Watch out in the next few weeks for the publication of the Bradley report. Lord Bradley was appointed in December 2007 to lead a review into the treatment of people with severe mental health problems within the criminal justice system and to explore how they can be diverted away from the prison system. Lord Bradley was asked to carry out his review following an increase to 92 of the self inflicted deaths in prisons in 2007.

It could have been worse; of the 22,459 recorded incidents of self harm; over 100 prisoners were resuscitated who otherwise would have died. We know we have a serious problem. The Chief inspector of Prisoners has said that "prison has become, to far too large an extent, the default setting for those with a wide rage of mental and emotional disorders." The Chief Inspector estimated that 41% of prisoners being held in prison health care centers should have been in secure NHS accommodation. In Parc Young Offenders Institution (YOI) children (under 18’s) with mental health problems have to be moved to YOI’s in England because of the lack of child and adolescent mental health service provision. An unacceptable situation which must be rectified soon.

We know that mental health issues amongst prisoners are often linked to previous experiences of domestic violence and sexual abuse. Many are self medicating their distress with drugs and alcohol. Mental health in-reach teams were developed to provide an equivalent service to community mental health teams, but focussing on serious mental illness amongst prisoners. Coming into prisons from NHS services outside the teams also have an impact on attitudes towards, and understanding of, mental health problems in prison. It is though that up to 70% of those seen by the in reach teams also have substance misuse problems.

In January 2008 the Ministry of Justice reported that 15% of male and 29% of female prisoners had been convicted of drug offences. Home Office research in 2003 found that over half of prisoners reported committing offences connected to their drug use, many to raise money to buy drugs. To help tackle the growing problem in 2007-08, £79.8 million was allocated to fund drug treatment in prisons in England and Wales. A sum which the Chief Inspector of Prisons felt was 60% less than was hoped for.

While drug treatment units within prisons have great success, there remain problems, especially when prisoners are transferred between jails and are unable to continue treatment. Many prisoners are unable to continue their treatment on release and have to wait to join community treatment teams. Parc prison has a mentoring scheme to support ex offenders when they are released, supporting them as they rebuild their lives to stay away from drugs.

The links between drugs and crime are commonly known. The amount of crime associated with alcohol is perhaps less well known. In over half of all violent crime the victim believed the offender to be under the influence of alcohol. An alcohol related crime and disorder survey carried out by the Home office found that 44% of young adults (18-24) are binge drinkers and that 27% of binge drinkers admitted committing an offence in the past twelve months. Many prisoners who have a drugs problem also have an alcohol problem. Sadly the same amount of money invested in drug treatment has not been provided for alcohol addiction despite the fact that alcohol and irresponsible drinking costs an estimated £18-20 billion a year in economic and social costs.

So what is being done to tackle the problems I have outlined in this and the three previous articles? Parc Prison brings together agencies working with families at meetings of Parc Supporting Families to examine new ways of supporting links between prisoners and their families. There is support to develop parenting skills, drug and alcohol addiction treatment, anger management, and support with finding accommodation and employment on release. But early intervention is also essential.

A focus on education both in schools and in prisons is seen as essential to help divert many from crime. We know that 48% of prisoners are at, or below the level of reading, 65% at the level for numeracy and 82% in writing skills expected of an 11 year old. This is no surprise since nearly half of all sentenced prisoners were excluded from school resulting in half of all prisoners lacking the skills required of 96% of jobs and only one in five able to complete a job application form. Spending on prison education is increasing, in 1999-2000 £47.5 million was spent increasing between 2007/08 to £156 million.

We now imprison more people and spend more per head on law and order than any other country in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), including the USA, France and Germany yet crime has fallen 32% since 1997. An Ipso Mori poll showed that the British have the lowest confidence in their government when it comes to crime. Only 25% feel confident that government is cracking down on crime and violence compared to 44% in the US, 46% in France and 48% in Germany despite our lower crime rates.

I have tried in these articles to use facts paint a picture of the complexity of tackling crime, offending and re-offending. The social characteristics of prisoners are well documented. Undoing the effects of a deprived or abusive childhood, substance misuse and educational neglect is expensive and difficult. The balance between the protection of society and its law abiding citizens and rehabilitation is a constant struggle undertaken by an array of professions working within the criminal justice system, local authorities and voluntary sectors. Legislation and funding changes the focus and priorities with the hated targets and statistics used to monitor change, be it success or failure. Volunteers also make an important difference in prisons. Parc has a number of projects running where volunteers work alongside prisoners and their families to promote change. If you are interested in training to volunteer in Parc you should contact Sara Webber on 01656 300200.