PERFORMANCE INSPECTION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SOCIAL WORK SERVICES

Transcription

1 Social Work Services Inspectorate PERFORMANCE INSPECTION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SOCIAL WORK SERVICES Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services 2004

2 Social Work Services Inspectorate PERFORMANCE INSPECTION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE SOCIAL WORK SERVICES Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services 2004 Scottish Executive Edinburgh 2004

3 Crown copyright 2004 ISBN: Scottish Executive St Andrew s House Edinburgh EH1 3DG Produced for the Scottish Executive by Astron B /04 Published by the Scottish Executive, September, 2004 Further copies are available from Blackwell's Bookshop 53 South Bridge Edinburgh EH1 1YS The text pages of this document are produced from 100% elemental chlorine-free, environmentally-preferred material and are 100% recyclable.

4 CONTENTS Page Summary 1 1. Context and Arrangements 3 2. How Services in Glasgow are Delivered 6 3. Social Enquiry Reports The Community Supervision of Offenders on Probation and Statutory Licence High Risk Offenders Community Service Organisation and Management Key Issues from the Inspection 61 Appendix 1 65

5 Performance Inspection

6 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services Summary Background to the report This inspection of criminal justice social work services in Glasgow is the third in a national programme of inspections. There are significant levels of social deprivation in parts of Glasgow and the city has the highest prevalence of drug misuse in Scotland. Criminal justice social work in the city, therefore, takes place against a difficult social backcloth. Inspectors examined the quality of assessments prepared for courts and the Parole Board, and assessed the standard of supervision of offenders on probation, community service orders and parole and non-parole licences. They evaluated 208 court reports, 41 home background reports and 205 case files and observed 63 separate examples of supervision. They interviewed managers, practitioners and offenders from across the different teams and services, and contacted the Parole Board, Sheriffs and the beneficiaries of the community service scheme to gather stakeholder views about the quality of the service. For the filereading exercise, inspectors assessed the quality of reports and supervision on a four point scale: very good, good, adequate and poor 1. The inspection findings show that the standard of some practice was good or better, but that there was room for considerable improvement in many aspects of service delivery. Work with sex offenders and those on community service was of a high standard. However, the quality of many court reports was weak, and there was often a failure to offer offenders those types of supervision that research strongly associates with reductions in offending. There was no systematic approach to monitoring and evaluating service outcomes. A central unit is responsible for strategic planning and managing some citywide services. Locally managed area service teams deliver the majority of supervision. This means that those developing the service strategy have no formal responsibility or powers to implement it at area team level. The managers and team leaders with this implementation responsibility also have a range of other duties, including responsibility for protecting children. This has contributed to a lack of coherent strategic management of criminal justice social work across the city to deliver a consistent approach to effective practice in work with offenders. Key Findings Between one-half and two-thirds of social enquiry reports were of an adequate or poor standard; Slightly more than one-half of the case file sample included a completed structured risk assessment tool, a level of use significantly below the authority s own target; 1 Very good indicates a very high standard which exceeds an acceptable level of competence; good means that work is carried out to an entirely acceptable level of competence; adequate indicates basic competence but with substantial room for improvement; and poor means that work is below an acceptable standard. 1

7 Performance Inspection Only one of the eight criminal justice area teams was providing offence-focused group work although the authority was committed to delivering this in every team; The sex offenders project produced good quality assessments and delivered groupwork to a high standard; Violent offenders did not receive the systematic assessment and treatment services that the authority provided for sex offenders, despite the high prevalence of serious violent offending evident from the case file sample; Inspectors found that the community service scheme offered a good range of appropriate placements and managed non-compliance well. There was a high level of satisfaction among the beneficiaries of the service; The quality of case recording in many case files was very poor, due in part to variations and systematic errors in the use of the IT system for case recording; Nearly two-thirds of offenders failed to comply with their probation or throughcare supervision at least once, and performance in managing this compliance was of an adequate or poor standard in just over two-thirds of cases. Key areas for improvement The authority must pay closer attention to National Standards and use risk assessment tools consistently to improve the quality of court reports; The service must deliver its planning commitment to provide offence-focused group work programmes to offenders supervised by the area teams and the throughcare teams; The authority must take a systematic approach to ensure that workers deal rigorously with poor compliance by offenders on probation and throughcare; The service must improve its basic case recording practices ensuring that all staff use the Carejust IT system in the same way; A more thorough and robust approach to quality assurance would support internal performance monitoring and evaluation, and help to target resources at areas of weakness; The authority should review management arrangements for the service to improve the operational delivery of its strategic plan. 2

