This instruction applies to : / Reference :
Providers of Probation Services / PI 32/2014
Issue date / Effective Date
Implementation date / Expiry Date
19 May 2014 / 1 June 2014 / 30 April 2015
Issued on the authority of / NOMS Agency Board
For action by / All staff responsible for the development and publication of policy and instructions
NOMS HQ
Heads of Groups
National Probation Service (NPS) Directorate
Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC)
Chairs of Independent Approved Premises Management Committees
NOMS Rehabilitation Contract Services Team
Other Providers of Probation Services
Instruction type / Service Improvement
For information / Managers and staff of Approved Premises
Provide a summary of the policy aim and the reason for its development / revision / This Instruction incorporates all instructions and guidance on Approved Premises into a single document and refreshes the detailed advice on AP operations in the AP Manual. It also includes guidance for Offender Managers in both NPS and CRCs who refer offenders to APs.
Contact / Seán Langley, Head of Approved Premises Team, NOMS OMPPG
8
( 030 0047 4486
Associated documents / Approved Premises Manual: instructions and guidance for the management and operation of Approved Premises
PSI 18/2014 – Licences, Licence Conditions and Polygraph Examination
PI 07/2014 - Case Transfers: For Offenders Subject to Statutory Supervision Either pre release from Custody or whilst completing an Order or Licence
PI 06/2013 – The Registration and Management of Critical Public Protection Cases
Replaces the following documents, which are hereby cancelled:
PC05/2005 Approved Premises: steps to be followed when considering temporary or permanent closure
PC37/2005 Role & purpose of APs (Part 4 only - the rest was cancelled in 2011)PI 02/2011 Approved Premises Rules & Guidance
PI 04/2011 Implementation of the Approved Premises Specification
Audit / monitoring: The Director of NPS in England, Director of NOMS in Wales and NOMS Director of Rehabilitation Services for CRCs will monitor compliance with the mandatory requirements in this instruction.
NOMS contract management will hold providers to account for delivery of mandated instructions as required in the contract.
Introduces amendments to the following documents: The Approved Premises Manual (Annex A) - copies held on the NOMS Intranet/EPIC will be amended; hard copies must be disposed of.
Notes: All Mandatory Actions throughout this instruction are in italics and must be strictly adhered to.
PAGE 2 Page 13
CONTENTS
Section / Subject / For reference by1 / Executive Summary / All staff
2 / Operational instructions / All staff
Annex A / Approved Premises Manual: instructions and guidance for the management and operation of Approved Premises / All staff responsible for or working in Approved Premises
Annex B / Referring Offenders to Approved Premises: guidance for Offender managers on making referrals and managing offenders who are in Approved Premises / Offender managers; all staff responsible for or working in Approved Premises
1. Executive Summary
Background
1.1 The Approved Premises Manual and Specification were issued under PI 04/2011. While Approved Premises (APs) operations are remaining within the NPS (including the independent APs, which are under contract to NOMS), CRCs will be able to place offenders in APs where necessary and where it is agreed by the NPS. To reflect this, the original AP documents are being reissued and refreshed. The Approved Premises Rules issued under PI 02/2011 are being incorporated into the Manual, which is Annex A to this Instruction. Guidance for offender managers intending to use APs was issued as a Senior Leaders’ Bulletin in August 2013. That has been updated to reflect the CRC position and is Annex B to this Instruction.
Definitions
1.2 Approved premises are primarily a public protection measure for offenders released from prison on licence. Throughout this Instruction, where the term 'Offender Manager' is used, this can include, for both the NPS or the CRC, the Responsible Officer, Supervising Officer or Supervisor1 which are the statutory roles carried out under relevant legislation. An Offender Manager provides the end-to-end process of supervision of an offender throughout any period ofstatutory supervision. The Offender management functionis discharged by implementing the sentence of the Court (including within a custodial setting), the licence conditions, and post sentence supervision requirements. This is most effectively achieved by liaising with all agencies involved with the offender to deliver any conditions / requirements in a manner that maximises the rehabilitation of offenders and the protection of the public.
