development of a set of guidelines for Voluntary and Community Sector organisations who wish to work in partnership with the Criminal Justice System. 6. Developing a package of options for women with regards to volunteer support they can access and also volunteering opportunities they could consider. 7. Building on existing roles known to work such as befriending. Consider developing new volunteer roles as identified in Section Seeking funding for larger scale studies to evaluate the impact of volunteering programmes, involving measuring change or distance travelled. 9. Promotion of impact measurement work into volunteering programmes like the adapted version of the Volunteer Impact Assessment Toolkit for the Criminal Justice System, developed by Clinks. 6 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

7 1.0 Introduction Volunteer Now have been commissioned by the Pilgrim Trust to carry out research identifying the impact of volunteers involved in the Criminal Justice Sector specifically supporting women who have offended. Profile of Women Offenders The overall population in Northern Ireland broken down by gender is relatively even, 49% male to 51% 1 female. However, in terms of offending, far fewer women offend than men, approximately 90% of offences are done by men, 10% by women (DOJ, 2010). Historically women make up a relatively small proportion of people within prisons, falling from 7% to 4% between 2006 and 2009 (approximately 250 women) (DOJ, 2010). Research suggests that an estimated 85% of offenders desist from crime by the age of 28; however females are much more likely to offend in their 40 s and 50 s than men (DOJ, 2010). Gender matters significantly in terms of the factors that contribute to criminal behaviour and the types of offences committed. There is a higher propensity for women to engage in financially motivated crime that is often brought about by the desperation of family and personal circumstances (O Neill, 2011). Also, while the number of women in prison is smaller, the impact of being incarcerated tends to be much greater. Women who offend often have complex support needs i.e. mental health, addiction, a history of suffering domestic abuse, deprivation and will have very low self confidence and esteem which are further damaged due to the consequences of being sent to prison or put on probation (Easton and Matthews, 2011). Policy Shift - Gender Informed Practice There was a considerable change to the Northern Ireland policy regarding women who offend with the launch of the Northern Ireland Strategy for Women and Offending Behaviour (DOJ, 2010). This was in part influenced by the publication of the Croston report, a UK Government commissioned review into the particular vulnerabilities of women within the Criminal Justice System in England and Wales (Home Office, 2007). Traditionally the Criminal Justice System and the services within it have been developed for, and targeted at, male offenders but since 2010, there has been a move towards more gender informed practice in Northern Ireland, where there is acknowledgement that a woman s experience of the Criminal Justice System will be different to a man s. In particular, that their reasons for offending differ to men, that their experiences of the criminal justice process will be different, and the interventions and services available, can have a disproportionate impact, particularly on children and families. Where women are sentenced, their needs, wherever possible, are met in the community. That means offering women gender-specific assessments and women-centred interventions to support them in the community. Management of Women Offenders Strategy , (DOJ, 2010). Involvement of Volunteers in the Criminal Justice At the outset of this research it was known that volunteers were involved in the Criminal Justice Sector within Northern Ireland. Volunteer roles include those within prisons, probation, youth justice, restorative justice, through the Policing Board and Police Service, with victims and other community based prevention programmes such as Neighbourhood Watch. Based on anecdotal evidence it was also understood that small numbers of volunteers or volunteering opportunities were available for people wishing to work with female offenders. The preliminary literature search for this study found little previous systematic evidence based approaches on how many opportunities actually exist for 1 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 7

8 volunteers to work with female offenders including peer to peer work, there was also no real local information on whether there are opportunities available to develop roles for volunteers or the value placed on existing volunteer involvement. Flagship programmes such as the Inspire Programme, which has been comprehensively evaluated, has created positive and modernised approaches to how the Justice System works with female offenders (Easton & Matthews, 2011). Inspire is a partnership model that has been created to provide a wrap around support for women who have offended. It addresses women s offending behaviour but also looks at the wider issues in a woman s life that can contribute to offending. Unfortunately although very detailed on the gender specific support needs of women and the role of the justice system and the Voluntary and Community Sector working together, it does not explicitly discuss the role of volunteering in the context of supporting women who have offended (Easton & Matthews, 2011). There is an increasing body of work being produced on the impact that volunteers make. In Northern Ireland, this has been largely lead by organisations such as Volunteer Now, raising awareness