Liberation from custody
Last updated
Last updated
Projects supporting people on liberation from custody are all services providing throughcare support. A key feature of these projects is the provision of prison in-reach support.
Projects highlighted that good working relationships with the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is essential in their work. This enables project staff to get liberation dates in advance so that they can arrange for a device and connectivity.
Prison in-reach provides the opportunity to build relationships with people before their liberation, establishing a trusting relationship which is an important part of digital inclusion. It also gives project staff the opportunity to assess digital inclusion needs and plan for liberation.
Projects that are embedded in throughcare support are able to get relevant information through Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA). This information is critical in the delivery of digital inclusion support as it will highlight if there are any release conditions that prohibit the use of a digital device.
·Through prison in-reach, project staff are able to assess the digital inclusion needs of people and prepare for their liberation. This provides an opportunity to discuss what wider needs people will have on liberation e.g. homelessness, and how the digital support can be prioritised to help address these needs.
Projects are using smartphones and data sims to provide instant access to the digital world on the date of liberation.
Shine (women’s mentoring service) developed liberation packs. These packs contain information on essential services, basic hygiene products and a fully charged smartphone with data.
Another project which provides the phones boxed added a pen and a pad of paper to their liberation packs, enabling people to take a note of numbers of other relevant information they might need to record on release.
All projects use a gifting model for devices and connectivity.
A unique challenge in supporting people in custody is that project staff are unable to use devices in the prison estate. This means that it is very difficult to begin any digital upskilling until liberation. One project adapted their approach and uses printed resources to familiarise people with how to do things on specific devices, providing more hands-on support on liberation.
The provision of digital skills support varies between projects, with some using the mentors (embedded digital support) and others making use of their community facilities to create a digital hub for people to attend.
Family support: Some projects have extended their digital offering a more holistic service to include family members. This has enabled virtual prison visits, which is a critical part of supporting someone through their sentence and their reintegration into the community. Support for families has been especially important for those who struggle to get to the prison or have a loved one in an estate outwith their local area.
Community support: Recovery Enterprise Scotland hosts the weekly crisis meeting for East Ayrshire in their community-based hub. Working alongside colleagues in Police Scotland, the local authority and the Community Mental health Team (CMHT), they are able to provide digital devices to help individuals maintain contact with support services.
Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs): Recovery Enterprise Scotland has highlighted how their digital inclusion work has supported a strong working relationship with DTTO colleagues in the community. This has allowed them to extend their support to individuals engaged in DTTO programmes, with feedback from the DTTO team indicating that their involvement has made a substantial positive impact on the lives of many of their clients.
Integration of digital apps and tools: Apps such as By My Side could be integrated in digital inclusion support to help build confidence in accessing digital harm reduction support.
Duration of sentence: Projects have noted that some people they support have served lengthy prison sentences, and during that time technology has moved on significantly. This requires a lot more support to help someone navigate the internet and understand some basic concepts of the digital world.
Immediate needs: on liberation from custody individuals can face a multitude of immediate needs that need to be addressed. Many of these needs rely heavily on digital access.
In-reach support for digital: The inability to use digital devices in prisons means that any digital skills support can only properly start on the day of liberation.
Demand: One project noted a sudden increase in demand for support due to a Scottish Government policy decision to emergency release people serving short term sentences to help alleviate pressure on the prison system. Another project noted that demand can fluctuate greatly over the course of the year, depending on when and how many people are being released from certain prison estates. Projects had to respond to these decisions and adapt their provision accordingly.
Perceptions: Project staff have noted that there are adverse perceptions attached to giving people access to digital devices upon liberation from custody. This can impact on how other services and prison staff view digital inclusion and requires some education.