8 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services 1. CONTEXT AND ARRANGEMENTS Introduction 1.1 This report on services in Glasgow is the third in a rolling programme of inspections of practice in all the groupings of local authorities and unitary authorities providing criminal justice social work services across Scotland. The programme focuses on the core elements of service provision including social enquiry reports for the courts, home background reports for the Parole Board and the community supervision of those on probation orders, community service orders and parole and non-parole licences. This inspection programme does not address other kinds of service 2 provided or commissioned by authorities or groupings. 1.2 The fieldwork for this inspection took place during April and May Area profile 1.3 Glasgow City Council has a population of 577,869 (Source: 2001 Census). Over the last 20 years, the service sector including finance and banking has replaced the traditional base of shipbuilding and heavy engineering. (Source: Glasgow City Council website). 1.4 The unemployment rate stands at 5.48%, compared with a Scottish average of 3.97% (Source: 2001 Census). Seventeen of Scotland s 20 poorest areas are in Glasgow (Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, 2004). Crime statistics 1.5 Glasgow City Council area has the highest number of crimes recorded by the police per 10,000 persons, standing at 1,318 compared to the Scottish average of 819. Other major conurbations (City of Edinburgh and Aberdeen City) have figures of 1,189 and 1,195 respectively. (Source: Recorded Crime in Scotland Scottish Executive, Statistical Bulletin Criminal Justice Series 2003). Drug misuse 1.6 Glasgow has the highest prevalence of problem drug use in Scotland. The city has a rate of 3.8% of the population aged 15 to 54 compared with a national average of 2.0%. The next highest is Dundee City at 3.5%. (Source: Estimating the National and Local Prevalence of Problem Drug Misuse in Scotland, NHS, 2001). 2 These include drug treatment and testing orders, supervised attendance orders, bail information and supervision schemes, diversion from prosecution, and supported accommodation services. 3

9 Performance Inspection Sentencing statistics 1.7 Glasgow Sheriff Court has the fourth highest use of custody in Scotland. The figure stands at 21%, compared with a Scottish national average of 16%. Glasgow s use of community service (7%) is also above the national average (6%). Similarly, use of probation (13%) is above the national average (10%). (Source: Costs, Sentencing Profiles and the Scottish Criminal Justice System Scottish Executive 2002). Methodology 1.8 Inspectors examined social enquiry reports and case records, observed work with offenders, interviewed staff and offenders and consulted key stakeholders to assess the quality of practice in the authority. The detailed methodology is set out in appendix 1. Assessing the quality of reports and practice 1.9 The inspection team used a four-point scale to assess the quality of reports and practice as evidenced in case records. The scale distinguishes between practice that is very good, good, adequate, and poor. Very good indicates a very high standard that exceeds an acceptable level of competence. Good means that work attains an entirely acceptable level of competence. Adequate confirms a general basic competence, but suggests substantial room for improvement. Poor means that work is of an unacceptable standard. The inspection team 1.10 The SWSI inspection team comprised Jo Knox (Depute Chief Inspector), Gerard Hart, John Waterhouse, and Irene Scullion (Inspectors). SWSI invited criminal justice managers from services across Scotland to become co-opted inspectors to augment the resources and professional expertise available during inspections. For this inspection, an assistant criminal justice services manager from City of Edinburgh Council and the recently retired service unit manager (criminal justice) from East Ayrshire Council acted as co-opted inspectors. A senior social worker with specific expertise in community service from Scottish Borders Council provided assistance with evaluating community service. Local staff, under the guidance of inspectors, helped with the file reading. 4

10 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services 5

11 Performance Inspection 2. HOW SERVICES IN GLASGOW ARE DELIVERED 2.1 The diagram opposite sets out the current arrangements for staffing and organising criminal justice social work services in Glasgow. It shows that Glasgow delivers criminal justice social work services via two main structures local area service teams and the business unit. area service teams have day-to-day responsibility for a wide range of local services; they are part of the authority s fieldwork services and are the responsibility of the head of fieldwork. the business unit is responsible for those criminal justice social work services that are citywide as well as a range of other citywide services. The head of children and families and criminal justice services manages the unit. the head of fieldwork and the head of children and families and criminal justice social work services report to one of the three depute directors of social work (children & families and criminal justice) who is also the authority s chief social work officer. Area services 2.2 Eight area service teams and the homeless persons team are responsible for the delivery of local criminal justice services. Each team has a dedicated criminal justice sub-team. This comprises social workers (responsible for preparing the majority of reports for court 3 and for supervising probation orders), and community service officers (responsible for assessing offenders suitability for community service and for supervising community service orders). Criminal justice senior social workers manage these staff. They are accountable to team leaders who manage both children and families and criminal justice services. Team leaders in turn report to area service managers who carry overall local management responsibility for community care, children and families and criminal justice services. Glasgow has well advanced plans to re-organise all the management arrangements for locally delivered social work services (discussed more fully in chapter 8 of this report). 2.3 The homeless persons team, based in the centre of Glasgow, provides a social work service for people who are roofless, hostel dwellers or in bed and breakfast accommodation. Its criminal justice sub-team prepares reports for court and supervises probation and community service orders for all homeless offenders in the city. 2.4 The authority sets aside a nominal 5% of each criminal justice social worker s time for non criminal justice duties. Inspectors found differences between how teams used this time. Some teams placed no extra demands on criminal justice staff, whilst others involved them in local intake services or in co-working child protection investigations. 6 3 Other than those prepared by the drug court and throughcare teams