of the importance of being able to evidence outcomes and offering training on impact measurement tools. Initiatives such as the Inspiring Impact Programme which is a UK wide effort by key inter-sectoral and inter-disciplinary stakeholders to improve the prevalence of impact practice. At the time of reporting there had not been a specific piece of work done to consider the impact that volunteers make to support women in the Criminal Justice Sector. This would be useful as two of the objectives within the Volunteering Strategy for Northern Ireland is to increase rates of volunteering in the Public Sector and involve more under-represented groups such as people who have offended (DSD, 2012). Furthermore, a previous small grants programme given to groups working with women offenders which focused on community interventions recommended further exploration of the value and role of community interventions and in particular the potential of befriending / mentoring programmes with women offenders (The Pilgrim Trust and VSB, 2012). 1.1 Aim and Objectives of Research Aim To explore the existing and potential impact of volunteers working to support women involved in the Criminal Justice System. Objectives Explore the impact that volunteers make supporting women within criminal justice; Identify opportunities to develop roles for volunteers; Explore the value of volunteer involvement; Identify opportunities for women who have offended to volunteer. 8 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

9 2.0 Methodology The following section outlines the methodology that was used to meet the aim and objectives of the study. Overview of Stakeholder Groups Three main stakeholder groups were included in this research, they were organisations working with women involved in the Criminal Justice System; volunteers; and women who have offended. Organisations Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NIACRO); Probation Board For Northern Ireland- INSPIRE Manager, Probation Board For Northern Ireland- Volunteer Mentoring Co-ordinator; The Quaker Service; Women s Support Network. Volunteers One Befriender. One Women s Centre Volunteer. Women who have Offended Interview with a woman receiving befriending support. Focus group with five women involved in the Women s Support Network. Milestones in the Data Collection List of Organisations Compiled During February, a list of organisations that were known to have experience in this field was compiled. Initially 14 groups were approached by telephone and invited to attend a meeting to find out about the research project and to share their expertise and help inform the methodology. Initial Meeting with Organisations An initial meeting was held with four expert organisations at the end of February They were the Inspire Women's Project (Probation Board and NIACRO), Probation Board for Northern Ireland, Quaker Service and Roghanna Project (West Belfast Parent & Youth Support Group). During this meeting the groups were provided with an overview of the research focus, they were given an outline of the draft methodology and asked for their view on how practical the plan was, they were also asked to help identify other groups that should be contacted and in particular groups that would be able to offer us access to women who have offended and volunteers who support this group. The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 9

10 Stakeholder Interviews During April to June 2013, five in-depth interviews were carried out with key stakeholders across four organisations that support women involved in the Criminal Justice System. Accessing Volunteers and Women Offenders During July 2013 information was gathered from two volunteers and six women who have offended. In total, 21 organisations were contacted who were known to work in the field of interest i.e. women, offenders. Initially attempts were made to contact groups by telephone or . This resulted in 13 conversations with groups. Remaining groups were given a further opportunity to engage with the research by an electronic survey. This didn t result in any new responses. 1 Focus group with women who have offended. 2 Interviews with volunteers working to support women who have offended. 1 interview with a beneficiary of the befriending services from NIACRO. 10 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

11 3.0 Practitioner Interview Findings During April to June 2013, five in-depth interviews were carried out with key practitioners from organisations supporting women involved in the Criminal Justice System. The views included in this section of the report come from representatives of the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (NIACRO), the Probation Board For Northern Ireland, the Quaker Service and the Women s Support Network. Both NIACRO and the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI) make up a partnership within the Inspire Women s Project. Further information on the Inspire Project is included in page Background to Organisations Included in this Research Probation Board For Northern Ireland (PBNI) The PBNI have a responsibility for managing males and females in the community and in custody. They supervise over 4,300 offenders who are subject to a range of court orders and sentences at any given time, their work includes assessing and supervising convicted offenders, delivering behaviour change programmes and overall working to make communities safer 2. NIACRO NIACRO is a voluntary organisation working to reduce crime and its impact on people and communities 3. They have a long history and experience of working and supporting people who have offended, developing projects and offering