Resettlement of Short-Term Prisoners: An Evaluation of Seven Pathfinders

• NCJ Number: 203394
• Author(s): Sam Lewis; Julie Vennard; Mike Maguire; Peter Raynor; Maurice Vanstone; Steve Raybould; Andrew Rix
• Date Published: September 2003
• Length: 119 pages
• Sale Source: Great Britain Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Program/Project Evaluation
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom
• Note: RDS Occasional Paper No. 83

Annotation

This report presents the results of an evaluation of seven “Pathfinder” resettlement programs for short-sentence prisoners in the United Kingdom.

Abstract

The Pathfinders program was developed to assist short-sentence prisoners remain offense free following their release. These short-sentence prisoners, defined as prisoners who are sentenced to less than 12 months and normally released mid-way through their sentences, have among the highest re-offense rates in part because they are not in prison long enough to take advantage of offending behavior programs and pre-release services designed to reduce re-offending. The current evaluation was conducted to assess both the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the programs. A key issue under examination was whether the Pathfinder programs motivated participants to pursue personal change. The evaluation included an early organizational audit of the project design and implementation, an investigation of the resettlement needs of participants, and an assessment of the impact on resettlement problems of participants. Results indicate three main areas of difficulty with the programs that include problems with management, staffing, training; the role of partner prisons in facilitating Pathfinder programs; and deficiencies in resettlement services available to participants. Recommendations on remedying these problems are outlined in the report and include increasing levels of resettlement services to participants, increasing the level of post-release between Pathfinder staff and participants, and implementing interim measures of effective resettlement work. The evaluation indicates that the most impressive finding of the evaluation process is the level of post-release contact, especially significant and long-term contact, which has been achieved between Pathfinder staff and participants. Finally, recommendations on future resettlement work with short-term prisoners is offered, including increasing access to existing prison services for short-term prisoners and improving partnerships between Employment Services, Benefits Agency, local authorities, and relevant voluntary and private sector agencies. Tables, appendix, references