12 Director of Social Work Depute Director (Community Care) Depute Director (Children & Families/Criminal Justice) AREA SERVICES Head of Fieldwork 9 Area Service Managers (including Homeless Team) 7 Team Leaders (Children & Families/Criminal Justice) 10 Senior Social Workers (Criminal Justice) 84 Social Workers and Community Service Officers Manager Prison Through HMP Barlinn Social Work and 2 Throughcare T

13 Depute Director (Resources) CITYWIDE SERVICES Head of Children & Families/Criminal Justice Principal Officer Resource Worker, Research Officer, Training and SVQ care 3 Senior Officers* Unit Manager Court Services ie nit eams City-wide resources 13 line managers City-wide resources 70 staff Courts 2.5 line managers Courts 17 staff Senior Officer Responsibilities: Senior Officer 1 Community Industry Team Sex Offender Project Access Project Senior Officer 2 Probation Resource Unit Women s support projects Senior Officer 3 Drug Court/Drug treatment and supervision team

14 Performance Inspection Youth justice 2.5 The authority is piloting specialist youth justice teams in two of its nine area service teams. The remit for the teams is to provide a more integrated and better focused service for serious or persistent offenders between the ages of 14 and 21. They are responsible for providing all social enquiry reports for this age group, for supervising a small caseload of offenders, and for delivering a group work programme. The staffing complement of the teams has both criminal justice and children & families representation. A principal officer (youth justice), based in the business unit, is responsible for strategic planning. Local addictions services 2.6 Glasgow has established eighteen dedicated criminal justice addictions posts in nine local community addictions teams with the same geographical boundaries as local area social work teams. Although the criminal justice service directly funds these posts, management responsibility is with the social work addictions service. Addictions workers contribute to assessments and provide a service to offenders subject to statutory orders. 2.7 The authority is piloting community addictions treatment services (CATS) in three of the area teams. The services are multi-disciplinary, comprising addictions workers, nurses, and social care support staff. They also include dedicated criminal justice staff. The pilots aim to provide a service that integrates with local area social work teams. They also accept direct referrals from the public. The business unit 2.8 The business unit manages the authority s criminal justice citywide services. The unit has headquarters in the city centre but delivers some of its services from premises elsewhere in the city. The principal officer (criminal justice), accountable to the head of the business unit, has day to day responsibility for strategic planning and for managing five senior officers. These officers have a range of responsibilities that include: management of business unit citywide services; oversight of work done by agencies who have signed service level agreements with the authority for criminal justice social work related services; provision of professional advice to local area service teams; strategic planning in collaboration with the principal officer. 8

15 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services Court services 2.9 Teams cover the Sheriff, District and High Courts and report to a senior officer (court services). The Sheriff Court team includes sub-teams providing bail services and supervised attendance orders. Community service 2.10 Glasgow has a partly decentralised community service scheme. Community service officers based in local area teams assess offenders suitability for community service and supervise orders. Community industry teams, managed by the business unit, provide and support squad and personal placements. Chapter 6 describes the work of the scheme more fully. Prison throughcare 2.11 Two throughcare teams carry out all pre-release work and all post release supervision of prisoners (other than sex offenders) on statutory licence. Both teams are based in the city centre but cover different parts of the city. The teams each have a senior social worker who reports to the senior officer (throughcare) who also manages the social work unit at HMP Barlinnie. The throughcare teams share the services of a resource worker, a homemaker, and an Apex employment worker. The teams also have access to a housing team located in Barlinnie Prison providing a service for prisoners who may be homeless after release. Groupwork resources 2.12 Glasgow has established a specialist project to assist with the assessment and supervision of sex offenders. Chapter 5 describes the work of the team The business unit provides a central groupwork resource, the Probation Resource Unit, to promote and support the delivery of the core group work programme in local area teams and to deliver specialist citywide probation groups. The team has focused primarily on delivering a citywide programme for male perpetrators of domestic violence (also described in chapter 5). Mentally disordered offenders 2.15 The Access Project provides a specialist diversion from prosecution service for offenders with mental health difficulties. Jointly funded by criminal justice social work and the mental illness specific grant, the project works with area team and throughcare staff to assess and supervise offenders whose offending is related to mental health problems. The project also assists in the community resettlement of mentally disordered offenders discharged from the State Hospital to Leverndale Hospital. 9