support services for adults who have come through Criminal Justice. They involve over 100 volunteers across a range of projects supporting offenders, their families, young people at risk and the wider community. They currently employ a full time paid APAC worker (Assisting People and Communities). It is based on the Inspire Women s Project Model of working. Women s Support Network (WSN) The Women s Support Network (WSN) is a membership organisation for community based women s centres, women s projects and women s infrastructure groups in Northern Ireland 4. WSN employ a paid support worker to work with over 30 inmates in Ash House Prison one day per week and another staff member who splits their time across the Inspire Women s Project and the WSN Centre. Quaker Service The Quaker Service has a range of projects that link into the Criminal Justice System. The Quaker Care Charity Shop is supported by volunteers and has on average 30+ community services placements through PBNI. Community Service Placements are unpaid work activities that people convicted of a crime are required to undertake as part of the stipulations of their probation, and which are handed down by the Courts. The Quaker Connections project is based in Maghaberry Prison and provides a befriending service for male inmates alongside a visitor support service NIACRO Corporate Plan: The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 11

12 3.2 Impact of Offending In order to consider the suitability of volunteer roles in supporting women involved in the Criminal Justice System; expert interviews were carried out with key professionals across the organisations listed above, all of which have a working understanding of the needs of women involved in criminal justice. The Practitioner Stakeholders were able to talk with expert opinion on the impact of offending on women. They were also able to elaborate on the type of challenges and additional support needs that women have. The impact that offending has on a woman s family and children was identified throughout the interviews as being a major issue. As women tend to be the main care-givers, prison sentences can result in children being taken into social care, resulting in family relationships and ties being broken. (It s) almost a double sentence when a woman gets sent down, the family have got their sentence to life without a mother. (Interview 4, respondent 1) This can have a negative impact on a woman s self esteem especially in terms of her parenting ability. They find they don t deserve to be a mother because of what they have done, so there is this sense of I have really failed my family and the possibility of children going into Care because there is no one to look after them So there is a lot of deep emotional trauma for women in prison, I m not saying there isn t for men but it seems to be heightened. (Interview 4, respondent 2) One stakeholder highlighted the issue of shame and the perception of women who commit crimes as being viewed differently to men, women seem to face larger social stigma. I think it s just because out there people don t expect women to commit particularly serious crimes, so when they do do it, they get hit harder for it. It just seems disproportionate sometimes...they are treated within society as being the complete and utter black sheep of the family, where sometimes for a man it is seen as a bit of camaraderie. (Interview 4, respondent 2) Perception can also be a barrier when women access services, for example, when attending probation meetings in a majority male client environment. The majority of the attendees in Probation will be male and predominantly young, whereas the women coming in there are very few of them and predominately older. She stands out. (Interview 2) Interviewees identified the complex histories and circumstance in women s lives that can impact on life choices. A lot of women going through the system would be coming from abusive backgrounds, sexually, emotionally or physically and domestic violence. You might find a lot of women are also coming through homes in social care for most of their lives and have been institutionalised and have addiction issues. They are not according to statistics drawn to criminality the way men would be, not in their make up. (Interview 5) We are not saying women need to be treated differently but that you take cognisance of the women s needs and gender when we apply these same processes. (Interview 2) 3.3 Inspire Women s Project Due to the significant part that the Inspire Women s Project plays in terms of being a flagship model of cross-sectoral collaboration which focuses on providing gender specific community supervision and interventions; the expert interviews with practitioners included a conversation about what they thought were the key ingredients for making this work. The rational behind the Inspire Model was the recognition that women s route into the Criminal Justice System is different from that of men and therefore interventions to reduce offending behaviour need to reflect this. 12 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

