NCJ Number
184732
Journal
Howard Journal of Criminal Justice Volume: 39 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2000 Pages: 234-248
Date Published
August 2000
Length
11 pages
Annotation
A study of voluntary aftercare of short-term prisoners in Great Britain revealed that this area of probation service activity has decreased markedly in volume and perceived priority in recent years, although many short-term prisoners are recidivist offenders who are experiencing major social and personal difficulties.
Abstract
Voluntary aftercare has its origins in the activities of Discharged Prisoners’ Aid Societies at the beginning of the 19th century. The probation service’s participation in aftercare began in the second half of that century. Probation rules of 1949 made voluntary aftercare of former inmates a function of probation; the caseload increased. However, the statutory component of aftercare has dominated the probation service’s involvement in aftercare since 1971. A crucial change came in 1992 with the replacement of parole by automatic and discretionary conditional release, which put all inmates serving 12 months or more under compulsory supervision on release and left little spare capacity for voluntary aftercare. A 1996 survey revealed only about 750 voluntary aftercare cases. However, the notable dearth of probation provision for short-term prisoners needs consideration, given the data about their needs and the limited availability of assistance from other sources. Interviews with 92 male prisoners and 13 female prisoners revealed that the main problems encountered by those who had previously been released involved the money, employment, and housing. Other problems concerned drugs and alcohol, readjustment, staying out of trouble, and family tensions. However, the policies of the 43 probation services surveyed ranged from positive promotion of voluntary aftercare to any prisoner who wants it to the opposite extreme of telling probation officers not to take such cases. Nevertheless, good reasons exist for making some provisions for this group. Tables and 42 references (Author abstract modified)