16 Performance Inspection Women s support projects 2.16 A criminal justice senior officer manages three women s support projects. Two projects address the needs of women working in the sex industry; the other focuses on the needs of women victims of sexual and violent abuse. Women attend voluntarily and are not normally subject to any form of statutory supervision. Funding is from the mainstream social work budget with assistance from social inclusion and rough sleepers initiative moneys. Other sections of the social work department previously managed these services. Addictions services & resources 2.17 Glasgow is one of two areas in Scotland piloting drug courts (the other is Fife). Drug courts aim to bring to an end or to reduce an offender s dependence on drugs and to reduce offending. The drug court in Glasgow commenced in November 2001, and sits up to four times every week. The pilot is subject to external evaluation. A drug court treatment and supervision team provides a service to the court and to other courts that might impose a drug treatment and testing order or an enhanced probation order 4. This is a multi-agency team comprising social work, addictions and medical staff. Services provided by partner agencies 2.18 The criminal justice social work service works in partnership with a number of voluntary and statutory sector agencies to provide services for offenders on supervision. The authority has service level agreements (at least in draft) with some of these organisations. Senior officers from the business unit oversee the agreements. Addictions services 2.19 Partner agencies provide a range of addictions services. The work of the Addiction Partnership and the Joint Review of Purchased Services (in which criminal justice social work staff participated) informed the commissioning and purchasing of these services The 218 centre opened in January The service aims to address women s offending and problems associated with it, and to reduce the number of women sentenced to custody. The voluntary sector provider Turning Point, in partnership with the local authority and health board, manages the work of the centre. It offers counselling, groupwork, welfare services and residential detoxification/supported accommodation services for women on statutory supervision or who request voluntary aftercare on release from custody. Key performance indicators are in place and performance against these forms part of the (draft) service level agreement between the authority and the provider. The centre is subject to external evaluation This is a probation order with a condition of drug treatment.

17 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services 2.21 The authority also contributes funding to Turning Point for the service it provides to those offenders who opt to use the organisation s drug crisis centre in Glasgow (a walk-in resource for drug users offering needle exchange, detoxification and rehabilitation services) The Glasgow Council on Alcohol delivers the Alcohol, Crime and Education (ACE) groupwork programme to selected offenders on statutory orders who have alcohol problems associated with offending. The programme consists of twelve sessions aimed at assisting offenders to control their drinking and to understand the connection between this and their offending Phoenix House drug rehabilitation service provides a day programme for those who have achieved abstinence or who are on a low or reducing methadone dose. The programme also provides individual counselling and groupwork as one element of a drug treatment and testing order The authority also spot-purchases other residential placements at a number of drug and alcohol rehabilitation services as required, principally at Red Tower, Phoenix House (Glasgow) and Ronachan Local organisations provide some offender addictions services in specific areas of the city, for example the Greater Easterhouse Alcohol Awareness Project. Services to young offenders 2.26 The Partnership Project targets serious and persistent young offenders aged between 16 and 21. The project brings together criminal justice social work services and the voluntary sector providers NCH and Apex. Offenders attend as a condition of a probation order and are required to complete modular individual and groupwork programmes to address their offending behaviour. The Apex arm of the project provides advice on employment and training The voluntary sector provider Includem targets the same group of young offenders. It provides a range of services including a 24 hour helpline, support with practical issues like accommodation, support for young offenders attending court, advice for family groups where a young person is offending, and offence focused work (using a workbook the organisation has developed). Employability and accommodation services 2.28 The authority contracts with the voluntary sector provider Apex to deliver educational and life skills programmes to offenders placed on supervised attendance orders. An Apex worker, located with the throughcare teams, provides an employability service for offenders subject to post release supervision and liaises with local employment and training providers on their behalf. 11