13 It was about Probation, how they would take forward the challenge of working with women differently to working with men and looking at how they might develop or give access to more programmes that would meet their needs more appropriately. Having a focus on offending, but also supporting wider issues and linking into support to reduce offending behaviour, we will focus on why you are before the court but you are also helping (women) to look at the pathways of why she is coming here because that s what works. (Interview 2) The model brings together Probation who have a responsibility to hold offenders to account and the Voluntary and Community Sector, who have experience of supporting and working with those who have offended. It s really seen as something that connects effectively with the kind of resources in the community that will support women coming through and beyond the end of their order, and to meet their needs as women. (Interview 2) When developing a new model to support the needs of women, PBNI recognised the wealth of skills and experience that already exist within the women s support sector and the voluntary & community sector, seeking to build relationships and partnerships to link into these established services. Probation looked to see how they could develop relationships with the Women s Support Network and it s members, the Women s Centres, rather than put a lot of money into a big all singing and all dancing centre when really what you want is support for women because they are women and not because they offend. (Interview 2) The approach is successful because it enables all of the organisations involved to use their individual skills and expertise to support women in an all round holistic approach. It is about having that shared agenda, different practices, but shared agenda and shared vision, planning and delivery of services. So we are not all delivering the same type of service not all vying for the same individuals that we can look at how we can share resources to make better use of resources and planning. (Interview 2) The model and the partnership approach is based on the understanding that successful reduction in offending requires changing many aspect of a woman s life. When you have people who have a whole range of things going on in their lives, living in some degree of chaos or their lives aren t in control there may not be one single trigger, their offending may be a combination of a range of things and may need a combination of responses. (Interview 1, respondent 1) Through involvement in the Inspire Women s Project, women ideally become connected into the support structures that are available in the community, such as Women s Centres. This helps to build their capacity and develops a link into sustainable support following the end of their probation order. It s a wrap around service of organisations that are going to help them address issues, not just about looking at the offence but the other things going on in their personal life. Maybe this is the first time they have sat down and thought how did I get here?. (Interview 1, respondent 2) The partnership approach has proven to be successful for a range or reasons; this includes the commitment and mutual respect from all organisations involved in the process and their dedication to making it work. Building relationships to overcome challenges of communication and learning to work together. Even though each organisation has a different culture and style, they are working together towards the end goal of supporting women. (There is an) element of team work when somebody is being supported by a number of different approaches. I suppose it s also about collectively planning, collectively moving forward, collectively agreeing on roles, and giving space for each organisation to do what they need to do. (Interview 1, respondent 1) It s about trying to get a good balance, so everyone does what they do best but that we are all working to the same end. (Interview 1, respondent 1) The Inspire Women s Project has proved successful for the women involved as it offers a women The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 13

14 focused approach and understands women s needs, including addressing offending behaviour and acknowledging that they may be a victim. Through the process women can feel consulted and involved, gaining a sense of control. Women generally are positive about their experience on Probation, more so since Inspire was established. Because they feel their needs are addressed and feel they are being listened to. They do expect to be held to account in terms of how they are spending their time or whether they are taking risks and involved in risky behaviour, but that doesn t stop them working in a positive way. It s also about making sure they can move on after Probation and that is what the Model is trying to achieve and what WSN are trying to help with, so women s centres can be a refuge for them. (Interview 1, respondent 1) Maybe they (women) do feel that they are being consulted they are being brought along and being listened to. (Interview 1, respondent 2) 3.4 Current Volunteer Involvement and Perceived Impact Volunteer Involvement in the Criminal Justice Sector Interviews with the expert practitioners explored the role that volunteers currently have in supporting the wider criminal justice sector and in particular supporting women who have offended and the value that they feel volunteering can offer. Across the interviews there was an agreement that volunteering could play a positive role in supporting women. Volunteers can complement the role of paid members of staff because they can be more flexible and are able to provide support tailored directly to women s needs. This can help to increase the capacity of paid members of staff by supporting activities that they would not have time to do. One of the practitioners used a befriending relationship as an example of this because the volunteer was able to give of herself and her time, they (volunteer and befriendee) were able to do things that I wasn t able to do. Like travel on the bus together into town to build up confidence, endless bus journeys. 