Policy, Planning & Development Officer, Community Justice Glasgow
In previous editions of the Annual Reporter, we have brought you updates on the Diversion from Prosecution (Adult) Improvement Plan – one of the 4 Improvements Plans for Community Justice – the three others being:
- Throughcare (from prison);
- Robust Alternatives to Remand; and
- The Presumption Against Short Sentence.
In last year’s article ‘Upstream Efforts to Reduce Escalation’ my colleague reported on the progress being made, particularly in reference to the initiative around improving information flow between the key partners:
- Glasgow Health & social Care Partnership (Criminal Justice Social Work);
- Police Scotland (Criminal Justice Team – London Rd Police Station)
- Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service (Case Marking)
We reported in that article on the early indications of success in that work with an increase in the referrals to Diversion from Prosecution for Adults in 2019/20 and 2021/21, I am pleased to say that that trend has continued. Table 1 Below shows an increase of a104 referrals from Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service over 2022/23 (268 more than the previous (pre-Covid) peak in 2014/15).
Table 2 below shows a steadily increasing trend in successful completion rates, suggesting that the right people are being diverted to the right programmes.
For more background on the Diversion from Prosecution Improvement Plan you can still access the previous article(s) by CLICKING THE PICTURE LINK DIRECTLY BELOW or BY SCANNING THE QR CODE.
The improving information flow work continues and is currently operational with an agreed process and Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) in place. The work is kept under continual review by an Operational Group with the work being tweaked to maximise wins (as they occur) and work around barriers to the work as they arise. Work to continue to improve awareness and relationships in and between the agencies is embedded and showing results with a more open line of communication and planned approach to inputs to continue that work.
Recent National Development & Next Steps – In February 2023, His Majesty’s Inspectorates of Constabulary, Prosecution, Care and Prisons published a Joint Review of Diversion from Prosecution which set out 34 recommendations (some of which are targeted at a national level), these are intended to support the Diversion partner agencies to continue to plan and deliver Diversion Services more effectively, to manage Diversion efficiently across agencies, and to maximise Diversion while maintaining confidence in its use as an appropriate response to offending behaviour. You can CLICK THE PICTURE LINK or SCAN THE QR CODE BELOW to access the full Joint Review document online.
The Glasgow Steering Group on Improving Diversion from Prosecution (Adult) met and considered these recommendations in relation to the levers set out in the locally agreed Improvement Plan. Notably, a number of the recommendations strongly reflected the levers/actions already agreed in the local plan. Given that the Steering Group had already been actioning many of the recommendations, it is now being utilised as the vehicle to progress the relevant recommendations of the Review, bringing them directly within the current Improvement Plan for development and reporting to the Community Justice Partnership. These include:
- Recommendation 2 Community justice partners should ensure that appropriate services and interventions are available to all those who have been assessed as suitable for diversion. They should carry out joint strategic needs and strengths assessments to understand the needs of their local population, to inform service planning, and to assess their ability to meet an increased demand for diversion services.
- Recommendation 5 The diversion partner agencies should develop a training strategy that meets the needs of individual agencies and ensures that staff involved in diversion from prosecution are equipped to undertake their role effectively. Locally, community justice partnerships should identify opportunities to deliver joint training across statutory partners and key agencies with a role in diversion from prosecution.
- Recommendation 6 Community justice partnerships should consult with victims, people with lived experience of diversion, and affected community groups in the planning of diversion services.
- Recommendation 25 COPFS and justice social work should review their processes for managing diversion from prosecution to ensure they are suitable for all types of cases. In particular, the process for managing cases involving more serious offending should be sufficiently robust. The agreed processes should be reflected in guidance and training for all relevant staff.
- Recommendation 32 Community justice partnerships should implement effective mechanisms to monitor the impact of diversion and outcomes for people who have been diverted. This information should be used by all diversion partner agencies to inform service design and delivery.
The main focal piece of work over 2023-24 (overarching action) will be the development of a scoping paper and desk research around the availability of / gaps in services to equip Criminal Justice Social Work to have a full suite of delivery partners across the multiple and, at times complex needs, of those being assessed for Diversion from Prosecution – as well as for the more common crime types. The assessment itself (strengths & needs) will take place following the publication of the National Commissioning Review – expected in January 2024. This work will contribute to the confidence of Case Marking staff (COPFS) in the robustness and range of quality services available.
Preparatory / early intervention work to develop new partner relationships from across 3rd Sector and Recovery Networks will proceed in the interim. I will bring you an update on this work in the 2023-24 Annual Reporter.