18 Performance Inspection 2.29 The authority purchases accommodation services from a number of voluntary sector providers. These include SACRO, the Church of Scotland, and the Talbot Association SACRO is the principal accommodation provider offering forty supported offender accommodation flats (funded through the criminal justice budget) and a further twenty for those leaving custody (funded through the rough sleepers initiative). It also provides advice and support on request to those leaving custody (funded by the rough sleepers initiative). The organisation aims to move offenders on to permanent tenancies in partnership with Glasgow Housing Association The Church of Scotland provides thirteen residential places for offenders through the Dick Stewart Project. The project operates two hostels offering a short to medium term base for those subject to statutory orders The Talbot Association offers a further eight residential places for offenders through its Govanhill Project. The emphasis of the project is on meeting the needs of younger female offenders with drug misuse problems. The project works with a GP experienced in managing drug misuse problems. Local partnerships 2.33 The service has built partnerships with a number of local employment initiatives. For example, the Energiser Programme offers a 12 week personal development course for people with addictions and mental health problems and Reed in Partnership provides an employment service to ex-offenders. 12

19 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services 3. SOCIAL ENQUIRY REPORTS 3.1 Social enquiry reports (SERs) provide information and advice to the courts relevant to sentencing. Where relevant, a report should contain an action plan for working with the offender to tackle offending. Table 1: Demand for Social Enquiry Reports Nationally 36,210 35,283 39,187 Not Available Glasgow 6,801 7,529 7,742 6,677 Source: Scottish Executive Community Justice Services Division Annual Returns 3.2 Nationally, demand for social enquiry reports increased significantly over the period 2000 to As table 1 illustrates, demand in Glasgow also rose over the period but fell last year to a level below that of There are no available comparative national data for Statistics for the number of SERs submitted per 10,000 people for the period show a rate of for Glasgow compared to the national average of (Source: Scottish Executive Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics, ). Performance indicators 3.4 Figures published by Audit Scotland for showed that Glasgow City Council submitted 90.7% of social enquiry reports to courts by the due date. The Council reported subsequently that this was an underestimate. SER analysis 3.5 Inspectors assessed 208 reports using criteria drawn from National Standards and effective practice principles (see appendix 1). These comprised 74 reports submitted to the courts during a specific week in March and 134 further reports read as part of the probation and community service file reading. The following tables set out the results of the analysis of the sample of reports: Table 2: Social Enquiry Reports Performance (1) (Sample size: 208) Yes No N/A Is key information verified and checked? If an order involving community sentences is indicated; does the report contain an outline plan for supervision? 13

20 Performance Inspection Table 3: Social Enquiry Reports Performance (2) Poor Adequate Good Very good N/A Overall, how satisfactory is the report? How well is offending analysed? How well are offending related needs analysed? How well is risk of re-offending assessed? How well is the feasibility of different sentencing options reviewed? How well evidenced is any advice given about sentencing? 3.6 The findings show that: overall, between one half and two thirds of reports were of poor or adequate standard; worryingly, one quarter of reports were poor at analysing offending and almost a third were poor at assessing the risk of re-offending; report writers verified relevant information from third parties (for example about health or addictions problems) in between one half and two thirds of reports; outline supervision plans were usually included when probation was an identified option. 3.7 The findings as presented are citywide. There were, however, significant variations between teams in the standard of reports. Women offenders 3.8 Of the 208 reports sampled, 43 were about women offenders. The overall quality of these reports was slightly better than the sample as a whole, with proportionately fewer poor reports and more good reports. The main differences were in the quality of analysis of offending and offending related needs. Risk assessment 3.9 The inspection questionnaire asked file readers to record whether a structured risk assessment was present. The finding here was that this had been done in 110 (53%) of the 208 reports sampled 5. File reading data highlighted the variable quality of risk assessments in social enquiry reports, and it was not always clear how structured risk assessment tools had contributed to the content of reports This data may include some risk assessments completed during the initial stages of supervision.

21 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services 3.10 Undertaking a structured assessment of the risk of re-offending when preparing an SER has been part of the formal strategy of the department for some time (see Glasgow strategic plan ). The authority trained its staff to use the LSI-R (Level of Service Inventory Revised) and instructed them to refer to the results of these assessments in social enquiry reports. Using both static and dynamic factors statistically associated with the likelihood of reconviction (and allowing for a clinical override), the inventory arrives at a scored prediction of the likely risk of re-conviction and a profile of areas of need that are related to offending. The intention of the department was to use the results of the LSI-R assessment to guide the report author in advising the court as to the most suitable intensity and content of supervision if the court imposed probation. The authority issued guidance to teams on what LSI-R scores should be considered as representing low, moderate, high, and very high risk. The file reading showed that practitioners frequently failed to follow this guidance Glasgow s update on their strategic plan comments that the use of LSI-R remains below 50% against a target of 70% last year and 80% this year. The 2004 plan update indicates that this figure is improving, but that LSI-R remains inconsistently used. The inspection file reading findings confirm that there remains considerable room for improvement in this area. Risk of harm to others 3.12 The LSI-R assesses the risk of reconviction but does not assess the risk of harm to others. The authority has only recently begun to train staff on an adapted format of RAGF (the Risk Assessment Guidance Framework) 6. This newly adopted approach to risk of harm assessment was not yet evident in the files read for the inspection Chapter 5 presents data about and analyses the performance of the authority in respect of high-risk offenders. Interviews with staff 3.14 The interviews with staff offered an opportunity to obtain information and views about factors affecting the production and quality of reports A common message practitioners wanted to get across was that they felt they had to write a large number of reports. They said this made it hard to achieve a high standard and more difficult to meet all their other responsibilities. They reported completing around three reports each week, although they said the number could sometimes be significantly higher (the authority s annual report for comments that in the course of a year every area team criminal justice social worker has to produce an average of 2.5 court reports every week of the year to tight deadlines and good professional standards ). Senior social workers allocate reports and the authority does not operate any formal workload management system. 6 This framework offers guidance on the key areas workers should consider when assessing offenders risk of harm to others. 15