5 (Interview 1, respondent 2) One practitioner identified that because volunteers are part of the community they can provide credibility to the service it s an opportunity for people to come out of the community, that lay participation is very very important. I think as well for the service users there is a lot of credibility. (Interview 1, respondent 3) Stakeholders identified that the involvement of volunteers can widen the profile of the Criminal Justice System, helping to increase the knowledge and understanding of the general public. Impact of Existing Volunteer Roles A range of volunteer roles that already exist in the Criminal Justice Sector were identified by the practitioners. The main roles that volunteers currently provided across the organisations were support type roles such as befrienders and mentors, as well as practical support in term of assisting group activities and training programmes. Although, not all the roles highlighted were specific to supporting women who have offended, due to the limited involvement of volunteers with women, looking more broadly provided evidence of the impact that volunteers make to supporting anyone who offends, irrespective of their gender and offered useful learning regarding women specific support i.e. the Maghaberry Visitor Scheme for Male Inmates. The section below has given an overview of some existing volunteer roles offered by each of the organisations included in this research and the impact that they believe volunteers make to their beneficiaries / clients / service users. 5 For more details on this befriending relationship see Volunteer Befriender Case Study in Section The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

15 NIACRO NIACRO reported that volunteers play a vital role in supporting their work and acknowledged the skills that they can bring. Volunteers are integral to the organisation. We would see them as bringing skills, experience and diversity. (They are) very much there to complement the role of paid staff. (Interview 1, respondent 3) Currently the APAC project (Assisting People and Communities) has one established mentoring match between a woman who had gone through the Inspire project and a volunteer. The relationship has been ongoing for over 2 1 /2 years. Befriender/ mentoring is actually a very important role. The changes that the volunteer made with that women, in particular, were just phenomenal. This was a women who would not go outside the door quite literally. (Interview 1, respondent 2). The volunteer has helped the befriendee to make significant changes in her life especially in relation to gaining confidence and self esteem. The Practitioner went on to say, The woman in question is leading a completely different life than what she had been when she was introduced to the volunteer in the beginning. 6 (Interview 1, respondent 2) NIACRO has involved a volunteer with experience of coming through the Criminal Justice System in supporting the development and delivery of an OCN accredited training programme on the system itself. This is a good example of a peer to peer support model. I think just the fact that she (ex-offender) is participating, can also put out quite a powerful message in the training as well, about women who have been through the system that they are women with potential, women who have had a lot of issues to deal with and I think her participation has been very positive for us. (Interview 1, respondent 1) Quaker Service The Quaker Service provides support to individuals involved in the Criminal Justice System in a number of ways including supporting community service placements through the Quaker Care charity shop. The organisation does not disclose any information regarding an individual s offence to the volunteers. Those carrying out placements are referred to as volunteers. The rationale being that those on placement feel less exposed. They also suggest this allows them to be more fully integrated into the day to day working of the shop when everyone has the same role title. Quaker Connection volunteers play a vital role in supporting the befriending and visitor services in Maghaberry Prison which only holds male prisoners. The scheme provides inmates who are isolated and who do not receive any visits from friends and family with a volunteer who will visit them on a regular basis. This service helps to provide emotional support to inmates, as well as offering vital social contact and connection with the outside community which can help to reduce isolation. Befrienders all work with male inmates (there are) quite a lot of inmates in Maghaberry who won t receive visitors at all, or not very many, and that s for all sorts of reasons. (Interview 4, respondent 3) This support is important as the befriendees involved in the project are often very vulnerable. The population that volunteers work with, would be at risk of mental health issues and self harming and suicide. Certainly those at higher risk would come down the category as they start to feel listened to. (Interview 4, respondent 2) The Quaker Service have carried out small scale evaluations of their visitor programme and found that prison staff on the wings reported that they had seen a difference in attitudes and behaviour of inmates involved in it. The practitioner reported that inmates themselves admitted to a rise in self esteem, self confidence and the ability to get on better with others and feeling more settled. (Interview 4, respondent 3). 6 Interviews with the volunteer and befriendee are recorded in section 6 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 15

