This page gives details of probation staff's work in the six prisons in West Mercia. All have teams of seconded probation staff working on site.

Approximately 30 probation staff work in West Mercia's six prisons. The number of seconded probation staff and the exact nature of the work varies between the establishments. Details are set out in a contract agreed between the Prison Governor and the Probation Area's Chief Officer.

What probation staff do in prison

• prepare information and risk assessments on prisoners being considered for early release e.g. advising on curfews
• work on offending behaviour within the sentence management process
• work on the prison's bail information scheme, for prisoners on remand awaiting trial
• provide advice to foreign nationals
• contribute to minimising the risk of prisoners' self harm
• work with the prison service on sentence management, supporting prison staff in the preparation of sentence plans
• run group work with prisoners designed to address offending behaviour and reduce the likelihood of further offending
• work with voluntary and specialist agencies offering advice and support to prisoners to promote the successful resettlement of prisoners
• liaise with probation staff in the community who supervise prisoners after release.

Probation staff's work with prisoners after release
Most prisoners do not serve the whole of their sentence in custody. At a predetermined stage they are released to serve the rest of their sentence in the community.

• Those sentenced to less than a year are released after serving half their sentence and are not supervised
• Those sentenced to between a year and 47 months are released on licence after half the sentence and are supervised by the probation service until the end of the sentence
• Those sentenced to four years or more can be released on parole after serving half their sentence, but are automatically released on licence after serving two-thirds of the sentence. Both these groups are also supervised by the probation service.

The length of the supervision period depends on the length of the sentence and the point at which the prisoner is released. This can vary from three months for someone sentenced to a year's custody and the remainder of his/her life for someone sentenced to life.

About supervision
The prisoner reports to the probation officer immediately after release. The probation officer draws up a supervision plan with the offender.

The sentence plan addresses issues such as housing, employment and reintegration into the community and aims to prevent re-offending.

A release licence may include conditions such as living at a probation hostel or staying away from the area where the crime was committed. Any breach of the licence can mean a return to prison to serve the remainder of the sentence in custody.

For further information about probation work in prisons please contact Helen Allen, Assistant Chief Officer,

Email
helen.allen@west-mercia.probation.gsi.gov.uk

Custody Plus - coming soon
In Autumn 2006 the government plan to introduce a new sentence called Custody Plus. This will apply to all sentences of less than one year. It will combine a short period in prison with a longer period of supervision in the community, which will make it much easier to focus on stopping people offending again - pushing them to get a job, to sort out their housing problems, to learn self-control, or to tackle whatever other factors are contributing to their crimes. Custody Plus can also include unpaid work, which will mean many more offenders doing work in the community.


Connect
Connect is a West of Midlands regional project. It is run in collaboration between the Prison Service and the four regional Probation Boards of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands. It is funded by European Social Funding.

Connect aims to make prisoners serving short prison sentences more employable. Voluntary mentors work closely with offenders to assess the barriers offenders experience. Mentors provide motivation, support and an action plan to help overcome the barriers and get individuals into work, education or training.
www.connectesf.org.uk


Contact details for West Mercia's Prisons

HM Prison Blakenhurst
(Men's Local Prison - Category B)
Hewell Lane, Redditch B97 6QS
Tel: 01527 400500
Fax: 01527 400501

HM Prison Brockhill
(Women's Closed Prison)
Hewell Grange, Redditch B97 6RD
Tel: 01527 552821
Fax: 01527 552651

HM Prison The Dana
(Men's Local Prison - Category B)
Shrewsbury SY1 2HR
Tel: 01743 273000
Fax: 01743 273003

HM Prison Hewell Grange
(Open Prison - Category D)
Hewell Grange, Redditch B97 6QQ
Tel: 01527 552207
Fax: 01527 552001

HM Prison Long Lartin
(Maximum Security Prison - Category A+B)
South Littleton, Evesham WR11 3TZ
Tel: 01386 835100
Fax: 01386 835101

HM Young Offender Institution
(Closed YOI)
Stoke Heath, Market Drayton TF9 2JL
Tel: 01630 636000
Fax: 01630 636263