22 Performance Inspection 3.16 Area service managers (responsible for community care, children and families and criminal justice services) were aware of practitioners views that the volume of court reports was too high. They said they kept an eye on the key performance indicator collected for Audit Scotland (the percentage of reports delivered to the courts on time) Practitioners were ambivalent about carrying out structured risk assessments using the LSI-R. Some said that it was an administrative chore, and not a genuine aid to practice. Another view was that it only confirms what you know. There was a feeling amongst staff that the authority had not introduced LSI-R in the right way; it was not clear to them how it should apply to practice. Managers commented that risk assessment practice was in a state of flux Social workers reported that the practical arrangements for getting requests for reports and the associated information to them from the court did not always work efficiently. This reduced the time available to complete reports, making it more difficult to undertake second interviews and home visits. The information was sometimes incomplete and the SCRO record (a complete record of the offender s criminal history including information about any outstanding charges) frequently did not arrive in time to be of use when preparing a report. In sex offender and domestic violence cases, they could often obtain additional information about the current offence through their contacts with the local police. This made offence analysis easier because it was more possible to challenge the offender about his version of events Workers said that although there is joint work with addictions staff in local areas, it was proving difficult for addictions workers to contribute to social enquiry reports in the limited time available for the assessment. Quality assurance 3.20 Area service managers said that discussion between practitioners and their senior social workers was the main vehicle for assuring quality. Team leaders (responsible for managing both children and families services and criminal justice services) also saw supervision as important for quality assurance. Senior social workers did not use any standard procedures to monitor the quality of reports. One senior ran an SER consultancy group, while others did some random sampling. All said they were available to discuss difficult reports. Practitioners could not identify any systematic approaches to quality assurance although they said senior social workers were normally available to discuss difficult reports The current strategic plan for the authority sets a target for senior social workers routinely to check the quality of a minimum of 15% of each social worker s reports. The service has not yet achieved this target. 16

23 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services The views of Sheriffs 3.22 Three sheriffs responded to a written request for views on the quality of reports. Whilst the general view was that most reports met their requirements for information and advice, none of the three Sheriffs was wholly positive about the current standard of reports. The main criticisms were that they could be too long, include irrelevant information, and contain errors in syntax and spelling. They also said that reports did not always arrive on time. Practice observation 3.23 Inspectors observed ten social enquiry report interviews. Amongst these, there were examples of good and less good practice. Positive comments included the observations that: the offender s drinking pattern was thoroughly explored ; the complex strands of this man s offending history were carefully investigated with sensitivity and attention to detail ; and the social worker appropriately challenged the offender to consider his offending and the victim s perspective Less positive examples included the observations that: offending was not really probed or challenged and that there was very little probing of offending ; and a lot of extraneous information was collected. Conclusions & areas for Improvement 3.25 There is no doubt that Glasgow needs to raise the standard of its report writing. It is unsatisfactory that the balance of practice was towards adequate (acceptable but with substantial room for improvement) and poor (unacceptable) not least because, in many cases, reports constituted the only assessment and related action plan for the first stages of supervision if the offender was placed on probation (see next chapter). There was evidence that staff could write good reports. The need now is to raise the standard of the many towards the standard of the best Interviews with practitioners pointed up a number of factors they felt militated against writing better reports. They expressed some concerns that: the sheer volume of reports had led to practice becoming very routine; systems for getting report requests and related information to area teams did not always work as well as they could, reducing the time available to prepare reports; 17