16 The Quaker Connections visitor service was set up to support visitors coming to Maghaberry prison to help make it a more pleasant experience. The volunteer service includes, meeting and greeting and supporting visitors coming through the prison visiting system. Volunteers provide support to visitors who are often in a very difficult and vulnerable situation. They try to make an unpleasant experience easier and encourage them to visit again. Ultimately this service helps to support inmates by sustaining the relationships they have with family and friends outside of prison. We encourage and support visitors to continue to visit and make the visit as pleasant as possible... volunteers then take it another step, rather than being in the centre which is a public area outside the walls of the prison, our volunteers actually work inside at the visitor s entrance. (Interview 4, respondent 3) Women Support Network Volunteers are actively involved in the Women s Centres supporting women on community service placement and also those engaging in community support through courses and programmes. One of the main roles undertaken is as a volunteer support worker. This involves being the key contact for the women and supporting them through their community service placements or when they are accessing support in the Centre. I think it makes them feel more secure, more valued, because the first introduction is here, there is someone here to talk to at anytime, with any concerns or worries or issue that are coming up, they can speak with the volunteer. (Interview 5) Women Centres provide ongoing support to women who have offended even after the completion of their order as the services are available to all women in the community. We have women who have finished their placement 2 or 3 years ago but would still go back to the Falls Women s Centre now because they can identify with the volunteer and know they are part of something women know that they can walk in and that they can speak to this person. (Interview 5) Probation Board Northern Ireland PBNI discussed that volunteers have historically played an important role in supporting the work of the organisation through various roles. In recent years there has been a shift in focus of Probation Officers. Probation was to advise, assist and befriend, it is a very different role now in terms of managing probation orders. (Interview 3) As Probation are dealing with more high risk individuals; assessing risk of harm, victim centeredness and public protection are now priority areas of work. Probation Officers continue to support offenders with their social work values at the centre of their work and recognise that some individuals require a high level of support which volunteers can assist with. This could be in terms of reducing social isolation, assisting with application forms, accessing housing and accommodation or support with transport. Probation Officers identified that there are some clients that need a lot of support and if they had something extra outside of probation appointments they feel that they could do a lot better. (Interview 3). PBNI have recently started to pilot a new volunteer mentoring scheme, the purpose of the role, as outlined in the role description is to support offenders to achieve positive change, with the aim of a reduction in crime and a safer community. PBNI recognised that a mentoring relationship can be a useful support for clients. Volunteers can support clients to work on a range of issues that are affecting their lives, which can make it more likely that people comply and complete their probation order. 16 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

17 Obviously if all the wee things in life are getting sorted out or the individual is finding they are a lot more supported, confident or independent to do things, completing their Probation order is going to be achievable for them. (Interview 3). Mentors can also provide signposting about information to additional services. It s about signposting as well. If there is a drugs and alcohol programme, volunteers can support clients to attend, maybe meeting them outside before they go in or going for a coffee afterwards and saying, well how did it go? Just giving them some extra time to reflect. (Interview 3) Although the programme is still in a pilot stage the early results look positive. It is a pilot and our first mentoring relationship started just before Christmas and that was a 3 months mentoring relationship and the rest are still ongoing. The person hasn t gone on to re-offend as of yet, so that is certainly positive. (Interview 3) 3.5 Challenges and Barriers to Involving Volunteers Through the practitioner interviews stakeholders were asked to identify any barriers that they had faced in involving volunteers in the Criminal Justice System. Concerns from practitioners centred around investment and resources, but also in terms of getting women to engage in support services and understanding the rationale behind involving volunteers. The initial scoping exercise identified organisations that worked with offenders but had never involved volunteers in their work or had but were not currently. These organisations were given the opportunity to have a telephone interview with the researcher or to complete a short electronic survey. Although the response was limited, the feedback did highlight a number of key reasons for why they did not involve volunteers in their work. In large part these related to a perception that the nature of work was unsuitable for volunteers, that professional expertise was required that volunteers couldn t provide, concerns of maintaining confidentiality for clients, lack of funding to develop volunteering programmes and lack of demand. Resources The main barriers to volunteer involvement were identified as resources and