Desired outcomes
1.3 That Approved Premises are operated and managed throughout England and Wales in accordance with the Service Specification for Approved Premises and the instructions and guidance contained in Annex A.
1.4 That Offender Managers refer offenders to Approved Premises in accordance with Part 18 of Annex A (which sets out the entry criteria for offenders of various risk of harm levels); and make referrals to and work with Approved Premises as described in Annex B.
Application
1.5 Annex A applies to staff and managers of approved premises, including NPS line management and Chairs of Management Committees for independent approved premises; offender managers in NPS and CRCs should ensure they are familiar with it.
1.6 Annex B applies to offender managers in NPS and CRCs; staff and managers of approved premises should ensure they are familiar with it.
Mandatory actions
1.7 Public protection leads and IMC Chairs must ensure that Approved Premises are operated and managed in accordance with the Service Specification (which was first published under PI 04/2011 and remains in force) and the instructions and guidance contained in Annex A.
1.8 All elements of the Service Specification are mandatory; it does not contain any options for variations in the elements of required service delivery. Staff commissioning and providing Approved Premises services therefore must ensure that the outputs and outcomes in the Service Specification are all met.
1.9 Offender managers intending to refer offenders to Approved Premises, and managing offenders in Approved Premises, must follow the guidance contained in Annex B.
Resource impact
1.10 None. No changes to AP operations are contained in this Instruction.
Digby Griffith
Director of National Operational Services, NOMS
2. Operational Instructions
2.1 The Manual at Annex A to this Instruction follows the structure of the Approved Premises Specification and is designed to provide the detailed operational instructions and guidance necessary to implement the Specification. Any out-of-date terminology should be read against current usage - for instance, references to Trusts should be read as NPS, etc.
2.2 The guidance at Annex B is aimed at offender managers in both NPS and CRCs. It advises on when to consider referring an offender to an AP; how to make a referral and what factors should be considered; agreeing the AP’s part in the offender’s management; and reviewing the offender’s progress and move-on. It should be made available to all offender managers in NPS and CRCs and their sub-contractors, as well as to AP staff and management and to any central AP referral bodies.
2.3 The Service Specification and associated documents, and Annexes A and B, can be found electronically on EPIC and the Ministry of Justice website. These documents will be updated as necessary, with the version being identified and the date of amendment noted. It is important that the current version is used. In particular, all paper copies of older versions of the AP Manual should be disposed of.
2.4 The AP Manual will be reviewed in full following the completion of the NPS roll-out, in order to take account of administrative and operational changes that are (at the time of writing) still being worked through. An updated Manual will be issued in Autumn 2014.
Annex A
Approved Premises Manual: Instructions and Guidance for the Management and Operation of Approved Premises
Annex B
REFERRING OFFENDERS TO APPROVED PREMISES
Introduction
1. The main purpose of Approved Premises (APs) is to provide intensive supervision for offenders or defendants who present a high or very high risk of serious harm. Most will have been released from prison on licence. Some will be serving community sentences or be subject to a suspended sentence, while others be on bail pending trial. In all these cases they will be subject to a condition of residence that is similar to the residence condition in a licence. The great majority of AP residents are licensees and this advice is focused mainly on them, although the final section deals with bail.
Risk of serious harm threshold
2. APs are a public protection measure. An offender will be required to reside in one because:
· he presents a high or very high risk of serious harm;
· this risk cannot be safely managed in a less restrictive community setting; and
· residence in an AP is critical to his overall risk management and the protection of past or future victims.
The role of APs in protecting the public
3. APs have extensive security equipment, including cameras and physical measures, and have to have at least two staff on duty at all times. Residents are subject to an overnight curfew and can be under additional curfew or reporting conditions that are personal to them.