24 Performance Inspection second interviews and home visits could not easily be achieved within the required timescales; and dealing adequately with offending was not assisted by the frequent lack of more detailed information about the current offence and previous offending; 3.27 Whilst these factors can undoubtedly make writing good reports more difficult, they do not altogether explain the poor standard of some reports. It is possible, for example, to exclude extraneous information in reports, to probe the offender s account of the offence in more depth, and to make better use of the LSI-R to assess risk of re-offending and factors associated with offending despite the difficulties identified above. File readers and inspectors noted that a significant number of reports contained unnecessary information that only served to obscure the key information and analysis in the report Interviews with senior social workers showed that whilst they discussed individual reports with staff they undertook little routine monitoring of the quality of reports. Interviews with team leaders and area managers showed that they exercised little oversight of the overall quality of reports The department had put considerable investment and effort into introducing the LSI-R structured risk assessment tool but the evidence was that it had not fully implemented the policy at practitioner and senior social worker level A good starting point for achieving a better overall standard of report writing would be for all staff responsible for writing reports and assuring their quality to take a fresh look at the National Standards for social enquiry reports. The Standards offer detailed and comprehensive guidance on the purposes of reports, gathering information, making an assessment, and writing the report. They are clear about the need for information and advice to be relevant, reliable, and impartial. They stress the importance of investigating the offender s attitudes to the current offence and to any victim, the pattern of any previous offending, and those needs and circumstances that may have contributed to the offending Managers should: ensure that staff are familiar with National Standards and use them as a reference when preparing reports; address any delays in getting requests for reports together with the appropriate background information, including the SCRO, to area teams; improve risk assessment practice. This means ensuring that staff make proper use of the LSI-R to assess the likelihood of re-offending and that they assess risk of harm for cases other than sex offenders where procedures are already in place; and introduce and maintain systematic procedures for quality assurance. 18

25 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services Home Background Reports 3.32 Home background reports provide the Parole Board with information about the home circumstances to which a prisoner would return on release from custody and describe the level of supervision and support available on release to assist with resettlement. Table 4: Demand for Home Background Reports 2000/ / / /2003 National 1,255 1,167 1,188 Not Available Glasgow Source: Scottish Executive Community Justice Division Annual Returns 3.33 While the national demand for home background reports has remained relatively stable over the period , Glasgow over the same period has seen a significant reduction in numbers, despite a modest rise between and National figures for are not yet available as a comparison Inspectors and file readers read a sample of 41 home background reports. The following table sets out the findings: Table 5: Home Background Reports Performance (1) Question (Sample size: 41) Poor Adequate Good Very Good How well does the report indicate the level of support likely to be available to this offender from his/her family/wider community? How well does the report indicate the package of supervision to be made available on release, including access to any specialist resources? How well does the report address any risks to the community arising if/when this offender is released? Overall, how satisfactory is the report? Does the report contain a provisional release plan? 35 6 Yes No 3.35 The figures show that the balance of performance was weighted towards good and very good and that there was comparatively little poor practice of the 41 reports included a provisional release plan. 19

26 Performance Inspection 3.37 The strongest aspects of practice were in the setting out of the package of supervision to be available on release, and the assessment of the level of support that was likely to be available to the offender in the community. The weakest element of practice was the assessment of any risks to the community the offender might pose on release. Staff interviews 3.38 Practitioners in the throughcare and citywide sex offender project prepare all home background reports, with the latter preparing the reports on sex offenders. They base reports on the framework set out in National Standards and there are no additional departmental guidelines Staff commented that they sometimes had very short notice for carrying out a report because the requesting prison sent the papers to an area service team rather than directly to the throughcare service. The paperwork they received from the prison could be incomplete, sometimes with an incorrect address. They said they would like detailed information from SPS about any prison-based rehabilitative work completed, and about how well the offender had participated in it Staff said there were no procedures in place to monitor the quality of reports. Conclusions and areas for improvement 3.41 Most home background reports were of an adequate or better standard, and there was evidence that staff were planning for the offender s release in a practical way with an awareness of the extent of support likely to be available to the offender in the community. The main weakness of reports was in the extent to which they included an assessment of the risk the offender might pose to the community after release The following steps would improve the service further: all home background reports should include a risk of harm assessment; all home background reports should include a provisional release plan; all home background reports should address the risk the offender may pose to the community on release; there should be systematic procedures in place for monitoring the quality of home background reports; and the authority should take steps to make sure that, as far as possible, requests for reports go to the right place in the first instance to maximise the time available for completing them. 20