investment, with recognition that you cannot do volunteering on a shoe string. The view was that to be successful in a programme and supportive for both volunteers and service users, investment was required. Access Two stakeholders have undertaken work to support both male and female inmates inside prison but described encountering barriers with regards to gaining access. We had a difficulty getting into Ash House (prison), with their vetting procedures We were waiting 2 years. (Interview 5) (There has been) issues with getting access and support to the prisons, which has delayed the befriending project. (It has been a) very long process and if you ever work in the prison system you will find it is a very long and laborious process. You come up against a lot of barriers and problems, the whole way through it. It had to go to Ministerial level. (Interview 4, respondent 2) Alongside security and access there have been delays due to slow communication and the complexities of working across a number of different departments. Communication within the prison is very difficult and you realise then that you need to be talking to 20 different departments but nobody advises you about that until you are 2 years in and realise somebody really important has been left out of the chain and then you have to start all over again. (Interview 4, respondent 3) The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 17

18 Culture Practitioners stated that from their experience there can be a clash in cultures, with organisations working in very different ways for different reasons. (The Voluntary and Community Sector) have a very different culture to the prison culture so there is actually a clash of our culture types... prisons do things because it reduces offending. We do things because it s right and the impact of it reduces offending, it s an outcome. (Interview 4, respondent 3) There has been a need for those championing volunteering within the Criminal Justice Sector, to build an understanding of the support that volunteers and volunteering programmes can provide, to support inmates in order to breakdown the misconception that volunteers would be unable to provide a professional service. [There was a] misconception that they could not provide a professional service: in the beginning there was a certain way of thinking that volunteers couldn t be professional. (Interview 4, respondent 3) Nature of the Work There was a perception that the nature of the work required paid staff to work with the client group or that it required particular expertise that only staff could provide. One organisation stated that, Our contract requires our staff to be fully qualified youth workers and for full security clearance to be granted. Another organisation that had been delivering training programme with offenders referred by PBNI said that, We don t involve volunteers because we don t have the women at the moment, and also because we offer the type of services that required training and need specific skills. We involve volunteers if appropriate but they need expertise. Concerns for Confidentiality Another organisation stated that they don t involve volunteers in direct work with women because of confidentiality concerns. One organisation offers counselling, 1-1 support, family support and holistic therapies with women offenders that are referred through PBNI. They help run reception, the tuck shop and once they have been involved for 8 months-1 year they may be trained to go out and do work in schools. However, others were interested in involving volunteers in their work but stated that they did not have the resourcing or funding to involve volunteers. Others had developed roles for volunteers but it had not taken off. 3.6 Barriers to Women Accepting Volunteer Support Women Understanding the Ethos of Volunteering The interviews highlighted that there was often a need to explain and clarify what volunteering was in order to successfully engage those who have offended in support services. 18 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System

19 You might automatically assume that women would jump at the chance of getting a volunteer, but that s not always the case. (Interview 1, respondent 2) There could often be an element of suspicion and lack of understanding as to why someone was offering to help. Sometimes I have to explain to them what a volunteer is as sometimes they don t understand the concept and even then it takes time for them to get their head around it, as they can t understand it. That this person is giving up some of their time to come all the way to Maghaberry to spend an hour with them and take an interest in them and care about them. (Interview 4, respondent 3) Women Being Suitable for Volunteer Support There was an acknowledgement across all of the organisations that some services users are not suitable or able to accept support from volunteers for a number of reasons. It could be to do with the nature of their offence or due to the very complex nature of their lifestyles and personal histories. Not everybody is suitable for mentoring; some people are maybe too high risk because of the previous offending patterns and what the offence was. Some people s lives are just too chaotic and there are maybe 25 professionals involved and another person is going to tip them over edge. There are some people who are really settled on the case load and they don t need a mentor and just want to get on with life. (Interview 3) Other challenges raised were in relation to whether the women were ready and open to accept support. Even after a match has been set up, it can become apparent that some women are not ready to accept support