The role of APs in preventing re-offending
4. APs do not just conduct monitoring and surveillance. They are also obliged to provide key workers who form an integral part of the offender management process, and each resident will have a programme of purposeful activity that is intended to help with reducing re-offending and reintegration into society. Purposeful activity ranges from programmes and offending behaviour work to life skills and seeking employment.
5. More details of the purpose of APs for various groups of offenders, and of the generic services that APs can provide, are given in Part 31 of the AP Manual, which has been re-issued under this PI. Details of individual APs’ services should be sought from the APs themselves.
Using APs appropriately
6. APs are a scarce resource. There are only 101 in the whole of England and Wales (four in Wales), and while all NPS Divisions have them, only the larger metropolitan areas have significant numbers. Total capacity is around 2200 beds (of which 112 are for women). APs are also expensive, because of the staffing requirements. Usage is generally high and in many parts of the country there is great pressure on beds, and in some cases a waiting list. It is therefore essential that:
· APs are targeted on the offenders for whom they are most needed;
· the part the AP and its staff will play in the management of an offender is properly planned and reviewed; and
· move-on arrangements are made at the earliest opportunity, if possible before admission, and move-on itself takes place at the earliest suitable time.
7. APs are not a form of accommodation in the general sense. They are a residential facility for offenders as an inevitable feature of their public protection function, but they cannot be treated as permanent accommodation or as a facility for offenders primarily in need of a housing solution.
8. While most APs provide some training in life skills and other means of reintegrating offenders into the community, this is not their primary purpose and they should not be used if it is the main consideration in allocating a bed space to an offender.
9. This guidance covers a number of topics: deciding whether to refer an offender to an AP; ROTL in an AP; making the referral; and links with the Bail Accommodation & Support Service, or BASS. It applies equally to NPS and CRC cases and their offender managers - see below for details. “Offender manager” means any individual carrying out the function of responsible officer, as defined in s.197 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
Should the offender go to an AP?
10. The primary purpose of Approved Premises is to assist in management of offenders’ risk of serious harm. (“Risk” and “risk of harm” throughout this Annex mean “risk of serious harm”.) Curfews, reporting requirements, purposeful activity and the general ability of AP staff to monitor offenders through daily contact can all contribute to effective supervision. APs can also offer a place for offenders to live temporarily if they cannot or should not, for various reasons, live in their own homes.
11. APs should therefore be used sparingly. There are three main factors to consider before deciding to refer an offender to an AP:
· risk of serious harm
· what the AP is being asked to do - not just how the placement contributes to effective risk management and re-integrating the offender into the community, but more specifically, the actions and tasks AP staff will be asked to undertake - and
· choice of AP.
Level of risk of serious harm
12. NOMS policy is that APs should be aimed primarily at offenders who still present a high or very high risk of serious harm on release, as measured using OASys. Although other offenders can be accommodated, demand for space for these groups is such that it is generally better not to allow others to take up the limited capacity available. If necessary, APs can ask residents to move on to make way for offenders for whom there is a greater need. This may have to happen at short notice. The difficulties this can cause are better avoided by not placing lower-risk offenders in APs in the first place.
13. Indeterminate-sentence offenders should not be released from prison until their risk of harm has reduced to a level where it can managed safely in the community. This generally means that they will be below the normal entry threshold for AP residence. Offender managers should be careful to avoid recommending AP residence to the Parole Board unless there is an overwhelming reason to.
14. Determinate-sentence offenders will be released automatically at a fixed point in their sentences, regardless of risk. APs are therefore much more likely to be suitable for these offenders than for those released under indeterminate sentences.
15. It is important to bear in mind that an offender’s risk of serious harm cannot be reduced simply by the act of accommodating him in an AP. The argument that X will be high risk of harm if released into private accommodation, but medium risk if released into an AP, is illogical. The offender’s risk of harm is inherent to them at the point of release. While the hope is that the level of risk will fall after time in an AP, arriving at the AP cannot of itself reduce risk. At that point the AP is helping to mitigate and manage a level of risk that would be present anyway - and manage it more effectively than it would be in less suitable accommodation.