27 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services 4. THE COMMUNITY SUPERVISION OF OFFENDERS ON PROBATION AND STATUTORY LICENCE Probation and statutory licences 4.1 The community supervision of offenders on probation or statutory licence after release from custody has the main aim of preventing or reducing re-offending. Offenders must comply with requirements to attend for supervision, to be of good behaviour, and to take part in activities intended to address their offending behaviour and the problems that cause it. 4.2 Nationally, the use of probation has increased significantly in recent years. Table 6 sets out the number of orders made in Scotland between 2000 and 2003, and shows that the use of probation by Glasgow courts was broadly in line with the national trend. Table 7 sets out the number of parole/non-parole cases the authority managed over the same period. (National figures are not included here because their reliability is questionable). 7 Table 6: Probation Orders 2000/ / / /2004 National 5,601 6,198 7,234 Not Available Glasgow 1,065 1,218 1,251 1,304 Source: Scottish Executive Community Justice Division Annual Returns Table 7: Parole and Non Parole Licences: Glasgow 2000/ / / / Source: Scottish Executive Community Justice Division Annual Returns 4.3 Published statistics for probation orders per 10,000 persons for 2002/3 show a rate of 31.4 orders per 10,000 for Glasgow compared with the national average of 20.5 per (Source: Scottish Executive Criminal Justice Social Work Statistics, 2003). Profile of offenders on probation in Glasgow 4.4 Statistics show that in : 6% of those on probation were under 18, 16% were between 18 and 20, and 21% were between 21 and 25; 10% were female; 58% were unemployed. 7 Until 2003, local authorities employed differing criteria for calculating parole/non-parole figures. The Scottish Executive has now clarified annual return requirements. 21

28 Performance Inspection Performance indicators 4.5 The Audit Scotland performance indicators show that 39% of offenders on probation in Glasgow had an interview with their supervising officer or representative within one week of the making of their order. Data for shows no change. 4.6 In , the Council submitted an application for breach of probation in respect of 22% of those on supervision. This figure was unchanged in (Audit Scotland, Criminal Justice Social Work Performance Indicators, ; Glasgow City Council, Criminal Justice Social Work Annual Report, ). The inspection 4.7 The inspection team reviewed two hundred and five case files. This sample comprised of the following: Type of Order Overall Men Women Community Service Throughcare (parole & Non Parole) Probation (no additional conditions) Probation (with additional conditions) (not 229) Section 229 Orders (Probation with CS) Chapter 5 examines work with high-risk offenders in more detail. Chapter 6 presents the inspection data in respect of community service orders. 4.9 File readers used a structured pro-forma to analyse the quality of assessment, case planning, intervention to address offending, and the extent of compliance with National Standards (the criteria are set out in full in appendix 1). They also looked for evidence that the authority evaluated its work as the order or licence progressed As well as examining a sample of case files, the inspection team interviewed staff from each of the eight criminal justice area service teams and the homeless team, including social workers, community service officers, senior social workers, team leaders, and area managers. They talked with practitioners and managers working in (or supervised by) the business unit including the principal officer (criminal justice). They sought the views of stakeholders and beneficiaries, and met with other senior local authority managers. They evaluated practice by observing interviews and groupwork sessions (either directly or on video), and interviewed offenders receiving the service The published findings of the file reading are for the authority as a whole. There was, however, a considerable variation in the quality of supervision delivered across different local area teams and business unit services. 22

29 Report on Glasgow Council Criminal Justice Social Work Services Case records 4.12 Inspectors found that case notes were often incomplete or missing and therefore not an adequate account of practice. Staff explained the poor quality of these in various ways. Some blamed the transition from a paper-based system to a largely electronic one. The IT system records case notes on a specific screen, but a number of staff said they lacked the confidence and skills to use this properly. Despite an extensive training programme, the addition of a specific criminal justice module to the electronic system two years ago appears to have added a layer of confusion for some workers. This criminal justice module gathers data that can be aggregated (in a way that case notes cannot be), and should provide information useful for performance management. Data of this type is input via the activities screen to identify the type of event or contact, for example, first appointment, home visit, or probation review. Some workers had entered only basic data and were failing to describe the content of the contact on the observations screen. Others were failing to log the activities data, effectively undermining the ability of the system to produce accurate performance data. Planning 4.13 The performance of the authority in planning for supervision is set out in table eight. Table 8: Planning Performance (Sample size: 165) Yes No Is there a written supervision plan for the first three months of the order or licence? (Sample size: 104 cases with a plan) Was the plan reviewed at the intervals outlined in National Standards? Does the planned content directly address those factors assessed as contributing to offending? Does the plan clearly set out how the planned content will be delivered? Was partnership working part of the plan? For the 165 probation and throughcare cases in the sample, the table shows that: almost two thirds of cases had a plan for supervision covering the first three months of the order or licence; almost all plans identified relevant factors to be addressed during supervision; nearly one in two plans proposed work with another agency or service; one in three plans did not spell out clearly how the work would be delivered; four in ten plans were reviewed at the National Standards intervals (where plans were not reviewed at the required intervals, the failure was judged to be the fault of the service in just under three quarters of cases). 23