due to unpredictable and sometimes chaotic lifestyles which can derail the volunteer relationship and can be frustrating for everyone involved. If someone is not quite ready to take up that support yet, or if things are chaotic in their lives, things can go off track. (Interview 1, respondent 3) Learning from the male befriending prison project in Maghaberry suggests that there can also be difficulties in establishing the befriending relationship. They have found that male prisoners can be quite challenging to volunteers and test the boundaries. (It has) happened in a few cases where sometimes an inmate will throw out something to see if it shocks you or tests you in a certain way. But so far these have all been overcome. (Interview 4, respondent 3) 3.7 Potential Volunteer Roles that Support Women Stakeholders were asked to discuss the type of support or roles that volunteers could potentially undertake with women who have offended. The majority of roles identified would fall under a number of subcategories of support; these are day to day practical support, signposting / information, supporting literacy issues; emotional support; social support, one to one, group social activities and peer to peer support. Day to Day Practical Support: Volunteer support in terms of everyday practical assistance, aiming to ultimately build the capacity of beneficiaries. This could include assisting women to access the services they require such as probation, housing, health appointments or benefits advice. Helping to arrange transportation to attend appointments, making phone calls and giving reminders of meeting times. Providing Information: Signposting to other community services and programmes and giving additional support to encourage women to attend. This could include meeting a woman before a new course or after for a de-brief and a chat, helping to build their confidence. The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System 19

20 Supporting Literacy Issues: Providing additional support in training programmes to complete exercises or written tasks. Helping women to complete any paper work they may have in terms of job applications, housing and benefit forms. Emotional Support: Providing a listening ear and companion role, helping women to build their confidence and self esteem. Social Support: Volunteers could offer social contact in a befriending role, visiting women or arranging social activities together. Professionals identified that this could be particularly successful in rural areas to reduce isolation. Isolation amongst the women is a big, big thing. (Interview 2) Supporting Group Social Activities: Providing opportunities for group social activities for example bringing together a group of probation clients to play football: getting in tune with people s interests and having something positive to do. (Interview 3) Peer to Peer Support: Women with an offending background that have experience of probation or being within the justice system, helping other women who are just entering it. 3.8 Volunteering by Women Who Have Offended During the interviews, some stakeholders highlighted the value for a volunteering role which would give individuals who have been through the Criminal Justice System an opportunity to volunteer in a supported way. Some stakeholders reported that they had seen an interest and willingness from women who have offended to volunteer: There is a great deal of enthusiasm from individuals to help out and to help others, and so we have been developing the role of shadow support worker. (Interview 1, respondent 1) Stakeholders discussed a number of examples of women who have been through the Criminal Justice System engaging in volunteering themselves and felt that that this can have a number of positive benefits. One stakeholder stated, It can be an opportunity for women to give back. I think I have seen it more in women, they seem to be much quicker of wanting to give back and make good of their offending. They wanted to help other women. We would have a lot of women who do volunteer. (Interview 2) There was an acknowledgement of the positive impact volunteering can make in terms of reducing re-offending. We have also found some of the women themselves doing volunteering. That has been very successful and popular and it is reflected within Criminal Justice literature, the whole term of desistance. Desisting crime instead of the focus being on what causes the crime it s looking at what stops you committing crime. (Interview 2) Mixed views were raised in terms of peer volunteering i.e. women who have been through the Criminal Justice System volunteering to support other women currently involved within it. Interviews identified that volunteers can bring empathy and understanding to roles because they have personal experience I think they can identify with the person they have come through Criminal Justice. (Interview 5) We certainly welcome applications from people who have convictions as well I think the whole peer mentoring thing is really beneficial. (Interview 3) One stakeholder stated that peer to peer support is fine but must be based on an appreciation that existing roles, such as mentoring and befriending, require volunteers to provide high levels of support and this may not necessarily be appropriate for women just coming out of the Criminal Justice System. Another professional acknowledged that while volunteering can be very beneficial they felt it may be more appropriate for a woman to engage in a role unrelated to criminal justice, in order to break the label of ex offender. 20 The Existing and Potential Impact of Volunteers Supporting Women Involved in the Criminal Justice System